Metropolitan Dining Club

Cuba Libre

2011-10-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

The MDC met for the September, 2011 dinner at Cuba Libre in DC. Those attending enjoyed the Cuban cuisine. The relaxed atmosphere allowed us to discuss the status of the Metro Dining Club. Jonathan Manning has resigned as President. Without any other members stepping forward to take the reigns, the club will remain dormant until a volunteer emerges.

Passage of India

2011-09-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

In April, 2010, the Metro Dining Club had our last dinner before "the long hiatus" at Passage of India in Bethesda, MD. The atmosphere and food were both excellent. Below is a group photo.

The Majestic

2010-04-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Metro Dining Club met at The Majestic in Alexandria, VA for the February, 2010 dinner. The Majestic was reviewed by the Washingtonian Magazine as one of its top 100 restaurants in the DC metropolitan area. The MDC found the food to be excellent and the service very attentive. The Majestic is highly recommended for any evening after a walk in Old Town.

Appetizers included fried green tomatoes and the main course swiss chard and potato manicotti.

An enormous coconut cake was served for dessert.

Art and Soul

2010-04-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

The Metro Dining Club met for the January, 2010 dinner at Art and Soul in DC. Art and Soul is a southern style restaurant recently included in the top 100 restaurants of the DC metro area by Washingtonian Magazine. We met the chef for the evening and he gave us complimentary shrimp and grits as an appetizer.

Dinner included excellent butternut squash ravioli, perfect for winter, and superb atlantic salmon.

We shared a side of fried green tomatoes.

Dessert included a quince trifle and stout chocolate pudding cake.

Art and Soul is excellent for a quiet evening of delicious comfort food, especially on a cold winter night.

Ruan Thai

2010-01-18T17:53:00.001-08:00

The MDC travelled to Wheaton, Maryland for the November, 2009 dinner. Ruan Thai was recommended by Tom Sietsema in the 10th Annual Dining Guide published by The Washington Post. Ruan Thai has been praised as serving the best Thai food in the Washington, D.C. metro area. While the food was excellent, members of the MDC present for this dinner were hesitant to give Ruan Thai the title of "Best Thai Restaurant."

Appetizers ordered by MDC members included dumplings and croquettes.

Main entrees included fried tofu, chicken curry soup, sweet and sour chicken, and spicy salmon.

Dessert included fried bananas.

Ruan Thai has a cozy family setting with friendly service and excellent food. The MDC had a great time. As usual, the MDC will take off the month of December for the holidays, but invites everyone for the January, 2010 dinner in D.C. It will be a fantastic new year of faboulous D.C. restaurants.

Yaku

2009-11-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

After a second hiatus, the MDC is back into the swing of things. Tom Saffell has passed the torch to Jonathan Manning, the new president. Since the group does not have any by-laws, there was no election requirement. The only tradition of the group has been to alternate between MD, DC, and VA. The only eligibility requirements of MDC members has been the ability to pay when attending an event. These arrangements have worked well for the group so far, and there have been no proposals to alter these arrangements. The president continues to assume the responsibility of organizing a monthly dining event and updating the blog.

For the October, 2009 dinner, Jonathan proposed Yaku, a Peruvian restaurant near the Court House metro station in Northern Virginia. The restaurant is part of the growing Latin Concepts corporation, which includes several other innovative restaurants and lounges in the metro DC area. Yaku has a modern atmosphere and serves Peruvian cuisine infused with a Chinese influence. The concept is based on a variety of dishes prepared in the 19th century when Chinese immigrants moved to Peru.

As examples of such cuisine, Paula and Beth ordered the Gyoza appetizer while Jonathan ordered the Peruvian Salad. Gyoza are similar to Chinese dumplings. Erikah enjoyed the Ceviche. For main courses, Paula and Helen ordered the Aji de Gallina (pulled chicken served over potatoes), Beth ordered the Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Jonathan very much enjoyed the vegetarian risotto.

Last April, Jonathan began taking group photos at MDC events. At Yaku, the group decided to begin taking photos of the dishes at each MDC dinner. Taking photos of dishes seems to be in vogue when dining at nice restaurants so we thought we would do the same. Unfortunately, this decision was not made until the desserts arrived.

Jonathan had the Chocolate Torte:

Erikah ordered the Apple Wontons:

Paula and Beth shared the Banana Rolls:

Everyone greatly enjoyed the restaurant and the company and we look forward to our November MDC event in Maryland. Hope to see you there!

