641461 Sun Aug 02 16:11:04 -0700 2009 41 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 4911485 Aka, reasons for a quick road trip. I can't imagine Balitmoreans thinking the opposite thought though, but if they do please enlighten us.... Thanks in advance, WIA Sun Aug 02 16:11:04 -0700 2009 123581 WestIndianArchie 1 4911494 Brewer's Art Altman's Deli Sun Aug 02 16:16:24 -0700 2009 4911485 55982 MrsWheatie 1 4911528 Pit beef Faidley's raw bar. I can get great oysters in DC, and there are some nice raw bars with happy hours, but nothing beats the experience of standing elbow to elbow with fellow slurpers in Lexington Market while eating and drinking. I have never had lake trout or a chicken box, but I don't think you can find those in DC (well, maybe in some of the Chinese/sub/chicken with mambo sauce places, but I'm not sure.) Sun Aug 02 16:32:29 -0700 2009 4911485 89996 4X4 1 4911574 > I can't imagine Balitmoreans thinking the opposite thought though, but if they do please enlighten us.... Baltimore is greatly lacking in French bistros compared to DC. Sun Aug 02 16:56:07 -0700 2009 4911485 11669 Hal Laurent 1 4911650 You asked for enlightenment, so here you go: --Was at Eden Center yesterday, and I can say that we really don't really have much in the way of Vietnamese food here, and not one banh mi place; --Also, more and varied Chinese offerings in metro area, although Baltimore-metro area definitely claims Grace Garden; --I haven't been in years, but I thought Sushi Taro was way better than anything on this end of I-95; --And, you have way more Ethiopian options. For some reason, even Dukem here is not as good as their parent restaurant on U St. But, that's really about it. Sun Aug 02 17:37:41 -0700 2009 4911485 54408 baltoellen 2 4912278 Baltimore needs DC's dim sum and Peruvian-style pollo joints. DC needs Baltimore's Greektown standouts. Mon Aug 03 00:08:31 -0700 2009 4911650 72002 chowsearch 3 4912316 Baltimore isn't lacking in Peruvian-style pollo joints. Chicken Rico in Highlandtown is one very good example. Mon Aug 03 02:06:32 -0700 2009 4912278 11669 Hal Laurent 4 4912740 Agree--we do have one of each that are ok, but just ok. I like Chicken Rico, but mostly because we don't have better. It isn't as good as even the poorer-performing DC pollo places, and it, the one on Broadway and Rinconcito Peruano (not a pollo place per se) all have a high dwell time--their turnover is lower than the DC places, so the birds sit. And we do have Asian Court in EC, but it's notches below even the maligned DC dim sum places like Good Fortune in Wheaton, the closest one. Asian Court's been crowded weekends, maybe other operators will note. And there's a new pollo place under construction last checked at 175 and Rt. 1 in Jessup. (Hope someone sends up a flare when that opens.) MD Pollo Smackdown thread--a dozen places around the DC/MD beltway http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/599575 Mon Aug 03 07:32:26 -0700 2009 4912316 72002 chowsearch 4 4964411 Hurrah for Chicken Rico, it is as good as any DC-area Peruvian chicken joint. Thu Aug 20 20:34:21 -0700 2009 4912316 15018 elgringoviejo 5 4967056 Better. Fri Aug 21 17:57:09 -0700 2009 4964411 21858 Jonny Pops 3 4964408 Hurrah for Greektown. Thu Aug 20 20:33:35 -0700 2009 4912278 15018 elgringoviejo 1 4912411 Pit beef. Lake Trout. Funky chicken places like one in the back corner of Lex mkt. Specifically some place like Snyder's Willow Grove. Mon Aug 03 05:10:54 -0700 2009 4911485 11368 Dennis S 2 4912510 I bet DC'ers wish they had Greek restaurants as good as Samos!!! Mon Aug 03 06:13:13 -0700 2009 4912411 86641 lrebetsky0423 3 4912522 I should attempt a visit at Samos. There is a place here in Reston that my brother, who is very familiar with Crete, signs off as being the real deal. I love it, but don't have the direct familiarity. Mon Aug 03 06:17:12 -0700 2009 4912510 11368 Dennis S 1 4912516 "What's in Baltimore, that you wish was in DC?" A cold beer for less than $6? Mon Aug 03 06:15:34 -0700 2009 4911485 13033 KAZ 1 4912577 A top-notch kosher bakery like Goldman’s, Pariser’s or Sion’s Suburban Almond Smash & Golden Ginger Ale A hometown candy shop like Rheb’s or Wockenfus Polock Johnny’s High quality sausage shop like Binkert’s or