Bethesda area restaurants?

[mercoledi]

Hi!
Two friends of mine are getting their PhD''s this week and moving far far away to Bethesda MD. I''d like to get them a gift certificate to a really good restaurant, maybe something kinda fancy that has a chef''s table or a tasting menu, but really anything with great food would do.

Is anyone from there/ near there and have a place they love to eat? All recommendations are appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Regular Guy]

Tons of good options. Though we really haven''t gotten to know the neighborhood yet (we''ve just moved here from across town), Bacchus is a long standing favorite...if you like that kind of thing.

 

[Gypsy]

Honestly, in BETHESDA... I don't know. But I HIGHLY recommend Vidalia's tasting menu in Dupont. And Kincaid's right by GW. It's just a short cap ride, or metro hop and the food is FABULOUS.

If you really want Bethesda... get a 4 dollar one month subscription to Zagat.com and do a search. I found that for DC metro restaurants they were very good!

Oh... and Citronelle is very good too! The chef's creations are AMAZING! ETA: The reason I didn't say Citronelle initially is because it is REALLY REALLY REALLY Expensive. Vidalia is pricey (about 300 for two person tasting menu plus matched wine flight) and it's far more reasonable than Citronelle's chef's table. But... Citronelle is extraordinary.

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 4/29/2007 6:57:40 PM
Author: Gypsy

If you really want Bethesda... get a 4 dollar one month subscription to Zagat.com and do a search. I found that for DC metro restaurants they were very good!

Scheduling didn''t work out...but I actually signed onto this when Garry Holloway was in town a couple years ago for that purpose.

What I believe is another zeo cost review option is the Washingtonian...which points to also, among others, David Craig''s Bethesda.

 

[mercoledi]

Thanks guys!

Regular Guy- That place sounds great, is it niceish, or just really good food?

Gypsy- I had run accross Citronelle... is it really worth the price? I''ll have to look into Vidalia.


Do you guys know anything about a place called Galileo''s Laboratory? They have a chef''s table, which I thought might be good, but I can''t find much about the food.

The other thing I found is in Fall''s Church on a lakefront. It sounds good, but it''s a little far to take a cab, and I hate gifting dinner and wine someplace you have to drive to. Ever heard of it?
http://www.2941.com/

Thanks for the Zagat tips. I think I have their online membership for Boston, I''ll have to see if that gets me into Bethesda too.

 

[onedrop]

HI! There are so many restaurants in Bethesda now, that it''s hard to say which is the best. There are the Ruth''s Chris and the Morton''s. I like La Panetteria for Italian food. I have to agree with Gypsy about Kinkead''s (in DC). The food was excellent each time I have been there, and the service was impeccable.

 

[mercoledi]

Hmm, is this the Kinkead''s
http://www.kinkead.com/kinkead/kinkead.htm

Or is it this one?
http://www.kincaids.com/

I think I''d rather avoid a chain if possible (though I do like Ruth Chris).

Anything else?

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 4/30/2007 10:17:12 AM
Author: mercoledi
Regular Guy- That place sounds great, is it niceish, or just really good food?

Sorry, I only know it from what I read, too.

Please report back with whatever you learn, from wherever you select.

Regards,

 

[onedrop]

Mercoledi: The Kinkead''s that Gypsy and I were talking about is the first link.

 

[sumbride]

I found Kinkead''s to be rather lackluster. It used to be excellent but has declined.

2941 is fab, or was the last time I was there a couple of years ago, but it''s pretty far from Bethesda. That''s actually where Blenheim is getting married!

I don''t know that Galileo''s laboratoria is still open... the building it was in for so long is across from my office and they gutted it a few months ago. They may have relocated though.

Capital Grille, while being a small chain, is truly wonderful if they like beef. Bethesda is almost all chain restaurants, but most of them are Washington(local) chains.

 

[mercoledi]

Thanks everyone!

Sum,
Maybe I''ll go with 2941 then, it looks like they do a chef''s table too, and it looks beautiful. The website for Galileo''s says that it''s being renovated; I figured if people liked that one I would call and see when they re-open.

The Capitol Grille is good, but we have those here too!


Any other votes for Citronelle? The seem to have a bar menu too, so we might just gift them some amount, and they could chose whether to eat ala carte at the bar or pitch in for the tasting menu + wine (at $230 each, gulp.). I would just want to know that it was worth it.

 

[Gypsy]

Citronelle worth the price? Honestly, it's amazing. Is it a value? No. But you do get what you pay for.

Give Vidalia another look. They REALLY cater to you there and the food is excellent.

As for Kincaid's... it's one of the few restuarant's I'm not terribly ambitious at because I ADORE their cod with crab imperial (which I refuse to order anywhere else), I've been there... maybe 7 or 8 times, and it's consistent and really GOOD.

But citronelle is at another level.

Vidalia has the creativity I look for in food, it's innovative, but it's also comfort food ish. The pecan and lemon pies are to DIE for. And out of this world (although they changed the pecan pie to tarlets and I don't love it as much as I used to). We've done the tasting menu.... 4?? Times, and it was FABULOUS each time.

I've been to Ruth's Chris and Mortons many times... these restuarants blow those out of the water!!

Cashon's Eat Place is a great place too. Small in Adam's morgan... I've only eaten thier 2 times, but was happy both times.

The Nora restuarants are good too, but frankly for the price I'd go to any of the above.