This Week in DC Reviews - June 16, 2006 Archives

This Week in DC Reviews - June 16, 2006

This Week in DC Reviews is a roundup of reviews of DC-area restaurants, with quick links to DC-area restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

"The pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite."
-- Julia Child

For a Guide to restaurants in the DC area, see Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide. For a roundup of New York City restaurant reviews from NYC food bloggers and media, see This Week in NYC Reviews at A Guy In New York.

You Gonna Eat All That? says Belga Cafe "wasn't that bad but it did leave us feeling like there was still a lot of room for improvement." ... "the Halibut [was] smaller than the palm of my hand. And for the price, it was especially small." ... "the worst creme brulee I've ever had" ... "All in all the meal wasn't a disaster. We had a good time as always with B&L and most of the food was tasty. But the service and creme brulee really hurt the overall experience. And it was somewhat overpriced in my opinion. Would I go there again? Probably not on my own choosing." ... web site, 514 Eighth Street SE, 202-544-0100 [Tyler Cowen | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]

Rina Rapuano writes that at Arax Cafe "you can find traditional Armenian sandwiches, salads, snacks and pastries" ... 5852 N Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA, 703-532-3320 [Tyler Cowen | Washingtonian]

Corinna Lothar says the food at the new Tandoori Nights in Arlington "consists of fine, traditional Indian cooking." ... "Shrimps and prawns, which are slightly larger than the shrimps, turn out to be among the best dishes we sampled" ... "lamb in creamy spinach, mildly spiced and served with a bowl of rice, is another fine main course" ... but the "Tandoori chicken, a mainstay of any Indian restaurant with a tandoor oven, disappoints" ... web site, 2800 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA, 703/248-8333 [Yelp]

Alexandra Greeley recommends the desserts at Le Pigalle ... "what you will find are inspired French goodies that look picture-pretty and taste like they sprang from the ovens of a Parisian patisserie" ... 1527 17th Street NW, 202-332-6767 [WaPo]

Eve Zibart reports that Starland Cafe has "a new chef, Matthew Anderson [who] is gradually reworking the menu, keeping some old standards (crab-artichoke dip, parmesan-crusted fried mozzarella, burgers and mini-burgers) while incorporating more local fresh produce and two specials, a 'home style special' and a 'chef's daily offering.'" ... "roast half-chicken is very moist, and the pan juices blend into a tasty, light sauce; the skin could have been a little crisper, but it was very nearly there. And the fries, which come with the very tender onglet (hanger steak) as well as with burgers, are at least B-plus -- hot, tender and not greasy, and with an unusually long plate life." ... web site, 5125 MacArthur Blvd. NW, 202-244-9396 [Washingtonian | City Paper | openlist]

dcfud says the food at Iota Cafe "Surprisingly Doesn't Suck" ... the "prosciutto and gouda sandwich [was] great!" ... "Best were the fries on the side – incredibly crispy, and very well-seasoned: I noticed hints of pepper, garlic and perhaps even rye." ... web site, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, 703-522-8340 [WaPo | City Paper] ... and says the crepes at Snap "are absolutely heavenly: light, firm, and delicately sweet. I highly recommend the lemon curd filling with fresh strawberries" ... web site, 1062 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, 202-965-7627 [The Hoya | WaPo | City Paper]

Tom Sietsema gave 3 stars to 1789 ... new chef: "Nathan Beauchamp stepped into some big pumps in January when he replaced Ris Lacoste in the kitchen at 1789" ... web site, 1226 36th Street NW, 202-965-1789 [Tyler Cowen]

Le Cuvee Americain: The American Blend says Georgia Brown's "tries to be more down-home [than Vidalia] -- at least as down-home as one can be with $7 soups and mid-$20 entrees at lunch." ... had the shrimp and grits: "creamy and good and there was quite a nice serving of them (unlike Vidalia, where there were very few grits). Over the grits was ladled a stew with a half a dozen jumbo shrimp with the heads and tails still on" ... thought the sweet corn bread was odd for a southern restaurant: "That's a Yankee thing!" ... web site, 950 15th Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-393-4499. On the west side of the park, at the place where there appear to be two 15th Streets. [Tyler Cowen | Economist | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Yelp | Gayot] ... had the whole lobster at Odeon Cafe: "steamed and split accompanied by some linguine in a non-marina red sauce. They pulled the meat out of the claws back in the kitchen and split the lobster down the middle. The lobster was nice for the price ($16), but I thought the tail was just a touch overcooked and a tad bit tough." ... web site (Flash), 1714 Connecticut Avenue NW, 202-328-6228 [City Paper | food-plan] ... says Panevino in the Embassy Suites Hotel "wasn't bad for a hotel restaurant." ... web site, 1250 22nd Street NW, 202-223-0747 [openlist]