An Evening in Chevy Chase at Clyde's and Bethesda's Redwood

Clyde's

      We made plans to meet a friend of Eric's from college, Kristen, for the evening in Chevy Chase, MD.  We were taking the Metro from Washington so she made arrangements to meet at Clyde's, which was adjacent to the Friendship Heights stop.  Clyde's is a DC institution with beginnings in Georgetown circa 1963.  They now operate 14 restaurants in the area (including Old Ebbitt's Grill-reviewed by us on 5/26/2011) with differing themes for all.  

The Orient Express Dining Room

This particular establishment is centered around "yesteryears travel" with trains, planes, and steamships in the upstairs dining rooms and vintage race cars (including a D-Type Jaguar) featured around the downstairs Race Bar.  We were seated in one of the main rooms with an Orient Express theme that had a miniature train traveling on a track above us.  

D-Type Jaguar in the Race Bar

It is a beautiful restaurant that is reflective of a strong and long-term connection

Graffiato Hits the High Notes: Score Mike Isabella

Graffiato Entrance

      Mike Isabella was a high scoring contestant on season 6 of “Top Chef” and returned this year for “Top Chef:  All-Stars” where he was named the runner-up.  On the show, he mentioned that he was going to open a restaurant in his hometown of DC and that he had backers already.  He could be somewhat full of himself on the show, which made him both charming and annoying, sort of the type you hate to love.  Neil was trying to find a moderately priced restaurant when we were going to visit Washington last week and he ran across Mike Isabella and Graffiato online.  He chose this after reading the menu.  It sounded good, though I thought it was a little like A Tavola, a local restaurant we liked and reviewed a couple of weeks ago.  

     Problem 1:  we could reserve at 5 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night.  Problem 2:  Isabella is a rising celebrity in the chef world and this was in his hometown.  Problem 3:  It had been open five weeks.  We were ready for an ambitious noisy mess of a place that wouldn’t quite deliver the food or the service.  We were proved far wrong in these assumptions/prejudices.

Downstairs Bar and Dining Area

Mike Isabella Chatting with Guests

     Graffiato was hopping at 5 p.m. with many attractive locals lined along the bar and open kitchen downstairs.  Mike Isabella was already chatting with the crowd, especially the twentysomething women in

Two Washington Galleries: Paris—American Style

Eric and Neil were off to Washington, DC again.  I stayed back to guard the house, a job I'm very good at attending to.  Steve and Lisa dropped by to say 'hi' and tend to my necessities. Merci beaucoup!

      On a recent return visit to Washington, DC, it became more obvious than ever that the city is indeed an American version of Paris with its layout, architecture, and cultural offerings.  It was Thomas Jefferson's request that Washington be an "American Paris" with low and convenient buildings on light and airy streets.  With L'Enfant as the French-born city planner, the city was designed in 1791 in the Baroque style incorporating avenues that radiated out from rectangles providing room for open spaces and landscaping.  He also envisioned a one mile long grand promenade lined with public gardens.  Today, that area is the National Mall flanked by monuments and museums. 

      Two purely American museums that compare to those in Paris are the National Portrait Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.  The former has a massive collection on the scale of the Musée d'Orsay, while the later is a more manageable visit for a morning or afternoon.

Donald W. Reynolds Center 
for American Art and Portraiture

Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery

      We visited the National Portrait Gallery on an earlier trip this year (see DC Museums and Memorials: DAY TWO, 5/25/11), which left us wanting to see more of their impressive permanent collection.  We headed to Gallery Place on the Metro, which deposited us directly at the museum.  The Gallery is more formally known as

Bayou Bakery Works On Southern Charm In DC

It sounds as though the guys and Dale had a nice relaxing visit to Bayou Bakery.  It makes me want to stretch out and take a little nap myself.

      I read that David Gaus was the runner-up "Best New Chef for the Mid-Atlantic Region" this year in Food & Wine's annual contest.  Sometimes being second means that you try harder.  So, on our recent trip to DC, we wanted to check out his partnership in the form of Bayou Bakery in Arlington, VA.  

Order Line and Counter Space at Bayou Bakery

      It's a storefront located in the Courthouse area of the city.  Nothing fancy on our approach.  We entered a well thought out casual restaurant where you order upfront and find a table or counter space while your order is prepared.  Sounds simple, and it was.  Dale asked for recommendations from the staff member and he suggested the "Muff-a-lotta" sandwich and the daily BLT special.  She and Eric went for the BLT and I chimed in on the Muff-a-lotta.  Beignets are what are well known here, so we placed an order (3 to an order), one for each of us. Eric chose the Coconut Cream Cupcake and I went for the Red Velvet one.

