Hook

I love when livingsocial/groupon deals come through for those restaurants that you really really want to go to. Hook, was one of those for me. For one of my final dinners in DC, best buddy of BOOF, sio and I decided to put my deal to good use and head to Hook for dinner. I previously mentioned that Hook is the "big" sister restaurant to Tacklebox which is located right next door. Like its little sister, Hook also uses local produce and sustainable ingredients in all of their food which is a major plus for me. The restaurant is located in the heart of Georgetown on M Street and its a perfect way to spend your evening meal.

The interior has a nice modern look with dim low hanging overhead lights, nice hardwood floors and tables but it also features a nice long high table top across from the bar. There is normal restaurant seating in both the back and front of the restaurant but I would recommend making a reservation with hopes of getting a seat in the designated dining area.

To start I ordered the Asparagus Soup. When this dish came out, I along with Sio was actually surprised that it was green. Clearly, it make sense that it would be green because it is asparagus soup, but I guess maybe I was thinking that it would be more asparagus infused then just pureed and asparagus. Nevertheless, it was so good. So delicious. The asparagus was definitely the primary flavor that came through but because there was such a great complexity of additional flavors as well as jumbo lump crab meat throughout the soup, that you never felt overpowered by the asparagus. I would order that soup every trip.

For our entrees, Sio ordered the Lobster Risotto. We both had this on our radar upon deciding what we would order and it was definitely a very good choice. Although we are not in New England, the lobster was fresh and there was plenty of lobster present in the dish along with the full tail. The Risotto was a little soupier then expected but the flavor profile was there and it was a very well done dish as well. My only complaint is that there could have been a little kick to this lobster risotto which maybe would have not only been a good surprise but it also may have taken this good dish and made it into a great dish.

Additionally, I personally like my Risotto a little softer but Hook cooked it to al dente but I guess that is just a personal preference.

I ordered the Halibut which was really a pleasant surprise. I had not had Halibut in a while and I am glad that I waited for this occasion to have it. I could not have asked for a better cooked piece of fish on this evening as the white fish just broke beautifully and melted in my mouth. Furthermore, the dish was perfectly balanced with the saltiness of the beans underlying the fish with the beautiful sweet honey glaze on top of the fish and surrounding it. The fish was also plated beautifully but the fact that the taste matched its beauty made it a winner. The texture balance was also perfect as the crunchiness of the shredded carrot matched with the sear on the halibut and then the nice soft crunch of the beans was near perfect. Despite my desire to order another fish off the menu at a future date, I am sure that I will be so inclined to order the halibut once again. It was better than I expected.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Hook. It was definitely one of the better meals that I have had in DC and also a top 5 for seafood dining experiences in DC, which is saying a lot. The dessert menu was definitely enticing but both Sio and I declined for the evening; however, the Pastry chef at Hook is getting ready to be featured on the new Bravo Series with Gail Simmons, Top Chef Just Desserts. That is my kind of show. I digress. Hook is definitely a perfect place for a date or just a nice dinner with a few friends but it is not a place that you want to be rambunctious and loud in. After a nice meal at Hook, I definitely recommend taking a walk either down the Waterfront or across Key Bridge.

Grade: A-

Tacklebox

why did i not eat seafood for so long? it was not a conscious decision but really, i love seafood. note to self: never not eat seafood for that long again.

good buddy of BOOF, kka and I met up for dinner at one of my many groupons-to-use tacklebox. kka is a buddy that i don't see nearly enough but we we can catch up, it is always such a great time. we both loveee seafood so it ended up being the perfect choice and she had been to tacklebox before but I was an unfortunate first timer.

tacklebox is the sister restaurant to Hook and both are located adjacent to one another on the always bustling picture perfect M Street of Georgetown. tacklebox is the more casual of the two, fitted with picnic table seating and a walk up order service. they have a few meal options but both kka and I decided on the "Maine Meal" which comes with your choice of fish, two sides and one sauce. therefore, the meal definitely becomes a make your own sort of deal which is really nice, especially if you know what you are doing ;-).

