Lunches cost $20.08 and dinners just $35.08.

Some participating restaurants only offer a limited Restaurant Week menu for the price, some either lunch or dinner, while others might offer both, so make sure to ask. 

Additionally, some establishments may run specials just for the week, or for the week or two preceding or after Restaurant Week.

DC’s Restaurant Week is one of the two area-wide discounted dining events offered each year, the other week occurs in January.  It  gives Washingtonian foodies a great opportunity to try a new place you’ve never dined at or visit a favorite place to try their new menu. 

Some of the more notable restaurants participating a with both a  lunch and dinner offering include a few notable steak houses, including Bobby Van’s Steakhouse, Sam & Harry’s and Smith & Wollensky, as well as:

• Cafe Promenade
• Taberna del Alabardero
• The Caucus Room
• The Prime Rib
• 701 Restaurant
• Acadiana
• B. Smith’s
• Bastille
• Cafe Atlantico
• D’Acqua
• Mie N Yu
• 15 Squares American Bistro (Renaissance Hotel)

Here’s a full list of participating restaurants for Washington DC’s Restaurant Week.

Dates – August 11 – 17, 2008,  at 170 participating restaurants throughout DC.

Prices – 3-Course Dinner – $30.07, 3-Course Lunch – $20.07, prices do not include beverage, tax or gratuity.

Reservations – Recommended and available for most through OpenTable.

Images – dessert, steak

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Post from: The DC Traveler

Over a dozen of DC’s top chefs have created special meals just for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.  The theme ingredient?  Why cherries, of course.

The participating restaurants, along with a few of the more interesting menu offerings, include:

• 15ria at the Doubletree Hotel – Grilled lamb chops with a cherry compote, cherry Yorkshire pudding.
• Aria Trattoria - Grilled pork tenderloin with a cherry balsamic glaze, and cherry crostata with cherry gelato.
• Bangkok Joe’s Dumpling Bar and Café - Roasted quail with sweet cherry compote, and a cherry Napoleon.
• Bastille
• Café MoZU
• Charlie Palmer Steak - Roasted Sonoma duck with preserved cherries.
• Dupont Grille at Jurys Hotel - Sun-dried cherry Crème Brûlé
• Indebleu – Pan seared Alaskan salmon with ‘cherry heering’ jus.
• Juniper at the Fairmont Hotel  
• KAZ Sushi Bistro, A special cherry blossom Bento Box.
• Mie N Yu, Miso duck and sour cherry gyoza with cherry cola barbeque sauce.
• The Oceanaire Seafood Room
• Renaissance M Street Hotel - Cherry soup with pistachio ice cream bon bons.
• Roof Terrace Restaurant & Bar at the Kennedy Center - Duck paté with dried cherries with bourbon-cherry compote
• Peacock Alley at the Willard Hotel - Afternoon tea with homemade cherry jam and lavender honey peanut butter PB&Js. 
• Taberna del Alabardero – Hazelnut & cherry encrusted Venison loin with cherry and blueberry compote.

Special cherry-themed cocktails have also been created, just for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

At Bangkok Joe’s Dumpling Bar and Café try a Frozen Cherry Bellini. Firefly, is offering a Cherry Blossom Mojito, and the Park Hyatt Washington, they are serving up their version of a Cherry Blossom Martini.

All I can say is Yum!!

National Cherry Blossom Festival Cherry Picks
Multiple restaurant around the city

Reservations – Available through Open Table.

Dates and Times – March 31 – April 15, 2008

Images – Flickr, cherry, cherry and blossoms, bunch of cherries
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Post from: The DC Traveler

But, since I love to cook, I thought I’d share one of my favorite personal steak recipes to help you turn your own kitchen into a world-famous steakhouse.

Black Pepper Gorgonzola Filet Mignon
with Cabernet Sautéed Mushrooms (for 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 8-10 oz. filet mignons
• 3 tablespoons of whole black peppercorns
• 2 strips bacon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 oz. good quality Gorgonzola or other blue cheese
• 1 cup assorted fresh mushrooms, such as baby portabellas, shiitake and crimini, stemmed and cut in half
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
• 1 medium shallot – chopped
• ½ cup dry red wine, preferably a nice Cabernet
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt (Kosher or sea salt is preferred)

Start by removing the steaks from the refrigerator to bring them to room temperature. This step is important, so take the steaks out of the refrigerator and unwrap about 20 minutes before cooking.

Sprinkle the steaks with a little Kosher salt.

Coarsely crack the black pepper in a spice mill or using a rolling pin or meat mallet. Rub the steaks with just a little olive oil and then roll the filets in the cracked pepper, coating all sides.

In a medium heavy, ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it’s almost smoking.

Add the two strips of bacon and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Carefully place the steaks in the pan and cook without moving until well seared and crusty on the first side, about 3-4 minutes.  Turn the steaks over, and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare.

Remove the steaks and bacon, and transfer to a plate.  

Place half the cheese on each steak with a strip of the cooked bacon set over the cheese. Cover the steaks loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.

Turn the heat to high and add the garlic, shallot and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the wine, a pinch of salt and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and combine thoroughly.

Uncover and plate the steaks and surround with the sautéd mushrooms.

I like to serve these steaks with roasted garlic smashed potatoes or mashed sweet and Yukon gold potatoes.

Enjoy!!

Photo – Flickr

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Post from: The DC Traveler

The Virginia legislature has continually refuse to pass a non-smoking bill for bars and restaurants in Virginia. And since Virginia’s is a Dillon Rule state, local counties and municipalities do not have the authority to ban smoking and must wait for Richmond and the Governor to pass any anti-smoking legislation. But with Virginia being the nation’s fourth largest producer of tobacco, it may be a while.

More than half of the states ban or have laws that will soon go into effect to ban smoking in resturants.

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Post from: The DC Traveler