Raaz

2009-06-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

After setbacks that forced the plans for April to fall through, the MDC trekked out to Rio in Gaithersburg this May to try Indo-Chinese food at Raaz. Raaz offered both Indian fare, Chinese staples, and the unique fusion of the two distinct flavors, as well. Appetizers were off the charts good including the hot and sour soup, the ragda patties, and the chicken murmuri kebabs.

The main dishes, for the most part were typical Indian style food: something slathered in something until it's unrecognizable. This isn't to say that the food wasn't good, it was very tasty, in fact, but when even the wait staff can't tell who gets what dish, then it's apparent that the food isn't instantly recognizable. In addition to their diverse menu, Raaz also boasts numerous interesting cocktails. The most eye-catching of these is certainly the Incredible Hulk, which has what must be an absurd amount of Hypnotiq in it to give it that distinctive green color of the comic book hero's skin.

Raaz is good if one happens to be close by, and their menu is enormous, so our small selection of just a few people getting several dishes really only scratches the surface. However, were I personally to return there (and, again, I would), I would make a meal of their appetizers alone.

This month, MDC returns to DC for its next outing, location and time TBD very soon.

Yamazato = Yummy

2009-04-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

General contentment is the consensus among those diners who attended March's meeting at Yamazato Sushi and Spice this March. Gyoza, sushi rolls, sashimi, and various other typical Japanese and pan-Asian fare satisfied hungry dinner guests' appetites for both sustenance and great taste. Despite the rainy weather and the overall gloominess of the day, the evening was a solid success. One of the MDC's newest members, Jonathan, was able to get everyone to stand still long enough for a photo op at the restaurant's entrance on the way out - note the many Zagat-rated signs framed on the wall. For good sushi in Virginia, Yamazato is where it's at ...

Join the MDC this April as it ventures (metaphorically) to Southeast Asia for a fusion of Indian and Chinese food at Raaz in Rio.

Back in Action

2009-02-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

MDC is back in the saddle. Since the beginning of the New Year, MDC has visited two new restaurants. First, the club met at La Ferme, in Tom's return to the club after his Texas deployment. La Ferme is known for its souffles and traditional-style French cuisine. The lamb shank was a hit amongst several diners, as was the various fish dishes. Much of the show, however, was stolen by appetizers like pumpkin-ravioli and duck confit in a puff pastry.

For restaurant week this month, seven MDC members met at Le Chat Noir, yet another French restaurant. Le Chat Noir is known for its crepes, both savory and sweet. They are less stringent than most restaurants participating in restaurant week and allow diners to select their own appetizer, soup, or salad, one entree, and one dessert all for the $35 restaurant-week norm. Unlike many other restaurant week prix fixe menus, Le Chat Noir offers the diner much more selection.

Highlights were the crepe savoyarde, moules frites, and various steak dishes. The desert crepes were, as always, spectacular. Unfortunately, Le Chat Perche, the upstairs wine bar and lounge, is only open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Le Chat Perche is a novel experience with a healthy wine bar selection and silent cinema playing behind the bar at all times. The dark-lit ambience sets an intimate tone and allows casual diners and wine enthusiasts to relax comfortably in this little-known niche.

Look to March for a new Virginia restaurant as yet unexplored by the Metropolitan Dining Club.

MDC Semi-Hiatus

2008-11-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

The MDC is on semi-hiatus status until mid-December due to unusual circumstances. Tom Saffell, facilitator extraordinaire, has been deployed to Austin, TX, to assist FEMA in its Direct Housing Mission, a sub-task under the general recovery efforts following Hurricane IKE. The plans for Central Michel Richard were completed, but the reservation was impossible to make due to high demand for tables and limited space for seating.

Justin Kahrl, facilitator pro temps and gourmand fantastique, has assumed the responsibilities of managing the Dining Club in Tom's absence. In the collapse of the Central reservations, Justin deftly re-directed the diners to Rosa Mexicano for the October dining meet. For November, he is currently coordinating the meet which is to occur at Il Pizzico in Rockville on the 23rd.

So, as you can see, there is no real break in the flow of the dining club's actual mission, just a tactical change in leadership for a few months. This post is merely to explain the lack of recent web activity on the MDC blog site. So, fear not, DC dining enthusiasts ... the MDC is alive and strong. Tom hopes that he can return to DC in mid-December to reassume facilitation duties and to accept praise and accolades for his fine work in Texas.

