Don’t you love it when a restaurant’s business card printed its web address on it, but it doesn’t exist? ThaiPlaceDC.com takes you to nowhere. Anyhow, my wife and I just had lunch at Thai Place, which is about .3 miles from my office. We shared a crunchy duck roll, pad Thai and fried tilapia with salad. The duck roll had a heavy sweet taste; the pad Thai’s noodle was hard; and the fried tilapia was just passable. The place, however, was packed. I assume that the cheap prices attracted customers.

I’ve been hooked on GoldCoast’s Maine lobster and blue crab spreads with crackers. A glass of cocktail to complement the spreads is our little treat after a long day at work. Life isn’t so bad.

My sister-in-law left us two admissions for IKEA’s annual crayfish party before she and her husband went to Mexico for their honeymoon. Yesterday my wife and I attended and cleaned up about five or six plates of jumbo crayfish served cold in Swedish style. The crayfish are so big and meaty that they tasted as good as the lobster tails. The meatballs were also delicious. It was definitely worth $10 per person. The only thing that missing was a pitcher of beer. They did served non-alcohol sparkling wine, which was not so bad.

Although the party was not too crowded, half of the people are Asians. I thought I ate a lot. A Chinese couple sat next to us must have 10 full plates, and they were mad skinny. We couldn’t keep up with them. We finished up the party with a blazing apple pie and a cup of Swedish coffee. Walked around IKEA to digest our food and felt in love with some of its kitchen, bedroom setups. We can’t wait to get our own home.

Big thanks to the sister-in-law and her husband for a wonderful treat. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the party next year.

As I was about to grab something quick for lunch, my wife called to come over for lunch. I quickly looked up a place special to take her. Brasserie Beck came to mind. This Belgium cuisine is the place that I could not get a reservation on the weekend before 10pm. So I figure I could get it on a Wednesday lunch. I made a reservation, picked her up at the Metro, and we walked twelve blocks to get to 1101 K Street.

The place was pretty busy for a Wednesday afternoon. I ordered a roasted rabbit in Kriek beer and she went for a pan-seared fillet of salmon with curry fennel sauce. We ordered two fruit beers, St. Louis Kriek (cherry flavor) and Floris Pomme “Apple.” They have a nice taste, but each is $12 a pop. The rabbit tasted pretty much like chicken, and the sauce was simply plain. Her salmon was just grilled and sat on top of the curry sauce.

Nothing stood out except the bill. We had an eighty-dollar lunch. If I were to have a choice, I would rather settle for Hai Duong’s bun mam or Thanh Truc’s bun bo hue. I am still glad my wife came over to have lunch with me though.

On our way home, my wife and I tried to decide whether we should go home and cook or just drop by the ghetto buffet for a quick fix. The heat was beating down on us, we were starving, and the big banner said “seafood dinner for $12.95” couldn’t hold us back. The place is huge and a bit messy, especially bathroom, that’s why I called it ghetto. Still, the food is decent. We stuffed ourselves with raw oysters, steamed crabs, Louisiana crawfish, steamed clams, grill shrimps and New York steak. The Boston clam chowder was also banging. It’s quite an enjoyable evening. Now it’s time to take a walk to digest all that seafood.

Viet Bistro seems like a nice hangout joint in the summer. The spot is kind of hip—actually it is the best decorated restaurant in Eden Center—and it opens later than most places in the strip. We were there last night around 9:30 after a long evening of going through the contract. I ordered the Clay Pot Rice with Baby Clams (Com Tay Cam Hen) and a Long Island Ice Tea, and they were the perfect combos to cool off the night. The portion was huge and I was going to save half of it for today’s lunch but the crunchy rice and mild spicy baby clams were irresistible; therefore, I shoved down everything while enjoying the Cleveland and Celtics on three large-screen TVs. The alcohol in the Long Island also enhanced the flavor. It was only last night and I can’t wait to go back for another pot already.

What do I get for the big three oh? A big piece of steak. The ladies took me out to Ray’s the Steak, the place I have wanted to try but haven’t had a chance to, for my birthday. On the weekend, the earliest seat available is at 11pm. Ray’s doesn’t take reservations over the phone so you have to come in and wait. We went in today at 7:15pm and didn’t get the table until 8pm. The joint is small and really noisy, but the steak was not so bad. I ordered the signature: a 28-ounce “cowboy cut” rib eye with bone. The steak was big, raw, juicy, and tender and went well with a glass of pinot noir. Not a bad place for steak if you don’t mind the waiting and the loudness. Thanks to my lady for the treat.

With the rice price jacking up damn near double, we seek for a healthy alternative. Peep at what my lovely lady has packed for my lunch: Grilled chicken salad (assorted greens) with grapes, pineapple slices, strawberries and my favorite dressing raspberry walnut vinaigrette. She also threw in a yogurt, tangerine and banana for snacks. Damn, it’s only nine o’clock and I can’t wait for lunch already. Three more hours to go, but I might take an early lunch.

I am stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving at Il Mee. Four of us knocked off four BBQ dishes filled with beef, pork and squid complemented with a bottle of rice wine. We actually like this place better than Hee Been. The price is $19.99 per person, which is eight dollars lower than Hee Been, and the marinating is a bit better. The only trade off is that the tables are a bit smaller.

We had bun reu (vermicelli with crab soup) three nights straight. The first night we missed mam ruoc (fermented shrimp paste). The fish sauce substitution was not effective. The second night was perfect because I had to drive fifteen miles to get a jar of mam ruoc. I picked out a brand from Da Nang because the color looks lighter and the texture looks smoother. It turned out delicious. I was sipping wine and picking out the meat off the bones complementing with mam ruoc. Last night bun reu was extraordinary because the broth got richer, which added more flavor. Thanks to my lovely lady for the great bun reu. She can cook.