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Kingbird, Chef Michael Santoro and Hotel Pastry Chef Celia McGhee's American in the Watergate Hotel


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Kingbird is now the answer to any question about dining near the Kennedy Center. If you can get past the absolutely shameful high prices on the wine list (a long list from $90-$500, but only one or two bottles priced at $40-$50; I wouldn't recommend coming for drinks after happy hour), the service is friendly and we all enjoyed our meals and the atmosphere. Scallops, beef tartare, and pommes frites were all fantastic starts to share before the main courses. They also serve gratis curry popcorn that is very good. We had pork belly and veal bolognese for entrees, which were both okay. I finished with some kind of deconstructed tiramisu with coffee gelato, I think shaved coffee beans on top, cream, and chocolate. As much as I'd want to protest ever going back to this place based on the prices of the drinks, our appetizers and dessert served by our friendly waitress really won us over. They also gave us gratis lemon macaroons at the end, which was very nice.

I didn't see a thread yet on Kingbird, and I usually don't like to start new threads for a restaurant like this on my own, but I'm sure Don will start one based on this post.

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Kingbird's price for a lob roll is not really crazy, given that it includes taters, but try asking for "yuzu mayo" or "brioche" at any lobster shack in NE and you'll have the proprietor on you like white on rice.
 
New England Lobster Roll 26
brioche, yuzu mayo, scallions, pommes frites
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Finally made it to Kennedy Center this season [ed. Snarky Puppy w/ NSO Pops - it was fantastic!]. As @SRJ noted, this is really the only game in the neighborhood.

Food (shared btw 2): crab "congee" croquettes, scallops, fried chicken & waffle, side of sauteed mushrooms. Drink: I had a "Bonaparte's Guillotine" and she had the house Manhattan (house aged 30 days in amaro rinsed barrel). Nothing mind blowing or remarkably original, but it all performed. Everything was incredibly well seasoned. Chicken & waffle was the highlight, but the house manhattan was the real star (it better be for $20!). Total (w/ tax) = $130.

I re-read Sietsema's review and they seem to have taken many of his issues to heart, although I can't be sure having not been here before: (1) The complimentary honey/chile chips were not dominated by sweetness; (2) Foie gras no longer present w/ the chicken; (3) music was not particularly noticeable. They seem to have the same S-shaped chairs, but in contrast to him, we found them very easy to settle in to.

Our server was very kind and attentive. Service overall seemed to run smoothly throughout, incl. a large group up front by the bar. For a Wed. evening, in that neighborhood, before 8pm, the place seemed to be doing pretty well: not full but humming. Def wouldn't mind making it the regular pre-theater stop but that would amount to at most 2-3x/year.

Also stopped by The Next Whisky Bar on our way out for one drink b/c we had to. Beyond the extensive list, they're definitely trying some cool things w/ the cocktail program. I worry given its size, location, and clientele (at least on this midweek night) it'll largely go underappreciated but I'm sure they'll do fine.

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1 hour ago, saxdrop said:

I re-read Sietsema's review and they seem to have taken many of his issues to heart, although I can't be sure having not been here before: ... (2) Foie gras no longer present w/ the chicken

What's wrong with foie gras and chicken? Was the chicken battered?

1 hour ago, saxdrop said:

Also stopped by The Next Whisky Bar on our way out for one drink b/c we had to.

This is one of the funniest comments we've had here in awhile.

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4 hours ago, DonRocks said:

What's wrong with foie gras and chicken? Was the chicken battered?

Nothing wrong as far as I am concerned, but Sietsema found it unnecessary. I guess I'll never know what the dish tastes like as originally conceived. The chicken does have a very thick, super crunchy batter.

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Has anyone tried Kingbird recently? A friend is making plans for post-Kennedy Center dining (Miss Saigon at 1:30 PM on Dec 22), and made reservations at Kingbird; I put the kibosh on that, and urged that dinner plans be changed to Marcel's. That said, I really don't know for sure, so ... ?

(Experimenting with a new, automated linking system that I designed and coded last night when I was hammered - apologies if there are any bugs.)

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