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Washington Post Best Bets


Kanishka

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Maybe this is how Mie N Yu really earned that RAMMY...

The Georgetown Restaurant That's Flush With Romantic Possibilities

Mie N Yu restaurant in Georgetown has an impressive list of accolades: Favorite Restaurant of the Year at the 2005 Rammys, Best First Date Spot in the 2006 AOL City's Best Awards, and a decor award in 2004 from the International Interior Design Association. Now Details magazine says Mie N Yu has one of the best public bathrooms in the country for . . . a quickie....

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Good Lord. P.F. Changes as best Chinese. All credibility is lost. Assuming that there was any credibility to begin with.

ETA: Magianno's as best Italian.

apparently I'm not alone in my revulsion...at least Full Kee and Eat First were there (albeit down the list)....PF Chang's? Phuleeze..the restaurant that places potstickers in a bowl of soy sauce and says that most Americans don't like whole steamed fish?
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apparently I'm not alone in my revulsion...at least Full Kee and Eat First were there (albeit down the list)....PF Chang's? Phuleeze..the restaurant that places potstickers in a bowl of soy sauce and says that most Americans don't like whole steamed fish?

The problem was the limited number of choices to vote for in the first place. I certainly didn't vote for Chang's, but considering the multitude of good Chinese restaruants in the area, the choices available was pathetic. I would not have considered any of them to be close to the best Chinese available.

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And why are they allowed to vote for these? To wit:

Best BBQ (1st Place): Red Hot & Blue

Best Chinese Restaurant (1st Place): PF Chang's

Best Burger (2nd Place): Fuddrucker's

Best Coffeeshop (1st Place): Starbucks

Best Ice Cream: Dolcezza (nee Isee Icy) isn't even on the fricking list, yet Cold Stone is 1st, Ben and Jerry's is on there as is Baskin-Robbins, which I didn't even know still existed.

Best Italian (1st Place): Maggiano's. I said to myself that if Buca di Beppo is on the list, I'm going to do something bad. Sure enough, Buca di Beppo is on there. Haven't figured out what bad thing to do as I am still in shock.

Best New Restaurant (1st Place): Coastal Flats

Best Steaks: 2nd place went to Ruth's Chris which to me is one step above Ponderosa, 5th place went to Outback Steakhouse which beat out The Palm. Enough said.

If this was already discussed, I apologize.

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On the other hand, it is hard to argue with the top results in the Best Steaks category...Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck.

It is wrong to gloat, I know, I know, but nothing can hide my disdain for the malignancy of the corporate restaurant world.

The fact that Ruth's Chris got number 2 is almost as disturbing as the the fact that Ray's came in on top is delightful.

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The fact that Ruth's Chris got number 2 is almost as disturbing as the the fact that Ray's came in on top is delightful.

Divide number of votes by number of seats in DC area, and Ruth's Chris actually comes in last. Plus many restaurants employ internet marketing firms to rig the results of these "contests" as well as Zagat ratings.

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Let's remember that this is a popularity contest and not a measure of the quality of food. Just because half the city hasn't heard of Greenberry's DOESN'T mean that Starbucks has better coffee.

Of course, there are thankfully instances where a product's quality leads to its popularity - hence the occassional sensical result.

Congrats to Tallula, Ray's, and any of our other community members who got a deserved number one spot!

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Divide number of votes by number of seats in DC area, and Ruth's Chris actually comes in last. Plus many restaurants employ internet marketing firms to rig the results of these "contests" as well as Zagat ratings.
Michael does it the old fashioned (honest) way. When you get your check at Ray's, you also get a little card asking for your vote. Apparantly, his customers are sufficiently pleased with his service and food that they are motivated to respond. There's a big surprise.
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Credibility?! What are you people talking about? These are reader based awards, right? These results should not surprise anyone on this board. :)

I'd like to take a moment away from my yawning about the Readers Choice awards by noting that most of the poor fuckers who voted for this thing probably wouldn't know what good barbecue was if you covered them in spices, threw them in a smoky sauna for half the day and then stabbed them with a fork. Same goes for just about every other category.

Oh, and I'd also like to say how nice it is to see that Chuck E Cheese's beat those pantywaists at "The Arts League" as best place to take kids.

Oh, and a big shout out to all my peeps at Starbucks! Hey, Sparky, Dweebie and Big Mabel! You all rule! Congrats on pulling out another big one! Woo Hoo! And no, I don't take "cream" in my coffee! LOL LOL!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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In order to keep from imploding yearly, I prefer to think of this process as one of dazed beltway commuters saying "Wow, everyone likes Barnes and Noble, too! What is this Politics and Prose? I shall check it out..."

I'm a little frightened of the "Most Romantic" going to the Inn at Little Washington. I'll admit that the sort of cash outlay (credit, in my instance) required is akin to the romance of "for you, my love, I'll cut off my ear," but there is little romance in getting dressed up, eating and drinking so much that you become angry at the waiters doing this to you, waddling back to your quaint bed and breakfast, and then collapsing in your clothes on the very bed that earlier you had made all sorts of lascivious premonitions about. It marks a certain sense of comfortability in the relationship regarding flatulence and bloating and a cheese cow that moos, for which I am forever grateful... but for romance you're better off sneaking a picnic into Dumbarton Oaks.

