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Gemini and Happy Ice Cream (formerly Happy Gyro, formerly Komi), 17th & P Streets NW, 2013 James Beard Award Winning Chef Johnny Monis Rocks East Dupont


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Had to start a thread on the wonderful world of Komi!

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A group of us went out for the tasting menu last night along with the wine pairing. While things started off a little slowly for some of the hungrier in the group it finished (many hours later) with a bang! Sebastian was a wonderful host, introducing each wine course with a description of the wine and why he chose it. He made some interesting and delicious choices, like a sweet moscato with the carpaccio of tuna and a hefeweizen with the charcuterie plate. I think Sebastain said we went through 7 bottles of wine, but we were certainly not counting! 

Highlights for me included the crackers that so many have talked about. The marinated fluke, an amuse, that was a refreshing bite served on a spoon. The housemade charcuterie (who knew head cheese could taste so good!). This came with a fennel flavored housemade mustard that was a wonderful combination. The milk poached veal tenderloin, which was served with a piece of their homemade pancetta that was absolutely amazing (Jacques Gastreaux was actaully moved when he tried it).

Clearly Chef Monis is having a great time in the kitchen and it shows in his work.

Here is the full menu:

BARRON POINT OYSTER
caviar, Greek yogurt, pomegranate vinegar

MARINATED FLUKE
capers, lemon, first pressed Petrinas olive oil

DIVER SCALLOP
fennel, olive, dates

PASTRAMI OF WILD KING SALMON
pinenut, red wine mustard, quail egg

CELERY ROOT & MARCONA ALMOND SOUP
25 year balsamic

CARPACCIO OF BLUEFIN TUNA & FOIE GRAS
chive, sea salt, quince citronette

HOUSEMADE CHARCUTERIE
porchetta, salumi, headcheese, pate, housemade mustard

SPECK WRAPPED WHITE TUNA
farro, sweet-sour squash, truffled beet tzatziki

CHIAN CHESTNUT PASTA
braised lamb's tongue, teleggio

MILK POACHED VEAL TENDERLOIN
housemade pancetta, brussel sprout, apple, vincotto

SELECTION OF CHEESE
a selection of 10 cheeses that I wish I wrote down.

FLIGHT OF DESSERTS
skewer of pineapple and puff pastry, donut with chocolate marscapone cream, and devils food cake with ancho (?) chile cream

COOKIES & CONFECTIONS
lemon coriander, passion fruit gelee, amaretti, corn bread cookie with pomegranate cream

LOLLIPOP
ice tea and lemon

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Dropped in last Friday to have an amazing meal as always. The details are now fuzzy in my mind on account of too much wine, but here are the standouts:

- Amuse of panna cotta topped with a coddled egg topped with a dollop of caviar. One thing that Chef Monis does so well is come up with unexpected combos of ingredients that work together in an amazing fashion.

- Baby goat mousaka w/polenta. When I described this dish to boys at Bis, they grew misty-eyed, and said with a sigh, "no one cooks that any more." Can't recall a more comforting, tender, mellow dish in months.

- Speck-wrapped tuna never disappoints. One thing about Komi is how side dishes are the stars as much as the protein. Egyptian king farro with truffled beet tsatsiki shines on its own.

- Desserts too numerous to call...oh, dolce de lece gelato...dreamy. Devil chocolate cake with chile (!) ice cream. The flavors are unexpected yet work so well!! They don't have apple crisp with blue cheese ice cream anymore, but as I recall, it blew my mind in a similar way.

The fabulous Sebastian was off that night, and please meet Anna, the lovely, sunny waitress who manages the dining room two days a week (I think.) Anna has more poise and warmth than any person her age should be allowed to have and made our evening a delight. Along with Johnny's fantastic food, of course.

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Washington, DC: What are your views on "blog" food sites? Do you think some of the posters are getting a little carried away with their views/oppinions? Just from experience they seem very one-sided.

Tom Sietsema: "It really depends on who is doing the blogging.

Speaking of online food discussions, Don Rockwell, a former egullet host, has just launched a fun one: DonRockwell.com. Don is a fine writer, has good taste and eats out almost as much as I do. If you care about food in Washington, his is a site to monitor."

http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/z...tsema042005.htm

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Washington, DC: What are your views on "blog" food sites? Do you think some of the posters are getting a little carried away with their views/oppinions? Just from experience they seem very one-sided.

