Nando's Peri Peri

Nando's Peri Peri, a peruvian chicken place in Chinatown, opened to great excitement and large crowds early last summer. The fast-casual place, open on 7th St. just north of H St., had amassed quite the following from their other outposts, and Washingtonians were excited to see one in their neighbhorhood.

The system at NPP is a bit different from most other places, you go in, they give you a table flag with a number that corresponds with a table in the restaurant, you grab two menus and go sit down. After deciding what you want to eat, you go up to the counter to order, then get your sauces and drinks and the food is brought out to you when ready.

All of the chicken comes in 4 flavors - lemon pepper, medium, hot, and extra hot. Decide what you want, your heat level, and any sides, and you're good to go. I had the extra hot chicken pita... I tend to eat Tabasco on EVERYTHING, so I normally am disappointed when restaurants call something 'extra hot', but this had a bold heat level that also carried with it some flavor.

FYI for happy hour goers in the area, at happy hour (until 7) you can get a pitcher of sangria for the same price as a glass - 4.95, and it was pretty tasty sangria.

Big things happening at Wisconsin Place

Having lived in Friendship Heights for 6 years now, I've gotten used to the jokes and jabs about the fact that I might as well live on Mars. (its 14 minutes on metro from metro center folks, I'm guessing I get home faster than 80% of people who drive to NoVa) My standard response to this is, when was the last time you were in the neighborhood?

Since I've been there, it's been transformed from an older sleepy neighborhood to one of the better retails destinations in the area, there is a large amount of upscale new housing, and
recently the new Wisconsin Place opened up including Bloomingdales, Sephora, a huge (and pricey) Archstone apartment building, and restaurants.

Last week the development announced two new restaurants coming this fall - Capital Grille and The Tasting Room. Most DCers know Cap Grille from their swanky Pennsylvania Ave location, and The Tasting Room is going to be a fancy wine and cheese sort of place - should fit in well to the neighborhood.

And, despite rumors to the contrary, our Whole Foods WILL still be opening, just later than originally thought next spring.

Oh good God.

Chef Geoff has decided to open another tired, overcrowded, mediocre, overpriced restaurant - this time in Tyson's Corner. Though, honestly it seems like if you're going to open another tired, overcrowded, mediocre, overpriced restaurant, Tysons Corner is the place to do it...

In my opinion, Chef Geoff's has one thing going for it - happy hour. At certain times of the week, there are respectable drink specials and decent prices on a giganto burger. After all, what better to ply crowds to a bar in Tysons, with no current viable public transportation options, than giganto mugs of low-priced alcohol...

Not to hate on Chef Geoff, he seems like a nice guy who does a lot for the community. But I have not once sat down at either his downtown restaurant or Lia's in Chevy Chase and had a satisfactory experience. I'm not looking for Citronelle here, just a decent meal with decent service.

Until he can get those issues taken care of, I'd suggest Cheof Geoff focus on existing properties rather than opening new ones.

New Menu Unveiled at Cap Lounge

I know, the title is a bit of an oxymoron - a menu being 'unveiled' at Cap Lounge. But Teddy Folkman, chef at Granville Moore's and current contestant on The Next Food Network Star was hired by Joe Englert to re-do the menu at the Capitol Hill stalwart.

First of all, its clear that CL has changed possession recently; it's... odd. Its not grungy, its not nice, its some middle area that honestly isn't very comfortable. And be it the change in ownership or the change in control of DC, it's also not been very crowded the last time or two I've been there.

The new menu is not surprisingly more expensive. Fried oysters (10$), pedestrian hot wings(9$), a reuben (12$) and pizza are all on board, as well as Folkman's famous Mussels from Moore's. And no, I have no idea why ANYONE would EVER order sushi from Cap Lounge unless they had a death wish (crispy tuna rolls, 8$).

I'm normally a fan of places sprucing up a bit and improving the menu a bit, but this one has put me off. Cap Lounge used to be one of the busiest bars around on a Thursday night, now it's pretty barren. I guess I'm not the only one that misses a bit of the old dive bar charm.

A Life Concierge Rant...

I understand that bars and restaurants can make a significant amount of revenue by renting out and closing off space for groups and individuals for private functions. But I do wonder if they consider the longer-term affects of closing off unique portions of their business to normal customers. I'm not talking about if a restaurant has a private room set aside, that's obviously not an issue. Or even if they section off a particular part of the regular area (Clydes in Chevy Chase regularly does this without a problem). What I mean, is if there is a particular area or section of the place, that has a different concept or character than the rest, and it is regularly off-limits to walk in customers.

