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...

Hank's Oyster Bar

Location: Dupont Circle (Q & 17th st)1624 Q St NW, Washington, DC 20009
Metro: Red Line Dupont Circle Metro Stop
Cuisine: Seafood
Website: hanksdc.com

So a couple of friends of mine planned a surprise birthday dinner at Hank's for my roomies birthday. It was a Sunday night, and they don't take reservations, you just have to get there to get your name on the list and wait. Since it was a Sunday night they weren't particularly busy, so it wasn't long before we could get a table. However while we were waiting for the rest of the group & the birthday girl to show up, we decided to grab a few drinks at the bar. Everything was going fine, UNTIL, a little bug decided to run around our drinks and nearly attack us. I grabbed a napkin and quickly killed the little fellow. I was HIGHLY disappointed with how the bartender reacted, he didn't even comp our drinks or grab a manager to let them know what just happened. It was a BUG on the bar!!! Right near our glasses. I was SHOCKED that the bartender didn't go out of his way to correct this one. This action made me skeptical about the rest of the dinner, but I was put to ease once we were seated to our table and we had the most patient waitress ever!

The restaurant is pretty small and fills up pretty fast. We had a party of 10, and I know from my own experience as a waitress, that waiting on large parties can be ANNOYING. You constantly have someone asking for something or making changes to their order, and it takes a lot of patience to work with. As the waitress gave us a chance to look over the menu (which isn't that extensive but sufficient) we were given goldfish crackers to snack on. I ordered 12 Malpeque oysters on half shells (@ $2/oyster, it's not bad although I wish I would have selected a variety of oysters), the lobster bisque, and a side order of collard greens. The oysters were pretty good, the lobster bisque had nice chunks of lobster and was seasoned pretty well. The collard greens were a bit on the sweeter side, but the quantity was pretty large, a dash of tobasco sauce was the solution so it wasn't too bad.

Anytime we needed anything the waitress was excellent at being attentive and quickly solving the problem. I like this place, and would definitely try it again. Everyone enjoyed the oysters (the toten's and sister oysters are pretty good) and the sauce they serve with it, are EXCELLENT! I strongly recommend this place, it's modern, casual, and cozy perfect for these cold winter days.

Station 9

Location: 1439 U St. (U st. between 14th and 15th)
Nearest Metro: U St./Cordoza Metro Stop on the Green/Yellow line
Cuisine: American, Soul Food
Price: $20-up
Website: http://www.station9dc.com/

When you walk in Station 9 the first thing you notice are the massive light fixtures that accent the dark turquoise hues of the large restaurant, that are made of clear solo cups. Creative. Makes me wonder what else I could make out of Solo plastic cups!

Any who you are quickly and kindly greeted by a host at the host stand. Usually there isn't too bad of a wait unless it's a Sunday afternoon for brunch or a Saturday evening, than you may want to call in advance and get a reservation. I haven't really had any of the dinner meals, but the Sunday brunch, is pretty damn good. There are a variety of items that are apart of the brunch buffet. Make sure you don't forget to order the Chef T's bottomless mimosa's. They are so tasty, but be careful they will sneak up on you, and if get a little too rambunctious he will cut you off. So make sure if you order these, you won't be driving.

The brunch spread consist of a salad/fruit bar with a variety of breads and spreads. There is a whole cakes, pies, and desserts spread, which I always avoid because I always end up eating so much of everything else my tummy ends up being so full. The brunch station is where I stock pile my plate. There are cheese grits, which are my ultimate favorite, I don't even have to add anything to make them tasty. There are spiced apples, sausage, a seafood dish (I can't think of the name of it, but it is SO DAMN GOOD), rice, fried chicken (One of Chef T's specialties), and an omelet station. I know I'm missing a few other items that are included for brunch, but there is so much that is offered it's hard to remember it all. I really enjoy Sunday brunch here, for $25, you will definitely get your moneys worth. I normally go for smaller quaint little homey places for brunch on Sundays, but when I want to splurge, I hit up Station 9. You cannot go wrong. Usually it's pretty packed on Sundays, full of families, church goers, and post party people. It's a nice mixed up crowd and the atmosphere is really comfortable so you can loosen your belt a bit.

The lounge is really nice as well. The only bad thing is they are only open until 2am on the weekends, which can be a doozer, but appropriate if you want to get dressed in your best and look and feel sexy in an atmosphere that is as such.

ZOLA

Okay so it's one of my favorite weeks of the year!!! RESTAURANT WEEK! Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to ravish it like I would like, BUT I did get to try out Zola's for lunch. So my co-worker made reservations at Zola on OpenTable.com for lunch. We left work and headed on over there. We got there and the atmosphere was really nice. The bar was to the left and I wouldn't have minded taking a seat over there and grabbing some drinks if the table wasn't ready. Its very inviting and has a very upscale mysteriuos feel. With wood interior, sleek designed walls, chrome, and frosted glass with blacked out images of people alluding a mysterious espionage feel, appropriate for a restaurant connected with the Spy Lounge. Very chic, modern and contemporary.

We were seated and I was excited because the whole menu was included in the Restaurant Week special. I ordered the House Cured Salmon Pastrami for the starter, Lobster Mac & Cheese for the Main entree, and the Basil Creme Brulee for dessert. I must say the Star Restaurants know what they are doing. The flavors, seasonings and mixes are made to perfection. The House Cured Salmon Pastrami was so delicisious if they had a larger portion I could have eaten it for the entree. The Entree itself was sooo creamy, with healthy CHUNKS of lobster, it was perfectly seasoned and the portion looked small but was actually pretty hearty, I had enough to serve two other people! After eating what I could of the entree I went ahead and broke my diet rule and had dessert (it's restaurant week, with these prices who could resist), and it was amazing!! The brulee wasn't torched too much, just slightly so it wasn't too thick and the basil added a subtle twist, the creme was just so smooth and light, and didn't make me feel guilty for eating it at all. I also had the ginger lemonade. It was pretty good a little tart and woke up my senses, but tasty.

