Foccacieria/Pizzeria Sabrina

This place is a block away from my school. I just had a slice of sausage pizza and a bottle of water because I know there’s no rush. I’ll probably try everything eventually. This place made me remember how much 99% of the world has slandered the name of pizza. The sausage were huge chunks and more meaty than salty and sooo tender. They practically crumbled on your tongue. I know where I’m getting lunch between classes!

Via San Gallo
I will look up the number.
Florence, Italy 50129

Bondi: Foccacine e Pizza

This cozy eatery is right by the Mercato Centrale. Henk and I followed the cook’s suggestion "Very Florence" and got fish and spinach sandwiches. (Foccacine means a place that serves foccacia sandwiches, usually heated in the oven and not pressed like panini.) I don’t like fish all that much, but it was amazing. House wine of course. Great prices.

Via Dell’ Argento 85
Florence, Italy 50123

Gastatte "Peterhof"

Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein mit Pommes Frites und Salat. That’s fried pork slices with French fries and salad. The salad was delicious. It came with corn and scalloped potatoes. Plus authentic Wiener Schnitzel and fries that would make McDonalds jealous! Sorry Heinz, it came with Kraft ketchup. And what better to wash it down than a pint or three of German beer, fresh from the tap and from the source. They also got points for opening an hour early for me when they found out I was foreign.

Biergarten Fremdenzimmer
Mainburger Str. 36
85354 Friesing, Germany
.08161.

West End Bistro by Eric Ripert

Eric Ripert, lauded chef of Le Bernardin in NYC, just opened a new DC bistro the other month. (For any Top Chef fans, he is the often-recurring guest judge with the gray hair and the French accent.) He also uses only the best ingredients from local farms in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. As opposed to the elegant seafood he serves in New York, he recently said in an interview that West End Bistro is the more casual, hearty food that he himself likes to eat. Looks elegant though.

And although I could eat everything on that menu on a regular basis (unlike the fussy gourmet foods that are only good once in a while), they are far from ordinary. I think the key is simplicity. If the flavors and techniques are superb, why decorate them superfluously?

I'll review mine, but I tasted a bite from all of my parents' plates and they were spectacular too. I assure you, like when I read the menu, that the text representing these dishes will not do them justice. But I'll try my best.

My appetizer was calamari with remoulade sauce, alike something from Le Bernardin. Yes, very typical of many restaurants. Atypical was the perfect remoulade sauce (hard to find out of France and New Orleans) and the PERFECT calamari. They were cut into stamp sized squares rather than the usual rings, with a light and salted batter, and were tender... not the least bit rubbery like other squid.

I almost refrained from ordering a second course, but my parents having ordered a soup and salad respectively, I knew I would regret it if I didn't. The house salad was hearts of romaine with garlic vinaigrette. Yes. Exactly what it sounds like. Lettuce, garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper, and quite likely one or two more things I didn't detect. But believe me when I say it was amazing. My mom tried a bite and was like "HOW DOES HE DO THAT?" He just takes everyday ingredients and makes them extraordinary.

Since Ripert's specialty is seafood (like the calamari), I almost ordered salmon with beurre blanc and broccoli rabe. But following the eager suggestion of my waiter, I got the night's special A medium rare lamb tenderloin atop white beans with a tomato-based sauce and some crushed olives. Everything was cooked to perfection. Even the beans were tender without being mushy.

For you other wine fans, I just had glasses of house white with the first two courses and trusted the waiter to pair a good red for the lamb. He brought a '04 Shiraz, which expectedly complemented the dish.

And if you know me well, you know I can't do appetizer without dessert. I took another suggestion from the waiter and got his favorite, the citrus-and-maple scented blueberry cobbler. Rather than a slice, it was a little pie about the size of a bagel served a la mode with their house vanilla ice cream, full of little vanilla specks. If you know me even better, you know I usually veer toward chocolate desserts, but this was a very worthy exception.

So, in conclusion, it's my favorite DC restaurant now. For serious.

1190 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202.974.4900
http://www.westendbistrodc.com

Cafe Deluxe

Built into the Crate & Barrel right outside Tysons Corner mall, Cafe Deluxe has some original-sounding offerings but seems to excel at perfecting those often-abused "regular" foods. My mom and I were too late for what counts as a lunch yet too early for what seems to be a dinner, so we just had a huge snack light meal.

