Restaurant Reviews : Mike Berman’s Washington Watch

Restaurant Reviews

The Washington Watch began restaurant reviews in August 1998, highlighting "Solo Camacina" in Lake Como, Italy, and "Moose's Restaurant" in San Francisco.

Since that beginning and through the June 2009 issue, the Washington Watch has included information about 235 restaurants in 6 countries, 48 cities, and 1 railroad.

Restaurant: Sfoglina

Washington, DC: We will dine here again in the future.

Restaurant: Bistro du Midi

Boston, Mass: The restaurant has two levels. To the right as you enter there is a with bar seating for about a dozen people and seating for 24 at tables. Both the dinner menu from the second floor and a separate bar menu are available.

Restaurant: Bistro Mistral

Boston, Mass: The dining room is straight ahead and quite long. It turns out that it is L- shaped and swings to the right at the end. To the right of the entry is a very long bar with 20 high stools . The backs of the stools are covered and seem unusually comfortable.

Restaurant: Nougatine at Jean-Georges

New York, NY: Jean-Georges is a more formal dining room than Nougatine, which is its more casual companion.

Restaurants: My Choices

WW was recently asked where I go in Washington when I am just going to a favorite restaurant for a good meal and not checking out a new restaurant. So here goes.

Restaurant: Marx Brother’s Café

Anchorage, Alaska: While walking back toward the hotel we found what appeared to be a little house with an awning that said Marx Brother’s Café. We decided to give it a try. We soon decided it was a lucky choice.

Restaurant: East Ender Restaurant and Bar

Portland, Maine: As you enter the relatively small restaurant, straight ahead is a bar with five high stools. In addition to the bar there are 18 seats at 2tops and 4 tops. There is an upstairs room that has a bar with ten stools and additional seating for forty-six people.

Restaurant: Casolare Ristorante & Bar

Washington, DC: The Savoy Suites and a non-descript eatery has become the Casolare Ristorante & Bar.

Odds and Ends

Here are a few items that I found particularly tasty during the last couple of weeks: The San Francisco Airport Salad – Saifun noodles, cilantro, green onions, peanuts, turkey nuggets choice of iceberg lettuce, spinach or 50/50. Christina’s Restaurant, Sun...

Restaurant: Café Riverview

Sandwich, MA: The café is managed and run by the students from the Riverview school. Café Riverview is Riverview School’s hands-on-classroom.

Restaurant: Pain D’Avignon

Hyannis, MA: This restaurant goes on my list of must stops on my next trip to Hyannis.

Restaurant: kinship

Washington, DC: To the left is a bar area that includes a long bar with ten high stools and four booths. It is particularly well lighted in a decorative way.

Restaurant: Sweetgreen

Washington, DC: Each salad is created for you as you order it. You can either order one of the salads on the wall board behind the counter or simply ask the server to include whatever items fit your fancy.

Restaurant: RPM Italian

Washington, DC: At approximately 12,000 square feet, it is quite a space.

Restaurant: Tico

Washington, DC: The crowd in the restaurant is on the younger side and even at the table to which we moved it was relatively noisy. On the other hand, the food was fun and I look forward to going there again.

Restaurant: Pesce

Washington, DC: As many times as I have driven down “P” Street I’ve never noticed the restaurant even though it has been on this block for 20 years.

Restaurant: Pennsylvania 6

Washington, DC: I have been to Pennsylvania 6 three times. The third time was to see whether the experience of the second time was an aberration.

Restaurant: Tartufo Restaurant

Washington, DC: This recent addition to the D.C. restaurant scene was opened by the former maitre’D at DiCarlo’s Restaurant.

The Future of Restaurants?

There are no restaurant reviews this month, but here is one piece of relevant information. The day of being able to pick up the phone and call your favorite restaurant for a reservation or going to Open Table and doing...

Restaurant: Osteria Morini

Washington, DC: Other than a couple of trips to the baseball stadium, I have not spent any time in Southeast Washington in recent years (or ever for that matter). But it has clearly become a destination.

