2011 October

Celebrating ’20 Something’ at Pizzeria Paradiso

October 29, 2011 By Lori 2 Comments

When the invitation to a celebration of Pizzeria Paradiso‘s 20th anniversary for food writers/bloggers arrived in my inbox, I figured the event wasn’t for me. All I saw were the words “20 Something.” I’m out, I thought. Thankfully, I looked again. The “20 Something” referred to the age of the restaurant, and not the invited guests.

Pizzeria Paradiso turning twenty is quite an accomplishment in an era when restaurant turnover is a fact of life. The consistently good Neapolitan style pizza was the first of its kind in the DC area. As a somewhat reluctant pizza eater, I liked it immediately for it’s charred and crispy crust, baked in a wood-fired oven. I may not get to Georgetown often, but Pizzeria Paradiso is certainly at the top of my list for casual dining in the area.

Having determined that I didn’t exceed the acceptable age limit for the anniversary event, my husband and I headed to the Georgetown location where we were treated to five types of pizza along with beer pairings. I am not a beer fan, although I gave the Elysian Men’s Room Red 5.6% American Pale Ale a try. It wasn’t bad, but really, why would someone name a beer after the men’s room?

I enjoyed the flavorful Atomica pizza featuring salami, black olives, hot pepper flakes, and mozzarella. Even better was the 20th anniversary pizza with roasted garlic pesto, red peppers, speck, buffalo mozzarella, pine nuts, parsley and onions. I don’t eat a lot of speck, but it was pretty spec-tacular (sorry, couldn’t resist).

20th anniversary pizza photo by DesiGrub

Genovese pizza with potato, pesto, and parmesan

Chef/Owner Ruth Gresser was on hand to help guests make pizzas to take home. I expressed my desire for a cracker-thin crust and Chef Gresser willingly obliged.

Chef Ruth Gresser photo by DesiGrub

I topped it with artichokes, basil, roasted garlic, red onion, and a touch of goat cheese. Even if I pretty much copied the ingredients used by fellow food blogger johnnaknowsgoodfood, I’m proud of my hand-tossed pizza. It made for a very tasty dinner the next night. Thanks Pizzeria Paradiso!

my personal pizza

The media event at Pizzeria Paradiso was great fun. Even though it didn’t end up being for people who are twenty-something, my husband and I were successful in significantly skewing the average age of the attendees upwards. That’s how it is in the food blog world, and I just need to get used to it.

Pizzeria Paradiso’s official week of celebration is November 7-13. Check out the events and giveaways at www.eatyourpizza.com or on twitter at @eatyourpizza.

Pizzeria Paradiso, 3282 M Street NW, Washington, DC (locations also in Dupont Circle and Old Town Alexandria)

Filed Under: DC dining, DC Restaurant, Georgetown dining, Pizzeria Paradiso

Seattle Awakenings

October 25, 2011 By Lori 1 Comment

Neither rain nor a dark and deserted street could keep me from my second trip in four days to Top Pot Doughnuts in Seattle. I am in Seattle for a conference organized by my company, and I have promised my colleagues that I would bring them the delectable treats for our final “breakfast.” I couldn’t disappoint them. I am selfless that way.

Top Pot is one dangerous discovery. On my first visit earlier in the week, two of us wake up before 5:00 am to get there when the doors open at 6:00. We are not first in line.

The delicious” hand-forged” doughnuts have been featured on an episode of Food Network Challenge, which is a draw for me. Flavors like maple, lemon, pumpkin, and raspberry-filled may not be exotic, but quality makes up for any lack of originality. These are some fantastic doughnuts. The maple topped is my favorite.

I am usually the person who comes to a conference with a list of restaurants and sources for local treats, but this time I am somewhat unprepared for my five nights in Seattle. I am grateful that others have taken up the charge, including pointing me in the direction of Top Pot. This is not to say that I am totally without a list of places I hope to dine. A fortuitous tweet by a fellow food blogger asking for Seattle recommendations has given me some food for thought, along with a quick glance at www.chowhound.com and eater.com I quickly discover that restauranteur Tom Douglas has a pretty good grip on some of the most popular places in town. I end up feasting at three of his twelve establishments: Serious Pie, Cuoco, and Etta’s.

