The 13th Annual Taste of Georgetown is happening this Saturday, October 14, from 11 AM to 4 PM. The event takes place on Wisconsin Avenue between M and South Streets, and at Grace Episcopal Church.
About 25 restaurants will be on hand, and the cost per taste is $5, or you can get a pack of five tastings for $20. With such national culinary gems as Citronelle and 1789, plus the excellent Red Ginger, Agraria, Leopolds, Fahrenheit and Neyla, the interesting Mie N Yu, and Georgetown stalwarts Old Glory, Clyde’s, J. Paul’s and Smith Point, any hungry person could drop 40 bucks and still not hit every stand they’d want.
As an added touch, Blues Alley will be providing the jazz and blues…though they’ll have to crank it up to compete with the psuedo-techno pumping from the Euro boutiques.
Kinda funny that Georgetown would be the less-crowded alternative, but with Howard Homecoming, U Street and the Waterfront will be packed.
Wonder if Cam’ron’s gonna get shot this year…?

Have you ever been to a restaurant that you can’t stand, yet can’t wait to try again? Then you know how the 5PBFC feels about Cheeseburger in Paradise, a Jimmy Buffett-inspired tribute to three of Buffett’s favorite subjects – eating, drinking and making money.
Cheeseburger in Paradise embodies and embraces pretty much everything I hate about chain restaurants. Cheesy, overenthusiastic servers who have to follow a greeting script? Check. Stupid names for ordinary menu items (in this case, with a Buffett theme)? Check. Day-glow menu with paragraph-sized food descriptions because “French-Fried Potatoes” is too nebulous for mere mortals to understand? Check. Bartenders who think they’re Tom Cruise in “Cocktail?” Check. Acoustic singer/songwriters doing covers of Live, Guns and Roses and Nirvana? Check. Ungodly amounts of tacky crap on the walls? Check. A roaming gangbang of servers singing “Happy Birthday” while food waits under heat lamps? Check. A little too kid-friendly? Check. Mediocre food and drinks at inflated prices? Well…
That’s the rub. The food is good – surprisingly so, given the sub-$10 mark on most of their chow. They’ll prepare their burgers to any desired temperature, from scorched well-done to scared-with-a-flashlight rare – a nice, wonderful touch in the chain restaurant world. They’ll also substitute a turkey burger or a vegan patty on any of their burgers for no charge. The appetizers alone are the size of a meal. Check out the Carnivorous Habits Platter (again with the Buffett theme!). The BBQ Jerk ribs were about as good as any ribs I’ve had. Perfectly seasoned, just the right combo of spice and sauce, and very juicy. The teriyaki wings were fantastic, almost as good as the wares from Bruce Lee Wings in Baltimore’s Cross Street Market.
This is not a restaurant for Alcoholics Anonymous members. Their bar book is the size of a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, and lists dozens of various margaritas, pina coladas and mojitos. The place has more booze than a hip hop video, and the large variety of rums could make a pirate scream for temperance. The drinks are cheap, just a step above “college dive bar” cheap. The Goombay Smash, somewhat similar to the Gorilla Farts from my beloved Monterrey’s in Virginia Beach, is $5.50. That seldom buys a draft beer around these parts anymore. I just wish the fruit garnish wasn’t looking at me.

CiP is a fine place to take any Parrothead, or perhaps a decent meal after a day in the malls. It’s definitely a step-up above the run-of-the-mill suburban chains, and, at the very least, the cheap drinks will make you forget that a dozen servers are singing “Happy Birthday” to some screaming toddler. My biggest complaint is that it tries just a little too much to be cute and pleasing – the overall theme of a beach bar alone would be nice. I just wish it could be a little more Coastal Flats classic than Chuck E. Cheese loud, because the food deserves better.
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CiP gets 5 out of 10 Whammies! The food, drinks and overall value would earn it more Whammies!, and the drinks are strong enough to make me think for a second, that, indeed, I am in Key West, but I simply can’t fully endorse any place that calls its employees “Islanders” in the middle of a landlocked suburban strip mall.
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Cheeseburger in Paradise
5 Virginia Locations – Woodbridge, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Virginia Beach and Newport News
2 Maryland Locations – Pasadena and California

