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.

Proof

775 G St. NW

I attended Proof for a birthday dinner. I had been here a number of times before as a late night stop for after movies or just to grab a drink. The atmosphere is pretty typical modern Penn Quarter/Chinatown D.C., although the restaurant's seating arrangement tends to allow for an intimate feel for the tables.

Before I start on the meal, I should say that from previous visits, Proof does a very good job with their cocktails and has an ample wine selection. Before dinner I tried an excellent dark cask conditioned beer at the bar. Throughout the evening the wine was quite good as well.

Dinner began with a course of meats (charcuterie) and cheeses. The selection of cheeses was rather good, and the cheeses themselves were enjoyable. The accompanying condiments for the cheeses were solid, but nothing special. I most enjoyed the cheeses that I had requested (a Humboldt Fog, a cave aged Gruyere, and a Pleasant Ridge from Wisconsin). Some at the table did not like strong cheeses so we didn't try any of their blue cheeses. Although I would deem this an acceptable cheese place, I would probably not make it a destination and would recommend Cork or Cheesetique instead. The meats were quite good, and more ample than most charcuterie I have tried. Someone else had ordered them and I do not remember specifically what we had, but two were quite good and two were simply solid.

Dinner was quite good. Prices were $25-$30 dollars for most (second) courses. Most at our tables got a salad for an extra $9, which I passed. For dinner I had the "Roasted Organic Chicken Breast" with "goat cheese-wild mushroom stuffing, sauteed rapini, creamy polenta". It was very good with a good balancing of flavors that were neither too mild nor particularly strong. It was a decent size, but not tremendous.

Overall, the food was quite good, although not remarkable or unique. Because this was a birthday celebration with 4 plates of charcuterie, 4 plates of cheeses, a round of salads, a round of dinner, 2 rounds of wine, 1 champagne round (may have been on the house), and a round of shots, plus paying for the birthday celebrant's share, and my $9 beer at the bar, the bill was quite hefty. Still, I think that if one were to simply split a cheese or charcuterie plate, have (only) a second course, and keep the drinks to one or two a piece, you could escape for around $50 per person.

Coco Sala Update

REMINDER
Update Coco Sala entry with Suzanne's birthday lunch. Tomato & Burrata was again very good. Portabella flatbread was quite good, but not as good as tiger shrimp and that tort. Dessert was a trio of Rasberry & Chocolate things, called "Ruby", that was very good.

Coco Sala

929 F St. NW

I returned to Coco Sala again, this time for a dinner.  It turns out to be quite expensive for dinner, although not as tasty as I remember lunch being.  Perhaps it was just the menu selections.  As for those, both of us had the Lobster Salad to start.  It was quite tiny, not really salad-like, but it was rather good.  Not $10 for a tiny pseudo salad good, but tasty nonetheless.

The next course, we shared our two orders, which were the Crabcake Lollipops and the Tuna Tartar.  The Crabcake Lollipops were excellent, albeit small.  The Tuna Tartar was fine, but nothing special.

For dessert we had the "xocolatyl Aztec Experience", which was comprised of "amuse" churros with cinnamon cream and dulce de leche dip, a "main dessert" of hot chocolate souffle with fiery chocolate center / espresso gelato / chipotle truffle / kalua soother and a "Petit Fours" of  chocolate infused horchata, mexican wedding cookie.  Well, first off, I remember mainly that the mexican wedding cookie sucked.  Blech.  Like one of those weird airplane cookies*, only not stale.  The other stuff was all pretty good, although not amazing.  Actually, the expresso gelato was a little too coffee flavored for me, but was probably good for those who like coffee, the kalua soother was good, but basically Kalua and Bailey's.  The rest was rather good though.

Still, an overall disappointment considering the cost: $107 including 4 drinks.

*no, not at all like the delicious fresh baked cookies that Midwest Express serves.

----------

I returned to Coco Sala for the 3rd time, this time with my coworkers for lunch for restaurant week.  Coco Sala redeemed restaurant week for my coworkers, who will hopefully stick with my recommendations from now on.  (To be fair, I am the only one who has lived downtown for more than a couple months and I have the longest tenure at work.)