Restaurant: Char Bar and Eli’s Market

Char Bar & Eli’s Market 2142 L Street NW Washington, DC 20037 202-785-4314 www.dccharbar.com Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Friday 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 pmFor many years Eli’s Restaurant, located on 20th and N Street NW, was the primary...

Restaurant: Chez Billy

Washington, DC: The restaurant is fairly narrow and seats 50 people. By the front windows there are a couple of tables to the left as you enter.

Restaurants: Greenhouse, Quill, and Plume at the Jefferson Hotel

Washington, DC: Ordinarily, WW, writes about individual restaurants, but this is an exception. This is about the three restaurants at the Jefferson Hotel.

Restaurant: Marcel's

Washington, DC: Marcel's opened in DC in 1999. I have driven past it hundreds, if not thousands of times. Yet, until March 26th of this year, I had never gone there for a meal. That was a mistake.

Restaurant: Bistroquet

Washington, DC: Bistroquet is a relatively new restaurant on the site of what was for many years, Listrani’s.

Restaurant: Giovanni Ristorante

Beechwood, Ohio: The restaurant is interesting for a number of reasons besides the food. Most of the guests appeared to be regulars. And, there was a whole lot of kissing going on between the manger and serving people and the guests, particularly those seated at the bar.

Restaurant: Shanghai Lounge

Washington, DC: This is a very small, two-story restaurant. On the main floor there is a kitchen at the back of the restaurant. Just forward of that important feature is a small bar with five high stools.

Restaurant: Bagels Etc. and Carry Out

Washington, DC: This primarily take-out "restaurant" has been at this location for 29 years. I have partaken of its offerings for 25 years.

Restaurant: La Piquette

Washington, DC: This location was previously Bistro Le Zinc. The physicality of the restaurant has not changed.

Restaurant: Macon Bistro and Larder

Washington, DC: Our experience was notably different when it came to several of the criticisms in The Washingtonian review.

Restaurant: The Red Hen

Washington, DC: The restaurant is a large square. It is cavernous, with large beams and posts and brick walls. It has an instantly comfortable feel.

Restaurant: Seasons

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Seasons is a long, narrow restaurant with 14 two tops and 4 four tops. We were lucky to be seated near the front and could look out on our first sunny evening.

Restaurant: Oker

Den Hague, Netherlands: We walked over and were delighted to find contemporary Dutch cuisine in a small restaurant with tables on "stages," giving the restaurant floor lots of different heights and a feeling of spaciousness.

Restaurant: Fiola Mare

Washington, DC: First there was Fiola, then Casa Luca, and now Fiola Mare. All are the creation of Fabio Trabocchi, the Chef/ Owner, with Maria Trabocchi, the Director of Guest Relations.

Restaurant: Poppabox

Washington, DC: First there was Fiola, then Casa Luca, and now Fiola Mare. All are the creation of Fabio Trabocchi, the Chef/ Owner, with Maria Trabocchi, the Director of Guest Relations.

Restaurant: Wagshal's

Washington, DC: First there was the Deli, then the Market, then Spring Valley Catering, and finally Wagshal’s on New Mexico.

Restaurant: La Ferme

Chevy Chase, Maryland: In June 2002 I did a review of La Ferme. Debbie and I went there recently with Rita and Bob, and it struck me that it might be interesting to look back on that review and see what, if anything, had changed.On the whole, not much has changed.

Restaurant: Hill Country Barbecue-Market

Washington, DC: In short, this is not the place for a quick snack.

Restaurant: RL Restaurant (Ralph Lauren)

Chicago, Ill: The restaurant, opened by Ralph Lauren, is adjacent to the Polo store in Chicago.

Restaurant: Fiola

Washington, DC: Debbie and I went to Fiola soon after it opened, but for reasons I cannot now recall, I decided not to write about it. We have now been to the restaurant several times, most recently with Judy and Ray.

