Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Joe Englert'.
Found 2 results
-
Just got this email off the dc-beer email list: Props to Thomas Cizauskas for the info. Will definitely be interesting to see how this place develops, maybe a good spot for a meal before a show at Rock and Roll Hotel? That area is still pretty rough, though, and it's a pain in the ass to get there without a car. Still, very interesting... -
You'd think we would've learned our lesson about trying places in the first month of opening by now, but here we are... Vendetta is a new Italian restaurant/bar/bocce court venture by Joe Englert in the old Red Palace space. The place looks amazing. It's tough to believe it used to be a dive bar and grungy music/burlesque venue. We started our night with cocktails, all of which were well made. The favorite of the group was the Linden Court (bourbon, amaro, madeira, orange bitters, and vanilla). I would normally have ordered a Negroni, but curiously, they have chosen to muck up the drink by adding orange juice. For appetizers, we ordered pickled green beans, a charcuterie plate, fritto misto, and "artisan bread." The charcuterie was the highlight, but they can't really take credit for much more than plating nicely sourced salumi. The fritto misto was fine, but nothing outstanding - 3 medium sized shrimp and 3-4 baby octopi. The breading did not seem to be seasoned at all. The bread consisted of 4 chunks of cold, standard crusty bread and a pretzel stick, all inexplicably served in a large paper bag. It was served with a too-small amount of "bourbon chutney butter." For mains, there were a couple of specials, but everyone went the pasta route. The pastas are touted as being made in-house. You choose a shape and then pair with one of several sauces. I can only vouch for the squid ink and the rabbit ragu. Both were completely unseasoned and served on the cool side of luke warm. The papardelle served with the ragu was drying out with the noodles all clumped together. No bueno. The requested salt shaker and wine were delivered ~5 minutes after everyone finished their pasta. Luckily our dining companions were great, and between the cocktails and the company, a good time was had by all. I'm sure the service issues will iron out somewhat over time...the food, I'm more skeptical about. There was such a tremendous lack of seasoning throughout, I'm not sure anyone back there was paying any attention to what they were putting out. All that said, I'm sure we'll be back for cocktails and bocce...and maybe that's the whole point.
