You may have noticed a gap in the postings and a change from my referring to Jasper as my fiance to my husband. That’s right, we got married! And then went on a gorgeous honeymoon to Italy (I mean, we love food – hello!). I am now working at Williams-Sonoma and cooking a lot. I could start posting recipes and tips here, would that be something that you would be interested in? Whoever you are out there? We’ll see. For now, it’s good to be back.
A happy week brought us to 2941 to celebrate and relax. If you have never been here before, it can be tricky to find – set behind a wall of trees on the the first floor of an office building. But my-oh-my is it worth the hunt. The location is stunning, first of all, with several koi filled ponds flowing and waterfalling down and around the glass-walled building. The inside of the dining room is no less beautiful, with long strands of glass sculpture hanging like curtains from the lofted ceiling. The mood is very serene and romantic. The cocktail list is innovative and fresh. I ordered something with grapefruit and elderberry – fantastic.
We ordered the 6 course tasting menu with wine parings. I should have taken notes, because I can’t remember all of the dishes (which may have something to do with the wine pairings…). Which is not to say that they were not good, they were all wonderful. The dinner blends together in my memory in a mix of culinary joy and romance. The bread that is served is baked in house daily. There was a variety and they were all fresh and yummy. Our first course was a duo of canapes – two perfect bites. Beef tartare on brioche with quail egg was rich and delicious. Smoked salmon topped with popcorn (yes, popcorn) was equally good. This was followed by a perfectly cooked scallop. Our fish course was paired with a creamy souffle of masa harina (native American corn) that I couldn’t get enough of. Before desert, we were served a shot of frozen wine. I had the desert presented on the tasting menu – a sour cherry gateau – and Jasper requested something chocolate. Neither of us was disappointed.
The tasting menu changes daily, so don’t expect to see what is on the website, or what you had last week, or yesterday. But do expect it to be fun, fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented. (And ask for a copy of the menu if you want to remember what you had – doh!)
Buon Appetito and welcome to our favorite Italian restaurant. We have actually eaten here several times, and I have yet to review it – shame on me. Especially because each time we have eaten here we have felt like VIP’s.
The decor is trendy and modern, and the bar menu is innovative and cool. A long-time favorite drink is the Bibiana (just the right proportion of Prosecco to fruit puree). The wine menu offers different pour amounts providing a wider variety than glass vs. bottle, so you are sure to get exactly what you want and nothing more.
Be sure to start with several of the Piatti Piccoli (small plates), these are often my favorite part of the meal! The Arancini (rice balls with saffron and Parmesan) are always fantastic – crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, with great flavor. The Bruschetta is another favorite – thick cut country bread, charred just right and topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and fresh creamy Ricotta cheese.
Next comes the slightly larger Antipasti course. Choose from several salads and small dishes including tender braised veal meatballs on top of creamy polenta, crispy fried sweetbreads, and (my favorite) fresh house-made Burrata – a soft version of fresh Mozzarella cheese. Also available are house-made salumi plates.
Italian fare is never complete without pasta. Some of the knockouts here are Squid Ink Spaghetti with big chunks of crab meat, ravioli filled with braised veal in a pancetta and brown butter sauce, and ricotta agnolotti with a creamy lemon sauce. My husband’s favorite is the risotto with black truffles.
I have yet to order a fish entree, but I am sure they are lovely. As for the meat, we have tasted various beef, veal, and lamb dishes that have all been successful. If there is anything braised on the menu, get it – it will knock your socks off. For vegetarians – fear not. We have dined with vegetarians on several occasions and they have had no problems asking for vegetarian versions of dishes, or enjoying the dishes that are already meat-free.
For desert, enjoy one of the house-made “digestives” (liqueurs) or Amari (bitters). The panna cotta is a creamy vanilla custard, typically served with fruit and a pistachio crumble. The decadent chocolate “bomba” is a chocolate cake topped with chocolate custard and covered with a dome of chocolate mousse. And who can resist a classic Italian Tiramisu?
Bibiana is off of the Metro Center metro stop in DC, but they also provide valet parking. The owner’s other restaurants include The Oval Room (7/100), Rasika (8/100), and 701 (41/100).
