2011 January

Adoring Adour for Restaurant Week

January 30, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

I am not a fan of French food. I much prefer the more pronounced flavors found in Indian, Asian, and Latin cuisine. Nevertheless, Adour was at the top of my Restaurant Week wish list, as #5 on Washingtonian‘s 100 Very Best Restaurants for 2011. Restaurant Week is the perfect opportunity to try new foods, and to sample a menu where entrees range from $34 to $44.

It has been a week and far too many restaurant meals since I’ve been to Adour (including four meals in New Orleans). Still the memory of my dinner at Adour lingers. Simply put, it is one my favorite meals I have had in quite some time. And I have had many good meals in the last several months.

When RW was first announced reservations for Adour weren’t yet available online. I picked up the phone and actually called Adour. I know that this doesn’t sound exceptionally radical but I usually rely on Open Table for my reservations. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I could hardly contain my excitement when I was easily able to secure a reservation by phone. Note for the future.

Adour is in the beautifully-restored classic and classy St. Regis Hotel.

In contrast to the hotel decor, the restaurant has a modern, elegant feel to it. The word that comes to mind is swanky. The chairs and tables are all white with black and silver accents, including leather placemats.

We are warmly welcomed into the dining room. The service is formal and a bit reserved but certainly attentive. Complimentary gougeres (cheese puffs) are delivered to our table. This is followed by bread, which is good (as it should be) and an amuse bouche made of pureed cod and potatoes. My friend thinks the amuse bouche is something you may get out of a can at Trader Joe’s or Costco. I disagree, although it doesn’t blow me away.

The RW menu has three starters, three entrees, and two desserts. I start with a lobster bisque. There are chunks of lobster in a peppery broth and delicious croutons. It is divine.

My husband begins with a beautiful beet salad with goat cheese fondue and candied walnuts.

My friend has the stuffed squid appetizer, which she is hesitant about ordering, but ends up loving the flavor.

Two of us order contemporary chicken breast parmesan with tomato marmalade, polenta, and a parmesan emulsion. I struggle with my decision but in the end it wins out over the other choices of monkfish or braised beef cheeks. The chicken melts in my mouth. It is as moist a piece of chicken as any I have ever had. The parmesan crust adds an interesting texture. I savor every bite.

My husband and friend have the roasted monkfish with peewee potatoes and mustard sauce. The sauce is described as “exceptional.”

Dessert is the pièce de résistance. My friend and I have the orange tian which features clementines, orange creme and marmalade. It is refreshing, it is tangy, it is sweet, all at the same time.

My husband and friend have the milk chocolate dome. They enjoy it but are not raving as we are about our tian.

We are also served a plate of orange/raspberry macaroons and shortbread cookies, which are both outstanding.

The Restaurant Week menu at Adour is clearly modified from the regular menu to feature simpler dishes. I don’t mind. I hesitate to say I will be back for a non-RW meal, given the prices and the fact that I am still not convinced that I love French food. However, if a special occasion arises I would consider Adour and I will certainly recommend it to others. I do know that as soon as I get the email announcing summer 2011 Restaurant Week, I will pick up the phone to call Adour. At $35 for three courses, c’est magnifique!

Adour, 923 16th and K Streets, Northwest, Washington, DC

My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.6
Zagat Rating: 24
# 5 Washingtonian‘s 100 Very Best Restaurants 2011

Washington Post review
Washingtonian review

Filed Under: Adour, DC dining

A Round of Applause for RW at Oval Room

January 26, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

I am a fan of Restaurant Week. I am guessing that this comes as no surprise to anyone who is reading my blog. The moment I get the email announcing the dates, I frantically scroll through the list to see where I want to dine. I make reservations and then I second guess all of my selections, so I go back to Open Table to see what options might be better. Often I am already too late for what I have then decided are my “must go to” places.

This time around is no different. I make a reservation at Tosca and then decide I should go to Oval Room instead. As Restaurant Week approaches, I read an article on the TBD website. The article quotes Oval Room Chef Tony Conte as saying that “‘The Oval Room isn’t designed to do that type of volume.’ So in order to meet the demands, he creates a separate Restaurant Week menu—one that’s simple, with dishes that are easy to produce when the kitchen gets slammed.”

This does not sound good. I am not interested in dumbed down food. I post an inquiry on Chowhound to see if anyone has been to Oval Room for this year’s RW. I receive one negative opinion from someone who had been last summer and one positive. I keep my reservation.

My son and I arrive at the restaurant and check in to find that my reservation was an hour earlier. The person at the desk doesn’t skip a beat says “it’s fine” and seats us. Very classy. It doesn’t hurt that there are several empty tables in the room.

There are four choices for each of the three courses. My son is a vegetarian and he is not thrilled with the one entree he can eat. We ask if they can convert one of the vegetarian starters to an entree, which they do.

Our bread arrives. It is crusty on the outside…but stale on the inside. Uh uh. I consider asking for a replacement but I decide against it.

My son and I each begin with a warm goat cheese and potato pave with poached cherries and cracked pepper. The sweet cherries paired with the potato and goat cheese is a wonderful combination of flavors. I forget about the stale bread.

I’ve never heard of a pave but this is what it looks like

My entree is crispy skate with red curry, root vegetables, and pea shoots. The fish is cooked perfectly and the curry sauce is so good that I need something else to soak up the remaining liquid once my fish is gone. My only choice is the bread. I go for it. (I wish I had a photo of this dish but I am a lousy photographer and the restaurant was very dark, so the photo didn’t come out.)

My son has beet ravioli with brown butter and pistachios. He is equally enthused about his dish.

this photo looks odd but it is the ravioli

My dessert is citrus vanilla cheesecake with graham cracker ice cream. I particularly like the bits of brown sugar crumb topping.

My son has chocolate ganache with marshmallow. It’s pretty but he finds the flavor ordinary.

I have forgotten that the sous chef at Oval Room is Tamesha Warren, a contestant on Top Chef DC. Tamesha made it less than half way through the season, so she isn’t in the forefront of my memory. As we finish our meal, I remember to ask our server if Tamesha is working. She brightens and tells us that Tamesha has prepared all of our food, and arrived in the early morning to hand roll the ravioli. She seems pleased to know we are fans.

My son, also a fervent Top Chef fan, and I both smile broadly. The dinner has taken on new meaning. We get to chalk up another notch on our tally board of Top Cheftestants who’s food we have eaten.

One of the goals of Restaurant Week is to encourage customers to try new restaurants in the hopes that they will come back for another visit… at full price. My RW meal at Oval Room does just that. I am intrigued by the food and will definitely be back for more. Maybe next time, I’ll even get to meet Tamesha.

Oval Room, 800 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington D.C., DC 20006
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.0
Zagat Rating: 24
# 16 Washingtonian‘s 100 Very Best Restaurants

Washington Post review

Filed Under: DC dining, Oval Room

Great Expectations at Palena Cafe

January 23, 2011 By Lori 3 Comments

When I go to a restaurant or a movie or a show that has garnered high ratings, I start out on a high.There’s a smile on my face and my heart beats a little faster. My senses are prepped for an adventure and my one to five ratings scale is already primed for the five. Then the actual experience begins and what comes next must live up to my expectations. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.

Palena Cafe has been on my restaurant to do list for almost as long as I’ve had a list, which is to say years. I’ve always passed it over, partly because someplace else interested me more or was more conveniently located. My New Year’s resolution to focus on Washingtonian‘s top 40 moved Palena Cafe up on my priority list. Palena is rated 28 on Zagat, out of a possible 30. It is rated #11 on the 2011 Washingtonian 100 Very Best Places to eat list.Chef Frank Ruta is a James Beard award-winning chef. With credentials like these, I am ready for excellence!

I enter Palena Cafe and immediately like the vibe. The no reservations policy isn’t my favorite, but we come prepared for a wait and hunker down at the bar. I can’t compare the newly-revamped restaurant to its former self. I’ve read that some people are unhappy with the change. I find it warm and pretty and cozy. I feel pleased to be here, like I have achieved something worthwhile.

I order a signature cocktail, featuring ginger liqueur and honey syrup which is a departure from the sweeter drinks I normally favor (although it doesn’t sound like it). This is a refreshing change.

