McCormick & Schmicks Seafood-DC

This place was awesome! It was bustling busy with lots of big Christmas parties, but even without a reservation, we were greeted and seated right away. Our table was set back in a little alcove with lush red velvet drapes so we felt semi private. There were coat hooks on either side so we could easily all fit our coats, scarves, & mittens. We were greeted right away by our waiter, who recommended a nice glass of wine to start out with. He was very attentive! I was very happy with the service!

We ordered 2 bowls of steamed clams for everyone to share and they were delicious. Not too small, not too big. The broth was delicious, not salty like it can be sometimes. It was served with a few toast points on the side. Yummy. I split a wedge of iceberg with my husband. The lettuce was cold and crisp, the bleu cheese was generous, and it was sprinkled with bacon bits and red onion slices. My only complaint would be that the dressing was too heavy, but thats not such a bad thing--unless you happen to be counting calories! ;) For my entree, I ordered the seared ahi tuna off of the appetizer menu. It was very deep red in color; I prefer mine more pink. But it was fresh and very good. It was served with soy sauce & wasabi for dipping, and a garnish of a really good seaweed & sprout salad.

McCormick and Schmicks are located all over the country, primarily on both coasts. I've eaten at the one in San Francisco many times and it is always delicious. The one in DC was equally as good, if not better. Delicious food, excellent service. What more could I ask for?

Sometimes I rate, sometimes I don't. I give this place 5 out of 5 stars!

Thank you Tracy for the great comment! I have a lot more to go! Next time I dine out, I'm going to remind myself that I'm getting tired of writing "I had the wedge and ahi tuna"!! LOL Maybe I ought to think outside the box next time! :)

Cosi-Washington DC

After walking in the freezing snow for miles, and miles, and miles (ok, 1/4 of a mile) we found a place called cosi. After perusing the huge menu above the cashiers head, I decided on the bagel sandwich. However, since it was 10:59, I was informed that breakfast was no longer available, so I had to resort to lunch. This was a flat bread sandwich type place, and since I was friggin' starving, I went for the Turkey, Cheddar, & Tomato with honey mustard. It was ok. The honey mustard had an unexpected "bite" to it, which was a pleasant surprise. But, it was drippy. The service was more than confusing, the food was mediocre, but hey, they had wi-fi! Too bad I left my laptop at the hotel!

I didn't eat much on our trip, but I do plan to do a review of McCormicks & Schmicks because they absolutely rocked! Thanks, Tracy, for the gentle kick in getting me to post on this blog! RBR----if you are reading----add my EP account to your friends list, ok? I'm out of the closet now LOL Love you guys!
Shelley
PS Tracy--how do you do the swirly dash before your name? I don't have that...

Upcoming Reviews

I've let my blog go to the wayside because I've been too consumed by ExtraPounds lately. I did a copy/paste/edit job of the blog I posted there today, and my friend Tracy gave me a lovely compliment and I decided I'd better get cracking again. My readers demand it! LOL (I have zero readers on this site!)

Recent Restaurants I've visited and plan to do reviews on are:

Deer Park Villa (thats where Kendall's Bat Mitzvah was last weekend!)
Moylans
Flemings Walnut Creek
Gaspare's Pizza
Boca
Eat


Recent Restaurants I've visited that I do not plan to do ANOTHER REVIEW ON, but here is a quick update:

Seafood Peddler-we took Bella there on Wednesday for her birthday and we had good service again and the food was also good. I didn't care for my stuffed prawn that came with my surf n' turf, though. It was too bready and I couldn't even tell there was crab in there. Other than that, all was well.

Izzy's-We took Bella (have I already mentioned that Rory very rarely joins us out to dinner? Although we did force her to go to SP for B's b-day.) to Izzy's again 2 weeks ago and once again, this place just shines!! I love that we always have to wait in the bar because I don't get to do the whole bar thing too often now that I have kids! We waited in the bar just long enough to finish half of our drink, then we were happily seated at our favorite table, with our favorite waitress, Gabriella (say that in your best Mexican accent!)!! She is a sweetheart, Bella loves her, and we are going to always request her! OMG, the food, the service! I had my usual filet mignon with Izzy's Own Scalloped potatoes & creamed Spinach. (I'm sharing this blog for the first time---with an EP friend---so, Tracy, are you sitting there thinking to yourself, "no wonder Shelley isn't losing weight!! LOL I did go running that day, so it almost balanced out, but not quite!!)

