DINNER: Hot Italian, Wray's Take

Overall, a fun place with good food, if you order the right pizza. I thought the place was a modern spin on a traditional pizzeria that leaves a good impression. I liked the open air feel, large tables, unique menu choices and gelato counter within reach for a cool & creamy dessert. The collection of black plastic forks on the wall was intriguing, but has left me with a secret desire to tape up KFC sporks on my next visit. Overall the pizza was good; thin crust that focused on the toppings. My favorite of the DC selections within reach was the balsamic fig and prosciutto pie. With that said, I definitely thought some pizzas we had were much better than others, and I don't think I would plan a night out revolving around this place. Better than Zeldas? Uh, that's questionable. The fact that I remember the wall-forks more than the pie probably answers that question.

DINNER CLUB RECAP: Wray's Tofu Pad Thai and Green Curry Shrimp

Thai iced tea was a nice accompaniment to the hot and spicy tofu pad thai and green curry shrimp. Everything I served this week was based off recipes found at http://www.importfood.com/. Spicy Pad Thai: Fish sauce, sugar, tamarind concentrate, tofu and sriracha sauce (rooster sauce) gave this pad thai a nice authentic taste. Fresh ginger, been sprouts, cilantro, and lime juice really added a fresh kick to this relatively easy and spicy side dish to the main green curry shrimp entree. Green Curry Shrimp: Large shrimp and fresh shallots lemongrass, garlic, ginger, lime, and cilantro really gave this a great flavor. Mixed with the green curry paste, turmeric powder and coconut milk over sticky rice gave a rich and flavorful dish. Thai Iced Tea: think green tea flavored sugar sludge drizzled with condensed milk. All over ice. What's not to love about that? I thought this went well to counter the spicy pad thai and green curry. To keep with the lime theme we had key lime pie for dessert. Claire loved the shrimp! (Sorry no cheese this week).

LUNCH: Buckhorn Grill

Buckhorn's Web site

You go to Buckhorn for the tri-tip. Or something else meaty. I just ate their portabella sandwich. Not impressed. Nor have I been impressed with their salads. So, vegetarians beware (although the mashed potatoes are delicious - how can they not be with all that butter and salt?). Buckhorn Grill is a tasty spot for carnivores who need a quick bite.

DINNER: Hot Italian, John's take

Hot Italian's Web site

Hot Italian is making a credible run for the Hippest Pizza Joint prize in our fair city. CPK has a great location but is way too corporate, Zelda's is a pain in the ass with their shotty service, and I don't have enough tattoos to hang with the Inferno Pizza crowd. So that leaves Paesano's and Hot Italian for those of you who want a pie and want to be in the scene while you have it. Overall, the food at Hot Italian is fun and invites group sharing. I borrowed several slices from the unlucky four who were within my arms reach, and all were tasty. The joint is, alas, far from perfect. The decor is, very, very black and white, sort of like Casablanca without that hot mess Ingrid Bergman. The adjacent Ducati motocycle showroom probably looked good on the business plan, but is now shoved in the corner like a 12-year-old's Hot Wheels collection after puberty. And the service could use a little brushing up on the wine list -- perhaps a start would be if they could recommend one bottle from the extensive and unfamiliar collection of Italian wines. So who wins the challenge? I have to say that I still think Paesano's is the Hippest Pizza Joint in town, and by somewhat more than a nose. It's been here for what seems like forever in restaraunt years, it is consistently good, and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Perhaps time will tell for Hot Italian.

COCKTAILING: Hamburger Patties

Tonight went out to Azukar for a salsa lesson. I had 15 minutes to kill before they opened the club for the lesson and I needed some liquid courage. I ducked into Hamburger Patties next door to grab a tequila with a beer back. Patties, formerly Hamburger Mary's, is a gay bar/restaurant. The crowd is always a great mix of gay, straight, young and older. Tonight the owner was celebrating his birthday. Patties was crackin! The place was crowded, the music was pumping, the party was vibing and there were balloons everywhere! The balloons were just as colorful as the crowd! I like this place because the people are so friendly. I never go to bars alone but I felt totally at ease sliding into the bar and ordering a drink while I waited for my salsa partner. Almost immediately I met Junior who was next to me at the bar. He is a longtime employee of Patties who was there for the party. The party was fun, the mostly naked gay boy was cute and the crowd was friendly. They had karaoke going which I have very mixed feelings about but I'll save that for another blog entry. I have eaten at Patties before but that was a long, long time ago. I recall the veggie burger was good but I can't comment on the rest of the menu. If you are in midtown and looking for a fun spot to chill out, have a drink and maybe meet some cool people, don't forget about Hamburger Patties.

