Great iDine Restaurants Thread

[Beckles]

Here in my hometown of MCI it seems like we have a good selection, my recommended restaurants would be:

MCI - Downtown/Rivermarket - Delaware Market Cafe (weekdays lunch only) - Soup / Salad / Sandwiches, cookie included with lunch, a tad bit pricey, but not too bad, especially during iDine promotions
MCI - Margarita's - Multiple Locations - Good Mexican Food, Tuesday hard taco special and Wednesay soft taco special I would particularly recommend for a good deal
MCI - Smokin' Joe's BBQ - Multiple Locations - Good BBQ at a good price
MCI - Stroud's - Multiple Locations - Great family style fried chicken place
MCI - Vivace - Downtown/Rivermarket - Italian - Very classy and well priced dining experience, my new favorite lunch spot

My wife and I eat lunch together many weekdays and Vivace, Margarita's (on Wednesday's for the soft taco special), and Smokin' Joe's are part of our standard weekly rotation.

[ZeppoX]

DCA - Jaleo, a Spanish Tapas place in Crystal City. Convenient enough on the way to/from National Airport.

I have a lot of experience with Tapas, but would not pretend to be an expert on authentic goodness. Just can say this place has the longest menu I've ever seen at such a place and the weekly specials are, well, special. They change specials on Tuesday, and thru yesterday one of the specials was shad roe. Yum.
House reds by the glass are sound for $8 to $10.
4 Tapas and a glass, with nice tip ~ $40.
23rd and Crystal, a quick walk from the metro exit on 18th (Crystal City N-S blocks are very short, so 18th to 23rd is what you'd imagine 2 blocks to be). You also can walk there undergound by following the signs to 23rd and Crystal, turning right as you emerge to the street, and walking a couple of minutes. Just down from McCormick and Schmick's location on Crystal.

[salut0]

Please add this to the list.
An update of my previous post with some new info for NYC:

Originally Posted by salut0

JFK -- Upper West Side -- SIP bar and lunge
Excellent coffee (though no decaf) and very good fresh squeezed drinks and cocktails. Good place to hang out all day and night. Dines post fast -- no min on the CC in my experience.

JFK -- New York City, Upper West Side -- Makor Cafe
Good selection of kosher dairy food and lots of drinks, desserts and snacks in a pleasant setting. Conveniently located for Lincoln Center.

JFK -- New York City, midtown -- The Antique Cafe
(55 W26th St, between 6th Ave and Bdwy)
Good food and fresh tasting, but a little pricey and the restaurant is rather crowded.

JFK -- New York City, Greenwich Village -- Borgo Antico (really stellar Italian food)

removed
JFK -- Lower East Side -- TeaNY seems to still exist but only takes cash and isn't listed on the iDine website :-(

[yashan]

Originally Posted by ZeppoX

DCA - Jaleo, a Spanish Tapas place in Crystal City. Convenient enough on the way to/from National Airport.

Thanks. I'll check them out next week...

[JDiver]

Thanks for the updates, gardener! Of course, I was out of the US and unable to participate Jan 26 - Feb 27, so I'll just have to update what I have... and now the post has been modified.

Thanks again, gardener!

All, I've only done a cursory check, but iDine / AAdvantage Dining by Rewards Network has revised their Terms and Conditions as of February 13, 2007, so clock on the link for AA, and follow links in the sticky to your own iDine program, if you want to look them over / copy and paste.

[Barton Cove]

Gardener/JDiver -

When you get a chance to edit the OP, the following places are no longer participating:

BOS - Theatre District - Pigalle is leaving as of the end of the month, and I think they mean it, as I've always had to fight to get credit for dines in the first place (they run Friday's tab on Saturday, so it appears not to qualify until I fax the receipt) so I'm not counting on a last minute resurrection. Actually, Rewards Network emailed me to ask me to tell them not to leave the program. Has anyone else been contacted in that way?

SEA - Fremont - 35th Street Bistro, which left on March 13th, as opposed to March 31st, which is when I treated my family to a nice lunch. D'oh!

Additions:

BDL - Northampton - Union Station - American - Restored train station and thus a great place to take your mother if she grew up in the area. But the food isn't bad, and the adjacent Tunnel Bar is a great place to go for cocktails.

BDL - Springfield - L'uva - Wine Bar - Is this the best wine bar you'll ever go to? No. Is it the best wine bar in Downtown Springfield, and one at which you can earn miles? Yes

BOS - South End - Pho Republique - Trendy Vietnamese - Just joined the program this week, and has long been a favorite of mine, so I'm quite excited.

[Points Scrounger]

Originally Posted by Barton Cove

SEA - Fremont - 35th Street Bistro, which left on March 13th, as opposed to March 31st, which is when I treated my family to a nice lunch. D'oh!

It's a classy joint - too much so for iDine some would say. I had posted elsewhere regarding the owner's dislike for Rewards Network's usurious parctices, so I was rather surprised that they re-enlisted late last year. Didn't last long. I hadn't been over that way much since the Fremont Bridge closed for repairs last June. I noticed today there's a Coming Soon alert for another classy joint: Union (1st and Union, down the block from another participating resto, The Islander).

Peso's Kitchen has dropped out again. I'd held off mentioning it, in case they re-enlisted, but that looks unlikely. Guess I'll be paying cash now for their $6 Dungeness Crab Benedict breakfast special.

[TubbyTraveler]

DCA - Falls Church - Idylwood Wine Bar and Grill. Havent seen anyone mention this location yet. Have been going once or twice a month for the past six months or so and the food is fantastic.

The restaurant is located in a pretty average looking shopping center but once inside it is like walking into another world. The staff and owner are extremely friendly and the food is great.