Del Merei Grille Reviewed

2008-10-03T08:05:00.001-07:00

The MDC visited the Del Merei Grille on September 21, 2008, here's what one diner had to say about the experience:

Del Merei Grill...the name conjures images of...the Spanish-English online dictionary. What did it tell me? That Del Merei is Spanish for...the merei. A google search reveals Merei to be the name of a zorgmanager in the Netherlands and a commune in Romania. I have no idea what Zorgs are or why they need managing - I like to think they are oompa loompas mixed with the Star Trek: Next Generation 'Borg' race - but this would mean that Del Merei fills the sorely empty niche market for coerced Romanian cooking. Given how these Transylvanian commie dwarf-managers run their restaurant, I'd say 'Del Merei' really means 'good idea, poor execution'.

The meal started with average if overly salty appetizers, a solid if unimaginative salad, and a delicious sweet potato soup. Anything sweet potato is usually good, so compliments should go to nature rather than the chef. The wait between appetizer and dinner was forgiveably long but noticeable and in general the service was unobtrusive.

Del Merei's real draw is its grill option menu, which lets the customer select their meat, sauce, and two sides, including a side menu of mashed potato mix-ins. It's a great idea - let the customer make the meal they want. The mashed potatoes shone - my mash w/ goat cheese and sundried tomatoes was excellent. Unfortunately, the main course was unimpressive - the filet mignon was fatty and gristly and the chicken as dry as Amish country on Sunday. The duck was good though.

The biggest disappointment was the meat sauces. Rather than braise them on the meat or present them as a clever element of the dish's arrangment (which was otherwise elegant), they come in a pub-style metal thimble. It's one step up from the paper things you use for tartar sauce at Long John Silver's. Worse, the sauces did not taste good. It made me wonder if they'd bought them in bulk and were trying to dump them on unsuspecting customers. There are millions of meat sauces in the world to chose from - I guess someone has to stock the bad ones but in the future, in the spirit of the restaurant, I'd like an option of having good sauces IN ADDITION TO the bad ones.

Deserts were solid, the current rage for donut-based deserts getting a solid treatment. The menu's hidden gem is an obscenely cheap muscato. Indeed, the booze list was impressive and very reasonably priced. Del Merei might be better served as a bar. The zorgs could pitch in and sing little songs whenever someone passed out about the evils of drinking.

In sum, Del Merei is a good idea that needs a better meat chef and someone to buy up a bunch of sauces from the local market and sample the lot of them until they find some worth including. Until that time, I'll take my Romanian commune cuisine dollars elsewhere.

~ JK

So, as you read, the food was average at best, though the idea behind the restaurant is indeed a good one. The MDC forays into the District again this October, and hopefully, DC will serve up something better than Del Merei ...

2nd Annual Vintage Crystal Coincides with MDC 2nd Year Kick-off Meeting

2008-09-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

The MDC will kick the year off right with not only the regularly scheduled dinner meeting, but also by participating in the 2nd Annual Vintage Crystal wine and jazz festival in Crystal City, VA. The event features wine from all over and involves tastings, music, and an art market for all attendees. Participating restaurants promote wines and samplings of their own dishes to anyone interested in attending the event. Admission for those of legal drinking age is $20 for all or $10 for designated drivers. All participants also receive a commemorative wine glass.

The wine and gourmet food event coincides with the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival and will feature live music from many artists, including prominent jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet. The event starts a 2:00 p.m. and goes until 6:00 p.m. and is located along 2200-block of Crystal Drive, between 20th and 23rd Street.

For event details and a list of participating restaurants, one of which is the Del Merei Grille where the MDC is meeting later that evening, see the online flyer at the Crystal City website.

MDC Poised for Second Year

2008-08-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

After taking the summer off, the Metropolitan Dining Club is back on track. It is almost certain that all members of this elite group of gourmands have not passed the hot months idly, but rather that they have honed their culinary perceptivity. With Labor Day approaching and autumn on its heels, the MDC looks at a list of city cuisine with a keen sense of anticipation and a hunger for the epicurean lifestyle.

The second year's list is set and is packed with a lot of power players from the DC/Metro area. With big names Michel Richard and Wolfgang Puck, the restaurants are poised to impress. But big names alone will not affect the discerning palate of the typical MDC member. Following last year's disappointment from the big names like David Craig (good sides/apps, weak entrees), the important factors taste, presentation, complement, selection, and atmosphere and ambience will have to work hard to earn the respect of the dining patron. After a solid first year of fantastic restaurants, the veteran dining club members seek both a good time and an excellent menu from the second year's list.