BLT Daily Special

Muff-A-Lotta Sandwich

The sandwiches were all made with very fresh bread – mine on a sesame seed Italian roll and theirs on a baguette.  The ingredients all met with

Kramerbooks & Afterwords – DC landmark perfect for browsers and brunches

Eric likes to read a lot so I wasn't surprised to hear that they visited a bookstore when they were in DC.  I have my own form of reading...watching the birds and squirrels outside the window.

Kramerbooks & Afterwords on Dupont Circle

The Afterwords Café

      Kramerbooks & Afterwords seems part of what may soon be a bygone era:  the independent bookseller with a café.  It’s adjacent to the Dupont Circle metro station (a long escalator ride) and very convenient to the fun of that area.  The bookstore is a vibrant place, well stocked, with a strong focus on both travel and politically themed non-fiction.  The Café & Grill opened in 1976 as the country's first bookstore and café.  Neil started visiting in the 80's when his friend, Tom, moved to DC and has made it a must stop with every return trip.  On this night, we were meeting our friend, Jessi, who moved to the area to attend Georgetown University.  She was very familiar with our choice and actually uses it

701 Restaurant — Contemporary Elegance

I'm beginning to learn all about elegance.  Actually, most of the time, I think I'm one elegant cat!  Here's my official portrait being submitted to the National Portrait Gallery in DC.

"Elegant Cat" by Clawed Monet III

      We chose 701 because it’s part of the same DC restaurant group as the Oval Room, which was booked for that night.  (It’s a group similar to the Buckhead group in Atlanta).  The main draw for us was that 701 had a $30 pre-fixe theatre dinner menu which, when added up à la carte, would have been around $50 otherwise.  Dale wasn’t as hungry since we’d had a late lunch, but food hasn’t stopped us in the past and we decided not to let it do so this time.

Lounge Area

      We arrived around 5:20 and were seated in the lounge area.  It’s an aqua and chocolate dream cloud of a space (Candice Olsen of Divine Design and Candice Tells All would see her influence here) with new age techno lite music (the aural equivalent of color field painting).  It’s very soothing and the staff is both attractive and gracious (that’s a killer combination and less likely than one might think even in an upscale restaurant).  

The Contemporary Dining Room

      Dale ordered a glass of the house Riesling, which I thought was as sweet as a Gewürtztraminer, with a slight effervescence that she hadn’t expected.  The restaurant generously gave us a short flute of

Tradition Reigns next to the Treasury at Old Ebbitt Grill

Everyone assumes that I like fish.  Actually, I think I have a little Westside Cincinnatian cat in me as I really don't care for it.  I much prefer a nice chicken entrée.

Dining Room and Bar with Etched Screens of DC Landmarks

Entrance to Old Ebbitt Grill

     Every city has that older restaurant with the clubby feel, the power brokers casually meeting in the corners while tourists feel special to be there, food that is traditional, but well-made, and usually served smartly.  The 21 Club in New York, Lindey’s in Columbus, the Broker group in Denver, the original Morton’s Steakhouse in Chicago, and Galatoire’s in New Orleans all fit that bill, but perhaps the oldest (1856) is the Old Ebbitt Grill in DC, across the street from the Treasury and a couple of blocks from the White House.  We’d eaten there a decade ago and a good friend goes there every time he’s in DC.  (He ran into John Travolta there once, but that’s

Montmartre: DC’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris

Eric and Neil talk about France all the time.  When they told me about their brunch at Montmartre, everything was "oui, oui" (I've been practicing my French).

Outdoor Seating at
Montmartre on Capitol Hill

      We’d made some plans for Sunday Brunch in DC, but the restaurant was farther than we liked from the Capitol and the Smithsonian.  Neil looked up the top restaurants in DC and chose Montmartre, which is French and located southeast of the Capitol.  This is a diverse, gentrifying neighborhood that displays a vitality synonymous with the Left Bank.  It was packed, though the hostess moved quickly through the list (what was supposed to be 30 minutes was actually 15) and the service was friendly and brisk without ever making diners feel rushed, which is a feat in itself. 

The Bustling Interior of Montmartre

      Dale ordered the Quiche Lorraine, prepared traditionally with bacon and Swiss cheese.  It really seemed French because it was made with a thick, but flaky, crust and the egg custard tasted as if we were in Paris.  This was also the case for Neil’s Eggs Benedict with spinach, Hollandaise sauce, and pancetta.  It was the sauce that tasted authentic and I’m guessing it’s because they use French butter.