Friday, June 08, 2007

A Movable Feast .....

A comment to a previous post of mine, noting some of the fare I've been enjoying at the Castle Café here, in Washington, got me to thinking I might mention some of the restaurants we've visited in our nation's capital.

Monday night, it was
Famous Luigi's on 19th Street NW. Opened by Luigi Calvi in 1943, it is one of the oldest Italian restaurants in Washington, D.C. I had the pasticcio de lasagna - which substituted a pesto sauce for a meat sauce or heavy tomato sauce - and loved every bite of it.

Tuesday night, it was
Thai Tanic, on 14th Street NW. Thai Tanic is a family-owned-and-operated business, just opened in 2001, but already popular with both native Washingtonians and tourists like ourselves. I had an appetizer of deep-fried tofu served with sweet chili sauce, followed by an entreé of chicken panang simmered in savory curried peanut sauce, combined with coconut milk and sprinkled with kaffir lime leaves - another wonderful experience.

Wednesday night, it was our one visit to a chain restaurant, the
Daily Grill on 18th Street NW. The Daily Grill, which can be found in seven states as well as the District of Columbia, describes itself as "a bastion of straightforward, classic American cuisine." I had the chicken pot pie, and it was absolutely the best I ever had.

Tonight, we finished our DC Dinner Tour with
Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street NW. Next year, Ben's will mark fifty years of offering all-things-chili. Little has changed about the building and its furnishings over that time, but its reputation has grown dramatically from neighborhood favorite to Washington landmark - and with good reason. I had the Ben's Original Chili Half-Smoke, a sausage grilled on request, served on a warm steamed bun with chili, mustard, and onions - it's Bill Cosby's favorite, and now it's mine, too.

Tomorrow morning, we head for home. We've had a good stay, and some great food ..... someday, we have to come back for more!

No comments: