Cafe Asia - Farragut West, DC

A few weeks ago I met up with my cousin and my closest girlfriend for "girl catching up" time. We all went to college together, and as we get older it's harder to find time to hang out. We decided to go to Cafe Asia in DC. It's a casual/trendy place that serves Pan Asian (Asian food from across Asia) cuisine.

Parking was a PAIN! There are meters but one quarter gets you 8 minutes. Who has that much change on them? It was a Saturday, and the meters said parking fees were enforced on Saturdays too, but many meters didn't have $ in them. On top of that, we asked the host at Cafe Asia for change and he said he didn't have any. We then asked our waitress and she told us to ask the guy up front because he has A TON of change. So I went back and asked for $3 in change out of a $5, and he asked if he could keep the $2 as a tip...ever heard of customer service?! So the closest metro is Farragut West on the Orange line. I'd highly recommend that, or remember your quarters.

There are 2 floors inside along with a very mod/white interior. Lots of plastic and sitting on ottomans. It looks like there are real chairs upstairs.

Here is the bar. I think it becomes a pretty happening place at night, but for lunch it wasn't anything special.

They have a fairly big menu. My cousin ordered the 'Drunken Noodles- Thai brown sauce with minced chicken & fresh basil on flat rice noodles' for $10. The portions were large though, so she took a lot of it back.

My newlywed friend ordered the 'Chicken Satay- 8 skewers of satay served with Indonesian fried rice . Topped with peanut & fried shallots' for $12. I tried one and the chicken was very tender. Good large portioned dish.

I was in the mood for sushi, so I ordered a 'Ninja Roll- Eel, Fresh Crab Meat, Spicy Tobiko and avocado inside with Black Tobiko outside' for $7 and 'Yellowtail Roll' for $4.50. I thought the rolls were very mediocre...

The highlight of the meal was the dessert though! Women love dessert, so we shared a 'Combo Banana- Vanilla ice cream & Indonesian fried banana topped with dry coconuts, peanuts & honey' for $6.

I don't know if I would go through all of the traffic and parking troubles to go there again. Maybe it's different at night, because during the day its like any other normal restaurant. Perhaps if I go back I'd get something other than sushi because it was very mediocre. The prices are very fair with the amount of food they give you. Our waitress was fine, but the host was being difficult.

1720 I Street NW
Washington, DC
202-659-2696
www.cafeasia.com

Lima Restaurant & Lounge - McPherson Square, DC

For my cousin's 25th birthday, us ladies went to Lima Restaurant and Lounge off K St NW. We chose this place because we could eat dinner and then stay to party afterwards. They serve 'Latin-infused' cuisine. Street parking is difficult in the city, but there's valet parking for $6 if you're only eating dinner, otherwise it's $20. The closest metro station is McPherson Square on the orange line.

The lower picture is their covered seating area with heat lamps outside. The bouncer checking ID's to get into the place was really rude to us when we asked him to take a picture of us. Not cool.

Lima is 3 floors. The entrance is on the 2nd floor with the hostess stand, bar and projector TV. The Ravens were playing that night.

After waiting around 35 minutes for our table (we had reservations too), we were escorted up to the 3rd floor. The interior is kind of trendy with glass, stainless steel, etc. They also had another screen behind us.

I don't recall being in a more hectic restaurant ever. This is my theory why:

1. The empty table behind the screen was then filled with some important people that had cameras following them around and recording them eat. We think it was The Real Housewives of DC. So the wait staff was literally running around to make sure things were perfect, managers were yelling, etc.

2. It was a Saturday night, so the place turns into a lounge with a DJ at 10pm. We had reservations at 9pm..

3. They were showing the Ravens in the playoffs on both floors.

4. It was DC Restaurant Week.

For dinner all 5 of us decided to get the pre-fixed restaurant week courses ($35.10 for 3 courses), so the prices I list will be as if they were a la carte.

We each got a roll with Lime butter. It was so unexpected (yes I know the place is called Lima) but I loved it. Tasted like 'Tostitos with Lime' chips.

Top: I ordered the 'Lima's Empanada - beef, pastry, raisin, olives, chimichurri sauce ($10).' It was really flaky with a nice filling, and the sauce really tied the whole thing together.

Bottom: 'Wild Ecuadorian Shrimp- lime breaded, ginger passion fruit sauce ($12).' Two friends ordered this and thought the shrimp was good but not with the sweet fruit sauce.

Top: 'Salted Cod Fritters -with spicy tomato sauce and lemon ($9).' As you can see, they forgot the tomato sauce and when we told the server there was a bit of an argument amongst the staff about the status of the sauce...hmmm.

Bottom: 'Chicken Croquettes - with cucumber, queso fresco, spicy tomato sauce and lemon ($9).' She found them to be OK, kind of mushy. The sauce wasn't as flavorful either.

For my entree, I ordered the 'Cuban Chicken (Organic) - Half roasted chicken, lime braised red onions, steamed aged basmati, black beans, fried plantains ($24).' WOW the chicken was SO GOOD. Very tender, seasoned well and juicy. The grilled veggies, rice and beans were so good and complemented the chicken. I was very surprised at how good it was and the portions were huge! I only ate 1/3 of my plate. The plantains were like chips, where as I like them soft. 2 of my other friends ordered the same dish.

