Lauriol Plaza

Area: Dupont Circle (Red Line Dupont Circle metro stop)
Location: 1835 18th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009
Cuisine: Mexican
Cost: $$

Lauriol Plaza has had a LOT of hype. Ever since I have been in DC all I ever hear about is everyone going to Lauriol Plaza for happy hour to order their famous pitchers of margharitas. I must admit, they are DELICIOUS! I can probably finish one alone. But it is always more fun to share. Anywho, I'm transgressing. I've always heard so much hype about Lauriol Plazas drinks and their food. Now I definitely agree with everyone on the drinks part, because like I said the margharita's are a must have. They also offer some pretty decent selection of beers, if you are a beer person. Me, not so much.

Lauriol Plaza has outdoor seating outside, which is where I usually like to sit because I love people watching. There are two floors, a bar at the front of the restaurant, and an outdoor deck upstairs on the second floor. It is almost always a long wait to get a table. Oh, and parking is usually pretty bad, they have valet, but they usually fill up pretty quick. My suggestion, park far and just walk, use public transportation, or just save the Earth and walk.

The service can be iffy. Sometimes the waiters take forever but they are usually so on point you don't even notice it. As long as the margharitas are flowing I'm not complaining. They serve you salsa and chips to tide you over while you wait, which is always nice and I almost always end up asking for a second batch. The food itself, well it's pretty average. I'm not really a fan of the entrees. The mussells are pretty amazing, which is why I'm constantly being dragged to dine there, even against my will. The avacado salad is pretty good as well. Healthy, but fills you right on up. The tamales and enchiladas are okay, but your safer ordering the quesadillas. There is more hype to this place than the food is really worth. But hey if your the type to follow the hype, this place is definitely it, as it's always packed (all floors including the outdoor seating), and the drinks and mussells can con you into coming back time and time again.

Belga Cafe

Location: 514 8th St. SE, Washington, Dc
Neighborhood: Barracks Row
Cost: $$$
Cusine: Belgan

I had an informal business meeting at Belga Cafe one evening. Reservations are strongly suggested as this place tends to fill up fast. It's small and quaint with romantic dim lighting and the chef's corner is visible in the back. I can't lie I was a little skeptical because I was very naive about Belgan food, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Well I'm glad I didn't have any reservations. I may have found a new love that evening. French fries with mayonaise? Absurd! But, AMAZING! The fries are hand made and they add a little something to the mayonaisa but, man those things were so good, maybe even better than my moms homemade fries. Next up for the appetizers were the mussels, and man Belgians sure know what the heck they are doing with mussels. I mean the creamy white wine sauce that the mussels simmered in made you want to keep digging for more mussels in the pot after you had already ran out.

The menu had a good variety. Duck, lamb, scallops, chicken, beef, were all offered on the menu. But the way they were presented and the sides they offered with the entrees had to have been carefully crafted by the chef gods themselves, because it took me forever to reach a decision on what I would order. I had the lamb, my date for the evening had the duck. I think I may have even offered to swap plates because his duck was sooooooo good. I have actually had cravings the past couple of weeks for this particular duck dish. The lamb was pretty good, perfectly seasoned and grilled to perfection. But I can't stop raving about the duck. For beer lovers, Belga Cafe has a pretty lavish list of Belgian beers on tap.

Don't be surprised if I take advantage of Belga Cafe and restaurant week, just hope my duck is as I remembered it...