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Oval Room, Near The Ellipse <--- :-) - Chef John Melfi and GM Muhammad Nadeem


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Went for lunch a couple of weeks ago and came away extremely disappointed. I had the crabcake app and the bouillabaisse. Both were remarkably lacking in flavor - even though the bouillabaisse had a ton of chopped herbs, the stock itself lacked any real depth.

My colleague had what was described as a "Cobb Salad" on the menu but showed up with roast beef and ham!

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The first word that comes to mind when I think of my recent meal at Oval Room: dull. :lol: I suspect that at least part of the difference between Busboy/Waitman's take on the place versus mine is that he indulged in the tasting menu which, when I was there, looked considerably more interesting than the a la carte menu IMO.

Other than a good butternut squash soup, my date and I couldn't point out a single thing that made us say "yum, that was good." Although there are two restaurants* in town to which I would return even if they served nothing but soup, Oval Room isn't getting added to that list anytime soon.

Let's back up for a moment. The evening did not have an auspicious start. I arrived early, hoping to enjoy a glass of some interesting wine before my date arrived. The bartender, who I'm sure is a great fellow, couldn't seem to answer my first few questions. One of my questions, asked while pointing to a Sauvignon Blanc on the wine list, was "I'm not familiar with the Edna Valley, do you know where that is?" He did not. Now, he’s a bartender so it would be nice if he knew the answer, but I would have been content to hear “no, but I’ll find out.” No such luck. I ordered a half-glass of gewürztraminer and asked for my bill.

When I subsequently heard him tell my fellow bar customers about his illness (present-tense) and he was reprimanded by a colleague, I stopped blaming myself for silly questions. This was a bar to be shunned.

After my date arrived, we were promptly seated in the near-empty dining room. It was a cold night, but I figured there would be more than four or five tables occupied on a Friday night.

The rest of the mail? I could go through it, but it would come off as excessively nitpicky. Overcooked lamb, described as “spiced” but somewhat lacking in flavor. Lobster my dated described as “well, it’s lobster and lobster is good, but this is nothing special.” A dessert of “chocolate six ways,” elicited a similar reaction from me. “I mean, it’s chocolate,” but two or three components went untouched after initial tastes failed to strike me as worth the calories. Its presentation struck me as sloppy too.

It’s hard for me to say much more about the Oval Room because I can’t compare it any experiences before the new chef came aboard. Can anyone speak to experiences there (either before or after)?

For what it’s worth, I’d do my best to avoid a return visit. With entrees ranging from $18 (a vegetarian plate) to $30 (lamb), the food would have to be much more interesting to consider this establishment a decent value, at least on my budget.

* Those restaurants are Corduroy and Palena.

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The first word that comes to mind when I think of my recent meal at Oval Room: dull.   <_<   I suspect that at least part of the difference between Busboy/Waitman's take on the place versus mine is that he indulged in the tasting menu which, when I was there, looked considerably more interesting than the a la carte menu IMO.

concur. Was taken here for a group meal this evening and it was plainly mediocre. Everything was perfectly fine, no complaints - professional service, fresh salad, nice piece of salmon, tasty chocolate tort, but nothing to write home about. In short, I think this is a nice restaurant with good food, but not a place for foodies or others seeking a creative, suberb meal.

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I concur.  Was taken here for a group meal this evening and it was plainly mediocre.  Everything was perfectly fine, no complaints - professional service, fresh salad, nice piece of salmon, tasty chocolate tort, but nothing to write home about.  In short, I think this is a nice restaurant with good food, but not a place for foodies or others seeking a creative, suberb meal.

dd to me in that Seccich is clearly trying to go beyond this. Not that there's anything wrong with salad, salmon and chocolate, but if you order "normal" you're going to get "normal." Seccich has a lot to offer, perhaps mostly limited to the chef's menu and special events at this point (I had a special menu with the Jefferson Vineyards barrel tasting last month), but when he gets his mojo on, it's well worth checking out.