Tom Sietsema: It really depends on who is doing the blogging.

Speaking of online food discussions, Don Rockwell, a former egullet host, has just launched a fun one: DonRockwell.com. Don is a fine writer, has good taste and eats out almost as much as I do. If you care about food in Washington, his is a site to monitor.

nc09rt.gifnc09rt.gifnc09rt.gif

http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/z...tsema042005.htm

36 Guests on the forum as we speak...

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I had a very good dinner at Komi last night. It started well with an amuse of roasted eggplant and Greek yogurt served with melt in your mouth crackers. We were told the moussaka was unavailable as it was still being prepared. It was around 7:15 at that point and I found this odd. And disappointing because I wanted to try it. Next time. I skipped an appetizer because they seemed too heavy to me (at least my options and I admit to being something of a picky eater). I ordered the tea smoked pork served with huckleberry sauce (on the side -- nice touch since this struck me as something easily being a personal preference about amount kind of thing). The pork was very tasty but somewhat dry and I was glad for the sauce. The sweet-tart-smoky contrast worked well. I would get this again but ask for it to get less fire. It was accompanied by some brussel sprouts cooked with apples and bacon that went well with the smokiness of the pork. My companion ordered what was billed as a king salmon with langostine and cockles. Since I don't eat seafood, I couldn't groundtruth his assessment which was OK. When our waitress brought his plate and ran through the ingredients she said it was Atlantic salmon. The difference didn't click for either of us until after we'd left so we didn't get to ask if that was just a slip. It had the brighter color you expect from wild salmon but with the various natural supplements they feed the farmed stuff these days I'm not sure I'd go by that.

I thought the simple space had a nice feel and even with tables close together they did an excellent job of spacing people out so that no one felt too close for too long. I'm not sure how I'd feel during a more crowded night. The service was well executed.

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Super!  Lets make this the DC discussion Egullet WAS.  EG is still great for asking about out of town restaurants, food info, wine reviews and cooking classes but the LOVE is gone.

I agree Mark. An integral part of cooking and eating is getting together with others. eG is not the place to accomplish that.

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[All,

please do NOT raid eGullet. I have nothing but good feelings towards them, and consider this site to be eGullet-friendly (Chowhound-friendly as well). If this place is worth its salt, people will find it eventually. Cheers, and thanks! Rocks.]

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I hear you Don and I know this post may make you feel uncomfortable. I have decided to remove mine. Lets keep our converstions in the usual back channels folks.

[All,

please do NOT raid eGullet.  I have nothing but good feelings towards them, and consider this site to be eGullet-friendly (Chowhound-friendly as well).  If this place is worth its salt, people will find it eventually.  Cheers, and thanks!  Rocks.]

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[All,

please do NOT raid eGullet.  I have nothing but good feelings towards them, and consider this site to be eGullet-friendly (Chowhound-friendly as well).  If this place is worth its salt, people will find it eventually.  Cheers, and thanks!  Rocks.]

I intend to stick around eGullet too. It's still my go-to site for cooking. That said, there are a lot of users there that would enjoy it here too. We're just talking about how to get the word out without breaking the rules over there.

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I'm not sure how I'd feel during a more crowded night.

I'm one who HATES feeling crowded and even sitting in the middle of the room on a crowded Friday a few months ago, I was perfectly happy.

Of course the food and cheese and wine all had a little to do with that. Especcially that cheese plate (or should I say platter?).

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[posted on eGullet 2003-2004]

When I woke up this morning, there was a brown recluse next to me. I thought I was still asleep and dreaming, but I was certain of what I heard:

“Go to Komi tonight.”

I blinked and tried to wake up, but the spider was still there.

“Leave me be,” I said in a haze, and rolled back to sleep.

This evening there remained only a vague memory, but looking out from the restaurant onto 17th Street, the night outside becoming colder after the earth had spun away, sitting there tucked into a pocket of warmth and depth and heart, I knew that I had been awake this morning, and that I had not been alone.

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So....

I took a look at the members' list. Sure, it's growing. Sure, it's near 150 already and who knows how many there will be by the time I finish typing this.

