Bellingham: Dashi Noodle Bar

My husband just started working around the corner from Dashi Noodle Bar so we tried it last week. He usually brings leftovers to the office so the delicious hot, homemade, fresh noodles and broth were a real treat. We had one dish with the mushroom broth, whole wheat ramen (made there) and tofu. With the pickled vegetables (esp the daikon and jalapenos), cilantro and lime this was a great lunch. The other dish (you select your combinations) had the meat broth, chicken and regular ramen. Also very good, nourishing, and filling. In our opinion, the quality of the food, unusual ingredients and unique walk-up, neighborhood vibe make Dashi an acceptable value for a terrific lunch...but not an everyday habit.

arenosa in Pacific Northwest

Recs for Group Dinner in DuPont or Georgetown area

Hi, Take a look at my post about Vento. (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/785360) You can check out their website to see the menu. If your group will stick with the pastas or appetizer combos it can be fairly reasonable.

I also organized a successful group meal at Bistro DuCoin (http://www.bistrotducoin.com/). Ask for a separate room.

arenosa in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

Vento

Hi Elyssa, Last week we (a party of four foodies) finally tried Vento mostly based on Siroc's reputation and, frankly, we needed a place convenient to DuPont. I'd been skeptical based on Vento's website and the press. The place sounded mostly slick. But we were delighted with our meal. Almost everything we had was nicely seasoned, cooked properly and made us of interesting combinations of flavors, without being over-the-top. Our salads were fresh and interesting, especially the arugula with blackberries. (I would avoid the white bean salad though...bland.) The pastas all had the great texture one expects from homemade. I had a superb seafood combination over handcut spaghetti and the gnocchi and tagliatelle both got rave reviews. My husband had the osso bucco and I managed to get a bite. Very nice! The wine list was good for mid-range bottles with a decent variety. Beer lovers will be disappointed. And don't expect the server to be knowledgeable about the origin of the restaurant's seafood - or whether it is one of the species considered OK to eat. But those are fairly minor complaints. We felt like we'd made a nice discovery and would recommend Vento for special occasions without hesitation.

arenosa in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

Thanksgiving at a restaurant, with a big group - where to go?

As much as I love to cook, I can not handle having my whole family to my house for the holiday. For one thing I don't have enough chairs. Even if I had chairs I don't have room for everyone to sit down. We are 13 when all assembled. And there is a wide range of tastes and tolerances in the bunch.

So I've proposed that we all go out. I was planning to reserve at Jaleo, which everybody loves, but all of Jose Andres' establishments will be closed. Second on my list, Nora...also closed. Starting to look like I'd better focus on places that are associated with hotels...a scary thought.

Hopefully one of my fellow hounds has had a great experience on the town on turkey day. Do tell!

PS One place that is open is Trummers on Main, out in Clinton VA. I'd never heard of it but found it mentioned in Washingtonian's 100 best list this year. Has anyone tried it?

arenosa in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

OBX experts.- Plz share recos for Ocracoke and Hatteras

Thanks! We'll stop on the way to the ferry.

arenosa in Southeast

OBX experts.- Plz share recos for Ocracoke and Hatteras

Kindly offer any advice you may have for foodies headed to Ocracoke next week. Restaurants, places to buy seafood off the boat, availability of decent groceries? Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

arenosa in Southeast

OBX experts. Plz share recos for Ocracoke

Dear All, We are going to make our first trip to Ocracoke this spring. Everyone in our group is very into food and we will rent a place with a kitchen.

Please advise on the following:
Recent dining experiences in Ocracoke
Opportunities to buy fresh seafood in Ocracoke. (Should we buy groceries in Hatteras?)
Places worth detouring for on our way down from the north (MD/DC). We will probably made the trip in two days.

Thanks for your advice.

arenosa in Southeast

Agave in Lewes

Last weekend we went to Lewes to visit empty beaches and the areas great parks and refuges...and to have some good food. The innkeeper at Blue Water House suggested we try Agave. We were surprised how busy it was at 4PM on Sunday (opens at 3PM) and the staff was clearly surprised too as they only had one waitperson on duty for the whole place. But we chilled out with some guacamole and beers. We ordered the soft tacos, which were very tasty. Good quality meat, properly cooked, with fresh vegetables and nice flavoring. The fish tacos (which I order everywhere as I am quite the "afishionado" were a little disappointing. For some reason, they fry the taco shell/tortilla to make it crispy and puffed. After eating this dish in many locales throughout the Americas, I can say with some authority that this treatment is neither authentic (not that it matters) but it also doesn't add anything except calories to the dish. And it makes it mighty messy to eat. Myself, I prefer a corn tortilla anyway. We wished we could have tried out the margaritas and tequilas! And some of the other dishes, including ones on the menu that were not available until 6PM, looked really good. Definitely worth a try if you are in the area.

arenosa in Mid-Atlantic

Eats near Plaza San Martin, Buenos Aires

We are at a conference in BsAs taking place at the Sheraton Hotel, across from Plaza San martin. The food at the conference is really bumming us out but we have no clue where to go to find Chowhound quality eats. We will try anything, but don't want a tourist joint. Any suggestions of places we can walk to..i.e a mile or less from the plaza?

Thank you! Could be the tip that saves the trip.

arenosa in South & Central America & the Caribbean

Anyone been eating in Golden, west of Denver?

I can not believe that Denver doesn't warrant its own board. Good grief folks there are good eats there, loads of tourists, and many conventions...so ought to be chowhounds galore looking for good food. I lived there for six years, before becoming a hound, and can say without a doubt the food scene was better than what I've been dealing with in DC.

At any rate, I will be back in the area next week and need to meet a friend west of downtown. Lakewood, Morrison, Golden? I remember a great Italian joint in Golden and a surprisingly good restaurant in a hotel on the main drag of Golden. And there were some excellent Asian places in the western burbs like Wheatridge.

Can you give me some current suggestions PLEASE?!

arenosa in Southwest

Providenciales (Turks & Caicos) recs?

So...what is your report on the places you tried? My entire family is headed to Provo in February for my father's 80th birthday. With 13 of us, we can't handle the really pricey places and the kiddo's wouldn't be welcome I suspect.

Has anyone tried cooks or caterers on Provo? Maybe our best bet for a festive meal that suits all ages is to have someone make it at the house where we are staying?

arenosa in South & Central America & the Caribbean

Passover-safe gourmet? Is it possible?

Dear fellow Chow-ers
Please save our family sanity, what there is of it. We need to have a 75th birthday celebration during Passover, in the Boston area. Does anyone know of a caterer, or wonderful take-out option that could satisfy chowhounds and religious observers alike? Thank you for your help!

arenosa in Greater Boston Area