Night one is dinner at Serious Pie. This is some serious pizza- made just the way I like it. Crispy crust with the perfect amount of saltiness, and fresh from the garden toppings. Our favorite is the special featuring Walla Walla onions, goat cheese, basil, chili flakes, and roasted eggplant. The roasted beet salad with carrots, pistachios, and mint is another highlight. I realize that I am back to my old beets and goat cheese ways, which I am trying to avoid in favor of trying new things. However, I am helpless to resist my two favorite ingredients, as much as I know I should try. One of my colleagues likes Serious Pie so much that she goes back for a second time and plans a third visit as part of her extended stay in the city. If that’s not a testament to Serious Pie, what is?

The next night I dine with a large group at Tom Douglas’ Cuoco, an Italian restaurant in his varied stable. My dish is house made egg pasta with duck, chestnuts, onion, thyme, cranberry, and duck cracklings. I opt to delete the chestnuts. The mix of savory, sweet, and crunchy makes for quite a tasty dish. There are nearly twenty of us from our group in the restaurant and everyone is pleased with the food as well as the warm and sophisticated decor. The credit for directing us to Cuoco goes to a local who has deemed this her favorite restaurant. It is a destination I would easily recommend for its success in marrying local ingredients with Northern Italian cuisine.

Cuoco

My third Tom Douglas stop is lunch at Etta’s, which is a seafood restaurant. My visit is marred by a misorder. I don’t hear that the dish is actually Eggs Benedict, as I am focused on the homemade English muffin and fresh salmon described by the server. Rookie mistake. I don’t like poached eggs. But I can’t fault the homey seafood restaurant located across from Pike Place Market.

Another evening we stumble upon Steelhead Diner, which is also near the market. We are excited by the creative seafood menu featuring local ingredients with an international twist. Our server is enthusiastic and there is a nice local vibe, despite the touristy location. I have crispy Idaho stream raised catfish tacos with roasted tomatillo salsa, avocado relish, tangy cabbage salad, and corn tortillas. Sounds great but I’m expecting this to jolt the senses. While the fish is light and crispy, it lacks flavor. This is a common theme of the few other dishes at the table. As one colleague puts it ” this is a place where the menu reads better than the food.”

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST It is our last night in Seattle and the one meal to which I have given some thought. I am mindful that not everyone I work with is as adventurous when it comes to dining out as I am. Some of my colleagues have humored me on more than one occasion by accompanying me on journeys to the outskirts of some major cities, in search of innovative cuisine. They have traveled outside of their culinary comfort zones. For the most part the journeys have been successful, and as a result there is some confidence in my choices. Poppy, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, is my number one option for our final dinner. Our work will be done and we’ll truly be able to relax and focus on our food without any worries. Poppy features a dining style based on thalis, described online as a round tray on which a variety of small dishes are served all at once to each guest. Thali is a Western, Central, and North-Western Indian meal. The menu lists a starter of eggplant fries with sea salt and honey, which sounds innocuous enough. But will my dining companions be okay with entrees such as neah bay coho with lentils and black-pepper lime hollandaise, accompanied by an array of unfamiliar sounding ingredients ? All week long I consider changing to somewhere with a more traditional sounding menu, but each time I resist the urge. It is the right decision. Dinner at Poppy ends up being one of my favorite meals… ever.

We begin with the eggplant fries, which I have been thinking about all week since I first peruse the menu. They are exactly as I imagine them to be: crispy (but not heavy), salty, with a light touch of sweetness.

I choose a ten item thali, which includes two main dishes. This is a plus for my indecision. The coho salmon has also already caught my attention. To this I add lavender duck leg with parsnip, red cabbage, and pomegranate. This is accompanied by eight small dishes. We are instructed not to eat them one at a time, but to go back and forth to vary the tastes. My dishes are: pumpkin cardamom soup; leek, tomato, and black olive salad; grilled fig, radicchio, and pumpkin seed salad; marina di chioggia squash with fresh fennel seed and lime; roasted cauliflower with apple and dill; corn and basil spoonbread; Asian pear pickle; and nigella-poppy naan.What can I say? There is an explosion of flavors that is simply mind-blowing. Each dish has its own complexity which changes according to the order in which you eat it. So a bite of squash before the salmon tastes different than the squash followed by the salads. The salmon brings tears to my eyes- it is that good. The soup brings about simultaneous hot flashes for the three of us who are eating it. It’s not overly spiced, so we can’t really figure out what causes it. We are not deterred from eating more.

