NSEA -- Sheraton Four Points -- 0 Stars

We booked the Sherato Four Points in Chelsea because it was convenient to where my brother was hosting his 50th birthday party. We weren't expecting spectacular -- it was modestly priced and we would have been happy with a modest room. Which is exactly what we got. No bath mat. Plastic cups. But not "horrible" just "eh."

There the story would end if it weren't for the major failure -- no heat in the room. The hotel was booked solid. It was late. Etc. etc. etc. They did give us a space heater -- but it was one of the coldest nights of the year in New York. The thermostat said it was 55 degrees in the room. On the whole, this looked like a moderate, OK place -- but the lack of heat made this one of the worst experiences we've had lately.

Montmarte -- An Old Favorite -- 3 stars

One of our two favorite restaurants on the Hill is Montmarte. Its a comfortable French bistro where we can always find good food at a good price. The owners know who we are and welcome us warmly whenever we come. Its sort of a "Cheers" for French bistro food.

Last night was no exception. Katy started with a wonderful seasonal specialty -- mushrooms (4 different kinds) in a red wine sauce. She followed that with a well-prepared Cod that tasted just right. Paul had a nice frissee salad with warm goat cheese and apricots as garnish and then tried something new that he had never had before -- Frogs Legs! Tasted just like chicken. But the star of Paul's meal was the roots and vegatables that came with it -- beets, bok choy, carrots, etc. Wonderful taste in a garlic and parsley butter sauce.

Add a nice 1/2 bottle of a Bordeaux and the meal is complete. What more can you ask for than a nice welcome, a good meal and a reasonable price.

Time Stands Still -- 3 1/2 Stars

We went to the Studio Theater the other night and saw a play by Donald Margulies, "Time Stands Still." If you have a chance you really need to go and see this play. It was one of the most memorable plays we've seen in quite a while. We would recommend it generally as being exceedingly well acted and produced.

The two lead protagonists are a photo jounrnalist and her boyfriend, a print journalist, who spend their lives covering conflict in Iraq/Sudan etc. The play is set back here in the US where they have just returned after she is injured in a road-side bomb attack. Holly Twyford, who plays the female lead, is just wonderful as a photographer who just can't say "no" to the challenge of covering conflicts.

We don’t pretend to know a lot about journalism but this play had the feel of verisimilitude. They players struggled with the effects of the horror on them; with the challenge of observing bad events and “not doing anything” and with the conflict between their yearning to be doing “something” and the desire for a safer quieter life. We have to imagine that this play would resonate with journalists everywhere and with those who consume the news.

At its core this is an excellent play that is just plain well done!

The Artist -- 3 1/2 Stars

We went to see The Artist last night. What a delight. It takes a bit of getting used to the film, but in the end we thought it was completely worth the effort.

The plotline of the film (which is reminiscent of both "A Star is Born" and "Singing in the Rain") is the downfall of a movie star who cannot make the transition from silent films to talkies. He falls into despair and is rescued, in the end, by the love of a woman and, oddly enough, the love of a dog and a chauffeur. It's a heart warming story, though, honestly, one we've probably all seen before.

What makes this movie special is its format. The conceit of the film is that it is actually made as a silent film -- filled with music and the old cue cards conveying words. One favorite of that genre was the simple word "Bang!" to evoke a loud sound.

The score to the movie is wonderful and luscious. It sounds and feels like a love story to old silent movies. There's a wonderful homage to "Citizen Kane" as well. In short, this movie was clearly made by someone who loves movies for viewers who love them as well. It's novel and innovative and well worth the effort.

TruOrleans -- 3 Stars

We love New Orleans. We especially love the cajun and creole food that goes with the music and the vibe of the city. It's been a long while since we were able to find that taste outside of Louisiana.

But halleluiah. New Orleans has now come to DC. Last week, we went to TruOrleans, a true taste of the bayou brought to us by a native cook, Marcia Johnson. We split two great appetizers -- eggplant fries and crab cake balls. Then for a main course, Paul had the Leland's jambalaya and Katy had the crawfish ettouffe and both were a perfect taste of the Big Easy. And the Sweet Potato pound cake desert? To die for. Throw in Abita beer on draft and this place could be in the French Quarter.

We especially liked the vibe of the place -- it has the feel of a traditional New Orleans down-home restaurant. The chef and the general manager are friendly and were wandering the floor making people feel at home. If it weren't for the fact that the food was amazingly tasty and guaranteed to add pounds to the waistline, we would go there almost every week! As it is, we've found a winner.

A Quiet Friday at the Museums

It was a beautiful day here in Washington yesterday and the streets on Capitol Hill were empty. So we went for a pleasant walk down onto the Mall (where the crowds were much bigger) and stopped in at the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art.

They have a couple of neat exhibits there right now. One is "Warhol's Headlines" -- a fascinating collection of Warhol paintings in which he takes newspaper headlines and turns them into art. His small changes are sometimes amusing and always interesting, but the idea of just copying a newspaper kind of makes you wonder what art really is. Still, he's iconic and it was fun to see so many of his paintings in one place.

A highlight of the visit was the Portuguese tapestries -- a recently restored set of tapestries that recount the conquest of Tangiers in the early 1400s. We'd seen the Bayeux tapestries a few years ago and these were much the same but on a much grander and finer scale (after all they are 300 years later in history!). We could have spent an hour just looking at the 4 of them -- well worth the trip.

And then, surprise! A small room with some more moderns out of the regular collection including some old friends, Monet, Manet and Cezanne. Also a new Mondarian that we hadn't seen before. Quite fun.

We topped the day off with a quick trip to the National Building Museum for their new exhibit on "Unbuilt Washington" -- a collection of drawings and concepts for parts of DC that never got built. A pyramid for the Lincoln Memorial. A Memorial Bridge with medieval towers. An East Capitol street (where we live) with a row of Federal office buildings. Moving the Supreme Court to where National Stadium is now. A real fun walk down "what might have been" lane and well worth the trip.

Add in tapas at Jaleo for dinner and a brisk walk home and what could be a better day?

Makoto -- 4 Stars

We went to Makoto Restaurant the other day with our friends Connie and David. Calling Makoto a "Japanese place" or a "sushi bar" simply doesn't do it justice. What Makoto is, is one of the finest and most enjoyable dining experiences in Washington.

Granted, Makoto is not for everyone. For one thing, the chef really has a set of "rules" that he expects everyone to abide by. They tell the story (one hopes it is apocryphal) of how he once fired a customer and kicked him out for insisting on a sushi preparation the chef was not willing to make. So be prepared -- there are no shoes allowed and no cell phones permitted. And if you order beef, the chef will ONLY make it medium rare -- so don't ask for beef if you like yours cooked all the way through.

On the other hand, if you can put up with the chef and his idiosyncrasy, be prepared for a magical experience. We all chose the 9-course tasting menu (reasonably priced at $60/person -- drinks extra) and it was worth every penny. Over the next 2+ hours we had courses ranging from a tasty mussel broth to tuna sashimi. We had beef sabu and pomegranate with tofu sauce. We had shaved ice with boysenberry, an orange roughy, and avocado with a miso-soy sauce. Each of the dishes was just a small 2-3 bite size portion so you didn't get at all full.

Perhaps the highlight was a single piece of shrimp, wrapped in a tasty black bread, and then deep fried to perfection, sprinkled with a green sea salt/crushed red pepper mix. Yum.

The menu is seasonal -- you won't see this menu ever again. But the next experience will, we expect, be just as good. Go and enjoy (and have some cold sake too!).