dinoue

Our kids are now out of the toddler range, but we have taken them to pretty much any number of restaurants, though sometimes it meant one of us taking an unruly kid out of the restaurant when they couldn't behave. Mentioned above, Mintwood has a children's menu, which is always a good sign that a place is actually welcoming kids. Dino's of course is a popular place for any family. Izakaya Seki is very popular among families during their first seatings around 5-6:00. Our daughter has requested Seki for her birthday dinner the past three years running, she turns 7 in a couple weeks so I assume we'll be back, though there's always competition from Sushi Taro or Ogawa (haven't been there, but she loves Sushi Capitol). Sushi Taro used to have booster seats, but not sure if they still have them. They're website is notably discouraging towards families with young children. I would think Sushi Capitol would be your best bet since you're based on Cap. Hill. if you want sushi, though Seki is a totally different experience from Sushi Capitol. Crane and Turtle is another favorite for both kids both for regular dinner and their new ramen Tuesdays. Interestingly we went there without the kids once seated at the counter and the chefs commented on how fast we ate our courses, which we attributed to often eating out with the kids. The counter is fun for kids too as both kids were fascinated watching all the different components getting put together in the various dishes. We went to Kinship a few weeks ago and were seated in one of the booths which was perfect for our family of four, though might be a little crowded for a group of 6+1. The challenge there is also the length of the meal. We got what amounted to three courses plus dessert and were there for nearly 3 hours which, no matter how well behaved a 22 month is, probably would stretch their tolerances, though I'm sure they would speed things up if you requested. One place that we have enjoyed that might not seem obvious for bringing kids is Volt for brunch if you want to make your way up to Frederick. It's more laid back and since only 3 courses, a fast enough meal that small kids can make it through. At 22 months, I'm guessing he'll probably still need a booster seat or high chair, so that might be one of the factors in deciding where to go, unless you're OK with keeping the kid on soemone's lap throughout the meal and passing him around taking turns. Could also look into getting a portable high chair if restaurants that don't have their own allow you to use. We had an Inglesina Fast chair which worked fairly well in most situations.

I have heard that the script was altered pretty significantly from the original that played in San Diego. The original was more harsh towards the role of the Japanese American Citizen's League as apologists and selling out the Japanese Americans by voluntarily agreeing to be put in the camps in the first place. The current version shows a more conflicted JACL leadership that is trying to do what he thinks is right, though it still comes with quite a bit of arrogance. There remains a lot of bitterness between different sides of how members of the community responded to the war and internment as to who was truly being patriotic and standing up to or for American ideals. Who was a traitor to the country vs traitor to their community. I am curious as to how some of this is perceived by someone seeing the musical without all that historical knowledge. I feel that I benefit somewhat by the fact my father immigrated long after the war, so I don't have the perspective of having had my own family interned and it is more of the community understanding of what happened that I carry. I feel it is my responsibility as a Japanese American to make sure that we don't forget what happened with the internment, but I don't have the emotional tie to take a side of which was better, to serve in the army willingly and enthusiastically or fight back at the inherent injustice of the camps and being asked to serve a country that had stripped all human rights and dignity.

Saw Allegiance last night partially out of obligation as a Japanese American. The musical tells the story of the JA experience during WWII in the concentration camps and the struggle to prove the patriotism and allegiance of various individuals to the ideals of this country. It follows primarily one family which has the father as a no-no (responses of no to willingness to serve in the army, and no to forswear allegiance to Japan, which for many who were barred from US citizenship would have left them without citizenship) and the son becomes a war hero serving in the 442nd. The daughter/sister in the family falls in love with another man who refuses the draft until his family is released from the camps and is sent to prison. For a 2.5 hour performance, it packs a lot in with regard to Japanese American cultural influences and how it shapes the evolution of the various attitudes towards what is patriotic and what ideals different actors were standing up for. If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend going to this in the next two weeks. The music was surprisingly strong, and I think they built it around the strength of Lea Salonga as the lead singer.

