Zola

Unfortunately this post comes without pictures. Such are the perils of going out to eat with a group of people, rather than just me and Jay. I’ll just try to be extra descriptive.

I decided to go to Zola for a celebration dinner after passing the bar exam. I actually made reservations before I found out about the results, which granted was a little presumptuous, but luckily for me (and Jay for not having to deal with me after bad results) the results were good and I was admitted to the Virginia State Bar. My friend Jonathan was in town, and my Georgetown friends Suzie and Katie also joined us.

Zola is a swanky and sexy bar and restaurant, with low lighting and red, black, and wood accents. Located in Penn Quarter next to the Spy Museum, it’s also in a good location if you’re looking to go to other places after dinner. The restaurant has a theater menu, in case you’re in a rush to catch a show, but given the fact that Jay and I never do anything entertaining except have really good meals, I didn’t scrutinize the theater options.

Jonathan, Jay and I got to Zola early, so we hung out in the bar for a little while. I decided to have champagne (the real stuff), given the fact that I was celebrating, and I was pleasantly surprised when I received a very tall and very big flute, full of deep and fruity bubbles. I also got a complement on my new dress the second I took my coat off, which for any girl is a present all in itself.

We were seated in what I will deem the group seating area, close to the “door” leading to the bathroom. The door itself is what Jonathan described as “a broken tooth waiting to happen”: wide with a bar in the middle which the whole door swung around, it kind of just spun around on itself; by pushing on the right side, the left side swung out. Not a very good description, and maybe it had to do with the proximity to the spy museum. When you’re not sober, it’s a little confusing.

Anyway, we were sequestered in the group dining area, next to a large party that took up a long table. Our waiter was quick to take our drink orders once we sat down, and was helpful in choosing items off the menu, but other than that he was pretty inattentive. I had to flag him down to order another glass of wine at one point, which he should have noticed given the fact that he was hovering so close to the other table. Oh wells.

The menu was pretty bold and adventurous, and after the champagne I was having a hard time actually reading all of the small-printed details listed under the names of each of the dishes. After deciding on a few options, our waiter recommended my ultimate choices. He was very emphatic about them, so I took him on his word.

To start out, I had the lobster cake, which was more like a lobster souffle. I forget what kind of jam accompanied it, but it was exquisite and a little spicy, which cut the buttery-ness of the lobster. For my main course I chose the veal cheeks, which were topped with some kind of ravioli–I’m thinking it was tomato. The cheeks were incredibly tender and needed no knife to cut them with. The ravioli filling was rich and creamy, but also sweet, and added a kind of sharp lightness to the greasy cheeks. For dessert, I had a new item on the menu, the caramel tart with banana ice cream, topped with a thin and buttery cookie that dissentigrated when I took a bite. Rich and velvety, the tart itself paired well with the ice cream. Although I liked the cookie that came on top of the dessert, I think it was just a touch too fragile.

All in all, it was a fun celebration meal, with good food, good wine, and good friends. Good service? Not so much, although I definitely want to return again with just me and Jay for a nice date night. The menu offers so many different and individual meals that it’s the kind of place that you want to go back to, if only to try everything they offer. The food was actually better than expected: I thought we would get more show and less flavor, and that the restuarant itself would be infected with a kind of touristy quality that always leads to lower quality (despite high prices, see West End Bistro), but the food was absolutely exceptional. Hopefully next time we will get a better waiter.

Brunch at Perry’s

Perrys Adams Morgan
1811 Columbia Road
Washington, DC, 20009
(202) 234 6218

You wouldn’t guess that drag queens and brunch would be so popular (or maybe you would), but drive by Perry’s in Adams Morgan close to 10:30 AM on a Sunday morning and you will see a line that stretches down the sidewalk and into the street. A group of girlfriends and I (including Meredith’s mom!) ate at Perry’s this past Sunday, and I almost didn’t make an appearance, given all the work I had to do. I’m glad I sucked it up and went, because this is one of the funnest brunches I’ve ever been to.

Like I said, the line is long and materializes early. Next I go, I’ll probably plan on getting there earlier than a few minutes before the place opens. Luckily all 6 of us got to sit at a table together, even though originally they were going to split us up into groups of 4 and 2.

Immediately when we got to our table, we noticed that the line for the brunch buffet stretched all the way around the dining room. Rather than standing in line, we decided to wait at the table for the numbers to go down. If this had been a party brunch, I probably would have gone for the pitcher of mimosa that was offered, but given that I had lots of work to do and was only going to have one glass, I decided to forgo the pitcher.

When you finally do get up to the buffet, you will be tempted to load up on things like mixed salad greens, artichoke heart salad, and eggplant salad, but the prudent brunch-goer will only get some of this. The good stuff is toward the end of the brunch table, things like breakfast sushi and breakfast lasagna. I was trying to be a little healthier, so I passed up the seafood chowder (which I’m told was AMAZING), the waffles and the bacon, and other fried things, but I couldn’t resist everything. There is definitely an Asian influence in some of the food (e.g. sushi, satays), but there’s also the kind of food that any red blooded American would go for during brunch, like eggs and sausage and bacon.

One thing that not every red blooded American might be enthused about is the drag show. Personally, I think drag shows are some of the funnest forms of entertainment around. When the first queen came out, I reached for my wallet to find my stash of singles, but I was soon cursing myself because I forgot to bring them. Rule #1 at a drag show is bring singles to tip the ladies. Because I didn’t have any tip money, I felt bad taking pictures of everyone. Luckily, Meredith’s mom brought some cash, so I got to get in a great photo with one of the drag queens, and both Meredith and Meredith’s mom also got some photo souvenirs.

