Trip Report!
Hell 'hounds,
First, of all, I'd like to thank the many of you who made wonderful suggestions to my post a couple of weeks ago regarding my dad's trip to DC from San Francisco.
Friday night, we went to Thai X-ing. A hole-in-the-wall if I've ever seen one, but with palpable charm. Here's the big problem with this place: the food is seriously addictive and I have been dreaming about it ever since. I swear, they add a heavy dose of crack to their salmon with red curry! We started out with the Larb Gai. I had specified that I wanted it spicy (be warned, even if you are eating in, you must place your order via phone by 4pm) and spicy it was! I think I literally had fire coming out of my ears, which I loved! The dish was the perfect mix of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty. Unfortunately, the server seemed to decide that the little white girl couldn't handle the spice, so she dumbed down the latter dishes, to my disappointment. Next we had the Yum Woon Sen, which was also delicious, albeit less spicy. Next time, I would not have ordered both of these appetizers because they are very similar and I would have liked to try something else. Next, we had the aforementioned curry salmon: a must-order. Lastly, we had the Pad See-Ew, which was good, but not nearly as amazing as the other dishes. Overall, fabulous place but a little too much hassle with the reservations and the ordering process for me to become a regular. Still, I would like to go back at some point.
Saturday, we went to 2 Amys for lunch and then Central for dinner. I've been to both of these places several times before and neither of them disappointed! At 2 Amys My dad and I split the special pizza with fresh sardines. It was amazing! We also got the meatballs, which I would definitely order again, and the fried risotto balls. You can't really go wrong there! As for Central, we had the charcuterie plate, which I always love, and I ordered the shrimp burger - yum! My fiance got the regular burger and my dad got the brussel sprouts and french onion soup.
Sunday we went to Bistro Du Coin - a place that my dad just adored. We got mussels (always a winner), Steak Tartare (my dad and fiance liked it a lot, but I wasn't a huge fan...they seem to put some sort of mayonaise-type of ingredient in the tartar and it really wasnt my speed), tripe (highly recommend if you are a tripe fan. As soon as we ordered it, the server paused and said...are you sure you want to order this? Do you know what it is?" Those are words of beauty to a chowhound!), pate, and creme brulee, which, as always, is truly the best creme brulee I have ever had.
Finally, on Monday afternoon, we went to Zaytinya, which was delicious as always. We ordered a trio of dips, which they brought out with their amazing pita, scallops, crispy eggplant, roasted cauliflower, lamb in phyllo dough with feta, a chicken dish with onions and tomatoes and sweetbreads. I don't think I could pick a favorite out of the bunch, but the sweetbreads were right up there. None of them were disappointing in the least - I would recommend all of them!
Thank you again, for your recommendations - we had a wonderful food-filled trip and even though I needed to loosen my belt a couple of notches by the end, it was all worth it!
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Thai X-Ing
515 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
Zaytinya
701 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
By Melanie
on Oct 29, 2009 09:53 AM
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My God, you ate well. Not always easy to do..... thanks for your report. The only place I haven't been to is Bistro du Coin, so I may have to rectify that soon, especially if you recommend the tripe and the creme brulee... although not on the same plate.
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Thanks, Steve - I did eat well and I think I did my father proud. We really loved Thai X-ing - thank you so much for the recommendation! Definitely time for you to check out Bistro Du Coin if you enjoy french food (and a Parisian atmosphere to boot). Agreed about the separation of the tripe and the creme brulee. :)
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Thai X-Ing
515 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
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Hey Mel!
Great report...as far as it went. Did you forget the trip to the Maine Avenue Fish Market for fresh shucked oysters & clams and crab cakes, fried shrimp and hush puppies? And the trip to Eastern Market right after that? I'm wishing now that I got some pickled tomatoes and sauerkraut from the pickle guy - - next time!
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Good job, dad! You're right..I'm terrible...I totally forgot about that. I was thinking along the lines of restaurants only. Thanks for pointing it out! However, you forgot the gumbo and free samples of surprisingly amazing cheesecake from the fish market, too! And, sorry about the sauerkraut guy. All the more reason to come back and visit!
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