I found this today on DonRockwell.com. There's a sparkling wine dinner at Komi, December 19th with Champagne and sparkling wine pairing by Komi's new Sommelier, Adam Curling. If you've been to Komi before, you know the is sure to be a fun event and will be well worth the money. If you haven't been yet, then this will probably be a great time to try Komi for the first time.

Call (202) 332-9200 for reservations.
$150 per person. (Ask about gratuity, I don't know.)

P.S. I'd make a reservation soon because there's already 1 less table available.

For those of you who don't read Amy's site and are wondering why I haven't posted in over a week, it's because we just got a contract on our place. We are closing in less than 30 days and we basically have the next two weeks to find a place of our own. I will be freaking out in....5...4...3...2...

In the mean time, we've been driving all over the DC Metro area looking for places. We were in Alexandria, and instead of going by Evening Star like we usually would, we drove up to Crystal City to Bebo Trattoria. I'll save the details for later, but to sum it up everything went very smoothly. Of course, we were there pretty soon after they opened that Sunday night, but we didn't have the service issues that other people have been talking about. The server even offered to wash out Noah's sippy cup and fill it with the milk we ordered. Nice! I didn't take him up on it though.

The pasta dishes we ordered, a creamy lasagnette and a tube shaped pasta with short rib ragu, were pretty decent and reasonably priced under $12 each. I also enjoyed the special appetizer of baked polenta with sausage ragu so I think I'll be returning again.

OMFG! I had the best pizza ever at 2 Amys the other night with:
Smoked Scallops
Lardo
Lobster Sauce
Shaved Garlic
...and the wonderful crust of course.

Also on the menu was a scrumptious fried mini calzone filled with ricotta, swiss chard, and pine nuts which Amy and I devoured.

When will Amy and I learn that champagne just puts us to sleep?

Last night, we popped open a bottle of champagne, just for the heck of it. About 2 hours later I wake up. Amy's asleep on the couch right next to me with Ceiba asleep on her lap and Max asleep on my lap. We never even finished out first glass.

Of course, it might not have helped that we'd just returned from a steak dinner at Ray's.

I stopped in at Lia's for lunch the other day, sat down at the bar and had a few appetizers and a meat-and-cheese plate. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience and I think that it's a good addition to the very average restaurant scene in Friendship Heights.

While none of the food we ordered was anything to go crazy over, everything we had was pretty good. Appetizers aren't cheap and most are from $8 to $10, but they're also large enough to share. Two people can easily get away with ordering an appetizer for each and a cheese plate to share. The lobster risotto appetizer that Amy ordered was a little "soupy" although the menu said it was a creamy risotto so maybe that's what they're going for, but the rice was tender and not overcooked. Amy commented that the lobster was a little chewy...I had the mushroom gnocchi which was a little oversalted, but otherwise good.

We also ordered a meat-and-cheese plate. The cheeses were good, although nothing that you couldn't pick up at Whole Foods or Balducci's (as far as I could tell -- I'm no cheese expert), and the bread  was a warm sliced Italian-style white loaf. The prosciutto, speck and bresaola on the meat plate were fresh and not too dry.

I think the jury is still out on whether or not Lia's is worth a special trip, but if you're in Friendship Heights, it's probably worth checking out.

You don't usually expect to find good food at a bar. A bar is where you typically find great munchies like nachos, cheese sticks, mini-burgers, and maybe...maybe if you're lucky, you'll find some Asian-inspired potstickers.

Café Saint-Ex isn't your typical bar though. 

The first time I went to Café Saint-Ex, I mistook it for your everyday bar. It was when I first moved to DC, long before I started this site, and I think at the time I was looking for a place "to party", or something like that. I believe it was after a 9:30 Club show. My friends and I waited at the bar nursing some beers while we waited to get in downstairs, but ended up leaving when that took too long.

Little did I know, five years later, I'd be returning for a completely different reason. This time, it was before a 9:30 Club show (Carbon Leaf to be exact), and we were there for dinner...instead of a party. Amy and I were having a night out on the town without Noah, our first in about three weeks! We were looking forward to a relaxing, casual dinner and that's exactly what we got.

We enjoyed the experience so much that we returned two nights later for dinner, but this time we took Noah with us. When we were there the first time  we noticed that there were some other people there with children, so we wouldn't feel out of place with him. Also, the louder atmosphere made it ideal if he decided to throw a tantrum or scream out loud, which only happens occasionally, but you never know when that shortened afternoon nap will catch up with him.

As far as food is concerned, Café Saint-Ex is definitely doing things right, and after reading Chef Barton Seaver's Bio on the Café-Saint-Ex web site, it's not surprising. You can get an extremely good meal there for a very reasonable price. For appetizers, the wood-grilled calamari (or actually anything wood-grilled) is tender and makes you wish everyone was making calamari like that. If you're expecting those typical rubbery rings of calamari that you get everywhere else, however, you'll be sorely disappointed. This calamari is served whole. The beet salad rivals that of any that I've had at other restaurants, with a goat cheese that doesn't overwhelm the beets, but also isn't so bland that you can barely taste it. And a horseradish vinagrette punches up the entire dish.

As I said before, anything wood-grilled or maybe anything that's cooked close in proximity to where the wood-grilling happens is very good. Most of the fish is cooked this way and I'd recommend you try it. I don't think the smoky and spicy flavor will be to everyone's taste, but you've got to try it once to see. So far I've tried the salmon and flounder and both were a big hit with Amy and myself.

For desserts, the smooth and creamy goat cheesecake comes looking like a giant scoop of ice cream on top of a crumbled graham cracker crust. OH MY GOD was it good. This rivaled Ann Amernick's cheesecake I tasted at Palena not long ago. Seriously people, if there is one reason alone to go to Café Saint-Ex, it's this cheesecake. I hope they don't take it off the menu anytime soon.

I should mention that the price fixe option that Café Saint-Ex offers is a very good deal. Before 7, three courses are only $28 per person, and after 7, they are $32. Our bills have consistently been below $100 with a bottle of wine. The wine list at Café Saint-Ex is very European with the occasional appearance of a New Zealand of California wine. Prices for bottles range from $24 to $75 with a majority of them falling in the lower end of that price range.

The host/hostesses are friendly as are the servers, who don't seem to have enough time to be overly congenial, but are quick to help you with the menu and point out the price fixe option to save you some money.

Café Saint-Ex
847 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC  20009
(202) 265-7839
Web Site
Map

Corkage: I didn't check. Call the restaurant to see.
Dress Code: Casual
Parking: Street:  Street Parking. I found it pretty easy to find a parking spot on the streets in the area.
Closest Metro: U Street.
Reservations: Not Taken. First come, first serve. Dinner rush starts at about 7. If you get there before that, you probably wont have to wait long.
Baby friendly rating: 3 Diapers. The atmosphere is loud, which makes it great for children, and the waitstaff and hosts seem to really love babies.