Sam Woo Rockville

I should title this post "What's missing in DC," mmmm Korean....Prices are a little high because their specialty is barbeque, but I was not disappointed. I ordered the japchae and it was exactly what I wanted and with plenty of leftovers. Waitress was also extremely nice and was very patient with my friends and I, who couldn't decide if we wanted the buffet or not. By the way, the buffet is $16.95 per person. Anyway, I was very happy to stumble in on this restaurant and you just know that being 5 minutes from home, it is going to become a regular.

3.75/5
no website

The Park NYC

You usually hear about The Park's bar/club scene, but my friends and I actually went for my friend's birthday dinner. The atmosphere is great, I loved the "garden" feel. As for the food, it was okay. We started with calamari, which were the usual, but the chipotle dip was a tasty addition. For our entrees, I had the blackened catfish, one of my friends had the salmon, and the other ordered the linguini. All pretty good, but not fantastic. My catfish I found a bit too burnt or blackened, but I did like the flavor of the corn mash. The fish was also slightly over cooked and didn't taste particularly fresh. My friend said her linguini smelled amazing, but that the flavor was less than spectacular. For dessert, we ordered the flourless chocolate cake and banana wontons. The cake was good, very rich. The banana wontons were also done nicely - crisp with a simple banana filling. Overall, it was a fun dinner, the perfect place for something like a friend's birthday. However if you are looking for fine dining, I'd go elsewhere.

3.75/5
http://www.theparknyc.com/index.html

Taste of Saigon Rockville

My first post about a restaurant in my new home of Rockville and it's a downer. Rockville is known for its Asian food throughout the DC metro area and I'm sure hoping that there is better out there than Taste of Saigon. The atmosphere was great, the whole restaurant is more or less outdoors and the decorations are gorgeous, but the food... We had the Vietnamese ravioli to start and then the papaya salad, saigon crepe, and thick rice noodles for our entrees. The best plate was the thick rice noodles, which had a nice sweet salty flavor. The worse plate was the crepe, which was incredibly doughy and thick. When you think crepe, you think thin and crisp, not thick and doughy. We even asked the waiter if it was supposed to be cooked through more and he said it should have been more crisp. Poor execution here. The papaya salad was okay and so were the ravioli. Overall, sigh...

3/5
http://www.eatpaper.net/tos/index.html

Bodega DC

A new tapas restaurant has made its way into Georgetown and surprisingly, it's inexpensive and decent. Both my friend and I who had studied in Spain wanted to check out this new addition. The tapas selection was quite authentic - tortilla espanola, jamon serrano, albondigas, atun, espinacas, paella, gambas al ajillo,... We had difficultly choosing for our little table of two but we ended up with the pan con tomate y jamon serrano, albondigas, espinacas, camerones, and patatas bravas. Nothing was exactly the same as it was in Spain, or at least Madrid, but it was pretty good. The jamon was definitely jamon, but sliced a little thicker than normal. The spinach had the pinenuts and raisins, but could have been cooked down a little more. The patatas bravas had a nice kick to them, but were crisper than usual. And the albondigas had a wonderful red wine sauce, but lacked that unique blend of ground meat. Overall, different, but not bad at all. Each of the tapas was $4-$7, which is more than you pay in Spain, but less than you pay in Georgetown. This will be a repeat restaurant when I'm having a Spanish craving and want something easy and casual.

I should mention that by the time I return to Bodega, I hope the wait staff learns how to take your plates when they are empty.

3.75/5
No website

Open City DC

Been doing a lot of Sunday brunches with friends recently. Evening Star Cafe and Afterwords Cafe were among the list and yesterday we tried Open City at Woodley Park. Brunch is usually brunch with its pancakes, eggs benedict, and omelets so I don't usually blog them, but this time I feel like it.

Open City has a very cute location with its outdoor seating and open windows, making the indoor feel like outdoor. I ordered the chorizo scramble, one of my friends had the Open City omelet, and my other friend got the belgian waffle. Everything was good and everyone was pleased. I was especially happy with my scramble because the chorizo and scallions added a good flavor to the otherwise ordinary eggs. Open City also features a diverse range of coffees and teas. I had the iced green tea and it was refreshing for a bright and sunny day.

4/5
http://www.opencitydc.com/

Bethesda Crab House Bethesda

In the last two weeks, I've been to two crab houses. Crab houses are great, it takes a bit getting used to the sludge and mess of it all, but it's fun so long as you don't mind getting dirty, wearing a bib, and seeing crab guts. I called ahead to reserve my dozen large crabs and they were beautiful. The meat was fresh and sweet. One of the major differences between west and east coast crabs is that the meat is a lot softer and sweeter, but of course, the crabs are not as large. The seasoning is strong and definitely numbs your lips after a while, but it's tasty and nothing that you can't get used to. We also ordered the seasoned shrimp, which were amazing. Huge shrimp that were so incredibly fresh and crunchy. The coleslaw and corn are nothing to share, but the experience was great and my family loved it. I also learned a new way to slice open a crab from a stranger - it was pretty awesome.

4/5
No website

Bacar SF

How disappointing. Maybe I shouldn't have had high hopes, but when you are going to be putting down $50 per person, how can you not? Anyway, Bacar wasn't that bad, but it was definitely not great. We ordered the pork belly to start. Very crispy fatty pig is what it was. We liked the sweet and sour onions that came with. The flavors were there and it was cooked well, but we were hoping for more. For our entrees, I ordered the duck breast and my friend had the suckling pig. Once the dishes came out, the problem was apparent. On my plate were five beautiful thick slices of duck. But where was the spinach, wild rice, and turnips? They were hidden in miniscule amounts under the duck. The ratio was unsettling. I finished everything besides the duck because there was too much! The suckling pig was the same. There was a giant cut of pork belly and another giant slice of pork and the accompaniments lay idly between. The quality of the food was there, but the proportions made me feel sick. After not finishing my plate, I thought I would give Bacar one more try and ordered the chocolate torte for dessert. It was good, but nothing to scream about. Overall, it was a disappointing meal.

2.5/5
http://www.bacarsf.com/