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I think it was a bad match. Matt clearly had a vision and the Oval Room's owner, who deserves props for running a slew of good -- if rarely great (Rasika being an exception) -- didn't share it. And seeing your wife and kids once a month is a hard life, even by restaurant standards.

I hope his next venture works out better than this, and I will miss his wit and dedication.

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For the record, Ashok had nothing to do with the departure of Mathew, he was just as suprised as the rest of us. Mathew had some things he had to work out on his own time, he was given the golden ticket to do whatever he wanted in the kitchen. The balme lies nowhere, sometimes life gets in the way ya know?

S.

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For the record, Ashok had nothing to do with the departure of Mathew, he was just as suprised as the rest of us. 

But Sebastian, it's not like Mathew pulled a Bobby Beard, right?

It's too bad, I was really looking forward to trying his tasting menu. Hopefully Ashok will continue in the direction of top new talent with the security of the success of Rasika's to support that type of decision.

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A good friend of mine works in the kitchen at the Oval Room and he said that although it was a very unexpected departure there were many things that figured in to

Chef's decison to leave, none of them having to do with Ashok, which caught me by suprise because that was my first thought, creative differences.

"But Sebastian, it's not like Mathew pulled a Bobby Beard, right?" :) I find this comment absolutely ribcrakingly, fart while you laugh funny!!!!!! but seriously, the situation at New Heights was bad for any chef to be saddled with, I know he was miserable everyday. I was very happy for him when he got the job at Vermillion where I hear he's doing well.

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Anyone been to The Oval Room recently?

I haven't, but my friend who works there says the new guys from Vong or Jean George and is into that cutting edge "microgastronomy". Sous vide machines, lots of enzymes and protiens and stuff of that nature...so we'll see what happens next. He did tell me the guy made a grilled cheese sandwich where he didn't use any cheese, he cooked an egg for 3-4 hours at a really low temp in the circulator and peeled it and served it between toast. He said the texture was the same as eating a grilled cheese but obviously the flavor was a tad different....

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http://www.ovalroom.com/

DanielK and I went to the Oval Room http://www.ovalroom.com/

today for Restaurant Week (RW). The experience overall was very good, and I would urge people to take advantage of RW prices for the next two weeks (they have extended RW for a extra week) and try this gem of a restaurant.

The RW menu is on the website under events. The menus we got today were the same except their was a missing item from each category. After talking with our waiter, we found that many of the items are not on the current menu, but have been tried in the past, all our full portions.

The new chef is Tony Conte. His bio is on the website.

Danielk and I both started off with a Cauliflower Soup with Bleu Cheese, Chestnut Honey, and Roasted Radishes. The soup was good, but not great. We both ended up adding a bit of slat and pepper and had trouble tasting the cauliflower. While we ate the soup we began to notice large salads coming out to other diners. If I go back, I would definitely try a salad as a first course. In particular the Frisee Salad with a slow Poached Egg looked very temping.

I then had the Pork Tenderloin, Herb Spaetzle, Proscuitto and Asian Pear entree. This dish blew me away!. The Pork Tenderloin was cooked to perfections and tender as a well as a tenderloin should be. It rested on a bed of green Spaetzle that also had green soy beans and Proscuitto mixed in. Each bite tended to change slightly depending on what herb was present on that forkful. The Asian Pear was a sauce that had some foam to it and brought the dish together. This dish was the highlight of the meal for me and was served in a portion that filled me up. I did sample Danielk's Braised Short Rib, White Polenta, Orange Cilantro Gremolata. The Short Rib was heavenly, just heavenly, While the polenta was good, the dish needed a slight dash of salt to bring it together.

Dessert was a Heirloom Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Crème Anglaise. The bread pudding was light, hot and the pumpkin shone through. The crème Anglaise was enough to add a slight sweetness and incredible mouth feel.

Service was excellent, the room got full and diners seemed to enjoy themselves.

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DanielK and I went to the Oval Room http://www.ovalroom.com/

today for Restaurant Week (RW). The experience overall was very good, and I would urge people to take advantage of RW prices for the next two weeks (they have extended RW for a extra week) and try this gem of a restaurant.

thanks for your write up. i've been curious about this place recently, and now i might have to give it a try.