Soon there will be jostling contests amid members..."pffft, you stupid arriviste. I was around way back when Sietsema was pimping us. Take your sorry member No. 1,457 ass where it belongs. WE know who REALLY was behind all this puppet.gif"

Instead of engaging in this silly-daft nonsense, I urge you to take longer look at Don's profile. You've heard it from me. He's member No. 2, NUMBER TWO.

So the question is forming in my mouth...

Who is MEMBER No. 1?

Can it be Mr. Snuffeluffegusima? Or....?????

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Stopped in to Komi for dessert last night around 8:30. Restaurant was maybe half full so we were able to get a seat right away.

We started things off with a platter of cheese. Sebastian kindly brought out a selection of 9. unfortunately this is not in order but as far as I can remember we had the following:

Rochebaron Montbriac - from Auvergne France, cave-ripened, double creme

Great Hill Blue - Buzzard's Bay, MA un-homogenized cow's milk

Teleggio Vero Ciresa (this was cheese #8) - Lombardi Italy washed rind, cow's milk

Nancy's Camemebert (I think this was #1) - Old Chatham, NY soft ripened sheep's milk

Petit Munster Gerome - Lorraine France cow's milk

Mobay - Lavalle, WI - half sheep and half goat divined by a line of ash...very good

Garroxta - Catalonia Spain semi-firm fresh goat's milk

Pont L'Eveque - Normandy France cow's mil triple creme, soft ripened

yep I'm missing one!

He then brought out 2 desserts, we tried the new doughnut selection, Greek Style Doughnuts with honey glaze and chocolate mascarpone pudding. Honestly I liked the originial doughnut presentation better, but this has more of a summer feel. The doughnut now is more of a cross between a doughnut and a pastry, then the straight up doughnut it was. The chocolate mascarpone pudding is some of the best chocolate pudding you will ever have!

Then also brought a new dessert they are testing lemon polenta cupcake with basil gelato, orange blossom syrup. The cupcake was hollowed out and filled with a strong lemon curd and topped with a rich creamy merrange (sp?)...this combination worked quite well, definitely rich, however the the basil gelato really didn't work when incorporated with the cupcake...my suggestion is to take a spoonful of the cupcake, then use the basil gelato as a plalate cleanser before the next bite of cupcake...it seems they are still trying to work on this dessert conceptually right now. the basil gelato is amazing by the way...a small plate of gelato would make a very simple and elegant dessert by itself!

Once again Komi distinguished itself as one of DC's top restaurant...and you really can't say enough about Sebastian and the staff...a great service to the DC dining scene. ok I'll stop gushing now!

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I sat through a workshop for 7 hours yesterday where we learned how to create fancy lessons on the computer. Our main project was based around the ocean. Guess what one of the pics we had to work with was?

Rocks is everywhere.................................

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This thread has been difficult for me, because my natural inclination is to shy away from attention and deflect it onto others. Nevertheless, between my wonderful eGullet going-away party at Corduroy and the publiclity I have gotten for starting this site, I can't deny that there's a lump-in-the-throat, feel-good-about-yourself happiness that has come with all of this.

So let me simply say thank you to everyone who came to the party, to Tom Sietsema for everything, to Steve Klc for believing in me early on, to Kanishka for the wonderfully kind article, to Tweaked for the mention in his blog, and to everyone here for their words of care and support.

I love all of you and I'm here to provide you with the best I can offer.

Thank you!

Don

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This thread has been difficult for me, because my natural inclination is to shy away from attention and deflect it onto others.  Nevertheless, between my wonderful eGullet going-away party at Corduroy and the publiclity I have gotten for starting this site, I can't deny that there's a lump-in-the-throat, feel-good-about-yourself happiness that has come with all of this.

So let me simply say thank you to everyone here, to Tom Sietsema for everything, to Steve Klc for believing in me early on, to Kanishka for the wonderfully kind article, and to everyone here for their words of care and support.

I love all of you and I'm here to provide you with the best I can offer. 

Thank you!

Don

Rocks, back at ya, man! I know this is poor netiquette, but this particular typo is telling : " and the publiclity I have gotten for starting this site," .

Me want publiclity, too.

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Nayda,

Where, oh where did you find those fabulous emoticons.  They are HYSTERICAL!!!

