Potential Venues for MDC's 2nd Year

Here's where the list of candidate restaurants stands for the second year of the MDC:

• Les Halles
• Central Michel Richard
• The Source
• Oyamel
• Proof
• Poste
• Sushi Ko
• Rosa Mexicano
• Cafe Divan
• Acadiana
• DC Coast
• Brasserie Beck
• Raaz
• Il Pizzico
• Passage to India
• Tavira
• Olazzo
• La Miche
• La Ferme
• One of the Latin Concepts restaurants
• Addie's
• Black Market Bistro
• Mannequin Pis
• Tandoori Nights
• Delhi Club
• Rabieng
• Shamshiry
• Layalina
• Yamazato
• Willow
• Artie's
• Coastal Flats
• Le Mistral
• Vermillion
• Bistrot Lafayette
• Farrah Olivia

There are enough places here for three year's worth of restaurants! Plus this upcoming year, there are plans to coordinate several extracurricular dining events. These may include a trip to the Arlington Cinema n' Draft House, a professional wine tasting at the vintner's at Ironbridge, a bus/limo tour of Virginia's wine country, a beer tasting dinner event at Silver Spring's historic Quarry House Tavern, and more.

Just to elaborate some more on some of the restaurants in the list so far:

The Source is Wolfgang Puck's new restaurant that recently opened and has not been advertised except through word-of-mouth (which is less impressive than it sounds since word-of-mouth nowadays includes people writing their own reviews on the internet). Pretentious as the ploy may seem, everyone who has been has come back raving with positive reviews.

Sushi Ko is more than just a simple sushi place. It's a sushi plae that pairs sushi with burgundy wines ... a new twist on an old favorite.

Raaz was not only recommended by an Indian, but he specifically mentioned it because it has Indo-Chinese food, which is rare to find and apparently very good. This is out in Gaithersburg and may warrant some scouting before we commit it to the MDC official list.

Passage to India is supposed to be fantastic but pricey ... this may be a Bethesda Restaurant Week choice similar to when we went to Rasika in Chinatown.

Tavira made the list again because this year's visit consisted of four people, three of whom had already been there. Those who missed it will have the opportunity to try again.

As for Rosa Mexicano and Cafe Divan, they were recommended by a Mexican and a Turk, respectively, as being more than just good, but also the real deal. Most places claiming to serve Mexican or Turkish food actually serve bastardized dishes of Tex-Mex or Greco-Mediterranean cuisine.

This is the list so far. This list will be updated as suggestions come in and hopefully there will be a great finalized agenda soon after this year's finale at Fogo de Chão ... the goal is to have a seamless transition from this year to the next.