2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area...

Posted by: jbauer

2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 28/07/2005 17:07

Hi All,

I am going to the DC area next week, have 2 nights open and need to find something yummy. Am open to any type. Just want to find some local favorites. I'll be on expense account, but don't want to spend much more than 60 or so a plate... I am staying in Herndon, but don't mind travelling a bit.

Thanks in advance!

- Jon
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 28/07/2005 18:39

I used to spend a lot of time in Herndon/Reston, and I think I can definitively say that there's nothing good there to eat. I think I ate at every restaurant between there and Vienna and never had anything that I would call a good meal.
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 28/07/2005 19:00

Hm. What if I drove into DC? Is that worth the trouble from Herndon or am I stuck at Applebees?

- Jon
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 28/07/2005 20:26

Wait. I take it back.

There are a few good places to eat in Reston in the "Reston Town Center" mall. I doubt anything is in the fancy-ass $60 a plate range, but good, nonetheless. (Maybe the Market Street. It's a Hyatt restaurant and new. I don't remember seeing it there.)

Otherwise, DC obviously has a lot of great places to eat, but it's a good ways away.
Posted by: Mataglap

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 28/07/2005 20:51

Washingtonian Magazine is an excellent place to start. Two lists, 100 Best Restaurants and 100 Best Bargain Restaurants, in the red box in the upper left of the home page.

I left DC over four years ago, but fondly remember Todd Gray's Equinox (one of the best meals I've =ever= had), Lauriol Plaza (Mexican that's easily as good as here in So Cal and double thumbs up on the seafood enchiladas), Jaleo (the one near Chinatown), Five Guys Hamburgers, Austin Grill/South Austin Grill (great Tex-mex), Cajun Bangkok (sounds strange but excellent). Old Glory is excellent bbq and a lot of fun since they cover a range of barbeque styles.

There's others, if you care to narrow the scope in cusine, cost, or atmosphere.

--Nathan
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 00:53

Quote:
Washingtonian Magazine is an excellent place to start. Two lists, 100 Best Restaurants and 100 Best Bargain Restaurants, in the red box in the upper left of the home page.

I left DC over four years ago, but fondly remember Todd Gray's Equinox (one of the best meals I've =ever= had), Lauriol Plaza (Mexican that's easily as good as here in So Cal and double thumbs up on the seafood enchiladas), Jaleo (the one near Chinatown), Five Guys Hamburgers, Austin Grill/South Austin Grill (great Tex-mex), Cajun Bangkok (sounds strange but excellent). Old Glory is excellent bbq and a lot of fun since they cover a range of barbeque styles.

There's others, if you care to narrow the scope in cusine, cost, or atmosphere.

--Nathan


Excellent. Thanks!

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 12:18

For some reason, even though I've lived here for 25 years (in Northern Virginia, not Herndon), I'm totally drawing a blank. I think it would help if you knew what kind of food you'd be interested in.

Also, I'd be willing to meet up and have dinner!

Do you like Persian food? I know a great place. Another general location to think about is Tysons Corner, which is the big shopping area in Northern Virginia.
Posted by: bbowman

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 13:22

My favorite restaurant is in the Ritz-Carlton of Tysons Corner. It is called "Maestro" and is by far the best restaurant I've been to in the DC area. it may be above your expense account range, however, where the 3-4 course meals start at about $80+. The food is excelent and Serivce is out of this country! It is mostly European style. Wear a jacket if you go. It is much better than Michelle Richards Citronelle in Georgetown and lower priced.
Posted by: SonicSnoop

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 15:56

When I worked in Crystal City there was a resturant that my coworkers spoke fondly of.. I never went but seemed real nice. It was across the street from the Train Station. It served real good steak from what I was told. I tried to go once but they seemed to only be open for dinner not lunch.. For some reason im thinking the name was something Like Mortans Im trying to search the web for it but cant find it.. Its in the same building that has King Street Blues, San Antonio Bar and Grill and Starbucks..
Posted by: Dignan

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 16:42

Hehe, yup, Mortons. Go there if you want a lot of food. That would be in the price range, too.

Of course, price range is difficult, since a good bottle of wine (not a problem for me - I don't drink it) can shift the price of a meal dramatically

Anyway, since I've been craving it recently, if anyone is interested in some great Persian food in the Tysons Corner area, I'm willing to go whenever anyone else is free. That stuff is fantastic, and not as expensive as the price range he's looking at
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 16:57

Let's have a mini-meet. Tuesday night works best for me. I'm staying at the Marriott Worldgate. where can we meet up? Maybe about 7:30 or 8:00?

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 17:14

That would probably be just right! I think I'm free then.
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 17:24

Quote:
That would probably be just right! I think I'm free then.


Can the folks that want to meet up kindly send me a PM with your #? I'll reply with mine in kind. Let's choose a spot to meet up.