Ostrowski’s Mon Aug 03 06:46:18 -0700 2009 4911485 78012 treetop tom 2 4912845 Binkerts > Ostrowski's Mon Aug 03 08:00:11 -0700 2009 4912577 11273 JonParker 1 4912586 Woodberry Kitchen Brewer's Art Nacho Mama's Miss Shirley's Paper Moon Pit Beef Mon Aug 03 06:49:16 -0700 2009 4911485 92426 ktmoomau 1 4912592 JFX farmers market Blue Moon brunch (which I could eat 24 hrs a day) Holy Frijoles Mon Aug 03 06:50:53 -0700 2009 4911485 51422 Jeserf 1 4912613 1. an excellent Baltimore style crab house that is consistant and fair in delivery of quality crabs at a reasonable price 2. a good Maryland crab cake 3. good Jewish style deli Mon Aug 03 06:58:07 -0700 2009 4911485 124764 dining with doc 1 4913120 The afore-mentioned Faidley's rawbar and pit beef stands. A decent hotdog (Polock Johnny's). A decent breakfast and a diner that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Good barbecue. An affordable place to get drunk and listen to good live music. These are all things abundant in Baltimore that you can't find anymore in DC and the 'burbs. Mon Aug 03 09:20:40 -0700 2009 4911485 10933 flavrmeistr 1 4916517 > I can't imagine Balitmoreans thinking the opposite thought though, but if they do please enlighten us.... Baltimore lacks a truly elegant Indian restaurant like the Bombay Club. Sure we have great Indian food, but no place worthy of going to celebrate something special. Tue Aug 04 10:53:24 -0700 2009 4911485 1093280 stephanieg 2 4916696 > Baltimore lacks a truly elegant Indian restaurant like the Bombay Club. While maybe not as much so as the Bombay Club, the Ambassador Dining Room is pretty elegant. Tue Aug 04 11:52:16 -0700 2009 4916517 11669 Hal Laurent 3 4916706 don't get me wrong... I love the Ambassador, but it is not in the same class as the Bombay Club, with its pianist, solid wine list, etc. Tue Aug 04 11:54:56 -0700 2009 4916696 1093280 stephanieg 4 4967064 As the Bombay Club? Are we talking about the same Bombay Club??? Fri Aug 21 17:59:12 -0700 2009 4916706 21858 Jonny Pops 5 4967777 We're talking about the Bombay Club on Connecticut Avenue in DC. What Bombay Club are you talking about? Sat Aug 22 06:38:27 -0700 2009 4967064 11669 Hal Laurent 1 4919242 Very interesting thread. What I like in DC that's not in Baltimore is lots of good ethnic cuisine--Chines, Hispanic, Indian. Also interesting bistros like Central and Oyamel and Jaleo. Judging from this board DC folks are less happy wiyh their chow than Baltimoreans. I cannot explain that, but the quality and variety of food in DC is a whole lot better than it is here. Wed Aug 05 08:15:10 -0700 2009 4911485 49606 tartuffe 2 4921377 native baltimorean living outside dc begs to differ. Baltimore chow at this point cant hold a candle to dc. In Mont Co alone there are numerous ethinic restaurants serving authentic Chinese, Ethiopian, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Salvadorean. Peruvean, Chilean, as well as manhy exmples of fine dining restaurants. And this occurs in numerous locations such as Wheaton, Rockville, Bethesda, and SilverSpring, The same can be said for Northern Virginia with Tysons Corner. Alexandria Arlington and Fairfax. And we haven't even mentioned DC and it;s neighborhoods such as Penns Quarter, U street, Georgetown. Dupont Circle. foggy bottom, cleveland park and downtown. Plus there are numerous examples of fine dining and nationally and internationally recognized chefs who are movers and shakers in the food industry, I think DC is at this point is in the top 6 culinary regions in the country with NY, Chicago, LA , south Florida and NOLA. No disrespect to Baltimore...I still love Faidleys for oysters, crab cakes and it is hard to pass up an Attmans corned beef sandwich and a coddie. The bakeries are great on Reisterstown road. I used to crave Berger Cookies but they have them in the markets down here now. I think my Baltimore chow friends who constantly want me to turn them on to different places down here will agree me with me Wed Aug 05 19:01:25 -0700 2009 4919242 124764 dining with doc 3 4922203 No question there's a lot of great ethnic foods in the DC area (mostly well outside of DC proper) and a lot of exciting high-end dining venues. It's the basic and affordable things that have all but disappeared inside