Sushi Go-Round & Tapas, Washington, D.C.

Tonight while the Wizards were busy losing by a mere field goal in the adjacent Verizon Center, a group of us went to a unique Japanese place called Sushi Go Round & Tapas for dinner. While they have a traditional dining room and Japanese menu available (I never did figure out where the tapas part came from), part of the fun of going to Sushi Go Round is sitting at the sushi bar and making food selections from the plates circulating around the bar on a conveyor belt.

Lots of things went by that looked enticing. Items—sushi, sushi rolls, seaweed salad, desserts—are priced by plate color, and at the end of the meal, the waitress adds up ones bill by adding up the plates. Prices are surprisingly reasonable for the Verizon Center area.

We had to dawdle a bit after we finished eating, since we got done right about the same time as the basketball game wrapped up, and we didn't want to be caught in the crush of people packing into the Chinatown Metro station. On the way out, though, we got to see about a dozen D.C. police from the bicycle patrol all lined up outside Clyde's waiting for Saturday night action.

Dukem Ethiopean Restaurant, Washington, D.C.

A bunch of us braved the messy drizzle tonight and went to Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant down on U Street for dinner. It was Spencer's first time to do do Ethiopian, so we steered him more towards the sampler platters instead of trying to pick one thing from the long and esoteric menu.

The samplers included tibs (cubed beef), wat (lamb stew), minchet abesh (ground beef), and an assortment of lentil and vegetable items. As always, they were served communal style on a big round of tef bread called injera, and additional pieces of injera were provided to use as a means of picking up the food and conveying it to ones mouth (no silverware!).

Laurent and I ordered our platters "spicy," but they came out rather mild, I thought. In anticipation of the spice, I ordered an Ethiopian beer called Meta, which is a rather sturdy lager in a short, squat bottle.

I always like the food at Dukem. It's one of the better places in town for Ethiopian food, but it's also very popular, so it's always loud and conversation can be challenging. Tonight it was very crowded and noisy, too.

Here's a picture of Spencer pondering his platter. In the next shot, Laurent dives in to the injera.

Ben's Chili Bowl, Washington, D.C.

Tonight, Robert and I made a post-midnight grocery run to the 24-hour Giant, so, while we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at Ben's Chili Bowl on the way home. He got a chili half smoke and a cherry milkshake, and I just got some chili cheese fries.

We still have gotten to go to Ben's new Next Door, an upscale bar and restaurant next door. They keep more traditional restaurant hours, so we seldom get by during their open times. The menu looks a bit pricy, though.

Union Pub, Washington, D.C.

Lunched today with Laurent at the Union Pub (again) on Capitol Hill near his office. He had a turkey burger and I had a grilled chicken sandwich. My sandwich was good, but hard to eat, since they used two chicken breasts and stacked them on top of one another; they kept sliding around as I tried to eat them. After we ate our healthy sandwiches, Laurent had a huge brownie sundae for dessert.

T.G.I.Friday's, Washington, D.C.

After the symphony Thursday night, we popped over to the T.G.I.Friday's near the Metro stop for steaks from the $9.99 menu. My steak was tasty (once it finally arrived at the table), but it was certainly a tiny little thing. And, as typically happens at this particular store, there were problems. When the check came, they tried to charge us for more expensive versions of the steaks; when I pointed out the discrepancy to the waitress, she rather flippantly asked what I wanted her to do about it. Eventually, the adjustment was made, and we were able to go on our way.

Sbarro

Sbarro is a national chain of low-end Italian food shops frequently seen in mall food courts. I happened to pass by one the other day with a friend who bought one of their pepperoni stromboli (think pizza burrito), and I noticed at the cash register they had placed a corporate looking sign that said,

Bon appetite
Horrors!

Don't they know that in Italy, to wish someone "good appetite" or good eating, one says, "buon appetito"? Perhaps they were confused by the French, who say, "bon appetit" (pronounced, "boh nap-pay-tee"). Nobody, though, mixes their French and their English and says "bon appetite."

Maybe they should just put up a sign that says, "Enjoy your meal."