A Little About Food

First, about lunch. Having decided that I was in a lunch rut (always getting my lunch at the same few places, even though the quality was consistent and the prices right), I decided to branch out a bit. Based on yesterday and today, I think this was a mistake.

Yesterday, I went to a little sandwich shop on L Street called Kozey's and ordered a tuna melt on rye. Tuna melts can be excellent; they can be awful. This one was an typical tuna melt. And typical is closer to awful than to excellent.

Today, I went to Soho, a funky place on the corner of P and 22nd, filled with people whose shorts and shirts don't match and who are having lunch with their laptops. The blackboard called the chicken salad "the best". I asked the woman behind the counter if this was true, and she said it was and the she made it. So what could I do? I ordered it on whole grain bread, but unlike the crusty whole grain bread you find at Au Bon Pain, this bread was like whole-grain Wonder bread, if there is such a thing. And the chicken salad was more like chicken salad paste, than chicken salad. I have wanted to try to Soho, because it is around the corner from a book store I frequent, and I can sit there and look through a book (impervious to the electronics surrounding me). But I won't go there again very soon.

As to brunch, we went to Bistrot Au Coin, which is not on a corner and is on Connecticut Avenue near Dupont Circle. It should be terrific, but something is not quite right. It is not quite comfortable, although it looks like it would be. It looks like it could be a little cleaner (of course we walked out of Nathan's in Georgetown a few weeks ago, because it looked like it had not been dusted for a year or two). But the scrambled eggs were first class, the french fries very good, the small salad tasty, the baguettes fresh and crusty, and the expresso good. But there is something about the place not quite right.

As to fancy dinner, on the other hand, I think that Arcadiana (Massachusetts Ave) is one of the most comfortable restaurants imaginable. The food was also very good, although not cheap. Edie had a delicious trout, served on some sort of green vegetable, and I had red fish served on a jambalaya risotto. Both were excellent. Mine was interesting because the red fish by itself was good, and the risotto by itself was good, but when you put them together they excelled. Hannah had veal medallions, which she also said were excellent.

As to cheaper dinner, we went to Colonel Brooks, where Edie's Rockfish reuben, and my salmon caesar salad were first class. Our friend Ray had a too-spicy pasta dish. And the service was capital A abysmal.

And that's a little about food.