BigWyoming

Regardless of whether or not one enjoys/abhorrs Bobby Flay's cooking, doesn't any frequent D.C. restaurant goer have to take a little pride in the fact that a D.C. chef bitch slapped a guy like Bobby Flay on national television? Bobby Flay: "Hey, who's got my green oil? Someone throw some parsley in a blender and make me some green oil!" Jose Andres: "I've got your Throwdown hangin' low, Booby" And besides Jose Andres, chef Katsuya should get a shout out as well. You could hear Jose ask his advice on dishes a couple times during the taping. Every time I've had the pleasure of talking to Katsuya at Atlantico he's been very friendly and down to earth. Did anyone hear what the purple flowers were that Jose used in the cauliflower and yogurt dishes? They were gorgeous.

I can't say I care if it wasn't completely full because a.) they were underbooked or b.) they staggered the seating. My point was that being slammed couldn't have been an excuse for the missteps we saw since, for whatever reason, the room was hardly full. And if being slammed wasn't the reason, something else must have been. I think I've been more than fair. I said they took steps to try to correct the problem and I tipped my 20 percent like a good little boy. But the next time I'm going out to drop that kind of money for a dinner I'm driving up to Charleston or out to Maestro or somewhere else. Citronelle is off the list.

Before I give the wrong impression, I want to stress again that Citronelle took immediate steps to put things right. Bringing the wrong entree out and things like that aren't cool but I walked out the door fairly happy and well and truly buzzed. If it had been at another place and another price point I couldn't have cared less. I don't discount the possiblity that I'm a little sensitive on this, but the impression I got was that the level of service and interest we received wasn't the same as other tables. On any other night we would have been viewed as just another customer, but perhaps since it was an "Amateur Night" we were viewed with some skepticism because we are both still in our mid to late twenties and maybe don't look like the typical big ticket that walks through the door in Georgetown. Also, I had no suit on. That's the way it is on Tuesdays. Tuesday is sport coat day, Wednesday and Thursday are suit days, Friday is a pro wrestling t-shirt. And this isn't a Citronelle-specific issue. The cheese guy at CityZen just about got an ass pounding from the BigWyoming father-in-law a couple months ago when Mrs. BigWyoming asked Mr. Cheese if they had any goat gouda on the cart only to be scolded in an unbelievably condescending tone that there was no such thing before he took his cart and stormed off. This despite the fact that we had bought some from Whole Foods a couple nights before. And, as I think about it, we had some more two nights ago. And damned tasty it was. The point I'm stabbing at (and missing horribly) is that, on the part of the proprietors, waiters, etc., there should be no Amateur Nights. Yes, there might be some reservation attrition and picky eaters and this and that on busier nights. But so what? Don't take it out on the rest of us who are there. If a person is going to consent to paying 300 to 500 dollars for a meal for two he deserves the best whether he does it once a year and doesn't like cooked carrots or does it twice a week and will eat anything from squid to squab.

We were the late seating at 9:30, but yes I would estimate the room was between 1/2 and 2/3 full while we were there.

Ate at Citronelle last night and I have to say I'm not drinking the Citronelle Kool-Aid like a lot of people. I had the foie gras salad (unbelievable) and the missus the 'begula' pasta (better than unbelievable by an order of magnitude), followed by the lupe de mer for her (good) and the venison with chestnut risotto for me (venison was very good, risotto not so much). But here's the problem. I didn't order the venison. I ordered the chateaubriand. Would it have been good? I don't know. I didn't want to send the plate back and sit with my hands in my lap while the missus enjoyed the sea bass. To be fair, the staff was more than gracious in apologizing and offering glasses of wine to make things right. They did everything you'd hope they'd do. Except. When you go to a place like that, and you spend $350 for dinner, these things shouldn't happen in the first place. When you drop that kind of coin on dinner you want to spend your time concentrating on food and drink and friends, not asking waiters what happened with your entrees, or why the sommellier never even stopped by to say hello or much less ask if we had questions or if we were looking for something special, etc... The room was only half full so I know they weren't slammed. I guess it was just "Amateur Night." The problem is, we don't consider ourselves amateurs and didn't expect to be treated as such. And even if we were, the last time I checked our money is just as green as the next guy's. Was the food for the most part great? You bet. Was it $350 great? No chance. I'd rather spend $7 for a half smoke and chili fries at Ben's and use the other $343 to fly to Bermuda for the weekend.

I was with a group that ate at Zengo over the weekend. About the best I can say is, man, those are some good churros. The whole "flowing" speech came off as a bit pretentious to us. Maybe it was the waitress' delivery of said speech. Maybe it was just us. It's difficult to tell as several Sapporo's had already been enjoyed. If the menu was set up with all small plates the whole "flowing" concept would probably be fine. As is it is now, though, the menu looks fairly traditional. There are appetizers, soups, entrees and desserts. Entrees come with a meat and a starch or vegetable. Appetizers, outside of the the calamari, come in servings for about two people. None of it really lended itself to passing around the table. We were a table of about 10 and because things just come when they're "ready" at one point we had three people eating entrees, six others eating on appetizers and one person eating nothing at all yet. And also, if the idea is "flowing" and the sharing of dishes, how does one share a soup? Or does the soup not count? Food wise, the finacee's salmon was WAY overcooked. My beef tenderloin was done to the proper temperature but pretty unexciting. How you can make sauteed poblanos, onions and ginger taste bland is beyond me, but they found a way. The one dish at the table that really made me perk up all night was the short ribs but everything was just kind of meh. Not bad. Not great. Just meh. And lest anyone think otherwise, Zengo is definitely $$$$. Not stupid expensive like Oya but you definitely feel a noticeable burning around your buttocks when they bring the bill. Would I go back to eat? No. But I would definitely pop into the bar later in the evening for some cocktails and an empanada or two without hesitation.