The list has more than mere power hitters, though, and also contains possible underdog champions in never-before-seen rookies like Raaz. Also, little known favorites like La Ferme (dessert souffle, anyone?), Mannequin Pis, and Il Pizzico will give the big boys a run for their money. Furthermore, there are technically more than just the 12 contenders in this year's line-up. Side session trips outside the regularly scheduled dozen restaurants will include a casual beer tasting at Quarry House Tavern (great juke box), a wine tasting at Ironbridge Wine Company (awesome duck paté), and a possible tour of Virginia's wine country booze-cruise style via bus.

The year is set to kick off in September as the government fiscal year winds down. Restaurant one on the list is Del Merei Grille of Alexandria, VA. A hop, skip, and a jump from the Braddock Road Metro Station, this underdog is not well known to most Beltway insiders focusing their concentration toward the Capitol and the city-center. However, with Southern classics like frickles and entrée selections consisting of your choice of meat (or portabella 'shroom) grilled then a selection of eight sauces (blue cheese reduction, horseradish cream, dmg steak sauce, peppercorn brandy, dill créme fraiche, lemon caper butter, teriyaki bacon, and béarnaise), this is no chihuahua of an underdog.

Without further ado, MDC presents its second year list below:

MARYLAND

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

VIRGINIA

Exact date of the first dining meet is TBD, but stay posted for updates and reviews.

Inaugural Year in Review

2008-07-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

With the first year over and gone and summer in full swing, the MDC is in recess until the upcoming year's list can be filled and finalized. Looking back at the inaugural year of the club, it's hard to find fault with any aspects of this fledgling social group. The people are friendly, the food is great, and all is well. Expansion of the club has occurred naturally, primarily through word of mouth. Though the influx of new faces has been steady, the party size for each outing has not exceeded any number that would be too large for a simple reservation phone call.

Depending on how much the club increases in the upcoming year, new facilitators and a secondary restaurant list may be necessary, in accordance with the original intention of the club. However, for now, the club is content to remain a small but formidable force in the dining world. This is not to say that expansion has not occurred in other manners. For instance, the ancillary trips to dim sum brunches and wine outings has led to a generation of ideas for MDC-sponsored visits to vineyards, beer tastings, wine tastings, and various other culinary tangents in tandem with the usual restaurant line up. The scope of the club has also seen some ideas come into play. Instead of merely enjoying the food, some members have proposed judging it as well. Certainly, there is already a good bit of discussion of which restaurants top the charts and which were disappointing when compared to expectations. Additionally, rumors are circulating of beginning other MDC chapters in other major metropolitan areas. Yes, the MDC is still fresh and new, but the inherent potential of this little club is abundant.

As for the restaurants visited in the past year, there is a list of links provided below.

Certainly, there is a range of different cuisines reflected, but some clear favorites stand out prominently. Most notably worthy of mention are Zaytinya, Grapeseed, and Rasika.

Zaytinya is the perfect establishment for a large group that intends to share the myriad assortment of delicious and flavorful mezze dishes.

Grapeseed wows the diner with a magnificent wine selection (it has a wine bar, if one isn't hungry) and amazing food from its homey open kitchen. As an added kick, Grapeseed does the work of pairing most of its dishes with one of their nice wines for the customer.

Rasika is the place for gourmet Indian food. For people who do not typically like Indian food, it would behoove them to take a trip down to Chinatown for a meal at Rasika. The fried spinach melts like a savory cotton candy and is their signature appetizer for good reason and everything else on the menu is fantastic as well.

It has been a magninficent year and all that remains is the anticipation of next year's menu.

Finale at Fogo de Chão a Success

2008-06-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is always a tough time for any organized event. Indeed, only nine die-hard dinner club members set aside all other obligations or were just plain lucky enough to have a free weekend in June to come to the final dinner meet of the inaugural year. The MDC wrapped up the year at Fogo de Chão in Washington, DC. Brazilian churrascaria has become a popular restaurant style in the Metro area and for meat-lovers, this service style is a must-try. At Fogo, all meat dishes come in two forms: meat and meat wrapped in bacon. Hooray for strong young arteries! Boo life-shortening cholesterol! Still, the price keeps places like Fogo de Chão from becoming a weekly stop and eat for the typical American family. Thus, the gaucho-style meat-fest is perfect for celebratory dining occasions (such as the cap to fine year of dining out).

