The Food Austin Network

 

Cafe Milano
3251 Prospect St., NW - Washington, DC 20007 - 202 333-6183
http://www.cafemilano.net

 

 

A lot of DC heavy hitters already know about Café Milano and for good reason.  It is one of the few restaurants in DC where the buzz is actually deserved. It has a nice atmosphere albeit the place can be loud and less than intimate but nonetheless the cuisine is quite good and you’ll be surrounded with some of DC’s most influential. With dishes named Tortelloni Gucci and Ravioli Cavalli it is best to bring someone you hope to impress.  Much like their name sakes the dishes can be a tad on the pricey side and there is no Marshall’s equivalent for Café Milano’s food.  I tried the black bass served with potato, purple cabbage, fennel and a creamy olive oil sauce.  It was quite tasty and sleep inducing.  True to Italian tradition and stereotype the portions are fairly generous and go well with a bottle from their wine list. Café Milano also tends to be a favourite of people in from out of town, think Tom Cruise, Jessica Simpson, Lionel Richie. So it’s great if you want to try your hand at celeb spotting. So fix up. Look sharp. Bring a date. Enjoy.

 

Price: $$$$  ($30-40 entrees)

Zaytinya
701 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004 - 202-638-0800

I upset my girlfriend this past week at a party by getting a little too drunk.  I needed a place to get myself out of the doghouse.  I asked around and was recommended Zaytinya in Chinatown.  Zatinyas is a greek/middle eastern tapas restaurant.  I looked at a couple of reviews and the place seemed to be held to the highest regards.  I decided to give it a try on a Saturday Night. 

Zaytinya does not take reservations after 6:30, so we had to do a walk in.  Parking is difficult to find in the area so I suggest taking the metro to the Chinatown stop or using Valet for $10.  We had about a 1 hr wait which isn’t too bad for DC on a Saturday night.  The place was full of young professionals and had a diverse mix of people.  While the environment was great for what we were looking for, I would not suggest going here if you are looking for a quiet romantic dinner.  The decor has sort of a middle eastern/modern feel to it; however, the bar is packed and loud.  I have to admit they have some of the coolest looking bathrooms I’ve seen, so you should definitely at least stop here for a pit stop. 

While everything I’ve mentioned thus far sounds great, I am a raised Southern Guy.   Being from the south, I could really care less about decor and appearance. I am all about the quality and taste of the food.  Unfortunately, Zatinyas proved to be nothing but a big dissapointment when it came to food considering its above average price.  Zaytinya suggests ordering 2-3 tapas per person.  We were starving so we decided to order 3 each.  We ordered the:

Chicken Muhammara: Marinated chicken served with a roasted red pepper & walnut sauce   6.95

Rating: Mediocre

The chicken was tender and cooked well; however, the sauce gave it a strange bitter taste.

Lamb Chops with Hommus Bil Toum with roasted garlic-chickpea puree 10.95

Rating: Poor

For the price, you were given little to no meat.  The lamb was cooked near rare and was very bloody.  I had to swallow this with a full glass of water.

Arayes Grilled pita stuffed with ground lamb and tahini  6.50

Rating: Poor

This would have been a great dish, but the lamb was sweet!  I am not a fan of sweets being in my food.  I think sweets should be saved for dessert.  If you are a fan of a bit of sweetness in your food, youll love this. 

Bantijan Bil Laban Fried eggplant with roasted garlic-yogurt sauce 5.75

Rating: Good

This was probably the best thing we ordered.  It was very simple and the garlic yogurt sauce complimented the eggplant very well. 

Mushrooms Saganaki Seasonal mushrooms with Kefalograviera cheese  10.95

Rating: Mediocre

I am a fan of mushrooms and cheese.  So I figured this dish would be heavan.  Unfortunately, the mushrooms were cooked in an extremely salty broth.  The cheese was tasty but made the mushrooms taste even saltier. 

Puff Böregi Fried, light pastry with haloumi, goat and feta Cheeses 5.50

Rating: Good

This was pretty good.  The pastry was perfectly cooked and flaky and crisp fresh from the oven.  The pastry was a little bit too oily and could have used more cheese. 

Since we didn’t like the food and did not eat all of the food, we decided to get an extra order of hummus:

Hommus “Lebanese Taverna” style  5.95

Rating: Poor

I was dissapointed by the hummus. The hummus lacked flavor and was bland.

The service was average.  Overall I recommend this place if your looking for a place to relax, hang out, and try a variety of foods.  If you are looking for genuinely good food with a good price, look elsewhere. I suggest heading down south where you’ll find the best food in the country.