Tried Sushi Seki based on proximity to the show we were going to (Allegiance, starring George Takei about the Japanese American experience during WWII) and the desire to try some of NYC's reputed best sushi. They have seatings as late as 11:00 for dining so had my dining partners not wanted this, I would have been able to go on my own after the show. The other three in my party got the pre-theatre menu which they all enjoyed, but also needed to get some extra sushi to supplement in order to be filled. The omakase sushi selection came with 16 pieces brought out in groups of four, plus one hand roll. All the varieties were tasty, but this is by no means traditional sushi. It is more along the lines of creative sushi with garnishes such as jalapeno, tomato, and tempura. There is not a diversity of fish, more diversity of preparation. Chu toro made multiple appearances as did salmon and hamachi. Everything was very fresh, highlight was probably the uni which was like butter. Low was probably the closing hand roll which was a spicy scallop. I really detest the use of spiciness in sushi as it masks the taste of the fresh fish which is what I really want to taste, and putting the spice on a scallop which should highlight the sweetness of the scallop is disappointing. Impressive about the handroll was how quickly they got it to the table after being made because the nori was perfectly crisp. At $130 for 16 pieces and and hand roll, I felt it was worth it from the perspective of creativity that went into the creations, but I would much rather spend that $130 at Sushi Taro in DC for their omakase which is in a more traditional style and in addition to the sushi being more diverse, also features additional dishes as part of the omakase. The a la carte menu appears to be pretty reasonable given the high end trappings. Things like edamame are available for what I would expect at any Japanese restaurant. I just had hot tea, but they purport to have an extensive drink menu. Surprising was that it was not very crowded, though we were there very early in the evening with a 5:45 reservation and were out by 7:30.

Ate a late night second dinner after a show (Allegiance if you are going up in the next two weeks before it closes, it's fantastic). We were a group of 11 and they split us up to seat us as the place is pretty tiny, but several of us got in pretty quickly for the one larger table they have that can seat 6. We bypassed some smaller groups of two that quickly got seated at the counter. I got the spicy miso ramen which is very hot. Comes with a big blob of spices and one of miso paste that you mix in. The noodles were perfect, nice amount of chew to them. Garnished with onions, egg and three nice pieces of char siu. In the non-miso ramens, they have a more straight noodle which was also nice, but I found I was much happier with the wavy noodle that came with my bowl. With tip, around $16 per person for a bowl. Definitely a good option for ramen in NYC, though I've not tried any of the other hot places. We tried Ippudo and their wait list was longer than they had likely seating before closing. Totto is more like what I feel traditional ramen places should be like. Eat a quick bowl and get out, rather than the gourmet experience so many places try to go for, but also lead to people taking forever to eat something that should be eaten in a few minutes.

Attempted armed robbery today. "Bread Furst Bakery in Northwest Washington Held Up By Gunman" by Peter Hermann on washingtonpost.com

Wanted to try this on our last trip to Baltimore, but kids REALLY wanted pizza. Hope to try it on a future visit. Since we got an annual membership for the aquarium, I expect we'll be back up there sometime soon.

Been there with the kids for happy hour. Can't beat $1 oysters. It's a little tougher to do happy hour with kids, especially in colder weather as the outside patio is presumably not a viable seating option, and the bar isn't as conducive to sitting as a family.

Now that I think about it, it has been around 10 years since we ate at Bouchon at Venetian and something like 12 since Bistro Jeanty. A lot can change in a restaurant in that time.

Interesting as when we did eat at the Vegas location of Bouchon shortly after it opened, we were not all that impressed. It was very good, but no better than many other great bistros we had eaten at, most recently at that time Bistro Jeanty which we thought blew it out of the water. Granted Jeanty had the advantage of being located in Napa with easier access to much fresher ingredients probably, but still no comparison. I would still not pass up the opportunity to try out French Laundry or Per Se, but am a little more wary with the review of Per Se.

