This Week in DC Reviews - March 10, 2006 Archives
This Week in DC Reviews - March 10, 2006
Periodically, we will publish This Week in DC Reviews, 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.
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.
- Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide is being put into blog format ...
- dcfud says "the best place drinking in DC" is The Brickskeller ... "the pub/restaurant (whith a heavy emphasis on pub) up on 22nd that holds the Guinness world record for most beers. And it's a great place to go when you want to have several very good and very large beers." ... web site, 1523 22nd Street NW, 202-293-1885 [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist]
- The Rock Creek Rambler has 10 pointers for proper Bar Etiquette ... "2. Don't walk into a bar, order one drink, and put it on your credit card. If you can't afford to carry enough cash to pay for one drink, you should be sitting at home with a bottle of Old English, not going out to bars." ... "4. Are you ordering a drink that ends with "bomb"? Go back to Virginia or Georgetown. Now." ...
- Alex MacLennan had his socks knocked off by the "sunnyside farms wagyu cheeseburger" at Sonoma: "one of the best burgers I’ve ever had" ... but warns that in "three times in just over a month [the menu] changed each time. Trust the servers’ suggestions–while some classics seem consistent (the burger, a velvety gnocchi, the pizzas), cheese and meat options rotate" ... "the snake river farms wagyu sonoma steak [is] a good-sized slab of steak, grilled to the crisp edge of char, deeply juicy inside, and smartly hit with just enough spice to enliven the experience" ... "real magic lies with Sonoma’s linguine carbonara, a meltingly warm, velvety combination of soft pasta, juicy curls of bacon (cured for 7 days), and grated grana padano cheese" ... web site, 223 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, 202-544-8088 [WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell]
- Worth the Trip highlights "braised beef BBQ ribs with slow-cooked collard greens and baked mac-n-cheese" at Del Merei Grille ... web site, 3106 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA, 703-739-4335 [WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell]
- D.C. Foodies finally made it to Ray's the Steaks ... "each dinner at Ray's the Steaks was been wonderful! I definitely ate some of the best steaks I've ever had in this area, and they were far better than Morton's or Ruth Chris" ... the "tenderloin with mushroom brandy cream sauce [melted] in my mouth with every bite" ... "enjoyed the hanger steak the most. Honestly, you won't find a better steak for $20. Please go and order this medium rare with nothing on it. You won't regret it" ... (previous review: A Blog Mainly About Food (TWIR, December 9, 2005)) ... 1725 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, 703-841-7297 [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]
- a capitol life reports that the menu at Colorado Kitchen "has been revamped" ... "ordered the 'pot luck.' For $20 you get a mystery meal. They'll make sure you don't have any food allergies but won't ask about specific types. No hints, nada. Then your meal comes with a lid on it and is unveiled for you to figure out." ... the surprise "quail stuffed with scallops [was] very good" ... (previous review: a capitol life (TWIR, March 3, 2006)) ... 5515 Colorado Avenue NW, 202-545-8280 [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Takoma Voice | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]
- Le Cuvee Americain: The American Blend is a regular at Thai Place ... "Not only do they have food which seems to be just as good as the more popular places, they have the extra advantage of being very inexpensive." ... "panang tofu was a huge serving of fried cubes of firm tofu and steamed brocoli florets in a panang curry sweetened with coconut milk; a big sprig of basil garnished the top of the food. I thought it quite tasty" ... web site, 2134 Pensylvania Avenue NW, 202-298-8204 [City Paper | Citysearch] ... and had dinner at Sala Thai ... the kee maoj "was very tasty, though the design necessitated eating the vegetables and tofu first and then the rice noodles last, and I would have preferred a slightly less sweet sauce." ... web site, 2016 P Street NW, 202-872-1144 [Washingtonian | WaPo | NYT | City Paper | openlist | Citysearch | Gayot]
- Suburban Tasteland is a regular at Kabob Palace, "a full-service restaurant about three doors down" from the original "small take-away with about a dozen tables" ... "Palace Combo #9 is king. It includes a skewer of kubideh, which are cylinders of ground lamb, liberally spiced and very juicy, and a skewer of lamb kebab, nicely charred on the outside, dusted with sumac, and tender and juicy inside. The meat comes with a small cup of their cold, refreshing herbed yogurt sauce" ... "we always share the combo so we can leave room for their amazing vegetable sides." ... "the star vegetable in our view is the okra do piaza, which may very well represent the most complex and delicious preparation of okra we have ever tasted" ... "The naan is among the best we’ve had. It’s always presented to us piping hot, doughy, and crispy in all the right places" ... web site, 2315 S. Eads Street, Arlington, VA, 703-486-3535 [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Citysearch] ... and enjoyed the "revelatory contribution to the canon of great breakfasts" at Leopold’s Kafe & Konditorei, "Kaiserschmarrn mit Zwetschgenroester. The menu helpfully translates this as a scrambled souffle with plum compote" ... "the souffle is more akin to a pancake/crepe hybrid. It’s almost as if two double-thick crepes have been pressed together, wonderfully crispy at the edges, and then light, fluffy and eggy along the interior. Each piece of souffle scramble is loaded with plump currants and dusted with powdered sugar" ... (previous review: D.C. Foodies (TWIR, January 6, 2006)) ... web site,web site, 3315 Cady's Alley NW, 202-965-6005 [food-plan | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell] ... and their favorite flavor of the Argentine gelato at Dolcezza is "Banana Split, [a] banana gelato with a swirl of dulce de leche [that] has the cleanest, most refreshingly natural banana flavor of any ice cream or gelato that I’ve ever had. And the inclusion of dulce de leche takes it from merely wonderful to heavenly." ... the "Mascarpone flavor is similarly ambrosial, the gelato equivalent of the lightest, airiest raspberry cheesecake" ... 1560 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 202-333-4646 [WaPo]
- Tom Sietsema gave 2 stars to Sette Bello ... "An easy way to order successfully is to focus on anything beginning with the letter "p" -- as in pasta, pizza and pesce (fish)" ... "Cavatelli tossed with broccoli rabe, crumbled sausage and pecorino cheese is a particular favorite of mine, but running a close second is spaghetti heaped with mussels and clams; the pasta retains some bite and gets a nice kick from some chili flakes." ... (previous reviews: Worth the Trip (TWIR, February 10, 2006), dcfud (TWIR, November 25, 2005), Tom Sietsema (TWIR, November 11, 2005)) ... web site, 3101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, 703-351-1004 [WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell]
- Patricia Grossman writes that The Gallery Restaurant offers "stunning entrees [and] desserts with such flair you’d think you were dining in a chic Buenos Aires hot-spot." ... "Skate al Ajillo (pan fried skate filet in garlic with lime topped with slices of New Mexico chile served with greens, $18) was worth every cent. ... Mild in taste, comparable to Dover sole, with a robust texture almost like lobster, that flaked like crab—this fish called skate competes with the ever-popular Chilean Sea bass." ... "Guava Cheesecake [sent} us into a dessert heaven." ... web site, 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD, 301-589-2555 [WaPo | City Paper]
Did we miss your favorite DC restaurant review?
Let us know: hobnobblog -at- gmail.com ... we're especially interested in hearing from DC bloggers ...
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March 10, 2006 10:07 AM Dining