Review #1 - Requin

[DonRocks]

This will be a list of restaurants that will be turned into a poll. After the list has been completed, we will vote on the poll, and the restaurant who gets the most votes will be reviewed with my best effort. This is not going to be an "annual thing," or a "monthly thing"; it's most likely going to be a "weekly thing," but let's see how we do on this first go-round.
 
Since it takes members who have written 10 posts to suggest a restaurant (the same ones who have access to our Dining Guide), I'm going to ask as many members as possible with 10 posts to suggest a restaurant they'd like to have reviewed. If it doesn't make it the first time, I'm certain that diligence will pay off in very short order.
 
Let it begin, and please participate. I'm taking quite a risk by doing this, and I need your help in return. I don't care if it's high-end dining or fast-food - there's room for everything. Although we're going to be voting on *restaurants*, there's no reason you can't at least mention individual dishes in your post (I will take note).
 
Thank you to our participating members for all you've done for this wonderful community.

Let's start of with the DC area (within a one-hour drive), and we can slowly spread it out in the future.
 
Cheers,
Rocks
 
PS - Once a restaurant has already been suggested in this thread, it is going to be on the poll (in alphabetical order) - there's no need to repeat a restaurant that has already been named. It's the voting in the polls that will determine who gets reviewed; this is merely to come up with the candidates in the first poll.
 
And don't think I haven't thought about member-based restaurant rewards: dcdining.com "Best Of" restaurants in a multitude of categories.

I'm also thinking - whichever restaurants don't "win" the poll, will automatically roll onto the next poll, so people don't need to keep nominating them over-and-over. After each review, feel free to nominate one additional restaurant as well, so basically, "the more you play, the better your chances of winning."

[weezy]

Looks like I'm the first one here.   Hope that's a good sign.

Okay, I'll start with a local small chain in a handful NoVa neighborhoods: Thai by Thai. There's one near me and I've found it a very nice fast casual place for Thai.

[JSnake]

Mamma's Kitchen. Whenever we know we want to grab a leisurely family lunch or dinner but don't know where, we inevitably end up at Mamma's. Nice cozy neighborhood joint where everyone knows everyone.

[Josh]

Boundary Road. A venerable neighborhood restaurant that has hosted the President, is in a quickly changing part of the city, and now has a new talented chef who is a member of our community.

[reedm]

I nominate Requin. It's technically a pop-up, but I suspect it will be around much longer than a "traditional" pop-up (if there is such a thing).

[JBag57]

Might be a little on the expensive side for this endeavor, but I nominate Nonna's Kitchen, Will Artley's new home (since this past November).

[DonRocks]

[i'm going to be closing off the nominations soon, and beginning the poll, hopefully tomorrow. Again, it's no great tragedy if you miss the first poll, because I think all restaurants will automatically roll over into subsequent polls (unless someone can give me a reason why they shouldn't).]

[Simon]

Since, apparently, I won't be able to send you to Tokyo -

Chettinadu Indian Cuisine in Rockville: neighborhood place reportedly serving excellent, authentic Chettinad cooking, but with spotty service - is it worth a visit?

[Kanishka]

The Atlas Room.  It was once one of the best on H St.  I haven't been in almost three years and the last activity on its thread here is over a year old.  Still as good as ever?

[DaRiv18]

Makoto. Once a highly relevant restaurant, chef-driven with no empire, now passed on to the next generation as Japanese cuisine flourishes in DC with Seki, Capitol Sushi and Sushi Ogawa, Daikaya, Sushi Taro, and the impending arrival of a new Nobu.

[B.A.R.]

Sushi Kappo Kawasaki

[DonRocks]

Which of these restaurants do you want to see reviewed? Remember that it's no big deal if your restaurants don't win, since they'll simply roll over into the next poll.

Poll will close on Wednesday at Noon.

[Ericandblueboy]

I voted for Requin. Carroll worked with Rippert at Le Bernadine. She also appeared on Top Chef. Yet her restaurant in Philly never got much praise. And her pop-up's menu just doesn't appeal to me. So I'm curious to see if I'm missing out or not.

[Deac]

I voted for Requin. Carroll worked with Rippert at Le Bernadine. She also appeared on Top Chef. Yet her restaurant in Philly never got much praise. And her pop-up's menu just doesn't appeal to me. So I'm curious to see if I'm missing out or not.

We ate at 10 Arts in Philadelphia right after her first Top Chef stint (not All Stars) and had a fantastic meal. She came to the table and was as nice as can be. The restaurant was like West End Grill here in that Ripert licensed his name to a Ritz Carlton restaurant.

[DonRocks]

Requin