I wouldn’t say that the food is spectacular, but there definitely are some good things offered in the buffet. Although you can get most of the brunch food anywhere else in the city, you certainly can’t have quite as much fun. If you have never been to a drag show, this is a good way to get indoctrinated. It’s a little less intimidating when both young and old are sipping on coffee and champagne and eating on miniature desserts. Get there early if you don’t want to wait for the second half of the show and to be sure that you actually get a table.

Mie N Yu: Restaurant Review

Mie N Yu
3125 M Street NW
Washington, DC, 20007
http://www.mienyu.com/

My friend Meredith told me about Mie N Yu after she went on a date here last Friday. After having a fabulous dinner at Famoso the night before, Jay and I originally thought that we would walk down to Bourbon for a burger, or maybe head over to Bistrot du Coin for some steak. It was one of those nights, however, where I just couldn’t decide on anything; every time I suggested a restaurant, I was immediately uninterested in it. After batting around a couple of ideas, Jay and I decided to just head down to Georgetown and walk around for a bit.

When we reached Mie N Yu, the exterior of the restaurant was so appealing that we just went right in. I don’t even think I was all that hungry yet, but something about the place just pulled us inside. The atmosphere is very romantic and sensual, with dark lighting and lavish, Indian accents. The wait for the dining room was 1.5 hours, so we got a small (and I mean small!) table in the Venetian room upstairs. Next time we eat at Mie N Yu, I’ll be sure to make a reservation for the dining room, which houses spacious tables and booths hidden away by tapestries. It was all very exotic and almost felt like some forbidden pleasure awaited us there.

The service upstairs was a little slow and it took a long time for us to get our first dishes, but I got to sip on an excellent white meritage while I waited, so it wasn’t too terrible. Unfortunately, our small, high table was right next to the stairs, so we got to watch and be watched by everyone parading by. For some reason, multiple parties of 2 were seated close to us but then decided to leave. Maybe because of the cramped quarters?

Jay and I started off our meal with a few appetizers: (1) fried eggplant and (2) duck tacos.

The eggplant was good and had a nice texture, firm without being tough or chewy, but other than that it was unremarkable. (What the eggplant DID do was remind me of the best eggplant paremesian sub I’ve ever had, courtesy of the College Inn in Charlottesville, VA). The duck tacos, on the other hand, were exquisite. The ducks were juicy and greasy and had a wonderful depth of flavor that paired perfectly with the serious crunch of the taco. This is the kind of dish that makes you roll your eyes with pleasure and forces you to slow down to relish every different flavor and texture. It was unfortunate that the dish itself only came with two tiny tacos, as I could have eaten a whole platter of these things easily.

Since Jay and I were both in the mood for steak, we decided to split the Kobe steak for 2, which came with potato gratin and a kind of bean salad.

When our waiter asked us how we would like our steak prepared, I blurted out “Rare!” before Jay got a chance to order a different temperature. I reassured Jay that it owuld probably come out closer to medium rare than rare, but to my pleasant surprise (could have been Jay’s unpleasant surprise), the steak was definitely rare. My first bite, and end piece, left a little bit lacking, but every piece of steak after that was superb. Wonderfully tender and juicy on the inside with a nice seasoning and crispiness on the outside.

The potato gratin is possibly the best potato dish I’ve ever had. Served in a cast iron pot, the potatoes themselves were very thinly sliced, very crispy on top with a luscious creaminess from the cheese on the inside. I wish I knew how to make these potatoes and had a method of doing so. Each bite was better than the one before, and I found myself scraping the pot for every last spoonfull of cheesy goodness. If you get nothing else at Mie N Yu, I highly recommend these potatoes.

I forgot to mention one thing: given the fact that our appetizers took FOREVER to finally get to our table, I ordered some banana hummus after we ordered the steak, thinking that it would arrive before the steak. This was the unpleasant surprise of the evening, in that it arrived after we were done with our steak. It served as a sort of dessert and came presented with some very crunchy flat bread, almost paper thin, some fried plantains, and a foccacia like bread. It would have been better to have had the hummus before the steak, granted, but what if I had been too full for all that potato goodness?

Overall, this was a very nice meal, with only a few service hiccups in between. Next time I’m definitely making a reservation for the dining room, so I can actually spread out and have a little privacy during my meal. There are lots of specialty cocktails for those of you looking for something exciting and exotic, with all sorts of alluring names, and the wine list is pretty decent. We didn’t actually have a dessert per se, so I can’t report to you on that, but maybe next time I’ll try one. The bar is very dark and romantic and would also be a good spot for a date.

Famoso: Restaurant Review

Famoso Restaurant and Lounge
The Collection at Chevy Chase
5471 Wisconsin Ave.
Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Jay and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on June 3, but certain circumstances like studying for the bar and living in separate cities prevented us from celebrating until recently. Luckily, we have some amazing parents who provided us with the funds for our anniversary dinner. Jim and Nancy, this post is for you!

I chose Famoso for our anniversary dinner for kind of a variety of reasons, but all of them amorphous and hard to define. A family friend showed me the restaurant after we ate at M Cafe just downstairs, and I wias initially struck by the interior design. Modern yet elegant, housing both updated wood paneling and accents as well as modern art, coupled with white and clean tabletops. The restaurant is also located on the “Rodeo Drive of DC” (technically Maryland), sharing the same building space with Max Mara and housed next to Gucci and Louis Vitton. I mean, how can you go wrong when you’re surrounded by so many fab designers?

