Demvtr

The former pronunciation is correct.

I am generally ambivalent about Italian restaurants. I eat neither cheese nor most pasta, so much Italian fare is lost on me. But I run by Sette Bello every morning, and I have been curious about the scene inside since it opened. My girlfriend and I tried it last night (3/17/06). There is some dissonance between the front of the restaurant, with its city-in-the-suburbs atmosphere, mood lighting, and raw fish bar, and the vast dining room, which is unremarkable but for its slightly confusing modern-rustic decor. I was surprised by the size of the dining room; the restaurant's facade does not hint at how far back it goes. We were on time for our 8:30 p.m. reservation and were greeted graciously by a host. Our coats were taken, and we were seated immediately. Our Italian-accented waiter was extremely friendly and competent, making sure that we were aware of the specials before we ordered drinks, to ensure proper wine pairing, and letting us know of the kitchen's flexibility on pasta orders (half-orders are available as appetizers). I could have done without the extra flair of the fingers-to-the-mouth-followed-by-air-kiss and "Bellisimo!" but I'm sure there are diners that appreciate that level of enthusiasm from a waiter. The bread basket, served with a plate of olive oil, held better-than-average thick, crusty Italian bread and some sort of cheese bread that I did not try. My girlfriend ordered the "Pierina," a salad of spinach, pear slices, pine nuts, and thin sheets of Ricotta cheese, tossed in a lemon vinaigrette. I tried a few leafs of the salad, and found the lemon vinaigrette to be far less emphatic than I thought it would be, which is a good thing. I ordered the "Trio of Salmon" from the "Bar Tonno" menu of appetizers, and very much liked the dish. It was presented well, served in a narrow, rectangular plate separated into three compartments. Despite featuring three takes on salmon, the appetizer is small enough that it is not enough to share. The salmon caviar, featuring sizable, salty, fish eggs was nicely complemented by its underlying Arborio rice, making each bite rich and interesting. The tartare was so melt-in-the-mouth soft and flavorful that, in retrospect, I would have been perfectly happy for all three compartments to be filled with small tartare mounds. The "Margarita style" salmon was not much to my liking, but I knew from the outset that I might not enjoy it, because I do not like alcohol mixed with my food. The black salt around the glass, however, mixed well with the tartare. My girlfriend's entree, the mezzelune (pumpkin ravioli), was good, but not great. The ravioli are somewhat small, not allowing much space for the nearly candy-like filling of almond paste and pureed pumpkin. I can see a half-order of the pumpkin ravioli as a good appetizer, but the boring, colorless presentation, coupled with the minimal ravioli filling, makes it an average entree. I had a simple, thick, well-prepared swordfish steak encrusted with peppercorn that reminded me that a good piece of fish does not need to be dressed up to impress. The peppercorn encrusted on the swordfish's surface was so good that even though I could not finish the fish, I cut the remaining portion horizontally to get a few more peppery bites. The swordfish rested on a bed of sweet and sour eggplant chopped into soft, tender chunks, a side that would have been the envy of any high-end Asian restaurant. The sweet and sour eggplant speaks to an aspect of the restaurant that everyone seems to be overlooking: the web site notes that Sette Bello serves "Italian cuisine with an Asian style," and the Asian influence extends beyond the "Italian sushi" available at the bar and on the "Bar Tonno" menu. The swordfish, at $18.00, is also a great value. The only downside to the visit, and a small one at that, was a lengthy wait for the appetizers to arrive and, again, a lengthy wait for the entrees to arrive. But the entrees came out hot and freshly-prepared, and while we were dining a little late (we did not order until close to 9 p.m.), we recognized that it was a busy Friday night following a recent Washington Post review. We were in no hurry, so we sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed a good meal.

Congratulations on a generally strong review by Tom Sietsema, Mr. Seth. (And it looks like my visit to Grapeseed was quite different from Tom's multiple visits.)

Welcome, Joyce! Thanks for the tip on the crab wonton; I'll be sure to get it on my next visit.