Surprised no one has eaten here recently. Catching up on reviews and we ate here for Christmas eve dinner after services at church a few blocks away. Overall, our meal was very nice, but do not go here for sushi which is not very distinguished. we test sushi chefs by asking for an assortment at a price point, usually around $60 for two with no rolls to see what they give us. Here it included pretty standard selections like salmon, hamachi, and toro. The dishes from the kitchen are much better and worth eating here. The top section of the menu is small dishes from the kitchen. One of our favorites was the peas and sprouts which is nice since Japanese restaurants don't often have a lot of variety in greens available on the menu. The seafood gyoza are also really good and rich with a little but of butter to add some richness. The dote yaki was also really nice and had the gelatinous richness of the tendon to really make a nice stew. The ton toro katsu was equally decadent with the fattiness of the pork and a nice curry sauce to accompany. The kids really liked the black sea bass. The middle section is robata, or grilled items. All of the items we got here were good though you might consider the prices of things as some are better value than others. I think this section produced the one miss as well. The yaki tako was a little overwhelmed with the pesto sauce, and it lost the char grilled flavor, so the resulting dish was a little off in texture for what we expected with a grilled octopus. For dessert we had the beignets which was very nice and the chef also brought out a small chocolate fondue with fruits which everyone at the table kept trying to find something to dip into the hot chocolate to not waste any. Chef Matsuzaki is doing some really nice things in the kitchen with the dishes he is producing, some very much based in Japanese tradition, but others bringing in some interesting fusion elements. In at least one case this didn't work so well with the tako, but in the case of the brussel sprouts, does work very nicely. Just to reiterate, stay away from the sushi and you will do well here. Also, my wife enjoyed her sake flight very much. They seem to put a strong emphasis on the drink options though I just had a beer.

A little belated, but we spent our second New Year's Eve in a row at Seki. Biggest draw for us is the osechi ryouri which is available both as part of the NYE dinner and to take home. Put one or the other or both on your plans for next year. We did do both this year. If you have never prepared osechi yourself, you would not understand how nice it is to have this as an option to have them make everything for you. Advantage of doing it in restaurant is then it comes with sashimi, all premium pieces such as toro, fatty salmon and hamachi. This year it did not come with ozoni which I seem to recall being included in 2014. In addition to the osechi, we got a lot of our usual favorites. Wonderful dinner for NYE which we finished off with a nearly private viewing of the new Star Wars movie as my mother watched the kids. Apparently not a lot of people go to the movies for New Years Eve. Same could not be said of Seki which was packed when we left.

I've been advocating for the Walter Reed development to try to get one here in DC. Given how crowded Oriental East is for dim sum, this could clean up in the area and IMO draw people from as far away as Philadelphia as I have heard through friends on the West coast of people making pilgrimages to eat at DTF.

The WaPo article said there would be brunch service, but I'm guessing that will just be weekends. Don't know about weekday lunch.

Went for an early dinner last night with the family with a 5:30 reservation. Got a nice seat in one of the booths which is perfect for the kids and the banquette seating is wonderful for stretching a little at the end of a filling meal. We started with a bottle of the Hexamer Quartzit Riesling which was really nice. It wasn't rated as a spatlese, and the sommelier said it wasn't quite like a spatlese, but I would definitely say it was like a spatlese. Anyway, a very nice bottle of riesling for the price point. We picked our various dishes and asked they be brought in order the kitchen recommended. First came the small loaf of crusty bread which was wonderful. Some of the best bread I've had in a restaurant since the amazing bread cart at Joel Robuchon in Vegas. The accompanying butter was also wonderful. First two dishes out were the sunchokes and the toro. Sunchokes were very nice and I especially liked the chimichurri sauce. Our daughter insisted they were little roasted potatoes. As long as she ate it, I let her call them whatever she wanted. In retrospect I agree with the previous post that the toro was the one miss on the night. The amount of toro is reasonable for the price,in my opinion, but with the four taste presentation, I felt the emphasis was too much on the tastes, not the toro which seemed overwhelmed by the bolder flavor profiles of salt, sour, sweet and spicy. The stroganoff and lobster were next out and were both incredibly rich and should be at the top of anyone's list of dishes to get. The one disappointment on the stroganoff was that it was not quite hot and the sweetbreads weren't as juicy as I have had them. Perhaps it sat for just a couple minutes while waiting for the lobster? The taste on the stroganoff was fantastic though and just coated the mouth in richness. Unfortunately the kids did not like the sweetbreads, which fortunately meant more for us. This was their first time to try them. They did love the spaetzle which they thought was like chow foon, I guess they are both thick fried noodles as the spaetzle did have a nice crust to them. The lobster, which we were told was one of the most popular dishes was also great. Lots of lobster and the combination of flavors was perfect balance of richness and brightness. Last dish was the turbot, we got the large size which is HUGE. They bring the whole side to the table after cooking and then bring it back to filet and garnish with garlic chives. Fortunately we did get the large size because our son absolutely loved this dish. Of the eight pieces the fielts were cut into he ate nearly three. The accompanying potatoes were very good, but the portion seemed very small. If the fish was intended to serve 3-4 people as the waiter stated, the potatoes seemed like an appropriate amount for two. If the fish is meant for 4, the accompanying potatoes should also be increased in quantity, in my opinion. Likewise, we got a second order of parker rolls which there is a charge for, even though we got an entree intended for 4 people. Given that, in the future, I would probably get the +smaller portion and use the $30 difference to get another small dish and the second order of rolls. Finished off with the chocolate chip cookie souffle which I actually thought was sufficient for sharing, though that could be because everyone else was pretty full by this point and I was able to eat more myself. Overall damage was around $280 which was not bad for the amount of food we got, and a bottle of wine. The fish was expensive at $80, but if it were treated as two or three separate entrees, it doesn't seem so expensive, though that also points towards getting the smaller portion in the future. Definitely someplace we will be eating regularly as it is much more accessible than CityZen and though apprehensive going in, once the food started coming, our kids were totally fine throughout the meal which did take nearly three hours. Pacing was just about right with the exception of the fish which did take a little longer than the previous two courses to come out.