Our reservation was for 9pm, our new favorite dining time, and the restaurant wasn’t exactly empty, but was less populated than I expected. When I initially sat down, I felt kind of like a little kid playing in the grown up section. This is in spite of the fact that I consider myself to have decent taste and an elevated pallete. Maybe it was the stand-offish nature of our European waiter? I don’t know what it was, but this was the most nervous I have ever been before eating at a restaurant.

The initial apprehension and concern at what I perceived as “stuffiness” didn’t last long, however. After a specialty cocktail that contained absolutely no hints of alcohol, and some absolutely fabulous and intensely buttery foccacia bread dipped in olive oil and crushed tomatoes, I started to warm up to the place. The impecible service definitely didn’t hurt. I think that by the end of the dinner we had at least 5 different people wait on our table at different times, and by the end of the meal I remember telling Jay “I LOVE the manager!” about every 2 minutes. This is the kind of service that is clearly well-trained and well-practiced, and is certainly some of the best in the city.

To start off our marathon meal (you’ll see what I mean), Jay and I split the calamari, which was cooked on parchment paper and paired with sundried tomatoes and green beans.

Frankly, this is the best calamari I’ve ever had. I’ll just list the differences: (1) as you can see from the picture, the calamari wasn’t cut into rings like you normally see, but instead was served as untouched tubes (that’s probably not the precise term, but you know what I mean), (2) the calamari was baked rather than fried, which frankly I am just tired of, which produced (3) a perfect texture, firm yet not chewy or tough; (4) the flavor was exceptionally light and delicious, with the perfection of the dish coming from its simpliciy; it simply sang with a light lemon and olive oil flavor.

After the calamari, Jay and I each had out own salad. Jay chose a version of the ceasar (”It’s pretty hard to mess up,” according to Jay), while I chose a mesculin mix topped with sliced mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, shaved pecorino, and accompanied by a drizzle of basalmic vinegar.

Salads are pretty hard to screw up, which means it’s also hard to make them remarkable. Nevertheless, it was a good, clean salad. The cheese was fantastic, and the balsamic was very high quality, having an almost syrup-like consistency.

Even though Jay and I had both decided on meat entres, we couldn’t come to a high-class Italian restaurant without getting some pasta, so we split a pasta of penne, pancetta, and onion in a basil sauce.

The pasta was hot and fresh from the oven, and the flavor was full yet fresh. The penne was perfectly cooked and the entire dish was very comforting. As a nice touch, the wait staff split the dish into two separate dishes for the two of us, without either of us having to ask for it.

The menu for Famoso is very extensive, so it was hard for me to actually settle on an entre choice, but I decided to go with a classic, the veal ossobuco. Jay chose the cornish game hens, pictured below.

I didn’t take a picture of my entre because it wasn’t very remarkable visually (see, however, the last picture of both Jay and me, and you can see it). At Famoso, you’re not necessarily going to get a modern or inventive presentation, but the thing is is that you don’t have to, the food speaks for itself. This truly is the kind of Italian food that you would get from an Italian grandmother, at least one with a big budget and lots of time on her hands. My veal was incredibly tender and didn’t even require a knife, and the risoto that accompanied the veal was creamy without being overly rich. The sauce covering the veal was deep and very flavorful, and the peas were even tasty (I HATE peas). My favorite part? The bone marrow, which was thick and pudding-like and absolutely delicious. If you have never had bone marrow, you’re really missing out. If you ever want to try it, get it here in the veal. I think I ate all of the veal, fat and all, because it was all so tender and juicy and delicious. Jay’s game hens were perfectly cooked, juicy and not at all dried out, and it had an interesting and subtle flavor without being too gamey.

Finally, dessert. Everything looked so good, so I solicited recommendations both from our waiter (apple struedal) and the manager (who I was in love with at this point, and he recommended the pears poached in saffron sauce as well as the molten chocolate cake). Because the manager had earned many points throughout the meal by being very attentive and approachable without being too talkative, and because Jay was already getting the molten chocolate cake, I went with the pears poached in safron cream, topped with dollops of ice cream.

Considering the amount of food I had eaten up to this point, my desset was perfectly sized. I’ve never tasted poached pears like these. They were both light and deep, sugary and sweet yet well balanced without going overboard. The presentation was clean and modern, much like the restaurant itself. Needless to say, I ate absolutely all of it, prompting our waiter to say when he took the plates away, “So you didn’t like it?” I think at this point he had warmed up to us. Jay’s dessert was rich and chocolatey without being overly dark, and the molten chocolate sauce spilling out of the cake was perfect for drudging fresh fruit through. I’ve had lots of versions of this cake, and frankly I’ve gotten pretty bored of them, but this one was excellent and maintained a certain lightness that kept it from becoming inedible.

I forgot to mention our wine. Although I never actually saw the winelist (Jay did all the ordering, my cocktail kicked my ass and I couldn’t really focus on wine), Jay said it was pretty extensive. We chose an $80 supertuscan, a type of wine that I had tried before but often thought was a little too full bodied for dinner. This one was a perfect balance of fullness and lightness, with very slight tanins, and it paired perfectly with our spicey dishes. After the entres and before dessert Jay and I each had a glass of the Savignon, which was light and crisp without being too expressive or powerful.