I visited Straits of Malaya for the first time on 3/9/06 after a show at the 9:30 Club, and had a near-perfect experience. My girlfriend and I got to Straits around 9:40 p.m. and we were the only customers in the restaurant (barring the group of ladies paying their tab as we were being seated). We got the table in the bay window overlooking the street and observed what seemed like thousands of people at Lauriol Plaza eating competent but unremarkable Mexican food, and quietly took pity on them. The waiters were very pleasant and went out of their way to emphasize that they take a "team approach" to service, meaning that diners can ask any server for assistance as needed. They checked on us regularly, ensuring that the food was to our liking and that our water glasses were never low. They even brought us bonus iced coffee because, according to a waiter, they had "made extra." We ordered two appetizers and an entree. The "rojak" is a small salad of cucumber, pineapple, carrots, jicama, and crushed peanuts doused in a sweet brown sauce. It is very much akin to the achar salad at Malaysia Kopitiam, though smaller, not quite as good, and more expensive. That said, it was perfectly fine, and I would order it again. We also ordered the "acar," which, based on its name, should be the equivalent of Malaysia Kopitiam's achar salad, but is more like a Korean panchan in size and taste. The acar is a small bowl of pickled cucumbers, carrots and cabbage that have been sliced to a near-julienne state and submerged in a soy sauce that is more sweet than salty. The acar is served with shrimp chips, which are pastel-colored and have the consistency of enormous Rice Krispies. Interestingly, the shrimp chips make a satisfying "snap, crackle, pop," noise when you let them soak for a minute in the acar bowl. The acar suffered for its similarity to the rojak; next time, I'll order the rojak and skip the acar. Our entree was the curry Chinese eggplant with tofu. The restaurant advertises it as its "signature dish," and rightfully so. It was easily the best curry preparation I have had in a year. The dish, which came out hot enough that we had to let it sit for a few minutes, is served in a large bowl from which multiple diners can serve themselves. Fried tofu cubes, chunks of eggplant, and fingers of sweet potato swim in a brownish-yellow coconut-milk curry with a mound of moist rice in the middle, slowly absorbing the curry sauce. The eggplant was heavenly. It was soft, sweet, and given a slight kick by the curry. The sweet potato, a personal favorite, but a vegetable that suffers if prepared hurriedly, had been allowed to tenderize to the point that each piece had enough consistency to survive the chopstick journey, but then practically melted in my mouth. Divine. And the tofu serves as a sponge for the coconut milk, making each bite rich and satisfying. We ate until our stomachs hung out "No Vacancy" signs. This was my first visit, and I know that Don feels that Straits of Malaya is uneven, with good food dependent upon a particular cook being in the kitchen. But, based on my experience, that's a chance I'm just going to have to take, and soon.

Putting aside my dislike of sites that automatically start playing music when you go to them, the IndeBleu site does not allow me to navigate the menu. A couple of items appear, and then I cannot scroll down to see the rest of the list. So, as far as I know, they have three "first courses," two "second courses," and two entrees. And that just ain't right.

The shrimp dish was not universally well-received at my table (though it was not as polarizing as the squash tart). Not only am I in the camp of those who liked the shrimp tartare, I can honestly say that it may have been the best shrimp preparation I have ever had. I have never tasted anything comparable, with the caveat that I am usually ambivalent about shrimp, and never bother ordering it for myself at restaurants. The only thought I had about it as a course was that Chef Power may be better off slightly reducing the portion size. I found the dish to be rather rich and, separately, the unique flavor became overwhelming as I got to my last one or two forkfuls. The dish might also benefit from something else on the plate to offset the sweetness and richness. Pickled ginger, perhaps?

I wish to thank all of the management and staff at Corduroy as well as hillvalley, Barbara, and mdt (who went out of his way on my behalf). I specifically want to thank Chef Power for being flexible with my dinner and substituting chicken for the pork course and seared rare pepper-encrusted tuna for the venison course. (I don't dig on ungulates.) The tuna, in particular, was perfectly prepared: far more tender than chewy and brought alive by the assertive pepper crust. Memorable food and great company. It was a pleasure.