As I may have stated in my earlier mini-review, the ambiance at Coco Sala is very chic.  The wait service this time was excellent and my waiter had an European accent and trendy sideburns.

I ordered the tomato & burrata salad, the feta & spinach tart with tiger shrimp entree, and the peaches & cream dessert.

The tomato & burrata salad was essentially four tomato slices (two orange, two red) surrounding a portion of burrata cheese all drizzled with balsamic reduction and sprinkled with basil and oregano.  The combination was amazingly good.  In fact, if I were at a restaurant and it were a dessert option, I would probably order it for dessert.  I don't think anyone got the other salad.  If they did, I was too transfixed to notice.

The feta & spinach tart with tiger shrimp was also very good.  I started with the tiger shrimp, which were grilled and sitting in their shell in a dill sauce.  My first bite was so flavorful that I almost swore aloud.  The feta & spinach tart was also quite good.  My coworkers who got the same combination were also quite impressed, although they liked the spinach tart better.  I love dill and grilled shrimp quite a bit, so they're probably more typical.  One coworker got the mac & cheese tart (seafood issue) and said it was quite good, although the accompanying salad was less impressive.

Dessert was actually my least favorite course, although I was still quite happy with it.  It was just very good and not amazing.  Maybe my taste buds were worn out.  There were fresh peaches grilled into some kind of little tart thingy and a shot of dulche de leche gelato to pour onto it - or do as a shot.  Both were quite good.  The only eh, was a white chocolate peach bon-bon, which was just kind of an ordinary little bon-bon.  My coworkers got the chocolate tasting, which consisted of white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate each in 3 forms: liquid, solid, and semi-solid.  They liked it quite a bit, although they were not fans of the dark chocolate.  I got to drink / eat their dark chocolate and I liked it.  The problem is that it wasn't sweet, so if you're not a fan of bitter dark chocolate (I love even 97% Lindt bars) it's a bit much.

Anyway, this experience qualifies as in the top echelon of meals I have had.  As a bonus, my coworkers calculated from the regular menu that what we had was ordinarily pretty close to the restaurant week $20 price anyway, so you can have the same experience for the same price.

Oh, and for being "frou-fou" or whatever (you know who you are), it was rich and filling and lasted me easily until dinner time.

Bobby Van's Grill - 12th & New York NW location

A contingent of coworkers of mine wanted to take advantage of restaurant week and after a co-worker of mine shot down Coco Sala as "too fro-fou", my coworkers chose a more "manly" steak place for lunch.  Unfortunately, Bobby Van's failed to qualify as taking advantage of restaurant week.

The decor was nice and the staff very refined and polite, unfortunately Bobby Van's is apparently one of those restaurants that really makes the most of restaurant week.

The restaurant week menu was 3 courses.  Mine were the Boston Bibb Salad, the Grilled Flank Steak, and the Dark Chocolate Mousse and Sweet Pineapple Chutney.

The salad was unremarkable with avocado, tomato, cucumber, some leaves, and a weak blue cheese buttermilk dressing.  I'll give them that the Boston bibb lettuce was nicer than iceberg lettuce and more unique than romaine, but it was still very ordinary and bland.  Two coworkers got the pea soup.  One said it was okay, but could have been better.  The other didn't really look happy, but didn't say anything.

The main course was disappointing as well.  Now, I was far more excited than my coworkers (who almost all got the same thing) because it came with broccoli and sweet potatoes and my serving size expectations weren't high, but it was really just a 3 ounce flank steak (nicely cut) with sweet potato puree and some tomato butter sauce.  The sauce was light and somewhat flavorful and the steak was very well cooked, but overall I'd say the dish was bland and not very filling.  The steak was fairly flavorless without the sauce, which didn't add much anyway.  The sweet potatoe puree was good, but you can get better results from a basic cookbook.  One coworker got the linguini and said it was solid, but not great.

Dessert was where Bobby Van's almost redeemed itself.  My Dark Chocolate Mousse and Sweet Pineapple Chutney was quite good.  The chutney, in a little cone stuck in the mousee, being the surprise tastiness.  Mousse is pretty easy to do well, but the chutney was a nice touch.  Unfortunately, those who got the carrot cake with mango and cranberry sauce were disappointed.  They thought it looked like BVs had just cut a regular round carrot cake in half and they weren't blown away.