Sorry, knew Chef Geoff's was closing, didn't realize it was this soon. Used to work in that building and the org I used to work for is moving, or maybe they already did.

Went to Chef Geoff's with a group of 16 following the Nutcracker and they let us do it as a regular reservation. We were split into two tables, adults and kids but basically occupied a full section. Also did Boss Shepherds with a similar group last year for Nutcracker (they are closed Sundays so couldn't do it this year) and they put us in the private room upstairs with no minimum charges or anything and full menu available. That was probably a group of just over 20.

Went for lunch on our staycation in Dulles after Christmas. Started with the BBQ pig and roasted duck. Both were good, though I found the skin on the pig was a little tough on some pieces and not as crispy as I would have preferred. The pig also had a little more flavor than I am accustomed, though in a good way. It was a little more like char siu flavor cooked in rather than the sauce to accompany it to provide flavor. Also got an order of beef and chinese broccoli chow foon which was good, nothing notable. The snow pea shoots were also good, but not as well prepared as the ones we had the previous evening at Dumpling Queen. Generally, everything we had was good basic Chinese food, and as expected. I think if we lived out here we would probably come as regularly as we go up to Full Kee in Wheaton and would consider them to be similar in quality on these basic standard dishes.

Tried this out on our staycation after Christmas out at Dulles/Udvar Hazy. Basically got three orders of the dumplings, seafood and Lilly's steamed and pan fried pork. Also got an order of snow pea shoots which were perfect and a nice quantity. All the dumplings were very good and each one different enough to make for a diverse and interesting meal of just dumplings. If we lived closer, we would probably make this a regular part of our dining. Kids loved it too. Also was empty when we arrived around 5:30 but full by the time we left around 6:45.

Have actually been a few times to Bagby as it was a favorite of my sister-in-law when she lived in the area. They have nice thin crust pizzas and are pretty quick on service. Decent variety of local beers as well. The other night we had the gourmet meat and gourmet vegetarian pizzas plus spinach and caesar salads. Salads are nice shareable portions. While wood fired, it is not neapolitan style, and does not make any pretenses to be. It has a more sturdy crust than what I have experienced with neapolitan, but is still very crispy without getting tough. Toppings are fairly generous, especially noticeable on the vegetarian with lots of artichokes. This would be ideal if you are in the area with kids and need a quick not too expensive bite to eat away form the chain restaurants.

So Apropoe's is a at its core a hotel restaurant, though it tries to give all pretenses not to be. It is stylish with extensive lounge seating with a large bar area in addition to dining near the large windows fronting the harbor. It is very dark, but the tables have lights about two feet over them that they turn on when someone is seated there. Upon arrival, we were greeted as indifferently as possible by the hostess. Not a great start to the evening and led to my own uninspired choice for dinner. I had the Poe burger, which was really just scary because it was so ineptly prepared. Requested to be cooked medium it came out well done and very hot all the way through. After two bites, it fell apart completely and a quarter of it rolled off of the table and onto the floor. The accompanying herb fries were lukewarm and had few of the promised herbs. Wife was happier with her pumpkin bisque and duck quesadilla, though she felt the amount of duck in it was excessive relative to the other components. I guess there are worse complaints one could have than too much duck. Kids pizza was clearly from a food service pizza crust as the kids portion was a full pizza cut in half. Went into the restaurant with high hopes that it might be a decent restaurant that happened to be located in our hotel. Turned out to be a typical hotel restaurant instead.

