Heading to DC 4/30 - 5/2

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stereo.pete

stereo.pete

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KKF,

Wifey and I will be heading out to the DC area in late April / early May. First and foremost, if anyone wants to meet up for drinks and/or dinner, we are all for it. We'll be in Baltimore for some immersive theater on the 30th, but will be in DC for the remainder of the trip. Any ideas on restaurants? We are leaning away from tasting menu's and would rather go to a place that serves small plates so we can try a bunch of different dishes.

Thanks in advance,

Pete
 
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+1 to Zaytinya

I love Jose Andres' other places as well... Oyamel is Mexican 'street food' small plates, and Jaleo is Spanish tapas.

I haven't been to the new version of Minibar, but the original one was outstanding. I believe you can sit at the bar and order a la carte dishes from the minibar tasting menu.
 
China chilcano is hands down one of dcs best new restaurants. Hats off to jose andres. Come by bistro blanc (www.bistroblancmd.com) near columbia, md. Pm me if your interested ! Also check out barcocina in baltimore @marc4pt0
 
Also Ouzo Bay and Azuma at Inner Harbor area of Baltimore (Chef Kostintinos)

But without a doubt hit Zaytinya in DC for both great samll plates and to meet Chef Costa. Afterwards, head a bit to the north and hit up Boundary Stone to see Travis.

DC is awash in fairly new resaurants these days. The "City Center" development a block from Zaytinya has a Danial Boulard place, and there are a couple other highly-anticpated places that either just opened or should be opended by end of April.
 
I'm up for a get together! I've never been to Zaytinya or bistro blanc. bb is a bit off the beaten path but a quick glance of the menu and wine list makes me want to eat there. Nice to see a restaurant that keep the wine mark-ups reasonable.

We could also make this the weekend of a get together? Just saying...
 
Definitely go see Travis!
Zaytinya is excellent, especially if you can talk Wildboar into a meetup!
 
Here are some more DC restaurants that are in pretty high regard right now:
Rogue24
Mintwood Place
The Source
Rasika
The Red Hen
Kapnos
Ripple
Toki Underground
Komi
Blacksalt
Corduroy
Fiola and Fiola Mare
Bourbon Steak
Rose’s Luxury
The Hamilton

I don't think many of them are small plates though. Jose Andes's places definitely rule the roost when it comes to mezze -- with Zaytinya and Jaleo topping the list. I'd like to try China Chilcano, but it just opened in January and it's still next to impossible to score a table.

A trek to Bistro Blanc in Columbia, MD would be a treat, especially if there were enough people to warrant reserving the 'wine cellar' private dining room, which connects directly to the kitchen so you can watch 420layers direct the troops.

Incorporating the GTG that weekend would be cool as well.
 
I'm not an expert on Lao food, but Thip Khao was delicious and possibly the spiciest food I've had at a restaurant (ordered the papaya salad off the 'special menu'). It had 4 of us crying and sniffling but tasted so good I had to eat more.

Doi moi is another good spot, as well as Thai Xing (best Thai I've had here) and little serow.

Sushi Taro has excellent fish, and half price sushi happy hour at the bar. Great quality fish.
 
Guys, thanks for all the recommendations! My Wife had a very bad experience at Jose Andres' e in Las Vegas. I will have to work hard to convince her to try one of his restaurants again.

**Long story short, she has a mild shellfish allergy, so when the lobster course came out (which was a beautiful and large piece of lobster), they substituted it with a cucumber. Talk about the restaurant making all of their margin on that one person, ****** in my book if you ask me.

Anyway, I think a get together would be fun!

Cheers,

Pete
 
Not trying to sidetrack the conversation here, but did you or your wife complain about that substitution to the manager? Anyway, ChefCosta runs a tight ship at Zaytinya; they are really first-class there. The service is great, and if there is ever any issue they do there best to make sure the diner is happy. Frankly my worst experience there was better then most of my good experiences at other places.

But anyway, there is no shortage of places to try out if you wife cannot be convinced.
 
WildBoar said:
Not trying to sidetrack the conversation here, but did you or your wife complain about that substitution to the manager? Anyway, ChefCosta runs a tight ship at Zaytinya; they are really first-class there. The service is great, and if there is ever any issue they do there best to make sure the diner is happy. Frankly my worst experience there was better then most of my good experiences at other places.

But anyway, there is no shortage of places to try out if you wife cannot be convinced.
Click to expand...

She was in Vegas for a convention sans me, and she's not the type of person to make a big deal about it in the moment. Regardless, I will be working hard to convince her to try out Zaytinya, the menu looks fantastic!
 
If you go for the Chef's menu option, Zaytinya usually goes beyond just being a meal and becomes an experience. Plate after plate after plate of really simple but very tasty food. You start with a few different spreads/ dips with baskets of some fantastic flat bread, then you get into some other apps followed by a couple vegetable and seafood plates, and when you are thoroughly stuffed out comes the meat plates. Followed, of course, by several good dessert courses. I think it really sets the standard for mezze in the DC-area, although admittedly I have not eaten at Jaleo.

And if a visit to Zaytinya can be scheduled while ChefCosta is working, the experience gets elevated a bit more. He's usually kept hopping, but he always finds time to come talk about knives, the food, etc.
 
OK, so my Wife and I made reservations for Friday night, May 1st at 7pm for Zaytinya. If anyone wants to join us let us know soon so we can expand the reservation!
 
Nope. Read lots of good things about them, but I have yet to come across anyone on the knife forums who works there, which makes them highly suspect :D
 
I would consider Etto for Italian small plates and a wine list I like. Also on 14th there's Barcelona and Estadio which are more traditional Spanish small plates and Tico which is Latin.
 
stereo.pete, just wanted to let you know I'm very interested in this. But... I need to take my wife out on a dinner date before I can bring this up. She complains the only time we go out is for my work or with others i.e. not enough just the two of us. Guess I should be glad she's still interested:biggrin:
 
Pete, Ask Chef Costa for the braised lamb shank and grilled Octopus. Everything is amazing, if you're a good boy, maybe he's bring out the Mangalitsa pig too. Still one of the best dining experiences our family has ever had.

IMG_3645.jpg
 
x2 on that braised lamb shank. One of the best things I have ever eaten. Not sure how often they have the pig, as their menu is usually pork-free. But I've seen where they'll have some for a special dinner.
 
Alright guys, we fly out late afternoon on Saturday, so what would you recommend for a great brunch spot in DC?
 
Reservations made for Le Diplomate on Saturday for brunch!
 
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