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Cold Stone Creamery - best ice cream!? Charbucks - best coffee shop?! It all comes down to numbers and having the most shops. How can one pull a decent shot of espresso when all they do is push the button and leave the rest to the machine. You totally take the artist out of the process. The same goes with gelato, or for that matter, anything you do. So, list or no list, we are spinning small batches of artisanal gelato & sorbetto everyday in our Wisconsin Ave shop. For any of you who haven't stopped by yet, we are full swing in summer fruit season - Yellow Peach, White Peach Prosecco, Formosa Plum, Shiro Plum, Red Watermelon, Yellow Watermelon with Grappa, Cantaloupe, Blackberry, Blueberry with Lemon Thyme, Blueberry, Raspberry, Lemon with Basil, Lime with Cilantro, the occasional batch of Corn gelato and I have been eyeing the heirloom tomatoes that Mark has at TOIGO...stay tuned

All of these fruits are coming from local farms - TOIGO ORCHARDS & WESTMORELAND BERRY FARM for the most part.

Also - FREE AFFOGATO - http://www.gelato-ology.blogspot.com/

- los dolcezzcitos

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For any of you who haven't stopped by yet, we are full swing in summer fruit season - Yellow Peach, White Peach Prosecco, Formosa Plum, Shiro Plum, Red Watermelon, Yellow Watermelon with Grappa, Cantaloupe, Blackberry, Blueberry with Lemon Thyme, Blueberry, Raspberry, Lemon with Basil, Lime with Cilantro, the occasional batch of Corn gelato and I have been eyeing the heirloom tomatoes that Mark has at TOIGO...stay tuned

My fiancee and I stopped by on Saturday and had the White Peach Prosecco.... I think that's my most favorite flavor EVER. Good call on that. Plus I am really, really, really addicted to the dulce de leche churros.

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Best Steaks: 2nd place went to Ruth's Chris which to me is one step above Ponderosa, 5th place went to Outback Steakhouse which beat out The Palm. Enough said.
Admittedly, I've never been to any of the Ruth's Chris locations around DC, but the one in my hometown (Mobile, AL) is actually an exceptionally good restaurant, easily on par with Charlie Palmer's, Sam & Harry's, and The Prime Rib (Have not yet made it out to Ray's). The owners did a lot to impart some local touches and other things, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that one shouldn't automatically assume a place isn't up to par just because it has locations in multiple cities.
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Admittedly, I've never been to any of the Ruth's Chris locations around DC, but the one in my hometown (Mobile, AL) is actually an exceptionally good restaurant, easily on par with Charlie Palmer's, Sam & Harry's, and The Prime Rib (Have not yet made it out to Ray's). The owners did a lot to impart some local touches and other things, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that one shouldn't automatically assume a place isn't up to par just because it has locations in multiple cities.

I think the reason people assume Ruth's Chris isn't up to par is that they've had the misfortune to eat in one. Same goes triple for Outback.

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I think the reason people assume Ruth's Chris isn't up to par is that they've had the misfortune to eat in one. Same goes triple for Outback.
Er, ok. Like I said, I don't know, maybe the ones around here are terrible.

Outback isn't actually a serious restaurant, at least to me. I mean, have you heard their commercials? For the whole "Beer & Bloomin Onions" niche that nothing else really fills, it's not bad in my opinion. But it's not a real steakhouse, it shouldn't even be in this category. That's one of the big problems with this Best Bets idea - they're mixing apples, oranges, plums, and the kitchen sink.

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I've eaten in plenty of Ruth's Chris (not sure if that's a good thing or not) and I will admit that the quality varies from location to location. I can honestly tell you from experience that the Ruth's Chris in Dupont Circle (numerous visits related to work, and not-work, over 12 years) is a rip-off at best. The Ruth's Chris in Philadelphia was pretty decent, as is the one in Chicago. Can't recommend Ruth's Chris here at all, though.

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Just a rant, but an amusing one.

BEST STEAKS: Ray's The Steaks

Okay, soooo, people have heard about this Ray's The Steaks place? Because we've been worried that the owner hadn't yet jackhammered it's existence into our subconscious yet. Good, good. Maybe, you know, the beatings will stop. If you want good steaks without the attendant melodrama, drive another half mile up the road from Ray's and discover the Boulevard Woodgrill, which didn't make the list because not enough asshats eat there.

I have a mental image of Michael (wearing a suit nonetheless!) holding up a jackhammer with one arm while in the other hand is a riding crop. It's really a disturbing image.

Didn't agree with a few of the comments, but almost all of them were funny. By the end I was having trouble holding in the giggles since I'm at work :-)

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If you want good steaks without the attendant melodrama, drive another half mile up the road from Ray's and discover the Boulevard Woodgrill, which didn't make the list because not enough asshats eat there.

You have got to be kidding, right?

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