Fast Hits
It’s exhausting to imagine that the identical nation that invented tiramisu additionally produced the cannoli
Tip for first-daters hoping to reside as much as their profile pics: Buck’s has the very best golden-hour lighting within the DC space
My youngsters can marry anybody they need aside from individuals who again into parking areas
DC has the bottom Jews-to-Jewish-delis ratio within the free world
Cake doughnuts > raised doughnuts
Stephen Starr has gotta be utilizing oompa loompas
One of the best factor at Popeye’s is the crimson beans & rice
Be aware to restaurateurs: dehydrating meals and turning it right into a powder is barely a good suggestion when you’re catering lunch for the area shuttle
Labneh is aware of you’re going for the hummus and the baba ganoush however reveals up anyway; it’s the rom-com greatest pal of the mezze platter
You will have a greater likelihood at profitable Powerball than evenly cooking bowtie pasta
Social Safeway is an oxymoron
Bonus dad joke: a wedge of Parmesan cheese is nice however pre-shredded is grated
Eating Spherical-Up
Buck’s Fishing & Tenting, 5031 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC (Chevy Chase-DC)
Buck’s is a form of clubhouse for individuals who wouldn’t consider becoming a member of an precise membership. I’m principally speaking about residents of Higher NW/decrease MoCo like me who’re of a sure age, political leaning, and non secular affiliation (let’s simply say when you got here from an oneg at Adas the place you had been recounting CBS’s horrible remedy of the Smothers Brothers over their place on the Vietnam Conflict, you’re in). Buck’s is a protected area the place we are able to really feel comfy speaking about issues that matter, like whether or not to order one other bottle of Whispering Angel or only a piece of chocolate cake after dinner — spoiler alert: we’ll have each…and 4 forks, please — and whether or not the popcorn on the Avalon wants extra salt.
The menu at Buck’s hardly ever modifications and ranges from good to superb. To begin, I at all times — at all times — get the iceberg wedge with blue cheese, bacon, and horseradish dressing. After that, I’m enjoying with home cash and might go in any path, particularly since I do know I can seize just a few fries from Sonia’s flat-iron steak. Different good orders embody the NY Strip, the carrot dip with flatbread, the fried oysters, the fish & chips, and the 1/2 rooster. And it’s not on the menu proper now, however in case it comes again, I actually appreciated the bangers & mash made with duck and bacon sausage. Lastly, when you’re considering of dessert, the chocolate cake with lightly-whipped cream is well worth the energy, even when you’re single-forking it.
Wedge Salad with Level Reyes Blue Cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and horseradish dressing
Duck and Bacon Bangers & Mash
Bar Spero, 250 Massacusetts Ave NW, Washington DC (Capitol Crossing)
Bon Appetit named Bar Spero one of many nation’s greatest new eating places of 2023 and also you received’t get any pushback from me. Chef Johnny Spero has a winner right here. Though I do marvel about Bon Appetit’s description of Bar Spero as a “brassy grill-focused ode to Basque nightlife.” First, it’s truly extra minimalist than brassy. Second, I’m unsure how many individuals would glean any that means from an “ode to Basque nightlife.” It’s like somebody who says they do an impressions of Grover Cleveland. Possibly you nailed it, I don’t know.
What I do know is that there’s some actually good dishes popping out of the Bar Spero kitchen, usually seafood- and veggie-forward and cooked over an open fireplace. We appreciated every thing we tried — the hearth-grilled bread from Manifest Bakery (supplemented with the rooster liver mousse), grilled oysters, beef tartare, burger, baked potato with smoked egg, Jonah Crab Rice, Beef Rib, and Burnt Cheesecake ice cream. I have to get again to attempt the opposite half of the menu however I’d say order with abandon.
Jonah Crab Rice with Carolina gold rice and crab fats custard
Russet potato dusted with smoked egg
Burnt Cheesecake Ice Cream
Causa, 920 Blagden Alley NW, Washington DC (Conference Middle)
There’s quite a bit to love about Causa, Chef Carlos Delgado’s small, upscale Peruvian restaurant in Blagden Alley. There’s the contemporary, vibrant flavors of Peru that appear each unique and acquainted. There’s the care and thought that goes into sourcing and cooking. And there’s the superb service — educated and pleasant with out being cloying or over-staying their welcome. And since the restaurant solely holds 20-odd seats, Chef Delgado himself will doubtless current a number of the dishes and clarify the story behind them. So when Causa acquired its first Michelin star, I wasn’t stunned.