No one dish is overpowering but at the same time each one is perfectly and uniquely seasoned to work together as a symphony. This is my kind of meal- innovative and full of strong flavors. We appreciate the soothing environment, which features light wood with pops of color. It’s trendy but not trying too hard.

eater.com

We are far too full for dessert. Do you think that stops us? Life will not be complete if I don’t try the chocolate orange caramel torte with cocoa nib crunch. It is richly flavored but not too sweet. It is totally worth it, although the five of us aren’t able to finish it.

Are my four dinner companions equally enthusiastic about Poppy? Let’s say that three of them are as enthralled by the food and the concept as I am, and one of them is keeping pretty quiet. This is way beyond her comfort zone. She is quite the trooper for not complaining and listening to the rest of us pontificate about the food. I am grateful for the opportunity to dine here.

Throughout the week I have been desperate to get to KuKuRuza, a gourmet popcorn shop that another one of my coworrkers has discovered. His description of pumpkin flavored popcorn as “autumn in a bag” is haunting me. He regales us with tales of unique popcorn flavors including Buffalo blue cheese, rainbow mixed fruit, and s’mores. I am truly distraught that I haven’t had time to check it out. Fortunately a colleague picks up a bag of the pumpkin popcorn for me, and just before I board the plane home I break it open. Is food once again bringing tears to my eyes? Absolutely. Will my resolution to stay away from sweets for the next couple of weeks be broken because additional popcorn flavors will appear in the office this week? I hope not. But maybe just a taste? (check out the website to order the popcorn online.)

Sleepless in Seattle? Hardly. I eagerly wake up at 5:00 am to fulfill my desire for doughnuts. And my taste buds, along with those of my co-workers, are awakened as we explore a series of new flavor and texture combinations. They may not be universally appreciated, but they are certainly eye-opening for all.

Top Pot Doughnuts, 2124 Fifth Avenue, Seattle
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.7

Serious Pie, 316 Virginia, Seattle

My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.3Cuoco, 310 Terry Avenue North, Seattle
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.0Etta’s, 2020 Western Avenue, Seattle

Steelhead Diner, 95 Pine Street, Pike Place Market, Seattle
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.2

Poppy, 622 Broadway East, Seattle
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 5

Kukuruza Gourmet Popcorn, 215 Pike Street (Pike and Third), Seattle
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 5 (for the pumpkin flavor)

Filed Under: Around the US, Cuoco, Etta's, Hot Pot Doughnuts, Kukuruza Gourmet Popcorn, Poppy, Seattle dining, Serious Pie, Steelhead Diner

Does Brunch at Isabella’s Taverna & Tapas Confirm a Method to My Madness?

October 16, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

I did something really radical last week. I went to a restaurant in Frederick for brunch. Without doing any research.

Under most circumstances I am not prone to que sera sera when it comes to dining. The main reason for the Frederick visit is to see Artomatic, which by the way is a fun outing, even if most of the art isn’t particularly mind-blowing.

Brunch is just an afterthought. I am not sure how this happened (the afterthought part) except that the Jewish holidays took some of my focus away from my ability to think clearly about restaurant meals ahead.
When you are trying to come up with a restaurant for six people, two hours in advance on a Sunday morning, the options aren’t always the best. Volt is certainly out. But Isabella’s Taverna & Tapas Bar can accommodate us, and the menu looks interesting, so Isabella’s it is.

The first thing we notice about Isabella’s is that the choices are overwhelming. There is a brunch menu, but we are also welcome to order off the lengthy tapas menu. This is too many options for me. I am immediately drawn to the “Ensalada de Espinaca con Queso de Oveja” more commonly known as baby spinach tossed with fresh strawberries, apples, goat cheese fritters and citrus vinaigrette. My friend orders this as well, adding grilled salmon. I go for the chili shrimp.