Sushi

Sei 444 7th St. NW
View the individual review here, but the summary is that it was quite good with original sushi creations and excellent, although pricey, drinks.

Asian Spice 717 H St. NW
The sushi here is quite good. The prices were about $6-$8 for basic rolls and $12-$16 for special rolls. We ordered the Chesapeake Roll ($16), Beach Boy Roll ($12), Eel & Avocado ($7.50), Salmon Roll ($5.50), California Roll ($5.50), and the Philly Roll ($7). The special rolls (Chesapeake & Beach Boy) were quite good, although the Chesapeake is probably not worth the extra $4.

I also ordered two beers off of what was a surprising good beer list. I ordered Paulaner Salvator and a Schlenkerla smoked beer - two of my favorites - both in bottles ($6.50 & $9 respectively).

The downstairs seemed busy and a bit noisy, but we ate upstairs, which was a smaller space with good decor suitable for a nice date.

Sushi Aoi - solid sushi, not great. 11th & New York NW

Mazu - right next door to Sushi Aoi, they have a good amount of outdoor seating and $5 sushi rolls during Happy Hour weekdays until 8pm (also drink specials). Solid sushi - better than Sushi Aoi.

Tokyo Sushi / Old Dominion / Mongolian Grill - pretty good sushi. I've never actually been here, but I order it frequently while watching sports at Old Dominion sports bar next door. Reasonable prices, solid portions.

European

Hey, it's a region and I haven't had enough of any type to give it their own space. Pizza, even if Italian, has its own post.

Cava Mezze - A very good Greek place on 8th Street in Eastern Market. I had a rushed meal so I only got four non-meat mezze, but everything was spectacular, as was my cherry mojito. See full review HERE.

Granville Moore's - good Belgian beer selection, good burgers, haven't tried other food. A bit pricey for what it is.

Brasserie Beck - good beer selection, quite good food. We had clams and something else. The cheese tray was pretty good too.

Belga Cafe - I had mussels here during mussels week. It wasn't bad, but it was disappointing after the good things I had heard. See full review HERE

Pines of Florence - Old Town: a bit shabby inside, but food was good, cheap, and generous portions. Italian.

Old Europe - The food here didn't seem exciting or exotic, but it was very good. It really stuck to your ribs (filled you up without being huge). You can order liters of good German beer too, but it's not really a bar. The decor was tacky, but that's pretty much German as far as I can tell. German. Cathedral.

Yanni's Greek Taverna - It's been over two years since I ate here, but I clearly remember that I came away unimpressed. It was by no means bad, but it was unimpressive. Even my beloved Saganaki (flaming cheese) was unimpressive (other than the flaming spectacle part). Cleveland Park

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

Brazilian

Again, I'm breaking my brief overview of places I've had into types.

Ipanema Grill - Pretty good both times. Nice decor, nice atmosphere. Good food and not too pricey ($15-$25 range). Adams Morgan.

Update 9/22/09 - I visited here again with several friends/coworkers. I ordered the Picanha Grelhada, which is basically a slice of grilled beef accompanied by a powdery dip and a vinaigrette sauce dipping sauce (adhesive?). The powder was "grounded yuca roasted with garlic and butter". I ordered the meat medium rare. I received the meat in a far more raw state. I was hungry so I just ate it that way. It wasn't a bad slice of meat, but I don't enjoy meat this undercooked. The only other person to order beef also found theirs to be undercooked: they had ordered medium and gotten at most medium rare. Anyway, the dipping sauce & powder were okay, but nothing worth having again. The vinaigrette portion of the dip was better as the powder was rather bland. The black beans accompanying the dish were ordinary, which is actually kind of poor considering how fond I am of black beans. Small and watery. Astoundingly, the collard greens accompanying my dish were relatively good. Usually I do not find collard greens palatable, but these were fresh, mild, and not at all overcooked. I had a Xingu dark beer with my dinner (bottle) and it was a rather good dark beer with a deep roasty flavor.

