I have written about Marcel’s before, but not extensively enough considering it is our special occasion place. It is where Jasper proposed to me (and I said yes) and where we spend most of our anniversaries and New Year’s. It’s also where we go every time we see a show at the Kennedy center. The provide a special Pre-Theater menu (though you can also do 3 or 4 courses off of the tasting menu), make sure that you get out on time, and provide a car service to and from the theater – brilliant! They also have just the best people working there – from Adnane Kebaier, the Maitre d’ who always greets us by our names and seems happy to see us (here is an interesting interview with him about the ins and outs of the job), to Moez Ben Achour, the fabulous Sommelier, and especially our usual server, Jonathan Crayne, who is also the Senior Captain – everyone is just amazing. Anyway, I’ve never been able to show you photos of their food because it’s usually very dark by the time we get there. But we recently went for a Pre-Theater (for Book of Mormon, which is HILARIOUS by the way) and because it is summer, the sun was still out! So I am able to show you some of the gorgeous dishes from our favorite restaurant!
An amuse bouche from the chef – smoked salmon with creme friache, chives, and caviar.
An elegant take on Crab Louis – crab, avocado, and tomato gelee with remoulade.
Alaskan salmon – smoked in house – with red onion, chives, pine nuts, and croutons.
The melt-in-your-mouth signature dish – Boudin Blanc. This is our absolute favorite, we both order it every single time (even though they have started adding a $12 supplement). It is a white poultry sausage that is more like a mousse – so light and creamy, but also rich. It usually comes in a truffle sauce of some sort – this time with bits of foie gras in it!
Steak with mushrooms, potato puree, bone marrow. This was Jasper’s entree so I don’t know much about it except that he let me eat the marrow.
We both ordered the same dessert – peach souffle with peach ice cream and blueberry sauce. You can’t get more summery than that!
I’m so glad I was finally able to share photos with you from a place that is so special to us!