Restaurant Week and Extentions List

Restaurant Week officially starts Monday.
I'm looking forward to my week at various DC area restaurants. Monday I have lunch at Farrah Olivia - one of my favorite spots and is of course one of the Washingtonian's Very Best 100 Restaurants.
I've been able to find out the RW menu for Farrah Olivia. It is as follows, with the standard Lunch 3 courses prix-fixe for $20.09
First Course:
Painted soup (smoky chestnut, gingery squash, beet cider)
Organic green salad
White grit cake (cinnamon cider squash, candied red cabbage)
Second Course:
Tarragon gnudi (with arugula salad)
Pan roasted chicken (pecan crusted with mushroom mac and cheese)
Arctic char (with yucca couscous)
Dessert:
Almond panna cotta
Chocolate espresso cheesecake
Vanilla crème brulee

Tuesday dinner I will venture out to Reston
to Passionfish. PassionFish is the newest restaurant of Passion Food Hospitality, whose owners, Chef Jeff Tunks, Gus Dimillo, and David Wizenberg. I am of course very familiar with their work since I have visited DC Coast, Acadiana, and Ceiba. I don't believe that I have ever been to TenPenh. Here is a copy of the Restaurant Week Menu with their offerings for lunch and dinner.

I might try to schedule a visit to Dino on Sunday. I got a newsletter type email from the Chef, Dean Gold. He said that Dino has some availability for Wednesday and Sunday, and decent avaiability on Tuesday. I noticed that according to opentable.com that they have a lot of dinner reservations such as 5 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 5:45 p.m., etc. Also that Thursday, Friday and Saturday are pretty tight already except for early and late time slots. I thought that it was interesting to find out that Dino plans to open for dinner service 30 minutes early February 16 thru March 22 to accomodate as many as possible! They are also extending restaurant week another full week thru March 1. They said that they offer "restaurant week" every week, they are adding a crostini trio to patrons meals for this week (there will be no free corkage or menu della sera thru March 1).

Other Restaurants who are extending their Restaurant Week Promotions:
1789 (1 additional week)
701 (1 additional week)
Adour (1 week)
Ardeo (1 week)
BlackSalt (Entire month of February)
Bombay Club (1 week)
Cafe Atlantico (1 week)
Cafe Bonaparte (Extending until March 8th)
Circle Bistro (1 week)
Dino (Extending until March 1st)
Domaso (1 week)
Farrah Olivia (Entire month of February)
Hook (1 week)
Il Mulino (Entire month of February)
Jackson 20 (1 week)
Jaleo - all locations (1 week)
La Tomate (1 week)
Nage (Extending until March 1st)
New Heights (2 weeks)
Oval Room (1 week)
Overwood (1 week)
Oyamel (1 week)
Perry's (1 week)
Petit Plats (Entire month of February)
Prime Rib (1 week)
PS7's (1 week)
Rasika (1 week)
Urbana (1 week)
Vermillion (1 week)
Willow (1 week)
Zaytinya (1 week)

Valentines' Day Guides and Tips

Valentine's Day is coming up next week!
There have been an influx of critics providing suggestions for this day.
Northern VA magazine online has an excellent Valentine's Day Restaurant Guide for both singles and/or mixed groups and couples for those who wish to dine out on the big V-day.
The Washingtonian Magazine has also published some helpful tips.
* Girls Only Valentine's Day
*Couples guide to Tables for Two in DC

*Activities to Do on the big V-day
*Valentine's day for "Art Lovers"

I hope that these resources are helpful!

This week: Atlanta's Aria

Tomorrow is my birthday! Yes. I turn ... um 30, again! This year is a special birthday because I am spending it with two of my closest oldest friends, Allie and Rachel. Allie and I are flying tomorrow afternoon to Atlanta to visit with our friend from grade school, Rachel.
Of course, since it's my birthday, Rachel said that I could pick the restaurant that we go to for my birthday dinner. After doing a little bit of research, I decided to book a dinner reservation at Aria.
Aria opened its doors in Spring 2000 in one of the hippest hottest trendiest places in town, Buckhead. Buckhead has become a place be seen since it is frequented by a lot of young professionals. Chef and restaurateur Gerry Klaskala has received plenty of attention as Aria was named one of the country's best restaurants in 2000 by Esquire magazine and tops local lists for best restaurant, best chocolate desserts, best food and wine pairings and most romantic. The ambiance of the restaurant so I have heard is intimate and romantic. I'm very excited to visit this restaurant on Thursday. I have also read quite a bit about chef Klaskala's version of "slow food"-- those braised, roasted, stewed and patiently simmered meats so savory they are creating headlines. This is no surprise ... Chef Klaskala graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America.