I believe that the relatively new Infusion in Tysons I mall (opened by the former owner of Connaught Place in Fairfax) has a buffet lunch. I've had dinner there twice and found it to be better-than-average Indian food. There is also a Neisha Thai in Tysons I. The Lebanese Taverna in Tysons II mall has a take-out area, so you can call ahead and pick your food up quickly. For happy hour, the Clyde's at the intersection of Route 7 and Route 123 has a packed house (and is open until at least midnight, I believe).

I'm a Courthouse kid, so I will sometimes saunter up to Ireland's Four Courts and order the "Salmon Killybeggs," which is a baked salmon filet in a buttery, flaky pastry dough, served in a rich red pepper coulis. I try and mitigate the damage by ordering steamed vegetables as my side, but then I order a side of the parsley cream sauce to dip the vegetables in, and I start feeling all Woody Allen-esque and guilty, and have to order their peach and blueberry bread pudding to make myself feel better.

Thanks very much to Escoffier, Grover, and the staff of Han Sung Oak. And, of course, to Hillvalley, for coordinating logistics. I very much enjoyed meeting everyone. I don't think I need to comment on the food beyond what has already been said, other than to say that there was so much food that even after passing on the beef and pork dishes I was still happily full by meal's end.

Thanks for the information! But, man, I could cry. I've worked in Old Town since 2003 and didn't know about this.

I work a few blocks from Eve, and I had no idea they had any lunch specials. What is the $13.50 deal? I can't believe that it includes two alcoholic beverages (which I would forgo), an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. That would be like giving the food away.

I have advised my brother to take a first date to Lima on Saturday night. I did so because (1) it's supposed to be a beautiful space, (2) the online menu looks very, very good (if a bit strangely structured), and (3) its recency will hopefully indicate to his date that he is an aware diner and not a regular at Applebee's. That said, I have not yet eaten there, and I am curious if anyone has firsthand knowledge of its atmosphere and/or food.

Daily Grill in Tysons II has a private room, though I don't know how big it is. Foxfire Grill (intersection of Braddock and 236, not too far from Bailey's Crossroads) is an outstanding local restaurant that can likely accommodate you. I have never seen Layalina packed, though the Syrian fare may not be for everyone. Caribbean Breeze in Ballston is another restaurant with lots of space normally. Minh's, in Clarendon, normally has tons of open tables, and while it's a Vietnamese restaurant, anyone who likes Chinese can eat there.Good luck, and let us know what you do.

