astrid

Just found out that Volt is changing their reservation policy for Table 21 (and also kicked their price up to $150/person!). You can reserve for up to a month in advance. Reservations seem pretty easy to come by, compared to my prior (futile) attempts.

A bit late to this thread, but I would highly recommend a daytrip to Ashby Inn during better weather. Big Sky Meadow nearby has a nice 2-3 hour hike and there are some cute towns nearby. The food at Ashby Inn (still available for 30% off via Savored) is terrific.

For anyone who is interested, they're doing another Italian Night tomorrow, February 2.

Mangiare alla Tavola di Nana Masi

‘Eat at Nana Masi’s table’

It is said that we can’t choose our families, but Chef Peter Smith, for one, certainly lucked out in the Nana department. Join us this Thursday, February 2nd as he channels his great-grandmother ‘Nana Masi’ when he turns PS7’s into a temporary Italian trattoria, offering dishes inspired by her cherished family recipes from the old country.

Come & be a part of la famiglia and taste the generations of cooking that have been enjoyed by the Masi family for over 100 years.

‘Classic Italian dishes’ revived without great cost.

Join us for ITALIAN NIGHT! 5:30 pm-10pm, menu is á la carte, dishes range from $4-$19.

Bon Appetito!

Make a reservation, Nana will be so proud. Hurry as space is limited.

PS7's is located at:

777 I Street NW

Washington, DC 20001

Phone: 202.742.8550

Fax: 202.789.7889

For crabcakes, I highly recommend Black Salt. They may not be on the menu, but they're always available from the fish mongering section. You can get them prepared for twice the retail price.

Ray's crab royale is tremendous if your friend likes lots of fresh crab meat with just butter.

Second vidalia for lunch or happy hour, once of the best deals going and the food is consistently good. since you are open to metro, all of dc and a chunk of th suburbs is accessible. So what is your per diem and what is tolerable travel time for you?

$30 for $60 at Kushi (via LivingSocial)

Bryan V = Jose Andres of Maryland?.

Will some of the guest chef items also be available at the salon?

(Weekly dinners would be an amazing gift for someone whose poodle already owns too many diamond dog collars).

Agree that they're finally getting the pizza really right. What we had on our second visit is probably the second best neapolitan pizza in the area, right behind Enzo's pies. The crust is almost perfect (I think Enzo's crusts are perfect). The toppings are fresh, tasty, and well distributed. On our first visit, we felt the pies were around Pizza De Marco's range, but now they are really getting it.

Please go now! It was really quiet when we went this week and I really want this place to thrive. With pizza this good and a very chill staff, Pizza CS deserves to thrive.

There is always parking in the Safeway across the street from Pupatella.

Their appetizers, salads, and paninis are as good as the pizzas. You don't need to go there just for Enzo's pizzas.

Thanks for the tip, genericeric!

Stopped by for a few bites during happy hour and was very impressed. The dips and small plates were all very well prepared and seasoned, and well priced for the portions. We had the lamb ribs, fried calamari, and truffled taramasalata and was particularly impressed with the truffled taramasalata, especially at $5 during happy hour.

I'm glad to hear that it has a good lunch crowd. The food is very good and the staff is so nice, so I really hope they will succeed. My favorite menu item is the quesadilla - light, crisp, and very cheesy.

Very happy with my meal here last night, probably happier than after my meal at Komi almost exactly two years before. Superb quality of ingredients and a lot of care in preparing the ingredients. The whole place felt very ethereal, like something out of a TV writer's fevered dream, just a wonderful atmosphere all around. My favorites of the night were the eggplant, the shrimp and clam salad, and the ribs.

Even slightly profitable customers using coupons are a negative sum game for restaurants. Im so overwhelmed with coupon offers by good restaurants that I can rarely justify paying full fare at any but the most exceptional restaurants. In the past year, Ive probably tried a dozen restaurants that I would have been happy to revisit at full price, except I have a bucket load of good deal coupons. This is great for me but its not gaining an otherwise good customer for these restaurants. Its a downward spiral where restaurants end up chasing the same group of good customers at a far lower profit margin, or risk losing customers to other restaurants altogether. Maybe the coupons have a role in promoting awareness of a new business, but established businesses are doing so at their peril.

Plus, based on the appalling Yelp comments (though Springfield Butcher should have set the terms in their coupon and not shaming people after they bought it), it seems like a large proportion of coupon people are customers that no business should want. They want top of the line service at rock bottom prices, have no loyalty to any business, and are extremely quick to take offense.