The goat fritters are the star here. They are light and crisp and oozing delicious goat cheese. The shrimp are also nicely prepared and the chili spice packs the right amount of heat. On the down side, there are almonds strewn across the top. The menu says nothing about nuts on this dish. Major no no in my book. There is also too much dressing on the salad.

My friend has a salad with smoked trout, brie, mixed field greens and walnuts with citrus vinaigrette. She also is dismayed by the heavy hand of what sounds like a light and refreshing dressing. A reminder to us of why it’s always best to get dressing on the side. Our bad.

My husband has two poached eggs with portabella mushroom on toasted English muffin and hollandaise. He finds the dish to be lackluster. He’s perfectly satisfied with the potatoes, as is another potato-lover in the group when asked how he likes his food. “Good potatoes,” he exclaims more than once.

Another friend has eggs with lamb sausage, which sound a bit more exotic when described on the menu in Spanish as “Salchicha de Cordero a la Plancha con Huevos.” They are good, although exotic they’re not.

I am aware that every restaurant meal does not have to be a culinary masterpiece. Isabella’s serves good food, in a pleasant atmosphere, in a town that I’ve come to enjoy as a weekend destination. That said, I can usually measure a restaurant by asking myself “would I go back?” In the case of Isabella’s, the answer is: maybe for the tapas, but probably not. Had I spent a little more online time researching Frederick options, I may have landed somewhere a touch more satisfying.

Of course, there never are any guarantees. Even hours of planning and recommendations from friends and professional critics can fall flat sometimes. I know this, yet with the publication of Tom Sietsema’s Fall Dining Guide in the Washington Post Magazine this weekend, I’m furiously amending my current to do list to reflect restaurants that seem worthy of a return visit (Palena Cafe, Bibiana) or for a Sunday outing to the south (Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia).

Is there a method to my madness when it comes to dining out?
Sometimes there is.

Isabella’s Taverna & Tapas, 44 N. Market Street, Frederick
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.2

Filed Under: Frederick dining, Frederick Maryland, Isabella's Taverna and Tapas Bar, MD Dining

Chef Tony’s Has Great Soul …and Sole

October 14, 2011 By Lori 1 Comment

I was honored to be asked by Dining in DC‘s Lisa Shapiro to join other local food bloggers to serve as an ambassador for an event called “Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer.” During the the month of October, participating restaurants throughout the DC area are donating a portion of their proceeds to Pink Jams.

Pink Jams! is a Washington, DC area non-profit promoting early detection and breast cancer awareness to young men and women. By combining an important early detection and awareness message with fashion, art, social events, and live music, the organization reaches out to men and women under the age of 40.

My assignment was Chef Tony’s in Bethesda. Thanks to the friends (and friends of friends) who joined me for this event. It’s a pleasure to dine out and support a great cause at the same time!

Chef Tony’s menus are “created daily to highlight a Mediterranean flare with the freshest produce and unique catches of the day.”

There are some clear favorites dishes at our table of eight. I love the grilled whole leaf casesar salad with balsamic reduction and parmesan curls. The balsamic dressing and the fresh ingredients really make this dish speak to me.

My friend raves about the sardines. I am not a sardine eater, so I will take his word for it. They do look pretty.

My husband has pan blackened salmon with plantains, picked cucumber salad, and herb cream. This may seem like an odd mix of flavors but it works perfectly together and he raves about the ingredients separately and as a cohesive dish.

The scallops are also a highlight, nicely seasoned and well-prepared.

The standout of the night, however, is the parmesan crusted sole with lemon caper butter sauce, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. The fish is cooked perfectly and there is a sophisticated balance of flavors and textures: crunchy, smooth, tart, and sweet. This dish alone warrants a return visit.

Portions at Chef Tony’s are generous, prices are moderate, there’s a comfortable casual feel, and a convenient Bethesda location.

I am grateful to Chef Tony Marciante for generously donating 10% of his proceeds every Wednesday night in October. It takes a great soul to do this. It’s nice to have some great sole to enjoy at the same time.