We are seated about an hour after our arrival. At this point we are anxious for some food. Our server arrives and seems detached and unenthusiastic. My husband and I share an appetizer, which is listed as an antipasto for 2-3 people (at $18 it seems a little steep.). It consists of burrata cheese sitting atop roasted sweet potatoes and olives, served with four crostini. The flavor is complex and interesting. I’m feeling confident..

burrata cheese

Two friends order soup, one has lentil and one tuscan bean. They each remark that the soup lacks pizazz. (They may not have used that word, but that’s the idea.)

The remaining starter is an onion and cheese souffle, which is described as “good but different.”

I want to try the Palena burger, which is supposed to be on par or even better than Ray’s Hell Burger. My friend and I opt to share the burger and an order of scallops. My husband and a friend order bass and the other two friends in our party order Palena’s chicken.

The wait for our entrees seems inordinately long. They finally arrive and I anxiously dive into the burger. I wait for an explosion of flavor, but it doesn’t arrive. The meat itself is good, but there is NO comparison to the burger I had days earlier in the week at Ray’s. I am deflated.

The scallop dish that I am sharing consists of three scallops. At $21, this feels wrong.. There is nothing amiss with the flavor. The sauces are tasty enough, but it’s hard to recover from the combined disappointment from the burger and the meager portion of scallops.

The bass eaters are also disappointed in their portion size. The flavor is not the issue, although it is over-salted, but the three bite dish results in dissatisfaction.

The two orders of chicken arrive and portion size is not an issue. They find the flavor, however, underwhelming.

We do like our crispy fries, which arrive piping hot. Brussel sprouts are delivered cold. The entire experience is such a letdown that we opt out of dessert.
When I arrive home I race to my computer, determined to find reviews to explain what others find so compelling about Palena Cafe.I am surprised to read that the chicken routinely takes at least 35 minutes to prepare an order, but multiple people on Yelp declare it is worth the wait as “the best roasted chicken in DC.” I am equally surprised to read that the brussel sprouts are supposed to be served cold. Did our server assume that we would already know these facts? He certainly didn’t bother to tell us this or anything about the food, which most definitely would have made a difference.

I am tempted to give Palena Cafe another try in the future, simply based on the high ratings and rave reviews I see almost everywhere I turn. This time I have to deviate from popular opinion.

Great expectationscan be a tricky thing. It can make you think that something is better than it actually is. At the same time, flaws can result in greater disappointment than you might have if you are not really expecting the best. There’s really nothing like having a wonderful meal in a place you’ve heard nothing about.

Palena 3529 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, D.C.
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.0
Zagat Rating: 28

Washington Post review
Washingtonian review

Filed Under: DC dining, DC Restaurant, Palena Cafe

Heaven is…Ray’s Hell Burger

January 20, 2011 By Lori 2 Comments

WARNING: If you do not like burgers, you may want to skip this blog post. This will be an unabashed gush-fest regarding the burger I ate at Ray’s the Classics in Silver Spring last week

I have been hearing about Ray’s Hell Burger for some time. It gained notoriety when President Obama ate there last June. I don’t get out to Arlington too often, but I was considering taking a road trip just for the burger.

Then I remembered hearing that the Hell Burger was available at the bistro side of Ray’s the Classics in Silver Spring. My current kitchen renovation gives me a great excuse to eat out even more often than usual, so I grab a friend on a wintry evening weeknight and head to Ray’s.

It takes me no time at all to choose my Hell Burger: “diablo-grilled and brushed with spicy chipotle marinade.” I add the Vermont cheddar cheese, because it seems like I should. The sweet potato fries seem like a healthier alternative to regular fries. Right.

Here’s what I love about this burger: the char-broiled taste is so outstanding that the memory of it lingers for days. I order my burger medium rare and it arrives the perfect shade of pink in the center. The chipotle marinade gives it a bite, but it is not overpowering. What more can I say? My friend describes the burger as “sexy.” Perhaps.

The toasted brioche miraculously remains firm, despite the cheese and the marinade. I devour every last bite of my burger and for once I don’t regret doing so. Then comes our server with two demitasse cups of hot chocolate, on the house. He had me at the burger, but I fall in love even more because who can resist an unexpected gift? Certainly not me. The hot chocolate is smooth and not too sweet. Heavenly.