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The RW menu is on the website under events. The menus we got today were the same except their was a missing item from each category. After talking with our waiter, we found that many of the items are not on the current menu, but have been tried in the past, all our full portions.

Can you tell us what the missing items were? I'll be there tomorrow, and hope the items I've got my eyes on aren't typos. Thanks.

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Can you tell us what the missing items were? I'll be there tomorrow, and hope the items I've got my eyes on aren't typos. Thanks.

Shrimp, Bacon Broth, Dill and Mustard

Maple Orange Skate

Licorice Roasted Pineapple

Maybe those items are on the Dinner menu and not the lunch. Who knows!

BTW the bread and butter was good too!

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Shrimp, Bacon Broth, Dill and Mustard

Maple Orange Skate

Licorice Roasted Pineapple

Maybe those items are on the Dinner menu and not the lunch. Who knows!

BTW the bread and butter was good too!

Thanks for the details. I'm going tomorrow night and will report back.
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Scott hit the nail on the head with the review. I think the chef went a little light with the salt on my two choices (the cauliflower soup and braised short rib), but it wasn't anything that wasn't immediately correctable.

The cauliflower soup was very good, but not great. I liked the spare application of cream, and the blue cheese and chestnut honey was an inspired combination. I think the roasted beets needed more, well, roasting - they were a little on the raw side for this dish. This could easily be a great dish with a touch more salt.

The short rib was spectacular. Again, it needed a touch of salt, but it couldn't have been cooked more perfectly. The polenta was great, but it was the Orange Cilantro Gremolata that really made this dish work.

I had the chocolate mousse with candied hazelnuts and berries (raspberries and blueberries). A moderate portion size, and an excellent end to the meal.

If you're in the Farragut area, this is definitely worth a trip. I look forward to going back after RW, and exploring the menu more.

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Had a terrific RW lunch at The Oval Room. The menu, which is posted on their website (always a plus when deciding where to go during RW) offers choices of 4 very appealing dishes for each course. I had corn custard with jalapenos, salmon with a delicious citrus sauce that tasted like it had some miso in it, and blueberry peach cobbler. My dining companion had wax beans, steak, and a chocolate dessert. Everything was delicious. The service was spot on too -- we were in and out in about an hour, without feeling rushed.

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My girlfriend and I had a Restaurant Week dinner at the Oval Room last night (8/9/07).

The appetizers were outstanding. My girlfriend's corn custard, which was slightly more liquid than solid, with peach and jalapenos (the latter of which did not have an overwhelming kick) was delicious and satisfying. My scallops appetizer consisted of two small scallops, perfectly cooked, surrounded by concentric circles of a vanilla sauce that was not quite foam but not quite cream and a mint oil of some sort, plus crunchy ginger, a nice texture touch. The scallops were very, very tasty, with the vanilla foam adding a well-received sweet note.

My salmon entree was an indulgence. The sizable salmon fillet, lightly bathed in a miso-citrus sauce, fell apart at the touch of my fork. It was possibly the most buttery cut of salmon I've ever eaten, with great mouth-feel and flavor. My girlfriend does not normally eat fish, but after trying my salmon, she said she could have eaten the whole fillet.

My girlfriend's pea dumplings with bread crumbs looked good, and she was quite happy with them, but I cannot offer commentary because the cheese sprinkled on the dumplings killed their appeal for me.

Desserts were uneven. My brown butter cake with apricots and almond ice cream (not the pistachio ice cream that was on the menu) was very good once I let the almond ice cream melt into the cake, but would have been a little too dry without that step. My girlfriend's peach-blueberry crisp was a fine rendition of the ubiquitous dessert, but there was one significant problem with it. The crisp is served with a medium-sized scoop of white peppercorn ice cream. Contemplate that for a moment, then read on.

