3128 M Street
Washington DC 2000
202 338 3830
There are three choices for French bistros on the West side. White House pastry chefs seem to be leading the charge to the Potomac Heights (aka Palisades) neighborhood. First there was Patrick Musel of Praline (Little Falls Mall). Now we have Michael Cornu of Et Voila on MacArthur Blvd. Praline is a better bakery than it is a restaurant - an expensive bakery and Et Voila seems awash in mussel dishes. Thus Bistro Francais gets the nod because the new guys haven’t deposed the king.
Bistro Francais has been doing business in the same spot for 35 years. The menu is good and varied and they feature a three course fixed price offering for lunch and dinner; $20 for lunch and $25 for dinner. You can’t beat those prices in Georgetown. Chicken and steak dishes are always reliable. They also do Brunch on Sunday; arguably the best Eggs Benedict in the area.
You can also dine with vampires and other night owls at the Bistro. They serve a full menu until 3AM on weekdays and later on the weekends. If you like to eat at odd hours this is your spot. Eating early or late also gets you early and late bird specials. And at those hours parking shouldn’t be a problem.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Dubliner
520 North Capitol St
Wash DC 20001
202 737 3773
My Aunt Marge used to say that drink was the curse of the Irish race. Indeed, some Celt or Gael may have invented whiskey; although “aqua vita” has been with us since at least Roman times. The problem with Irishmen is not that they drink, but they don’t hold it well. At high tide, an Irish pub is loud; loud live music and louder patrons. On Jenkins Hill, the volume is magnified because many of the patrons are lawyers, lobbyists and/or politicians - a veritable trifecta of menace. An Irishman full of himself and just half full of whiskey is an accident waiting to happen. Think of Ted or Patrick Kennedy or Chris Dodd if you’re fond of stereotypes
The Irish just recently emerged out from under the British thumb. Barely - they still drive on the wrong side of the road. After five hundred years of oppression, they are more than a little sensitive about all things Irish. In this respect, they are not unlike African Americans. Sad lovers and happy warriors is the way my aunt would put it. Maureen Dowd might come to mind. Hell hath no fury like an Irish spinster.
Stoked with three fingers of hard stuff, most Irishmen don’t care what side of an argument they’re on, as long as it ends in a fight. He or she might forget anything, except a grudge. Indeed, the motto of our most infamous Irish American political family is; “Don’t get angry, get even.” The bottom line is that you might not want to be in an Irish saloon after the sun goes down.
Having said this let me recommend the Dubliner on Capitol Hill in the off hours. I’m not sure there is a thing called Irish cuisine because in most Irish joints, the main event is not food. Here, the fare is good, not excellent, bar food; fish and Chips, shepherd’s pie, corned beef, twice baked potatoes and the like. I have friends who live in Moscow and when they visit go only to the Dubliner for the stuffed potatoes. The pub décor is very authentic, including the smell. The bar has an excellent selection of drawn beer and stout. When the crowds are small and the servers are young, attentive and polite; if you like pubs, this should do. Union Station is just across the plaza; not a bad place to walk it off.
Wash DC 20001
202 737 3773
My Aunt Marge used to say that drink was the curse of the Irish race. Indeed, some Celt or Gael may have invented whiskey; although “aqua vita” has been with us since at least Roman times. The problem with Irishmen is not that they drink, but they don’t hold it well. At high tide, an Irish pub is loud; loud live music and louder patrons. On Jenkins Hill, the volume is magnified because many of the patrons are lawyers, lobbyists and/or politicians - a veritable trifecta of menace. An Irishman full of himself and just half full of whiskey is an accident waiting to happen. Think of Ted or Patrick Kennedy or Chris Dodd if you’re fond of stereotypes
The Irish just recently emerged out from under the British thumb. Barely - they still drive on the wrong side of the road. After five hundred years of oppression, they are more than a little sensitive about all things Irish. In this respect, they are not unlike African Americans. Sad lovers and happy warriors is the way my aunt would put it. Maureen Dowd might come to mind. Hell hath no fury like an Irish spinster.
Stoked with three fingers of hard stuff, most Irishmen don’t care what side of an argument they’re on, as long as it ends in a fight. He or she might forget anything, except a grudge. Indeed, the motto of our most infamous Irish American political family is; “Don’t get angry, get even.” The bottom line is that you might not want to be in an Irish saloon after the sun goes down.
