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/