Like the photoshopped cover of the brochure for a college that’s pushing diversity, Hanks Oyster Bar is a mixed experience. Some of the food is so freakishly great that you ask the server for your menu back and order more. And some of it…well, Hanks could easily be the Next Big Thing…but first they’re going to have to buy fresh seafood.
The location is outrageously cute, with sidewalk tables, simple, happy bistro design, and waitresses you just want to smuggle out with you in a doggy bag. The delicious aromas alone should be bottled; they could charge to deliver that smell of savory hot oil into more elegant, but less tasty restaurants. With the help of a glass of fruity white, I highly suggest the following:
Things that were really good:
Raw oysters – I suspect that whatever they are offering that day will be good, but I tried the Malapeque Oysters – I’ve been in withdrawal since DC coast stopped serving them in favor of York River ones. Fresh, delicious, briny.
Seafood Ceviche with lime, jalapeno – This stuff is lovely! Scallops, squid, shrimp; if it starts with an S, it’s in here.
It’s not on the online menu, but a spicy oyster shooter went down perfectly.
Things that looked awesome but I didn’t try them:
Lobster roll – Oh man, this thing was bloody beautiful looking
Giant prawns – I will never forget the two delicate ladies next to us who picked each monster out of it’s shell like they were doing taxidermy.
Things that you might want to wait on
The garlic steamed muscles were easily the most popular thing on the menu, served with crusty bread and happiness. I was halfway through before I got my first bad one, the next came a moment later. After a while I ran out of napkins to spit them into and gave up. A friend mentioned she had the same experience…C’mon Hanks, we’re counting on you to do better.
Hank’s Oyster Bar
1624 Q STREET

Yes, Eamonn’s lives up to the hype. The tiny (20 seats!) little restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, brought to us from the Restaurant Eve folks, was highly anticipated by the area food community. Greasy comfort food with an excellent pedigree that those of us who don’t earn tasting menu salaries could actually afford? It seemed almost too good to be true.
And while Eamonn’s isn’t a perfect entrant into the new restaurant market, it certainly has plenty of charms. The menu is limited – a couple types of fried fish, served regular or large, two sizes of chips, a handful of other items such as battered burgers, a variety of dipping sauces, and their guilty-pleasure desserts, including fried dough, fried Snickers bars, fried Milky Ways…if you’re on a diet, there is no reason to step foot into the tiny restaurant.
The atmosphere is casual – even more so than I expected. Your seating options are a handful of tables with benches, and a couple bar stools. This is an in-and-out kind of place, rather than somewhere you linger (though the $5 Guinesses may cause you to extend your stay a little longer, and are the best beverage bet, as lesser bottled beers also run $5).
The portions here are not gigantic by any stretch of the imagination, but do you really need to clog your arteries with large quantities of fried food? The large piece of cod runs about $6.50, which seems a little much for just a piece of fish, but then you actually taste the thing. The meat is delicate and flavorful – the batter is hearty and delcious. Chips are twice fried, and even better when accented with malt vinegar or a bit of one of the sauces.
It is in the sauces that Eamonn’s shows a bit of its high-end restaurant roots – would you have thought that curry sauce would make an excellent accompaniment to fish? My friend and I found it incredible, though we still enjoyed the “Fronch” mustard sauce as well (though it was creamier than I usually like my dijon) – you can choose one sauce out of about 6, or pick a couple for 50 cents each.
I’m not a chocolate fan, but I think those out there will be more than willing to sample the fried candybars for themselves. My friend and I shared a $2.50 order of fried dough balls, which were heartier than I expected, and addictive -they’re coated in sugar and cinammon, and they made a convert out of me, when I tend to usually skip dessert. Even if you think you’ve had your fill of the fried by meal’s end, don’t miss these.
While you’ll ultimately walk out of Eamon’s paying a little more than you’d expect for a low-key, easily-inhaled meal of fish and chips, the quality of the ingredients will have you reassured that it was money well-spent.
Eamonn’s
728 King St.
Alexandria, Va 22314
703/299-8384

I picked the wrong weekend to leave town.
My favorite of Jose’ Andres’ group of restaurants, Oyamel, has closed in Crystal City. The last night was September 16th. It will reopen in Andale’s old space, 401 7th Street NW, sometime in 2007.
Granted, this is old news, and I knew it was coming, but it is still jarring to see the sign in the window explaining the move. My day job is in Crystal City, and I’ve enjoyed the diversity of restaurants here, from surprisingly good chains like Ted’s Montana Grill and Hamburger Hamlet, to interesting family-owned places like Urban Thai, Punjab Kabob, The Portofino and Cafe’ Italia. Having two of Chef Andres’ finest, Jaleo and Oyamel, on the same block, has been a wonderful bonus. Oyamel’s happy hour specials of tacos, especially the chicken and chorizo combo, and fine margaritas made a nice afterwork treat. Jaleo’s not bad, but I preferred Oyamel’s bolder spicing and flavors.
Many `burbs have lousy food choices, and it’s certainly better here in Crystal City than in my former office space in Owings Mills, Maryland. Sam’s Club hot dogs vs. Red Robin vs. Hops vs. TGIFridays, maybe a Ruby Tuesday to spice things up – that’s just not a winning battle. It made me long for the fictional fare from Chotchkie’s or ShenaniganZ.
It’s comforting to know Oyamel will be back and will be a nice alternative downtown to Rosa Mexicano. Plus, Oyamel’s space will soon be occupied by a new Roberto Donna project, a casual Italian place dubbed Bebo Trattoria.
This must be how parents rationalize when their child marries – I’m not losing a Jose’, but gaining a Roberto.