I think restaurants would be better off going back to renting email lists and doing weekday/happy hour specials. At least that would be building customer loyalty to their brand.

I'm not a restaurant professional, but I can't think of a good way other than pre-charging credit card for orders. A lot of restaurants would charge my credit card for not showing up for a reservation, and that's totally legit. All my online orders charge my credit card when they ship my orders. No way that there's anything illegal about having a credit card policy - the important thing is getting a good verification system in place. There are vendors that will help restaurants take online credit card orders - she should look into that to help manage her business and provide additional convenience to her customers.

With all due respect (which, given the recent news reports of police behavior, ain't much), cops are not lawyers or businessmen and they should not be giving this lady legal advice or business advice. If she has concerns about legality, she should talk to a LAWyer and get the system set up properly.

Back from a couple days in Greenville, SC. Went to American Grocery, High Cotton, and Lazy Goat.

High Cotton continues to be terrific lunch place. The shrimp and grits is still the best rendition of the dish I've ever tasted. The crab cake and duck confit were really good, probably as good any in the DC area. I would eat here every week, if I lived in the Greenville-Spartanburg area.

Lazy Goat is a pan-Mediterrean place with nice sandwiches, dips, and kabobs. Everything we tried was good to very good.

American Grocery was the best of the three and arguably the best restaurant in Greenville (the other "arguable" best would be Devereaux's, which is like a CityZen to American Grocery's Vermillion). Honest to goodness cooking, emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients, creative flavor combinations, and super-delicious cocktails.

Somewhat old news, but not reported here previously. Changes are afoot: http://www.2941.com/press/2011/2011_11_04_2941PressRelease.pdf

The first paragraph from the PDF: "2941, the much-lauded fine dining French/American restaurant, will take a brief hiatus beginning January 1, 2012 to convert the restaurant into an upscale, yet less formal dining destination. The restaurant will reopen in mid-January offering guests a modern American menu with Mediterranean influences."

No mention of a change in chef, but they are also making some changes to the space as part of the re-launch, such as "replacing the entire cooking suite including adding a grill for steaks and seafood, and a dedicated pasta station."

I didn’t find 24 courses to be a lot of food, if that’s what you’re getting at. It was about as filling as finishing a full size entrée at another restaurant. It might be a problem for someone with a small appetite, but should not be a problem for someone with an average appetite.

If a member of your party was late by 30 minutes, the minor service faults really lies with your group. These 20+ course dinners always come with very strict start times for good reasons, so I’m not surprised that there were minor glitches.

The wine pairing complaint I sort of understand, even though I loved mine. Given your fairly specific tastes and the large table, I'm surprised that you didn't order or bring your own bottles.

My own dinner was for a little over 2 hours. Did yours really continue on for 5(!) hours?

I’m curious as to what you recommend as similar but better experiences. The only peers offering 10+ courses that I can think of are Komi, Table 21, Vidalia’s 24 course offering, and MiniBar. I’m always on the lookout for other places that offer a similar experience.

I just polished off a BonMi beef brisket sandwich with all the fixins. The meat is quite good, tastes like well braised beef.

I'm a little surprised that Rustico got mentioned before Faccia Luna. I hated Rustico after my one experience there (loud, small portions, slow service, food that reads much better than they actually taste). Faccia Luna isn't super-high quality, but they do have a nice crust and decent toppings.

Stay in Old Town and order a Brabo flatbread and a skillet of mussels

I second Ashby Inn, which is a great deal (30% off) if you reserved with Savored. We went last weekend and it was definitely one of the best meals of this year. Nearby, there's a lot of wineries and cute little towns, and good hiking a mile away in Sky Meadow State Park ( fall colors was around 60% when we went).

How much is that normally? Doesn't seem like much of a bargain...

That was my reaction, too. The label of "10-course" is somewhat misleading, since three of those courses are canapés and one is a cheese course. As best as I can tell, this is pretty much what you get from the 6-course $110 menu with an $18 charge for the cheese course and $85 for the pairings (a total of $213 before tax and tip). Maybe the take-home pastry is a bonus? Is there anyone with experience with the typical 6-course menu who can shed some light on what, if anything, sets this offer apart?

Lobsters were $6/lb in the Rockville Great Wall yesterday. We got two for $13. The claws were a bit underfilled, but the tail was well filled and there was a tons of roe and tomale in the head.

We once got a 7 lb lobster for $7/lb. Cooking it in an indoor setting was a traumatic experience for all.

I really like their eggs benedict. No frills, just consistently perfect. +1 is a big fan of their lamb pastrami sandwich.