Chef Tony’s, 4926 St. Elmo Avenue, Bethesda

Articles and mentions

Filed Under: Bethesda dining, Chef Tony's, MD Dining

Game on at Mia’s Pizzas

October 9, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

www.bethesdaactually.com

I am not a baseball fan. Oh wait. I am not a sports fan at all. On Monday mornings in my office when people discuss the games they watched on TV or in an actual stadium, my mind wanders. I’m wishing they would talk about where they ate instead. Which is why it may surprise people that I agreed to go see “Moneyball.” In fact, I didn’t put up a fight at all. I know you’re thinking that I saw it because of Brad Pitt. Not really. Brad is okay, but I am not one to see a film just because he’s in it. But the reviews were great and I read somewhere that you didn’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy it. Truth is, I think you do. I found “Moneyball” a little tedious and I simply didn’t have enough context to keep me interested. Although I did google Billy Beane afterwards, as I was at least curious to find out how things have ended up for him.

I like pizza more than I like baseball, but again it’s not a food that I particularly seek out. I guess you could compare my sentiments about pizza to how I feel about Brad Pitt. But every now and then I am in the mood for a good slice. I decide that Mia’s Pizzas in Bethesda is the perfect place to go after seeing “Moneyball.”

I’ve been to Mia’s Pizzas a few times, and I find the wood-fired pizza consistently good. As a casual, neighborhood, after-a-movie kind of place, Mia’s Pizzas fits the bill.

It’s hopping on a Sunday night and we have a bit of a wait for a table for four. The hostess is extremely apologetic and frequently leaves her post to check on the status of possible openings. I like that she cares.

We are finally seated. My husband and I decide to share a caesar salad and arrabiata pizza with roasted vegetables, brocollini, cherry tomatoes, fontina, and pecorini cheese. Simply put, the salad is fine although nothing special. I much prefer the chopped romaine salad with gorgonzola, bacon, and beets which I’ve had on previous visits, but I am trying for something a drop healthier to accompany my pizza.

My friend has Mediterranean antipasto which includes hummus, olives, marinated tomatoes, feta cheese, and warm flatbread. It’s not something I would have thought to order here, but it ends up being more satisfying than the salad.

We also order cauliflower with red pepper tomato feta. The cauliflower is lightly fried and the tomato feta dip has a just touch of heat to give it some interest. I have to control the urge to eat too much. I want to save room for pizza but this is some pretty good stuff.

Give me a slice of pizza with a crispy crust and I am happy. Thank you, Mia. Every time I’ve been here I have enjoyed a consistently crispy/chewy and flavorful crust. The pizza is light on the cheese (hence the crispness) which is fine with me. Our toppings are a fresh combination of eggplant, red pepper, squash, and mushrooms. I add a touch of red pepper flakes to give it a little more burn. This doesn’t bother me. As a diner it’s easier to add some spice to heighten flavor. There’s nothing you can do about a soggy crust.

My friend has ordered a margarita pizza, which he finds a little bland. I should have suggested he add red pepper flakes but I don’t really think about it until it’s too late. I’m too busy eating my own pizza.

As I do my research for this post, I find something interesting. In 2010, Mia’s Pizzas made the Top 16 in a March Madness Search for America’s Best Pizzeria conducted by Rachel Ray’s Magazine “Every Day with Rachel Ray.” There is a chart with brackets, which looks vaguely familiar. Something about a final four? I’m newly impressed with Mia’s Pizzas and wonder why this is something they don’t exploit more in their promotion. I’m just glad that there is finally a playoff game I can relate to!

Mia’s Pizzas, 4926 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.7
Washingtonian Cheap Eats 2011

Filed Under: Bethesda dining, MD Dining, Mia's Pizzas

Game to Try New Things at Cashion’s Eat Place

October 1, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

photo by Washington City Paper, Young and Hungry

“Been There, Eaten That” has made me a bit self-conscious when it comes to ordering. Now that I publish what I eat, I wonder if my health-conscious friends will scoff at me if I eat an entire dessert by myself. Will my Kosher friends be put off by my consumption of pork and shellfish on a regular basis? And what about the fact that I can’t control my obsession with lamb or beets with goat cheese? It is with this in mind that I scan the menu at Cashion’s Eat Place in Adam’s Morgan on a recent Saturday night out with two other couples. I am on a mission to travel outside of my comfort zone.

