NOTE: Carole Greenwood is no longer at Buck's.

2008 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

Some diners complain that Carole Greenwood doesn't change her menu very often. When I dropped by mid-summer with friends who had never been to her arty, amber-lit restaurant near Chevy Chase Circle, I, too, was surprised by all the deja vu on the list: deviled eggs, fried chicken, chocolate cake . . . But you know what? The newbies at my table became instant fans the moment they ate one of those old-fashioned deviled eggs, served with clove-scented pickles. And their delight only increased when they got a taste of Greenwood's chicken, picnic food made sophisticated with a lovely salad of basmati rice, chickpeas and snap peas for color and crunch. I marveled anew at her camp salad, an edible tour of a farmer's market on one plate; her prime sirloin, still one of the best slabs of meat in town; and the fluffy chiffon cake. A mushy whole branzino was a disappointment, but soft-shell crab perched on spears of romaine and dressed a la Caesar put the seafood on a pedestal. Throw in an interesting wine list and one of the most gregarious greeters in Washington, co-owner James Alefantis, and you've got a night to remember.