It’s only a burger and fries in a casual bistro attached to a steakhouse in the middle of downtown Silver Spring. But sometimes it doesn’t need to be anything more than that to be great.

Ray’s the Classics, 8606 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.5
Zagat Rating: 24 (Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington, 26)

Washington Post review

*Ray’s has a portobello burger as an FYI for my non-meat eating readers.

Filed Under: MD Dining, Ray's Hell Burger, Ray's the Classics

Ambival-ambiance at Cava Mezze

January 16, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

The small plates trend seems to be growing. I am not opposed to this. Two of my current favorite restaurants are Estadio and Agora, which both feature small plates. I like the idea that I don’t have to labor over ordering decisions. I can try multiple things on the menu and if there’s something I don’t like I can just move on. This is a good thing.

On the other hand, the larger the group, the more difficult it can be to manage ordering small plates. Do you order multiples of one dish? If you don’t, you may end up with a teaspoonful of a particular dish. This is a bad thing.

Some people don’t like small plates because they leave a restaurant still hungry. That does not happen to me. If anything I tend to over order, and as a result overeat.

On a recent Saturday night we had tickets to the newly renovated Arena Stage. I must digress for a moment to comment on the beauty of the new space. I was an usher at Arena Stage years ago, and it was surreal to see how the outside of the buildings were preserved inside of the new building. It’s quite genius.

Arena Stage is in an area that is still basically a wasteland when it comes to dining. I focused my attention somewhere that would be convenient and settled on Cava Mezze in the Barracks Row area of Capitol Hill.

I’ve had a number of good dinners at Cava in Rockville, the only impediment being that the sound level is deafening.. This ends up being a deterrent, particularly if we’re going out with people who we actually want to converse with.

We arrive at Cava Mezze early to accommodate our theater tickets. This means that the sound level is going to be manageable. It takes awhile to figure out our order, taking into consideration the two people who don’t eat meat and the taste preferences of myself and the other three diners. We settle on twelve small plates for the six of us.

Our server seems distracted or indifferent or just not happy to be there. Or maybe he is just accustomed to a younger demographic. Whatever. I sometimes forget how important the server is to an entire dining experience, until I have a server who is so unenthused. We ask him to be sure not to bring all the dishes out all at once, and he nods.

My advance look at the menu has me most excited about the spicy lamb sliders with jalapenos, feta, frisee and greek yogurt. This dish features some of my most favorite ingredients. I find myself in a race to eat it before the bun gets soggy. I can’t say that I won, but I enjoy the effort.

The Cava fries are always a must. This time, I wish they are a bit hotter, but the flavor is good.

The spanakopita and the tyropita are similar, save for the latter dish including goat cheese. Both are somewhat ordinary.

The dishes are now being served fast and furious. There is an outcry to slow down, but the server says he is helpless. The kitchen is preparing dishes to order and since they are not terribly busy at this hour, not much can be done. We finally ask them to hold the last dish as there is nowhere on the table for it to be placed.

The saganaki is a cheese which is flamed table side. This is entertaining and it tastes good, making it a worthwhile selection.

The mac ‘n cheese doesn’t leave much of an impression in terms of texture or flavor. A heavier hand with the spices would have helped.

On the other hand, the kokkinisto (braised short ribs with tomato and cinnamon) is a tasty dish, although at this point we are frustrated with the service and so it becomes more difficult to enjoy the food.

I don’t try the calamari, but it is declared a real winner among those who do.

After all the slowing down we ask from our server, we now realize that we are running out of time. We order dessert and wait impatiently for its arrival. I imagine our server is ready for us to leave right about now. We order Cava truffles and fried donuts. The truffles are amazing and my favorite part of the meal. The smooth texture and not too sweet flavor is perfection. It really is too bad that this is the one dish we neglected to photograph. The donuts are good too but we are now officially in a big hurry, and so we grab our donuts and run.

