gks_eats_dc

Does Dino's Monday 'wine madness' still stretch into the night? I want to drink Valpolicella or Amarone tomorrow and Dino is a good place to do that, but can't until 9 or 10 pm...... [updated]--got my answer--lasts through the last seating

I knew the DC restaurant scene pretty well when I worked here 2 years ago and I've tried to keep up, but I'm sure I'm missing updates. I am back for the summer under pleasant circumstances: I can be invited to lunch just about daily! Two catches, though: lunch must be fairly close to Metro Center and the budget is $25 pp total (sadly that's not so easy to pull off at good restaurants downtown). Since I trust the folks at DR, I'd love to hear people's suggestions, which I'll use to amend my Google Map-enhanced list. Thanks!

2004 Two Hands Shiraz Angel's Share. Amazing wine so long as you don't mind them unrestrained! Rich and dark, nose of currants and berries, loads of ripe fruit. Give it a couple hours to open up. It's somewhere under $30 a bottle, and, I've just checked, received a 95 from Parker. I'm not sure it deserves quite such a high mark, but it's a remarkable shiraz, no question. I've got a case chillin' in the cellar.

I am heading off to Napa and Sonoma in August. I was wondering whether those of you who have been might recommend moderate-to-nice range hotels in Sonoma and Napa? Looking online, I can't get a sense of where places like Santa Rosa are relative to Sonoma, Healdsburg, etc. The most important aspects are cleanliness and reasonable location relative to the wineries...Advice? Thanks!

I'd agree that it's good, though never great. An interesting note about Lettuce Entertain You...As a Chicago boy, I was intrigued to discover that the company also owns Everest, Tru, and Ambria, easily 3 of the city's most acclaimed restaurants, as I'm sure some of you already know...

Had another nice meal at the CityZen Lounge tonight, no surprise there. The caponata is merely good, the carpaccio of hiramasa great, the fluke very nice, and the rabbit excellent. But I dare say my meal tonight was more exciting than most have experienced, even in the dining room... As we sat and I began sipping a glass of Aussie Riesling, I turned to my right and found standing beside me none other than..........LIONEL RICHIE! The Legend, Himself. We chatted, shared a bottle of noteworthy Burgundy, and got to know each other. Really a remarkable guy! Well, none of the hanging out happened, but he was there standing next to me, and that's as good as the peppermint patty dessert.

they definitely will email the menu (and wine by the glass list)...i've received it a few times...i'm dining there thursday

Interesting! And here I am just loving them.

For those of you who don't mind cooking them from home, I suggest some of the already-cooked Niman Ranch ribs from Trader Joe's. Man, those are some good ribs and they're just about effortless to prepare.

So besides duck and lamb, what's on the menu? Any good fish dishes? Anything reasonably interesting on the wine list?

Ya know, I looked it up and you're right, boisson is a feminine noun. Mea culpa. But that revelation is strange to me because...I'm a native French speaker. I'm still a little puzzled as to why I've heard "un boisson" my entire life. I have to spend the next few nights checking every word I (think I) know. Oh, and though this is unrelated, surely the DR.com will share in my enthusiasm: tomorrow night, I've got a date with 2 bottles each of Dominus and Insignia.

Une petite correction: Thrashe-moi un boisson. Non?

Glad to see people are chiming in about PP, and glad to see it's in the Weekly Dish-bet you he got the idea from my post. Unlike Tom, I've never gotten a free baguette there...Anyway, I only take exception to the description of the entrees described from the to-go case. They're not quite as good as in the restaurant, and the portions are certainly smaller (though they are priced down to about $12 or so) and that includes the bisques and soups. To my mind, the chicken is really the stand-out on the lower level, as well as the baguettes.

I searched and could not find in the archives of DR.com a Petits Plats thread (though, I apologize if it exists). Why so little discussion of this charming little restaurant? Perhaps one reason is location: Petits Plats is located at the end of the string of tourist trapping restaurants that dot the Adams Morgan red line stop. The vast majority of those places do indeed serve insipid food at inflated prices. "Come on, Zoo visitors, walk on in and eat this chicken we just got from Safeway." Yet, set inside a townhome with four cozy dining rooms, Petits Plats offers humble bistro dishes with honest preparation, worthy ingredients, and reasonable prices. My relationship with PP began not in the main restaurant, but in the take-out room of the lower floor. There I am accustomed to call about 20 minutes ahead so that I can be told, in an endearingly accented English, precisely when one of their fantastic roasted chickens will be freshly finished. Stuffed with some of their delicious baguette, crispy onions, garlic, and jus, this is a treat. Eventually I started eating at the restaurant. Sietsema's review of the place in 2000 described the quality as ranging from moderate to very good, but with inconsistensies. That's about right. I recently sampled a special appetizer of asparagus, which were overcooked and not particularly fresh, with smoked salmon, which was soft and not overly salty. The main dishes, though, are the winners at this place. Their grilled salmon is fresh and well cooked, served with a zesty sauce accented with capers. The cassoulet is also good, the duck confit and garlic sausage being the highlights in that deep pot. If you like veal cheeks, sample these, they're fork-tender and rich. A caveat: the entrees are anything but "petits." Some of them are almost offensively large (why, I wonder, serve about 3 cups of white beans with a cassoulet?!) The desserts are reliable; I especially enjoyed the TART lemon tart (sadly, the vanilla ice cream that flanked it was horribly frozen and tasteless). A word to Rockwellians low on cash: it is a secret known to frequenters of the take-out room that those desserts are all available to-go for $4 (rather than $7 or 8). Indeed, on a recent visit, the tray on which a waiter graciously presented some fruit tarts was suspiciously familiar...The wine list is simple, though there is a reserve list with expensive French wines. At this place, I'll stick with the regular list. A safe bet is the 2004 Girard Sancerre, which costs around $35 (and retails at $18). Service is enthusiastic and friendly. The staff has a feel for locals vs. tourists, and one can observe some differences in their approach as they make that discovery. That's good and bad. On whole, a nice neighborhood place worth noting.

