Restaurant Week

A bunch of the 9:30 Amalgamation went to Neyla and Butterfield 9 last week, and would definitely go back to both. Anyone have any recommendations on some others?

do you mean restaurants in general or restaurants during restaurant week?

Ten Penh is excellent on both counts - for RW you can usually order any entree and choose from 3 apps or 3 desserts - if Ten Penh is a good RW deal, its a good bet that DC Coast (went a few years ago - excellent) and Ceiba would be similarly good deals (owned by the same people)

I've heard Corduroy is good for RW too

mendocino was really good (entire menu was available, but some items had an extra charge), occidental was only so-so. did bobby van's steakhouse last time, which was really good as well.

We had a really hard time deciding where to try…both Ten Penh and Mendocino were on the short list. Also Oceanaire but not enough seafood lovers in the group I guess.
Neyla [Lebanese] had a good selection of things to choose from on their RW week menu that gave a good overview of the overall menu. Plus we got some extra appetizers. I'd go back there just for the crab cigars appetizer. And we liked the decor too, but the music started to move from chill to clubby around 10:30
Butterfield 9 was out of one of the RW entrees, which kind of sucked. But the rest was excellent and the service was impeccable, although at one point we were sure that the waiter had gone to Napa to get our bottle of wine.

why was Occidental only so-so/

well. . .the kitchen didn't seem to be in sync with the wait staff. . .we ordered and it took forever for the bottle of wine to come, then it took even longer for the appetizers to show up. while i was eating the appetizer, i noticed that a waiter kept coming close to our table with our food, but kept going back (presumably to the kitchen). then, when the food got to our table, it wasn't terribly warm- but they would have been very good if served at the correct time and temperature.

the desserts weren't terribly impressive either- the pear tart's crust was way too gummy and grainy, although the filling was good. . and the semi-sweet chocolate used in the chocolate cake was too overpowering, and not in a good way.

it was a shame because i had had a really good experience there before.

I had lunch at Ortanique and dinner at Poste. The food at Ortanique is wonderful, both of us really loved our entrees (pork and salmon; also, I've had amazing food three other times there). Poste was very good as well; not as good, but they had more choices on the menu. And it's a cool place to be….

So far, from the board tally, this RW seems better than others. There were some major complaints about limited selections and bad service before. Or maybe we all picked good places! The best m.o. is to go with newer restaurants, as they often have more available for R.W. in order to showcase their menu.

tenpenh and dc coast are great for restaurant week. they pretty much have an open menu unlike some other restaurants that are very limiting. i try to go there every rw. only a few items, like lobster or kobe beef have a $7 upcharge. tosca does a beautiful job too (and this is coming from an italian who is pretty darn picky about italian food) and they are pretty flexible with the rw menu.

butterfield 9 was a bust last time. clueless waitstaff, unresponsive manager and lackluster food. very dissapointing considering friends who eat there every time they are in dc and swear by the place. neyla underwhelmed me. gorgeous and sensual setting but the food was uninspiring. if i went back it would be for tapas/mezze at the long center table with a big group.

i was to be at firefly and poste over the weekend but illness forced me to cancel.

did anyone go to oceanaire? i'm curious to what their rw menu was. also, many restaurants continue rw for an additional week, due to demand. anyone know of any?

Originally posted by lily1:

also, many restaurants continue rw for an additional week, due to demand. anyone know of any?

i haven't checked, but last year i know that equinox and smith and wollensky kept their's going for at least another week.

also, many restaurants continue rw for an additional week, due to demand. anyone know of any?

Ardeo
Butterfield 9
New Heights
Bombay Club
The Oval Room
701

speaking of restaurants, anyone been to El Tamarindo lately? Its been a few years since I been and was wondering if the grub and margaritas are still good

I know I'll probably take shit for being negative, but I was recently part of a party of four who dined there. I thought it was mediocre, and my review was probably the most generous. But I tend to think that most East Coast Mexican/Salvodorean joints are pretty average. We tend to make tastier Mexican at home.

Originally posted by brennser:
speaking of restaurants, anyone been to El Tamarindo lately? Its been a few years since I been and was wondering if the grub and margaritas are still good

I know I'll probably take shit for being negative

no, thanks for your opinion….and you're right about the overall quality of that type of food in this area

That being said, it may be that they just aren't good with their vegetarian dishes and are better with the meat dishes…

although for that particular restaurant, two of the diners were meat eaters…

Originally posted by brennser:
speaking of restaurants, anyone been to El Tamarindo lately? Its been a few years since I been and was wondering if the grub and margaritas are still good

I don't care for El Tamarindo much, it is nice for a late night drunken meal, but other than that I thought the food was bland. Guapos in tenleytown is my favorite Mexican restaraunt in the area.

There's a good Salvadorean restaurant out in Wheaton called Los Chorros.

Originally posted by brennser:
speaking of restaurants, anyone been to El Tamarindo lately? Its been a few years since I been and was wondering if the grub and margaritas are still good

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
I know I'll probably take shit for being negative, but I was recently part of a party of four who dined there. I thought it was mediocre, and my review was probably the most generous. But I tend to think that most East Coast Mexican/Salvodorean joints are pretty average. We tend to make tastier Mexican at home.

Originally posted by brennser:
speaking of restaurants, anyone been to El Tamarindo lately? Its been a few years since I been and was wondering if the grub and margaritas are still good

You are right. I have been a lot of times in El Salvador over the last three years and the food there can be great, especially in small towns. Speaking of restaurant and cooking style, I think things tend to get pretty bad when they get into the US. I think it is more related to what the american public demands. A little bit also due to the fresh products you eat there compared to the frozen stuff they give you here.

skip the place brennser…and skip lauriol plaza too….

lauriol plaza must be one of the most overrated places in the city…

Originally posted by brennser:
speaking of restaurants, anyone been to El Tamarindo lately? Its been a few years since I been and was wondering if the grub and margaritas are still good

and if you're craving pupusas (the unofficial, or perhaps, official dish of el salvador), irene's pupusas, also in wheaton is the place to go. no other place makes better pupusas. and they are $1.50 each.

Originally posted by thirsty moore:
There's a good Salvadorean restaurant out in Wheaton called Los Chorros.

re: Lauriol. Except for their entree salads, which are truly amazing and huge. But I would never, never wait in line to get into the place.

I"m still a Rio Grande girl. But I don't know about Salvadorean….there was this amazing place out on Glebe near the corner of Glebe and - Fairfax? Near the car dealerships. A hole in the wall that you wouldn't normally notice – not in a whole strip mall, but just a couple stores. I'll have to ask my ex. Oh yeah, that's right, we don't talk anymore.