for the fish, you can choose from it being cooked two ways: crispy or woodgrilled. Depending on how you want it cooked you can have the choice of shrimp, bay scallops, calamari, catfish, haddock, clam strips (all crispy), or bluefish, trout, tilapia, catfish, cheeseburger, calamari or chicken (wood-grilled).

for the sides you can choose from a sleuth of options: corn on the cob • asparagus • broccoli • side salad • coleslaw • cornbread muffin • mac & chease • mash potatoes • rice • house cut fries • sweet potato fries • portobello mushrooms • potato salad • hush puppies

and you also have your choice of sauce (which is served delightfully on the side): spicy marinara • classic tartar • lemon-garlic aioli • grilled lemons • cocktail • BBQ • Basil.

kka ordered the bluefish woodgrilled with sides of asparagus and broccoli. she opted for no sauce and she really enjoyed the flavor of the fish and the veggies were nice and fresh and so that was also a definite plus. they also had a bit of seasoning, so they weren't bland which was definitely also a plus. veggies need flavor too!

to start i ordered the crispy calamari (you can also have it grilled) and these had great flavor. after having really good calamari at Il Canale and decent calamari at Liberty Tree , I was hoping for more of the former. The calamari was very good, super fresh and had nice seasoning. it had a really good amount of kick but it was not overpowering and they were fried very nicely. i would definitely want to try other appetizers on their menu on a trip back.

for my "maine meal" i ordered the catfish wood-grilled with a side of sweet potato fries and broccoli. I also asked for the spicy marinara on the side. this ended up being really quite delicious. i really enjoyed the flavor of the wood-grill coming through the fish and i think by topping it with the spicy marinara, it gave it that nice kick to balance out the grilled flavor. the sweet potato fries were also delicious but it is hard find "bad" sweet potato fries. i am pretty certain that is an oxymoron. as i mentioned earlier, the broccoli was really good, fresh and well-seasoned.

a favorite thing about both Hook and Tacklebox is that they only use sustainable seafood and ingredients and locally grown produce. they get bonus points just for that. all in all, i would definitely head back to tacklebox again (even minus a groupon) to try out other things on the menu. the seafood is good, not the best i have EVER had but nevertheless it is cheap and good.

Grade: B+

Things to do: Shop. plain and simple.

Le Pain Quotidien

le pain is an international restaurant of obvious french flair. it is a very nice restaurant/cafe to dine for breakfast or lunch and it is well known for it's "communal table" dining. i had previously been to both the georgetown and dupont circle locations (unfortunately, no international ones for me :-) ), but to hang out with BOOF buddy, kku, we decided to meet one morning for a sort of after breakfast snack at the bethesda location.

the bethesda location is located on bethesda row which is an adorable area that i had never really ventured to previously, but if I ever find myself back in DC living (which i pray i do), i definitely would want to spend some more time there. i am fairly certain that all le pain's pretty much have a similar set up with a large communal table in part of their restaurant with more individual tables set up around the restaurant and then the bakery/casing taking a large part of space also in the restaurant. the furniture is dominated by a lot of "unfinished wood", and although i really like the concept of the communal dining, i still feel that you just end up communicating with whoever you are with. nevertheless, it is an idea that i do like.

le pain uses mainly (if not all) organic ingredients in their meals and i have had breakfast there before and really enjoyed it. on this day, kku and I just enjoyed a couple of breakfast pastries. le pain is one of those places that it can be difficult to order because EVERYTHING in the pastry cases looks delicious. nevertheless, i just ordered a simple croissant (i know how boring), but it was delicious.

kku was a little but more adventurous and ordered this really tasty bread topped with a creme and strawberries. it was really really good. the creme wasn't that sweet and the strawberries were sweet with enough tart that you were not too overwhelmed. and the bread definitely had a nice pastry puff/croissant taste to it, so it was nice and had a bit of a crunch to balance out the texture.

all in all, a trip to le pain is always good and never disappointing. if you need something quick, i definitely recommend just grabbing a pastry and a coffee to go (coffee is good and strong), but if you have time to sit down...then definitely do that and order something of more substance. their omelettes are pretty tasty...just a thought.