Famoso is truly one of the best restaurants I’ve ever visted and has definitely made it to the favorite restaurants in DC list. It’s got everything going for it: atmosphere (a live Jazz band played in the lounge area throughout our meal), service, and food. There’s no way you can say that this restaurant is cheap, but given everything that we ate and drank, it wasn’t overly expensive. Finally, a fine restaurant where you actually get what you pay for. I was pleasantly surprised that our waiter eventually warmed up to us, and that my initial apprehension disappeared. By the time we left, I felt like absolute royalty after the treatment we received from the staff. This is also a place that I have to go to again, if only to try all of the exceptional-looking dishes on the menu list. I highly recommend Famoso for a nice date night or celebration dinner. I wouldn’t expect a rowdy birthday song or anything like that. but the staff both gives you your own space and privacy while also being highly attentive. And even though our dinner was long and extended, I never found myself checking my watch or thinking that it was taking too long for a course to come out of the kitchen. Jay and I finally got a chance to laugh, talk, and have a good time with each other, without worrying about whether our food would be good or whether the waiter would remember something. Famoso comes as close to perfection as a restaurant can.

Sushi-Ko

Even though (the original) Sushi-Ko is right down the street from our apartment, it took us a good couple of months before we finally ventured forth to try it out. Still in our student loan money spending spree weekend (thanks Sallie!), we decided it would be a good time to try it out.

Even though Sushi-Ko is not a fancy restaurant, I felt like dressing up a little bit. I just got my hair cut and was feeling exceptionally trendy, so I slipped on a black dress and a red plaid jacket with some black heels. With only 30 minutes until our reservation, however, I sent Jay on a hunt for some opaque black tights, while I finished getting ready (i.e. makeup). Jay was triumphant and got back to the apartment with only about 5 or 10 minutes to spare before our reservation. Good thing we were just going down the street.

Unfortunately, 4-inch black heels aren’t really made for walking, much less running, so I had to move uncharacteristically slow in trying to make our reservation on time, taking tiny steps and trying not to snap my heels in half. Countless cabs honked at us as we made our way down the street, causing me to have Jay check and make sure my skirt wasn’t flipped up and showing my ass or something. Why the hell were they honking? It remains a mystery.

Hot from our run/walk and my calves screaming at me, we made it to Sushi-Ko only about 5 minutes late. After only a couple of minutes of waiting, we followed the waiter upstairs, trailing a couple of short awkward girls who decided they didn’t want to watch me walking up the stairs, so they pushed in front of me as fast as they could to follow the waiter. Whatevs. We were seated at a small round table next to a window facing the alley, across from which is the WSC that I had worked out in only hours before. I could even point out my favorite elliptical machine to Jay.

Although it’s not on the menu, Jay and I had both read about the omakase tasting menu. Feeling very chi-chi and in-the-know, Jay asked if it was still available, and our waitress indicated that it indeed was. Awesome! I bet those awkward girls didn’t know about it. Relishing in our trendiness and our new found position as restaurant insiders, we split our (first of two) bottle of sake, chilled yet with a nice warmth.

Before I get to the food, let me remark on the atmosphere of the restaurant. The ENTIRE place was packed, but I’m glad we got to sit on the second floor, which was less crowded than the first. The decorations are sleek and sparse, with some nice modern lighting, which somewhat reflects the elegant simplicity of the food itself. The group sizes ranged from small like us to larger, with some pretty rowdy people standing on their chairs at one point and causing a general roar. There were also some families and even some pretty young kids.

Our first course was a lightly fried eel over sauteed vegetables (I’m guessing baby bok choy) and soy-balsamic based sauce. Absolutely delicious. The eel was so lightly breaded and lightly fried that you didn’t get lost in the fried-ness of the dish, and the eel itself was creamy and warm. Its was almost like a little package that exploded when you bit into it. When you got a bight of all of the components together (which is a lil’ difficult with chopsticks, but then I am almost completely incompetent with them), it was exquisite.

Second course was a flounder carpaccio with a truffle sauce. This flounder was sliced so thin and had a perfect consistency: not too tough, not too watery, melt in your mouth. It was topped with something shaved and lightly fried, which I thought was slivers of carrots. This course really speaks to the aesthetic of sushi-ko: elegance and exquisite taste in simplicity and subtlety. You won’t get bold, strong flavors here, but the subtlety of all of the flavors is delicious on a whole other level.

Third course was seared tuna topped with marinated mushrooms and also–I’m pretty sure–diced potatoes. I’m pretty much completely over seared tuna and I have had it SO much that it’s lost its appeal and newness, but this was still good. The tuna tasted more like a steak than fish, especially with the mushrooms and potatoes.

Fourth course was a clear soup with tiny, tiny white stringy mushrooms, asparagus, and maine lobster. You never really get lobster these days in a light dish, but this is one of those rare moments where it happened. The soup itself was very clean and delicious, the asparagus was cooked perfectly, and the broth hinted to a deepness of flavor that nevertheless came out light and subtle.

Fifth course was, thankfully, a plate of sushi, which included fatty toro, seared tuna (again?), clam, and mackerel, as well as one other that I just can’t remember. This sushi is, by far, some of the best I’ve ever had, if not the best. Each tender piece of fish just melted in my mouth. The seared tuna was very good in that you could actually taste the grill. The clam was very sweet and an unexpected surprise. My favorite was probably the fatty toro, which just dissolved in my mouth. One of the best things about this dish is that it came with actual real fresh wasabi, none of this green fake wasabi horseradish crap. I had a little bit of the wasabi on it’s own, and even though it was hot (as expected), it had a hidden sweetness to it. Furthermore, because it was actually shaved wasabi root and not made out of a paste, the texture was completely different, and you could actully feel the shavings with your tongue. Finally, the heat of the wasabi hit your face in a different place. While fake wasabi (the stuff you always get in place of wasabi) hits you in your nose, the real wasabi hits you on your tongue and the roof of your mouth.