Having said this let me recommend the Dubliner on Capitol Hill in the off hours. I’m not sure there is a thing called Irish cuisine because in most Irish joints, the main event is not food. Here, the fare is good, not excellent, bar food; fish and Chips, shepherd’s pie, corned beef, twice baked potatoes and the like. I have friends who live in Moscow and when they visit go only to the Dubliner for the stuffed potatoes. The pub décor is very authentic, including the smell. The bar has an excellent selection of drawn beer and stout. When the crowds are small and the servers are young, attentive and polite; if you like pubs, this should do. Union Station is just across the plaza; not a bad place to walk it off.
Martin's Tavern
1264 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
202 333 7370
Washington is a town without many traditions except maybe earmarks, kickbacks and paybacks. Indeed, as Mark Twain observed, it is home to our only “permanent class of criminals” - politicians. Martin’s is an institution in a town which doesn’t have many.
The corner of Wisconsin and N is also a good bar with a good restaurant attached. They must be doing something right; the Martin’s have been at it for the better part of a century or since the last Great Depression. On any given night in Georgetown, especially on Wisconsin Ave or M Street, five cafes might go belly up. Not Martin’s. They must own the building. Indeed, Billy Martin and his wife, the third generation of family inn keepers, might greet you at the door or at the bar.
This no fern bar. The décor is dark wood polished by generations of butts and elbows. The fare here is meat and potatoes; steaks, pork chops, lamb chops, liver, pot roast and meat loaf. There’s a hearty selection of sea food too; oysters three ways, crab cakes two ways, Brunswick and oyster stews and soft shell crabs. Martin’s is a comfortable place that serves comfort food – a place where a manly men court real women. Indeed, if you’re a romantic, ask for booth three; and you can dine with the ghosts of Jack and Jacqueline. The once and future prince of Camelot proposed to his girl at Martin’s.
Washington DC 20007
202 333 7370
Washington is a town without many traditions except maybe earmarks, kickbacks and paybacks. Indeed, as Mark Twain observed, it is home to our only “permanent class of criminals” - politicians. Martin’s is an institution in a town which doesn’t have many.
The corner of Wisconsin and N is also a good bar with a good restaurant attached. They must be doing something right; the Martin’s have been at it for the better part of a century or since the last Great Depression. On any given night in Georgetown, especially on Wisconsin Ave or M Street, five cafes might go belly up. Not Martin’s. They must own the building. Indeed, Billy Martin and his wife, the third generation of family inn keepers, might greet you at the door or at the bar.
This no fern bar. The décor is dark wood polished by generations of butts and elbows. The fare here is meat and potatoes; steaks, pork chops, lamb chops, liver, pot roast and meat loaf. There’s a hearty selection of sea food too; oysters three ways, crab cakes two ways, Brunswick and oyster stews and soft shell crabs. Martin’s is a comfortable place that serves comfort food – a place where a manly men court real women. Indeed, if you’re a romantic, ask for booth three; and you can dine with the ghosts of Jack and Jacqueline. The once and future prince of Camelot proposed to his girl at Martin’s.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
EATING IN THE HOOD
If we could exclude tourists, people come to Washington for three reasons; they work for government, they want something from government, or they wannabe one or the other. The District of Columbia is a one trick pony.
Without the Federal Government, DC is just another segregated southern backwater. Indeed, until recently the city, even with the Fed expanding, was losing population. The entire DC school system, 146 years after Emancipation, is still largely segregated; black children at public schools and whites at private schools. And we can’t blame the line separating the races on white bigotry anymore; a black President sends his kids to out of state or private schools. The ‘great divide’ in DC is still black and white, but within these, there are several culinary clusters with unique charms.
Capitol Hill – Eastern Market on the weekends isn’t a bad bet for a crab cake or street crepes. Yet in general, Hill restaurants are mediocre. Then there is the clientele; apparatchiks, politicians, lobbyists, wannabes and their staffs. Anyone who thinks they’re somebody in Washington has a “staff’ or “assistants”. As a group, these folks run from pretentious to obnoxious. Harry Truman hit the mark when he said; “If you’re looking for a friend here, get a dog.” The Hill is not a great hangout.
Downtown - Define this neighborhood as the K Street/ Pennsylvania Street corridor from Georgetown to Chinatown. This is the high rent district, a magnet for lobby and law firms. There are many restaurants along these fabled boulevards where you can eat well and still pay too much for too little; and they throw in a dollop of attitude for free. With few exceptions (the Bread Line and Jaleo), downtown is not the place to look for value or urban charm. Like Manhattan, it is not a place to be looking for a parking spot either.