COCKTAILING: Mix

Mix's Web site

I did swear to not go back here after my last experience, but I didn't want to miss out my girlfriends' rendezvous last night. I have to say that Mix really is a nice place to go for drinks after work ("nice" refers to the place -- not the drinks). The service was so much better this time. Both the outside and inside bar areas are well-decorated and ideal for enjoying drinks. So, why do the drinks at Mix suck? I ordered wine this time since I have been disappointed with every cocktail I've ever had at Mix. The pinot grigio happy hour special was ... icky. I guess I can't complain, it was only $5. Why does this place have awful wine AND sugary cocktails? I could answer that by saying that they perhaps cater to a low-income, 21-year-old crowd. But if you look around, there's many successful-looking folks in their 20s, 30s and 40s -- so I just don't know. Anyway, Mix is no longer a spot of contention for me, I'll certainly return if my friends choose it as a destination. But next time, I'll flip past the first page of happy hour specials and the corny cocktail menu to find a decent glass of wine ... and cross my fingers.

DINNER: Mulvaney's at the B & L

Mulvaney's Web site

Why do I always forget about this place? Probably because it's in an unassuming building on a side street in midtown. Mulvaney's is lovely and consistently good. It has a relaxed, unpretentious environment in a small, low-frills place -- but the food is top-notch. We dined here on the last Second Saturday -- the rustic courtyard is beautiful, especially when it starts to get dark and the twinkle lights do their thing. We've never had a bad meal at Mulvaney's. One of us always gets the steak -- delicious! Last time I ordered an heirloom tomato salad with fresh mozzarella -- also delicious but the amount of cheese was enough to feed 10 people. I'm proud of myself for not scarfing it down, I can't imagine anyone eating that much cheese. I have to mention -- although it has nothing to do with Mulvaney's directly -- that while there, I spotted a woman at another table pour a packet of Sweet'n Low into her glass of wine! But even that couldn't detract from our wonderful dining experience at Mulvaney's.

DINNER: Hot Italian, Lisa's Take

Hot Italian's Web site

Funny, we all have slightly different perspectives on the evening. I have to say that I thought the minimalist concept worked! I loved the hanging overhead fan, which appears to be an actual propeller from an airplane. Very cool. I also really enjoyed walking through the motorcycle shop while we waited for our pizzas; it was quasi-museum and quasi-pizza joint! Loved it! I foresee myself bringing out-of-towners here because it is so different. Loved the hand drier in the bathroom! I do think they should have more appetizer options, and when the waitress was asked her opinion on the wines or suggestions, she had none. That's not a good thing, especially when our group is very used to napa/sonoma/amador wines, but not Italian. We would have gone with a suggestion, but instead we had to guess with both bottles. Loved the prosciutto fig pizza. Would not reorder Ray's egg/prosciutto/mushroom pizza. Without the egg, there was barely anything on it! Good thing for the egg! Pistachio gelato - excelente!