Restaurant: Firelake Grill

Washington, DC: The Firelake Grill is a relatively new addition to the Tenley Park area.

1,000 dinners and A View from the Commode

A thousand plus dinners Have you ever said to someone with whom you are having dinner, “we must have had 100s of meals together?” One night, a few weeks back, Rita Braver and Bob Barnett, Debbie and I were having...

Restaurant: Newton's Table

Bethesda, Maryland: Newton’s noise level is quite muted. In so many restaurants, having a reasonably voiced conversation with the others in your party is a task, because the restaurant is so noisy overall. The ceiling and the floor at Newtons’s are covered in material designed to absorb sound.

Restaurant: Casa Luca

Washington, DC: The restaurant’s menu uses descriptive words for various dishes that remind one of an “old style” Italian restaurant.The fact that wine is served in tumblers rather than more conventional wine glasses is also reminiscent of the old style. The pastas are made daily in-house.

Restaurant: Nopa

Washington, DC: The restaurant is on the 2nd floor of the building at 800 F Street. There are two flights of stairs, one outside and the other inside the restaurant.

Restaurant: Obelisk

Washington, DC: David, who is clearly a fan, said that if he had to choose one restaurant at which to eat every meal, it would be Obelisk. When I asked what he would do about breakfast and lunch, since Obelisk is only open for dinner, he suggested that he probably would not need the other meals.

Sign in a unisex restroom – not at a restaurant

IF YOU SPRINKLE WHEN YOU TINKLE PLEASE BE A SWEETIE AND WIPE THE SEATIE..... THANK YOU The photograph below was taken a few weeks ago in a well known Washington restaurant which was featured in the Watch two years...

Restaurant: BRAVO Eton

Woodmere, Ohio: The main menu is huge. There are eight appetizers, eleven salads and soups, eight sandwiches & combos, twelve pastas, seven signature dishes, five pizza and flatbreads, fifty-two wine selections, thirteen signature cocktails, including two that are alcohol free, and eighteen beers, including one non-alcoholic.

Restaurant: SPICE

Cleveland, Ohio: The balance of the restaurant is various combinations of square 2 tops, 4 tops , 6 tops and 8 tops. The tables are covered with white cloth tablecloths, with white paper covering the table area.

Restaurant: Happy Dog

Cleveland, Ohio: It is relatively dark, there is a large bar at the far side of the restaurant, and there is live music. I did not eat at Happy Dog.

Restaurant: Round House Lodge

Ketchum, Idaho: There are three ways to get to this restaurant. You can hike, ride a mountain bike, or take the gondola that is used in winter to transport skiers.

Restaurant: Le Diplomate

Washington, DC: This French bistro seems to be one of the current hot destinations in Washington.

Restaurant: Matchbox

Washington, DC: One of the nice features of the matchbox menu is that there are several appetizers and salads, and all of the pizzas can be ordered in a smaller or larger size.

Restaurant: Zaytinya

Washington, DC: The crowd ranges from quite young to those of us on the older side. Dress is absolutely casual. The restaurant is rather noisy, but not cacophonous.

Restaurant: Zengo

Washington, DC: The restaurant is a two story affair. On the main floor, as you enter, there is a reception desk near the front door. Proceed into the restaurant and there is a bar with high stools and a number of small, tall tables. The principal dining area is up a long flight of stairs. Happily, there is an elevator.

Restaurant: Range

Washington, DC: A reader noted that the review of Range did not include a recitation of what Gail, Rob, Debbie and I ate. Nor did it include the usual rest room review. I have no idea why I did not include this information.

Restaurant: Jean Georges Steak House

Las Vegas, Nev: Through a certain amount of subterfuge Rita arranged for the group to get a perfectly-sized private room. The centerpiece of the room was two chandeliers, each of which were constructed of utensils, knives, forks, and spoons hanging from an oval frame.

Restaurant: Nobu

Las Vegas, Nev: The restaurant is very large, but broken up in a variety of ways. There are a number of round tables that seat up to ten people, most of which are in round alcoves.

