Bobby Van's Steakhouse, Washington, D.C.

Our first formal Restaurant Week 2008 experience was at Bobby Van's Steakhouse, one of those venerable and very very expensive steakhouses that are so common in major expense account cities like Washington and New York. The D.C. restaurant has been here since 2000, and it's part of a small chain of about half a dozen restaurants here and in New York City. Their dry-aged steaks are excellent, but one probably should bring one's banker to arrange financing at the end of the meal.

Which, of course, makes Restaurant Week all that much more useful at a place like this.

Robert selected a simple R.W. combination, starting with a pretty red tomato gazpacho garnished with chopped avocados and minced parsley. His main course, while not large, was attractively arranged. They started with a mound of smoked mashed potatoes, around which they placed three slices of grilled flatiron steak. A little teepee of green beans "garnished" the plate, and a drizzle of brandied creamed demiglace surrounded the meat and potatoes. Twas a delicious little morsel. Then, for dessert, he got a slice of chocolate raspberry cake, a large piece of cake that, miraculously, was moist and not at all dry.

The R.W. choices (the steak, plus a shrimp pasta, grilled salmon, and a pulled pork sandwich) just didn't really strike my fancy that day, so I opted to order from the regular lunch menu. I picked the Bobby Van's Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burger, a nice, bunless Angus burger with good quality blue cheese melted inside it. The menu confused me a bit on the accompaniments, though. I was expecting it to come with a "broccoli salad," but their printer, as it turned out, had forgotten to put a comma between the "broccoli" and the "salad," so what I got along with my burger was a large serving of mixed greens and a large serving of buttery broccoli florets, plus some good kettle-fried potato chips. It turned out to be a bigger meal than I was anticipating, and at $14, was cheaper than Robert's fancy $20 meal. Robert, I think, thought I got the better deal.

Sometime I would like to go back and have one of their regular steaks, though with the luncheon menu steak prices beginning in the $30s, and everything being à la carte, I'll be waiting for one of you lobbyists to call upon me to help you use up your excess expense account.