Dino - A last minute dinner

Where should we go?  We just got out of a work happy hour in Cleveland Park.  2 Amys?  Palena?  On this day, Dino.  Late summer.  I really like Dino.  It's been good to me. Dean Gold shops at the farmers' market for lots of fresh & local, and I'm down with it.  Plus their before 7pm $27 3-course deal is pretty much the best in town.  I hope my memory hasn't foresaken me, this was a few months back...

Artichokes.  Crispy and zesty and begging for me to squeeze that lemon wedge all over 'em. 

Prosciutto rolled peaches.  Whaaaaaat?!

Cheesy warm gooey cannelloni.  Beautiful color, too.

Tubular pasta with duck leg confit.  And greens.  I want it again, now.

Dino
3435 Connecticut Ave NW
Metro: Cleveland Park

J & G Steakhouse

So the other day I was having dinner with Hamid Karzai....oh wait, no, I was NEAR his hotel, but he didn't actually join us for dinner.  I assume he was at the Willard, security was hott right thar.

The W Hotel, formerly Hotel Washington, is home to a rooftop bar with quite the view.  The White House looks teeny next to the Treas from this angle!  It tickled me a bit that the Elevator Bouncer checked our IDs to head up to the rooftop, but no one checked 'em when we got our cocktails at dinner.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten is a man with a plan....to open delicious restaurants all over the place!  We may not be Paris, Bora Bora, or even Las Vegas (I'd rather be in DC than LV any day!), but we're one of the most recent additions to the JG family.  Like Bourbon Steak, the place has steak in the name, but the menu is so much more than that (links to Washingtonian & WaPo reviews show I'm not alone in this line of thought).

Drinks:  Dark & Stormy, New York Sour. 

The spring pea soup with parmesan was unbelievable.  GORGEOUS, smooth as silk, and the flaaaavors and the teeeeextures, for real.  I obviously dig pea soup--when done well, it's so so so happy.  The sweet pea puree was an awesome contrast to the thick, foamy parmesan area.  I kept tasting them separately, then together, then separately...ok, I had a little too much fun.

J had heard good stuff about the calamari - it was a big portion, but very light.  CRUNCH.

The halibut (with scallion and chili sauce, basil and celery) was quite tasty.  LB recommended it, and the fish was nice and light.  Lightly crispy top, as you can see.  And the fun underneath would make an awesome tapenade--I'd like to spread that on a cracker, you know?

J's lamb, cooked medium, with a side of root vegetables.  The first bite I had wasn't as good as the next two--those were awesome (I think the first happened to be a more done bite, and I'm all about the pink).  Very simple - seasoned with salt and pepper, then a dried black olive breadcrumb situation (this was light--if you're anti-olive, no worries).  The result was a yummy, charred, smoky, super delicious lamb dish that was so good I almost didn't want dessert because I wanted the last taste on my tongue to be that lamb.  The texture was what it should be--not chewy, not gritty, just perfect.  Root veggies were root veggies--but the puree underneath them was awe-inducing.

A bit of dessert.  Light and fluffy cheesecake with some "exotic fruit compote and sorbet."  Pineapple?  Passionfruit?  Mango?  Something, or maybe a mixture.  I didn't care for the sorbet, but the cheesecake was very good, and adorable.  And A+ to the staff for listening attentively when I said it was J's BIRTHDAY!!!!  Happy day to him.

As we pondered our meal and awaited our check, a gentleman next to us was going on and on to the server and then the manager about the Caesar salad.  Apparently his lettuce was very soggy, and it was unacceptable, and he wouldn't recommend that people return.  J and I exchanged glances that said Who Would Get a Caesar Salad With This Freakin' Menu, Is This Guy Out Of His Mind.  Then we joked about my 19-year-old cousin who orders a Caesar salad wherever he goes--he's a connoisseur.  We'd have to put it to his test to really find out if this guy was right!   For what it's worth, the manager was very receptive to the criticism, and managed the complaint nicely. 

Service was great--our server recommended the "signature" dishes, which were all ones we had heard about beforehand from other blogs and friends.  He wasn't pushy on the drinks, but definitely was encouraging for us to drink more. The line between being attentive to empty glasses and wanting to up our bill is a fine one, and he got a little close.  But I liked him.

We had a wonderful meal, and a wonderful time.  We'll be back! And yes, my photos got increasingly darker as our window seat became irrelevant--night time, a pox on you!

J&G Steakhouse
W Hotel
515 15th Street NW (Penn & 15th)
Metro: Orange, Blue, & Red Lines to Metro Center (or O&B to McPherson, or Fed Triangle...)