Georgetown - This former tobacco port is the aging grand dame of DC neighborhoods, a kind of Camelot Left lost. The inhabitants are mostly wealthy white liberals living behind very expensive shuttered colonial facades. Think Maureen Dowd and Sally Quinn. Most of the street people are tourists, students, window shoppers and a few dangerous deadbeats. Georgetown is a great place for a stroll - in the daylight. It is not a great place to drive or park. This is the only neighborhood in the city that declined to have a Metro stop. You may deduce whatever, including stupidity, from this one piece of local history.
Georgetown is still a good place to cruise for food and there is a good spectrum of values. Ground zero is the intersection of Wisconsin and M Streets, NW. Every other building on all four vectors of this compass contains an eatery of some sort. Best bet for visitors or newcomers is to take the Metro to Roslyn, Virginia and walk across Key Bridge. In the process you get good views of the Potomac, some exercise, avoid traffic and avoid the parking stress.
Adams Morgan – The junction of Columbia and 18th Streets NW is the cool or hip nexus of DC – or so residents would have you believe. This area would include Florida and U Street over to Howard University. The flavor of this neighborhood is mostly Latin but not Spanish; more like Mexican, Caribbean, or Central American. This is an important distinction.
If countries were kitchens, Spain and Portugal would get five stars. They have the best pig, the best olive oil, the best cheese, the best bread and arguably the best seafood in Europe. Spanish regional variety is diverse enough to be Oriental. Unfortunately, this great cooking tradition did not travel to the Americas, with the possible exceptions of Brazil and Argentina.
The derivative cuisine at most ‘Hispanic’ restaurants looks and tastes like road kill on a plate; overcooked mystery meat, beans, rice and plantains often covered with melted cheese; in short, heaping plates of unsightly, undifferentiated and tasteless puree.
To appreciate this you have to understand that no Spaniards, Portuguese, Brazilians or Argentines refer to themselves as Hispanics. This term was invented by well intentioned American nitwits to describe their less prosperous former colonies. The biggest culinary offenders are so called ‘Mexican’ restaurants. There may be a noble Mexican cuisine, but that menu has yet to swim the Rio Grande. In short, there are several good Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian and Argentine restaurants in the area but for the most part, they are not ‘Hispanic,’ nor are they located in Adams Morgan.
DuPont Circle - If Adams Morgan, is Soho then DuPont Circle, at the junction of Connecticut and P Streets NW, is Boho. Like Georgetown and Adams Morgan, the street scene often gets a little dicey when the street lights come on. If you’re not wearing a watch, carrying a purse or driving a car; the neighborhood is no worse than Wisconsin and M. Indeed, picture Georgetown without the tourists and a similar concentration of cafes. For food, the Circle has a spectrum of choices, many of them good. For convenience, the Metro takes you precisely to the middle of the bull’s eye and all the action.
The Burbs – Many of the best value restaurants in the area are located in the suburbs of Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland; the Alexandria, Bethesda and Silver Spring neighborhoods come to mind. All have concentrations of good restaurants and they are all served by Metro.
Without the Federal Government, DC is just another segregated southern backwater. Indeed, until recently the city, even with the Fed expanding, was losing population. The entire DC school system, 146 years after Emancipation, is still largely segregated; black children at public schools and whites at private schools. And we can’t blame the line separating the races on white bigotry anymore; a black President sends his kids to out of state or private schools. The ‘great divide’ in DC is still black and white, but within these, there are several culinary clusters with unique charms.
Capitol Hill – Eastern Market on the weekends isn’t a bad bet for a crab cake or street crepes. Yet in general, Hill restaurants are mediocre. Then there is the clientele; apparatchiks, politicians, lobbyists, wannabes and their staffs. Anyone who thinks they’re somebody in Washington has a “staff’ or “assistants”. As a group, these folks run from pretentious to obnoxious. Harry Truman hit the mark when he said; “If you’re looking for a friend here, get a dog.” The Hill is not a great hangout.
Downtown - Define this neighborhood as the K Street/ Pennsylvania Street corridor from Georgetown to Chinatown. This is the high rent district, a magnet for lobby and law firms. There are many restaurants along these fabled boulevards where you can eat well and still pay too much for too little; and they throw in a dollop of attitude for free. With few exceptions (the Bread Line and Jaleo), downtown is not the place to look for value or urban charm. Like Manhattan, it is not a place to be looking for a parking spot either.
Georgetown - This former tobacco port is the aging grand dame of DC neighborhoods, a kind of Camelot Left lost. The inhabitants are mostly wealthy white liberals living behind very expensive shuttered colonial facades. Think Maureen Dowd and Sally Quinn. Most of the street people are tourists, students, window shoppers and a few dangerous deadbeats. Georgetown is a great place for a stroll - in the daylight. It is not a great place to drive or park. This is the only neighborhood in the city that declined to have a Metro stop. You may deduce whatever, including stupidity, from this one piece of local history.