Finally, we finished off with a dessert that was absolutely killer. Jay and I got to choose between a small variety of dishes, but we both went for the banana tempura. I chose ginger ice cream for mine and Jay chose green tea ice cream. I’ve had a variation of this dish at Sushi Cafe in Little Rock, and that restaurant’s version was heavily breaded and covered in whipped cream. This version, however, was simpler and wonderful, and made me declare that I want to take frying lessons from the chef. The bananas were sliced to a moderate thinness and had, like the eel, very little breading, and they were so creamy and wonderful in the middle. The ginger ice cream was just phenomenal and had a wonderful lightness to it. Furthermore, the dish itself didn’t need to be covered in whipped cream to be good, it was simply drizzled with a little sauce and sprinkled with some cinnamon.

Throughout the course of the tasting menu, I kept asking myself whether this meal would actually fill me up. Pretty much all of my sushi experiences involve ordering way too much food and simply gorging myself on tons of raw fish. This was different in that it was slow and paced and involved small dishes. Even though I wasn’t full when I left, I was pretty content. I guess this is the true beauty of the meal, it’s balance on the light. Nevertheless, I do look forward to an all-out sushi eat fest the next time I travel down to Sushi-Ko. I think the tasting menu is an excellent way to get to know the cooking aesthetic of the chef, however, and gives you a certain pleasure in knowing about something that’s not actually on the menu. Next time, I might leave off the heels and trade my dress in for some jeans, with a trendy top of course.

Oyamel Cocina Mexicana: Restaurant Review

Oyamel Cocina Mexicana
401 7th St. NW
Washington, DC, 20004
(202) 628-1005
http://www.oyamel.com/

So, I think I’ve found my new favorite place for dinner in DC: Oyamel. Owned and run by the same chef in charge of Cafe Atlantico, another favorite, Oyamel serves traditional Mexican dishes via the small plates style in a fun, young, and vibrant atmosphere. One of my favorite things in the restaurant are huge mobiles of butterflies. Don’t expect a lot of personal space, however. When we arrived a little before 9, the restaurant was completely packed, and we sat at a small table sandwiched between two other small tables in close proximity. By the time we finished eating, however, there was much more elbow room. Nevertheless, despite the close quarters, the vibe and energy of the restaurant was so much fun that we didn’t really mind.

Another plus: the menu is very imaginative and varied, and has quite a few things that I’m sure you haven’t tried before. For example, have you ever had a grasshopper taco? What about a beef tongue taco? I hadn’t before I ate at Oyamel, but now I have.

Jay and I started off the meal with table-side prepared Guacamole and an Oyamel Margarita, topped with an ephemeral salt foam. The Guacamole was actually spicy, as requested, and had the best texture I’ve ever had. I would have liked to have seen bits of tomato in the guac, but that’s pretty nit-picky. The margarita was excellent, and fixed a problem that I generally have with margaritas: salt on the rim. You need the salt, but sometimes the rim lining just doesn’t do it for me. By creating a salt air that sat on top of the alcohol itself, you got a little salty jolt with every sip, without having to do something like lick the rim. I would have liked to be able to taste the tequila a little more, but then again, we’re nit-picking.

This dinner was kind of my treat for Jay, so I let him be in charge of the ordering. Our waiter, Alex (who was AMAZING; Alex if you ever read this, you did an excellent job and we loved you), suggest 2-3 dishes per person, but we were so hungry that we ordered well over that amount. We started off with two salads: (1) Nopalitos, i.e. baby cactus salad with tomatoes in a lime dressing, and (2) ensalada de chayote, Mexican squash salad in a hibiscus dressing. The baby cactus was light and refreshing, and had a texture kind of like a thin pickle, with hints of zucchini. The Mexican squash was sliced very thin and was almost like thin slices of tomatoes. The hibiscus dressing was very interesting, floral yet deep, and was very good.

Next up was two tacos, and step 1 of my adventurous eating: (1) seared duck confit taco and (2) braised beef tongue taco.

Braised beef tongue on the left, duck confit on the right

If you’ve ever watched Bizarre Foods on the travel channel, you know that the host of that show likes tongues. I’m always looking to try new and crazy things, but tongues always seemed like a hard line to cross. Every time I thought about eating a tongue, I always imagined chewing on my own, not a very appealing prospect. So I had to order the beef tongue taco. I was pretty nervous, and imagined that maybe there would just be a huge, whole tongue lieing in the taco. Much to my happy surprise, this was not the case, and the braised beef tongue was probably the most tender meat I have ever, ever had. It literally melted in my mouth, and the sauce of chili, onions and tomato suffused it with so much flavor and moisture. The duck confit taco was likewise delicious and juicy. Jay and I managed to share these tacos, which are pretty small, but it was hard to share with these delicious tacos.

Round three: (1) grasshopper taco, (2) Yucatan-style barbecue pork taco.

I probably don’t need to tell you that the grasshoppers were another adventurous step for me, but for some reason I was less concerned about this taco and had less nervousness than with the beef tongue taco. The grasshoppers themselves were much smaller than I imagined. I pictured huge Arkansas-wildlife sized grasshoppers about the size of your thumb, but these were much smaller, almost delicate. The sauce the grasshoppers were in was very salty and garlicky, and the grasshoppers themselves didn’t have as much crunch as I expected (a good thing). I had a guilty little pleasure of playing with my food here, poking around in the taco for grasshopper heads and thoraxes. The pork barbecue taco was excellent, with a sweet tomato sauce that reminded me of something that I couldn’t really put my finger on.

Round 4: (1) braised short ribs, (2) seared scallops, (3) rice sauteed with black Mexican corn truffles.