Restaurant: American Fish

Las Vegas, Nev: The restaurant has several rows of booths, and then a variety of two, four, six, eight and ten-person tables. The ten of us were again seated at a round table.

Restaurant: The Grill Room

Washington, DC: The Grill Room and the Capella Hotel have been open for only a few months.

Restaurant: Range

Washington, DC: Range is another new D.C. restaurant which opened just over four months ago.

Restaurant: The Buckeye Roadhouse

San Francisco: This is clearly a neighborhood restaurant. Dress is primarily casual to very casual, and the diners include young children and babies.

Restaurant: Prospect

San Francisco: As a gesture to environmental consciousness, the menu for the evening we were there was printed on the back side of the menu from the night before.

Restaurant: sauce

San Francisco: As a gesture to environmental consciousness, the menu for the evening we were there was printed on the back side of the menu from the night before.

Restaurant: Serpentine

San Francisco: The restaurant is located in an old industrial section of town which is going through a kind of rebirth. The inside of the restaurant can also best be described as industrial.

Restaurant: Bistro Le Zinc

Washington, DC: On our first visit many months ago, things were a little ragged, so I did not write about it. But the second and third visits were quite good, so it seems time to share our experience.

Restaurant: Unum

Washington, DC: I had dinner at Unum twice over three days. Happily, the second visit was a repeat of a very enjoyable first visit.

Restaurant: Quince

San Francisco: While the new location is somewhat fancier than the previous location, it remains a perfect dining situation.

Restaurant: Cotogna

San Francisco: This restaurant is literally next door to Quince. Cotogna is much more casual and is described as an Italian trattoria.

Restaurant: Kokkari

San Francisco: You enter this restaurant at a far corner of a large dining room that turns out to be one of two large dining rooms. The restaurant has a variety of private rooms that can become part of the main restaurant.

Restaurant: Cliff House

San Francisco: Cliff House has several observation areas and it is worth checking out each of them. On this particular day there were no seals in evidence, but an endless number of birds were hanging out on the various islands.

Restaurant: Dino's

Washington, DC: The menu is quite extensive. There are a total of 83 food items offered.

Restaurant: Tosca

Washington, DC: Tosca remains a favorite restaurant, which WW reviewed in June 2002.

Restaurant: Flying Fig

Cleveland, Ohio: The restaurant is known for being very much a part of the farm-to-table restaurant movement.

Restaurant: boca

Ketchum, Idaho: We ate at boca twice, once early in the first week by ourselves, and then early the second week with Jim and Jamie.

Restaurant: Dashi

Ketchum, Idaho: The main entryway is on the side of the restaurant, and you first encounter a group of picnic tables in the side yard. The evening we were there these tables were being used by families with young children.

Restaurant: Galena Lodge

Ketchum, Idaho: This old rustic lodge was destined for demolition until a bunch of local folks, including the late John Heinz, contributed the funds to buy the property and turned it over to the public.

Restaurant: Globus

Ketchum, Idaho: I previously reviewed Globus in September 2002.

Restaurant: Grill at Knob Hill

Ketchum, Idaho: The restaurant seats about 200 people in two dining rooms and one outdoor area. The tables are of a variety of sizes and shapes.

Restaurant: Michel's Christiania Restaurant and Bar

Ketchum, Idaho: There is a full menu, plus nightly specials which the serving person was able to fully describe.

Restaurant: Vintage Restaurant

Ketchum, Idaho: This restaurant is described as the best restaurant in Ketchum, according to those who spend a great deal of time there. It required four attempts before we could get a reservation at Vintage, but it was worth the wait.

An Omelet Enhancement

On my most recent trip to Sun Valley, Idaho, which was also Debbie’s first trip, we ate breakfast at Christina’s in Ketchum for 8 straight days. We also had lunch there several times. It is there, one morning, that I...

