The Basics of the Internets

Dear Restaurant Owners of Russia House,

You seem to be hip to the 21st century, with your restaurant inhabiting a prominent page all of its own on the Internet, but some of the basics, such as hours, might be due for an update. For example: if you advertise your restaurant as being open 5-10, and the adjoining bar open for another four hours, that's all well and good. But, if I have to read a hand-written note taped to the door of your establishment letting me know you're closed, either because you were too inept to renew your liquor license on time or too lax in inspecting youthful patrons' id's, then update your freaking Web page to say so.

Na zdorov'e Russia House

Rating: 0/10
In Short: If you can tape an update to your front door, you can edit a line of text in html.
Website: www.wedon'tactuallyupdateourwebsitetoprovideaccurateinfo.com; or, http://www.russiahouselounge.com/
Location: 1800 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC, 20009

Where To?

So, where should I head next? Several good restaurants are beckoning. Ray's Hell-Burger in Arlington has gotten some reviews that suggest the recently reviewed GoodStuffEatery, isn't the only fantastic burger shoppe in this neck of the woods. It seems the Orange line corridor is not just well-served by mass transit; the food is quite convenient as well. And what of Old Town? Vermilion on King Street - just a few blocks down from that eponymous Metro station - is open late on the weekends and still performing admirably several years after launch. Simple entrees are said to equal elegance here. And the raft of seafood appetizers available are quite apt for this old seafaring town. U Street in Northwest continues its onslaught of cool with restaurants like Marvin and Station 9. When your block is getting mention in the latest issue of The New Republic as the epitomizing sign of the revitalization of inner cities and the realignment of populations from the suburbs to the city cores, it's time to take note; the best dining and entertainment in the DC metro area is more likely found in an area once scarred by race riots than anywhere else.

Irish-type Bar Turns Up a Decent Meal

Miller and other cheap American beers flowed freely at the Clarendon Ballroom on a recent Thursday, during happy hour, amid the Washington area's infamous humidity. This spot, with a spacious interior and popular roof deck, in Orange line-adjacent Arlington, is located near multiple bars and restaurants. But a question always lurks for visitors to these Metro stop 'hoods: which of these cookie cutter locales can provide a decent meal that doesn't have the patron regretting the whole ride home. Unlike the morning walk of shame, the memories of which will fade, those wasted calories, spent on a post-happy hour meal are going to stay with you for a while. So, it was with low expectations that I wandered into the nearby Ri Ra "Irish pub."

The area is rife with self-stylized Irish bars. Going west from Rosslyn, a partial list of such pubs includes Courthouse's Four Courts (with some spectacularly packed trivia nights) and Kitty O'Shea's, Clarendon's O'Sullivan's, and Sine's further south in Pentagon City. Just a step from the Metro at Clarendon, Ri Ra has a typical bar menu, with atypically few high definition televisions. This would normally draw praise at a D.C. restaurant, but should I have to squint to see the score of the ballgame in a traditional bar? After waiting about 15 minutes for a waiter - and then having to go request the privilege of being brought water and drinks - the rest of the meal was satisfactory, if uneventful. Orders were taken without error, service was moderately attentive, and the array of sandwiches - chicken bistro, spicy chicken, and some burgers - delivered as promised. A dining room that started the early evening relatively empty soon filled up with post-happy hour patrons, but the high ceilings and distances between tables help avoid a claustrophobic feeling, even if they did nothing to diminish the din. Guinness is readily served, but the availability of a dry and serviceable California Riesling was a nice surprise too.

Rating: 4/10
In Short: Adequate menu and mediocre service make this a serviceable stop for local workers.
Website: http://www.rira.com/
Location: 2915 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201

They’re Not Good… They’re Great!!!

A New Classic Burger Joint Comes to Capitol Hill

I’ve been procrastinating writing about food for several weeks now, as Locanda was my last meal out in the area – and a disappointing dinner at that. To note: I haven’t been the only one noticing the poor performance at this Capitol Hill restaurant. The matter came up in a recent weekly online chat hosted by Tom Sietsema, where the Washington Post’s food critic acknowledged the establishment’s problems:

Locanda is in, um, "transition" at this point. The original chef has left. My hunch is that the Italian restaurant will return to its near-glory in the months ahead. Sorry to be vague, but that's all I can say right now, having spoken with a few key players (one of whom seems not to be telling me the truth).

Part of the delay has been because of the self-imposed limit to review only neighborhood restaurants. Matchbox is on the horizon, but the absence of good restaurant choices in the area – fast food excepted - continues. The “Sizz Ex” chain is still on tap for an outing, but the “ramshackle” Market Deli at K St. and 1st in Southeast turned out to be merely uninteresting. It had no horrors or idiosyncracies to speak of, but the fare lacked intrigue as well. The deli at K and 1st is a sure enough bet if the fridge is empty, but lunch and breakfast promises only routine dishes with a slight homestyle influence.

Then came news from trusted sources that a new burger joint had opened up on Capitol Hill. A quick surf of the ‘Net turned up a quick-loading, easy-to-understand Web site with all the necessary information on Good Stuff Eatery, located at 3rd and Pennsylvania Ave. This is a family affair, with celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn being joined by his parents, grandfather and siblings.

Coming on the heels of a Bravo “Top Chef” competition, restaurant-goers might be concerned that Good Stuff Eatery would suffer from lackadaisical attention to food and drink. The line snaking through the Eatery onto Pennsylvania and up the block past a Cosi might suggest the well-coifed crowds are fans of celebrity, rather than cuisine. However, the smell of the grill and the Good Stuff Melt immediately doused any such worries. The burgers are a perfect size – not too small that you feel deprived, and not too large that you are gorging on a mass chain’s cow product. The thyme- and bay- flavored village fries bring the taste of the Atlantic City boardwalk to the capital, and the traditional shakes, plus a selection of beers and sundaes, evokes the classic diner or drive-thru. The Good Stuff Melt was grilled to the perfect tenderness; the Good Stuff Sauce, onions, and cheeses all conformed in a eloquent bouquet of meat, none overpowering the other. And of course the bun is just the right sturdiness to contain this handful of beef and toppings without turning into a wearying trudge through bread.