In a perfect world, Malaysian would be the new Thai. If everyone considered the truism that cuisine is largely a product of geography, and that Malaysian food is thus heavily influenced by Thai and Chinese cooking with significant, but less assertive, Indian cuisine influences, they might decide that Malaysia Kopitiam is worth trying. And if everyone in the D.C. area ate at Malaysia Kopitiam a couple of times, Malaysian restaurants might start springing up in equal numbers to Thai restaurants. Malaysia Kopitiam is where I head when I am downtown and want to grab a fast, inexpensive dinner with a buddy or by myself. It is not a first- or second-date restaurant. It is not a business-lunch restaurant. And it is probably not a restaurant one can get his or her parents to try, as "Malaysian" to them probably sounds as alien as "Martian." One enters the restaurant by going down a few stairs. The dining room is divided into two main dining areas, but the restaurant is still not much bigger than one's family's basement rec room. The wood paneling, worn carpet, kitschy decoration, two-person mini-bar, and casual atmosphere evokes thoughts of a standard 1970s-era Chinese restaurant in New York City. The tables and booths were probably last replaced during the (first) Reagan administration. The menu is a place-mat-sized laminate, and the accompanying picture menu is bound in a black binder straight from Staples. But when one opens the binder, and actually sets eyes on pictures of the roughly 100 menu options, the surroundings become immaterial, and food becomes the focus. My most recent visit to Malaysia Kopitiam was with four other people. One had eaten there with me once before. The other three had never eaten there or any other Malaysian restaurant. I started out by ordering some safe appetizers for the table. Three orders of curry puffs (two to a plate) at $2.50 an order is a great way to start the meal. The curry puffs are close cousins to Indian samosa, the main differences being that they are not quite as large as standard samosa, and they are somewhat crescent-shaped, as opposed to the pyramid shape of most samosa. They are hot, doughy, and filled with curried potatoes and peas. I also ordered a round of roti canai. When one orders roti at an Indian restaurant, the expectation is that what will come out will be a baked whole wheat flatbread. At Malaysian restaurants, roti is a flatbread, but the similarity ends there. It is fried, flaky, and lush. An order of roti at Malaysia Kopitiam brings out warm flatbread, and ordering roti "canai" translates into a bowl of curried chicken accompanying the bread. While the chicken chunks floating in the curry tend to be tough and chewy, the "canai" is worth ordering because the curry itself is wonderfully spicy and rich. Any bit of the liquid that is not sopped up by the bread will almost certainly end up being used as a dip for an entree. I ordered achar salad for two of us to split. Achar salad is one of those dishes that suffers from an off-putting description on menus, but wins one over when it materializes. The achar salad at Malaysia Kopitiam is described as "pickled pineapple, jicama, carrot, cucumber, [and] cabbage in a spicy, sweet & sour sauce top[ped] with peanuts and sesame seed." The salad comes out in canoe-shaped bowl, and it is just big enough for two people to share. The dish never strikes me as spicy, and the sharpness of the components' pickling gives way to the sweetness of the salad's sauce. The salad is covered in a generous serving of crushed peanuts and sesame seeds. This is one of those dishes in which individual flavors give way to the whole, and it is so satisfying that leaving a bite is not an option. Though there were five of us at the table, we ordered only three of the entree options. Two people ordered the black pepper chicken, one person ordered the assam sambal shrimp, and two of us split the curry gluten. The black pepper chicken is a "safe" dish, a simple stir-fry of vegetables and chicken (of a far better quality than that used in the canai curry sauce) in a pepper sauce. It is not far removed from its cousin on a million Chinese menus, and its preparation at Malaysia Kopitiam is competent, if not adventurous. The assam sambal shrimp plate produces a number of thick, well-cooked shrimp stir-fried with red peppers and onions in a spicy and sour sauce. I did not try the dish, though the person who ordered it enjoyed it. The curry gluten is a unique dish, mixing stir-fried chunks of super-chewy gluten, soft, pillowy tofu triangles, and green and red bell peppers in a creamy yellow curry that is sweet with just a hint of spiciness. The gluten is an acquired taste (or, more accurately, texture); most diners will leave the chewy gluten aside and concentrate on the tofu. I find the gluten to have such an interesting mouth-feel that I keep grabbing chunks of it with my chopsticks despite my appreciation of the flavorful, curry-soaked tofu. We cleaned the plate, with the last of the still-warm curry serving as a dip for the last few remaining pieces of roti. Malaysia Kopitiam deserves its perpetual placement in the Washingtonian Top 100 Cheat Eats. All of the aforementioned food for five people, plus three sodas, came to a total of $90.00, and that includes tax and a restaurant-added gratuity, plus our rounding up to an even number. Five appreciative diners walked out of the restaurant happily chatting about our meal and ready to spread the Malaysian gospel to our friends.

Welcome to the group, DJ Dredd! And thanks for that great New Year's Eve dinner.

I'm sorry the service wasn't everything it should have been, Daniel, but I'm glad you liked the salmon and tempura-roasted banana as much as I did!