We got a tasty but surprisingly light spinach dip. The chips were great because they didn't break in the dip but still delicate when they reach your mouth.

We split a salad and a sandwich. The Cobb Salad was completely perfect with all the expected ingredients: Lettuce, tomatoes, crisp REAL bacon, grilled chicken breast, avocado slices, roquefort cheese, chives, and vinaigrette. The ingredients were well-chopped, as they should be in a Cobb. The only thing missing were hard-boiled eggs, but I didn't even notice till late in the meal because it was that good.

The sandwich was a ribeye cheddar melt, which lived up to its name when it melted in your mouth. (Too many lesser melts have dry bread, tough meat, and rubbery cheese.) It was awesome. The sandwich was generously stuffed without falling apart. Greens, tomatoes, and horseradish mayo were in there with the meat and the cheese. It came with a side of french fries and requisite ketchup.

The French vintage poster prints on the wall inspired us to get creme brulee for dessert. (Since everything was so heavy already. No vanilla bean specks but it was tasty and came topped with raspberries.

1800 International Drive
Tysons Corner, VA
703.761.0600
http://www.cafedeluxe.com

Kabob Palace

Kabob Palace is the off-shoot of a very casual 24-hour restaurant a block away. (Mostly favored by late night crowds and taxi drivers since it's open forever.) The palace is a "family restaurant," which is still casual but feels less like fast food.

I've been there a few times but never ordered off the menu because their buffet is so tempting. (As a former fattie, I usually discourage a buffet visit because they encourage overeating and sometimes the food is less than fresh.) Fortunately, the food is pretty fresh and most of it are slow-cooked stewed items that actually benefit from sitting over a heat source all day.

Sadly, I'm not sure what everything was, but I can give a general thumbs-up. I usually skip the salad and the yogurt that serves as both dressing and condiment to almost everything. The rice had corn, peas, and chopped carrots in it and is enhanced by being poured over with the chick pea curry and/or spinach next to it. The tandoori chicken, lentil(?) daal, and eggplant and potato curry were all expectedly good. The fried fish wasn't so great just because it gets a little dry from the heat, but the lamb stew was excellent.

2333 South Eads Street
Arlington, VA 22202
703.979.3000
http://www.kabobpalace.net

Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe & Grill

Yet another DC "combination of different things you wouldn't find in one place," Kramerbooks is unsurprisingly a bookstore and its Afterwords Cafe has a Grill attached. Not satisfied with just coffee and tea, they supply a pretty impressive drink menu that includes alcoholic beverages. And food. Since it was almost a Sunday brunch with MLK Day extending the weekend to Monday, they gave us mimosas (regular and strawberry) on the house. To fight the cold, I got a "hot scotch," which isn't nearly as alcoholic as one would guess. It's just hot chocolate spiked flavored with butterscotch schnapps ala the mint schnapps with hot chocolate my Tulane friends are so fond of during the winter.

When we got to our "VIP" table, we found a basket of orange mini-muffins awaiting us. They were promptly tasted, enjoyed, and gone.

For my entree, I ordered a "Maryland crab quesadilla." It was a hearty quesadilla filled with jumbo lump crab meat, Old Bay scrambled eggs, roasted corn kernels, scallions, mild green chilies, and Monterey Jack cheese. It came topped with guacamole and served with the requisite salsa. Little cubed "cafe potatoes" and a few slices of fruit finished the plate. It was too much, but it was too good to not finish.

Kramers offers "something for everyone. carnivore, herbivore, omnivore." (I'm the last.) And they pretty much deliver. Everyone in our party of nine seemed very satisfied with their orders both in taste and in price.

1517 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202.387.1400
http://www.kramers.com

Open City

My friend Tony recommended this diner slash coffeehouse slash bar in Woodley Park. (Basically, it's the perfect hangout for any college student.) The service wasn't the fastest, but it was the middle of the afternoon in the middle of a long weekend on a very busy day. The waiter recommended the barbeque chicken pizza, which he noted wasn't quite "enough for two people, but more than enough for one." I don't usually go for thin-crust pizzas, but this was a worthy exception. It was topped with pulled barbeque chicken, whole slices of gouda, and fresh scallions.