Restaurant: I Ricchi

Washington, DC: Those who read the Watch know that I Ricchi is one of my regular haunts that I have reviewed in the past. But at the moment there is a special treat available at I Ricchi.

Restaurant: Stachowski’s Market

Washington, DC: Stachowski’s Market is a recently opened meat market (butcher shop) in Georgetown. It is located in what used to be Griffon’s Market.

Restaurant: Hank’s Seafood Restaurant

Charleston, SC: Hank’s is quite a large restaurant. The main dinner seating area is filled with a combination of tables from 2s through 8s and a number of booths running along one wall. We were seated at one of the booths.

Restaurant: 39 Rue De Jean

Charleston, SC: The restaurant is rustic like a bistro with pine wood floors. As you enter, there is a shoulder high wall that splits the room. To the left is a large bar with high stools and a series of round tables. There are also 4 booths which seat two people. To the right is the principal dining room.

Restaurant: High Cotton

Charleston, SC: As you enter the restaurant, directly ahead is a bar room with a long bar with high stools and seating for another 40 people. It did not appear that regular dinners were being served there.

Restaurant: Sugar Reef Tropical Grill

Hollywood, FL: Sugar Reef Tropical Grill is a traditional oceanside boardwalk restaurant. The front is totally open and there is a porch which is part of the dining room, but for all practical purposes, it’s on the edge of the sidewalk.

Restaurants: The Inn at Palmetto Bluff

Palmetto Bluff, SC: Debbie and I visited The Palmetto Bluff Inn in May as part of our honeymoon. Breakfast and lunch are served at Buffalos, lunch is served at the May Grill in the golf club. Dinner is served at the River House and the Canoe Club.

Restaurant: 17hundred90 Inn & Restaurant

Savannah, GA: This is an old Inn and Restaurant, with tables and chairs that, while quite solid, look as if they could be from the start of the restaurant in the late 1800s.

Restaurant: Mintwood Place

Washington, DC: Amy and Peter took Debbie and me to Mintwood. We will go again.

Restaurant: Corky and Lenny's

Woodmere, Ohio: Corky and Lenny’s is a traditional Jewish style delicatessen. There are 216 items on the menu.

Restaurant (chocolate): CoCoVa

Washington, DC: While WW is not necessarily an expert on the question of fine chocolates, this store is a real treat. It is best described as chocolate, chocolate everywhere.

Restaurant: Shanghai Village

Bethesda, Maryland: There is nothing fancy about this restaurant, but the food is worth the “trip.”

Restaurant: Charleston

Baltimore, Maryland: Two people who live in or near Baltimore, and the owners of two of my favorite D.C. restaurants, all put the Charleston at the top of their lists.

Restaurant: Citronelle

Washington, DC: There is no restaurant in D.C. that comes close to the elegance, quality of food and service that is provided at Citronelle.

Restaurant: Four Seasons Hotel

Washington, DC: If you are a regular, the Christmas brunch will, for this year, be located in Bourbon Steak, with a special a la carte menu as opposed to the multi-station brunch of the past.

Restaurant: Al Tiramisu

Washington, D.C.: This restaurant could easily become part of my rotation.

Restaurant: Bartlett Pear Inn

Easton, Maryland: Gail suggested that Debbie and I have dinner at the Bartlett Pear Inn in Easton, while we were staying in St. Michaels. It turned out to be a great suggestion.

Restaurant: Gabriel’s Bar and Restaurant

New York, NY: I do not know why I have not written about it before now. It is everything I like about a restaurant.

Restaurant: Lincoln Restaurant

New York, NY: This restaurant is located on the Lincoln Center Plaza. The floor-to-high-ceiling, glass, window walls provide a terrific view of the theaters surrounding the plaza and the reflecting pool.

Restaurant: Morimoto

Napa, California: The restaurant is quite large and very modern in design. You can stop and watch the kitchen in action, but there is a lot of traffic as dishes are conveyed from the kitchen to diners.