Wow, we probably walked right past you, outside the restaurant. Had pizza around the corner at Bagby Pizza and were walking back to the Marriott. Actually looked into the restaurant to see who was eating there as I too was surprised at how busy it was. To echo Don's comment, we also ate at Roy's in Hawaii several years ago and were not impressed. Would have been happier getting ramen instead that night.

Would love to know as well. We're big fans of German Rieslings, but I have yet to really find a great place to get them here. I have ordered online from Dee Vine wines in San Francisco. Amazing selection of German wines. Learned of them from the sommelier at Manresa in Los Gatos years ago.

Realized I hadn't written this up yet in spite of having dined four times already. I think it's because it's kind of mediocre place, nothing to incite extreme dislike, nor anything especially exciting. I think the biggest problem that plagues it is inconsistency. Some things can be quite good, others can be pretty bad. Food in general is pretty good. Oysters are great for happy hour, and on one visit, we went specifically for my father to satisfy his oyster craving. Apparently oysters are ridiculously overpriced in Japan. Something I wouldn't have expected from a country where pretty much everyplace is within an hour or two of the ocean. I think there were 3 or 4 options for oysters that night. Also during happy hour, several other appetizers are discounted so we made a meal before a concert at the Fillmore one night. The fish tacos were definitely the winners for that meal. Wife has gotten the seafood pasta twice, once when it was a special, and now it has been added to the menu. It's a nice assortment of seafood with pasta and fairly generous as well. I had the lobster roll on our last visit which was generous with the lobster, but a little bland on the seasoning. It's described as a tobasco lime mayo dressing, but very little tobasco taste. Biggest problem we have had in dining was once when I ordered the special for the night, a scallop risotto. They clearly had forgotten to make it when everyone else's entrees came out and mine was missing. I said I would get something else since risotto can take a long time to cook, but the waiter insisted it would be right out and it was already being made. Well it wasn't. In the meantime they brought out an order of the vegetarian mushroom risotto gratis. This gave the interesting opportunity to compare the butternut squash risotto that accompanied the scallops with the regular menu item. I liked the mushroom risotto better from a taste standpoint, but it was overcooked so the rice was a little mushy. The butternut squash was really lacking any butternut squash flavor and tasted very bland after the mushroom version. On our last visit, we noticed that there is no longer a risotto option on the menu. To make up for the mistake on the risotto, we were given a discount on the meal, though I told the manager I would have been just as happy if they had been honest about the mistake and allowed me to order something that could have been cooked faster. Generally service can be hit or miss. Servers will disappear for long periods of time, especially if you're seated outside the main areas of the dining room/bar area. These side area would either be the two booths on the right as you enter or the side room on the far left. It is very kid friendly as they have a treasure chest of things to keep kids busy, but interestingly, no crayons though the kids menu has a picture for coloring. Also, the toy box is noticeably lighter from our last visit. Pretty sad that people can't be honest with toys provided by the restaurant and think it's OK to take them, or let their kids take them. It's a nice option for dining in Silver Spring, but nothing to make it destination dining.

Went for the ramen tonight and it was amazing, though probably more for me than it might be for others. It was one of those cases of where it brought back memories of what I remember ramen being like when I was a kid visiting Japan. The soup was perfect balance of flavors and most importantly for me, was not overladen with salt as so many of the broths at the various ramen places in DC tend to be IMO. It's also a much lighter broth than most others but still has some richness to it with some fattiness, but not overwhelming. Very simple with several pieces of char siu, half an egg, and scallions. Since we were in the last ramen seating for the evening, and they weren't expecting anyone at the counter for another 45 minutes, we were able to finish off with some dessert. Got the same ones we had the other night, so we have yet to try one of the three offered. Wait was only about 10 minutes to be seated. My wife arrived first with the kids and I was just leaving work. When I got there about 20 minutes after they first checked in, they had just received their bowls. They are doing 30 bowls per Tuesday night.