Cashion’s Eat Place is described as “funky elegant” on the website. It is a quote from New York Times writer Jan Benzel. I am not going to take on a writer from the New York Times. It’s funky elegant. We are at a table closest to the door, and I literally have to climb over an exposed gas main to get to my seat, which skews the atmosphere to the funky rather than the elegant. On the positive side, it’s a bit more private and the volume is better over here.

Starting a meal off with a good bread is key in my book. If the bread is crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside my heart rate increases and I’m going to be primed for a positive experience. Obviously the reverse is true if the bread is unsatisfactory. Cashion’s passes the bread test with flying colors.

The menu draws me in and I am intrigued by a number of appetizers, soups and salads, as well as main course offerings. I am focused on my pledge to try new things. For my starter I settle on berber-spiced duck soup with late summer vegetables, and a feta borek (phyllo dough filled with onion).

Berber is a spice mix of fried chilies, paprika, garlic, ginger, all spice, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cloves, and fenugreek. I must confess that these are spices which I regularly use when I make soup (with the exception of fenugreek). I guess this means I have failed in my mission to try new flavors. It’s a good fail. The broth is surprisingly light and the combination of spices are bold but not overwhelming. Bits of duck meat and vegetables are perfectly apportioned and the borek provides an interlude of crunch.

My husband and a friend each order local red Kuri squash soup with a grilled Tallegio sandwich and basil. oil. The server delivers the soup with an apology: no more Tallegio cheese sandwiches. They are both dismayed that this isn’t mentioned when the soup is ordered. Croutons have been substituted for the sandwich. My husband has a particularly difficult time recovering from the loss, although later we laugh at the speculation that the “sandwich” is probably quite small and not worth the disappointment. Still we can’t help but feel a little resentment towards the server for failing to tell us this.

where’s the sandwich?

My main course is Pennsylvania-raised Goat, spit roasted and pulled, with caramelized onions, chilies, cilantro, black eyed pea salad, grilled flat bread, and tzatsiki. This is my venture outside of the box. At first, I am put off by the idea of goat. It’s not that it is so exotic but I am concerned that it will be too gamey for my taste. My friend is considering it as well. I am encouraged by her willingness to try it. The server praises the dish as one of the best choices on the menu so I go for it.

The verdict: the meat- at least this version of it- is a bit crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. It’s actually quite innocuous. I don’t taste any discernible flavor at all. My friend agrees. The star of the dish is the flatbread which the pulled goat goes on, and the tzatsiki which goes on the goat. I enjoy the Mediterranean flavors but I am a little underwhelmed by the dish as a whole, perhaps because I have built up the anticipation.

My friend’s order of housemade seafood sausage with truffle’d potato puree, white beech mushrooms, sautéed spinach, burgundy truffles, and a vin blanc sauce has an interesting flavor but the portion could be a touch larger.

There is a repeated sentiment among a few us toward our dishes. We got what we ordered as described on the menu, but we were expecting just a little bit more from the delivery. This applies to the sardine appetizer and an arugula salad with mission figs and goat cheese, as well as the goat dish and the seafood sausage.

My husband has a fish dish which I am considering but dismiss in favor of the goat. He reports that the tilefish marinated with miso is perfectly seared and the accompanying stir fry of red pepper, bok choy, pea shoots, shiitake, zucchini, and basil is just the right combination of textures and Asian flavors.

For dessert we order a dried cherry and Asian pear crumb tarte with buttermilk ice cream and a cheesecake. The server comes back to tell us they are out of the cheesecake. This is the second time we are denied cheese. We are a bit disgruntled once again. Shouldn’t the server be telling us these things before we order? We end up sharing the tarte six ways and are satisfied with a couple bites for each of us, because it is good but not great.

This is one of those meals that is better than the sum of its parts. I realize that while I am describing many of the dishes as less than stellar, I still like Cashion’s Eat Place for it’s casual/fun vibe and creative offerings.

As far as this outing goes, I have only been partially successful at my effort to bring more variety into my dining choices. But my mission is not over. Game on.

Cashion’s Eat Place, 1819 Columbia Rd., NW, Washington, DC
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.8
Zagat rating: 24

Washingtonian’s 100 Very Best Restaurants 2011

Washington Post review from Spring 2011 Dining Guide