-DesiChaat

Price: $$
 

Local 16
1602 U St, NW, Washington, DC 20009 - +1 (202) 265-2828
http://www.localsixteen.com/

Local 16 is both a nice neighborhood eatery and a lively weekend hotspot and the dishes unpretentious and quite tasty.  The fact that they work with many locally grown ingredients really scores high in our books, we’re all about being local here at Food Washington, and it’s refreshing to see a restaurant be that way.  The atmosphere of the place matches pretty consistently with the majority of the clientele; it’s decked out in dark colors and hip vibes and is trendy yet approachable.  As far as dishes go, the New York Strip is done quite well and is accompanied with all the American staples like spinach, and garlic mash potatoes.  There are a couple of other dishes on the menu where the inspiration is clearly foreign, but this is where it stops. There is no attempt at pure fusion, which is nice considering that fusion in Washington is a little like bipartisanship, largely for show and without any real substance. 

Local 16 was one of the first places to offer this kind of refreshing hipness in a formerly hard part of town, and still carries the flame. While lots of other great places have opened up nearby, there is still no alternative to the rooftop bar and patio. It is a nice place to just kick back with some friends for a lazy weekday and also a nice spot for a casual yet stylish first date. So come for the food, and stay for the drinks and a cool breeze on the rooftop. I would advise coming early though since the rooftop becomes cattlecar-ish as the evening progresses.

Price: $$ (20ish per person)

I’ve already been there twice in the last 5 days. They say that they have famous burgers, and they can definitely back that up. It has been a very long time that I’ve had a burger when I’ve gone out to eat, and I wasn’t disappointed. I’ts juicy, meaty, and not at all that greasy. The taste is pretty amazing, I’ll admit. I’m not really sure about the rest of their food, but if you want an amazing burger with a good serving of fries, this is your place. It’s cheap too.

Oya
777 9^th Street NW, Washington, DC
http://www.oyadc.com

One could say that Oya is one of the growing ranks of NEW Washington restaurant – one that is long on design and easy on the eyes but a place where the food is just mediocre.  The restaurant itself is very well done and is evoking of a trendy bar in Reykjavik or Helsinki with it’s almost all white interior, chains hung from the ceilings, and waiters dressed in dark colors.  The atmosphere is nice and pleasant, you walk in and you are engulfed by trendy-ness, and all of it before you even order anything. It is once you sit down and begin to dine when the shortcomings of Oya come into sight.  First of all the service was incredibly slow. After having ordered several courses, we were at times waiting for 15-20 minutes between dishes.  This wait coupled with the small portions and a tinge of hunger did not equal dining bliss.  The menu is pretty well populated with a selection of sushi, chicken dishes and even an amount of vegetarian options.  We were pleasantly surprised with their sushi options and while they were pricey at 9-12 dollars a pop were definitely delivered in the most generous portions available at Oya.  The main dishes again like the restaurant were topnotch in presentation yet lacking in actual flavor.  Most entrée’s when tasted were a little on the bland side and incapable of matching the level of presentation.

Another disturbing thing was that Oya seems to be a little stingy with their beverage selection.  The cocktail list was limited and the complementing list of beers was capped at 4 kinds of bottles – Sam Adams, Heineken, Amstel Light, and Sapporo.  Not wanting to be a snob here, but a restaurant with a bar and 15 dollar drinks should at least have ONE beer on tap, and if they don’t they should at least make an effort to stock more bottled beverages.

If you’re looking for a place to wear that Paul Smith blazer recently bought off eBay, check out Oya.  The food is average, the service is average but it all comes in a nice package.  Food Washington wouldn’t go back. But you can – and let us know how it was in the comments.

 

Price: $$$ (25ish = entree) 

 

 

Curry Club
1734 Wisconsin Avenue nw, Washington, DC 20007 - 202 625 9090

The Curry Club is an interesting culinary experiment.  They are a conventional restaurant at the Upper Georgetown location but also offer a delivery service - "The Curry Club"  You can sign up for their email list by emailing curryclub@curryclub.net. Every Tuesday they send out an email with a special menu for the week. You then
have until Thursday at 2pm to submit your order.  They deliver the order to you on Friday.  This is especially convenient for those that want to have something on hand to satiate that periodic indian food craving.

As to the dining experience, the ambience is cute and a nice place for an intimate date.  Unfortunately for the Curry Club, the ambience overshadows the food which is mediocre and a little overpriced for what you get.  The portions are fairly generous when compared to other trendy-ish spots but not up to par with what we have come to expect from other lower end indian establishments.  The Beef Vindaloo was quite tasty and deserves to be the curry club favorite that it is, but we were left craving the chicken tikka masalas and the other chicken and vegetable curries that are supposed to be staples of Indian American cuisine.  Essentially the Curry Club is an experiment in trendy and comfortable eating. The food is not out of the ordinary and unless you are there for the intimate ambience it is an overpriced Indian food fix, and the name is not particularly fitting given the lack of curry on the menu.