I'm generally open to the whimsy of a given chef, and I'm willing to try new flavors. I even understand the concept of pairing a spicy and/or non-sweet ice cream with a sweet pastry/crisp. But the Oval Room's white peppercorn ice cream was not okay. Nothing about it worked. Aside from the fact that it was served with actual peppercorns embedded in it, leading to much frenzied palate-cleansing, the actual ice cream itself was completely unappealing. It was not sweet, not spicy, not even tasteless. It tasted ... musty. My girlfriend described it as tasting like how her father's boat used to smell. I found it chalky and almost medicinal.

The almond ice cream served with my dessert, in contrast, was wonderful, and tasted strongly, and pleasantly, of almonds.

Despite the flawed ice cream, the meal was worth every cent. We enjoyed the service, the atmosphere, and the food, barring that one little scoop of horror.

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My family and I had a fantastic dinner at the Oval Room last Wednesday night. The service was impeccable and the food surpassed my expectations. I had scallops to start the dinner and they were perfect (texture, moistness, smell and taste.) My wife got a salad of some sort with fruit which was also great. I went with the chicken and my wife the tenderloin. They were both perfectly cooked. Though I have to say the tenderloin kicked the chicken's behind. No knock on the chicken, the tenderloin was just that good. We ended dinner with a devil food cake with coffee ice cream (complimentary) which was the best devils food cake I have ever had. The only knock on the whole experience was that the after dinner drinks were overly priced and they did not have much of a port selection. I will be going back very soon! KUDOS TO THE STAFF AND THE CHEF on that particular night. Lets see how consistent they are.

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Our table of six was there last night and we all loved it. We had the full gamut of the RW menu and we were impressed with almost everything that we had (dessert was good, but not great like the rest of the dishes). Big winners included the frisee salad to start and the crispy bass and short ribs for the entrees. Service was exceptional and the wine list had a good range that was very affordable. Overall, it is definitely a top five RW experience, it was done the way that I would expect it to be done.

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Tony Conte has turned The Oval Room into one of the greatest restaurants in Washington, DC. The level of detail in his dishes is remarkable, and the time has arrived for him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best chefs in our area.

Maine Peekytoe Crab Salad ($12) is a flattened, compressed rectangle of crab meat, topped with fascinating little dabs of wasabi-yuzu, supremely diced Granny Smith apple, and some of the finest micro celery greens I've ever eaten. Served with a shot glass of liquid apple and celery, this dish is so complex that it's challenging for me to recall it less than one day later.

And that complexity continued throughout the meal. One of the best soups I've had in recent memory was the Celery Root Soup ($9), a multi-part mirepoix of pickled shallots, Asian pear, and an amazing white foam of smoked maple syrup. When the celery-root broth was ladled into the bowl, the foam turned dark, and simply exploded with flavor against the celeriac. I believe the base of this soup was chicken stock, perhaps with some cream, and it was remarkably light, complex, and one of the most exciting soups I've had in a long time. A triumph.

Poached Lobster ($36) is the most expensive thing on the menu, and is worth every penny. So often, a lobster dish is ruined by the lobster meat itself, but not here. Perfectly cut up into hearty chunks, then so beautifully poached that I was jolted into realizing I hadn't seen this level of elegance in quite awhile. Ladled around it was a broth of Chinese cinnamon, young coconut, and finely scooped pearls of both peach (!) and wasabi milk, the primary scent of the broth was lemongrass, which really reminded me of a Tom Ka Gai. I didn't understand why this wasn't served with a spoon until I asked for one and tried it, and the broth wasn't assertive enough to be the focus of the dish, so it was meant to be used as a gentle, flavor-enhancing bath, complex though it was. If it had some chilis, some galanga, and perhaps a pinch of salt, it would make one hell of a soup, but it didn't, and wasn't. So a knife-and-fork dish it is, and the broth correctly played second fiddle to the superior lobster in this very mild, nuanced dish.

There is no Joy in Mudville, but there's plenty of Joy in Ludwig. Joy Ludwig came down with Tony Conte from New York, and she sure put out a fabulous Zucchini Cake ($9). A cake in name only, this was actually a chocolate-zucchini bread of the highest order, served piping hot, with an addictive pool of thick tomato marmalade and a scallop of sour-cream ice cream - this dessert was good enough where I want to come back here for an all-dessert dinner.