Number 15 on the Washingtonian’s top 100 restaurants is Sushi Taro, which flies its fish in from Tokyo! This place is top of the line, super fresh, and really expensive. We decided to go on a special occasion – Valentine’s Day. Usually the restaurant has an a la carte menu along with the “Kaiseki” menu (chef’s tasting menu), but for this night, only a special tasting menu was offered. After some champagne in our limousine, we were ready to submit ourselves to the whims of Chef Nobu Yamazaki; and we were not disappointed. Each dish was intricate and complex and artful – both in taste and in presentation!
We started with a sweet champagne cocktail with plum wine and yamamomo fruit, followed by sesame seed tofu with uni (sea urchin). The tofu was the most interesting texture! It was creamy and gelled at the same time. The uni was rich and creamy and fresh, and the savory sauce was fantastic! Next was unagi (eel) in a dashi starch sauce. The eel (one of my usual sushi favorites) was perfectly steamed, tender and flaky. The sauce was an interesting texture and complemented the eel perfectly. The next dish was both of our favorites from the whole night – fatty tuna tartar. I cannot even describe how delicious this tartar was. Fatty tuna is already one of the most delicious raw fish, and when it is this fresh it is unbeatable. The sauce was a perfect combo of vinegar, salt, savory, and sweet flavors. It was fantastic. Next was a gorgeous arrangement of sashimi including more toro (yay!), sweet shrimp – with the most unusual creamy texture, snapper, and salmon roe. The plate looked like a piece of modern art, and the fish was the best I have ever had (and I eat a lot of sushi). We asked for real, fresh wasabi with our fish – the green paste you usually see is not the real stuff – and they did something I’ve never seen before. They brought a whole wasabi root and grated it table-side! Next was a sake based soup with fish and tiny star shaped fish cakes. After that was a hairy crab sunomono (vinegar salad) – very refreshing. After that we got to choose from a list of sushi 4 items. I tried arctic charr, golden thread snapper, soy marinated tuna, and (of course) more fatty tuna. The fish was once again outstanding – better than I’ve had anywhere else. The last dish was a dramatic presentation of sukiyaki (stew). The broth and vegetables were brought in individual pots bubbling away on top of stone candle holders carved with symbols. They brought a plate of very thinly sliced Kobe beef to dip into the broth to cook instantly. It was served with a poached egg in vinegar which we were told to break and mix together to make a sauce to dip the beef in, rice, and pickled vegetables. It was beautiful, interactive, fun, and delicious – the ultimate comfort food. Even after all of that – the desert still blew us away (though the credit must go to Locolat for that). It was a chocolate raspberry cake with an airy-crisp crunch to it.
The sake list is also fantastic, we sampled 2 types that we had never seen before and both were excellent. The last was a sparkling nigiri (sweet, milky, unfiltered sake). Sushi Taro can be very expensive, but it is definitely worth it. The dishes are stunningly beautiful, creative, and complex, and the fish is stellar.
I got a craving for Indian food a couple of weeks ago, and Jasper suggested a place by his work that he had been to before, so we hoofed over there despite the snow. Haandi is in a shopping center, next to a Giant grocery. It’s a tiny place, maybe 15 booths, with some traditional looking Indian designs including some interesting wall murals.
When talking about Indian food, I find that it is important to distinguish between spicy (hot) and spicy (flavorful), so I will make up a word for the latter – “spiceful”. We ordered some Tandoori murgh (chicken) for an appetizer. It’s marinated in yogurt and spices, cooked inside a big clay oven, and comes out this beautiful red color that I love. I have never been able to handle spicy food, and I was always afraid that the red color meant that it would be spicy and didn’t discover that it was not until a few years ago. Anyway, Haandi’s Tandoori chicken is really tender and flavorful with lots of smoke and paprika flavors. It comes on a platter with some big chunks of onion and green pepper. These were almost raw, so we basically ignored them.
For my main dish, I asked the waiter what I should order if I didn’t like spicy food, and he said Murgh Makhini without a second of hesitation. Jasper ordered his favorite: chicken Tikka Masala. The dishes were brought out in these really cool handled pots that looked little – but neither of us could finish! Murgh Makhini means butter chicken, it is creamy and flavorful with big chunks of chicken and tons of spices – but not spicy! This is probably the best Indian dish that I have ever had! Jasper’s Tikka Masala was really good too, “spiceful” and more tomato-y than creamy. He really loves spicy food, and usually Tikka Masala is really spicy – but not this time, which means that I got to try it! The dishes are served with rice, but it is a must to also order Naan bread (cooked on the side of the Tandoori ovens) – it was warm and pillowy, brushed with a little butter, just the way it should be! I always order a mango lassi (yogurt smoothie) when I eat Indian food – because it complements the spices, and cools and coats your mouth if the food is too spicy! The lassi at Haandi was very good – smooth and sweet with a little tang from the yogurt. I also ordered my favorite dessert – rice pudding. Haandi’s rice pudding has a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg and is very creamy – yum!