My friend’s opinions are mixed on their ratings of the meal. They range from a 2.5 to a 3.5. I am ambivalent, so I wait for a week while I ponder it. A week has passed and I am still procrastinating. I’m waiting for a thunderbolt of lightening to hit me in terms of what I want to say and how I want to say it.

The thing about small plates is that you can like some of the dishes and some may not be so appealing. At that point, the enjoyment level is either enhanced or detracted from by the dining experience as a whole. In this instance, indifferent service result in indifferent diners.

I may find myself at Cava Mezze again. If I happen to be in the neighborhood I wouldn’t mind dining on lamb sliders, fries, and those truffles. On the other hand, I am not rushing back. Sometimes ambivalence speaks louder than we think.

Cava Mezze, 527 8th St SE, Washington, DC
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 2.8- 3.2 ?
Washingtonian, 100 Best Restaurants 2010, #45
Washingtonian, 100 Best Restaurants 2011

Filed Under: Cava Mezze, DC dining

The Night I was Pushed by Carla Hall

January 13, 2011 By Lori 4 Comments

The snow wasn’t deep but nonetheless, my car refused to make it up the hill and out of the parking lot. I put my foot on the gas and slid backwards while Carla Hall (a finalist on Top Chef Season 5 and currently featured on Top Chef All-Stars) tried to direct me on which way to turn the wheel. I had visions of my name in the headlines as a result of my seriously injuring the local star, so I encouraged her to move out of the way. Undeterred, she returned moments later and helped push my car up a hill. I finally made it out of the lot and on my way towards home, thoughts turned towards how I would word this event on Twitter, Facebook, and my blog.

Top Chef is one of my favorite TV shows. Top Chef All-Stars is even better because we already know the players, and we have an opportunity to see how they’ve grown (Antonia) or not (Jamie). I hold a special place in my heart for the DC area cheftestants Mike Isabella, Spike Mendelsohn (already out), and of course Carla Hall (nice win on the challenge tonight!)

Matthias Clamer/Bravo

When a Groupon offering a cooking class with Carla Hall appeared in my inbox a few months ago (actually before Top Chef All-Stars was even announced), I jumped on it.

I selected a vegetarian cooking class because I was concerned that the regular class could possibly feature pork or shellfish, which I don’t cook in my home. I wondered if I had done the right thing, but a few weeks later Carla won a challenge on the show by cooking a vegetarian African Groundnut soup.. My confidence in my decision was restored.

Carla’s catchphrase is “hootie hoo.” I can only describe her as a hoot. Most of the time she is a fairly low-key person and sometimes it’s difficult to hear her as she speaks rather softly. But then she gets excited and her eyes nearly pop out of her head and she sings or dances or squeals with delight. Her facial expressions are varied but each one is uniquely Carla. It’s easy to see why this caterer from Silver Spring (by way of Tennessee) was cast on the show.

We enter the room where the class is being held and I am dismayed to learn that I’ve missed out on some opening banter about Top Chef. Carla is answering questions about the judges. Who does she like best? Gail. What’s Padma like? Nicer since she had a baby. I wonder what other tidbits of information I’ve missed.

Carla gets the class started and I am intrigued when I hear that all the dishes will feature butternut squash, and each one will be paired with wine.

The cooking tips are scattered throughout the demo, along with a sentence or two thrown in now and then about a Top Chef challenge or fellow contestant. I hang on every word.

The first dish is mixed greens with butternut squash, toasted pumpkin seeds and apple cider vinaigrette. I learn a new way to cut a squash- much like an apple and then you throw out the core. I also learn the term wine sandwich- sip the wine, taste the food, sip the wine. This illustrates how food changes the personality of the wine. She also talks about the three stages of browning nuts in pan: not done, not done, burnt. It’s nice to hear her admit that she makes mistakes.

The salad is light and refreshing. Throughout the demo Carla relays tips about how to add flavor to food, and how to be spontaneous in doing so. This has me thinking about my own cooking, which is heavily reliant on recipes. Could I possibly be ready to branch out on my own?

The next dish is Moroccan spiced squash rounds with dates, pistachios and mint. I love the complexity of it, although I don’t normally like pistachios. I make an exception here.

