Komi

Komi
1509 17th St NW
Washington D.C., DC 20036-6262
Tel: (202) 332-9200

Did you know that two of DC's greatest restaurants were literally side by side? Tucked away in a nondescript Dupont Circle neighborhood, you'll find two restaurants - one with a sign and one without. The restaurant with the sign is Sushi Taro, purveyor of some of the best sushi in DC, while the one without is Komi, arguably DC's finest restaurant.

I'd heard of Komi from a friend and managed to snag a reservation for my wife's birthday (getting a reservation at Komi is like Cafe Atlantico's Minibar - you have to call a month in advance). Its prixe fixed with no set menu - the menu changes with whatever is in season and fresh. Our meal started with a succession of seafood appetizers (9 in total) starting with caviar and each dish better than the last one. We had two mains - a spaghetti as primi and a grilled lamb as secondi. The lamb was probably the best I've ever had outside of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. And to wrap it all up, there were 5 desserts. As with dining at the table of all great chefs, Chef Johnny Monis makes the diner keel over in submission with amazing tastes and textures.

Verdict: A must visit. The best food I've had in DC.

While you're not allowed to take pictures of the food, I did manage to sneak a couple in before I was politely told to refrain from taking any further pictures.

C'était un Rendezvous (1976)

The greatest chase scene ever shot!

Clash of the Titans revisited

Clash of the Titans was a tour by thrash bands that began in 1990 with a European leg featuring Megadeth, Slayer, Testament and Suicidal Tendencies. There was a second leg in 1991 in the United States and Canada with a slightly different lineup, this time with headliners Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, and supporting act Alice in Chains. I missed the original Clash of the Titans tour but got to see the reunion tour this summer at Baltimore. Anthrax opening for Megadeth who opened for the almighty Slayer. Heavy metal nirvana if there ever was one.

Scott Ian shredding


Anthrax in full tilt with Caught in a Mosh


Megadeth kicked off with Holy Wars


Guitar god Dave Mustaine


Kerry King lays down Slayer's monster riffs

Au Pied de Cochon

Au Pied de Cochon

536 Duluth Est
Montréal (Québec)
H2L 1A9

I first stumbled upon Au Pied de Cochon aka PDC after watching Anthony Bourdain's mind blowing visit to chef Martin Picard's temple to all things duck and pig. The restaurant is one of Montreal's most famous restaurants and is my all time favorite place to eat. Here's the a clip from the episode of No Reservations that visited PDC:



The PDC menu is a veritable dream come true for carnivores and members of the international hoof and snout mafia. My favorites include the foie gras poutine, the duck in a can, the eponymous Pied de Cochon, and of course the dish that send me to ecstasy every time - pig's head.

Here are some pictures from a recent visit.

A small salad of multi-colored tomatoes to start

Duck in a can

Au Pied de Cochon

Pig's head for 2

That's 24 carat gold on the snout of the pig's head - yup, if you eat this you are so money that you'll actually shit gold the next day

To sum up, if you're ever in Montreal, the one thing you must do is eat at PDC. There used to be an old joke amongst tour guides 'once you've seen Florence you can die', I'd actually change that to once you've eaten at PDC, you can die.