While four courses for $66 may seem expensive, I am so impressed by this meal that I'm determined to return here soon to plumb the depths of this menu further. I could nitpick about individual aspects, and about individual items, but as a whole, this was a flat-out great meal. I'm not prepared to compare The Oval Room to CityZen or Citronelle, but I will say that Conte is one of the most exciting chefs in town right now, and the dishes he created for this dinner showed clear influences by Minibar, Maestro, and of course, Jean Georges. Bravo!

And get this: The Oval Room may be the only major restaurant in the area with NO CORKAGE FEE on Saturday nights! How great is that?

Cheers,

Rocks.

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The Oval Room really does have some good complex dishes. I had a very nice roasted mini beets salad with tiny cubes of passion fruit reduction/jelly, shaved fresh horseradish (that has a real kick), and a lovely vinegarete at lunch a few weeks ago. Sometimes the complexity is alittle overkill though. As a chocolate lover, I couldn't resist trying the Riccota ravioli with sweet potato, cocoa, and chestnut broth. I liked the dish, but the cocoa didn't meld well with the rest of the dish. The cocoa is in a semi-liquid form placed in small dots around the bowl and I found myself trying to not let it mix in with the broth and other ingredients. But I give them credit for innovation and getting me to try new things.

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I'm way, way late in posting this, and consequently, my memory has faded a bit, but we went in December for a post holiday event dinner. I remember having a ginger martini that was really nice- not too sweet and not to kicky, but balanced. Gave me the warm fuzzies. We had three courses- I had a mango burrata appetizer that I really enjoyed. Seemed like Chef was playing with textures, and that always makes things fun to eat, right? Had a lobster something as my main which I remember thoroughly enjoying but couldn't give the details on now, and dessert, while I'm sure it was good, has left my mind completely. I do remember that we had very attentive service, and they made good recommendations. We were seated in the bar, and we chatted with the bartender as well as our waiiter. They were both helpful and polite and very professional. I'm looking forward to going back, and when I do I will either take notes or post right away. I don't want to get a reputation around here for useless posts!

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Tony Conte has turned The Oval Room into one of the greatest restaurants in Washington, DC. The level of detail in his dishes is remarkable, and the time has arrived for him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best chefs in our area.

And get this: The Oval Room may be the only major restaurant in the area with NO CORKAGE FEE on Saturday nights! How great is that?

Cheers,

Rocks.

I've got to say, four of us walked through the tasting menu Saturday night and, while there were some highlights, I'm not taking Michel Richard's poster off my wall anytime soon.

Loved the amuse, some lusciously fresh off-white fish whose name I forget with a shot of sunchoke. Then we had three course of meh. First was a kind of deconstructed fish taco -- raw tuna, chipotle gelee, avocado and a shell made of crunchy tapioca -- most memorable for the really cool gelee, which I would like a pan of. Then, they brought out another conceptual course that was too high-concept for us. In retrospect I assume that the (unfortunately named, IMO) "coffee soil" beneath the quenelle of chocolate ice cream was meant to reflect the earthiness of the pickled beat, a strip of which has been tied into a knot and set opposite the 'scream. At the time, though, we were mystified, and even now I remain unconvinced. The three small scoops of foie gras that followed lacked flavor but looked cute.

The dish of the meal, for me, was the striped bass on a fennel puree. I do love it when a place cooks fish well, and the puree -- and a little bit of oil with fennel pollen (?) in it -- was an inspired match. The beef, resting on what I'll call candied mushrooms (think futomaki) but which they called something else was excellent, as well. Dessert was coconut, which is against my religion, but the rest of the table finished it up with alacrity. I should have asked if they had any ice cream and soil left. :mellow:

Mrs. B, btw, is likely to weigh in with a more favorable review.

Tony was not in the kitchen that night, whether that affected the performace I don't know, but it shouldn't right?

