Tastee Diner, Bethesda, Md.

Dinner tonight.

Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

Last night we went to the new Nationals Park to see the Nationals v. Phillies game. This was also my first chance to see the new baseball stadium paid for with our tax dollars. It's a nice enough place, but I really have to say I don't see what was wrong with the old venue at RFK Stadium farther down the river to the east, especially given the public funding of both sites.

As expected, one of the highlights was the plethora of dining opportunities presented by the new facility. This is one area where there does seem to be some improvement over the RFK Stadium, as there are quite a few more interesting places to eat, including branch locations of places like Ben's Chili Bowl and Georgetown Cafe. The prices seems to be equally exorbitantly high here as they were at RFK: big sandwiches go for around $8.50; baskets for $9.50; small crabcakes for $12.50, soft drinks for $5.50; beers for $7.50.

When I was walking to the stadium from the Metro stop, knowing I was there before Ian had left his Capitol Hill office, I found this comely young blonde woman at a street vendor's cart outside the stadium selling, interestingly enough, Mexican/Hispanic food, including several types of empanadas. Once I heard the description of the various meat pies, I asked if they were from Julia's Empanadas; she didn't know, but another man in her group did and confirmed the source. I don't know where the rest of the food came from. So, I got a turkey and green onion empanada, which you can see in the picture.

Once Ian arrived and we were inside the stadium, he waned dinner. We walked all over the place, both as a means of seeing the new stadium and to check out the food possibilities. On the main ground level, there are a number of big, "name" restaurants. The second level is mostly private clubs and suites. On the upper two levels, they have a finite number of restaurant counters and carts that are repeated over and over not only on each level but multiple times on each level. And, as is traditional in baseball stadiums, there were a number of vendors walking through the seating areas making sales, but the only ones I saw had just cotton candy or beers—no hot dogs or peanuts.

Ian found a counter selling a chicken tenders basket. The chicken actually looked pretty good, seeming much more appetizing than the fried-to-death, heavily breaded things often seen in such settings.


I went to a cart and got a Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwich (with no secret political message or team favoritism whatsoever). It was quite big and filling, with ample meat mixed with grilled bell peppers and onions and the whole thing drenched in Cheese Whiz; my only complaint was that as I finally unburied and found the bun, it was quite soaked with cooking oils from the meat and vegetables. It tasted good, though.


On our ways home, we walked by a Wendy's about a block or so north of the stadium. Ian wanted a Frosty. The Wendy's, though, was closed! They close their dining room—even on baseball performance nights—at 10 p.m., and they were losing business from dozens of potential customers. A little farther north, though, was an open McDonald's where people were having to go, and they were doing a booming business with people standing in lines. Alas, the service left a lot to be desired and the men's room smelled of stale urinal, but Ian was able to get his milkshake.

Plato's Diner, College Park, Md.

Kevin made me go up to College Park tonight to join him for dinner. He's still in the midst of grading his papers at the university there and needed a break, but not so long of a break as it would take to come down into the District. He met me at the Metro stop and we drove to the nearby Plato's Diner for our meal. The town was interestingly quiet, as students are finishing up finals there.

Plato's is one of the few places to eat in College Park. Obviously, Kevin goes there way too much, because when we walked in, it seemed as though the entire staff knew him! We were escorted to a nice corner booth and soon were greeted by our very chatty waitress.

Kevin had his usual food there, a big Greek salad. As with many of the diners and "home cooking" casual restaurants in the metropolitan area, Plato's is owned by a Greek family.


I ordered the North Carolina pulled pork platter. The waitress soon came back to tell us they were out of pork. So, I decided to get the roast turkey platter. They were out of that, too. So, I decided to get the white lasagna [sic]. And, they were out of that, too. So, I just got a patty melt and fries. They had that. And it was good.....though I was still a little disappointed I couldn't get one of the blue plates I wanted.


One of the highlights of Plato's is their dessert selection. Large refrigerated cases are near the entry, warning customers to save room for the enticing confections. Forgoing my usual preference for cream pies and fruit cobblers, I went for flash and got the strawberry cake, a big slice of three-layer white cake with sliced strawberries in between the layers, frosted with thick walls of meringue icing, and topped with a great big, ripe, red strawberry enrobed in some strawberry glaze. Kevin had his usual, a nice looking slice of apple pie.



Now, Kevin's back at his work, "bleeding" all over his students's essays......or at least he's supposed to be, if he didn't go home and fall asleep after all that dinner!

American City Diner, Washington, D.C.

Ian and I made a sort of last-minute dash to the Friendship Heights area last night for dinner just before American CIty Diner closed down serving their entrees and blue plates at 11 p.m. American City Diner is an interesting place, using the 50s diner theme, but also showing classic movies every night.

Ian got a Caesar salad and a bowl of chicken noodle soup (the soup of the day). He raved about the soup, thinking it had a rich, almost buttery taste. I sampled a spoonful of broth and it was redolent with well-flavored chicken fat. I noticed on the menu that chicken matzo ball soup is a regular menu item, so I think they make their chicken noodle in the Jewish tradition.



I had the liver and onions. It was, alas, disappointing. The very thin slice of liver was overcooked and reminded me a bit of liver-flavored shoe leather. Their version is topped both with grilled onions and with brown gravy. Accompanying the liver were some tasty mashed potatoes and gravy and some nice, long green beans. Ian was not pleased with my liver and onions either. He declared it "disgusting" and lined up all the napkin holders, condiments, and spare glasses to form a barricade down the middle of the table lest he have to look at it. I don't think he likes liver.


We split a slice of New York-style cheesecake for dessert. It tasted fine, but the serving size seemed a bit small for the price. The dessert choices were rather limited, but Ian ordered the cheesecake before I'd decided what I wanted.


Diners are always fun places for a good, basic, inexpensive dinner. I was disappointed with American City last night, though, not only because my entree was not well cooked, but because we found the meal to be just as expensive as the standard mid-range national franchise restaurants. We were also a bit put-off by their drink policy. Ian's Coke was $2.75 and my iced tea was $2.25; the menu makes a big deal about pointing out that they only offer one free refill with the drinks.....and we aren't talking about large glasses here! That's just not very "diner" in my mind.

Rumberos, Washington, D.C.

I had every intention of going to the baccalaureate Mass at Georgetown yesterday morning. I woke to the steady pitter-patter of yet more rain, though, so I stayed home.

Eventually, though, I ended up braving the drizzle and going to brunch with next-door neighbor David to Rumberos in Tivoli Square.

David had the seafood soup and a small ensalada de pollo. The soup was beautiful and he commented that it was very good; it was packed with shrimp, squid, scallops, cilantro, and avocado in a rich, tomatoey broth.


The salad came pre-tossed in a mayonnaise-type dressing with little bits of pulled chicken scattered throughout.


I had the huevos con chorizito, or two fried eggs with little chorizo sausage. The chorizo was good, but it was tiny and I would have liked to have had two of them instead of just the one. Caramelized purple onions topped the sausage. The dish came with fried potatoes plus a mild pico de gallo, sour cream, and avocado slices.