Restaurant Reviews
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 (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.
Restaurant: In-N-Out Burger
San Francisco: According to a friend, if you don't order an In-N-Out burger in a certain way, you make it very clear to everyone that you are not "In-N-Out Burger sophisticated."
Restaurant: Rocco's Cafe
San Francisco: This is a neighborhood joint that Stanley selected for my first breakfast in San Francisco. The place looks like it has been there for decades, but at least this location opened in 1990.
Restaurant: Mama's on Washington Square
San Francisco: If you decide to try Mama's, which WW recommends that you do, wear comfortable shoes; it is inevitable that you will spend some time waiting in line.
Restaurant: The Slanted Door
San Francisco: This 175 seat restaurant describes itself as Vietnamese, but is probably better described as Pan Asian.
Restaurant: BLT Steak B
Washington, DC: Your editor is inclined to comment about a restaurant in a way that has not previously be done in the WW.
Restaurant: Kemble Park Tavern
Washington, DC: The Kemble Park Tavern, is located in the same space as the now-gone Starlight Cafe. There the similarity ends. The ambiance, the seating, and the food are totally different. Frankly, not better or worse, but different.
Restaurant: Town Hall Delicatessen
South Orange, NJ: Guest reviewer Jim Gerstenzang discusses the unique Sloppy Joe sandwiches from the Town Hall Delicatessen.
Restaurant: Park Avenue Spring
New York, NY: This restaurant is known for changing its menu with the seasons. The Spring menu was being featured when I was there.
Restaurant: Noah's Ark Original Deli
New York, NY: This is the kind of old style deli in which you start gaining weight when you walk through the door.
Restaurant: the source
Washington, D.C.: This is Wolfgang Puck's first venture into D.C. and it should do very well.
Restaurant: Proof
Washington, D.C.: As you know, this writer is not a wine afficiando, but Chris is, and she described the wine selections as "one of the most impressive wine lists I have ever seen."
Restaurant: Tonic
Washington, D.C.: Tonic has the kind of menu that you secretly long for, but know you really should not eat.
Restaurant: Rock Creek
Bethesda, Maryland: The owners of Rock Creek describe their offering as "conscious cuisine."
Restaurant: BLT Steak
Washington, D.C. : BLT is part of a group of restaurants that began in New York. In some ways it is another steak house, but in many ways it is different.
Restaurant: Sarabeth's Kitchen (East)
New York, New York: Sarabeth's has branches at the Whitney Museum and on the West Side, and also is known for wonderful jams that are sold around the country.
Restaurant: Quince
San Francisco, California: If this is not the single best restaurant at which we have ever eaten, it is certainly in the top 2 or 3.
Restaurant: Boulevard
San Francisco, California: The restaurant is long from front to back; in fact, a block long. There is a bar along the wall from the front to about a third of the way back
Restaurant: Chez Panisse
Berkeley, California: On the main floor, there is a dining room that on any given day serves only a single meal for dinner. If that meal is not to your liking there are no alternatives.
Restaurant: Corduroy
Washington, D.C.: When you arrive at 12th and K and don't immediately see the restaurant, don't give up. The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of the Four Points Hotel.
Restaurant: PS7
Washington, D.C.: The PS is from the name of the chef/owner Peter Smith and the 7 comes from the 777 address.