2331 Calvert Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
202.332.2331
http://www.opencitydc.com

Harry's Tap Room

So continuing on the theme of slackers catchin' the tail end of "DC restaurant week," Jewelyn and I had perfect timing and snagged the last available table-for-two.

I had the crab hash, which was like a dissected crabcake on top of a roast portobello mushroom cap with a warm salad of greens. They were quite generous with the crabmeat.

Jewelyn and I were both so taken with the entree possibilities that we ended up splitting the twin filet mignons with Sauce Bernaise on mashed potatoes and the signature Harry's Mussels (Prince Edward Island golden) steamed in white wine, garlic, and parsley. Both were amaaazing. The steak and mussels were cooked to perfection and the extra flavors complemented without overpowering the proteins' flavors.

And of course, what would Tulane reunion dinner be without a good bottle of wine and post-dinner drinks? (Lord knows we didn't have room for dessert despite the delicious-looking berry bundt cake and cheesecake they brought, but Tulanians always save room for drinkable desserts.)

2800 Claredon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
703.778.7788
http://www.harrystaproom.com

Ten Penh

On the corner of Ten(th Street) and Pen(nsyvlania Avenue), this Pan-Asian paradise is from the same restauranteurs that own DC Coast, Ceiba, and - the best Cajun food outside of Louisiana - Acadiana. Funny enough, the location looks like Acadiana but with Asian accent pieces instead of Cajun.

If you're ever in DC for Restaurant Week, make reservations as soon as possible. Our Fridy afternoon call-in gave us a 10PM table. Restaurant Week is awesome by the way, if you can't make it now, go in August. It's $20 for a three-course lunch or $30 for a three-course dinner.

Mom and I settled into the bar while waiting and got some signature cocktails. I had an "Asian mojito" which is just like a regular one but with pear sake instead of rum and simple syrup.

When we got our table, we were greeted with a wonderful amuse bouche: A shot glass of squash soup enhanced with coconut milk, vegetable broth, and cilantro. Perfect to combat the winter weather.

For my appetizer, I had a salmon tartare which had the expected capers, onions, and cream cheese but also a pea-sized dot of wasabi on top and perhaps a little sesame oil. It was served with fried wontons, which lent a nice crunch to the rich, soft salmon.

My entree was four perfectly pan-seared scallops with cilantro sauce and a clearly-Thai-inspired braised pork belly and mashed potatoes. If you know my eating habits, cilantro is not my favorite herb (in moderation, swell) but the cilantro sauce was excellent.

Dessert was a cinnamon pumpkin bread and a chai cream cheese pudding. Both were amazing on their own, but the combination was killer.

The "au revoir bouche" (okay, just made that term up but lots of restaurants do it) was a milk chocolate brownie tinged with tamarind. I was a little hesitant but it was surprisingly good. Sweet is always better with a pinch of sour or salty.

My recommendation if you go there: Sit at the bar, and order the drinks and appetizers. The entrees and desserts were amazing, but I was really floored by the appetizers including my mother's chicken roti with tamarind sauce and my dad's Asian mushroom soup.

1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC, 20004
202.393.4744
http://www.tenpenh.com

El Chalan

The place is very subtle, the lowest level of an Eye Street building. Small-ish tables, Peruvian art to match the food, and just-comfortable-enough-but-full-of-character wooden chairs. But it's the kind of place so good it doesn't need to be loud or conspicuous in any way.

When I was in high school and my mom wanted to meet for lunch or have dinner after work, this was always my vote since it was so good and convenient - less than ten minutes away from my school and even less from her office.

We always got the two house specialties: Lomo saltado, beef tips sauteed with potato wedges, carrots and onions (especial made with tenderloin) or arroz con mariscos, which is exactly what it translates, rice with seafood... a Peruvian version of paella, less salty and less aggressive in flavor but just as tasty.

Last night, since my dad and I were uncharacteristically "not that hungry," the three of us split two appetizers, the arroz, and a stew. (If I hadn't had a steak for lunch, lomo saltado would surely have been ordered.)

One appetizer was the palta con palmito, a salad slices of avocado and hearts of palm topped with slices of boiled egg, onion, tomato, and a dressing. Simple and good. The other was ceviche mixto, exactly what it sounds like: Fish, shrimp, conch, and squid marinated in lemon, chilis, and onion. It came with a single (decorative?) mussel and corn and yam for a side of texture and sweet.

