Cuba Libre

The MDC met for the September, 2011 dinner at Cuba Libre in DC. Those attending enjoyed the Cuban cuisine. The relaxed atmosphere allowed us to discuss the status of the Metro Dining Club. Jonathan Manning has resigned as President. Without any other members stepping forward to take the reigns, the club will remain dormant until a volunteer emerges.

Passage of India

In April, 2010, the Metro Dining Club had our last dinner before "the long hiatus" at Passage of India in Bethesda, MD. The atmosphere and food were both excellent. Below is a group photo.

The Majestic

The Metro Dining Club met at The Majestic in Alexandria, VA for the February, 2010 dinner. The Majestic was reviewed by the Washingtonian Magazine as one of its top 100 restaurants in the DC metropolitan area. The MDC found the food to be excellent and the service very attentive. The Majestic is highly recommended for any evening after a walk in Old Town.

Appetizers included fried green tomatoes and the main course swiss chard and potato manicotti.

An enormous coconut cake was served for dessert.

Art and Soul

The Metro Dining Club met for the January, 2010 dinner at Art and Soul in DC. Art and Soul is a southern style restaurant recently included in the top 100 restaurants of the DC metro area by Washingtonian Magazine. We met the chef for the evening and he gave us complimentary shrimp and grits as an appetizer.

Dinner included excellent butternut squash ravioli, perfect for winter, and superb atlantic salmon.

We shared a side of fried green tomatoes.

Dessert included a quince trifle and stout chocolate pudding cake.

Art and Soul is excellent for a quiet evening of delicious comfort food, especially on a cold winter night.

Ruan Thai

The MDC travelled to Wheaton, Maryland for the November, 2009 dinner. Ruan Thai was recommended by Tom Sietsema in the 10th Annual Dining Guide published by The Washington Post. Ruan Thai has been praised as serving the best Thai food in the Washington, D.C. metro area. While the food was excellent, members of the MDC present for this dinner were hesitant to give Ruan Thai the title of "Best Thai Restaurant."

Appetizers ordered by MDC members included dumplings and croquettes.











Main entrees included fried tofu, chicken curry soup, sweet and sour chicken, and spicy salmon.




















Dessert included fried bananas.











Ruan Thai has a cozy family setting with friendly service and excellent food. The MDC had a great time. As usual, the MDC will take off the month of December for the holidays, but invites everyone for the January, 2010 dinner in D.C. It will be a fantastic new year of faboulous D.C. restaurants.

Yaku

After a second hiatus, the MDC is back into the swing of things. Tom Saffell has passed the torch to Jonathan Manning, the new president. Since the group does not have any by-laws, there was no election requirement. The only tradition of the group has been to alternate between MD, DC, and VA. The only eligibility requirements of MDC members has been the ability to pay when attending an event. These arrangements have worked well for the group so far, and there have been no proposals to alter these arrangements. The president continues to assume the responsibility of organizing a monthly dining event and updating the blog.

For the October, 2009 dinner, Jonathan proposed Yaku, a Peruvian restaurant near the Court House metro station in Northern Virginia. The restaurant is part of the growing Latin Concepts corporation, which includes several other innovative restaurants and lounges in the metro DC area. Yaku has a modern atmosphere and serves Peruvian cuisine infused with a Chinese influence. The concept is based on a variety of dishes prepared in the 19th century when Chinese immigrants moved to Peru.

As examples of such cuisine, Paula and Beth ordered the Gyoza appetizer while Jonathan ordered the Peruvian Salad. Gyoza are similar to Chinese dumplings. Erikah enjoyed the Ceviche. For main courses, Paula and Helen ordered the Aji de Gallina (pulled chicken served over potatoes), Beth ordered the Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Jonathan very much enjoyed the vegetarian risotto.

Last April, Jonathan began taking group photos at MDC events. At Yaku, the group decided to begin taking photos of the dishes at each MDC dinner. Taking photos of dishes seems to be in vogue when dining at nice restaurants so we thought we would do the same. Unfortunately, this decision was not made until the desserts arrived.

Jonathan had the Chocolate Torte:


Erikah ordered the Apple Wontons:


Paula and Beth shared the Banana Rolls:


Everyone greatly enjoyed the restaurant and the company and we look forward to our November MDC event in Maryland. Hope to see you there!

Raaz

After setbacks that forced the plans for April to fall through, the MDC trekked out to Rio in Gaithersburg this May to try Indo-Chinese food at Raaz. Raaz offered both Indian fare, Chinese staples, and the unique fusion of the two distinct flavors, as well. Appetizers were off the charts good including the hot and sour soup, the ragda patties, and the chicken murmuri kebabs.


The main dishes, for the most part were typical Indian style food: something slathered in something until it's unrecognizable. This isn't to say that the food wasn't good, it was very tasty, in fact, but when even the wait staff can't tell who gets what dish, then it's apparent that the food isn't instantly recognizable. In addition to their diverse menu, Raaz also boasts numerous interesting cocktails. The most eye-catching of these is certainly the Incredible Hulk, which has what must be an absurd amount of Hypnotiq in it to give it that distinctive green color of the comic book hero's skin.


Raaz is good if one happens to be close by, and their menu is enormous, so our small selection of just a few people getting several dishes really only scratches the surface. However, were I personally to return there (and, again, I would), I would make a meal of their appetizers alone.

This month, MDC returns to DC for its next outing, location and time TBD very soon.