There's a new (open less than 2 weeks) restaraunt called Melati in Cleveland Park. The exact address is 3506 Connecticut Ave, NW and the phone number is (202)537-1432. It's a block north of the Uptown movie theater, which is exactly where one side of the Cleveland Park metro entrance is. There's a big square neon gizmo in the window so you can't miss it... The menu is split into a Malaysian side and an Indonesian side in case you want to know which is what. The prices are quite reasonable, with appetizers around $3-6 and entrees in the 7-10 range. There are some dishes that are more expensive, like the "rice table", meat $20 or vegetable $16, but that's understandable. We ordered the meat version and were delighted to find it consists of small servings of something like 10 different items from the menu. I've been there twice and everything I've tasted has been quite good. The meat dishes were more exciting then the veggie ones in my opinion though. But I would recommend the spicy green beans, and the mixed vegetables in coconut milk. For those of you that think that food should be felt as well as tasted, try the Devil's Chicken. The sauce enveloping the chicken is intensely hot, so don't order it unless you really like that sort of thing. But for those of you in search of new chili experiences may want to give it a try. Unlike some dishes that are hot hot hot with not much else going on, there is a complex and full flavor underneath the chili-fire. I found it too hot for repeated ingestion myself :), but the complexity of the flavor was lovely. Other standouts include the mixed sate appetizer (I never knew that grilled tempe was so good!), the curry puff and sting roll appetizers (yes that's supposed to be sting). I'm having a hard time remembering what entree's we ordered(!) since the most recent visit we just had the rice table and soups. I ordered a noodle soup with shrimp (off the Malaysian side of the menu) and it was delicious. If you want an entree sized noodle/soup dish I'd recommend it. The soups on the Indonesian menu are smaller. They don't have a liquor license yet, but they are working on it. In the meantime, you can bring your own wine/beer if you like. Just remember to bring a corkscrew. :) They have champagne glasses you can use if you do bring wine. And if you get there and forget, just pop across the street to Cleveland Park Liquors and pick up a bottle. -jj PS - I've never called for reservations, but it might not be a bad idea, since it a very small place.
Washington, DC
(no subject)
CC: [email removed] Subject: Re: Chinese Restaurant in DC? References: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Host: dial-di014.essex1.com Lines: 9 Path: My favorite in the area is not in DC, but in Rockville. If this is not too far out, the name is "House of Chinese Chicken". Service is good and the food is wonderful. Enjoy! L A Davenport Dixon, IL > I was hoping someone could recommend a fine Chinese Restaurant for > a small banquet (wedding party), with a preference to the Cantonese-style.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------From: Christine Ausnit -Date: Thu, Dec 17, 1992 1:29 PM -Subject: places to shop in N. virginia - To: [email removed] - > I just moved here (Fairfax, VA) from Pittsburgh, PA and am looking > for good places to shop. I am particularly interested in Oriental, > Italian, Greek stores with good prices. And good deli's, produce palkces, > pretty much any recomendations you might have for me, since I am starting > from ground 0 here. Any advice you have for me is very appreciated. Welcome to northern virginia! I've lived here about four years--here are some suggestions (not horribly well organized--I typed them in as I thought of them). Italian deli: The Italian Gourmet, Vienna, VA. Open 7 days a week. Great sandwiches. Great selection of Italian "stuff," like olive oils, dry pastas, prepared pasta dishes, various tomato-based sauces, etc. Located in the shopping center at the intersection of Nutley and Maple. Bread: Cenan's Bakery. Vienna, VA. Open 7 days a week. *Fabulous* bread of all kinds--walnut sourdough, wholewheat sourdough, pecan raisin, baguettes, tomato dill, croissants, scones, muffins, plus small selection of yummy desserts, freshly made coffee (espresso and capuccino too). This place just opened. They