washaw ""Better do a kindness near home than go far to burn incense.""

We were not disappointed by picking Bertrand at Mister A’s for a celebration of my birthday. It was our first visit to this most famous of San Diego’s upscale restaurants. The twelfth floor location at Fifth and Laurel, as promised, provided stunning views of airplane landings at Lindberg Field, the bay, waterfront, downtown skyline, Balboa Park, Mission Hills and more. Arriving a little early we enjoyed sauvignon blanc at a patio table with a view of planes landing.

Patio seating was also available for dinner (three sides of the roof area) but we picked an inside-the-restaurant table with a great view of downtown. Our very distinguished waiter Marc was attentive and helpful, perfect. The service was timed to our conversation, never rushed or disruptive and the food was delivered promptly. I have never had better service in a restaurant.

Our favorite food all night was the famous truffled fries ($7) with parmigiano regiano, absolutely delicious. One order was more than enough for all three of us. Highly recommended, a bargain.

For an appetizer I had the Maine lobster strudel (fresh lobster and assorted mushrooms in filo dough with cognac lobster sauce): honestly I was a little disappointed, somewhat dry and lacked the explosion of taste expected. Not recommended. My wife had the multicolored young beet salad with goat cheese in filo served with a horseradish vinaigrette: good she said but I noticed only half was eaten. My daughter had the garden salad with baby vegetables and champagne vinaigrette: OK she said, just a salad. Presentation on all three were very nice, colorful, fresh.

For the main course I ordered the duo of Alaskan halibut and sea scallops served with saffron sauce, angel hair pasta and braised fennel: loved the scallops, halibut was just OK, nice presentation. My wife had the vegetarian entree after a discussion with our waiter: it looked like they put considerable effort into the preparation; after a taste we all thought it was, at best, just so so. My daughter ordered the winner, the pan seared beef tenderloin with gorgonzola cream sauce and gratin dauphinois: fabulous, perfect, absolutely perfection but priced to feed a family of four for a month in several parts of the world. Oh, forget price, it was my birthday and a celebration.

The two deserts and paired late harvest wines we tried were both pretty good, creme brulee and bread pudding. Coffee service was unexceptional. Total bill with tip and valet parking: $332.

Will I go back? Maybe, but we have so many great choices in San Diego… Do I recommend it? Well, yes, the views are really something and I loved the truffle fries. Minus one star for being 30 percent overpriced. Minus one star for serving food that does not taste as good as it looks.

Our daughter suggested this great “farmer family owned” restaurant near the Kennedy Center. The food is supplied by local farmers, proudly supplied “From Our Fields…to Your Table.” We arrived a little early for our OpenTable reservation, got a view table, enjoyed the beautiful fountain outside. For appetizers we ordered the daily soup (tomato basil) and fried green tomatoes (pando & cornmeal crust, goat cheese flan, basil pesto), both exceptionally good. For salads we tried the caesar (white anchovies, parmesan crisp) and the baby beets salad, again wonderful and delicious. Our entrees were butternut squash ravoli (sage brown butter sauce, red onion, tomatoes) and the market fish special, sword fish. We tried and loved the sides, brussel sprouts and mushroom risotto. The lemon pie desert was just right with the coffee. Every dish was delicious and surprised us with the wonderful presentation. The manage stopped by to welcome and thank us. Our daughter was so right; Agraria is a top pick for Washington DC, an unusually pleasant and pleasing experience. Excellent service, very highly recommended.

This delightful bistro combines a casual atmosphere with excellent French cuisine and reasonable prices. The tapas style small bites menu is a great way to sample several traditional French dishes.

My group of five enjoyed the warm hospitality of the owner, Gilles Fougeres,his terrific staff and the cozy setting. We ordered a variety tapas and enjoyed them all. Barry Coalson, our chef, surprised us with simple yet elegant dishes. I recommend you take a look at Chef Barry and wife Gillian’s cooking videos on their website “Food Done Right”. http://www.fooddoneright.com

We selected the Ferrari Carano, Fume Blanc, Sonoma 2007 for our wine. This is a favorite with fresh, light citrus flavors mixed with more subtle mango and guava fruits tastes.

We took our best friends, Jan and Steve, out to eat here. They moved to Montana, came back for the winter and needed a treat. To celebrate we took them to Terra, one of our favorites and new to them. I did a quick “My Open Table” reservation and emailed our friends a copy. We tried the Nobilo ’08 Sauvignon Blanc, very good, and enjoyed the Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc with dinner.

The dining room is comfortably elegant with a choice of booth or table. Chef Jeff Rossman stopped by our table. We enjoyed talking about shows on the Food Network and if what happened in his kitchen came anywhere near to the TV shows. Chef Jeff said sometimes it was exactly like TV, everything was in rapid motion to meet the full dining room and their catering orders. We thanked him for both the food and stopping to talk.