This is followed by tofu and roasted butternut squash chili with crisp grits. This dish is a standout. The recipe she gives us does not call for cayenne but she has decided to add it, and then add some more. It is indeed spicy but I savor every bite.

The last course is a butternut squash brulee with apple chips. I wish I had captured the expression on her face as she wields the blow torch (and not the kind you get at Williams & Sonoma but a real blowtorch, she explains). She looks totally fierce. I would not have expected a dessert made from squash to be so delicious. It is wonderful. I dove in before I remembered to take a photo. Oops.

Carla talks about turning dishes into peacocks, that is having the flavor spread its wings. Great imagery!

I pick up some very useful tips about how to add flavor to food. Here are a few. (If you want more you really should take one of her classes. Her website is www.alchemybycarlahall.com.

don’t wait until you’re at the end of preparing a dish to add salt, it will just sit on top of the food. add salt or other spices during the preparation
add a citrus zest to a dish for more flavor
if a recipe calls for water, use a fruit juice instead. water is forbidden, she says.
if you’re cooking with tofu, press it overnight so it holds the spices

Near the end of the evening someone asks Carla to name her favorite restaurants and I listen intently. 8407 in Silver Spring. Commonwealth for Sunday lunch. Good Stuff Eatery for burgers. Willow. Ris. Pho 75. I ask if she has plans to own a restaurant and she replies that this is indeed in her future, probably in three years. In the meantime, she is marketing a line of cookies which we are able to sample as the class concludes. They are quite good.

The thing that impresses me most about Carla is that she is not at all a diva. I sense no ego, despite the fact that she is frequently recognized when she is out in public. This seems to surprise her, as she relays a story of someone who sees her on the metro and exclaims, “YOU ride the metro?” “Yes,” she says wryly. “I do.”

Carla not only pushed my car out of her parking lot, she pushed me to be more creative in the kitchen. Hopefully, I’ll still be inspired in a few weeks when I actually have a kitchen. Mine is being renovated right now, forcing me to eat out virtually every night. But that’s a topic for another blog.

Filed Under: Carla Hall, Top Chef

Starting the New Year with Passion…Fish

January 8, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

whole crispy flounder

It is fortuitous that the beginning of the new year coincides with the publication of Washingtonian’s 100 Very Best Restaurants. This gives me the opportunity to make my new year’s resolutions based on the restaurants where I most want to dine in the coming year. I realize that most people start their year out with resolutions about eating less and exercising more. I too, began the year with a trip to the gym, and a vow to watch what I eat- at least during the week. But a few days later my attention is turned to plotting out my year in dining.

This year’s Washingtonian list includes rankings for the top 40 restaurants, while the remainder are listed in alpha order and given two to two and a half stars. My New Year’s resolution is focused on the top 40, and is as follows:

I will dine at 15 of the top 40 restaurants where I have never been before or have not been for the past two years. There are 23 restaurants that fall into this category including Palena Cafe, Obelisk, Corduroy, CityZen and Inn at Little Washington (all on the never been list) and Komi, Tosca, and Restaurant Eve (haven’t been in two years or more). I also resolve to patronize the bottom 60% of the list whenever feasible, although I hesitate to quantify it. I hope this is not too vague for a resolution.

Reviewing the list, it appears that this resolution has the potential to have a serious affect on my checkbook, in addition to my weight. I will do my best to spend dollars and calories wisely.

I am serious about my resolution, so on the first of January I dined at #30 on the list: PassionFish in Reston. It is a solid beginning.

The variety of fresh fish on the menu is a bit daunting at first, as so many of the preparations appeal to me. For example, I can choose from Jamaican, Thai, or Asian flavors. Our group of six initially discusses sharing appetizers, but there are too many choices so most of us decide to order our own. I share a sushi roll special which consists of spicy tuna and crab with tempura crumbs on top for texture, which is a nice touch. It is certainly plentiful, so I have no regrets about sharing.

sushi roll special

My husband enjoys the grilled pear salad, and the spicy tuna tartare is deemed “delish.” The risotto with shrimp, cider and butternut squash is described as “too liquidy,” while the butternut squash and lobster bisque is deemed a winner as the bisque is light and the lobster is generous. We all lament that the bread basket is a little sparse and nothing special. It is in fact not bread but toasted baguettes, served with a decent whitefish spread.

grilled pear salad

My entree is the whole crispy flounder with spicy tamarind chili nam pla, and a cucumber sunomona salad. I don’t often order whole fish (I have to avoid the eyes), but something about this dish calls out to me. It is a winner (although my husband disagrees). The fish has a perfect crispness and while the sauce is not overwhelming, every now and again I get a bite of chili pepper, which is a welcome flavor.