Grapeseed takes the crown for Restaurant Week. I hit Acadiana, IndeBleu, Poste, and Zengo during D.C.'s Restaurant Week, but my dinner last night at Grapeseed during Bethesda's Restaurant Week easily matched any of my D.C. Restaurant Week experiences. None of my party of four had ever been to Grapeseed. I was happy to find out after being seated that the restaurant's Restaurant Week menu consisted of their entire menu, with upcharges for the filet mignon, scallops, and lobster entrees. Other than those exceptions, it was open season on the menu. I have included the whole menu below. (I shot the restaurant an e-mail yesterday asking for the menu in advance of the dinner, but they did not get back to me until today.) Interestingly, because the menu is divided, somewhat untraditionally, into Beginnings, Middles, Ends, and "Extras" (desserts), Grapeseed is allowing diners some flexibility for Restaurant Week. One can choose an End (entree) and two other dishes from anywhere else on the menu. That's right. You can get two Beginnings and an Entree and skip dessert if you so choose. (But I do NOT recommend skipping dessert. I was still thinking about my dessert on my run this morning, and my thoughts were on the lines of, "So worth it.") If you've not been to Grapeseed, I'll briefly describe it. The restaurant is a narrow space and was, apparently, a garage at some point, as the front of the restaurant is a (well-disguised) garage door. The atmosphere is California wine bar, with blond wood bars and tables and wine bottles lining the bar wall. There is a u-shaped bar near the entrance and a second, small bar overlooking the kitchen in back. The bread that started the meal was soft, white and so ordinary-looking that I normally would have passed. But the tomato-garlic oil that it is served with is so flavorful (and absorbed so well by the bread) that I ended up having two pieces. All of us ordered different appetizers. My date ordered the stuffed piquillo pepper, which is a breaded red pepper stuffed with goat cheese and fried. It is served on a small plate surrounded by two or three sauces and/or tapenades. I did not try the pepper, but the sauces surrounding it, including one that seemed to be a tomato spread, were great. One of my dining companions ordered the field greens salad with sherry vinaigrette. I did not try it, and its presentation was not particularly evocative, but he did finish every leaf, so I assume it was a classic done well. The steamed mussels appetizer ordered by one of my dining companions looked outstanding, with a number of mussels bathed in an appealing cream-colored broth presented in a big bowl. I ordered the Hawaiian-style ahi tuna, and it was the best appetizer I have had in recent memory. Presented on a long, rectangular plate, a clutch of diced, grilled pineapple occupies the left side of the dish, while rectangular layers of not-too-thinly-sliced raw tuna are presented (once again) in a perfect rectangle spread across the plate like a deck of cards spread across a table. Hidden under the generous portion of tuna was a small, sesame-seed laced pile of seaweed salad, and a sweet soy sauce drizzled over the whole plate brought all the flavors together. I left not a bite on the plate. The four of us diverged once again in ordering our entrees. My date ordered the vegetarian offering, a fairly complex dish that was well-received, though not perfect. I believe my date, who accompanied me to each of the DC Restaurant Week outings, and lacks no sophistication in dining out, was a wee bit confused by the dish, and I was not far behind her. The menu lists a "smoked potato tart" as the main course. What comes out is a pale white disc, maybe a bit smaller than a CD, that looks like an English tea biscuit and is covered with a thick layer of what my date thought was sour cream. Nothing about the presentation would make one think of a potato dish, but the flavor was distinctly that of a potato, though it was just shy of being overwhelmed by the thick cream layered on top. The roast tomato jam laid atop the cream was a good addition to the tart and enlivened the flavor. I thought the tempura shiitakes, two big, fresh mushrooms fried in a light batter, were outstanding, but my date thought they were a bit greasy. The well-prepared sautéed spinach disappeared quickly. One of my dining companions ordered the catfish entree, and that was, by far, the most interesting presentation of the entrees. The catfish does not make an appearance on the plate; it is ensconced within a pastry-like shell, along with its Creole sauce and the "dirty rice" listed on the menu. It was fascinating to watch my friend break open the shell, and she had nothing but good things to say about the fish's flavor. Someone had to try the red meat, and one of my dining companions did so with pleasure. The filet mignon is an enormous chunk of meat, and I was skeptical of how well something so thick could be cooked, but my friend said it was cooked just as he wanted it, and backed his words up by absolutely cleaning his plate (and then wondering aloud about whether he could get away with sopping the sauce and juices up with a piece of bread). The filet was ordered medium but, despite my friend's utter satisfaction, I thought it looked a bit too pink to qualify as medium. I