🚀 go-pugleaf

   From: mmcarty@unix1 (Mary Mccarty)

Hey, Mary -- note the bad net-address, above!

  MM> My fiancee and I go out for one nice meal a month. We don't have much
  MM> money, so we really like to make sure we're getting a good meal when
  MM> we splurge.  Can anyone recommend a place with a nice atmosphere,
  MM> great food and moderate prices.  Also, we'd prefer a place that isn't
  MM> packed on weekend nights--we don't mind going out of the way!

Try the West End Cafe, 1 Washington Circle -- they have some pre-theater and
prix fixe' specials that are reasonably priced, and I like the place a lot.

On the Rosslyn side of the river, Kabul Caravan is about a mile from Key
Bridge, and it's got GREAT Afghani food.  Very "ethnic" (dark, exotic)
atmosphere -- it's one of my favorites in the area.

Further out in Arlington, the Lebanese Taverna (and there's one in DC, also). 
They also have the Lebanese Taverna Market, not far from the Virginia
restaurant -- for a modest sum, you could pack up a /dandy/ picnic and enjoy
the great outdoors, during the fall.

ZEDs, in Georgetown -- excellent Ethipian food, and I recall the prices being
very low.  Best if you enjoy spicy food, better still if you enjoy spicy/hot
foods.

Hope this helps.

Oh -- ONLY for a nice day when you'll eat outside (no indoor dining at all) --
Village Chicken, in Vienna, just behind the Knossos mini-restaurant on Route
123 (Maple Avenue, about 351 West Maple Ave.).  (NOT the Amphora restaurant --
avoid that!)

Village Chicken offers only GREAT Greek-style (lemon & rosemary) chicken, with
a couple of side dishes (bread, potato salad, that kind of stuff).  They sell
cold drinks and maybe coffee.  Cafe-style tables outside, and adjacent to
Village Chicken is the Amphora bakery.  You could, for less than $20, eat
superbly at the outdoor tables, each eat a slice of good cake (the bakery s
pretty good, if you avoid the stuff that's mostly whipped-cream-on-top), and go
home with 3/4 or 4/5 of a large dessert, to enjoy later on.  But this is,
basically, a lunch suggestion, not suitable for either bad weather or a late
evening.

You want romantic?  Take a Greek or Lebanese-accented meal up to Great Falls
park and enjoy sitting out on the rocks, eating.  "Nice" is in the mind of the
beholder, and while I can afford to eat out fairly casually, I think a pleasant
and romantic time can be had in plenty of places other than restaurants! 
--ehr