Needless to say this restaurant is a winner! I loved it. I would definitely recommend anyone trying it. I will say it's a little pricier so more than likely if it wasn't restaurant week I wouldn't dine here on a regular basis, but it is definitely a nice place to splurge a little on a delectable meal. My next move is to try out their dinner on a date ;) This is a nice place to get dressed up and feel classy for dinner, definitely a nice spot to take a date!

Location: China Town
Price Range $30-up

Website: http://www.zoladc.com/

Thai Chef

Thai Chef is a small space with a bar and a happy hour on their sushi a few of the Thai entrees and rail drinks that begins from 4-7. They have sushi and Thai food. The sushi isn't all that great. The Thai Chef dumplings were okay. The people are really nice there, but the service can be shotty. The Grilled Jumbo River Shrimp are pretty good, but the Hawaiin Duck isn't so tasty even though the tomatoes and pineapples in the sauce were pretty chunky and good. Wouldn't consider this spot if I was in the taste for sushi, maybe for a Thai dish, but I'll update my review when I have had more of the dishes on the menu.

Location: Dupont Circle
Price Range: $10-20

http://66.34.56.214/thaichef/main.html

Zengo

I have been to Zengo's on a date catching up with friends and business associates for quick eats and good drinks. The environment is really modern, hip and trendy. It's a perfect way to start the night, or a perfect way to end an evening. Zengo's is a restau-lounge spot. I would recommend coming dressed up, or at least casually cute. The first time I went, I was unaware of what the dress code was and wore jeans and tennis shoes, and felt so out of place. The chicken emapanadas are REALLY good. The sushi, eh, I wouldn't recommend ordering any of them except the Angry Zengo (which are pretty good). I went for my cousins birthday dinner and I think we ordered everything on the menu. The Tuna Tataki Salad (My fave) was devoured by everyone at the table. A couple of my friends ordered the Grilled Lamb Striploins and I swear within a matter of minutes their plates were absolutely spotless, I really think they licked their plates clean. The tuna belly tartare was okay the tuna is cut up pretty chunky but it was cooked a little more than I preferred, but it was okay. The drinks are really good and would recommend ordering any of them. Definitely a must stop spot =) Being that the restaurant is tapa style you can get caught up trying to order every menu dish on the menu and your bill starts adding up, so if your on a budget be cautious, this place can be dangerous on your pockets!

Location: ChinaTown
Price Range $25-up

http://www.modernmexican.com/zengodc/

Mate

Sunday night with a taste for sushi and some tasty drinks, a friend suggested Mates. Mates (pronounced Mah-tay's) is apart of the Latin Concepts chain of restaurants. As soon as I walked in I had a strong feeling I wouldn't be disappointed. The menu had the usual maki rolls, nigiri and sashimi but also has a nice amount of creative latin inspired maki rolls that are quite delectible. (Mmmmm my mouth is actually salivating thinking about their rolls, especially the Bamboo roll) The different flavored mojitos and pomegrante inspired drinks are to die for. The bartenders are pretty good and timely unfortunately the waitresses can sometimes be slow, but after getting your food it's well worth the wait. The calamari salad is interesting, the seaweed salad is VERY good. I've never had the ceviches, but I'm sure they are just as good as the sushi!

There is a happy hour during the week, and MAN, me, my cousin and a friend of mine went one day for their happy hour and ate sooooo much, had a few drinks and our tab only came up to about $80 for the three of us (we ordered about a million rolls and a couple of drinks) and we had SO much food leftover. The happy hour menu can be found on their website. http://www.latinconcepts.com/mate

Don't let the ambiance and setting fool you, it's not as expensive as it looks ;)

Location: Georgetown (K & 31st St.)
Cuisine: Latin, Sushi
Price Range: $10-$20

http://www.latinconcepts.com/mate

Saki

Saki located at 18th and Columbia Rd is a hot little sushi spot.

Saki is one of the sushi restaurants I like to frequent although it's kinda iffy when it comes to how good the sushi is. It's a small spot consisting of a small bar area and the dining area is a row of tables, a wall length seating arrangement and little cube ottomans. It's a nice intimate place with a great happy hour. The happy hour has half off rail drinks and half off most of the sushi on the sushi menu and the appetizers. The sushi is so-so, depending on what day you go. It's not really consistent, one day it's great and one day it's not so much. But it's not that bad. I recommend it as long as you don't go with high expectations. I mainly go for the vibe more than the sushi because I never know whether or not it's going to be up to par that day. (I've tried most of the sushi on the menu)

http://www.sakidc.com/

MEZE

Neighborhood: Adam's Morgan
Location: 2437 18th St. NW, Washington DC, 20009
Cost: $
Cuisine: Turkish


Walking in Adams Morgan one random Sunday in search of a good inexpensive brunch I came across Meze. Meze is a little Turkish cafe with two floors and an outdoor patio. The breakfast was amazing and CHEAP! I paid $9 for my Meze eggs consisting of poached eggs, smoked salmon on top of a muffin and potatoes! It was excellent and fulfilling. Everyone else was quite happy with their meals as well (they had the Aphrodite & Waffles). The salmon bruchetta is really good too. One of my girlfriends always orders the sausage and absolutely loves it. The workers are nice and the ambiance is really relaxed. I definitely recommend it if you want to spend less than $15 for good food & you don't really have to wait for a table. This has become by far, my favorite place for brunch. I have never had a complaint about the food here. If you can't find me on a Sunday afternoon, you haven't looked at Meze yet.

Price range $7-$20

http://www.mezedc.com/