inadvertently granted myself the biggest indulgence of the year so far by ordering the salmon. Let me preface the description of the entree by noting that the kitchen was flexible enough to skip the bacon aspect of the dish upon my request. The salmon is brought out in a medium-sized, hot-to-the-touch iron skillet. The half-dozen or so clams swimming alongside the salmon filet were fine, though I am no connoisseur of clams. The aforementioned indulgence came in the form of what the salmon and clams were swimming in: an absolute pool of rich yellow butter sauce. The buttery sauce seeped into the salmon and potato cubes, making what would have been a very good unsauced entree almost hedonistic. And a flaky triangle-shaped pastry (strangely labeled as a "cracker" on the menu) sopped up the butter sauce and melted in my mouth. After a brief respite, we faced our last course. The table got one pumpkin crème brulée, one "Chocolate Marquis," and two of the tempura-roasted banana. The pumpkin crème brulée was good, but not great. The texture was a bit thin, and the flavor emphasized spiciness over the pumpkin's natural sweetness. The Chocolate Marquis consisted of two rectangular slices of what looked like a creamy fudge covered with stripes of a dark chocolate sauce and some scattered pistachios. "Rich" would be a descriptive understatement. One of my dining companions said that he may have gained a pound from his one forkful. It was a chocolate lover's dream, but is likely too much for one person to handle if he or she is less than a chocolate addict. The best of the bunch was the tempura-roasted banana. As described by our server, the kitchen takes bananas that have been made into the consistency of custard or pudding, freezes them, cuts them into cubes, and deep fries them in a tempura batter. What comes out is a large cube of near-caramelized bananas held together by a thin layer of tempura, with a subtly-flavored scoop of key lime ice cream slowly melting from heat emanating from the plate's star. The graham crumbs are a presentation-oriented afterthought that can barely be tasted in the mix of other flavors. Perfection is achieved in the caramel sauce covering the plate in a thin layer. This is not store-bought, cloying, thick, gooey caramel. This is a blond-colored, thin, sweet caramel that forces one to smile when it is tasted. There was no debate; the tempura-roasted banana put its menu-mates to shame. In light of the fact that Grapeseed is, first and foremost, a wine bar, I will mention in closing that my party ordered a bottle of pinot noir. I drove, so I have no idea how the wine tasted, but I can say that it was expertly presented and appreciatively consumed by my dinner companions. As promised above, here is Grapeseed's Restaurant Week menu: Thank you for joining us for Restaurant Week. From January 23rd through 29th Guests dining at Grapeseed can enjoy a 3 course dinner for $30.06. Our entire menu is available However, there is a slight surcharge for some of the entrees. Due the nature of this promotion we will not be able to split plates or make substitutions. If you do not wish to take advantage of this special, everything is available a la carte for the listed price. Beginnings Fricassee of Wild Mushrooms 6 Sherry Vinegar & Truffled Polenta Steamed Mussels 8 Smoked Bacon, Apples & Rosemary Lobster Potstickers 12 Dashi Broth "Shaking Beef" 10 Filet Mignon & Daikon Salad Cornmeal Fried Oysters 5.50 Bacon Beurre Blanc Stuffed Piquillo Pepper 6 Goat Cheese & Roast Tomato Vinaigrette Hawaiian Style Ahi Poke 10 Wakame Seaweed Salad, Grilled Pineapple & Ponzu Middles Grilled Romaine Salad with Orange-Cumin Dressing, Peppadews & Cotija Cheese 8 Pipe Dreams Goat Cheese Mousse with Hazelnuts, Sun Dried Tomatoes & Basil Oil 8 Field Green Salad with House Sherry Vinaigrette 6 Celeriac Soup with Toasted Pepitas 8 Sides Horseradish Mashed Potatoes 4 Creamed Organic Greens 5 Cheddar Mac and Cheese 5 Ends Grilled Lobster & Shrimp Skewer 32 ($6 supplement for restaurant week special) Black Bean--Fruit Salad & Caribbean Jerk Sauce Sautéed Atlantic Salmon 26 Creamy Leeks, Bacon, Mushrooms, Manila Clams & Dill--Sea Salt Cracker Roasted Duck Breast 25 Israeli Couscous, Pistachios, Pickled Carrots, Sweet and Sour Pearl Onions, Sherry Gastrique Smoked Potato Tart & Tempura Shiitakes 22 Sautéed Spinach, Roast Tomato Jam & Truffle Vinaigrette Pan Roasted Filet Mignon 32 ($6 supplement for restaurant week special) Horseradish Mashed Potatoes & Oxtail-Mushroom Ragoí»t Braised Pork Shank 24 Cheddar Grits, Chipotle Barbeque Sauce & Chilies Rajas Creole Style Catfish 22 Crispy Catfish, Dirty Rice, Shrimp Remoulade & Creole Sauce Spice Crusted Day Boat Scallops 32 ($6 supplement for restaurant week special) Sunchoke Puree, Shitake Salad & Cilantro Salt Seared Rare Tuna 26 Potato & Ricotta Croquette, Paprika-Tomato Sauce & Baby Arugula Extras Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding 8 Homemade pepita ice cream and salted caramel Chocolate Marquis 8 Thick, chocolate terrine with crème anglaise & pistachios Chilled Lemongrass Soup 8 Coconut Custard Pumpkin Crème Brulée 8 Creamy pumpkin custard served with brandy crisps Warm Apple Crisp 8 Homemade vanilla ice cream Tempura Roasted Banana 8 Homemade key lime ice cream, graham crumbs & caramel sauce

