Art and Soul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.