Lol for DC Foodies. SH*T People in DC Say

You must have seen this already right? This is sooooo spot-on, but I could add literally another dozen things to this.

Time-waster & hopefully worth a chuckle ;)

Dining at Oval Room: DC Restaurant Week Winter 2012

Today was the last day for the official DC Restaurant Week (Winter 2012) period. Today I took a group to a favorite that if you had an expense budget you'd probably visit their private dining 5-course dinners much more :) Where many of the power players in DC have come to eat over the years, the Oval Room.

• Ranked #7: 2010's Washingtonian Magazine's 100 Best Restaurants
• Editor's Pick in the Washington Post

FOOD: American w/ tons of creativity. Chef Tony Conte, formerly from Jean Georges in New York, is quite imaginative with his dishes. Normal prices are up there due to high quality ingredients. This place isn't about 'quantity over quality'. More often than not, his dishes are superb. And when the kitchen's on ... wow.

SPACE: Sophisticated and contemporary, very nice looking space.

Some of the dishes I tried tonight:

Goat Cheese Custard w/ Warm Cherries , Pistachios & Arugula

Rockfish w/ Spaghetti Squash, Sweet Garlic Lemon Broth & Chili Oil

Grilled Flat Iron Steak w/ Tararind Condiment, Crispy Potato & Spinach

Chocolate Bomb w/ Crumbs, Cherry & Vanilla Ice Cream

Sticky Toffee Cake w/ Brown Sugar & Butter-Pecan Ice Cream

The Winter 2012 DC Restaurant Week menu for the Oval Room

Overall Opinion? Tough call for Restaurant Week periods. Oval Room outside of Restaurant Week is a treat, due to no restriction of ingredient quality (which for this restaurant seems to impact their normal creativity). The food tongiht was good but nothing particularly 'Wow'. Not sure if I'd come back here & pay their normal pricing if I didn't already have the existing knowledge of seeing Tony Conte at his best (a private dining 5-course affair about 4 years ago in which I was thoroughly impressed with strong creativity and superior tastes, albeit at a pricepoint several times higher than the RW deal).

'Rogue Session #1': Special 24-Course Dinner @ Rogue24 (Guest Chef Bryan Voltaggio from Volt)

During James Beard Award-winning chef/owner RJ Cooper’s recuperation from open-heart surgery, some of his closest celebrity chef friends will pitch in to host “theme weeks” at the intimate Shaw–area restaurant. These special events were dubbed 'Rogue Sessions'.

• Each Session was developed to be a 24-course dinner led by a Guest Chef and served with wine and cocktail pairings by celebrity bartender Derek Brown (Owner of The Passenger) and Sommelier JP Fetherston
• The 24-course menus will be broken into 12 courses designed by the Guest Chef, and the other 12 courses are staple dishes from Rogue24 Chef RJ Cooper

Rogue Session #1 was headed by Guest Chef Bryan Voltaggio, Chef/Owner of Volt in Frederick MD. One of the best restaurants in the DC metro area. He already does a 21-course tasting menu at Volt, so he definitely is up to the task of leading a Rogue Session.

========================

Review:

• Menu won't be offered in advance (keeping you anticipating throughout the dinner), but is handed-out as a 'takeaway' when you leave 
• About 2 -3 dishes hit 'Wow' status (what I define as 'transcendental' -- a complex flavor profile, a contrast or merging of flavors; something I'd casually call had a little 'sumptin 'sumptin)
• Another 2 - 3 dishes were near-Wow status but couldn't quite get there
• The remaining dishes were at least 'Good' but nothing particularly great
• The Cocktail and Wine pairings were provided every 3 courses, and the theme of the pairing was supposed to match/align with the next 3 dishes. Sometimes it 'worked' for us, other times not so much
• Space looks modern without being too trendy (reminded me of a relaxed NYC spot) 
• Staff was very pleasant and professional, many of the Chef handling prep-work most of the night were also serving dishes throughout the night
• Very nice dinner overall

Well, to be fair this was a pregaming drink over at the Gin Joint  within New Heights restaurant in Woodley Park.  Fantastic gin selection here btw, and a knowledgeable bar staff. The above is actually their Midnight Manhatten, filled with tasty spirits ;)

-------------------------------------------

Macaroons/celeriac/beet.
One sweet-filled with apple (the left), and the right was savory foie gras filled. I especially loved the one on the right. 