This is an excerpt from an article in today's LA Times: "Upscale restaurants have noticed a decided decrease in business. "It's been a tough beginning of the year," said Denis Sirieyf, maitre d' at La Colline, a French restaurant located two blocks from Senate office buildings. Sirieyf, whose restaurant specializes in dishes such as sauteed calf's liver with fricasseed apples, said he checked with half a dozen other restaurants near Capitol Hill to see if they were having the same experience. 'They were not busy at all … I think [the lobbying scandal] will have a big impact.'" Nadya, has there been a perceptible impact on the power lunch crowd at Bistro Bis due to the Abramoff scandal?

I head to Malaysia Kopitiam for stellar, cheap food. Their menu is huge, the cooking is good, and everything's cheap. I order the roti canai, which is a thick, buttery, flaky flatbread served with a chicken curry stew as a dip, and the achar salad, which has a bunch of pickled veggies and some pineapple tossed in a sweet sauce and covered with crushed peanuts. Two appetizers, $7.50 in total, and I'm usually satisfied. If not, I can order two samosa for another $2.50!

I stopped in there for coffee and dessert prior to seeing the Raveonettes at the Black Cat a few months ago, and I had a fried banana that was pretty darn good. I concede that it's hard to screw up the frying of fruit, but I enjoyed it, and I appreciated that the bartender gave me coffee from their private stash. According to one of the servers, they don't offer coffee on the menu; they just keep some brewing in back to keep the staff caffeinated. I just looked at their menu online, and I don't see the desserts on there. I hope they haven't done away with them!

I've been there a couple of times, but I've never had anything other than water. It's in the site that used to house Cafe New Delhi, next to the Post Office on Highland. It's dimly lit, and the interior is reminiscent of New Orleans-goth (which, of course, is different from Skinny Puppy goth), but it's comfortable and not at all pretentious. It's rarely crowded on weekdays. Now that Don has pioneered actual meal-consumption at Eleventh, I guess the Arlingtonians among us should follow suit!

I'm trying David Craig Bethesda out on Thursday night (1/26/06) as part of Bethesda's Restaurant Week. Six of us are having dinner at 8 p.m. I'll make sure to post about the experience afterwards.

Sietsema's up with his review of Acadiana. It's mixed; based on his description, I'm surprised he gave it two stars.