Cheesecake Factory-someone please remind me not to go here anymore! Its always a long wait, the service sucks (although our server was really attentive in the beginning when I was still at Nordstrom trying to find a dress and my family was waiting patiently for me), and the food just is not good! I had a grilled chicken breast sandwich and it was just tasteless. I will say that they make a mean cheeseburger--Bella had one and I had a bite (or 2). The problem is that this is the only restaurant at this mall.

Man, I am rusty! I can't even figure out how to add a link to a blog, or anything else for that matter. Practice, Practice.

The Panama Hotel

I met my husband at the fabulous Panama Hotel for dinner. What an awesome place. It's a tiny little jewel of a place tucked away in a corner in a really cute neighborhood. We've been there once about 10 years ago and keep meaning to go back.

There was live music last night, which is always cool! The guys name was Mark Robinson and boy, can he croon! He's kinda cute, too, and I had first row seating status! We bought his CD. Have a listen! I liked some of the jazzy cat faster songs better than the ballads.

After finding the somewhat hidden entrance, we made our way to the front desk. We were seated right away at a deuce right in the front. I would have preferred the available 4 top by the window, but surprisingly, this place was hoppin' for a Thursday. After having a moment to peruse the menu, we were greeted by our waitress, and we ordered a glass of wine.

I'm an appetizer slut, thats for sure. I always have to have one! Last night we tried the Ahi Tuna Ceviche (w/avocado, red onion, Serrano chile, yellow cherry tomatoes, & cilantro), and it was just ok. It reminded me more of a tuna tartare than Ceviche. It was served in a low ball glass and homemade tortilla chips, which were delicious.

I couldn't decide on my entree, so I asked our server for a recommendation, and she suggested the daily special. So, my entree was a grilled Petrole Sole served over a cherry risotto cake and a bed of hericot vert salad with cherry tomatoes & Kalamata olives. It was very good--lots of flavors popping-- but it was too busy for me. The fish itself was very good, as it was firm, and simple. I was trying to behave and went for the fish, but I really wished I had gone for the pork chop. I mean, doesn't this sound delicious?: "Grilled Pork Chop--Organic double cut with ancho chile peach chutney, mashed sweet potatoes, & hericot vert. The man at the table next to us had it and it had a great presentation and he seemed to enjoy it. Oh, well, I got some fish in.

I also got dessert in!!! I was so bad!! I think I needed to make up for the lack of satisfaction with my dinner, because I never order dessert!! I had bread pudding with a caramel hazelnut sauce and a teeny glass of ruby port wine. Delish!

I look forward to retuning to the Panama Hotel soon. Their menu is a bit limited, but the food was very creative and overall delicious. Plus, the service was impeccable! And I'm all about excellent customer service!

I'm giving this place 4 stars. ****

Mary's Pizza Shack

Sorry I haven't been doing too many reviews ( all you zero readers out there! LOL), but I haven't really eaten out much. Well, I ate at a great place in Las Vegas last weekend, called Studio Cafe (Excellent!!!!) inside the MGM Grand, and at Wolfgang Puck (Good service, HORRIBLE FOOD), also at the MGM, but I try to keep my stuff somewhat local.

I will be doing a fabulous review of the highly anticipated and newly opened, Nick's Cafe soon, but first I wanted to write about Mary's Pizza Shack in Sonoma, CA.

We had to take a quick trip there on Saturday to pick up The Husbands registration packet for the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon on Sunday. It was about 2:30 and I was starving! The only reason I tagged along is because I had hoped it would involve food! Well, it did. Mary's has been around forever and it's family owned and operated since 1959. This is the first time I ate in the new location; they just moved around the corner recently.

We were seating immediately even though all of Sonoma was packed with pre-racers. We had time to check out the menu and see a few new items before our server greeted us. I can't remember his name! Justin? Austin? Anyway, this was a bad sign because unfortunately, the service never really improved. I mean, it was just slooowwwww. But, like I said, they were very busy and he had tables out on the patio, too. When I was a server, I hated when I had the whole patio and then asked me to pick up another table...you tend to forget about that table! Anyway.