Top: 'Salmon (Wild Atlantic)- Latin spices-blackened, grilled vegetables, yellow corn tamale, chipotle mojo ($24).' My friend thought it was good, and everyone kept picking at the tamale.

Bottom: 'Lima's Churrasco- Grilled flat-iron steak, grilled vegetables, steamed aged basmati, chimichurri ($24).' My friend didn't think the steak was that flavorful and was mushy.

We all agreed... Dessert was a Disaster.
Three of us ordered the 'Coconut Tres Leches' , which was so dry! That's the complete opposite of what the dessert is supposed to be. It looked like they took a dry cupcake and poured 3 types of milk over it.

Top: 'Warm Chocolate Cake- Vanilla creme & dulce de leche ice cream ($7).' The only way to describe the cake would be: Powdery. I don't know how that is even possible.

Bottom: 'Flan Caramel - tropical fruit ceviche ($7).' This was the most edible one, but it was more firm than we would've liked the consistency to be.

I have mixed feelings about this place. I think there were more negatives than positives. My Empanada, Cuban Chicken and Lime Butter were the highlights of the night. The atmosphere, service and dessert were poor. The food is expensive, so I wouldn't come here if it wasn't for Restaurant Week. We checked out the basement level after dinner for some drinks and dancing. It was packed and an older crowd (30's) were dancing to electronica. 30 minutes to get my car from valet wasn't fun. So, if you want to go, I'd suggest going on a weeknight for food only, or on the weekends for drinking/dancing only.

1401 K St NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 789-2800
 
Mon-Thu. 4:00 pm. - 2:00 am
Fri. 4:00 pm - 3:30 am
Sat. 5:30 pm - 3:30 am

Sushi Damo- Rockville, MD

I had a great birthday weekend a few weeks ago. On New Years Day, the bf took me to Rockville Town Square for dinner at Sushi Damo, dessert at Gordon Biersh and Regal to watch Avatar in 3D (go see it if you haven't yet!).
Sushi Damo is the bf's favorite sushi place. Located in Rockville Town Square, there's paid parking, meter and free parking all over the place. We parked at the theater for $1 since we were going to see a movie anyway. The closest metro stop would be Rockville on the red line.

The interior isn't huge, but it's really trendy. This is the door and front of the restaurant.

Middle of the restaurant with a view of the bar and sushi bar.

This is the back of the restaurant. I like the bamboo throughout the place and dark wooden tables.

I know it doesn't look like a lot of food, but I was stuffed afterwards! We both ordered a roll for ourselves and shared another.

I ordered the "Spicy Mistletoe- spicy salmon and avocado with corn flake crunch inside, topped with lightly seared peppercorn crusted tuna, homemade lemon mayo, eel sauce and scallion" for $15. Woo, there is a lot of stuff on it, but the flavors work well together, and its not a heavy feeling. I loved it!

We shared a "Spider roll- soft shell crab tempura and cucumber" for $10. Really good too.

The bf ordered the "Toyko Rose- spicy salmon and cucumber topped with scallion, spicy tuna and miso paste" for $15. He loved this roll. I think I've ordered this once before and I've really enjoyed every roll I've had there.

The bf pretended to go the bathroom, but then walked up to the hostess stand (real slick), so I knew he was trying to do something for my birthday. They brought out a 'Green Tea Tiramisu' with a candle. How sweet! It was really good if you like green tea ice cream.

I love coming back to Sushi Damo because all of their rolls are creative and taste/feel/look like high quality food. It is expensive since each of our rolls were between $10-15. Service was normal, the birthday dessert was free, and the interior is really cute. It took a bit to get our food, but it does take time to assemble a complex roll. It's a great place to go on a date. I haven't tried any than their sushi though. Friday nights they have a DJ, 30% off their late night menu which includes rolls and appetizers and drink specials between 10pm-2am.

Sushi Damo
36-G Maryland Ave
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 340-8010
Website

_____________________________________________________
After dinner we still had 2 hours before our movie so we went to Gordon Biersh (yes, we're fatties) to get more food. I am in LOVE with their 'Warm Apple Bread Pudding- with pecans, vanilla ice cream and whiskey sauce' for $6.50. I used to have dreams about this dessert, so I highly recommend trying it.

Then on my actual birthday (January 2nd) I went out with my friends to Lotus Lounge on K St NW to drink and dance! It's a really beautiful place with cool lights on the walls, however the service is lacking and everyone is a bit snobby. The DJ was awesome that night, so I had a blast.

My cousin/my Twin got me a 'Toffee Crunch' cupcake at Cake Love in Tyson's Corner. She even brought a candle, and I thought it came with the table, lol.

Then my friend Sqrl surprised me with 6 cupcakes from Occasionally Cake in Alexandria, VA. I was so touched!
Top (L-R): Chocolate with Pomegranate Icing, Coconut, Lemon with Lime Icing
Bottom (L-R): Coconut, Amaretto, Dulce de Leche

Alexandria & Bethesda Restaurant Weeks (Winter 2010)

Alexandria Restaurant Week
Gourmet Prix-Fixe Dinners
January 15 - 24, 2010
$35 Dinners
List of Restaurants 


Bethesda-Chevy Chase Restaurant Week
Januray 25-31, 2010
$12 or $15 Two-Course Lunches | $25 or $30 Three-Course Dinners
List of Restaurants