There was one small fly within the ointment for me that I wished to say. Common readers will know I’m not a fan of molecular gastronomy or intellectualized cooking. To me, the one query is whether or not one thing makes the dish higher or not. If it does, it’s in; if it doesn’t, depart it out, irrespective of how intelligent it’s or how cool it seems to be. And to me — and I stress that is my very own style and I’m not yucking anybody’s yum — strategies like deconstruction, dehydration, and trompe l’oeil hardly ever enhance a dish (I see what you probably did there shouldn’t be enhancing a dish). Fortunately, most of Causa’s dishes give attention to higher components and higher method, like Chef Delgado’s impressed addition of Maryland lump crab to his rendition of locro (pumpkin stew) and his use of no matter cheffy strategies created the stew’s luscious sauce. Then again, I discovered the choclo con queso (corn with cheese) much less profitable. It was in all probability the dish I used to be most trying ahead to — what might go mistaken with corn and cheese? — however the cheese part was processed into some form of dehydrated foodstuff that coated the plate like a frigid lunar panorama (see pic under). Once more, this type of factor may very well be your jam. You’re not alone. Michelin inspectors and different meals cognoscenti agree with you. However when you’re a fellow traveler on my aspect of the ledger, I believed you need to know.
Pretty amuse buche
Locro – Maryland Crab, butternut squash, queso fresco, huacatay
Choclo con Queso (corn, chulpi toasted corn, queso fresco, huacatay)
Parihuela Chalaca (seafood soup in a plastic bag)
Chez Billy Sud, 1039 thirty first St NW, Washington DC (Georgetown)
If DC will get any extra French eating places, we might need to give up to Arlington. So it’s good to get again to an previous favourite like Chez Billy Sud and see that they haven’t misplaced a step. This duck confit is without doubt one of the greatest on the town (though the pores and skin may very well be a tad crisper). And the room is the proper stability between bustle/buzz and never being on prime of neighboring tables.
Duck Confit with braised lentils, parsnip, banyuls vinegar sauce
Cielo Rojo, 7211 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park MD
Cielo Rojo simply moved to large, lovely new quarters a stone’s throw down Carroll Avenue from its authentic location. The husband-and-wife group of David Perez and Carolina McCandless met a decade in the past working at an natural Mexican restaurant in San Francisco and moved to the DC space (the place Carolina was raised) to open Cielo Rojo in 2019. My go-to order is at all times pozole, which is without doubt one of the greatest on the town. Then I’ll tack on something involving corn or avocados — CR’s sourcing and processing doesn’t reduce any corners — and end with a chunk of tres leches cake.
Guacamole & Tostadas
Pozole Rojo
Tres Leches Cake
Ceibo, 2106 18th Ave NW, Washington DC (Adams Morgan)
Pre-Ceibo, the sum complete of my expertise with Urugauyan delicacies was a small carry-out in a gasoline station on 14th Avenue referred to as Quick Gourmand. They made a terrific chivito, the nationwide sandwich of Uruguay, that contained a scorching mess of pounded steak, bacon, ham, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a ton of mayo. It was unbelievably good, even sober. So think about my pleasure once I heard that the identical brothers who ran Quick Gourmand opened a Uruguayan restaurant referred to as Ceibo on 18th Avenue. (Be aware: I haven’t been capable of affirm that it’s the identical two brothers, however I desperately need it to be true.)
Alas, there’s no chivito on the menu at Ceibo. The vibe is extra upscale and as you’ll be able to in all probability guess, I’m not asking for a deconstructed model. The leek tart was the desk favourite, with a flaky crust, scrumptious leek filling and creamy cheese topping. The inexperienced salad with herbs was successful as effectively, little nuggets of fruit and fried chickpea puree lurking beneath the floor. The strip steak was well-seasoned and cooked to an ideal medium-rare and the gelato with darkish cherries completed the meal off properly.
Leek Tart
Inexperienced Salad with Herbs
Strip Loin Steak
The Heights Meals Corridor, 5406 Wisconsin Ave, Chevy Chase MD
I would like the Heights Meals Corridor to succeed. Badly. I wouldn’t name Friendship Heights a wasteland as a result of no less than wastelands produce some respectable poetry. Friendship Heights does have Clyde’s, Lia’s, Cheesecake Manufacturing unit, and The Hunter’s Hound however when you instructed me all of them shared a single kitchen I wouldn’t bat an eye fixed.
Anyway, The Heights opened late final 12 months with profitable manufacturers like Yasmine and DC Dosa and sit-down Mexican spot Urbano. Plus, uber-talented Chef Kevin Tien launched a sushi spot referred to as doki doki. I’ve solely been to doki thus far however Chef Tien’s Pink Dragon Roll is already considered one of my favourite sushi rolls on the town. What I’m saying is, all of us need to do our half in making The Heights Meals Corridor such a rousing success that the parents from Harrods fly right here to see what within the hell is happening.
Pink Dragon Roll (Krab salad, cucumber, avocado, jalapeno, topped with spicy tuna, eel sauce, spicy mayo, crispy rice noodles)
January 2024 goes to be a banner month for DC restaurant openings. The checklist contains 2Fifty Texas BBQ in Mt Vernon Sq., Kevin Tien’s relaunch of Moon Rabbit in Penn Quarter, NYC import Pastis close to Union Market, and Elevating Canes Hen (inside Union Station). Every of these may very well be among the many best-in-class within the DC space however you’ll need to tune in subsequent time to search out out.