New Indicator Rating - TBD

So I've decided that I need to come up with my own type of rating or indictator.
Tom Sietsema from the Washington Post uses stars (four is the highest) to rate primarily the quality and taste of the food but also takes into account service and ambiance. He introduced a noise level indicator in April 2008 where he checks the decibels of each place he visits and he reports on the din level. Apparently, he thinks people are interested in this. I'm not sure what Todd Kliman of the Washingtonian has. Well he ranks them from 1 to 100 ... and healso uses a four star rating system, plus he rates them according to price (from c to $$$), and also rates the service from adequate to supremely attentive.
So what shall mine be?
Should I have a kid-friendly scale?
Something like this?
I also want to report categories such as atmosphere (5), service (5), value/bargain (5), food (5), and more!
Stars are used by most reviewers for food. Most people recognize it and now what it means. 4 stars usually means excellent, 3 very good, 2 good, 1 satisfactory.

Extra Virgin - Italian

Extra Virgin Modern Italian Restaurant
4053 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, VA
website

(Not Kid-friendly)

(3 stars = Food, Very Good)

($$ = Expensive or >$50 per person)

Sunday evening my family met at Extra Virgin, Modern Italian Restaurant in Shirlington, located at 4053 Campbell Ave. Shirlington is a developing area due to the new Harris Teeter and is gaining popularity due to the new Busboys & Poets cafe. It is still quite difficult to get close parking. There is a garage, but most people I don't think like the walk to the shopping area. No one in my family has been there before except me. I have been to Extra Virgin before for lunch a few months ago when it was still warm enough to sit outside. They have a nice outdoor seating area in front. Inside, the dining room is modern, colorful, and the dining room is quite large, however you can't tell unless you get up and walk around. The restaurant is partitioned off into several small dining areas. Many tables are situated next to windows, which creates an intimate and cozy feel. and I like that the tables aren't on top of each other. We sat right in front of the large revolving door, yet it was not cold. I was worried that we were going to be cold while sitting so close to the front door. The winter menu provides a lot of excellent choices, however, I was very disappointed that there was no kids menu. It's not very kid-friendly establishment.
I ordered the pan seared Rainbow Trout with roasted almonds, served wit mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini and eggplant. The trout was delicious, cooked perfectly and was a nice size portion. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and very good. I tried the Veal Ravioli but did not care for it at all. It tasted like rancid meat. It tasted musty and had an awful aftertaste. I also tried the homemade ribbon pasta with asparagus, and shrimp in a cream sauce. I liked this so much I would consider ordering as my entree when I return. What was most memorable besides the trout was the Insalata della case which is heart of romaine and spinach salad with gorgonzola cheese, kalamata olives, red onion, diced tomato, and raisins. It was absolutely delicious and it really could stand alone as a entree salad.
Everyone enjoyed their meal, perhaps we shall return.
The service was pretty good however it became quite confusing right after we sat down and while we were waiting for other members of our party to arrive. At least four different people came over to the table to talk to us... all of them saying that they would be "taking care of us".
The restaurant advertises that there is live music nightly, but I don't think it is on Sundays. There wasn't anyone performing when we were there.

Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurant List 2009

The Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants Issue is out! This is the first year that I can remember that it has come out in February. The Inauguration apparently was a big enough event this year in Washington to take over the most anticipated issue of the Washingtonian, The 100 Very Best Restaurants Issue. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been proding Todd Kliman a lot more about the list.
There have been some huge changes in my opinion.
First and foremost, the fact that Michel Richard's Citronelle (Pictured Michel Richard)
has slipped to number two is a really big deal. Not only is Michel Richard one of the world's best chef's, but he's been in the restuarant business longer than Johnny Monis of Komi has been alive! Although ranking the restaurants from 1 to 100 is relatively new practice (since 2007), Citronelle has remained in the number one spot ever since they began ranking them in 2007. Also, I will mention that in 2007, Komi was #10. If you can recall from last year's blog about the 100 Very Best list for 2008, I remarked about how amazing it is to move from #10 to #3. (Komi dining room) Well ... I find it even more remarkable that Komi knocked out Citronelle and has taken the number one spot. Executive Chef, Johnny Monis has achieved several of the highest possible honors of culinary arts in half of the amount of time of other chefs. I've heard through the grapevine that the reason Citronelle was ousted from #1 is due to their lack of superb service. Apparently they have slipped in this regard.
Also, CityZen lost two spots in their ranking. They went from #2 in 2008 to #4. In 2007, they were ranked #3. It's still a very high accolade, regardless, but still I have noticed that the top 5 usually remain within a few top restaurants. Komi really snuck in ... and took over. (Pictured on the left: CityZen dining room) It's on my list of things to do is to try Executive Chef, Eric Ziebold's three-course, $50 prix-fix bar menu.
Maestro (Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner) which was #2 in 2007 lost their Executive Chef, Fabio Trabocchi in July 2007 and temporarily closed so was removed from the list in 2008 all together.
Jose Andres has gotten much play lately due to Anthony Bordain's No Reservations show featuring DC area restaurants. He said on the show that he thought Minibar, the six-seat restaurant within Cafe Atlantico was one of the best restaurants in the world. In 2009, Minibar was ranked #3 which is a two spot improvement in 2008 from #5.
Cathal Armstrong's Restaurant Eve makes the top ten again this year, which is not at all surprising. Last year in 2008, the restaurant was ranked #4. This year, it slips down two notches to #6. My favorite thing about Restaurant Eve is the lickety-split 3-course lunch menu at the bar for only $13.50! I've been for lunch a few times. I enjoy every morsel, but caution those who don't eat ham, pork, or bacon. There are a lot of course with pork as an option.
Vidalia ranked #7 this year which is a slight improvement from last year's #8. They still got three and a half stars, so no change there. Just two years ago, in 2007, Vidalia was below the top ten at #11. The reviews over the years don't provide an inkling of why the restaurant would be viewed as improving in one thing or another. Perhaps they improved in Cuisine or Service ... but you wouldn't be able to tell by Todd's write up. Perhaps it's a question for me to include when I participate in his Tuesday afternoon chats online.
Inn at Little Washington ranked #8, Oval Room #9, and The Source #10. (Inside of The Source dining room pictured) The Source is kind of a big deal. The Source is the first fine dining restaurant in the nation’s capital headlined by world famous Chef, Wolfgang Puck. The Source is the recipient of many awards and accolades including "2008 New Restaurant of the Year" Award from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and "2008 Restaurant of the Year" from DC Magazine. The three-level restaurant is the signature dining experience at the Newseum.

My Picks for Restaurant Week

So I have made a couple of reservations for restaurant week. One for lunch and two for dinner, so far ... Thank goodness for my very patient husband!
I made a lunch reservation at one of my favorite places in Old Town, Alexandria, Morou's Farrah Olivia. I think Morou is extremely talented and I always enjoy every morsel. I have been at least twice for dinner before, not during restaurant week and at least once for lunch. (Click on Labels to see past reviews). At Farrah Olivia is where I learned about quinoa for the very first time. I think it was exquisite and it was then that I decided that Morou was impressive. Farrah Olivia has made the Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurant List since it's opened. In 2008, it was #22; in 2009 (just released) it is #19. So it moved up 3 spots ... I think it deserves to be in the top ten!

I have made a dinner reservation at Jackson 20 which is also in Old Town, Alexandria in the new Kimpton Hotel Monaco on King Street. I have heard very good things about this new restaurant, who will be celebrating their first birthday celebration one day after my birthday on January 30th. According to their website, it is named after former President Andrew Jackson. Did anyone see the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central last night? Well there was a special guest author of a new book about President Andrew Jackson called American Lion. Also, I can recall it being a Washingtonian's Readers Choice for Best New Restaurant. I am a firm believer that the customer is always right. I read in the Washington Times, that Executive Chef Jeff Armstrong comes to Alexandria from Texas and California, and much of his youth was spent on his family's farm in North Carolina. I've seen pictures of the huge bronze pig at the entrance, now it all makes sense. His American upbringing has a great deal of influence on his cooking style which is mostly American with a Southern inspiration. The dining room is crisp, clean and has a contemporary Colonial style restaurant and bar that captures the simple, classic charm of the Jackson period.