Two of my friends order a lemon sole special which is lightly fried with a potato crust. One of them opts out of the accompanying collard greens with bacon and is given grilled asparagus instead, which is appreciated. I find the fish a little mushy, and it is the smoky collard greens that I like best. But my friends are happy with their selection.

lemon sole

The jerk salmon with fufu mash, mango salsa and toasted coconut seems to be missing the jerk and could pack some additional punch, but is still described as “YAH MON, delicious!”

jerk salmon

My husband’s “Firecracker Tuna” with Szechuan eggplant, wasabi, and chili Sauce is cooked perfectly and he admires the flavor and contrasting textures.

firecracker tuna

Our server is knowledgeable but her descriptions of the food are so detailed that after awhile we tune out. Sometimes less is more.

We end the meal with wonderful warm donut holes with coffee bavarian cream, and an unremarkable honey apple crisp.

As I do at the end of most restaurant visits these days, I ask my friends to rate their meals on a scale of 1-5. The scores range from a 3.8 to a 5.0. I don’t think PassionFish is close to a 5.0, but I do think it is a worthy destination for seafood lovers.

I am happy to be on my way towards fulfilling my New Year’s resolution. But I have this nagging feeling that my goal is too much about me. So I decide to make another resolution: to be more patient with family members, particularly when I am feeling stressed out.

Nah. Not sure that’s attainable. I think I’ll just take them out to dinner more often, and leave it at that.

PassionFish, 11960 Democracy Drive, Reston Town Center

Washington Post review
Washingtonian 2011 Restaurant Guide, 100 Very Best Places to Eat, #30

My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.0
Zagat rating: 24

Filed Under: PassionFish, VA Dining

NYC: Weathering Kosher Dining

January 1, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

I survived the blizzard of 2010 in Manhattan. I did it by shopping and eating my way through the city. What else?

The plan was to spend two days in NYC with my daughter. My husband and son opted to stay home. Something about not wanting to hang around stores waiting for us. We would do it for them, but that’s ok. We weren’t taking it personally.

Since my daughter only eats in Kosher or strictly vegetarian restaurants, my usual intense restaurant research was not necessary. Although I must say that there are far more options than you might imagine. I used this website as a reference tool: http://www.nachas.org/BethYehuda/kosher.html#
It’s quite handy. There is also a kosher dining board on Chowhound.

I must confess that before I met up with my daughter, who was already in the city, I make a quick stop at Shake Shack. I’ve been there previously for a shake, which I enjoyed immensely. But I want to give the burger and fries a try, particularly since Shake Shack is headed to DC in the near future. I am not a fan. The options are basically hamburger or cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, pickle and onions as toppings. They do have a ‘shroom burger and hot dogs on the menu as well. I have no complaints about the meat, but I want more variety in my toppings. The fries and shake are both fine, although nothing exceptional. Shake Shack is a simple concept. It’s just one that I can’t embrace.

The rest of the trip is designated for kosher food all the way. My plan for our first night is dinner at Mike’s Bistro on the Upper West Side. The only problem is that the storm is kicking in and it is tough to walk a block with all the snow blowing in our faces. I worry that we will be stranded uptown, and we have theater tickets. We shift gears and go to Le Marais in the theater district. Le Marais has a nice steakhouse vibe–dark walls and leather seats. This is a serious meat restaurant. I choose spicy lamb sausage with couscous for my entree, while my daughter selects the lamb shank with spaetzle. My dish is plentiful but not so very different from the kosher spicy sausage I often make at home. The lamb shank is also a generous portion of meat, tender, and full of flavor. Le Marais is definitely a perfect option for Kosher pre-theater dining. I suspect I’ll eat there again sometime in the future, and look forward to trying a steak.

