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.

Yamazato = Yummy

General contentment is the consensus among those diners who attended March's meeting at Yamazato Sushi and Spice this March. Gyoza, sushi rolls, sashimi, and various other typical Japanese and pan-Asian fare satisfied hungry dinner guests' appetites for both sustenance and great taste. Despite the rainy weather and the overall gloominess of the day, the evening was a solid success. One of the MDC's newest members, Jonathan, was able to get everyone to stand still long enough for a photo op at the restaurant's entrance on the way out - note the many Zagat-rated signs framed on the wall. For good sushi in Virginia, Yamazato is where it's at ...

Join the MDC this April as it ventures (metaphorically) to Southeast Asia for a fusion of Indian and Chinese food at Raaz in Rio.

Back in Action

MDC is back in the saddle. Since the beginning of the New Year, MDC has visited two new restaurants. First, the club met at La Ferme, in Tom's return to the club after his Texas deployment. La Ferme is known for its souffles and traditional-style French cuisine. The lamb shank was a hit amongst several diners, as was the various fish dishes. Much of the show, however, was stolen by appetizers like pumpkin-ravioli and duck confit in a puff pastry.

For restaurant week this month, seven MDC members met at Le Chat Noir, yet another French restaurant. Le Chat Noir is known for its crepes, both savory and sweet. They are less stringent than most restaurants participating in restaurant week and allow diners to select their own appetizer, soup, or salad, one entree, and one dessert all for the $35 restaurant-week norm. Unlike many other restaurant week prix fixe menus, Le Chat Noir offers the diner much more selection.

Highlights were the crepe savoyarde, moules frites, and various steak dishes. The desert crepes were, as always, spectacular. Unfortunately, Le Chat Perche, the upstairs wine bar and lounge, is only open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Le Chat Perche is a novel experience with a healthy wine bar selection and silent cinema playing behind the bar at all times. The dark-lit ambience sets an intimate tone and allows casual diners and wine enthusiasts to relax comfortably in this little-known niche.

Look to March for a new Virginia restaurant as yet unexplored by the Metropolitan Dining Club.

MDC Semi-Hiatus

The MDC is on semi-hiatus status until mid-December due to unusual circumstances. Tom Saffell, facilitator extraordinaire, has been deployed to Austin, TX, to assist FEMA in its Direct Housing Mission, a sub-task under the general recovery efforts following Hurricane IKE. The plans for Central Michel Richard were completed, but the reservation was impossible to make due to high demand for tables and limited space for seating.

Justin Kahrl, facilitator pro temps and gourmand fantastique, has assumed the responsibilities of managing the Dining Club in Tom's absence. In the collapse of the Central reservations, Justin deftly re-directed the diners to Rosa Mexicano for the October dining meet. For November, he is currently coordinating the meet which is to occur at Il Pizzico in Rockville on the 23rd.

So, as you can see, there is no real break in the flow of the dining club's actual mission, just a tactical change in leadership for a few months. This post is merely to explain the lack of recent web activity on the MDC blog site. So, fear not, DC dining enthusiasts ... the MDC is alive and strong. Tom hopes that he can return to DC in mid-December to reassume facilitation duties and to accept praise and accolades for his fine work in Texas.

Del Merei Grille Reviewed

The MDC visited the Del Merei Grille on September 21, 2008, here's what one diner had to say about the experience:

Del Merei Grill...the name conjures images of...the Spanish-English online dictionary. What did it tell me? That Del Merei is Spanish for...the merei. A google search reveals Merei to be the name of a zorgmanager in the Netherlands and a commune in Romania. I have no idea what Zorgs are or why they need managing - I like to think they are oompa loompas mixed with the Star Trek: Next Generation 'Borg' race - but this would mean that Del Merei fills the sorely empty niche market for coerced Romanian cooking. Given how these Transylvanian commie dwarf-managers run their restaurant, I'd say 'Del Merei' really means 'good idea, poor execution'.

The meal started with average if overly salty appetizers, a solid if unimaginative salad, and a delicious sweet potato soup. Anything sweet potato is usually good, so compliments should go to nature rather than the chef. The wait between appetizer and dinner was forgiveably long but noticeable and in general the service was unobtrusive.

Del Merei's real draw is its grill option menu, which lets the customer select their meat, sauce, and two sides, including a side menu of mashed potato mix-ins. It's a great idea - let the customer make the meal they want. The mashed potatoes shone - my mash w/ goat cheese and sundried tomatoes was excellent. Unfortunately, the main course was unimpressive - the filet mignon was fatty and gristly and the chicken as dry as Amish country on Sunday. The duck was good though.

The biggest disappointment was the meat sauces. Rather than braise them on the meat or present them as a clever element of the dish's arrangment (which was otherwise elegant), they come in a pub-style metal thimble. It's one step up from the paper things you use for tartar sauce at Long John Silver's. Worse, the sauces did not taste good. It made me wonder if they'd bought them in bulk and were trying to dump them on unsuspecting customers. There are millions of meat sauces in the world to chose from - I guess someone has to stock the bad ones but in the future, in the spirit of the restaurant, I'd like an option of having good sauces IN ADDITION TO the bad ones.

Deserts were solid, the current rage for donut-based deserts getting a solid treatment. The menu's hidden gem is an obscenely cheap muscato. Indeed, the booze list was impressive and very reasonably priced. Del Merei might be better served as a bar. The zorgs could pitch in and sing little songs whenever someone passed out about the evils of drinking.

In sum, Del Merei is a good idea that needs a better meat chef and someone to buy up a bunch of sauces from the local market and sample the lot of them until they find some worth including. Until that time, I'll take my Romanian commune cuisine dollars elsewhere.

~ JK

So, as you read, the food was average at best, though the idea behind the restaurant is indeed a good one. The MDC forays into the District again this October, and hopefully, DC will serve up something better than Del Merei ...

2nd Annual Vintage Crystal Coincides with MDC 2nd Year Kick-off Meeting

The MDC will kick the year off right with not only the regularly scheduled dinner meeting, but also by participating in the 2nd Annual Vintage Crystal wine and jazz festival in Crystal City, VA. The event features wine from all over and involves tastings, music, and an art market for all attendees. Participating restaurants promote wines and samplings of their own dishes to anyone interested in attending the event. Admission for those of legal drinking age is $20 for all or $10 for designated drivers. All participants also receive a commemorative wine glass.

The wine and gourmet food event coincides with the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival and will feature live music from many artists, including prominent jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet. The event starts a 2:00 p.m. and goes until 6:00 p.m. and is located along 2200-block of Crystal Drive, between 20th and 23rd Street.

For event details and a list of participating restaurants, one of which is the Del Merei Grille where the MDC is meeting later that evening, see the online flyer at the Crystal City website.