The other guy in my party me ordered the Medalhao de File, which is a medallion of beef tenderloin rolled in bacon with a wine mushroom sauce. He said it was quite good, which matches my memory of the dish. Three of the women in our party had salads. One chicken and one two shrimp I believe. The salads were quite large and they said that they were quite good, although one openly stated that she wished the components were much more chopped up and mixed. For instance, the avocado was just a chunk hidden at the bottom. One of the women had a chicken dish that involved garlic. I believe it was the Frango a Copacabana because I don't recall her having any collard greens. She said the chicken was quite good.

I was disappointed, but if you consider everyone's experience, the food was still good. The restaurant was quite empty for a Saturday evening, even at 8pm.

Update July 2010 - I went back here again and as my text message update below indicates, I tasted another good dish. I actually ordered the Medalhao de File for myself, which is a medallion of beef tenderloin rolled in bacon with a wine mushroom sauce. The Medalho de File was absolutely devine and better than I remembered. It is one of my favorite D.C. dishes. My date's Bobo de Camaro, which I ate a good amount of, was good as well. It is hard to compare to the Medalho de File, but the Bobo id a solid option if you're feeling like a seafood soup-like curry dish. Again, the drinks were good, but nothing to come back for on their own.

Update via text message: Bobo de camaro @ Ipanea Grill, good, like yellow curry, shrimp, quite large, drink batida de coco - solid, not spectular

Fogo de Chao - Pretty good churrascaria steakhouse with a good salad bar. Pricey, but all you can eat. Not as good as the Chicago location in terms of the salad bar, but it is pretty hard to knock a festival of fire roasted meats brought tableside until you're ready to burst. Oh, if only they had beautiful female Brazilian servers instead of all men. I guess supermodeling pays better. Pretty impressive decor and atmosphere. Downtown. (11th & Pennsylvania NW)

Pizza Places

I’ve decided to section by type the places I’ve tried and can only remember well enough to give a brief overview to. This is the pizza section.  I've had others, but this is what I can remember off the top of my head.


Ella's - I finally made it out here. I don't even remember what I had, but it was quite good. Not quite Rustico or Churchkey, but quite good. This place also had a few rare, interesting, and good beers available.

Churchkey - Okay, this is a bar and not a pizza place, but the Fig and Prosciutto flatbread pizza here is as good as any pizza I have ever eaten. Now, it is a different creature than a Chicago style pizza, so it is hard to compare to that, but for a thin pizza, this is a great option. Of course the wonderful beer selection is a big bonus.

Vace Italian Delicatessen - quite good subs, fresh mozzarella in cooler. Single slice pizza beats most, but tasted more like it was intended to be eaten fresh baked as part of a whole pizza and not jumbo slice style. Cleveland Park. Deli.

Pizza Paridisio - DuPont: good even with Anchovies, Georgetown: pizza okay, beer selection good & tasty. Update: I ate at the DuPont location again. My pizza was pretty good, with very fresh mozzarella and a unique and good beer selection, but I felt that both were on the expensive end for what they were.

Uno's Pizzeria - A D.C. location of the national Chicago style pizza chain. Maybe it's the Chicago influence on me, but this is pretty good stuff. (Not all locations nationally are.) Delicious frozen/fruity drinks too. Georgetown.

Rustico - a favorite for great beer, great pizza, great food. The pizza here is the trendy thin stuff ones, but they have very good fancy pizzas with the slightly upscale toppings.  Located a bit north of Old Town Alexandria.

Ledo Pizza – I had this a couple times after Frisbee up in Silver Spring. I think they’ve just opened one downtown on Massachusetts, which I have not been to. For being non-fancy, thin crust, chain-style pizza, this is pretty good stuff. It’s not up to Rustico or Uno’s standards, but good value.

DogfishHead Ale House - Pizza is just another thing on the menu here, but it is pretty good. Flatbread style like is popular in D.C., nothing special, but pretty good.

Quick list of places I'd like to try

Break this down later by part of town or food type or something

If someone reads this and wants to comment on one of these places, that would be great.

