🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <16312@oasys.dt.navy.mil> goldberg@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Mark Goldberg) writes:
>About a week ago I posted:[ a request for Latin restaurants]

In the summary was:


>Does brazilian count?  Donatello (close spelling) is on Wisc Ave in 
>TenleyTown near the Outer Circle theater.  Also good food
>
>Bruce O'Neel              oneel@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov
>NASA/GSFC/STX/Code 664

The name of the restaurant is Dona Flor (after a famous Brazilian
novel called Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands).  While the food is
pretty good there (stick to the fish/seafood), we've had real problems
with the service and have stopped going there altogether.

The service tends to be slow in general, but worse than that it is
usually 'service with a sneer'.  A few weeks ago we made a reservation
for 8:00PM.  We showed up a few minutes past 8 and said we had a
reservation.  The waiter asked our name and then asked what time the
reservation was for.  I said eight, and he made a big show of taking
out his watch to make sure I wasn't there early.  With no apology
whatsoever he proceeded to tell us that there wouldn't be a table for
at least 20 minutes, even though there were two free tables for 4 (we
were 2).  Since we were hungry we just left.  I doubt we'll be back.

Another time we were there with a party of 4 having dinner and the
service was slow to the point of ridiculousness.  It took more than an
hour and a half for us to get our main courses.

Another time we had finished a nice dinner and we sitting drinking
coffee and the manager kept on trying to get us to leave even though
we weren't finished and the restaurant wasn't full.  Also, he took
away the bill so that our waiter wasn't able to see the tip we left
him, which I think is rather unfair.

As you can see we've tried a few times, since in fact it is a pleasant
room with good food most of the time.  After being treated like dirt
more than once I think we've really given up though.  On the brighter
side though here's something about the food.

The wine list is far from stellar.  Avoid the Brazilian wine at
all costs; same for Brazilian beer.  The coffee is good; the desserts
are not.  I recommend the Vatapa, (shrimps and fish in a
fish/peanuts/coconut milk paste) Camara~o a Bahiana (shrimps in
tomato/peppers/coconut milk sauce) or the Moqueca Mixta. (same with
lobster and fish).  The Bacalhau (salted cod) hasn't been very good
the couple of times we've tried it.  It isn't soaked long enough and
as a result is far too salty.

The one meat dish on the menu which is good is the Feijoada (black
beans and meat served with collard greens, oranges and manioc flour).

All in all, if you have a whole evening to spend, it can be a nice
place for dinner, but be warned about the service...

Alan Munn