Ben T.'s Profile

I usually go to Vapiano on M Street, bringing with me large groups from work or school.  But my buddy and I went to the one in Chinatown one night after a Wizards game and stood at the bar for 15 minutes.  The bartender didn't even look our way from the other end of the bar, where he was chatting up some female customers.  So my buddy and I walked out.  At least the woman at the front desk was nice enough to say, "Please, I'm a bartender here too, I'll go get you drinks" but at that point we were disgusted.

We walked across the street to the Chinese restaurant Chinatown Garden and were instantly seated, with our drinks and a plate of steamed dumplings plus glasses of water served up instantly.

Don't stop me from giving you money!  And don't hire bartenders who are more interested in scoring a date than making money for the business.

The Vapiano on M Street has always served me well at the bar.  Thanks.

I really don't know what to say.  I came in with long hair (maybe 2") and the guy proceeded to start giving me a buzz cut even though I said I wanted to keep it long.

I essentially got the OPPOSITE of what I wanted, somehow.  And nothing remotely close to what I came in with.  He said it was a misunderstanding but I really don't know how you could do what he did to my hair, seeing how it was long.  Wouldn't you confirm, if someone asked for something radically different than what they had?

NEVER COMING HERE AGAIN.  Besides cutting hair, the place seems pretty cool though.  Which I guess is a minor thing considering it's a BARBER SHOP.  Come on guys, it's not that hard to get at least in the same ballpark as what your customer wanted.

Love this place!  Fun location, wonderful mood lighting and ambience in the place (brick interior, dark lighting).

I followed the Yelp recommendations and got the mini burgers.  Loved 'em, along with the onion strings.  That alone made it worth it.

I got the pesto chicken pizza.  I would agree with Thuy L.'s review that panned the pizza (get it? ha) in DC.  It's REALLY hard to find good pizza.  My New Yorker friends of course thumb their noses down at the NY-style pizza, and I don't know where to get deepdish besides Pizzeria Uno (is yo smella broke?).  The best pizza I know of is at Italian Pizza Kitchen.

But I still had a great time at Matchbox and would go there any time I'm in the Chinatown area...  The waitstaff seems to usually be pretty overloaded but ours was friendly, if flighty.

Went to Marcel's with my parents when they came up for a brief visit.  Unfortunately, this was a long time ago so I don't remember all the different dishes that I had.  The menu has completely changed now from when I went, so I can't reconstruct my meal!

But that's a great thing, actually, that the menu changes frequently!  Marcel's feels like a place that prides itself in being professional, and I love that, even if it's not the sort of place I fit in while eating at.  I say that because Michael Chertoff and what seemed to be a bunch of high-powered lobbyists/lawyers seemed to be eating there that night.

You can construct your dinner however you like, taking as many dishes out of each course as you want.  Not a seafood person, I ate a lot of different meats:  rabbit, lamb, filet mignon.  Since it was winter, I had a delicious butternut squash soup, which is one of my favorites.

The waiters and maitre d' were attentive and gave plenty of advice on what to order.  We felt well taken care of and I enjoyed the meal.  I think my mom, a tough critic, enjoyed it but thought it could have been more exciting.

Sorry to be so non-specific.  The bottom line was that this food was delicious and contained a lot of flavors and ingredients you can't easily prepare at home -- the balance of sweets, sours, savories, and bitterness tended towards sours, if you're into defining your meals that way.  Loses a star for price.

I went here for graduation with my parents.  I'm not usually a fan of going to the most expensive restaurants in town, but they're definitely worth trying once to get an idea of what their cuisine is like.

Excellent Four Seasons service, dark and rich tables and menus with subtle lighting.

The three kinds of fries with three sauces as a complimentary appetizer were delicious.

Menu items were sumptuous...I would've enjoyed trying the wagyu or kobe but it's too expensive.  I had the suckling pig, which was presented amazingly but which I felt might have been a little bland.  My parents got New York strip which I would have enjoyed more.