Grade: B

Clyde's

on an impromptu friday evening, a few close buddies of BOOF including Sho, twinskii, their sig others (j$ and bl), and I all decided to head out to jazz in the sculpture garden, a friday evening favorite. after a few glasses of sangria, some brazilian jazz and a little too much DC heat and humidity, we all decided that we were starving and because this is Sho's former stomping ground, she recommended that we head to clyde's for a bite.

because Sho knew some members of the clyde's staff, my view of the restaurant will definitely be biased but i have always had a fond place for clyde's in my heart. clyde's is a DMV restaurant food chain and i have been to the locations in both georgetown and chinatown and had good experiences at both; however, this is a review for the chinatown location.

located right in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of chinatown, clyde's sits adjacent to the verizon center as a pronounced restaurant spanning two levels and with entrance from both the street and the cinemas. the restaurant is fitted with dim lights, varied artwork (a lot of european influences), dark brown tables and a mix of both hardwood floors and carpeting upstairs. there are three bars in the clydes in chinatown (two downstairs, one upstairs), so it never really gets too busy and too difficult to get a drink. nevertheless, because it is such a hot spot it does get busy for dinner but unless their is a big event going on at the verizon center (Caps game), you should always be able to get a seat for dinner with not too much of a wait.

clyde's features "traditional american" cuisine and with aussie buddy bl in town, it seemed like the perfect option.

to start off, i ordered the zucchini fritters. i love zucchini in any form so i was really excited to see it in the fried variety, in a restaurant! they were fried well, the seasoning was good and did not take away from the natural flavor of the zucchini. all in all, i was pleased.

BOOF buddy, twinskii, ordered the nachos which were topped with ground beef, cheddar cheese, guacamole, sour cream, sliced jalapenos and pic de gallo. she enjoyed them but nothing too special.

other BOOF buddy, j$, ordered the thai marinated steak salad which included mango, carrots, cucumber, toasted peanuts and chili lime dressing. the flavor was good and a very nice option as an entree salad.

you'll have to excuse my forgetfulness because i can't really remember what BOOF buddies bl and Sho ordered but I am pretty certain it was of the burger variety. I also do recall that BOOF buddy bl ordered some oysters on the half shell and he mentioned that they were good as well.

i ordered the grilled portobello topped with roasted peppers, zucchini, grilled red onions, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, pesto mayonnaise on toasted multigrain. the sandwich was very tasty and i think because it was topped with such great veggies but yet the sandwich could still be bitten into without being overwhelmed by too much stuff and too much flavor.

all in all with SUPER service to boot, i enjoyed my time at clydes. well, i always enjoy my time at clyde's. there is nothing too special and spectacular about the food and flavors that they produce but it is also a good and satisfying meal. perfect for a movie night or a pre/post-game meal.

Grade: B+/B (A for service C+ for food)

il Canale

before good buddy of BOOF, toochi, shipped off to China for the summer we knew that we had to get together. we are always trying to find time in our hectic schedules to hang out but it is always tough to get us in the same place at the same time. i had a livingsocial deal to a new italian restaurant in georgetown, so we finally made a date and a time and we were on the books for dinner.

il canale is located on 31st in georgetown between M and K overlooking the canal. apparently before il canale came in, there was a pretty bad italian restaurant in the same location but let me tell you, il canale is definitely not the same place. il canale is traditional italian food highlighted by Neapolitan style pizzas (told you i was eating a lot of pizza!) and classic flavors. il canale is marked by its very warm and well lit interior but it also features a nice covered roof top deck which overlooks the "canale", perfect for a nice summer evening. the interior is modern with simple colors to not withdraw your attention from the food as it is nothing too spectacular.