I finally got a chance to try Kotobuki. I think the liliputian quality of the place is charming...my old studio in Dupont may have been bigger than the dining room, actually. Service-wise, I agree with the above, it's nothing special, but the service is friendly enough and correct. The sushi ranged from good to very good. Since I had a vegetarian with me, I couldn't escape ordering vegetable rolls, which are unexciting. My personal favorites, though, were the uni, which really had a delightful play between the creamy texture and the mildly bitter flavor, and the scallop. I'd recommend this place to anyone who is serious about sushi and is afraid to break the bank. It reminded me of some of the joints in San Fran I used to frequent. Oh, and I am glad to report that all windows are now intact!

Had dinner at the Dupont restaurant tonight. Surprisingly, not a long wait. I really enjoyed the antipasto platter, the prosciutto in particular. Also had the tuna/white bean salad, which is better, to my mind, than its too-salty and too-cold counterpart at 2 Amys. The pizza was basil/mushroom/onion with a delightfully fluffy crust. The basil was fresh and fragrant, though the onions were not up to their usual sweetness. I know it's up for debate around DC whether 2 Amys or Paradiso takes the crown. But I think lately the dough at Paradiso is more flavorful, and it's always well drizzled with olive oil to add depth to the last few bites. They've also got a good Lambic on the specials menu right now; but serious beer drinkers ought rather to trek to G-town.

I very much like meat falling off the bone. My dining companion for the evening, however, doesn't. In fact, she doesn't eat meat. And yet here we are, almost 7 pm, and I don't want to cook dinner... Does the cafe menu at Palena currently have any vegetarian offerings other than salad?? If it does, we're on our way.

Hoping that this is the appropriate thread...even though the previous comment is 6 months old... At any rate, this is my last spring in DC for a little bit, and I've not yet been out to eat crab in Maryland. Can anyone recommend the best places within reasonable driving distance? Soft shell, blue, whatever, I like it all and I'd like to eat the best and freshest. Thanks!

A Saturday night meal at Corduroy rose to new levels. Lentil soup, foie gras, lobster salad, halibut, scallops, creme brulee...Lengthy posting on the DCFR blog for those who would like details (http://dcfoodreview.blogspot.com/) I can't wait to see the kinds of seasonal ingredients the summer will bring to that menu.

Waitman, I think that's a little unfair. First, DR.com should be a forum where people who are enthusiastic about dining out can freely and politely discuss their experiences, good or bad. I wouldn't say I took "a shot" at Palena--am I suggesting that anyone not eat there on account of my experience; wasn't I even offering Palena a compliment when I said I wouldn't expect this sort of thing there? Second, anytime a waiter's behavior causes diners discomfort, even after the diners use whatever they can (eg, tone of voice) to let the waiter know to modify his or her method a bit, that constitutes, to my mind, something obnoxious. Do you not agree? I said it "wasn't a big deal" simply because I'm not about to stop eating at Palena just because of an incident like this, which is in the grand scheme relatively minor. I don't think I needed to wait to be told, "Order more and raise your tab!" before thinking the service wasn't as casual as it should have been...

I'd like to believe that, but I've had many meals at many restaurants in my life--even many meals at Palena--and this was just a little too much. The appetizer-salad-wine combo was a little more than a polite check that we haven't forgotten what else we might like to eat. It's not a huge deal, I guess, but it just shouldn't happen at Palena. By the by, the chicken was unavailable tonight. [edited for mhberk's sake]

In all fairness, I'd say Palena service is usually correct, though not terrific. I think we've discussed the issue on this thread before. But there is one waiter in particular, I won't single the person out, but this waiter has just never been a very engaging ambassador for the restaurant.

Had lunch at Corduroy, which I've not done before. By 1:30, the room is mostly empty, but that's fine by me. I loved my spring rolls and tuna nicoise. In fact, the tuna nicoise comes with the same seared tuna one would receive at dinner, beautifully cooked with a pepper crust. I hear they've currently got a pheasant special going...anyone try it?

Quick dinner at Palena tonight. Second one this week...a friend is in town. Transcript follows: Us: We'll have the "steak and eggs, please" Waiter: Any appetizers? Us: No thanks. Waiter: Would you like to share a salad? Us: No, we're fine. Waiter: Any wine? Us: No. ---during the meal--- Waiter: Can I get you any wine or beverage? --- Does this seem right? It was totally obnoxious. Sometimes I want 4 dishes from the Cafe, sometimes I want one. Just let it go. In contrast to lunch at Corduroy, where Ferhat gave insanely kind service with a free ice cream at the end...

Ate at the Cafe last night. Indeed, the bread is better. I found it to be more firm, less dry, and wheat...Besides bread, we had the Cafe Salad and the penne. The lamb meatballs are tender and full of flavor. The penne is fine. Incidentally, watching the crowd at the bar last night overflow into the dining room, I began to think that restaurants should pay more mind to the problem of traffic. The layout of a place should aim to minimize the discomfort of both the diner and the person waiting for a table. A couple weeks ago, I ate at 2 Amys, and the problem there is notorious: rows at the bar about 5 people thick, all spilling into the dining areas. It's not really a pleasant way to enjoy a meal, is it?