Le Marais

Monday morning the city is a winter wonderland. Our plan is to head down Fifth Avenue for some shopping and eventually make it down to Soho with a stop for lunch. When asked what it was like on Monday in the city there is one thing I can tell you to put into perspectivehow bad of a storm it was: Lord & Taylor was closed. This is two days after Christmas, so you know it’s a big deal when a major department store can’t open. Thankfully, most of the other stores are open. We call the restaurant where we plan to lunch and they tell me they will not open. Our back-up plan is Chennai Garden, which has a Kosher/Indian/vegetarian buffet for $6.95. I am pleasantly surprised by the warm, pretty atmosphere of the room. The buffet is a blend of hot and cold dishes, with varying degrees of spiciness. I sample as many dishes as I can, and there’s not one that isn’t delicious. This is a fantastic lunch option and I would go here again in a heartbeat, even though it’s right across the street from Danny Meyer’s Blue Smoke barbeque restaurant (have been and it’s good!)

it looks like I took alot of food. I guess I did, but I swear I didn’t finish it all!

Our dinner plans for Mike’s Bistro are again thwarted. The restaurant cannot open due to the weather. My daughter takes over the research and is excited when she comes across Abigael’s on Broadway, a Kosher, theater district restaurant, with a celebrity chef. I am dubious. A Kosher celebrity chef? But a google search
reveals that Chef Jeff Nathan is the host of “New Jewish Cuisine” on PBS and has even beatBobby Flay in a throwdown challenge for matzah ball soup. He won aBobby Flay throwdown? He was also the recipient of the James Beard National Chili Cook-off award for Abigael’s Venison Chili. Now I’m intrigued.

Abigael’s on Broadway is a bit of a mystery to start. You can’t find the place. There are no signs. It’s in the basement of an office building and we almost miss it. But the lobby of the building is staffed and they seem accustomed to pointing people in the right direction.

I am a bit deflated once we get into the restaurant. It’s a little shabby and dated. I feel like I am in a second rate hotel restaurant. In fact, it reminds me of a second rate hotel restaurant where we dined during Passover last year in Tel Aviv.

Abigael’s on Broadway

There are two menus. One has an international flair and one is more traditional. We go for the international menu. I order Vietnamese chicken with a cilantro rice and my daughter orders Argentine short ribs with scallion mashpotatoes. The food is delivered and unfortunately both dishes are cold, particularly the short ribs. I hesitate to do this, but we send them back. They come back piping hot. My dish, which is a crispy chicken, may have been a little crispier the first time out. It has a nice flavor, and I particularly enjoy the rice. My daughter’s short ribs are absolutely delicious.

Vietnamese chicken

I hate to apply different standards to Kosher food but often the quality of the food isn’t as good as non-Kosher food, and my expectations are usually lower. The short ribs here are a dish that stand up to short ribs anywhere. I am happy to say that. Both sides- my rice and my daughter’s potatoes are so tasty that it’s hard to leave any of them uneaten. We want to leave room for dessert, so we do leave a few bits on the plate.

short ribs at Abigael’s

(For the record, one of the best dishes I’ve ever had anywhere are the short ribs at the Kosher Solo restaurant in NY. They were prepared by Top Chef winner Hung Huynh, who cooked there for over a year.)

We end our meal with creme brulee. I don’t know how it’s possible to make a creme brulee with no dairy products, but this is an excellent version of one of my favorite desserts.

Abigael’s on Broadway turns out some high quality food. I do think it’s time to invest in some new decor and a sign.

I expected to be a little disappointed to be in NYC and have restrictions on my dining choices. Instead I found that it is deeply satisfying to be able to indulge my daughter on a foodie journey of her own. There’s nothing quite like mother/daughter bonding over theater, shopping, and of course food. And learning that Crumbs Bakery is Kosher is just the icing on the (cup) cake.

Le Marais,150 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036

New York Magazine Review

My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.7

Zagat rating: 22

Chennai Garden, 129 E. 27th Street

My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.0

Zagat rating: 21

Abigael’s On Broadway, 1407 Broadway (at 39th), NY, NY

My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 3.8

Zagat rating: 20