When I started to text a friend about my dinner at Ris, my phone’s auto-text changed the word to risk. But dining at this restaurant is anything but a risky endeavor. Nearly everything on the menu appealed to me. I settled on a starter of the Scallop Margarita, which is lime marinated scallops with chiles, orange, avocado and tequila ice. It was refreshing with just a hint of spice to it. Plentiful- but not too filling. A perfect starter. The Caesar salad received a rave review as did the Gnudi (ricotta dumplings on tomato and eggplant fondue with spinach and crisp prosciutto, but I was too busy reveling in my scallop dish to notice.
My entrée was Orecchietti Pasta with rock shrimp, pesto, summer squash, spinach, goat cheese and pine nuts. Some of my very favorite ingredients are in this dish, and I could not have enjoyed it more. Actually, had I not been so stuffed from the appetizer, I probably would have been a little better off. But there’s nothing wrong with some leftovers for the next day. Sunday lunch was delish!
Gingered beets and bok choy were a nice accompaniment, although I didn’t really need more food with my entree. But I am never one to ignore beets on a menu, particularly when paired with ginger.
We shared three desserts among six people. I would have been happy to devour the entire summer fruit cobbler on my own. The berry upside-down cake had a flavor that I couldn’t identify and didn’t much like. There was also a roasted banana covered in chocolate with nuts and caramel on the side. I do not like nuts at all but caramel is another favorite, so a few bites of this dessert were just fine with me. I look forward to a return visit and that’s something I don’t often say about restaurants in this price range, as there are so many to choose from. But in this case I hope to enjoy Ris sooner, rather than later.
My rating (on a 1-5 scale): 4.5
Check out a review by Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post.
Washingtonian Magazine named Ris best new restaurant of 2010.
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