Haandi Bethesda

For my friend's birthday dinner, we ventured to well-reviewed Haandi in Bethesda. For a Sunday night, I was immediately impressed with how many patrons there were. The four of us shared 2 orders of samosas, baigan bharta, and murgh tikka tandori. It was the perfect amount of food. The samosas were disappointing - although they were perfectly fried and very crispy, I prefer my samosas to have chunks of potato, rather than have it mashed up. The baigan bharta was not distinctly an eggplant dish, but it was very tasty. Give me an order of roti and baigan bharta and I'm set. The murgh tikka tandori was forgettable. The barbeque was worth noting, but the chicken was dry. I would have gladly substituted the tandori for another curry dish. I think we missed the mark at Haandi, but I'm up to trying again.

3.5/5
http://www.haandi.com/

La Sandia Tysons

This was the first restaurant I tried at Tysons, not counting TGIFridays or the food court, and it was exactly what I expected - snazzy, decent fair, and overpriced. The most attractive part about La Sandia, which also ended up being the best part about the restaurant, was the drink menu. The mango mojito was wonderful: minty and limey with a minimal trace of alcohol. I had the tacos baja, beef barbacoa enchilada, and chicken tamal combination platter and my friend ordered the beef quesadillas. Although I did not finish my platter, I tried some of each and my favorite was the tacos baja. This was the only one that was distinctly "modern mexican." The fish tasted like it was cooked in tempura batter, in fact, my immediate reaction after taking a bite was "japanese!" The chicken tamal was tasty, I enjoyed the addition of the avocado, but the beef enchilada tasted like beef in a tortilla - just beef. The beef quesadillas had something going on, you could definitely taste the citrus and chiles. Overall, not bad, but not worth it. You are paying for the convenience of being inside a mall.

3.75/5
http://www.modernmexican.com/lasandiavirginia/index.htm

Oyamel DC

This restaurant has been on my "To Try" list for quite some time and my friend and I finally made our way there last week. Oyamel features Mexican dishes, tapas style. We ordered the daily special of Camarones with some type of chipotle sauce, Enchilada de pollo con salsa verde, Machuco relleno de frijol con salsa negra, and two tacos. My friend had the Pollo a la parrilla con aguacate taco and I had the Chapulines taco. For anyone that needs to work on their Spanish, I had the taco of sauteed grasshoppers :D Before I get to the grasshoppers, I want to first talk about the tapas. The special was fantastic, it was our favorite dish. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and that sauce was amazing, so flavorful and dynamic. The machuco was a plantain. The black beans added something, but overall, the plantain tasted like a plantain. The enchilada was tasty. I thought the tomatillo really added to the dish. I expected it to be spicy because of the chiles, but it was much more on the mild side. Now, the tacos. My friend said her chicken with guacamole taco was boring. Exactly what you would expect, nothing more. My taco on the other hand was something completely different. I do believe I have tried grasshoppers before, but never in such a concentrated amount. This was a taco of grasshoppers and just grasshoppers. They were crunchy like I expected, but the taste was unlike anything I had ever had before - not spicy, not tangy, just kind of salty. There was not much to this dish, I could not even taste the shallots or tequila and being tequila, I definitely thought it would have hit me. Well, now I can say I tried it and it's off my list. Not something I would order again, but it wasn't horrible. You know, if my survival depended on it...

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

B. Smith's DC

I was thoroughly pleased with my dinner at B. Smith's. Perhaps it was because I was eating at 9pm, but I found the food incredibly flavorful. I had the Garden District House Salad to start, which was lightly flavored with a sweet vinaigrette. The menu said cucumber vinaigrette, but I swear I tasted some type of fruit in it, perhaps berry or apple. For my entree, I ordered the shrimp and grits. The shrimp were crunchy and plump and the grits were served like mini grainy pancakes. However, it was the sauce that made the dish. It was distinctly cajun. Cayen pepper, andouille sausage, a bit of cheddar - the sauce really put the dish together and gave it a nice kick. Lastly, for dessert, I had the Bourbon St. Bread Pudding, which was good, not as mushy as some other bread puddings I have tried, but wayy too sweet - a few bites and I was done. Overall, I loved my southern meal.

4.25/5
http://www.bsmith.com/restaurant_dc_home.php

Rosemary's Thyme Bistro DC

Besides sitting outside and first getting eaten alive by the bugs and then getting rained on, this was a wonderful brunch restaurant. Brunch fare becomes very routine, but Rosemary's definitely featured some unique choices. I ordered the mediterranean pide with eggs, which was delicious. The bread was incredible and I love the combination of sundried tomatoes and spinach. The sauce that came with the pide was also exceptional. It was tomato based and sweet yet tangy. Not sure what was in it, but it tasted great, especially with the eggs. One of my friends also ordered a pide that she was pleased with and the other had a small, but tasty omlette.

4/5
http://rosemarysthyme.com/index.html

Gaffney's Restaurant Bethesda

I chose Gaffney's as the site for my birthday dinner this year - classy, but not pretentious. The restaurant featured American and soul food. In fact, there was way more Cajun/Creole on the menu than I expected. We shared the red pepper hummus and calamari to start, which were both good, but your standarad fare. For my entree, I had the Bayou Stew, wanting to try something a little different. The Stew was great - the seafood and collard greens were enough to distract me from the creamy thick mustard sauce. It was heavy, but I was smart and didn't eat too much. Portioned, this was a wonderful dish. The other entrees on the table were a mix: the broth of the Sesame Crusted Salmon was too salty, the Fish-N-Chips were good, not special, the Steamed Mussels were what you would expect from a decent American restaurant, and the Pesto Chicken Penne was flavorful, but heavy. For dessert, the house gave us two bread puddings, which were well done, but not exceptional. Overall, the food was good, but it could have been better and I think I was hoping it to be better.

4/5
http://www.gaffneys-restaurant.com/

Mykonos Grill Rockville

When you spend 3 hours having dinner, it tells you two things: 1) the company of your dinner party is fantastic 2) the restaurant staff is incredible. I had an amazing experience at Mykonos. Yes, in fact, it was an experience. You know on TV when you see waiters and hosts recognize their patrons? Well, Mykonos Grill is definitely one of those places. The meal started off with the waiter suggesting a wine to me, instead of the house that I was about to order. The meal continued with a fantastic appetizer of Taramosalta - fish roe with boiled potatoes and pita bread. The pita was amazing and the fish roe and potatoes formed a spread that was so distinct from anything we had ever tried. It was one of those things you are not sure if you like at first, but then just become addicted to. For our entrees, the waiter suggested the specials of halibut fillet and trout stuffed with spinach and feta. Both very tasty, a bit oversalted (rock salt), and tender. The vegetables that came with were also tasty, but overly seasoned. Overall, the entrees were great, but a bit too much. I think by holding back a bit, they would have been superb. For dessert, we ordered the Baklava, but then the waiter also recommended the Galaktobouriko, which we ended up getting on the house. The filo in the Baklava was crisp and flaky, but the dessert as a whole was overly sweet - too much honey! The Galaktobouriko was different. It was like a cannoli, but the cream was unique. As my friend put it, it was "fragrant," not sweet, but definitely flavorful. In my opinion, it kind of tasted like flowers. Not that I know what flowers taste like, but it sure reminded me of flowers. Anyway, I'm not sure what to make of it, but it was definitely worth trying. Our waiter was truly incredible, super nice, not slimy, and definitely willing to offer advice, if asked. We ended up closing shop and I couldn't have had a better celebratory dinner with a great friend.

4.25/5
http://www.mykonosgrill.com/