House fried rice/duck/vegetables/soy/sesame

Pizza paper/ricotta/basil/tomato

Guest Chef for Rogue Session #1: Bryan Voltaggio (Owner/Chef of acclaimed Volt restaurant)

Oyster/smoked potato/bacon/black truffle

Yogurt/eggplant/benne/sumac

Urchin/lava/coral/seaweed/brackish water

One of the paired cocktails by Consulting Mixologist Derek Brown (owner of DC's The Passenger)

Kampachi/fennel/blood orange/ginger

Celery root/nasturtium/mustard/grapefruit

Ossetra/cauliflower/apple/cider

Swordfish/mortared scales/cara cara orange/samphire

Foie gras/coconut/coriander/coffee

Turbot/butternut/brussels/radish

Ravioli/parsley root/ash/black trumpet

Ox tongue/sour dough/mostarda/bitter herbs

Squab/dates/parsnips/groats

Oyster root/quince/country ham/almonds

Pig/cabbage/juniper/apple vinegar

Snails/ham/potato/trumpets

Lamb/crab apple/granola/dandelion

Endives/perigord black truffle/truffle caramel

Maitake/oats/seagrass/yeast/ale

Peanut butter/chocolate/jelly/milk

Chocolate/marshmallow/peanut/caramel

Happy endings/little things/small bites

Dining at Tosca: DC Restaurant Week Winter 2012

Black ink tagliatelle. Grilled boneless lamb strip loin. Tiramisu. #Ownage-DC-RW

Prior review of Tosca can be found here.

 Black ink tagliatelle with jumbo lump crab meat ragu, calabrese pepper, artichokes and roasted garlic

Grilled boneless lamb strip loin in a rosemary crust, black kale timbale and olive oil mashed potatoes

Pork tenderloin in a wild mushroom crust with Tuscan style bean salad, braised escarole and Marsala wine reduction (sampled some of this tasty dish)

Chef’s modernized Tiramisu

Winter DC Restaurant Week 2012 -- Those Extending the 'Deal'

There's always a number of restaurants that EXTEND the RW deal beyond the official 1/9 - 1/15 dates.

--> Be sure to reconfirm the RW deal extension with the restaurant, better safe than sorry:

This post will be updated as those restaurants are identified. And check their websites for menu details!

Places that I've experienced good RW meals in the past are noted with an * (disclaimer: not saying the other places don't do RW well)

Extending 1 week:
2100 Prime
701 Restaurant
Ardeo + Bardeo
Art & Soul
Assaggi Osteria
Bibiana (till 1/21 only)
Bistrot Lepic *
Cafe Soleil
Casa Nonna
Casa Oaxaca
Co Co Sala (till 1/19 only)
Cubra Libre
Dirty Martini
J&G Steakhouse (till 1/20 only)
Jaleo
Kellari Taverna (only dinner) *
Kinkead's (till 1/20 only)
Market Tavern
Mie N Yu
Open Kitchen


Poste
PS7's (till 1/21 only)
Ristorante Piccolo
Siroc *
Smith Commons (till 1/20 only)
Teatro Goldoni (till 1/21 only)
The Bombay Club (till 1/21 only)
Todd Gray's Watershed (till 1/20 only)
Trummer's on Main 
Urbana 
Vento *
Wildfire
Zaytinya *


Really Long Extensions:
Cedar (till 1/28) *
Bastille (till 1/31) *
Co Co. Sala (till 1/31)
Dino (till 2/3!) *
Farrah Olivia (till 1/27)
Finemondo (till 1/31)
Grill from Ipanema (till 1/31)
Grillfish (till 1/31)
Hudson (till 1/31)
La Bergerie (till 1/30)
Perrys (till 1/31)
Prime Rib (till 2/2!)
Primi Platti (till 1/31)
Siroc (definitely till 1/22, but owners likely will extend till 1/31. Call to confirm) *
Willow (till 1/14, then 1/16-1/21) *Oyamel