If all this praise is raising the bar too high to maintain – then so be it. Good Stuff Eatery is a much needed alternative to the common “Five Guys.” Washington D.C. has long been missing an outstanding burger joint – no White Castle or Jack in the “Crack” (Box), The standard set by the Mendelsohns in their first couple weeks is a high bar, but with plans to expand, the Good Stuff Eatery is a welcome addition to the Capitol Hill/Southeast dining scene and perhaps soon, your neighborhood too.

One criticism worth mentioning: the order-taker automatically substituted the larger size drinks and fries. A small portion should be assumed, or the cashier should ask, especially when the prices for both are jumbo. There's a lunch-time special - burger, drink and fries - for $10, but otherwise you'll be forking over $15-$20 for this soda fountain-style delight.

Rating: 8/10
In Short: Don't ever go to a fast food joint anywhere in the DC Metro area again.
Website: http://www.goodstuffeatery.com
Location: 303 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington DC, 20003

Locanda Means Inn or Guesthouse

In Italian, but if you see this restaurant down the road from Capitol Hill, along Pennsylvania Ave., keep driving until you reach your next waystation. There's little reason to stop, unless you happen to be a lobbyist with an expense account or professional food reviewer. With entrees in the mid to high $20s range, you might expect ample portions - ala typical chain fare - or delightfully amusing bouquets of flavor. At Locanda, neither is in store for the dinner-goer. The lamb steak was beaten to a thin pulp and splayed across the plate; butchering meat is an unpleasant process, but surely my entree should not appear on the plate, forlorn and forsaken. The presentation only served to accentuate the small beaten thinness of the cut. As i ate the steak - admittedly, a fairly marinated piece of meat - all I could think to myself was why oh why wasn't this pummeled meat nicely breaded into a fine schnitzel? The pennette - that is pasta with spicy tomato sauce - neatly matched the tuscan-colored abstract wall paintings, but did not pair nearly so well with the gullet. Order a nice glass of milk if you plan on trying out some seemingly mild-mannered artisanal pastas.

Perhaps the bonus-sized asparagus salad - topped with feta cheese - was intended to sate my appetite before I took delivery of the main course. Ostensibly an appetizer, this salad arrived in front of me, heaped much like slop for the trough. Confusingly, I was unable to tell how the asparagus was intended to be served. Chilled and crisp? Warm and boiled? Or just mush? The salad was a mix of all. Alas the delicate asparagus tips were too few and far between. I did not take to this particular app, but surely some baby pandas at the National Zoo could have been fooled into thinking they were dining on a plate of pre-chewed bamboo, if they had had the pleasure of dining at Locanda in my stead.

This Italian restaurant near the Eastern Market Metro station nearly redeemed itself with dessert. Gelato flavors here truly distinguished themselves, tasting nothing like poorly done cousins that begin to resemble ice cream or sorbet. But, more flavors (than the four that were available) are surely needed. The panna cotta is another delightful dessert, creamy, light and sweet all at once. There's no hint of graininess that can sometimes appear in such milk-/cream- based recipes.

Rating: 3/10
In Short: definitely a nice evening spot to take a date for wine and dessert, but for pasta you are better off ordering from the Pizza... err Pasta Hut
Website: http://www.locandadc.com/index.htm
Location: 633 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington DC, 20003

Restauranteuring is a Tough Business

And it's even tougher when your cuisine is Indian food in the nation's capital. With so many excellent offerings in the city limits - Heritage (two locations), Rasika, Nirvana (specializing in vegetarian dishes), and White Tiger, just for starters - food and service need to stand out for this ubiquitous cuisine to make its mark. Aatish on the Hill's prime location, one block from the Eastern Market Metro stop on Pennsylvania Ave., makes this sub-continental eating destination great for a quick bite during lunch or carryout late at night; the kitchen is open until 10 or 10:30 pm most nights.

Unfortunately, the samosas and the chicken tikka masala, Indian standards, can too often come out from the kitchen dry and over cooked/baked. The yogurt dipping sauce can be served thick as molasses in January, and the check should definitely be gotten before a dessert can be proffered 'on the house'. However, vegetarian dishes such as the channa masala and vegetable pakora fare better. Well known Indian beers - Kingfisher and Taj Mahal - are served, and there is a full bar.

The dining room suffers from dated decor and plain bingo hall-type seating, but the service is reliable, if unremarkable. Worth noting is the usual tab; with the economy as it stands in Spring 2008, budget bites are taking on greater import. Aatish definitely won't break the bank. Dinner for two, including alcohol, should come in at around $60-70. With many popular destinations clocking in at $120 or more in Washington, Aatish seems to have found its niche as a cheap eats neighborhood restaurant, underselling more expensive Indian places.

Rating: 5/10
In Short: good for carryout and weeknight dining, but there's better Indian dining to be had in DC on weekends
Website: http://www.aatishonhill.com/index.htm
Location: 609 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington DC, 20003

Rumors of a Local Deli

There are rumors of a boarded-up deli that is actually open during the day for all the neighborhood's construction workers. I've added this locale to the poll.

Also, if anyone knows of a clickable mapping widget, that would allow me to point out locations of places I've visited and eaten, let me know, because I would love to add that as a feature here.

Chow.