I love the Chicken Picata and my wife loves the fresh fish specials. They have a pretty solid wine list and also a sitting area and nice couches where you can go for just wine and appitizers.

One of the best places I have eaten at int he Rewards Program.

In addtion, a previous poster mention Kaz Sushi in DC and it is a great spot! Do call ahead as it tends to fill up quickly at night

[edwin_p_morales]

Originally Posted by ZeppoX

DCA - Jaleo, a Spanish Tapas place in Crystal City. Convenient enough on the way to/from National Airport.

I have a lot of experience with Tapas, but would not pretend to be an expert on authentic goodness. Just can say this place has the longest menu I've ever seen at such a place and the weekly specials are, well, special. They change specials on Tuesday, and thru yesterday one of the specials was shad roe. Yum.
House reds by the glass are sound for $8 to $10.
4 Tapas and a glass, with nice tip ~ $40.
23rd and Crystal, a quick walk from the metro exit on 18th (Crystal City N-S blocks are very short, so 18th to 23rd is what you'd imagine 2 blocks to be). You also can walk there undergound by following the signs to 23rd and Crystal, turning right as you emerge to the street, and walking a couple of minutes. Just down from McCormick and Schmick's location on Crystal.

Jaleo is a DC area chain and is exceptional, one of the best price/value propositions going. They have several locations, worth checking if they are iDine too, and a great choice.

[majikTib]

BNA - Bistro 215 (Green Hills, next to mall) - http://www.bistro215.com

Excellent food, great for a business lunch. Valet Parking, 100% smoke free. Patio for outdoor dining available. Decent wine list with 4, 6, or 8oz. glasses

I've found a new favorite!

[gardener]

I'm in Points Scrounger's neck of the woods, staying in Federal Way, WA. Found a Hawaiian plate lunch joint acroos from the Commons Mall on 320th st called Pac Island Grill - really authentic Hawaiian plate lunch and cheap too.

Try the chicken combo - bbq, katsu and mochi chicken, two scoop rice and mac salad for $7.95. Or the Loco Moco - fried egg and a hamburger patty over rice with gravy and, of course, mac salad for $7.50.

The Haupia pie broke da mouth. Truly da ono kine.

[danang]

Cheap+good DC options:

DCA - Dupont Circle/Golden Triangle - Thai Tanic - Thai - 19
DCA - Farragut North - Naan and Beyond - Tasty Indian fast food and *double miles* (benefits not offered every day)

[Bostom]

Originally Posted by TubbyTraveler

DCA - Falls Church - Idylwood Wine Bar and Grill. Havent seen anyone mention this location yet. Have been going once or twice a month for the past six months or so and the food is fantastic.

The restaurant is located in a pretty average looking shopping center but once inside it is like walking into another world. The staff and owner are extremely friendly and the food is great.

I love the Chicken Picata and my wife loves the fresh fish specials. They have a pretty solid wine list and also a sitting area and nice couches where you can go for just wine and appitizers.

One of the best places I have eaten at in the Rewards Program.

And that includes places like Les Ambassadeurs in Paris, the Grand Europe in St. Petersburg, Chez Panisse, Lutece, Sam's in SF, Locke-Ober in Boston, La Mer at the Halekulani, La Terrazza at the Eden in Rome, the Queens Grill on the QE2...and each one costs many multiples of what they charge at the Idylwood.

TT, I cannot agree with you more. I envy the fact you live nearby. How do they do it in a shopping mall - not even the newer shopping mall in front of it facing the Leesburg Pike (they're around the corner on Pimmit Road) in suburban DC between a karate studio and a Latino grocery? We found it too - via the AA Dining Wizard (we were staying at the new Westin/old Doubletree on 7 at the Beltway in Tyson's Corner this past weekend) and it's even walkable at 3/4 of a mile away but that's not the point: we liked it so much we went back the next night.

To hell with the bonus (or not - I didn't go over the monthly spend) it was the food that had us there again Saturday promptly at 7. (Don't go much later expecting to be seated right away. It's small, doesn't take bookings for less than six, and popular with the natives.) The veal piccata and saltimboca are superb, as was the endive/apple salad, the cheese ravioli, the tilapia, filet mignon, Caesar salad, desserts AND did I mention the wine list? If you're lost among these treasures, ask David, the manager, for his advice. What he chooses will be right for the dish and, like the suggestions selection printed with the specials, it won't be the most expensive wine on the list. I found an Argentine chard I loved for $6.50 and an Italian pinot grigio I cannot now contemplate eating veal without. Veal with capers and a rich reduction sauce with wine and butter and garlic in perfect harmony...I'm home now, and hungry for more.

The staff is excellent as well: we were remembered from one night to the next, service is smiling and prompt, and diners are so close they speak to one another - trading tips on favorites, etc. If you get Jorge or Marco as a waiter you'll do well too; again, how can these kids (they're maybe 20 or 22 tops) deliver service like we got this weekend? Where do they learn? I mention them because they waited on us: nobody else looked like they were unhappy with their waitstaff so I presume it's excellent across the board.

I saw a blurb in the WASHINGTON POST from March to the effect that every neighborhood would be fortunate to have a place like this. I sure wish mine did as I'd be in there every night.

I cannot praise this place too highly.

[Duckman]

Originally Posted by edwin_p_morales

Jaleo is a DC area chain and is exceptional, one of the best price/value propositions going. They have several locations, worth checking if they are iDine too, and a great choice.

I like the restaurant too. I have found it on idine.com, but not on the NWA rewardsnetwork site. Anyone know why that is?

[Beckles]

Originally Posted by danang

Cheap+good DC options:

DCA - Dupont Circle/Golden Triangle - Thai Tanic - Thai - 19

I was in DC a few weeks ago, and of course checked iDine for places to eat, I figured some place with such a cheesy name probably wouldn't be good.