The prices are pretty good – $15 for an entree that is enough for 2 people – but all the extra accompaniments can add up (naan, raita, etc…). This is definitely the place to go for Indian food in Falls Church!
Bastille is set off of the beaten path in a largely industrial area of Alexandria. The restaurant itself, however, is warm, intimate, and bistro-like. They have a good wine list, including a large selection of reserves, imported and artisanal beers, and artisanal sodas.
The couple we came with had eaten there before and steered me towards the shrimp and calamari beignets – and rightly so. They were hot, crispy outside, tender chunks of seafood inside, and served with a sheep’s milk yogurt and harissa dip. Jasper had the organic chicken liver mousse with cranberry gelee, which was also very good.
As an entree, I had the bouillabaisse – made with big chunks of cod, shrimp, scallops, and mussels; hearty winter vegetables like carrots and parsnips; and a tomato broth. Jasper had perfectly seared scallops on a creamy black truffle risotto. Our companions had the salmon, and the hangar steak – served with bordelaise and a huge pile of fresh french fries.
We added a cheese course for an extra $12. I love all and any cheeses, but the highlights of this course were the house made spiced raisins and the Black Pepper d’Affinois cheese – a French double cream (like brie).
For dessert I had the ginger spice cake with vanilla mascarpone and spiced banana and raisin compote with crunchy walnuts. Jasper had the Valrhona chocolate pot de creme. Both were excellent. Our companions had the sweet potato crème caramel with cranberry compote and caramel corn.
After having just eaten at the French La Bergerie the night before, I would have to say that I vastly recommend Bastille as the better restaurant. I would definitely make the drive to Alexandria to eat here again.
La Bergerie is an old world, old school, classic French restaurant. The main dining room looked lovely and comfortable with cushy booths and romantic chandeliers. We were sat in a nook off to the side, however, crammed with other tables and brightly lit. From what I could see of the decor from our location, it was old world with brick arches, brocade wall paper, and tapestry chairs. Our server was hurried (due to the rush of restaurant week, perhaps) but knowledgeable and friendly. He selected a wine for us based on our preferences. The wine list was extensive, of course, this being a French restaurant.
I was going to order the escargot, but the server steered me towards the fruits de mer au gratin, saying that we could get the escargot anytime and the fruits de mer was only for this week. The presentation was lovely, using a large sea shell as as bowl. The scallops, shrimp, and mussels were tender and served in a creamy mushroom bechamel sauce and topped with cheese. It was very good, but did taste somewhat like tuna helper – if tuna helper had gone to Henry Higgins and been taught to be more elegant. Jasper had a juicy venison sausage on a bed of perfectly cooked lentils with a red wine sauce.
I was confused and conflicted over my entree. The salmon was perfectly cooked and well flavored, but topped with a bizarre, dry, green patty that tasted somewhat like potatoes and herbs. It was served on top of a creamy polenta with a good texture, but way too much dried herb flavor. To one side there was a smear of some sort of non-flavorful sauce, to the other was a few random green beans which were perfectly cooked but under-seasoned. Jasper’s steak au poivre (his favorite dish) was well cooked, but not peppery enough for his tastes and the sauce was not creamy, as it should be. He also had a smattering of well cooked, unseasoned green beans. His “frittes” (french fries) however, were very good – thin and crispy and served with ketchup!
After a disappointing entree, I was floored by dessert. Jasper had a creme brulee and I’m sure it was very good, but I paid no notice because I had heaven in front of me in the form of a souffle. Airy and eggy and fluffy, served with the traditional Grand Marnier (this time mixed into a fantastic whipped cream) – what more could you ever want?!
La Bergerie is for lovers of the traditional. I expect the population most nights to be in the older age range. I would hope that on another, less busy, night that the atmosphere would be very romantic.
http://www.labergerie.com