The arroz was as good as I remember, and the cabrito norteno was goat stewed with beer, vinegar, onion and spices. The flavors married so well the only thing I could pick out was "delicious." It came with beans and rice, hearty and simple, perfect to complement the fork-tender meat. Great with a glass or two of house red.

All dishes are served with their ridiculously tender fresh bread and butter and some magical super-concentrated hot sauce. (I affectionately referred to it as "the sauce hotter than Britney Spears" back in 2001.) I swear, a mere drop of this stuff has enough capsaicin to satisfy even a spicy addict like me, and the heat has the pleasant effect of lingering and growing in intensity.

1924 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
202.293.2765
http://www.elchalanrestaurant.com

Bangkok Golden

After grocery shopping yesterday, my mom and I grabbed dinner at Bangkok Golden, a Thai restaurant near our house and a place where I've tried many things on the menu. The family owned restaurant will celebrate their decade anniversary next year and have opened two other branches in the DC metro area recently. As far as food, they have the requisite pad thai and curries as well as an extremely delicious fried whole flounder. (Sushi and salmon aside, I'm not much of a fish eater. But I do love that dish.) It is served with a choice of three sauces. I recommend the ginger sauce (don't usually like ginger either) with pork and shrimp.

That being said, we got two other items because the flounder requires at least four diners. The first was crispy duck with basil, which is my other favorite item on their menu. The duck is actually roast and then wrapped in a crisp batter and served with a very light sauce, thin slices of hot pepper, and beyond-wilted basil leaves somehow dried to be as fragile as possible without actually breaking. Since protein begs carbs, we also got another specialty of theirs, a tropical fried rice with chicken, shrimp, pineapple, egg, onion, tomato, curry and a topping of finely shredded dried pork. It's a whole lot of color and a whole lot of taste but surprisingly not overkill though it may sound it.

9503 Livingston Road
Fort Washington, MD 20744
301.248.8810
http://www.bangkokgoldenrestaurant.com

The Warehouse Bar and Grill

I took David to The Warehouse Bar and Grill because I couldn't remember whether I liked The Wharf or Fish Market better. All three Old Town restaurants are on the same block of King Street right before the water. The Warehouse isn't a warehouse at all, more like a townhouse. It has a stairwell filled with caricature portraits, some 3-Dimensional. It looked like a slow night, but there were several elderly people there. Always a good sign. Old people take their food seriously.

David and I both got cups of she crab soup, one of my favorite dishes in the world. It's a southeastern favorite but made best - in my opinion - with Maryland blue crab. Recipes vary but always involves the meat, fats and roe of female crabs, cream, and sherry. It's awesome, somewhere between a chowder and a bisque.

The waiter forgot my chopped "Jackson" salad, so I can't review it. But the ingredients sounded good: "Hearts of palm, crisp crumbled bacon, chopped egg, tomato, onion, corn and Iowa Maytag blue cheese with balsamic vinaigrette."

I also had one of their "specialty sandwiches," The General Braddock. It's a butterflied filet mignon cooked to order (medium rare, of course) on French bread dressed with lettuce and tomatoes. It reminds me of a New Orleans po' boy, a very good thing. It's also topped with Monterey Jack cheese, garlic mayonnaise, and Cajun onion straws. (What makes them Cajun, I don't know. Maybe the fact that they're delicious?) It comes with fries, which I didn't realize, so I suppose it's good he forgot the salad.

Being both so full, we split a dessert after slowly eliminating all the options down to the least heavy. We split a slice of pecan pie a la mode. Nothing new but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

214 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.683.6868
http://www.rtsrestaurant.net/Warehouse.htm

Peking Gourmet Inn

After I assured my parents that David surely doesn't mind Asian food, we took him to Peking Gourmet Inn, a Chinese restaurant famous for their Peking duck as well as for the restaurant-encompassing gallery of celebrities and important government officials. And there's always the bulletproof windows they installed since President Bush (the first one) enjoyed many a meal there.
Of course, we ordered their famous specialty Peking duck. It's carved tableside and served with Hoisin sauce, fresh scallions, and just-made, still-hot "pancakes." You basically make your own little wraps, small enough to hold in one hand. So, sooo good.

