This restaurant has been around for a while. Its popularity has followed the Food Network's Bobby Flay's meteoric rise into chefdom. A group from work crowded around a table at Mesa Grill over dinner during Restaurant Week the other night. We toyed with decisions about shrimp or soup and chicken or fish. Chicken, such a common dish, was my challenge to Flay's kitchen. He delivered a tender, popping grilled chicken quarter which was far from dry and bland! The decor of the restaurants echoes the food: loud and fun. But if you have a romantic bent or plan to negotiate a business contract, plan to go elsewhere. Mesa Grill, 102 5th Ave., near 15th Street, 202.807.7400.