DINNER: Hot Italian, Sandra's take

Hot Italian's Web site

Here is my take on Hot Italian. I think the idea of a motorcycle and scooter shop attached to a pizza and calzone restaurant is very weird but who am I to judge? What is even more weird is that when the restaurant is busy, the overflow crowd gets seated at little tables inside the shop. I personally would not want to eat in a motorcycle showroom with a motorcycle on one side of me and the restrooms on the other side but lucky for me we got a table in the main restaurant. The whole space is open and minimalist. The restaurant is all white with black communal tables and black accents. And by accents I really mean black forks stuck onto the whitewashed cement block walls. The menu is mostly pizzas that can be made into calzones with a few salad options as well. The appetizer is a single option of cheese and sliced cured Italian meats. Instead of serving bread they serve cooked pizza dough. I find this slightly strange when I'm guessing most people follow up their pizza dough starter with an actual pizza. Speaking of pizza, mine was actually pretty good. It was a sweet and savory thin crust pizza topped with figs, arugula, gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar that appeared to be reduced. The melted gorgonzola served as the "sauce" for the pizza. Bernadette mentioned the Super Umbria wine we had. The menu shows a map of Italy's regions. The wine by the bottle list is separated into two categories, $38 and $48 category! Once again, I find this somewhat strange but I can go with the flow. Under each "category" is a list of wines each with a symbol to help you locate the region that the wine came from on the map. It's kind of fun in a cutesy way. I should mention they do have a decent selection of wines by the glass and a couple of beer options as well. I chose a bottle of the dolcetto for our second bottle of the evening. I have to say it was a very nice bottle. I would order it again. For dessert I was looking forward to trying a gelato sandwich but they got rid of the sandwich option. Now you get the standard cup or cone options. My caramel salato (salted caramel) gelato was so good that I had to stop by Friday after work for a cone. The gelato is slightly on the icy side instead of creamy but I still really enjoyed the flavor. They got bonus points for playing one of my favorite Italian songs while I enjoyed my cone, Jovanotti's Mi Fido di Te. The service was a bit erratic but we didn't have any problems with our service. About the worst that happened was the late dessert pizza which was taken off our bill and the server not wanting to give each of us a pizza box for our leftovers but he gave us foil. By the way, skip the dessert pizza. It just tasted like soggy pears on soggy pizza dough with some gorgonzola cheese. That's just my opinion though. Overall, I can see they don't take themselves too seriously here, which is good. I was just left feeling like I didn't get the joke.

DINNER CLUB RECAP: Sandra's July 2009

Summertime is the perfect time to serve delicious fresh fruits and veggies. For my last dinner club I decided to make two summer salads. I served a salad I found watching one of Giada's shows on the food network. It was simple, just slice fresh avocado and papaya and dress with a simple lime dressing. For the dressing, juice and zest a lime, add a pinch of salt, a quarter tsp of sugar, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper and whisk with a quarter cup of EVOO. Next time I make this I'm going to use mango since I love mango and avocado together. This salad is simple, colorful, delicious and takes almost no time to make. My main course salad was a cold Mediterranean lentil and cous cous salad. I made the cous cous and let it sit after fluffing it with a fork. I sautéed a sweet onion with chopped carrot and garlic. Then I added the rinsed lentils and broth (1 1/4 cup lentils with 20 oz. broth), brought them to a boil then lowered the heat and let them simmer partially covered until the lentils were soft but still a little firm. You don't want them to get mushy when you toss them. When they are ready, add the cous cous in a large bowl and pour the lentils over them. Add chopped kalamata olives. I also added lemon thyme and chopped flat leaf parsley. I dressed the salad with a mixture of EVOO and plenty of fresh lemon zest and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then I tossed it and refrigerated it for a couple of hours. The lemon zest really made the dish. For dessert I made a fruit tart from a recipe provided to me by my coworker Diane the day before. I admit I didn't mix the filling correctly so it wasn't as good as it should have been. It will be better next time and there will be a next time since the tart just looks so pretty with all that delicious summer fruit on it. I tried some different wines and this dinner club I bought one that I really liked, J. Lohr Chardonnay. This impressed me and I am not really a white wine drinker. In fact, Chardonnay is probably my least favorite. It didn't break the bank either.

DINNER: Bandera

Bandera's Web site

I haven't been to Bandera in ages. I used to go there for drinks but since I don't eat red meat or poultry, I thought my options there would be too limited. However after reading Leslie's review I decided to give Bandera another try. I arrived before my company so I had a dirty Grey Goose martini with bleu cheese stuffed olives at the bar. It was served quickly and made perfectly. At $10 it was a deal! It was a hot evening so I brought a bottle of wine that I like to drink when the mercury rises, Franciscan Cuvee Sauvage Chardonnay. They took it when I arrived and chilled it for me. While perusing the wine list I noticed they have the exact same bottle at a very minimal markup. They didn't mention anything and opened the bottle for my friends and me. I admit I didn't check to see what the corkage fee was but I'll bet it was probably the same as their markup on the bottle, minimal. Our server Kirsten was excellent. My friends' nice little house salads looked fresh and chock full of goodies like tomato, avocado, goat cheese and cornbread croutons. My tuna poke with avocado, mango, macadamia nuts, shrimp, cilantro and red peppers was perfect for the weather and the wine. The only flop was the blackened halibut fish special which came out dry. All in all it was a very good experience. I will certainly remember to go back to try the seasonal vegetable platter that Leslie blogged about.