(I thought you were going to Moscow, or are you writing from there?)

Thank you!!!

I am transmitting it via a secret Russian channel mamafia.gif

Kidding! Ve have Internet in Moscow. Stuffing self on pirozhki and caviar and mucho happy.

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Can't they get the ventworm quote right?  It's "ventworm nut" not "ventworm nuts."  It is still an unanwered question whether male the ventorm's family

jewel(s) is/are singular or plural.

As a public service, I looked this up and discovered a very disturbing factoid that might make us rethink the ventworm thing --- THEY HAVE NO MOUTH OR DIGESTIVE TRACT. The thought makes me shudder. Male pogonophorans do however have two gonads.

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[posted on eGullet 2003-2004]

When I woke up this morning, there was a brown recluse next to me. I thought I was still asleep and dreaming, but I was certain of what I heard:

“Go to Komi tonight.”

I blinked and tried to wake up, but the spider was still there.

“Leave me be,” I said in a haze, and rolled back to sleep.

The last time I dined at Komi was when they use to offer lunch; my instinct told me to go to Komi (well, fellow DR.com tempted me to revisit this cool and aesthetically appealing place).

Looking out the window, with a view of 17th street, felt like being somewhere in the neighborhood of Philly. My friend and I opted for the tasting menu. Admittedly, I perused mdt’s recommendation, but alas, they change their menu frequently that I wasn’t able to sample Chef Monis’ house made charcuterie. Instead, I left it to the chef’s recommendation:

Malpeque Oyster with crème fraiche and caviar

Salmon Tartare, avocado, surprisingly with pine nuts which I love, another rendition wrapped in smoked salmon topped with raw quail egg yolk on crisp fennel seed crackers, red wine-mustard reduction

Blue Fin Tuna with foie gras, mosto oil, chives, and micro basil

MY FAVORITE because of the complex flavor that just tasted so good together:

Speck-Wrapped White Tuna (cooked perfectly med-rare) wrapped in crispen prosciutto, ferro (which reminded me of barley) cooked with pine nuts, nicely diced zucchini squash, red onions, truffle oil with a hint of vinegary-smokey-sweet flavor I loved and creamy diced apples.

Perfectly cooked quail stuffed with figs and foie gras on a bed of fava beans and Hen of the Woods mushrooms

Succulent roasted pork belly with brussel sprouts, white beets and bacon

Cheese course (of course I don’t remember all 7 of them) stinky but good cheeses; my favorites were Mobay, American made after Morbier, 2 layers separated by a strain of ash, one layer with the sheep’s milk, the other cow’s; and the goat cheese interior, creamy-oozy, runny on the outside, d’Alsace.

Desserts: creamy mocha pudding served with fresh doughnuts; the other, strawberries wrapped in crunchy phyllo with light fruit syrup and chopped pistachios, a nice ending to cleanse your palate.

Food was clean and simple, just the way I like it. It was beautifully presented on chic white china. Menus that are small, but offer enough different items can be good as it assures fresh ingredients.

Wines went well: our server suggested, and kindly offered a taste first to see if I like it, a glass of Tocai Friulano, Fruili, Italy to start, lovely floral bouquet, medium-bodied, clean tasting, off-dry. We then ordered a bottle of 9th Island, Pinot Noir, Tasmania, Australia, 2004. It was a bit too light-bodied for my taste but with herbal hints, cloves and cherries, it was a good in between our mostly fish and white meat courses. With the cheeses, Li Veli Negroamaro, Salento, Italy, 2002, heavy-bodied with hints of vanilla and chocolate—yummmy!

Service was attentive, knowledgeable, gracious and accommodating. We certainly enjoyed our time.

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It's so hard for me not to go to Komi every weekend.

Rissa,

Reading your post is making me so hungry. It's 7:30, and I've yet to leave for dinner -- I'm STARVING.

I went to Komi again last week. We opted not to get the tasting menu. The dishes my wife and I ordered were:

Bluefin Tuna with Foie Gras

The "Antipasto" - I fail to remember each of the meats that were on the plate but they were all wonderful

Papardelle with Hen of the Woods Mushrooms with Sheeps Cheese

Foie Gras stuffed Quail - This was by far my favorite of the night.

Pork with Brussel Sprouts and Italian Bacon

I have posted pictures here if anyone is interested.