Georgetown is still a good place to cruise for food and there is a good spectrum of values. Ground zero is the intersection of Wisconsin and M Streets, NW. Every other building on all four vectors of this compass contains an eatery of some sort. Best bet for visitors or newcomers is to take the Metro to Roslyn, Virginia and walk across Key Bridge. In the process you get good views of the Potomac, some exercise, avoid traffic and avoid the parking stress.
Adams Morgan – The junction of Columbia and 18th Streets NW is the cool or hip nexus of DC – or so residents would have you believe. This area would include Florida and U Street over to Howard University. The flavor of this neighborhood is mostly Latin but not Spanish; more like Mexican, Caribbean, or Central American. This is an important distinction.
If countries were kitchens, Spain and Portugal would get five stars. They have the best pig, the best olive oil, the best cheese, the best bread and arguably the best seafood in Europe. Spanish regional variety is diverse enough to be Oriental. Unfortunately, this great cooking tradition did not travel to the Americas, with the possible exceptions of Brazil and Argentina.
The derivative cuisine at most ‘Hispanic’ restaurants looks and tastes like road kill on a plate; overcooked mystery meat, beans, rice and plantains often covered with melted cheese; in short, heaping plates of unsightly, undifferentiated and tasteless puree.
To appreciate this you have to understand that no Spaniards, Portuguese, Brazilians or Argentines refer to themselves as Hispanics. This term was invented by well intentioned American nitwits to describe their less prosperous former colonies. The biggest culinary offenders are so called ‘Mexican’ restaurants. There may be a noble Mexican cuisine, but that menu has yet to swim the Rio Grande. In short, there are several good Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian and Argentine restaurants in the area but for the most part, they are not ‘Hispanic,’ nor are they located in Adams Morgan.
DuPont Circle - If Adams Morgan, is Soho then DuPont Circle, at the junction of Connecticut and P Streets NW, is Boho. Like Georgetown and Adams Morgan, the street scene often gets a little dicey when the street lights come on. If you’re not wearing a watch, carrying a purse or driving a car; the neighborhood is no worse than Wisconsin and M. Indeed, picture Georgetown without the tourists and a similar concentration of cafes. For food, the Circle has a spectrum of choices, many of them good. For convenience, the Metro takes you precisely to the middle of the bull’s eye and all the action.
The Burbs – Many of the best value restaurants in the area are located in the suburbs of Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland; the Alexandria, Bethesda and Silver Spring neighborhoods come to mind. All have concentrations of good restaurants and they are all served by Metro.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
2 Amys
3715 Macomb St NW
Washington DC 20016
202 885 5700
Pizza has been given a bad reputation by chain restaurants. Properly prepared, pizza is actually a healthy meal; carbs, dairy, tomatoes and whatever. 2 Amys at the junction of Wisconsin and Macomb does it right - with a wood fired oven. The spread on traditional pizza goes from $8 to $13; those with exotic toppings are a few dollars more.
They also serve a variety of small dishes including frittatas, bruschetta, and various croquettes. Their salads are fresh and generous; they even serve rapini. Meat and cheese plates are also available. If you have a pizza at Amys, you might take all those chain delivery joints off you speed dial.
At high tide, 2 Amys is a busy and noisy place. There’s plenty of parking at the public lot behind Amys just off 38th Street.
A good second choice for a wood smoked pie is Pizzeria Paradiso at two locations; M Street in Georgetown and P Street at Dupont Circle. Parking is a pain at both venues.
Washington DC 20016
202 885 5700
Pizza has been given a bad reputation by chain restaurants. Properly prepared, pizza is actually a healthy meal; carbs, dairy, tomatoes and whatever. 2 Amys at the junction of Wisconsin and Macomb does it right - with a wood fired oven. The spread on traditional pizza goes from $8 to $13; those with exotic toppings are a few dollars more.
They also serve a variety of small dishes including frittatas, bruschetta, and various croquettes. Their salads are fresh and generous; they even serve rapini. Meat and cheese plates are also available. If you have a pizza at Amys, you might take all those chain delivery joints off you speed dial.
At high tide, 2 Amys is a busy and noisy place. There’s plenty of parking at the public lot behind Amys just off 38th Street.
A good second choice for a wood smoked pie is Pizzeria Paradiso at two locations; M Street in Georgetown and P Street at Dupont Circle. Parking is a pain at both venues.
