Improv, Washington D.C March 17, 2007

The DC Improv is a comedy club first, a restaurant as a convenience. The show I saw, Flip Orley's hypnosis routine, was wonderfully entertaining, which was a good thing.

The cramped dark showroom was so crowded I wondered what the fire marshall would say. When my party of four was shown to its tiny round table, I noted the nearest emergency exit. We hoped there would be no pyrotechnics in this show. There were a lot of people between us and fresh air.

Once seated, our friendly and expedient waiter asked if we could scoot our table closer to our neighboring table to allow him access to the table behind us. We introduced ourselves to our new tablemates.

When I opened the menu, I was amused to see the fare was primarily Mexican. Did they think it was funny to feed this many squished people beans?

Knowing the nature of a dinner show and the size of his station, our waiter wisely suggested that we order doubles for our drinks. I was grateful.

Our food came quickly. The queso dip was delicious, although the chips were too thin to hold much of it. We had to fish out several pieces with our fingers as silverware did not arrive until after the entrees.

My burrito was big and pretty tasty, but the ingredients were unevenly distributed. It wasn't until halfway through that I found any of the promised lettuce. I was apparently at the rice end of the burrito. I finally used my fork and found the cache of lettuce and chicken at the opposite end.

After my double vodka, dessert seemed like a good idea. We shared the raspberry cheescake and pecan pie. Both were delicious, although too small. We hadn't thought to ask for 4 forks, so we had to share.

The comic put on a hilarious show. I laughed so hard my face hurt. But he had to work against my growing claustrophia. I couldn't wait to exit when the show was over.

If I go back, I will sit at the high top tables near the exit. And if I go back, it won't be for the food.

the Four Seasons Grill, Gambrills, Maryland

I was hoping when I read the menu that my first experience at the Four Seasons Grill in Gambrills, Maryland would be a good one. I had a difficult time deciding what to order. The contemporary dining room with adjacent lounge looked promising. The restaurant has only been open since September. I was there for lunch with a clientele of primarily parties of women, with a few mixed groupings.

Although I didn’t order wine, I did look over the list which, though not vast, was well beyond the typical offerings in my area, ranging from reasonably priced domestics to Dom Perignon. The waitstaff was prompt with water and delicious bread sticks so fresh from the oven that they were too hot to handle for a moment. The options of soft butter or a pesto olive dipping oil were offered. I hadn’t thought I was so hungry, but it took restraint to not devour that delicious bread.

On the appetizer list, the Mediterranean Platter, with hummus, fresh mozzarella & grilled veggies with something called baba ghanoush sounded like a meal in itself. I made a mental note to order it in the lounge the next time I come in for a martini. Or maybe the Scallops Napoleon, or goat cheese brulée, or smoked salmon platter. And these were just the appetizers.

The menu offered a scrumptious array of surf and turf: lobster and truffle risotto, jambalaya, flat iron steak, lamb ragu parpadelle. I am rarely intrigued by a pork chop, but listen to this: Double Pork Chop stuffed with caramelized cinnamon pears & Gorgonzola cheese, wrapped with prosciutto, topped with brandy sauce. Are you listening? How about Pasta Purses stuffed with pears and Gorgonzola in a creamy béchamel sauce sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts. The dinner menu added more salad and steak options and additional side dishes, including crispy macaroni and cheese with crab. Do you see my dilemma?

I chose the Spicy Crab Flatbread: crab meat, oven roasted tomatoes, chili peppers & basil with a touch of cream of crab. It was fabulous.

Just to be thorough, I checked out the dessert tray and selected the lemon torte, although the various cheesecakes and tiramisu looked wonderful.

My waitress, whose name I did not catch, was prompt and courteous, giving us enough time to decide and visit while still checking to see if we needed anything. My glass did get empty, but the restaurant was pretty busy. I was relieved the service was good enough because there is so much more eating I have to do here.