Cool. Dignan, we can finally have our overdue gaming conversation! :-)

- Jon
Posted by: SonicSnoop

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 29/07/2005 18:42

Let me know where you all plan on going and the price range and I could see if I can make it work If you wouldnt mind me hanging out.. Would love to meet another empeg fan
Posted by: DWallach

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 30/07/2005 02:04

One random recommendation: my wife and I were once wandering around DuPont Circle, and lots of places were overflowing with people and had long lines. We ended up back near the Metro station and stumbled into a trendy-looking place that we thought, from the architecture, was some kind of fusion-funky restaurant. Instead, Levante's turned out to be one of the best Turkish restaurants I'd ever eaten at. Bring a healthy appetite and order the "adana yogurt". This starts with kebabs of spicy, ground lamb. That's placed on a bed of bread chunks (not quite as crunchy as croutons, but same basic idea), covered in a yogurt sauce, and also served with grilled tomato and some other veggies. It's very filling and very, very tasty.
Posted by: adavidw

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 30/07/2005 03:35

I offer a recommendation in a different sort of vein...

Do you like seafood? Would you like to eat enough of it to kill you? Then Phillip's is the place for you! It's an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet down on the waterfront by the fish sellers (although there are a few other locations around N. VA and MD). It may not be the very best seafood in town, but it was good enough the last time I went for me to eat my weight in crab legs. Reasonably priced, too. (I think I remember paying ~$60 for 2. We don't drink, though, so I don't know how that would figure in).

-Aaron (born in D.C., although I've only made it back twice since then)
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 01/08/2005 00:30

Hi All,

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I'm not a big seafood fan, but all the others sound cool.

So are we getting together Tuesday night?

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 02/08/2005 19:29

Sorry, I wasn't sure how/if this was going to work. What's the deal?
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 03/08/2005 01:05

Hi All,

Well, no one could make it so I ended up having din din on my own. I went to Old Glory (thanks Nathan!).

After I ate a s-load of ribs, I watched them film a new movie with Michael Douglas, Kim Bassinger, Keifer Sutherland, and Eva Longoria (who were all on set) called The Sentinel. See here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443632/

Didn't meet anyone famous, but watched em run around Georgetown a bit... Was quite a production with helicopters and the whole shebang.

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 03/08/2005 01:55

I've been hearing about that! My mother works at NGS and said they had giant trucks down there for shooting.

Sorry again about last minute scheduling problems.
Posted by: Mataglap

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 03/08/2005 17:38

Quote:
Well, no one could make it so I ended up having din din on my own. I went to Old Glory


Glad you liked it! Are they still catching folks off guard with the big stamp?

--Nathan
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 03/08/2005 18:19

Quote:
Quote:
Well, no one could make it so I ended up having din din on my own. I went to Old Glory


Glad you liked it! Are they still catching folks off guard with the big stamp?

--Nathan


Yep.

- Jon
Posted by: cwillenbrock

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 05/08/2005 19:37

Hmm...I just moved to Herdon a few weeks ago (almost literally within stone's throw of Worldgate). I wish I would have found this thread earlier.

Great that I now have some recommendations for places to try around here, as I've been wondering myself what the best grub around here is.

Quote:
Glad you liked it! Are they still catching folks off guard with the big stamp?


I don't know what that means, but I'll be on the lookout when I try that place. Thanks for the spoilers
Posted by: Mataglap

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 05/08/2005 20:21

Quote:
Hmm...I just moved to Herdon a few weeks ago


Just so you know, all of my reccomendations are well inside the beltway, and not right near Herndon. Though Washingtonian's lists would include stuff a little further out.

D.C. isn't in the same class as NYC or San Francisco when it comes to restaurants, but it's =awfully= close. There's so much great grub I don't know you could ever find the "best". (The Inn at Little Washington seems to have held onto its mythic status at the top of the pile, though.)

--Nathan
Posted by: jbauer

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 05/08/2005 20:24

Quote:
D.C. isn't in the same class as NYC or San Francisco when it comes to restaurants, but it's =awfully= close.


Lemme quote Vincent in Pulp Fiction: "That's a bold statement."

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 08/08/2005 17:56

Quote:
The Inn at Little Washington seems to have held onto its mythic status at the top of the pile, though.

I do believe that that place is considered one of the best on the planet. But it is not exactly in DC.

Also very good is L'Auberge Chez Francois, which despite its website is an absolutely wonderful restaurant. Probably my favorite upscale place to eat that I've ever been to. The setting is also very nice, in the middle of Great Falls, VA, which is a suburb of DC just west of me. I always find it amusing that there's a world-class French restaurant back there in the middle of a residential area.
Posted by: jmwking

Re: 2 restaurant recomendations needed for DC area... - 08/08/2005 18:11

Quote:
Also very good is L'Auberge Chez Francois, which despite its website is an absolutely wonderful restaurant. Probably my favorite upscale place to eat that I've ever been to.


I'll second L'Auberge. I've been there a few times; it remains my favorite DC restaurant (the Inn at Little Washington is probably better, but way too far out to be "in DC" regardless of what Washingtonian says). You generally have to call L'Auberge for a reservation exactly 28 days ahead (when they start taking reservations) for any high-demand day. For Valentine's day a few years ago, they were fully booked within 30 minutes of opening the reservation line. Sigh.

They do have patio dining for walk-ins during the outside dining season.

Also, this cute little place, Black Market Bistro, opened around the corner from me in Garrett Park about a year ago. No reservations accepted and 40-60 minute waits, but yummy food. And take out.

-jk