Now to the food! It was delicious, as always. We tried the hot and spicy chicken wings, but it came solo-no bleu cheese or celery, which I thought was odd. So, we asked for the dressing and he actually brought it out somewhat quickly. The wings were hot, spicy, & sticky! Very good. Then I just had to have my favorite Mary's house salad: crisp lettuce, 3 bean salad, salami, eggs, red onion, & mozzarella w/ housemade bleu cheese dressing. Delicious as usual. I always, always get the fresh brewed iced tea and the house salad when I go.

We ordered 2 entree's and shared. The new Vinnie's Meatball Pizza was really good. It had small bits of meatball, pepperoni, onions, a ton of mozzarella cheese, and fresh garlic. Nice thin crust, too. Whole wheat, I think. Then we shared something I wouldn't normally order: a Southwestern Chicken Wrap. It was a tomato basil tortilla filled with BBQ glazed chicken, cheese, corn, & a huge amount of field greens w/a sweet vinaigrette sauce. Interesting, but in a really good way. Would I order again? No. The pizza is what you come to Mary's for! I can't wait to go back. I highly recommend Mary's Pizza Shack. And Mary? If you are reading this (LOL)...why don't you deliver to Marinwood??? Its only a few more exits down from your Novato location!! Just a suggestion.

BTW, The Husband finished 117 out of 1,016 at the marathon yesterday! He placed 9th in his age range out of 75 people. 1:40:06!!!!! Not too shabby! I just really need to get in on the action! This is was his second race and my first one isn't until October 14: San Jose Rock & Roll!! Which reminds me: wasn't I supposed to run 2 miles today???

Sushi Boat

Bella requested dinner at Sushi Boat after swim team the other night. I wasn't really in the mood for sushi, but we all went. The staff is always so friendly and of course greeted and seated us immediately. We ordered california rolls and kappa rolls to start with, including a hot sake, a white wine, & 2 7-ups. What I love about this place is that even if you only order sushi, you still get a bowl of miso soup and a salad. I love their salads! Crisp lettuce, shredded carrots, a slice of cucumber & tomato, and just the right amount of ginger sesame dressing.

Bella ordered a bowl of tempura udon, Rori had the prawn & vegetable tempura. They were both done perfectly and were delicious. The prawns were huge! So were the servings. Da Husband and I just had tuna sashimi & a rainbow roll. Both were very good, generous portions and we were stuffed!

We had an orange cup, got our bill right away, and on we went. Its always a pleasant experience at the Sushi Boat!

The new Izzy's

I love Izzy's! This spot has changed hands so many times, but it has been Izzy's for quite awhile. It was bought out in October and everything is the same, but there are new additions to the menu.

We were told there would be a 20 minute wait, so we took a table in the bar and ordered a drink. Of course, as soon as our drink was served, our table was ready, so the cocktail waitress brought our appetizer-popcorn shrimp-to the table. The shrimp was really good, but my suggestion would be to offer one more ramekin of a different sauce to add some variety. Plus, the remoulade sauce ran out way before the shrimp did.

Our waitress, Gabriella, was an angel! The service was excellent. It seems like Blake listened to Leslie on her review in the IJ about getting the staff up to speed. Gabriella was attentive, knowledgeable, and a self confessed foodie!

We split the "Wedge" and it was served on two seperate plates for us, which is always nice. The dressing was not your usual bleu cheese, but I can't put my finger on why. There was some tomato, red onion, and a nice kick was the pine nuts.

I ordered the 10 oz Filet Mignon-medium-for my entree, and had Izzy's Own Potatoes & Broccoli for my sides. My steak was perfection. So were the potatoes. The broccoli was a bit cold, but I never could figure out how restaurants keep it so hot...mine always gets cold when I serve it, too.

The Husband had New York strip, which he loved. I tried it, too, and it was good, but not as good as my filet. He got the creamed spinach, which was delicious, as usual.

We did not have dessert, but we did get our check in a timely manner and off we went. I know we will return. Izzy's gets 5 stars.