Hooked on Hook

I revisited Hook recently, a good idea--you may recall that my first visit was a lunch, during Restaurant Week, and not that long after this Georgetown eatery opened.

Off the bat: I could have spooned up the butter like ice cream and eaten it all, it was light and airy and extremely sweet. It may be filled with crack.

I started with the pumpkin risotto cakes on top of some sauce of pureed pumpkin. The look and texture of this dish reminded me of really crispy hash browns, in a good way! The pumpkin wasn't sweet the way you'd expect after pumpkin spice lattes and other dessert-like concoctions--the cakes were hot and savory, with delightful grilled onions topping them off, cooked to perfection. I could have had a couple more and called it a night. J noted that this appetizer was WAY better than my main dish at Restaurant 3.

J enjoyed the grilled calamari, but psst, my risotto cakes were better. The potato salad and calamari was an unexpected combination. The minty concoction on the side worked well with the calamari and was the most interesting part of the dish.

For my entree, the Sablefish was light and flaky, perfectly cooked, and well-seasoned. What i love about eating a great fish dish is it isn't too heavy and you can still have an appetizer and dessert, getting a real full meal at the restaurant and experiencing what they have to offer without feeling stuffed afterward and being rolled home. The accompaniments--roasted cauliflower was nice, and the roasted potatoes were...roasted potatoes. Fine but unnecessary.

J's mahi mahi with the butternut squash puree was---well, how was it? I know the butternut squash puree tasted good, but there was too much of it on the plate.

For dessert, a tart of paper-thin apple slices atop a buttery pastry crust with vanilla bean ice cream (I could SMELL the vanilla!) and the Tic Tac Toe--a TTT board of chocolate sauce with homemade whoopie pies and an X-shaped shortbread cookie. It was thoughtfully imagined and constructed, and certainly fun to eat. I couldn't watch it keep going by to all the other tables.

Hook is busy, and it's not that big--there seems to be an upstairs I've never been to, and a significant part of the main floor is taken up by the bar. The open floorplan (you can even see into the kitchen), cool colors, and oceanic decor makes it a comfortable space for enjoying a looong dinner. Our reservations were for 9pm, and we weren't seated until 9:25pm. Just an FYI.

Hook
3241 M Street NW
Metro: Your local bus, the Orange Line to Foggy Bottom, then walk to Georgetown, or take the Circulator from DC, or a Metro Connection (blue bus).