the beltway. There's virtually no place serving alcohol that doesn't charge strip-club prices for a beer or a well drink and breakfast at the Metro Diner in Arlington can cost you 25 bucks. Thu Aug 06 06:56:45 -0700 2009 4921377 10933 flavrmeistr 3 4963322 On a tangent... You mentioned Chilean? What restaurant are you talking about? I studied abroad in Santiago and besided Julia's (which has decent empanadas, don't get me wrong, but just isn't the same!) I haven't had much luck... Any help is appreciated! Thu Aug 20 13:29:19 -0700 2009 4921377 111559 i_love_luhanka 3 4967088 I'm sorry, but this simply isn't true. There is plenty of diversity around DC but to be honest a real blandness still plagues the place. And I really could not put it even in the Top 10 Nationwide for Food. NYC, LA, Bay Area, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Seattle, South Florida, Boston, CA Wine Country and even Las Vegas come ahead of DC for food in my book. The biggest problem with DC food - which is not a problem in Baltimore by the way - is the biggest problem of the city itself: it does not have a culture of its own, aside from political corruption and greed. Everything is from somewhere else and nothing is organic to the place. Well, maybe Ben's and Florida Ave Grill are, but that's about it. Fri Aug 21 18:09:19 -0700 2009 4921377 21858 Jonny Pops 4 4967524 no, you were right, nothing is organic to DC, I suppose one could argue Alexandria and G'town (were) real places, DC itself was always a concept. still I think I'd put it ahead of LV by a bit. the first 7 cities on your list have great grungy food options, we have too few. Fri Aug 21 23:25:51 -0700 2009 4967088 163722 hill food 1 4919303 Real Cask Conditioned ale at Olivers. Wed Aug 05 08:36:24 -0700 2009 4911485 22861 KevinS 1 4921363 The farmer's market underneath the expressway. good produce, some good prepared foods, good prices, no attitude. Wed Aug 05 18:56:44 -0700 2009 4911485 11607 Smokey 1 4921749 Really good dive bars in D.C. Flip the question around and it would be 2 amys in Balto. Wed Aug 05 23:13:51 -0700 2009 4911485 223784 180hearted 2 4964272 DC does need more decent dive bars where a Boilermaker at lunch doesn't raise eybrows. and old-school red-sauce Italian food that was considered exotic in 1952 while we're at it. Thu Aug 20 19:30:23 -0700 2009 4921749 163722 hill food 3 4964353 I live in Baltimore, not DC, but when I visit DC it seems like there is a serious lack of inexpensive blue-collar (or more properly, mixed-class) breakfast joints. Thu Aug 20 20:07:17 -0700 2009 4964272 11669 Hal Laurent 4 4964509 amen Hal. choices between a nice dinner and fast food are few and far apart. I love Asian, burgers and Mexican/Central American but we don;t have many casual 12 dollar an entree places outside of those categories. Thu Aug 20 21:42:52 -0700 2009 4964353 163722 hill food 4 4964604 Look at the differance in the cities, Baltimore is Blue Collar and D.C. is not. There are plenty if inexpensive breakfast joints in D.C.. Look around a little. In D.C. people want cutting edge food and in Baltimore people want hotdogs from the hotdog cart. Hell they are so close, why put anything in the other city. Just take a drive. Thu Aug 20 23:00:14 -0700 2009 4964353 125056 Chef Tony 5 4964613 they are 2 very different places founded for very different reasons and circumstances, yet... we're not all desk jockeys in DC and god knows Baltimore's industrial age is waning. I just request some parity on all fronts. although I also demand city/regional specific things. So I'm conflicted. Thu Aug 20 23:20:08 -0700 2009 4964604 163722 hill food 6 4964835 I know what you mean, but I definitely like the regional/city differences. Especially when we are so close together I value those differences (and I've been surprised over my ten years in the DC area about the differences that do exist). I end up in the North Country enough that I really look forward, and I have huge debates with myself about where to go THIS time. Pit beef, Lex market, find a lake trout place, something like Snyder's - and the list goes on. Fri Aug 21 05:31:54 -0700 2009 4964613 11368 Dennis S 1 4968391 chiapparelli's. just give us the salad. Sat Aug 22 12:55:26 -0700 2009 4911485 181498 littlew1ng