We also ordered sea scallops with roasted garlic. The restaurant's description fits perfectly, so I'll use it: "Sautéed with snow peas, simply amazing!"

For vegetables, we opted for garlic sprouts stir fried with pork rather than with chicken or shrimp since we already had poultry and shellfish entrees. The sprouts are a nice change from the usual broccoli or spinach, and not as garlicky as one might expect. And yes, my family loves garlic. Classical vampires fear us.

All three aforementioned dishes were from the Chef's Specials section of the menu and deserve their place there, but what's an Asian meal without rice? We ordered yang chow fried rice, the spelling of which differs between restaurants. It's a popular combination fried rice and differs from normal combination fried rice (as the waitress explained to us) in its lack of soy sauce, which makes it more golden in color and less salty in taste. Peking Gourmet Inn makes theirs with chicken, eggs, onions, roast pork, and shrimp. We had to order a second helping.

Dessert was banana flambé. The bananas are coated with a sticky glaze and sesame seeds before being lit on fire and then dunked in an ice water bath. The result is a delicate shell around a hot gooey center. And it's not too sweet, just right.

Of course the receipt came with fortune cookies. My father left to smoke, so we opened his for him. It was the best one. "You will be hungry soon. Order take out now."

6029 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041
703.671.8088
http://www.pekinggourmet.com

Cafe Citron

I didn't really have a full meal here so much as snacks to compliment the drinks. The mojitos and sangria were good; their happy hour pitcher deal was sweet. Ryanne got a tres amigos appetizer for all of us with salsa, guacamole, and a "cheesy guacamole sauce" which wasn't very cheesy at all and led us to believe had mantequilla mixed in. The cocktail waitress did offer us extra nachos on the house when she saw we were out, so the place gets points for that. David and I split a chicken quesadilla with all the trimmings, which was quite good and actually overstuffed and spilling out. Good eats. I have been to the restaurant upstairs before for a full meal and recommend it for food besides for drinks and nightlife.

1343 Connecticut Avenue
Washington DC, 20036
202.530.8844
http://www.cafecitrondc.com

Matuba Japanese Restaurant

To start the many meals of David’s visit, Adrian and I brought Monica and him to Matuba, our family’s favorite Japanese restaurant of many years. It caters mostly to the neighborhood yuppies and is a cozy size, but it has affordable prices, a friendly wait staff, and, most importantly, delicious food.

They lately opened a make-your-own-Japanese-salad bar, which we all sampled. It pretty much has every ingredient you could expect to find in the many variations of the ubiquitous Japanese appetizer salad. (The green kind, not the rice noodle kind.) I wasn't that impressed with my salad... but I made it. So let's move on.

I asked for a plate of sushi omakase, which does not translate to “expensive” as Adrian suggested but rather to “chef’s choice.”

If you’re a true sushi lover, I recommend ordering this way. Any quality Japanese restaurant will honor this request. Some will even do a tasting menu of several courses. The sushi chef will give you the best, freshest seafood available since the plate represents him. It also gives him artistic license, giving him a chance to show off and you a chance to taste rare items and combinations that might not always be available, let alone on the everyday menu.

We were joking that I might get a boat, but the waitress set a plate in front of me with two pieces each of: Yellowtail toro (belly, the most tender cut of a fish), aburi (barely seared) salmon toro, uni (sea urchin), white tuna, flounder, and diced scallops in a red pepper Japanese mayo mixed with tempura flakes and tobiko (flying fish roe).

• Toro, any kind although tuna is the most popular, is one of my favorite things in the culinary world. It almost melts in your mouth like butter. Lovers of Kobe beef or Kurobota pork belly, it’s same concept but with fish. For me, a more decadent version of yellowtail tuna is always welcome.
• Aburi is a sear so light it could be missed. Most of the fish remains raw, but the resulting texture is very nice. And like toro, salmon is another favorite of mine. So yeah, I loved it.
• Uni is an acquired taste that I haven’t fully acquired yet, but their uni certainly trumped others I’d had before.
• I prefer white tuna to the regular tuna. It’s less heavy and less fishy, just like canned white tuna is different from canned “light.”
• I’m not sure what the herb underneath the flounder was, but it and the wasabi complemented the fish nicely. [Foodie note: Don’t soak your sushi in soy sauce. Like in any food, the sauce is supposed to add another dimension to the original flavor, not overpower it.]
• The scallops were surely a product of the chef’s creativity since I don’t remember having them that way before. The five ingredients can be found in any good sushi bar, but this was an awesome and inventive mix of their tastes and textures.