Poste Brasserie

We recently had a delightful brunch with good friends and he who must be our youngest friend. I'll get his meal out of the way first--the 3 year old had a bagel and cream cheese.

On to the old folks.

First, please do yourself a favor and GIVE IN to your inner self. You know, the inner self that is saying "get the house made doughnuts, you fool!" Let yourself go. There is a fine assortment (usually more than one chocolate, so less fighting than expected) and each one makes you wish it was a never-ending bowl/Mary Poppins/Olive Garden situation.

I had the ridiculous Brioche French Toast. I usually go for something omelette-y and healthy, but I was craving some ridiculosity, so there it went. The pieces were super thick, crunchy on the outside, and all around delightful. I don't have a picture of it, and for that I apologize.

BUT, two at our table got the Eggs Hussarde. Apparently invented in New Orleans, this combination of slightly scooped-out baked potato (swoon), merchand de vin sauce (hearty and flavorful), and poached egg (go, yolk! Infest everything, in a good way, with your deliciousness!) was simply magical. It's topped with bacon strips, which definitely are not necessary for the flavor explosion if you're not a fan/keep kosher/watching your sodium intake.



Service was attentive and charming, the patio was lovely, and I can't wait to do it again. P.S., brunch is Saturday AND Sunday. niiiice.


Poste Brasserie
555 8th Street, NW
Metro: Red, Yellow, and Green Lines to Gallery Place/Chinatown

Poste Moderne Brasserie

I apologize in advance that I forgot my camera and only have phone photos for you. It is my submission that a not-perfect picture is better than no picture at all in most instances, so that's why I'm sharing.

I'd been eying Poste for a long time, and we finally made our appearance there before A Chorus Line. I didn't realize they had a pre-theater menu (it wasn't originally offered to us, despite our 6:00pm reservation), but when our server realized we were on our way to ordering a three-course meal she suggested that option. We never actually saw the pre-theater menu, but she told us what was on it. Both of our appetizer option were on it, but J ended up with not-his-first-choice (but still yummy) entree, and I gathered that all of the desserts were available. Let's do a hit list.

French onion soup: Yum. Hot. Cheesy.

Arugula salad: It says "mint, figs, basil, parmesan, aged sherry vinaigrette," but I saw and tasted a pile of arugula dressed with the sherry vinaigrette with approximately 5 pieces of fig underneath, topped with a single 3 inch shred of parmesan. Gathered on one side of the plate, the clump of arugula resembled a pile of leaves. It was fine, but it wasn't that good, and the presentation was underwhelming.

Beef bourguignon: J enjoyed the ribs and cheeks served in a little pot with soft roasted vegetables (including fingerling potatoes). The meat was so tender that we barely had to chew, which was relaxing.

Goat cheese ravioli: I looooved this, with its crispy shallots, organic beets, and pine nuts. The goat cheese was creamy and sweet, and the salty/sweet contrast in the dish was exactly what I love and what I was looking for. The portion was dainty, so I'm glad we were on a three-course track. Next time I'd like to try the poussin (baby chicken, essentially)--the words apple and cider appear in the description, so that's an obvious pick for me.


The gingerbread cake with roasted pears was the night's biggest disappointment. The cake was dry and generally not good; I honestly prefer J's homemade spice cake (and the man is no pastry chef) to what was on our plate. The pears were kind of dry, too. They could have used a little bath in something gooey, maybe.

The red velvet cake was GREAT! It was like having two chocolate brownie-like cakes, one covered in delicious raspberry sauce, and one naked. Our server recommended the tasting of salted caramel and the red velvet, but how was I to know that what she possibly meant was "these are the only good desserts"? I felt confident that those were just her favorites, and that I'd like most of the desserts on the list. Not true. Then again, at Central D was assured by our server that the Kit-Kat Bar is better than the chocolate lava whatnot, and that's probably not true.

Wine: I asked our knowledgeable server for a recommendation for a glass under the "Eclectic Reds" list and got a really really good Malbec. The list had a range of options, including very reasonably-priced bottles and half bottles.

The restaurant is in an old building, and somehow that translates into the closest bathroom being out the door, through the hotel lobby, and up one floor. Don't drink too much and limit your visit to one. Also, somewhat amusingly, the elevator has a typo--it lists floor 2 as the one with "Post Restaurant."

I'll definitely go back to Poste--not only for the main meals, but also for the delightful afterthoughts (like white chocolate-covered gooseberries).


Poste Moderne Brasserie
555 8th St NW
Metro: Red, Yellow, and Green Lines to Gallery Place-Chinatown