Braised short ribs

Seared Scallops

Both of these dishes were excellent and perfectly cooked. The pumpkin seeds accompanying the scallops added a nice salty crunch that cut the creamy richness of the scallops themselves, and the short ribs were just plan amazing. There’s not really much more I can say about these dishes! They’re just classics done right. The rice in Mexican truffles was rich and creamy and delicious. I think they probably toasted the rice before cooking it, because it had a nice crunch and didn’t completely dissolve into mush. I remarked to Jay that the dish tasted like it had mushrooms in it, when he informed me that the mushroom taste came from the “truffles,” a fungus that grows on ears of corn and is then harvested. Well, that kind of grossed me out, but only for a second. I mean, I love blue cheese, and that’s technically moldy. The rice was excellent, nevertheless.

We still weren’t completely full, even after all of this, so we went for one more round of food before dessert: (1) confit of baby pig taco and (2) one of the specials, a poblano pepper stuffed with chorizo and topped with a rich cream sauce and pomegranate seeds.

The stuffed poblano, which was recommended by our waiter (I wanted the pepper stuffed with mahi mahi), was probably my least favorite dish of the meal. Nothing really wowed me. The stuffing was a little watery and had less flavor than desired, and the sauce was just too rich. The pepper itself was cooked perfectly, however, and had a nice sweetness, but this dish just wasn’t the star of the night. Likewise, the confit of baby pig taco didn’t rise to expectations. Although the pig meat was very tender and juicy, the flavor level was not as high as other dishes we tried. It was still pretty good, however.

For dessert, I mandated that we each get a different dessert and then share. There wasn’t much sharing, but the desserts were so big that we could have (and probably should have) shared one between us comfortably. Jay chose the chocolate cake and I went with the tres leches cake soaked in rum with a caramel ice cream.

If you read my review of Cafe Atlantico’s brunch, you know that the “dessert” of that meal was kind of a let down. Likewise, although these desserts were tasty, they didn’t really wow me, and they weren’t very exceptional. Mine was very rich and had a nice texture, and the lime gelatins were a nice touch, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to order this again. Jay’s chocolate cake was luscious, dark, and rich, but again, it didn’t have the wow factor of the main course dishes. There are two other desserts, both of which I considered, the custard and the caramel, as well as a choice of ice creams and sorbets, that might be more promising than these cakes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like they were bad or gross, they’re just not the best. I would almost suggest having dessert elsewhere, but I want to try the other dessert choices before finalizing this recommendation. I also had a Mexican spiced coffee, which was very good, but after a while just got to be too rich.

This was probably the most fun meal I’ve had in a long time. Its definitely one of my new favorite places for dinner, and I highly recommend it, especially if you have been dissatisfied with places like Rosa Mexicana. The service was great, the food was great, the wine was great (Santa Barbara Winery syrah, which was spicy with very little tanins that held up well against the food without battling it with too much body, and which went down very easily), the atmosphere was great. What more could you ask for?

Westend Bistro Chefs Fired

Although technically this is not fresh news, I just discovered that the Chef de cuisine of Westend Bistro, Leo Marino, will no longer be working for Eric Ripert, as well as a couple of others. Ann Limpert reported that Eric Ripert cited “behavior problems” and the “boys club” environment of the kitchen as reasons for the “departures.”

Considering my very sub par experience at Westend and subsequent review, I find it very interesting that members of the Westend kitchen have been let go. At least in my own mind (and maybe Jay’s too) I like to think that the quality of food has something to do with the “departures.”

I think this is the perfect time for a, “I told you so!”

Surfside

Surfside is one of those great neighborhood restaurants that’s quick, easy, fun, and also makes some pretty tasty food. Jay first visited without me one night, and it wasn’t too long until he was back with me in tow.

The atmosphere is casual and come-as-you-are. Rather than ordering from a waiter, you circle your meal choices on a paper menu and hand it to the cashier. Within minutes (literally), your order is ready. When Jay brought me here for the first time, he went to the back to order some beers from the bar, and I went and grabbed us a table. Only seconds after I sat down, seemingly, our order was ready, freshly grilled and still warm.

I am on a quest to try the guacamole at every just about every restaurant that serves it in the city, and lucky for me, Surfside has some fantastic guac. After trying it the first time, I was ready to declare it the best in town. The halved cherry tomatoes really give the guac a nice pop of sweetness, and the flavor throughout is very nice as well, with huge chunks of avocado lingering in the mix. When we got Surfide to go a few nights ago, however, I thought the flavor was a little lacking, so I’m not quite sure if I would rank it as #1, but it is still very good. Maybe tied for number 1? The flavor is fresh and refreshing, and pretty killer. If you’re a Monday night football fan, the guac is free (free!) during the games.

I ordered the fish tacos, which were light and perfectly seasoned and wrapped in a great grill flavor. The toppings were fresh and also grilled to perfection, and the tortillas were warm and soft. The side dishes were generous portions of rice and beans, and were greatly appreciated after an extended time at the gym. One of my favorite things about the tacos is that they came served with half of a lime that had itself been grilled, lending more smoky and sweet/sour flavor to the tacos. A very nice touch. Jay got the beef tacos, which were juicy and succulent.

Surfside aint no fancy pants dining experience, but I think that’s where the charm comes from. I mean, where else can you walk in wearing whatever (I saw everything from sun dresses to athletic shorts, with many pairs of jeans and shorts in between), receive your order fresh and hot from the grill within minutes, and lounge around with a cold beer wherever you want? The place is so casual and unpretentious that I worry a little bit about how it will do in the winter when the foot traffic outside has decreased and the Carribean interior might seem a little fake and distant, but I think that the quality food and fresh ingredients that Surfside prepares will establish a loyal following that will return despite what the weather may bring. Considering it’s within a 5 minute walk from my apartment, I have a feeling we’ll be back again and again.