Restaurant: Bistro Jeanty

Yountville, California: As you enter the restaurant there is a small reception desk. To the right there is a community table that seats up to 12, as well as several smaller tables. At the far end of this first room there is a bar with six tall chairs.

Restaurant: The Richmond Restaurant & Wine Bar

San Francisco: This is a relatively small neighborhood restaurant. Our table was by itself, in a corner to the right of the entrance.

Restaurant: Perbacco

San Francisco: Perbacco is quite large. To the left of the entry is a long, L-shaped bar with many high chairs. There are also several high, round tables with related chairs at the front.

Restaurant: Clink

Boston: Clink is the principal restaurant at the Liberty Boston Hotel, although there are four other eating and drinking locations.

Restaurant: Mr. Henry's

Washington, DC: There were more patrons fitted into the main floor dining room than in any restaurant at which I have ever eaten.

Restaurant: Anchor & Hope

San Francisco: The 100-year old building has had a variety of uses, including as a mechanics’ warehouse, a fire station, and an artists’ studio. The restaurant has been there for about 3 years.

Restaurant: Spruce

San Francisco: The restaurant prides itself on its always fresh ingredients from local farms and ranches. As an interesting benefit to its customers, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Thursdays Spruce operates a farmers’ market.

Restaurant: Gateaux

Closter, NJ: We drove around, looking for a place to stop for coffee and tea, and happened upon Gateaux, a Korean bakery and café.

Restaurant: Ris

Washington, DC: On this evening the crowd was reasonably sized and generally calmer than I had previously experienced.

Food: Safeway (known as the Georgetown Social Safeway)

Washington, D.C.: The store is somewhat unique in that the entire store is on the second floor of the building that opened within the last year. It replaced a more traditional Safeway that had been at the same location for years.

Food: Whole Foods

Washington, D.C.: This is a food store with an emphasis on natural and organic foods. Don't look here to find various brands of diet soda.

Food: Trader Joes

Washington, D.C.: Trader Joe’s is a relatively recent addition to my food shopping list. It has now become a part of my regular routine.

Food: Wagshal’s Delicatessen and Wagshal’s Market

Washington, D.C.: These two stores are under common ownership and general management and in the same small shopping center.

Restaurant: Craigie on Main

Cambridge, Mass.: There is a variety of ways in which you can approach dinner. There is a Prix Fixe menu for which you can select dishes from the A La Carte menu. It comes with a wine choice and with dessert. There are also 6- and 10-course tasting menus.

Restaurant: MAS (farmhouse)

New York, NY: One of the interesting options of the restaurant is to allow its patrons to order half portions of two entrees.

Restaurant: Vanilla Bean Cafe

Two Harbors, Minnesota The cafe is famous for its oven-baked omelets. The omelets are round, baked in metal pans, and are about 8 inches across and about an inch high. I have never seen nor eaten anything like it except, perhaps, for a deep dish pizza. Of the hundreds (thousands?) of omelets I have eaten nothing comes close.

Restaurant: SIROC

Washington, D.C. The restaurant is bright and cheery (quite a change from the previous restaurant in that location) and has been open from something over a year.

Restaurant: Sego Restaurant and Bar

Ketchum, Idaho: As you enter the restaurant, to the left is a lounge/bar area where dinner is also served. It is separated from the main dining area by a floor to ceiling wall that is open at both ends.

Restaurant: Baker & Banker

San Francisco: Baker & Banker is quite different than Quince, but in my view equally good, and in some ways better. The food is superb, tasty and creative, but there is a feel to the restaurant that is very comfortable.

Restaurant: Auntie Anne's Pretzels

Multiple location:s WW has become a devoted follower of Auntie Anne's Pretzels, but not just any pretzels ... the Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels, more particularly the Cinnamon Sugar Stix.

Restaurant: KOMI

Washington, D.C.: This is not a place to go for a "quick" dinner. We were eating for about 2 1⁄2 hours, but it did not drag.