And for those who may think sushi isn't filling, I guarantee a plate like this will change your mind. Less respectable sushi joints will bog your stomach down with rice, but a good place like Matuba will give generous cuts of fish with just enough rice. Because of the rich selection, even a voracious eater like me couldn’t have dessert afterwards.

2915 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204
703.521.2811
http://www.matuba-sushi.com

Zorba's Cafe

Zorba's is a neighborhood favorite of Dupont Circle and after eating there, it's easy to see why. It's a regular on both local "best cheap eats" and "best eats" in general.

After my embassy visit, my mom - It's been a favorite of hers for about a decade. - and I met Adrian and Monica there. I got my usual appetizer of babaganouz. (I say usual because I order it almost anywhere it's available, spelling relative to the place.) It was good, easy to taste both the eggplant and the garlic with neither overpowering. For my entree I tried the Chicken Reganato which was cooked to perfection, done but still moist and tender. It came with a salad, bread, and their surprisingly tasty rice which is steamed in chicken broth. And a nice glass of wine.

1612 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.387.8555
http://www.zorbascafe.com

Jaleo's Noche Vieja

My family decided to take a late New Year’s Eve dinner at Jaleo. For a set price, their Noche Vieja included unlimited tapas, a dessert tapa for each person, various party favors, and a cava (Spain’s version of champagne) toast at midnight, with DJ and dancing to follow.

Because there were five of us (including Adrian’s girlfriend Monica), we tried almost all the tapas available, some of which were special for the occasion and more upscale than Jaleo’s already awesome regular selection. I’ll briefly discuss just my personal favorites:

Higado de pato con manzanas: Cubes of foie gras with apple and frisee salad. The richness of the foie gras was awesome with the tartness and lightness of the other two ingredients.

Ensalada de bogavante con clementinas, pomelos, y naranjas: Huge chunks of lobster claws and tails with clementines, grapefruit, and oranges on top of mixed greens. The lobster was perfectly boiled and the acid from the citrus fruit slices matched well.

Surtido de quesos regionales con albaricoques y picos: A cheese platter with an amazing apricot marmalade that Adrian described as “steroids for cheese.” It made everything taste better. The simple pairing of it and the ever-popular manchego was maybe the best thing I ate all night. It was that good.

Sopa de pescado: Traditional “fishermen’s soup.” Hearty and full of seafood.

Cigalas al limon: Langostines cut in half and grilled with lemon oil. Very simple but very good.

Patatas bravas: Fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli. The most famous of all tapas and with good reason. Nothing new but I just had to include it.

Navajas con aceite de cepes: Seared razor clams with porcini oil. I didn’t actually get to try these. The restaurant ran out, so I’m sure they were good.

Helado de aceite de oliva con citricos: Olive oil ice cream with citrus fruits. The dessert I was least likely to order but ended up liking the most. A unique ice cream flavor but sweet and surprisingly good.

And of course one can’t forget the mandatory pitcher of sangria.

Feliz Nuevo Ano!

2250 A Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202
703.413.8181
http://www.jaleo.com

"where'd ya eat?"

Like it has been for so many other things, New Orleans was the inspiration for this journal. But the quotation can be asked anywhere one speaks English.

So although I acquired this domain name many months ago while still in The Big Easy, you won't find any NOLA restaurants on here unless I write a few culinary flashbacks or until I return there. I guess I was just enjoying too much while I was there to sit down and write. On the bright side, I've been to over 200 restaurants there, and these are the only ones I still want to try:

• Café Adelaide
  
• Restaurant August
• Bayona
• Brigtsen's
• Clancy's Restaurant
• Cochon Restaurant
• Restaurant Cuvée
• Emeril's Delmonico
• GW Fins
• Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant
• Martin Wine Cellar
• NOLA Restaurant
• Ralph's On The Park
• Ralph Brennan's Bacco
• Restaurant Azul

I will always love you, New Orleans. You'll probably always be my favorite destination for food, among other things, in the world.