make all their breads fresh several times a day. Located in the shopping center at the intersection of Maple and Branch in downtown Vienna. Baker's Place. McLean, VA. Open 7 days a week. Very similar to Cenan's, but it's been open longer. (The guy who opened Cenan's used to the partner at Baker's Place.) I prefer Cenan's (closer to where I live, for one thing :-) Located in the Langley shopping center off Chain Bridge Rd. Harvest Bread Company. Herndon, VA. Open 5 days a week (Tu - Sa). Excellent, wholesome bread. Very different style from Cenan's. Sunflower, raisin pecan, onion dill, country, honey wheat, orange something. They also sell stone ground wholewheat flour (much better than what you find in the supermarket). General gourmet: Giant Gourmet, McLean, VA. Open 7 days a week. Literally, a supermarket that carries almost entirely gourmet items of every nationality. Has a pretty good dry goods section, a so-so dessert section, so-so bread section (see Cenan's and Baker's Place!), a fresh pasta section, good choice of deli meats (e.g., uncommon types of ham), good cheeses, prepared foods, very good butcher's section, very good fresh produce. Not the kind of place you go to buy staples (i.e., don't even think of looking for tissue or Frosted Flakes there!) Located in the center of McLean on Chain Bridge Rd., opposite the Giant Supermarket. There's a Super Crown Books in the same shopping center as the Giant Gourmet. If you like reading, you can easily get addicted to Crown Books, which discounts everything they sell. Sutton Place Gourmet, Alexandria, VA. Open 6, maybe 7 days a week. More gourmet'ish and less supermarketish than the Giant Gourmet. Very expensive. Good place to go if you're looking for something truly unusual. Not sure of the street address. There's another one either in the District or just outside in Bethesda or Chevy Chase, MD. Dean & Deluca, Georgetown, Washington D.C. Open 6, maybe 7 days a week. They just opened a few days ago. I know the name from New York City, and they carry all sorts of wonderful prepared foods, exotic spices, and the like. Fresh produce: During the summer, almost every community has some kind of Farmer's Market once a week. Check your local area for day and time. Chantilly Farms, Chantilly, VA. Open 7 days a week but closed from Xmas through March (?). Seasonal produce, excellent quality. Fantastic fresh eggs! Located on Route 50 just past Centerville Road. Potomac Farms, Vienna, VA. Open 7 days a week, but only from July 5 (?) through Halloween. This is a fun place, because you get to go pick what you want depending on what's in season (berries, lettuce, etc.) Some produce is also at the stand. Great fresh eggs too. Located on Route 7, 1/4 mile or so past Beulah Road. Non farm stand...Magruder's (check you phone book) and Fresh Fields (there's at least one at the intersection of Route 7 and Idylwood--well, just west of the intersection). Fresh Fields carries only organic stuff--at any rate, stuff without preservatives and other junk. They are a fully stocked supermarket, as is Magruder's. Magruder's is usually excellent value and very crowded. Another farm stand comes to mind, well not exactly a farm stand, but.... There's a place in SE D.C. around 8th or 9th and Pennsylvania (you'd better check the address :-) that's an indoor market with fresh meat and produce year round. During the warmer months, they also set up outside stands. Name escapes me at the moment. Oriental: Don't know names here, but there are several Oriental stores located on Route 50 opposite Lohman's Plaza (corner of 50 and Graham Rd (?)). Greek: Sorry, can't help you here :-( There are a bunch of Middle Eastern places, however. Assal's Market in Vienna comes to mind. Oasis in McLean (same shopping center as Baker's Place; you have to walk around the corner). Seafood: Vienna Seafood, in Vienna, VA, on W. Maple St., between Pleasant St. and Wade Hampton (down near Nutley St.). This wins hands down on fresh seafood! I think I'd better call it quits...the snow is starting to stick, and I'm afraid of the roads freezing.... Hope this helps! Feel free to e-mail if you want more ideas or want to ask questions about any of these places. --Christine Ausnit [email removed] ============================================================ Message for rlong