Case in point - last night, Cheesehead and I go to the Laughing Man Tavern in G St. for the first time. Upstairs is an extremely corporate, vanilla restaurant with a small bar off to one side. Rumor has it that downstairs is a more comfortable, large bar with darts (this is owned by the Buffalo Billiard/Rocket Bar people). However, we couldn't get downstairs since it was closed for a private function, and were sequestered in the drab upstairs. It was probably the first, and last, time that we will be in that place, and I would LOVE to find a viable alternative to Ebbitt in that neighborhood.

Or what about those weekend nights when Pizzeria Paradiso - already a SMALL and very busy establishment - closes off the entire downstairs area - which contains the bigger and better bar with a more comfortable design? I mean, they do this a lot on Saturday nights - it's not like they weren't going to fill the seats anway. I DO now consider whether I want to schlep all the way there to face an hour wait for a table because the downstairs is closed; this has happened to me several times.

And let's not forget Top of the Hill, which you can pretty much count on to be closed off the entire holiday season. The problem is, the three bars at this location have very distinct personalities - if I'm going to Top of the Hill, I don't want to sit in the basement area.

I hope these places realize that the walk in crowds are their regulars - and we're being alienated for a faster up-front return. It's probably telling that I haven't been to TOTH in ages after repeated closings, I won't go back to Laughing Man, and I only occasionally go to Paradiso because it's the only thing like it around. Grrrrrrrrr.

Top Chef Masters

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm quasi-obsessed with Top Chef, and tomorrow Top Chef Masters begins.

I think this has a high potential of disappointing a lot of Top Chef fans. The format is different - 4 chefs will compete against each other for the first 6 episodes, the winners of those competitions will then go on for a more traditional elimination round following the initial go-around.

Tom Collichio and Padme are NOT part of Top Chef Masters. Instead there is a panel of judges (including Gail) that mostly consists of food critics, and a new host.

But not to worry, this is only a summer supplement. Bravo has announced that season 6 of Top Chef will still go on as normal this fall, and will take place in... Las Vegas, NV. An odd choice if you ask me, but Tom and Padme are expected to return for the traditional season 6.

Fireworks Fridays Suspended for Nationals Games

The Friday Fireworks, about the only reason to head out to Nationals Park these days, have been suspended indefinately after DC's Fire Chief was hit by debris during the most recent display.

Of course, by debris, we mean some paper shreds from the fireworks, it's not as if a shell landed on his head and then blew up. He also overrode his own fire inspector who had, numerous times, approved these as being safe.

The company charged with putting on the display is currently trying to figure out alternatives to get the show back on for Friday nights.

Update: According to the Washington Post (h/t Jenn) the Chief and the Nationals have worked out a compromise, and fireworks will be back for Tuesday night's game.

W Hotel Set to Open, including yet another big name steakhouse

The W Hotel will re-open in what was formerly the Hotel Washington on 15th Street on July 8. From the looks of the old Hotel Washington, it was badly in need of a two-year gutting, which is what it received in it's conversion to the W brand (one of the Starwood Group properties).

Many Washingtonians probably never got beyond the rooftop terrace at the Hotel Washington - best happy hour views in the city. Too bad the food and service were abysmal. It does appear that the W will have a rooftop terrace as well, though access and price point are still TBD.

Here's the rub if you plan on staying here... the rooms START at $319 for a "cozy" (aka small) room with one queen bed on a weekend evening. This puts it significantly more expensive than either the Ritz on M St. or the Willard around the corner, and just slightly below the 4 Seasons in Georgetown for the same evening. In other words, this place had better be damn night for that price.

The best part of the opening may be the first outpost by New York restauranteur, the French-born Jean-Georges Vongerichten. One of the most famous and lauded chefs in the country, J&G Steakhouse should be a serious contender in the DC steak scene.

But really? Another celebrity steakhouse? We have Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak at the 4 Seasons. And BLT Steak on I St. Not to mention the Palm, Mortons, Ruth's Chris, Ray's the Steak, Mortons, Sam and Harry's, and need I go on. I wish they would have thought of a more inventive concept than another steak place - we'll see if JGV can deliver.