Capitol Hill Tandoor & Grill

419 8th St SE, Washington, DC
202-547-3233
http://capitolhilltandoorandgrill.com/

 Stopped by here for dinner. It was a beautiful day, and unlike everyplace else on the street, their small outdoor area (two tables on the sidewalk) was empty. Two of our party had been there before, so this didn't make us leery.
I asked about a few dishes and the server recommended the regular Lamb Chops ("marinated in chef’s special sauce and barbecued in clay oven on skewer - $16.95) instead of what I asked about (which was pretty similar to lamb chops). The waiter said they were his favorite thing on the menu. I also ordered Cheese Naan as an appetizer. The Naan was unremarkable. Not bad, but not worth getting again. The Naan itself was solid, but the cheese was not particularly noticeable to me. It was only $2.99. I got the Lamb Chops medium done with medium spice. They came out with a small mixture of vegetables and about four large lamp chops. They were excellent. They were remarkably tender with a strong mix of spices. Even the accompanying vegetables (peppers, onions, etc.) were quite good. The portion size was very satisfying and while I was not stuffed upon finishing, I did wish partway through that I had not gotten the Naan as it was clearly not necessary.
At $16.95 the lamb chops were at the high end of the prices for entrees, with most meat dishes falling in the $11.95 to $16.95 range and non-meat or appetizers falling under $10.

With the restaurant being basically empty except us, the food came back quickly and service was attentive. (Our server basically hung around a reasonable distance away quietly chatting with another server.)

Neramitra

2200-I Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA (Crystal City)
703-413-8886
http://www.neramitra.com/Neramitra.htm

The decor was more nice, modern, trendy - not hole in the wall. It was not near any prime dinner hours and the place was not busy at all.
I did not feel like getting my standard Thai test dish of Pad Thai. Instead I had the Gang Ped Yang (Roast Duck with Red Curry) and for appetizers Satay and Duck Roll with a Thai Ice Tea.. I also tried one of a friend's Honey Shrimp. The Satay was quite good for Satay and the Duck Roll was just good. The Gang Ped Yang was quite tasty as was the Honey Shrimp. The Thai Ice Tea was average as far as Thai Ice Teas go.

The service was reasonably good, honestly it was weeks ago and I don't remember it, but it wasn't busy anyway.

Zentan

1155 14th Street NW Washington, D.C 20005
202.379.4366
http://zentanrestaurant.com/

I went to Zentan for a late dinner after a strenuous scavenger hunt put on by a friend's gym. The decor in Zentan is very upscale and very enjoyable. The service was solid. The dishes that I saw my friends get were typical expensive DC: small portions for not a lot of food. The skirt steak that my friend got (Cantonese Marinated Skirt Steak ) smelled quite good, but was not at all substantial and came with no sides for $26. His Coconut Shrimp soup good size for a soup and $8. Another person got a watermelon salad that looked sizeable, but it was just watermelon pieces in stack with some brown dressing.

We ordered a small bottle of saki for $30. They had a decent selection with descriptions of the flavor of each. I definitely enjoyed the one we got. Also, our server was quite helpful in pointing out that we had picked a saki he was not a big fan off and helping us choose another.

The sushi was good, nothing remarkable. As the out-of-towner sharing sushi with me noted, the selection was very much just the basic options. The prices for the sushi were also on the high side, but the portions were typical of sushi. In fact, the specialty rolls were actually healthy in size, although the price is still high. Frankly, I'd take Sei over the sushi here every time - even if I found myself at the front door of Zentan.

Overall, this is a nice, fancy place, but I suspect that it is geared more toward high-end guests at the Donovan Hotel who want a convenient and fancy meal than a place that locals in the know should bother with.

Nooshi

1120 19th St NW # 2, Washington D.C., DC 20036-3686 (202) 293-3138 ‎
http://www.nooshidc.com

Asian fusion/sushi
I have eaten here a couple times now and I don't remember if I have every reviewed it. The last time I was there, I ate sushi. The sushi is solid, nothing remarkable, decent variety of rolls, but nothing stands out. The standard rolls are at a good price, while the rest of the sushi including special rolls are at typical DC sushi prices. The decor is nice, classy. Overall, a decent sushi place if you're in that part of town, but not a destination spot.

Eat First

I stopped for lunch at Eat First, another one of the many H Street Chinatown Chinese places. I ordered General Tsao's Chicken, which is not really the best dish to judge an authentic Chinese restaurant on, but nonetheless, it was decent to solid, but not special. The main selling point was that it was very inexpensive, just $4.50 or something like that, with other lunch options as low as $3.25. The portion size was ample with plenty of rice and free tea. The atmosphere and decor were pretty typical of a cheap Chinese place. Service was quick. I've had better Chinese on this block, but if you want a cheap lunch, Eat First isn't a bad option.

Full Kee (Chinese) & Trattoria

Full Kee - 509 H Street, N. W.

I went to a Chinese place next to New Century Bus. I had beef fried rice.  Ample dish for under $10 and pretty good (for fried rice).  My friend had some kind of fried pork - had a reddish appearance - and the bite I had of his was quite good. He says that they don't use a lot of oil which he likes.

http://www.fullkeedc.com/

Also, I went to a Trattoria (I believe) of some sort in Clarendon.  The wine was solid, but the one appetizer I tried was great.  Avocado something.  It was just a few blocks from the Clarendon metro and I think it was right by / across from La Tasca.  Anyway, find out what this was.

Asian (non-sushi)

Penang - quite good, Malaysian?, DuPont

Chinatown chinese places - dang, I can't remember which was which or the difference, but some were definitely better than others.

Bangkok One - good, but not great Thai food downtown 14th & K.

Thaiphoon - Update: I went to Thaiphoon again.  My appetizer was the curry puffs, which were pretty good.  My entree was the duck curry (red curry with cherry tomatoes and pineapple) and it was very, very good, albeit a bit spicier than I needed.  I'm not a huge fan of duck, but the sweetness of the tomatoes and pineapple complemented the curry tremendously.  The beer list was uninspiring, but Spaten Optimator in bottles is a great option and enough to keep me happy (only $4.50).  All involved it would up being around $25 with tax and tip, which is a bit pricey for Thai food, even with a drink.  Most of the menu items were around $10.

Prior review: solid Thai food. I went with a large group and tried many dishes. I'm struggling to remember the exact level of quality, but I remember the decor was pretty cool. I'm still waiting for a D.C. spot to come close to Thai Pastry in Chicago. DuPont

Minh's Vietnamese - quite good, see individual review: http://tastydc.blogspot.com/2009/08/minhs-vietnamese.html