JUDGING RESTAURANTS
If we can believe what we read in the local fish wrap, the next Great Depression may be upon us. Now more than ever, some familiarity with the notion of ‘value’ seems prudent. For our purpose, there are three maybe four criteria for restaurants; good to excellent food, good service and good prices. A fourth criteria would be convenience, no access or parking hassles.
For me, the meaning of ‘good food’ isn’t complicated. If a café can not make a dish as good as or better than I can make at home, they flunk. For those of you that don’t cook, your tongue is your guide. If your usual meal is junk food, good luck!
Good service is a little more complicated than bringing the food or clearing dishes. If there’s no hello or welcome and just a “what can I get you?” - that’s a problem. If the assembled dinners, male and female, are collectively addressed as “you guys,” - that’s a problem. If a female server uses the word “like” as a hyphen before every verb - that’s a problem. If the menu contains obnoxious admonitions like; “no sharing” or “no substitutions,” - that’s a problem. If the maitre or server’s attitude is larger than their IQ - that’s a problem. The ‘K Street’ restaurant attitude here in Washington is probably a direct import from Paris or New York.
A Four Seasons anecdote should cover the price and parking criteria. We met another couple for a very average dinner in Boston recently. When I picked a domestic wine at $50 a pop, the wine guy (aka smellier) sniffed; “that’s not a choice I would make”. His choice was $150. The final bill was well north of $500, but they saved the best for last. When we got to the concierge, there was a $25 “fee” to retrieve our car. We had a similar experience here at Citronelle.
There is no question that you can get a good meal at Mortons, the Prime Rib, Nora’s or Georgia brown’s – or at any of the pricier places on the Hill, on K Street or in Georgetown. However, many of these are expense account joints or places to be seen. They are many things, but not good values.
Just to underline the value idea, let’s do a little arithmetic. If you ate out at cafes other than junk food restaurants, three meals a day, and limited yourself to approximately $200 per day (a lowball by today’s standards) including friends; your food bill for a year would be $75,000. This is twice the annual salary for an average American. Such a sum also represents a Mercedes, a modest boat or a down payment on a house. Enough perspective?
For me, the meaning of ‘good food’ isn’t complicated. If a café can not make a dish as good as or better than I can make at home, they flunk. For those of you that don’t cook, your tongue is your guide. If your usual meal is junk food, good luck!
Good service is a little more complicated than bringing the food or clearing dishes. If there’s no hello or welcome and just a “what can I get you?” - that’s a problem. If the assembled dinners, male and female, are collectively addressed as “you guys,” - that’s a problem. If a female server uses the word “like” as a hyphen before every verb - that’s a problem. If the menu contains obnoxious admonitions like; “no sharing” or “no substitutions,” - that’s a problem. If the maitre or server’s attitude is larger than their IQ - that’s a problem. The ‘K Street’ restaurant attitude here in Washington is probably a direct import from Paris or New York.
A Four Seasons anecdote should cover the price and parking criteria. We met another couple for a very average dinner in Boston recently. When I picked a domestic wine at $50 a pop, the wine guy (aka smellier) sniffed; “that’s not a choice I would make”. His choice was $150. The final bill was well north of $500, but they saved the best for last. When we got to the concierge, there was a $25 “fee” to retrieve our car. We had a similar experience here at Citronelle.
There is no question that you can get a good meal at Mortons, the Prime Rib, Nora’s or Georgia brown’s – or at any of the pricier places on the Hill, on K Street or in Georgetown. However, many of these are expense account joints or places to be seen. They are many things, but not good values.
Just to underline the value idea, let’s do a little arithmetic. If you ate out at cafes other than junk food restaurants, three meals a day, and limited yourself to approximately $200 per day (a lowball by today’s standards) including friends; your food bill for a year would be $75,000. This is twice the annual salary for an average American. Such a sum also represents a Mercedes, a modest boat or a down payment on a house. Enough perspective?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Mark's Duck
703 532 2125
The name is not very Chinese but the food is as authentically Cantonese as you will find outside of
There are two specialties here; roast duck and dim sum. Indeed, you can have an entire roast duck to go for $18.50. In most grocers you can not buy a raw duck for that price.
The dim sum covers the Southern Chinese spectrum. They serve it every day (not at night) but the selections reach mind boggling variety on Saturday and Sunday. The best way to prepare for a dim sum feast is to troll through their excellent web site in advance, pick out what you like, and when you get to Mark’s just tell your server and she will bring it directly rather than waiting for the trolleys to make the circuit.
This is one of four Oriental restaurants in my list. Are you detecting a pattern? From a health and value perspective, there is no better food. Compared to European or Latin restaurants, the variety at a good Oriental spot is unequaled.
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