This sixth installment in the series will continue to focus on happy hour and daily food specials. The listed prices are after discount, but before adding tax and tip.
Rhodeside Grill in the Courthouse area features a half a pound of shrimp on Thursdays for $4.95 anywhere in the restaurant from 4-7 pm. Rhodeside Grill features wings or nachos for $4.95 Wednesdays upstairs or at the downstairs bar from 4pm until the kitchen closes.
CarPool in Ballston features half price ($4) burgers from 4pm until closing on Tuesdays, and 25 cent wings (minimum order of 10) Wednesdays from 4pm until closing. They have selected half price appetizers during happy hour (from 4-7pm Monday through Friday) including Buffalo wings, Jalapeno poppers ($3), chips & salsa ($2), taquitos ($3), mozzarella sticks ($2.50), chips and guacamole ($2.50), and chicken quesadilla ($3). Their happy hour beer specials (from 4-7 pm Monday through Friday) include $2.25 Miller Lite and $2.75 Yuengling, Sam Adams, Sam Adams Seasonal, and Killian’s.
Mackey’s Public House in Crystal City is owned by the same group as CarPool. Mackey’s has the same burger night, and happy hour beer and appetizer specials, but does not have a wings night.
The Continental modern pool lounge in Rosslyn has half price appetizers (Monday through Friday 5-8 pm and Saturday and Sunday 6 pm-9 pm). These featured appetizers are basket of fries ($2.50), hot pretzel basket ($3.00), red hummus with tortilla chips ($3.00), two grilled 2 beer-soaked, all-beef hot dogs ($3.50), chicken tenders ($4.00), Caribbean jerk wings or hot wings ($4), and grilled veggie quesadilla ($3.50, plus an additional $2.00 for beef or chicken). These happy hours also feature $2.50 drafts (Miller Lite, Red Hook I.P.A, Yuengling Lager, and Widmer Hefeweizen), and $3.50 rail drinks (not including margaritas or martinis).
Sine’ Irish Pub on Pentagon Row has half price burgers all day Mondays, including beef, turkey, or veggie burgers. Tuesdays, Sine’ also has $9.95 prime rib all day, and half price appetizers from 4:00-7:00 pm.
Rhodeside Grill
1836 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA
703 243-0145
CarPool
4000 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203
703 532-7665
Mackey’s Public House
320 South 23rd Street
Arlington, VA 22202
703 412-1113
The Continental modern pool lounge
1911 N. Fort Myer Drive
Arlington, VA 22209
703 465-7675
Sine’ Irish Pub
1301 S. Joyce St.
Arlington, VA 22202
703 415-4420
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke I
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke II
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke III
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke IV
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke V

We at FUD have been remiss. How is it that the months have gone by without even one Snakes on a Plane parody? Could we perhaps be defying the mindless parroting of memes? Oooor, are we just culturally illiterate?
Well, whatever the motivation, Grapeseed‘s chef’s table in Bethesda shares none of our scruples. And so, this Friday and Saturday, NM has tipped us off that they are presenting, yes,

SNAKES ON A PLATE
An evening of a snake-themed set course menu and wine.
To be fair, some of the items would more accurately described as Snake-tribute, like Grilled Baby Octopus ( eight snake like tentacles!), Fresh Tomato, Lemon, and Bucatini (the most snake-like of all pastas), Carbonara. Others are strictly literary: Fresh Churros, Cinnamon Ice Cream (venom served on the side). What other wackiness can Grapeseed come up with? Wait and find out!!!
All that aside, I’ve heard Grapeseed is supposed to be really tasty, so you might as well ride the bandwagon on up to Bethesda and try it out.