I am mostly excited about my dinner reservation to Cafe Atlantico. I have always known that Cafe Atlantico has been on the Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurant List. In 2008, they were #5. Executive Chef, José Andrés is well-known for its innovative Nuevo Latino cuisine and the cafe and minibar has an award winning wine list. Did anyone watch No Reservations last week with Anthony Bordain? The chef, José Andrés was hilarious! I laughed out loud! He's truly a vibrant soul. I had such a good time watching José Andrés that I decided that I simply MUST go! Restaurant week is a perfect time to do just that!
Be sure to check back before, during, and after Restaurant Week for updates and reviews. I will try to post as soon as I can following my meal!

Restaurant Week Dates Just Announced!

DC restaurant week is Monday, Feb. 16 to Sunday, Feb. 22.

Gourmet Prix-Fixe Menus
$20.09 Lunches & $35.09 Dinners

Enjoy special three-course, prix-fixe meals at participating restaurants. See list below for participating restaurants and their meal participation. Prices are per person and do not include beverage, tax or gratuity.

See link to certain DC area Opentable restaurants who are participating.
http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=9&ref=299&pid=68

Do NOT wait to book your reservations!
It fills up VERY fast!
Good luck and Bon appetite!
Be sure to come back and share with us about your meals!

Dining in DC on Facebook

This week, Dining in DC (blog) has also become a "Group" on Facebook!
It's quite exciting! In the first few days, the group has grown to over 55 members.
Thanks to everyone for your support!

Pho 75

Last night a friend of mine, Justin Trawick, organized a get-to-gether with friends at Pho 75 in Arlington. It's located at 1721 Wilson Blvd in Arlington. It's right next door to the new Ray's Hell Burger, which I am dying to try also. I've been dieting and really trying to watch what I have been eating. I looked up on the internet the calories and fat of Pho. It doesn't seem to be too terribly high, but I definitely know that it depends on the cuts of meat that you order as "toppings" in your Pho.
A quick glance online before I left work about this place told me that it's not fancy and that's cafeteria-like, but that the Pho at Pho 75 is one of the best in the DC area. Since I have never tried Pho before (pronounced FUH - not FOE), I was pretty excited and since our friend Ben was going to be there, I knew that I was going to be dining with a Pho expert.

The write-ups about the establishment was right on the money. It was not fancy, or cozy, nor quaint. It did feel almost like a cafeteria. There were five or six rows of long tables that could be shared by diners. Dark chairs lined the tables. Sitting atop of the tables were reusable chopsticks and soup spoons, along with hot and spicy sauce and plum sauce.

It took a little while to get the server to come over to us to take our order, but once we ordered, the soup came in minutes! Very fast! I ordered the #12 with eye-round and well-done beef brisket. The Pho Soup consists of beeth broth, very thin slices of beef that you can almost see through, onions, long thin white rice noodles, and cilantro. Separately on a small plate, you are given sprigs of fresh basil, bean sprouts, slices of fresh jalapenos, and slices of lime. This allows each person to season their serving to taste. The menu offered several different cuts of meat. Some other possible "toppings" were soft tendon, flank, bible tripe, some fatty cuts, and brisket. Fattier cuts of meat does effect the nutritional value of the meal as some of the fattier meats tend to have a higher fat content. Apparently, as I learned from Ben, it is common to add a hearty helping of hot sauce to the dish as the soup is somewhat bland without condiments, however; I added very little of the hot sauce.

I really liked the Pho very much. I think it was delicious. I definitely plan to try more Pho, especially a variety of meats. Pho really is quite a bargain. The restaurant's walls were adorned with dozens of Washingtonian's Best Bargain Awards. Apparently, it has won Best Bargain awards for the last several years.

On that note, Pho would be a great meal for starving musicians, artists, college students, DC interns, and those struke so hard by today's tough economy. Since it's right in Clarendon along Wilson Blvd., it's metro accessible. Anyone could enjoy some of DC's best Pho for Cheap!