Johnny's Half Shell, Washington, D.C.

Poor Leo. His glasses suddenly broke at the office this afternoon while he was sitting in front of the computer. So much for the "quality" of Giorgio Armani metal frames. He came home and we wandered out to find an optometrist; he got his eye exam, some contact lenses, some fabulous Burberry frames and lenses, and a bill—for $618.

To help Leo get over his unexpected expense, we had dinner at Johnny's Half Shell, on P Street just off Dupont Circle. It turned out to be a very nice seafood restaurant, crossing the tastes of the two owners, one from Maryland and one from Mississippi near New Orleans. I was curious but leery; the place has several good reviews but also several negative "reader comments."

The interior is comfortable and elegant. We sat towards the back by the lovely, contemporary, green marble bar, where a huge aquarium with great big goldfish and little angel fish swimming together filled the back wall. The menu had one steak entree, one chicken breast, and all of the other things were seafood; the appetizer and soup list was mouth watering and it was hard to pick just one! They had a nice list of wines by the glass and other list for by the bottle selections.

Leo started with steamed mussels in a seafood broth scented with Spanish paprika and enriched with butter. I declined an appetizer, but then changed my mind on the waiter's next pass through, selecting a half dozen oysters on the half shell. The oysters were great, being imported "raspberry point" oysters from Nova Scotia, and the juice in the shell had a special crisp brininess; a vinegar-based mignonette sauce accompanied these premium shellfish instead of the usual catsup and horseradish sauce. With this course, Leo drank a glass of Domaine de la Denante, Macon-Villages 2003, which I got to sample and it was a classic, clean, flinty French chardonnay.


The entrees were excellent. Leo had broiled sea scallops with grilled endive and butternut squash. I had the wood-grilled wild rockfish fillet in wild mushroom sauce with sauteed spinach.


For dessert, Leo had a piece of lemon chess pie in a coconut crust with a cup of coffee and cream; I continued to sip my sixth or seventh glass of passionfruit iced tea.

Johnny's Half Shell is a great restaurant. I look forward to dining there again.