I'm in complete agreement on the Speck Wrapped White Tuna. I had that my previous trip to Komi and it blew my mind -- I JM doesn't take this dish off the menu anytime soon.

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Still having trouble comprehending last night's first ever visit to Komi. Don't know how I could have waited so long to go there. Single greatest meal I've had since moving to DC 5+ years ago. Tasting menu. Four hours long. Two companions.

First, I must agree totally with Nadya about Anna. She managed our entire meal and was an absolute charm. The entire service personnel of Komi moved with grace, precision, attentiveness and professionalism. And their work in the front of the house was just as spectacular as what was coming from the kitchen.

We ordered bottles of wine. Starting with Anna's recommendation of Solar de Sael mencia 2003. In her description she used the word "tomatoey." "Tomatoey," I asked? "Yeah, tomatoey." I didn't taste tomatoes. But I did like what was in the glass. Melissa agreed with Anna that it tasted earthy, and she does say she tasted a hint of yellow tomato.

A glass of brut to accompany our Malpeque oyster w/pomegranete vinegar and greek yogurt.

Then came the king salmon pastrami in two styles. One with avocadoes and pine nuts. The other with a quail egg yolk.

Another shout out to Nadya here: "Unexpected combos of ingredients that work together in an amazing fashion." Cauliflower-Taleggio Panna Cotta w/Osetra. Yes. You can put cauliflower and taleggio together. No one will arrest you for committing deviant acts with food. Although you may get kidnapped and forced to make it regularly for the kidnappers. Amazing.

Housemade crackers: asiago and thyme, toasted sesame, and something with paprika.

Then the charcuterie. Chef's take on a gyro, with lamb proscuitto, homemade pita and yellow beet tzatziki. This also camed with cappicola, cured beef, pickled vegetables, and white wine and fennel mustard.

Then things started getting blurry. Notes getting less precise. More wine. This time we got a bottle of Tikal Patriota 2003, Mendoza. (We had a bottle of Tikal malbec the night before at Corduroy and decided to stick with the Tikal theme. They make the heaviest, standard size bottles of wine my companions and I have ever held....and the servers at both Komi and Corduroy thought so, too.)

Black tagliatelle with heirloom cherry tomatoes, cod roe and chives.

Next, Zucchini dolma w/gorgonzola crema and house cured bacon.

Next, Speck-wrapped white tuna over farro salad (farro, zucchini, red onion, pomegranete molasses, garlic, applewood smoked bacon) w/salsa verde (parsley, mint, anchovies and capers).

My God, there's more. Is this the course where we get to take a brisk walk around the block and then return to our meal?

Stuffed quail

Cheese: durras, morbay, fosterkase (our favorite), valencay, epoisses.

Dessert.

Donuts w/chocolate mascarpone pudding. (the best chocolate pudding I've ever eaten.) Three chocolate terrine with spearmint infused olive oil. Strawberries w/balsamic wrapped in phyllo.

Chef came by with lollipops for us. Was nice to meet him. Can't believe what we had ingested. Outrageously fantastic.

There was not a chance that we would consider taking the subway home that night. Maybe it was fear that we'd get stuck and not be able to please stand clar of the doors. Right into a taxi (only to be screwed by cab driver saying it was over 7 miles to get home when it was actually less than 5. Meters need to be mandatory for these cabs. I HATE DC CABS!)

If you haven't been to Komi yet, don't be like me and wait forever. Go now. Seriously. Call them. Do it.

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With Komi changing their menu as often as they do, it's getting really hard for me to go to other new restaurants. First, each time I go, I find a new dish that I love and I want to go back and have it again before it's gone. But then I am torn because each time I go back, it's like I'm trying a new restaurant except that I know that everything on the menu is phenomenal.

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If I opened a restaurant, I'd open one exactly like Komi. I like the simple design, open kitchen, efficient and knowledgeble service, location, straightforward menu, and most certainly the food.

We arrived Friday night without reservations, but due to our stunning beauty, we were promptly seated in the window-- presumably to attract other customers. :lol: The stuffed zucchini blossoms were perfect, and the speck-wrapped white tuna put a big smile on my face. I wish I was more hungry, as I'm sure I would have ordered more. I'll be back as soon as I possibly can.

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