Dinner at Fogo de Chão was nothing short of amazing. All the meat was cooked perfectly, the bacon-wrapped filet mignon melted like butter as soon as you put it in your mouth, and the salad bar was everything the hype claimed it would be. It's impossible to leave hungry and all MDC members were stuffed to the gills after dinner. Somehow, everyone forced down some dessert (also all good) and some folks even quaffed some aperitifs. The after dinner booze-peddler could really ply his trade. Though the limited menu only offered one choice of each type of drink, the sommelier of liquors had free reign to choose his own selections for that menu. From scotch to grappa, no one was left thirsty after dinner.

With the inaugural year completed, the MDC is going to take the summer off to recoup, especially since most folks are vacationing in July or early August. Next year will start up, hopefully, in late August with a new assortment of the typical four each restaurant style (4 DC, 4 VA, 4 MD). Check out the earlier posts to see what's on the table and send a comment or e-mail to input your two cents.

Potential Venues for MDC's 2nd Year

2008-04-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

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

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.

Introduction to the MDC

2008-03-25T22:20:00.001-07:00

Hello and welcome to the Metropolitan Dining Club website. This first post should help to familiarize you with the purpose of the club and bring you up to speed on events to date. The Metropolitan Dining Club, otherwise known as the MDC, was created in April 2007 by Tom Saffell. By posting an ad on Craigslist to feel out interested parties, Tom recruited seven people to go dining out in addition to his three roommates at the time. On May 6th, the first MDC meeting took place at David Craig Bethesda, a restaurant in the heart of Bethesda, MD. Only one of the Craigslist respondees showed up, but the club flourished anyway. The folks who did end up going to David Craig enjoyed delicacies like squid-ink-dyed pasta, fried green tomato salad, and myriad other tasty dishes.

After that, the rest is history. More people ended up coming to subsequent events and the core membership of the club is close to 30 or so participants. Meetings were planned to occur monthly and a set method for dinner meetings was established and now all events follow this methodology. It's really quite simple ... here are the steps:

The facilitator sends an e-mail to potential participants informing them of the arbitrarily selected date and location
The participants RSVP with their availability for the chosen date
Using the information gathered from the RSVPs, the facilitator makes reservations in his/her name
The facilitator then sends a e-mail with the time, date, location, and reservation information to all those who originally RSVPed
The diners arrive at the specified restaurant, enjoy their meal and their company, and disperse afterwards

Traditionally, for the core club constituency as it currently stands, dinner meetings have been held on Sundays and have alternated by location rather regularly on a monthly basis, that is, the original May meeting was in Maryland, the meeting in June following that one was in Virginia, and then July 2007's meeting was in DC proper.

With only two meetings left in the first year of the MDC's inaugural run, the group is seeking to expand its scope and close the first year out right with a close-out meeting at Fogo de Chão, a Brazilian brasserie in the District. With regards to the expansion of the MDC's scope, this blog was created to provide a forum for public expression of impressions of various dining experiences as well as to provide a central locus for news on upcoming events. The monthly dinner meeting, while truly the core of the club's events' schedule, is not the final boundary of the club's vision. Since the humble beginning, various members have used dining club contacts to coordinate dim sum brunches, wine tastings, and other social events.

Once the final dinner meeting and the Fogo de Chão finale are completed, the MDC will be put on a summer-long hiatus to plan the next year and determine the direction of expansion. As 30 people is a large party to bring to a single restaurant, the expansion of the club will likely take the form of ancillary, or splinter, groups of diners interested in pursuing the mission of the MDC. If you are interested in becoming a facilitator of MDC meetings for new members or have a few friends looking to meet some new people and try some interesting DC cuisine, feel free to contact Tom at metropolitan.dining.club@gmail.com with any questions you may have and/or to discuss planning coordinated dining events. The goal for this first year of expansion is simple: to find one interested facilitator to aid in the creation of the first branch off of the main MDC membership.

It should be noted that the MDC is free and open to all who wish to join. That is, there are no member dues, but each member does pay for his/her own meal, obviously.

That's about all the exposition there is. The MDC is relatively new on the DC scene, but has high hopes and is optimistic with regards to its future endeavors. Membership has been steadily growing since inception, new events have been proposed, and all indicators point to a bright future for the club. Check this site often for news on the MDC's overall progress, MDC news, events, and various other informational tidbits.