Price: $$

Old Angler’s Inn
10801 MacArthur Blvd - Potomac, MD 20854 – www.oldanglersinn.com
301-299-9097

Almost everyone in this town will agree that Old Angler’s Inn is one of the most intimate dining establishments in the area.  Whether you head there in the wintery months or in the warmer months, you will have your choice of dining indoors with the crackling of the fireplace to keep you company or outside along the C&O canal under a leafy canopy.  The atmosphere alone is worth the drive up MacArthur Blvd. but luckily for us you don’t have to compromise on the food either.  There are a variety of dishes that are worth trying out.  From the caramel-braised beef short-ribs with horseradish mashed potatoes to the pistachio encrusted Chilean sea bass, the flavors are innovatively done and the sauces are rich.  For starters we would recommend the seared sea scallops with caramelized turnips and aged balsamic vinegar. If you’re having some trouble choosing from the ever changing menu, the chef will put together a tasting menu for the table.  This is an option that really should be available at more places around town and is a wonderful escape for those of us that are terrible at making decisions.  For desert check out the Brioche Bread Pudding with Tropical Fruit Compote & Caramel Sauce, it is definitely worth a try.

 
Old Angler’s Inn: History. Food. Fireplace. Shaded Tables.  You really can’t go wrong.

Price: $$$

P. Terry’s Burger Stand
404 South Lamar - Austin, Texas 78704
www.pterrys.com

 

Now P. Terry’s has been around for a little while, and it’s still going strong. The burgers are priced just right. Starting at $1.70, they’re definitely not going to break the bank account and they are the perfect size for a casual lunch. The fries are amazing and just the right blend of crunch and softness. This burger stand really puts other fast food establishments to shame. Just another testament to the fact that local joints just plain do it better than the big nationals. For such a small place the options are pretty wide, with a selection of beef, chicken and veggie burgers – the shakes are also quite tasty, not runny or slushy, just pure cold wholesome goodness… This is sure to appeal to a wide swath of the population down there on the corner of South Lamar and Barton Spring. So if you’re driving up/down Lamar one day and in the mood for a quick bite, pull on into P. Terry’s and you won’t leave disappointed. Check em out.

 

 

 

 

 Price: $

 

 

It’s 10am on a Saturday and I’m sitting in the Easy Chair Cafe at the University Mall. You all know where that is, everyone who has been to the dreaded Math Emporium knows. The place gives off every possible vibe of “cafe” imagineable. It’s the kind of cafe you’d see in a movie, at least the front register is. There’s also plenty of seating, though now couches. If you’re a laptop toter, the back area has plenty of tables and outlets for you to hook up to their free wireless LAN. As for the prices, definitely cheaper than Starbucks, and the quality? Honestly… there’s no difference.

You’re simply paying the extra money at Starbucks because of its name. Try this place out, they’ve got great cookies, free internet, plenty of seating, and pretty good coffee products.

I love cookies.

Teo’s - 1206 W 38th St - Austin, Texas 78705
512-451-9555

 

Well here’s the deal.  By now, everyone already knows I love gelato.  Gelato, Doe’s Eat Place, and Dreamland barbeque sauce, amongst a few other things are things I live on.  As long as you don’t take away these three things, I am willing to lose everything else.  Now I know this is a bold statement, and those who haven’t tried the complete trifecta may have a hard time coming to grasps with the magnitude of such a statement.  Now while, we aren’t blessed enough in Austin to have all three present, we do have the good fortune of having a couple of tasty gelato shops.  Some people swear by Dolce Vita, and for good reason because it is a consistent delight.  I however, have grown partial to Teo’s, the cross town rival of sorts.  It is less ritzy than Dolce Vita and the place let’s the gelato speak for itself.  The coffee is also tasty, but I swear by the gelato.  The peanut butter hazelnut is to die for, it’s the perfect blend of an icy Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and Nutella….I mean can you ask for something more decadent?  Likely, not.  Teo’s offers a wide variety of flavors and I would recommend that you try them all; they definitely have something for everyone.  Now as a bit of an aside, gelato is meant for lovers, it is something to be enjoyed with someone you love, it’s like Venice in the spring, or April in Paris – always better with the special someone by your side.  Now if you’re lucky enough to have that certain prerequisite, I would highly recommend getting some decadent gelato, and enjoying it outside next to the fireplace.  You’ll be cold, but you’ll enjoy every minute of it.  Now I don’t want Food Austin to become a date planning service, but say… we were a dating service, gelato and fireplace would make a killer combo, now add in a couple comfy big leather chairs and a polar bear soft rug and we’re in business, alas we’re not in Turin, so we’ll settle for the authentic flavors of Italy to satisfy the sweet tooth we all have.

 Check out Teo’s, you won’t regret it.

Price: $