Restaurant: La Pain Quotidian

Washington, D.C.: In terms of the kind food that is served here, it is about as far away from Ben's Chili Bowl as one can get. But in its own way, it is just as good.

Restaurant: Ben's Chili Bowl

Washington, D.C.: It is 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. You have eaten carefully for days on end, but suddenly you have an unquenchable "thirst" for an old fashioned egg sandwich. I headed to Ben's Chili Bowl.

Restaurant: Osteria Bibiania

Washington, D.C.: I first visited Bibiania with Marcia and Fred. I look forward to returning.

Restaurant: Ketchum Grill

Ketchum, Idaho: The menu is not large, but it is more than sufficient. There are 5 appetizers, 4 pizzas, 5 pastas, 8 entrees, and 9 desserts.

Restaurant: Chicken Out Rotisserie

Washington, DC: The ingredients seem fresh and I have had a number of excellent salads since I discovered this new "chopp'd & toss'd" offering.

Restaurant: INOX Restaurant

McLean, Virginia: INOX (which means stainless steel) was opened in February by Jonathan Krinn and Jon Mathieson. We know Krinn from his previous stint as Executive Chef of 2941.

Restaurant: adour

Washington, D.C.: Dinner at "adour" was Jo's suggestion and it was a good one.

Restaurant: Persimmon

Bethesda, Maryland: As I looked at my notes after the dinner, I had written "freshness." There is a freshness and lightness about the place and the food.

Restaurant: Bourbon Steak

Washington, D.C.: Beginning with WW's first dinner at Bourbon Steak, the day it opened, December 19, 2008, through April 6th, WW has eaten dinner in this restaurant at least 24 times and lunch 4 times.

Restaurant: Michael Mina

San Francisco: As bright, energizing, and noisy as Bourbon Steak is, that is how quiet, dimly lit, and laid back is this restaurant. It is just plain fancier than its DC cousin.

Restaurant: Garabaldi on Presidi

San Francisco: The food was just plain good, and the portions were substantial.

Restaurant: piperade

San Francisco: Overall, the food was really good, nicely plated, but not fussy or overdone. It had the affect of comfort food, but was many notches above that which is usually described with that phrase.

Restaurant: Town's End Restaurant and Bakery

San Francisco: Breakfasts with Stanley are always a treat. The joints to which he takes WW always have "character." Town's End was no exception.

Restaurant: Eli's Restaurant

Washington, DC: If you regularly drive up 20th Street, NW, from M Street to Dupont Circle or Massachusetts Avenue, you have passed Eli's without noticing it or without giving it a second look.

Restaurant: Morty's Delicatessen

Washington, DC: Morty's (it used to be called Krupin's) is a more conventional kosher style deli.

Restaurant: Equinox - A Special Dish

Washington, DC: Imagine my delight, when arriving at Equinox one noon, to find a special item on the menu.

Restaurant Tips: About Restrooms and Reservations

Useful tips on restaurant restrooms and reservations.

Restaurant: Homemade Pizza Company

Washington, DC: Homemade Pizza guarantees freshly cooked and hot-out-of-the-oven pizza every time. Homemade Pizza sells its pizzas uncooked.

Restaurant: Le Cirque

Las Vegas, Nev: This is a restaurant into which you do not want to venture if you are any way attempting to control your caloric intake.

Restaurant: Le Bilbouquet

New York, NY: It is quite small. The tables, and thus the patrons, are all but sitting on top of each other. There are a number of tables on the sidewalk.

Restaurant: Barbuto

New York, NY: The menu changes every day. On the day we were there for lunch the menu included a mix of items that made it possible to select items that are more traditionally eaten at breakfast

Restaurant: Acquerello

San Francisco: The service was exceptional. There appear to be 3 captains working the floor, including the owner and his son, as well as a serving person.

Restaurant: Curbside Cafe

San Francisco: There was one serving person who handled all of the action from greeting folks to taking orders and delivering up the food. He was in perpetual motion. However, when he was attending to a given customer he was attentive and unhurried.