Bistro Francais, Georgetown, D.C.

I'm just back from Georgetown, where my friend Garrett took me to eat at Bistro Francais in his little tiny red convertible sports car. It was odd being back there—I was there decades ago when I was doing my internship here—and it was vaguely familiar and yet very strange. We had a simple dinner, since this bistro is known for its prix fixe menu selections.

I started with a very delicious cold cucumber soup with little shreds of julienned cucumber and a flavorful, herbed, thin cucumber liquid. My plat was from the poissons section of the menu, a very nice grilled halibut served on a mirror of lobster Nantua sauce and accompanied by two tiny pieces of carved white potato and a luscious crab and broccoli custard timbale. Also had a nice glass of the house sauvignon blanc. Garrett had the roasted-rare sliced duck breast in an apple-honey sauce on a bed of wild rice. For dessert, we chose from the dessert tray, with Garrett opting for the strawberry tart and me having the lemon tart, followed by an espresso.

We really should go to Bistro Francais more often. It's simple, French bistro food, but more importantly, the kitchen is open late every night, and I have the hardest time finding late-night places to dine in D.C.

Sushi Taro, Washington, D.C.

Last night, Leo took me back to Sushi Taro on 17th Street, which I think is becoming my favorite local sushi bar. He had the sushi and sashimi bento box, and I had a an ecclectic assortment of food starting with a big bowl of steamed, salted edamame (soybeans in the pod), followed by an interesting salad of five different types of seaweed in a sweet, creamy, "vinegar" dressing, followed by the Tori no Karaage, which is the Japanese version of fried chicken, and ending with the Chawanmushi, that Japanese seafood soup with a layer of egg custard on top, all washed down with many cups of hot, Japanese green tea. The chicken was quite good. They selected large, bite-sized morsels of skinned, boned chicken (both white and dark meat), dredged them very lightly in Japanese bread crumbs, then flash deep fried them until just done and still quite juicy and tender. They came to the table steaming hot. The seafood soup was a little different than it was the last time I had it, since there was very little actual soup broth this time, and the custard layer was thicker. It was still good, and came with shrimp, eel, chicken, fish cake, and some vegetables in it.