sheldman's Profile
Looking for a decent restaurant that isn't taking part in restaurant week
District Kitchen is a new restaurant in the Omni Shoreham neighborhood (Woodley Park), a very few minutes walk from the hotel, and it is excellent so far. If you want to stay in the neighborhood, go to District Kitchen or (somewhat higher end and very good) New Heights.
About to move to D.C. from Austin. Will need TexMex, Fajitas, and BBQ
I think you will be happier with the food in DC if you don't focus on looking for those things that you loved in Austin.
Of course I don't know you personally and don't know what makes you happy, I am just saying that there is not much Austin-like Tex-Mex, or Texas BBQ, in DC that will satisfy somebody who is homesick for Austin's best of those categories.
DC has other great things, though. It is very different from Austin in so many ways, including the food. There are many people who come here and say that they don't like it because it doesn't have the things they loved about where they came from (NY, Texas, California, etc.) That's fine, but it is not the path to enjoying life in DC.
What's the most expensive sandwich in DC?
Lobster burger at Central $32? If any sandwich can be worth that (and I think the answer is yes, again assuming that the eater is a very lucky prosperous person), this is.
What's the most expensive sandwich in DC?
$20 incl. tax and tip is what, $15 or $16 depending on your tip? I don't begrudge that to a very nice restaurant with huge overhead and good food, but maybe that means I'm too lucky or something.
Anyway, I have never been to BLT Steak, but googled it upon seeing your question, and they'll sell you a steak/foie sandwich for $28, and no sammich is below $16. Warning - the web site plays music that won't turn off. Lunch menu at http://www.bltsteak.com/PDF-DC/lunch-menu.pdf
Non-tourist eats
Grab a sandwich (to go) at Cowgirl Creamery cheese store, 919 F St NW. Mmmmmm.
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Cowgirl Creamery East
919 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004
Thanksgiving Dinner for Two Under $100 in DC
I notice on the website of Ardeo (in Cleveland Park) that they are doing a $45 per person 3-course T'giving dinner that looks nice. I mention this because I had a really extremely good dinner there tonight. http://ardeorestaurant.com/
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Ardeo - Bardeo
3311 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Washington DC Friday after Thanksgiving Museum and Meal
I don't know that you'll find any other museum in town with a really good restaurant in it. The National Gallery of Art (on the Mall) has a substantial cafeteria in it, and I've always been able to find something good to eat there over the years.
My best suggestion - depending of course on exactly what your grandsons are into - is the National Portrait Gallery/Museum of American Art. It's a totally great museum. There's a little cafeteria in the building, and a very nice internal courtyard with a glass roof where you can eat. But if I were you, I would hang out at the museum, then walk half a block to the Cowgirl Creamery cheese store and get a sandwich and a soda. The Building Museum isn't far from there (c. 4 blocks), and you could include that in your day too.
5 Days in DC. Where MUST I go eat?
Nothing mentioned so far, in my opinion, amounts to "fine dining," especially not in a "money is no object" sense.
Eatonville (mentioned above) is fun, though I would call it pretending-to-be-rural-Southern rather than "urban vibe."
The problem you may find is that you are trying to put together two incompatible things - "best/money is no object" and "I'm coming in a week and don't have reservations." I would suggest going through the Washingtonian magazine 100-best list (http://www.washingtonian.com/sections/restaurants/100best/index.html) and seeing which places (a) sound good to you and (b) you can get into on this little notice (through opentable.com or by calling).
I think that most "best DC has to offer"/"money is no object" people would probably steer you towards Komi, Cityzen, and a few others if you can get in.
farmers markets / seafood places
Georgetown Law (GULC): various buidlings centered around 2nd and F NW, see http://www.law.georgetown.edu/directions/
Farmer's market a few blocks away (8th and E) on Thursday afternoons for most of the year - http://freshfarmmarkets.org/markets/penn_quarter.html - there may be a closer one but I don't know of it.
If you're trying to pick among the law schools in DC based on quality of school and proximity to a farmer's market, it's a good choice.
Columbia Heights Delivery Options?
I have no idea whether they deliver, but Pho 14, a Vietnamese restaurant at 14-something Park, is a very nice place that has served me good food every time I've eaten there. Pho, other soup, banh mi, noodle dishes, etc.
local, freshly ground flour
This morning at Dupont he had wheatberries, as well as whole wheat and rye flour.
Just moved to Logan Circle and need tips!
I love Bar Pilar on 14th St. - mostly small plates, mostly simple in terms of not a zillion ingredients, but very well thought out and well cooked. And a good bar, and nice staff, and in general a very friendly place to eat and drink.
1st Anniversary - need knock out restaurant in DC
I recognize that I may be the only person who feels this way, since I see so many raves for Komi and haven't seen anybody else write that they feel as I do - but with that preface, I would not recommend Komi for a special occasion for most people. The reason is that, the two times I've been there, the vibe has been joyless. It is a long parade of extraordinarily well-cooked food, and if you're someone for whom that is the goal, then by all means go - but if you are looking for a sense of pleasure in the people working there, and a sense of some vibrant energy in the room, I would look elsewhere.
Lunch tomorrow near Capitol
Yes! I too am so glad to learn I'm not alone in believing that the Indian Museum cafeteria is bad. The building is awesome. But the cafeteria has been mind-blowingly crowded every time I've ever been - so crowded that it's really time-consuming and unpleasant - and the food has been lukewarm, expensive, and bland.
I had a perfectly good salad in the Rayburn (House Office Bldg) cafeteria yesterday.