we started off with the frittura di calamari e zucchine which is crispy tender calamari served with a spicy marinara sauce. the seasoning and flavor of these bad boys was quite delicious. the calamari essentially stood on its own, not necessarily needing the sauce because the seasoning was quite perfect...not too much but not bland. the zucchini was also a nice touch because as all of you may know, i'm a sucker for some seafood and veggies. especially, when they are fried. :-)

tn originally ordered the Pacch eri di Gragnano which is an artisan large tube pasta with classic neapolitan meat sauce, and a touch of imported bufala ricotta and mozzarella. unfortunately, tn was not quite in the mood for what she ordered so she ended up sending it back. however, it looked super delicious...i'm sure if the sauce did not have meat in it, i would have ate it and loved it. because this restaurant is very traditional, do not expect to find an alfredo sauce on the menu. as our moroccan (random, i know) waiter explained to us, alfredo sauce is not italian at all. so only expect true italian flavors and dishes to come out of il canale. the presentation was also still lovely, and the large tube pasta is not something that i am accustomed to seeing but it was also a pleasant surprise. additionally, be a little prepared for this to be cooked al dente, unless you ask them otherwise.

i ordered the Parmigana which is a neapolitan style pizza topped with a tomato sauce, parmesan shavings and the staple imported bufala mozzarella. the pizza was really good the parmesan added the perfect amount of sharp flavor to the pizza and the crust was cooked very well. if I were to do a little crust comparison from my most recent pizza ventures i would say il canale= 2 amys > Vapianos. however, they have all been tasty, the ingredients have all been fresh and I have been very pleased.

as a substitute for her pasta, tn switched to pizza and ordered La Regina which was just like my pizza accept minus the parmesan and plus proscuitto. she was much more pleased with this option and enjoyed it greatly. the flavors were simple but classically done so there were no complaints from our end.

il canale was good. was it the best italian meal i have ever had? probably not but it was definitely really tasty, well prepared, fresh and traditional italian food. the location is really great and with enough word of mouth, this place can definitely be put on the dc map for a really great authentic italian meal. supposedly, for happy hour from 4-7, you can get a pizza and a glass of red/white wine for $9.99. I think that is a steal and without even that deal, I would definitely come back here for a nice dinner.

Grade: B+

Additional: There is plenty to do in the Georgetown area. You can shop, walk around georgetown and up the canal/down the river. You can also catch a movie which makes for a really great date night. I would definitely leave the kids or large groups at home because this restaurant definitely has more of the feel of a dinner with a good friend or couple of friends, or a date night with your schnookums.

Chadwicks

good friend of BOOF, bk, was in town for the weekend and asked me to meet him and some of his buds at Chadwicks for sunday brunch. brunch. fun. friends. count me in.

I’ve been to Chadwicks a few times before, once for a dinner/birthday celebration and a few times out on a weekend. however, I was completely unaware that they offered a $20.00 all you can drink Champagne brunch. Say what? I quickly was annoyed because 1) How was I just finding about this steal? 2) REALLY? Nevertheless, I am not an “all you can drink” sort of gal but I am always down for a good brunch.

Chadwicks is located in Gtown on Water Street right off of the waterfront. It is definitely a classic bar and and pub space, so it has a very relaxed and warm feeling to it. The restauraunt is split into two floors both with a bar and restaurant seating. The lighting is very dim/non-existent but it is furnished with a nice dark brown wood tables and chairs, again reflecting its pub feel. There is also an additional location in Friendship Heights but I have never ventured there.

It was an easy choice for me to not go for the champage brunch, but I did have a tasty omlette with 3 choices all for a nice price tag of $10. It was served with home fries and an english muffin. There was nothing special about this meal but it was nice to have a brunch remnant of a diner breakfast, with the notable lack of diners in the DC area. Other members of the group went for the Steak and Eggs, the Breakfast Burrito and the Country Fried Steak. Everyone was happy with their food and for the price it was a good deal.

Overall, if you plan on spending the afternoon in Georgetown, Chadwicks is a nice place to start your morning if you want a filling brunch, after a late night out the the night before. It is not somewhere I would recommend anyone go for a “good meal”, but if you want a cheap decent eats (especially with continually flowing champagne), then Chadwicks can definitely be your place. I also would only recommend it for larger groups because like any bar/pub, it tends to get very loud with laughter and chatter. Do not bring your date here. This trip can be paired with a nice stroll on the waterfront, shopping in georgetown and if you are looking for something sweet afterwards, skip Georgetown Cupcake and head to the BEST cupcake in town and Baked & Wired.

Grade: C+