I was supposed to sign up for a gym membership sometime this week, but opted to go out every night for Restaurant Week instead. (I love writing for DCFud. Anywhere else I would have to defend that choice, but you….you guys really get me! *sniffle*)
The Boy took me to Neyla in Georgetown the other day. Neyla is named for the Mediterranean spirit of prosperity, abundance, and success, but while the regular menu includes dishes like baba ghannoug, stuffed grape leaves, and chicken shawarma, executive chef Faisal Sultani has mysteriously created a restaurant week menu showing almost no sign of Mediterranean inspiration–an olive here, some goat cheese there. I briefly considered ordering off the regular menu, as I am usually helpless in the face of Mediterranean temptation, but that idea fell by the wayside when I saw, I kid you not, watermelon gazpacho on the restaurant week menu. I was not about to pass up the chance to try watermelon gazpacho.
Of course, the problem now is that I have a fever, and the only prescription is more watermelon gazpacho. It was fruity and sweet but not overpowering, with rock shrimp and tiny scoops of pickled canteloupe and honeydew. The Boy, who practically has a black belt in gazpacho, also detected some red wine vinegar, which kept it from being dessert-y. In any case, this dish was the best thing I have had so far during this RW go-round. I wanted to pick up the bowl and drink from it, but figured that sort of thing would go over especially poorly in Georgetown. We also had the sauteed calamari tossed with scallions and shaved garlic served with a lime-tomato fondue, which was tart and spicy and tender.
We usually don’t order the same thing in restaurants, but neither of us could pass up the pan-roasted New York strip served with sweet and sour dandelion greens. That meant we didn’t taste the swordfish or the egg pappardelle, but I regret nothing. The steaks were beautifully marbled, tender, and juicy, and I thought they involved gorgonzola, but that might have been a beautiful dream, because it does not appear on the otherwise-accurate online menu. The coconut panna cotta was fine but not amazing, although I may have liked it more had I not just had the transcendental amaretto panna cotta at Coeur de Lion the night before. One thing–the server, who was mostly excellent, was a little taken aback when I asked for the panna cotta without the pistachios on top, due to a nut allergy. I understand that chefs don’t like omitting ingredients, but when your only real dessert option (nope, berries don’t count) includes a topping to which many, many people are allergic, you have to be prepared for the request.
Another nice thing about Neyla–it’s very pretty. When I heard that it was a “place to be seen,” I naturally assumed that it had the same kind of masculine, ultra-modern steel-and-glass decor found in Zaytinya, IndeBleu, and to some extent Rasika, but despite the huge windows, Neyla is softer and more feminine than other hot spots in DC. The windows look out onto a gorgeous old brick courtyard, and the light glow rather than gleam. The front patio is a great space to people-watch.
I highly recommend this for restaurant week, but I can’t vouch for the regular menu yet. More research is clearly needed!

Back when the Restaurant Week lineup was announced in July, I scanned the list and saw that Bobby Van’s was one of the participants. I quickly made reservations, given their sterling reputation in New York. I used to work with a young lady from Massachusetts who summered in the Hamptons, and she raved about Bobby Van’s Bridgehampton location. Now, I’m just a relatively middle class guy from Maryland. I’m guessing that “summered” is rich person code for “sunbathed in an expensive resort and did nothing but revel in luxury.” I’ve never “summered” in my life. I’ve “weeked” – well, if you consider Ocean City’s or Dewey’s crowded beaches, all-you-can-eat buffets and sexually-suggestive t-shirt stands luxurious.
In my previous Restaurant Week entry, an anonymous commenter told me I made a mistake in selecting Bobby Van’s for dining, saying that they catered only to the VIP crowd. I took the comments seriously – perhaps this anonymous person is a former employee, wrongfully terminated, or a diner who received shoddy service when they dared pay for their meal with a Discover card instead of an AmEx Titanium Card. Or, conversely, since the commenter chose to remain anonymous, perhaps it was a former employee rightfully terminated with an axe to grind, or somebody associated with a competing restaurant, hoping for a good plug. In the end, I chose to keep my reservation, and had four friends join me.
Let me assure you of this – a full 15 hours after dining there last night, I can still taste the perfectly-prepared medium rare Petite Fillet Mignon, accompanied by slightly-smoky mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The Caesar salad, and the rich chocolate cake and incredible New York cheesecake rounded out the courses, and each bite was fantastic. I had feared that a “Petite” filet would be small 5 or 6-ounce serving, but our steaks were closer to 12 ounces. Even the well-done filets came out thoroughly cooked, and not butterfly-chopped like in other establishments. Our server was professional, friendly, and made a distinct point to make us aware of the Restaurant Week courses on a separate sheet from the regular menu. One of their chefs, Eric, made a friendly tour of the dining room, making sure everybody was enjoying themselves. The table adjacent to ours had a bit more menu diversity than my steak-obsessed crowd. Somebody there had the Crabcakes (the recipe is on their website) and another had the Andouille Sausage and Pulled Chicken Rigatoni, both of whom raved about the quality.
For a high-end steakhouse, the atmosphere was professional, yet relaxed. It’s classy, but not stuffy – there’s no dress code, and patrons wore suits or jeans in nearly equal numbers. Valet service is a manageable $6. The anonymous commenter’s fears couldn’t have been more dispelled – if not for a four-course tasting menu at Palena in May, last night was the best meal I’ve had in D.C. all year. Everything was so tastefully done that I have already planned a September dinner there, where their acclaimed “Porterhouse For Two” sounds less like a luxury and more like a rite of passage. I am so impressed by Bobby Van’s strong Restaurant Week showing that I practically walked out singing The Happenings’ classic tune “See You In September.”
Bobby Van’s
809 15th Street, NW
Phone: (202) 589-0060