The menu ranges from tacos and wraps to salads and entrees. Each “category” is labelled differently, like “monsoon” or some other kind of watery name, without much description under the category itself, but each menu item is described sufficiently so you can figure it out. Try the guacamole and salsa, the latter of which has a great mesquite undertone. When Jay and I ate there last, they were waiting on an outdoor liquor license, so we couldn’t sit on the roof with our beers, but it’s still a great place to eat outdoors.

Coppi’s Organic: Restaurant Review

Although I can appreciate the idea behind the organic food movement, I’ve never really been one to live or die according to whether or not the food I put in my mouth is organic. According to my personal food philosophy, the importance of taste trumps the importance of the ingredients themselves for any particular dish, although generally great taste comes from great ingredients. Nevertheless, if, for example, a non-free range turkey tastes better than a free range turkey, or if a conventionally grown apple tastes better than an organic apple, by all means I’m going to eat the conventional kind.

I also understand that organic food seems to be a little more expensive than the conventional kind. Whether you actually get more quality for the price, well ….

Take, for example, Coppi’s Organic Italian restaurant, which advertises itself (and the name implies) as a wholly organic restaurant. This is undoubtedly a bold and noble move. Frankly, however, what you pay for when you order a meal here is not for taste, but rather just the concept of organic food.

I started off my meal with a sald of endive, apple slices and gorgonzola cheese. I’ve had comporable salads elsewhere that have always been good, and the presentation wasn’t too bad, but the taste just wasn’t there. At all. In fact, there was absolutely no flavor. If you’ve ever watched Top Chef, you know that the lack of fundamental basics of cooking like the ability to season your food will get you kicked off the show early. This salad lacked basic seasoning, like salt and pepper. The endive itself was terrible and watery, and could have just been a pile of watery, unflavored cole slaw mix. The only good part about the salad were the apples and the gorgonzola, but I can get this kind of thing at the grociery store, without needing to cough up an exorbitant amount for the greatness that is organic.

My entree looked more promising: homemade gnocchi with chorizzo sausage and tomatos. Although the texture of the gnocchi was excellent–soft and fluffy without too much chewiness, and just the right amount of lightness–and the roma tomatoes were very sweet, the heat of the dish overwhelmed the taste of everything, and by the end I couldn’t even enjoy the pillowy gnocchi. This dish had just the opposite problem of the salad in that it was overly seasoned with red pepper flakes. I like a little heat in my dishes, but this was too far on the extreme and ruined the whole pasta.

Jay ordered a pizza with garlic and pancetta, red onion and rosemary, which came without sauce as he assumed and which he described as greasy cheese bread. The pancetta itself was tasty and the rosemary reminded me of a slow roasted pork dish I’ve made before, but the pizza as a whole was very unremarkable, and very greasy. The only good thing about this pizza is that the crust allowed me to cool off my mouth from my own entree.

I’m not even going to get started on the quality of service, considering our group was pretty large, but I never got the chance to order a second glass of wine, and we sat without our drinks for almost a full half hour after ordering them. And those mediocre entrees? They’re not cheap. Our tab for two people, including an appetizer and entree for each, no dessert, and only two glasses of wine total, was the same as the brunch at Cafe Atlantico the next day. I don’t know about you, but I thought this dinner was a compelte rip off. We paid solely for the name “organic” that comes listed by each ingredient name. We didn’t pay for exceptional taste or good service, and in fact the entree list is not that extensive. If you’re a slave to the organic god, then by all means feel free to try it out, but I’m never going back. I can cook better food on my own, thanks.

Brunch at Cafe Atlantico

Cafe Atlantico
405 8th St. NW
Washington, DC, 20004
(202) 393-0812

View from our table

I am writing this review almost immediately after having the chef tasting brunch at Cafe Atlantico. As I walked into the Georgetown Law library (where I am now located), I felt like I was walking in a cloud of foie gras and champagne. This is by far, hands down, the best brunch I’ve ever had, and Cafe Atlantico is definitely the number 1 restaurant I’ve visited in DC. (Note: if you look at the Wish List page, there are quite a few top restaurants that I haven’t yet tasted. Of the ones I have been to, however, this is number 1.) If you have a chance to experience the nuevo latino dum sum brunch at Cafe Atlantico, I highly recommend it. For what you pay, you’re definitely getting a steal: amazing food, great service, and with the chef’s tasting menu you get to re-taste any dishes that you liked. This re-tasting option proved very beneficial for the foie gras soup, which on the first time around we let sit for too long and get luke warm.

Listed below is the order of the tasting menu, a picture of each dish followed by the name and a short description. The title of each dish will be followed by a number that corresponds to the group in which the dish came out. For instance, all the goup 1s came out together, and so on. At the end I will have some general remarks on the meal as a whole.

Watermelon and tomato skewers (1)

The watermelong itself was sweet with a nice firm texture, and the tomato matched the texture of the watermelon almost perfectly. Very light on the whole.

Oyster with mango-lime oil (1)

Probably some of the best oysters I’ve ever had. The mango really highlighted the silky texture of the oyster. The only quib I have with this dish is that my oyster was a little too attached to the shell and I had a hard time eating it, but the combination of flavors was really delicate and elegant.

