#20: Let's catch up!
#20: Let's catch up!
DC restaurant week recap and London bites
After last month’s industry interview with my friend, Kelly, we have some catching up to do on some good-old-restaurant-roundups.
As always, you can see my rankings on the Beli app (@merrysamuel), but this newsletter is where I humbly think the good stuff lives. I assume you’re here because you want too much information on where and what I’ve been eating lately. So, I’m here to give you just that.
DC restaurant week roundup
I covered three spots during DC restaurant week in mid-August. Two of the three were first time visits for me and each spot varied in service, menu, and experience. Honestly, these picks were based on competing rationale: an opportunity to sample nearly an entire menu, an unfortunate misunderstanding, and lust for nearly bottomless barbecued meat.
Stop 1 // Reveler’s Hour
Rationale: A reliable outperformer in DC, Reveler’s Hour continued to show off by offering their entire menu for restaurant week. I always know I’ll have a good meal, and leave with a new favorite wine - this time it was even a screw top!
Menu format: For $65, each guest chooses an app, pasta or entree, a coveted garlic knot, and dessert. The menu rotates different apps, house made pastas, and mains with a heavy emphasis on seasonal ingredients.
Order: As a group of 3, we were strategic about covering dishes we wouldn’t normally order. This meant deprioritizing pastas and going for heavy hitting mains.
Apps: Arancini with rabbit saltimbocca and mozzarella; heirloom tomato panzanella with cucumbers, basil, and fresno peppers; grilled broccoli alla romana with breadcrumbs, grana padano cheese and chives
Mains: Rigatoni with slow roasted pork, sweet + spicy peppers, ricotta salata, and coriander breadcrumbs; fried half chicken with saffron hot honey and fennel ($7+ supplement); short rib tagliata with blistered roma beans and spring herbs
Desserts: Amaro budino with blackberry jam and brown butter crumble; olive oil cake with peaches and whipped cream; chocolate sorbet with olive oil and cacao nibs
Thoughts: As expected, the fried risotto ball stuffed with rabbit and melty cheese took the lead. The heirloom tomato panzanella was fine, but the tomatoes tasted like they’d been sitting out for too long and fell slightly too soft. The broccoli could have brought more charred flavor for being grilled, but overall, it came out as the better of the two veg dishes in my opinion.
On mains, I was sadly disappointed by the rigatoni. For a kitchen that has pastas extremely dialed in, the rigatoni was slightly too al dente for me, and the pork ragú consisted of large chunks of slowed cooked meat, not a cohesive slowly broken down ragú sauce that you'd expect. The dish lacked that “perfect bite.”
Thankfully, our decision to focus on non-pasta entrees paid off. The short ribs were so simple and seared to perfection. Would have preferred a larger size rather than six small slices of beef, but definitely a memorable dish. The sultry fried half chicken was the real show stopper for the night. Despite being “fried” it’s incredibly light texture and herby spice rub combined with saffron hot honey and fennel felt like a perfect, light yet hearty summer entree to share.
Desserts varied. The chocolate sorbet achieves such a silky rich texture, making it my constant favorite. But the amaro budino couldn’t let me play favorites this time with a whipped mousse and blackberry brown butter crumble. The olive oil cake - also normally a favorite - was too crumbly and dry this visit. A surprising shift in the sweet treat order indeed!
Overall, it wasn’t the most impressive meal I’ve had here, but it’s to be expected during restaurant week. I think I’d need to be served metal before second guessing a visit for those house made pastas and garlic knots.
Stop 2 // Bar Spero
Rationale: Bar Spero is coming down from its wave of popularity launched by its James Beard semi finalist nomination as Best New Restaurant in 2023. I’ve heard mixed reviews and so I thought restaurant week would be a low-risk time to check it out for myself. HOWEVER, I did not read the *fine print*, so my sincere apologies to anyone I misled in last month’s newsletter about recommending Bar Spero. That was absolutely my bad.
Menu format: A pitiful offer. $65 for each person to choose either a jamón and chips or tortilla española, SPLIT (you heard me, SPLIT!) an entree of your choice with your dining partner, and then have some ice cream or strawberry granita. The misunderstanding: I thought you were given the option to at least have your own entree! Friends, this is a hilarious ripoff. Do not be optimistic like me. Stay skeptical!
After hiding my quickly rotting face from our very sweet server who had burst my bubble on this perceived restaurant week deal, we decided to order a la carte so to try some of the dishes we heard were potentially worthwhile.
Order:
gilda snack skewers with olives, anchovies, piparra (read: my skewers)
jamón skewers (read: Will’s skewers)
tuna tostada with avocado and black walnut dust
grilled oysters with sauce sidra blanc, pickled garlic, and brown butter
ember roasted scallop with beurre blanc, and mustard chili oil
“potato” with smoked egg and crispy jamón
“the burger” with special sauce, smoked cheddar, and miso pickles
Thoughts: I’d only go back for the scallop and tuna tostada or when I want a fancy cocktail and burger combo at the bar. Everything else was solid, but didn’t seem to match the fervor of the reviews from last year. Maybe the $75 prix fixe menu would fare differently, but it has most of the same a la carte items that don’t hit the mark.