Delicious meals, great combinations of flavors.  Perfectly cooked dishes.  I did have a problem with the portions being entirely too small for what you pay.  But maybe that's because we were Texans at a steakhouse...expecting a lot.

At the end, we got a taffy/caramel closer treat.  I thought it completely ruined the meal.  Too sweet, sticks in your teeth...unpleasant.

Overall the food was worth the reputation, and I had a good experience, but I probably wouldn't go here again unless some company was paying for it.  Doesn't feel like you're getting your money's worth.

Went here for a post-graduation happy hour with a couple friends.  It's easy to miss if you're walking along Wisconsin.  Sat upstairs by the window, had a very attentive and cool bartender.  Bourbon has great bar food -- I recommend getting a constant chain of tater tots.  Probably the best bar to go to in the Glover Park area, although they have full menus and many options too.  We had the burgers, and they were pretty decent!  What a treat to have this in the neighborhood.

Pizzeria Paradiso (PP) is best if you go there for happy hour downstairs and enjoy their deals.  A lot of people don't know about the downstairs area but that's the only reason to go here.  They have a superb beer selection (try the beer on cask, as well as the Dogfish Head IPA 120) and the bartenders and staff are all pretty cool.  Definitely go here instead of The Brickskeller.

There's no real bar food here unfortunately, or things to snack on.  The pizza I feel is kind of weak and bland.  Not really worth it.

What's characteristic about Mama Ayesha's is that from the outside it looks like nothing, but when you go inside, it has an amazing atmosphere and decor.

I love careful, dark, soft lighting in a place.  Mama Ayesha definitely has this.  The fountain by the seating podium falls into a sieve, giving the place a soothing background noise.

I had the sampler of many dishes.  To be honest I thought the food was somewhat bland.  But I think that's just my personal preference against this style of food, and not a statement on the quality of the restaurant's food.

Our waiter was probably the highlight of the place -- he noted to my girlfriend that she obviously cares very much about savoring her food because she was so attentive to each last bite.  We had a cool conversation about that and that made the place far more personal to us.

I've only been here for dinner.  I imagine lunch is a lot different in terms of the crowd.

First time I went to Nooshi, we had a party of about twelve which had been cobbled together from a joint Georgetown MSFS/Johns Hopkins SAIS German event.  So it was funny when we walked in and got a table immediately because another big party was JUST getting up.  What luck!

The place seems to have tons of undergrads in it for dinner -- I assume they're GW students.  The students are there because there's many different bowls of noodles for everyone, and the food is quite cheap!

The place is cozy and accessible which would explain why it's so popular.  Service is prompt -- they move a lot of customers.  I strongly recommend the curry laksa.  The broth is delicious.

Also cool are the sinks in the bathroom.  Instead of a drain hole, there's two ledges at different angles, so the water disappears into a crevasse.  So if crevassing is important to you in a restaurant, look no further.

I've been to Zola twice, once for food and once for drinks.

The atmosphere is great -- the design plays off the Spy Museum downstairs, so the fogged glass walls have words relating to security and intelligence written in many different languages.  The interior is chic, with what I consider to be soft, seductive lighting.

The first time, I came for food.  I got the lamb meatball sliders for my appetizer, which were deliciously seasoned and perfectly sized.

For my main course, I had "Smokey Yogurt Glazed Lamb Loin", described as braised lamb shank, currant and marcona almond stuffed crepe.  Also perfect.

Definitely wanted to try the Zola aka: The White Knight, "dedicated to the man who stood up in defense of an accused spy.  We bring Van Gogh Vodka, Cointreau, White Cranberries and crushed Limes together to form a more perfect union."

The next time, I came for drinks.  Apparently there's always old dudes at the bar hitting on the young women who come, so there's that to look out for.

Zola has a blueberry mango mojito which I must say is crazy good -- the blueberries in it add to an already yummy mojito.

Definitely get a good feeling about the place -- it's not that expensive and is great for dates (not that those two should go together =) ).