Mango-anchovy ravioli (1)

This was the first really exciting dish of the menu. The “pasta” of the raviolo was actually thinly shaved mango, filled with an anchovy foam over a base of mango puree. I was a little scared that my ravioli was going to pop by the time I got it into my mouth, but the combination of flavors was truly exquisite. The ravioli itself was like a little soft pillow that burst with the salty anchovy foam, which was counterbalanced with the sweet richness of the mango puree. Everything melded together so well, and this one was truly exceptional.

Tuna ceviche with coconut (1)

This tuna ceviche was cooked with jicama and topped with finely chopped corn nuts and a few pieces of diced red onion. I appreciated how the tuna still had a firm texture and was relatively mild. The corn nuts offered a nice crunch and alternative texture.

Potato & vanilla mousse with American caviar (2)

This was another breathtakingly exceptional dish. The potato mousse is plainly the best mashed potatos I’ve ever had, ever. The vanilla came from a vanilla oil that was poured on top of the mousse, and when it infused with the potato the flavor was subtle but definite. At times you would get a little punch of vanilla. The caviar was resting at the bottom of the glass like little black jewels and little hidden surprises. This ranks in one of my favorites for the meal.

Hot & cold foie gras and corn soup

The first time this dish came out, we already had enough on our table to occupy our time that it sat out for a little while, causing the hot and cold elements to blend together. It was still very good, but the dramatic contrast wasn’t there. When we ordered this again at the end of our meal, however, we really got to appreciate the hot and cold elements. The bottom was hot and rich, while the top was cold and airy. Both elements were very light, something that you normally do not experience with foie gras. The soup was topped with crunchy bits of corn. This dish was exceptional, and conveyed the richness and depth of flavor of foie gras with an entirely new texture. Another favorite.

Conch fritters with a liquid center (2)

This picture just doesn’t do this dish justice, and it’s unfortunate that I did not get a shot of the inside after I took my first bite. The outside of the fritter tastes exactly like a classic corndog outside, and brought flooding back lots of old memories of my childhood. The inside was truly amazing. The conch itself was cut up into smaller pieces that were floating in a rich, liquid, warm center.

Pineapple-unagi with avocado sauce (3)

In contrast with the conch fritters, this dish looked better than it tasted. Not that it was bad, it just didn’t rise to the same level of exceptional as the other dishes. Although the pineapple played well off the unagi and softened the saltiness of the eel, the eel itself was a little too fishy, and the avocado didn’t really come out like I would have liked. All in all, the flavors didn’t marry completely together, and the flow of the flavors just wasn’t there.

Grilled skirt steak “Carne Asada” (3)

Easily the best steak I’ve ever had, or at least tied with #1 with the 72 hour short ribs at Central. How can I completely describe this steak? I don’t think I have the words capable of doing so. The texture was phenomenal and melted in your mouth. The flavor was exceptional. Everything was juicy and cooked absolutely perfectly. If perfection were a steak, this might very well be it. A very high ranking favorite for the whole meal.

Cocount rice, crispy rice & ginger (3)

The texture of this rice was almost like rice pudding, but not too sweet. The ginger was subtle but suffused very well throughout the entire rice, adding just enough sweetness without taking it to the realm of dessert. The crunchy rice offered a nice flavor contrast, and paired nicely with the hot temperature of the coconut rice. A favorite. I wish I had a big tub of this waiting for me whenever I came home from law school.

Duck confit with passion fruit oil (4)

I’m posting two pictures of this because I want you to see the caramelization on the outside of the duck. This dish was absolutely fabulous. The skin of the duck had a great crunch with a sweet caramelization that was just to die for. The inside of the duck was luscious, moist, and almost buttery, and the meat just fell right off the bone. The cruncy caramalized skin blended perfectly with the moist softness of the duck meat, and this is yet another dish that I could eat over an over again. Huge favorite. I don’t remember much of the passion fruit oil, but the outside tasted like honey and vanilla. Exquisite.

Fried egg with mashed black beans & pork (4)

It’s hard to go wrong with refried beans. I don’t know if these can necessarily be characterized as refried beans, but they were very similar. The exceptional part of this dish was the fried egg itself. Someday, if I’m lucky enough, I will get lessons on cooking fried eggs from the chef here, because they are always perfect. The outside of the egg is crunchy but very thin, and the yolk bursts with bright color and flavor. Mixed all together, everything was very good. I completely missed out on the fact that there was pork in this dish. Maybe it was not included today?

Seated cigala with vanilla oil (4)

Like the unagi, this was another dip from the high level of exception that most of the dishes carried. Nevertheless, it was still very good. The cigala itself was cooked perfectly without being tough and rubbery, and the vanilla played well with the buttery-ness of the meat.

Pan dulce with cinnamon syrup (5, final)

This is what I take as Cafe Atlantico’s ode to french toast. It was sweet and soft with a nice crunch, but it left something to be desired. I guess I could have ordered a dessert or something after all of this, but I was looking forward to a little but more of a wow factor in the final dish. Regardless, it was still good, but not exceptional.

Overall, this was the most fun and imaginative brunch I have ever had. The service was great and our waiter was very attentive. The only problem I had with the service was that the woman refilling the water glasses completely got in my way while I was trying to eat the cigala, but other than that the service was smooth. We got to try so many different flavors and textures; some were real surprises and some were just perfection on classics. Not only did the dishes themselves have a great balance, but the flow of the menu and the balance of the dishes as a whole was exceptional. The last dish was anticlimactic, and only a few of the other dishes were not as exceptional as the rest, but these are the only “issues” I had. Jay asked me if I would rank this 4.5 or 5 stars, and I would have to say 4 3/4 stars.

If you are looking for an inventive and progressive meal that tasted great but does not stray too far from the classics, I highly recommend this brunch. I will definitely go back again, and again, and again ….