The restaurant clearly needs a wine-list upgrade, if it's going to play with the Big Boys -- we'd hoped for a small-house champagne to start things off but it was Moet, Veuve etc so for kicks we went with an Alsatian sparkler from Lucienne Albrecht. The we had a nice Italian Gewurtztraminer, which would have gone well with each of the first three courses (we hoped) but there was some hiccup or something in the kitchen and the meal started real slow, to the point that some people who'd been drinkning on a nearly-emply stomach might have been getting a little cranky. Nice wine though -- fruity and Alsatian up front, tart and Italian at the end. Pretty perfunctory list, though.

Then we moved into the stuff we brought in.

Props to Danny Boylan over at Schneiders (aka Starfish) for talking me into a 2001 Girardin Batard-Montrachet, which may have been the best white wine I ever drank and which washed the fish down nicely. And a friend brought an '82 Just-Under-Grand Cru level Bordeaux which was a fun sip, almost port-like and still showing decent tannins.

Service was delightful throughout, even if I wasn't, and whatever was slowing up the kitchen (beets tied in granny knots instead fo aquare knots?) resolved itself eventually and pacing for the latter half of the meal was fine.

All-in-all, I enjoyed the meal but they don't quite seem to be playing at the same level as the Big Guys just yet.

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I can't say enough about this place. Every time I go, it gets better. I had my rehearsal dinner there three weeks ago and they put on a class act. The seared scallops and lamb are still being talked about by many of my friends. The creme brulle was oh so delicious. I can't say enough about the service provided and the attentiveness to detail.

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Come join your fellow Rockweilers at the Oval Room on Friday, July 25, at 7 pm for a 5-course BYOB meal by Chef Tony Conte!

The cost for those who BYOB and for nondrinkers is $85/head, which includes food, tax, and tip. For those who prefer that the restaurant provide the wine, the cost is $110/head.

The Oval Room provides free valet parking to all guests.

There are only 40 places available for this fabulous event, so sign up now! PM me with your name and the number of people in your party.

The menu will be posted closer to the event.

For more information about the Oval Room, see www.ovalroom.com/.

See you there!

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Come join your fellow Rockweilers at the Oval Room on Friday, July 25, at 7 pm for a 5-course BYOB meal by Chef Tony Conte!

The cost for those who BYOB and for nondrinkers is $85/head, which includes food, tax, and tip. For those who prefer that the restaurant provide the wine, the cost is $110/head.

The Oval Room provides free valet parking to all guests.

There are only 40 places available for this fabulous event, so sign up now! PM me with your name and the number of people in your party.

The menu will be posted closer to the event.

For more information about the Oval Room, see www.ovalroom.com/.

See you there!

I think they're giving us a private room, too, so this could turn into an unrelenting wine-soaked orgy. Remember: Metro is but two blocks away!

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The menu's now available for the DR.com org...I mean, dinner!

Pastrami Cured Kanpachi, Hot Mustard, Tomato Jam & Caraway

Corn Custard, Smoked Peaches, Jalapeno & Thyme

Lobster Poached In Fragrant Butter, Cherries, Lily Bulbs & Celery

All Natural Beef Strip Steak, Stewed Carrots, Passion Fruit Mustard & Tarragon

Blueberry Tart, Ginger-Vanilla Cream & Lemon-Verbena Ice Cream

(I'm drooling on my keyboard!)

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Last chance to sign up! We have enough people and will be having a fabulous party -- come join us for great food and awesome company! I mean, if this:

I personally promise that all attendees will drink VERY well. Please sign up now.
doesn't get you, what will?!?!?
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For many years my go-to weekday dinner was a first course of popcorn followed by a second course of ice cream. How wonderful that Friday's lavish dinner included both! The popcorn powder with the corn custard was phenomenal; I loved the hot mustard ice cream with the kampachi (Carnegie deli be damned)...and the lobster was the best dish I've eaten this summer. Thanks to all who helped organize, showed up to enjoy and brought the delicious wines and everyone at The Oval Room who made it such a great night. This was an extraordinary dinner and I'll be thrilled to go back to The Oval Room.

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