Is Palena still good?
Palena is still fabulous.
If you want something else just to have something else, Dino is good.
Trouble finding good indian food
I really like Indian Ocean in Van Ness (DC). Not high-end like Rasika, but very pleasant place with fresh, well-spiced and carefully-prepared food.
Arisu - Korean/Japanese Restaurant in G-Town/Glover Park
Just went for the first time. I want to like it and will return. Nice (small, 2nd floor) interior. Friendly staff. Nearly empty at dinnertime. They say they are in "soft opening" still, after some weeks. Some things on the menu are scratched out, not available yet. What is available is mostly some small plates, a reasonable standard sushi menu, some bibimbap varieties, some noodle dishes, and a few other options. The agedashi tofu (if I spelled that first word right) was nice, the sushi perfectly fine, the bibimbap good but not noticeably better than a non-expert could have made after a trip to an appropriate grocery store. As I said at the outset, a good place and one I'll go back to, and will hope for more variety and flair after a few weeks. I think that it will be a place worth going to, and is worth trying now.
seafood store/market
I think that your best bet - which is not bad by any means, just not "local" and not cheap - is Whole Foods, of which the closest to Adams Morgan is not far, at P and 15th.
Favorite sit-down Vietnamese in DC/VA/MD?
Another vote for Minh's on Clarendon. Last I had heard, the Four Sisters was moving right about this week, so that may be in flux.
Local Boiled Peanuts, NOVA?
I agree. Unless you have time to drive to GA, FL or AL, I find that the best thing is to order raw peanuts from Whitley's and then boil boil boil. There's a good set of instructions in the Lee Bros cookbook - nothing hard about it, just requires thinking about it a day before you want to eat them.
DC with a dairy allergy: No Moo near the Zoo?
If you're staying near the zoo, and are eager to go to a Whole Foods, you may well be closer to the one on Wisconsin just south of Calvert. But yes, the area between the zoo and the P St store is completely "safe," except maybe late at night but that's true anywhere.
kid friendly near the mall
I ate at the Indian Museum cafe a couple of weeks ago, found it nearly awful, frankly. I had been before and had liked it. Part of the problem was that it was absurdly crowded and slow, but that was not all. Had a tamale and goat soup, both of which were nearly cold and bland. Tried a friend's bison chili, which was nearly cold and bland. Maybe I was just there at the exact wrong time, but I am certainly in no hurry to go back. Next time I need lunch on the mall I'll see how the food is at the National Gallery of Art these days.
Baked and Wired-Quiches and Savories
When I asked them the same question some years ago, they said that "wired" referred to a caffeine buzz - no wifi then, and as far as I know, no wifi now.
Sushi Taro
Very hard neighborhood for parking. I would definitely take the metro unless you have the best parking karma.
Marinated Tofu Banh Mi/"Tofu Hoagie"?
The best I have found is the not-listed-on-menu "#9" at one of the banh mi places in Eden Center - the one that is one or two doors to the left of the Four Sisters (i.e., just around the corner from it) and that is owned by the same folks. Song Que maybe?
banh mi in DC
Is this right? I tried to get one today, in a vietnamese place two doors south of Chinatown Express - the only vietnamese place I saw on the block - but they don't make banh mi, and the man told me that there used to be such a place but it shut down. But maybe I was within yards of banh mi and just missed it?!
Indian Ocean, Van Ness DC
Had a nice dinner at this new Indian restaurant at Connecticut & Van Ness, across from UDC.
Appetizers: tomato soup with nice smoky and cinnamon flavors, vegetarian mulligatawny soup with good hearty flavor, and sauteed calamari in a yogurt curry sauce. Entrees: Saag paneer and veggie pakora in a different curry sauce.
First, the food had very good flavors and textures. One difference, as compared to many other Indian restaurants, is the relative "lightness" of the food - they claim to use no butter or saturated fats and I believe this based on the taste and lightness of the dishes we ate. And, according to what we were told, things such as yogurt and paneer are made on-site. It was really all very good, and the atmosphere was very friendly and pleasant.
Website at indianoceandc.com
Anyway, based on one visit I will put this at the top of my list for unpretentious but very nice Indian restaurants in DC proper.
Take out in Adams Morgan
I have had perfectly good pan-Asian delivery food a couple of times lately, from Banana Leaves (at Fla. and Conn.). You can place your order online, mybananaleaves.com. I'm not saying it's awesome or authentic to any particular cuisine, but more than good enough to eat happily, in my experience.
I want to try Collards
Very good recipe in the Lee Bros cookbook for "sneaky" collards - "sneaky" in that they taste sort of hamhocky but are vegetarian. Here's the short version: Wash them well, as others have said. I don't worry at all about de-ribbing them - as long as you cook them for an hour or so, the ribs are fine. Simmer them in salty spicy water. That's the basics. Now the "sneaky" part is to add a couple of cups of puree of the following things that have all been charred under the broiler in a skillet: onions, tomatoes, garlic, with a good bit of paprika. Before adding that puree, take out a bunch of the water ("pot licker"), saving it for some other purpose. And keep cooking til soft.
July 2007 Cookbook of the Month: Cast Your Vote Here
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is, in my opinion, the one basic cookbook that no house should be without - better than New Basics, or Gourmet, or (for pete's sake) Joy of Cooking. It will tell you how to make the best pancakes, and the best cornbread, etc etc etc., as well as interesting things to do with vegetables. The pages are falling out of our copy, from many years' use.