Sundevich
1314 Ninth St NW 202-319-1086 (converted garage space is located in the historic Naylor Court alley on 9th Street between N and O Streets)
Monday–Saturday, 12–9pm

- in Washingtonian's 2011 Cheap Eats
-- Washingtonian likes the KINGSTON among many others
- http://www.sundevich.com/menu_print.html

Locolat
- Adams Morgan - 1781 Florida, by U Street & 18th
- Basically a small plates chocolate place with Belgian theme
- said is like a less daring Coco Sala
- supposedly overpriced, but not expensive because dishes are small
- Best Dishes: Savory waffles topped with smoked salmon or grilled vegetables; goat-cheese-and-leek quiche; ficelles filled with Chimay and Passendale cheeses; dark and milk hot chocolates; almond truffle; feuilletine candy bar; banana-ganache-filled white-chocolate candy bar; chocolate-mousse torte; chocolate mojito torte.
- Washingtonian Review

Luigi's Pizza - see comment in pizza section above, but on 19th by DuPont

Zorba's Cafe
- Greek in DuPont.
- In City Paper's "Best of D.C." edition as best Greek

Taverna Cretekou
- recommended by Peter King
----great Greek in Old Town Alexandria)
----Mousaka? is really good
- Washington Post was so-so
- has really nice outdoor (garden) eating area

Faryab
- Afghan in Bethesda
- near Metro, just off Wisconsin
- Washingtonian's top 100 (2008) "http://www.washingtonian.com/restaurantreviews/1461.html

- In Washingtonian's September 2011 "Best of Bethesda" they listed "the stars of the menu" as...

• kadu - pumpkin with a dab of yogurt;
• sabsi - spinach with onion and garlic; and *buranee badenjan - sweet savory eggplant
  

but also mentioned...

• Qabili pallow - a heap of fragrant basmati rice studded with lamb, raisins, and shredded carrot;
• mantu and aushak - meat or scallion filled ravioli-like squares (as being "addictive")

Bamian
- Afghan
- 5634 Leesburg Pike (near Carlin Springs Road), Falls Church. 703-820-7880 www.bamianrestaurant.com

- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901379.html
- http://www.washingtonian.com/restaurantreviews/1761.html

Four Sisters
- Supposedly best Vietnamese in town
- 8190 Strawberry Ln. Falls Church, VA T: 703-539-8566
- Washingtonian's #26 in top 100
- City Paper's 50 best in D.C.
- Inexpensive


Marvin
- 2007 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007
- 2009 100 best Washingtonian (#100)
- Belgian & southern. Good beer place, roof deck.

Sushi-Ko
- 2309 Wisconsin Avenue NW , Washington, DC 20016 Phone: 202-333-4187
- 2009 100 Best (#29)
- Sushi Bar
- moderately priced

Kushi
- 465 K St. NW (very nearby)
- according to word of mouth and Washingtonian, very good sushi
- supposedly trendy and hip
http://eatkushi.tumblr.com/

Locanda
- 633 Pennsylvania SE 202-547-0002
- moderately priced
- modern Italian - greek/mediterranean influence
- modest pasta portions

Kopitan -
- Dupont / Farragut area
- Malaysian
- former coworker TR said was really good
- near Penang

Great-Wall Szechuan House
- 1527 14th St. NW 202-797-8888
- 2008 City Paper Best of DC Best Chinese
- ma-la dishes, double-cooked pork in black bean sauce

Bastille
- 1201 N. Royal St. (Old Town) 703-519-3776
- #76 on Washingtonian 100 best
- moderate $18-25 entree, with prix fixe $35 T-Sat
- French fusion

Nirvana
- 1810 K St. NW (just west of Farragut North)
- Indian vegetarian
- City Paper & Washingtonian indicate is best Indian vegetarian

Vaccaro's Italian Pastries
- was ridiculously good at Baltimore location
- location in Union Station in D.C.
- location at 2000 Pennsylvania NW in D.C.
- the Pennsylvania location looks much more significant

Medium Rare
- in June 2011 Washingtonian
- Cleveland Park, 3500 Connecticut
- $19.50 fixed price, $8 dessert, plus wines
- one of the founders is a founder of BGR burger joint