The burger, sure, it’s good. But shouldn’t most burgers at a place like this be stellar? I was happier to have the fries it came with to soak up the beurre blanc sauce from the scallop. The potato with jamón and brown butter crumble sounds great in concept, but only carried one heavy note of salty, rich, starchiness broken up by more heavy, crunchy, indiscernible crumble. The oysters were tasty because they’re gorgeous oysters, but the sauce also seemed to lack depth in flavor.
My theory? Some of the attention has shifted towards Chef Spero’s newest project in Georgetown, Reverie.
Stop 3 // Gogi Yogi
Rationale: Had an honest hankering for Korean barbecue and banchan within walking distance. That is all.
Menu format: $45/$55/$65 tiered all you can eat menus with more premium cuts of meat available at each level.
Order: $55 option B with all you can eat marinated chicken, spicy chicken, pork belly, spicy pork belly, beef brisket, steak, bulgogi, shrimp, veggies, Korean barbecue wings, japchae (stir fried glass noodles & veg), mandu (dumplings), and ice cream.
Thoughts: This is solid for all you can eat in DC. The options in Virginia are obviously better, but I was happy to stuff my face with barbecue within walking distance. Our server was definitely new and was such an earnest sweetie so definitely a little automatic bias there. I think I’d only go back for a similar “I need KBBQ in the next hour or I’ll scream” kind of vibe. Otherwise, we’re packing into the car and heading to Annandale for the good stuff.
Conclusion: Overall, I’d rate my restaurant week experiences a 7/10. Expectations were kept generally low, and I got to cross off some specific dishes and spots off my list. I think that’s all I can reasonably ask for.
A real quick skip across the pond
I was in London last week for a very quick work trip. As is my god given right, I maximized reimbursable funds to cover my dining excursions. Here’s a few favorite bites from the trip!
Hoppers is a Sri Lankan restaurant with a few different locations in the city. All the dishes are on point, but I definitely left with my own favorites! Their beef rib fry is tender, spicy, and bursting with cozy flavors. The eggplant kari is creamy, slightly sweet, and luxe. The lamb kothu roti with stir fried veggies, pieces of flaky roti flatbread, and lamb is a delightful crispy, earthy, and hearty combo. I’m embarrassed to say we left without trying the dish the restaurant is named after - the hopper! Next time!
Kiln’s Thai menu is very much worth the wait. This tiny and fiery kitchen is a good option for a patient walk-in of two. The best seat is at the bar close to the open fire grills and clay pots over coals. I loved the eggplant relish served to be slathered onto crackly pork skin. I wish I had another dining partner to put back the massive serving of the clay pot baked glass noodles with tamworth belly & brown crab meat. Such a fun spot to sip a chilled glass of wine, watch the line cooks prep your dishes, and sweat out a few demons.
Masala Zone has a great thali dinner combo where you pick a main, and then everything else in the platter is a daily special. Traveling home the next day, I went for a simple butter chicken that was so comforting served alongside cozy red lentil dal, coconut veggie curry, aloo and cabbage, and a mound of rice. The last day of the trip was actually a tad bit chilly walking around SoHo, and this warm meal felt like a lovely send off.
Some honorable mentions include Ottolenghi cafe in Marylebone and the famed Dishoom in Covent Garden, but I only had small bites there that weren’t really reflective of either menu. All the more reason to come back!
And a few more DC recs!
I’m running out of steam but want to leave you with a few quick DC recs before next month’s issue. All of which coincidentally were first visits while my dad was in town a few weeks ago!
Cork Wine Bar: Adorable! Great spot for parents or a casual date night and the cutest charcuterie and cheese boards. Lovely bottle shop selection, too. Upset with myself that I didn’t go here sooner with it being so close.
Moon Rabbit: Deserves its own rundown but we had such a wonderful dinner. Chef Kevin Tien runs a thoughtful, innovative menu that honors Vietnamese cooking techniques and flavors. Recommend the Chef’s Visit to Vietnam fixed $75 menu for any first timers who don’t know how to narrow down all of the options. Still dreaming about the juicy wagyu beef wrapped in perilla leaves with labneh and chili oil and pastry Chef Susan Bae’s dessert combinations that will confuse and delight you.
The Dabney Cellar: My dad dunked on me with his insider knowledge and introduced ME to this spot when he came to visit. A humbling experience indeed. Very cutesy English basement wine cellar owned by The Dabney facing 9th street on the other side of Blagden Alley. Vast wine by the glass options and some gorgeous charcuterie and cheese board options.
Thanks for reading and I hope you soak up these last few official weeks of summer :) And yes, it’s still technically summer, friends. I leave you with a reminder to assemble your fleeting BLTs and slather your final toasts with mayo to be kissed by slices of heirloom tomatoes.
