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Restaurant Eve, Old Town Alexandria - Chef Cathal Armstrong and GM Todd Thrasher - Closed Jun 2, 2018


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You mean speed up? I've heard that the pacing is really slow (5 courses in 2.5 hrs, which is a snail's pace to me).

It sounds like you would enjoy the 5 course more. It's really 8 or 9 considering the amuse etc... Do report back to let us know how you enjoyed it.

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5 or 9 courses? If 5, what are the highlights on the current menu? Anyone been recently?
Was there last week and did 9 courses. Frankly, I go back to all the same favorites on the menu- OOO, the amuses, hell, the whole thing was incredible.

I know some folks don't like what Cathal and his team are doing, and I know some people don't get it (though frankly those folks don't tend to post here), but Eve's tasting room will continue to be my favorite restaurant in the country. Maybe it's the fantastic memories that came from that room, maybe it's the service that I love, and perhaps it's that it's really fantastic food executed at the highest levels.

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Have you gone? How was it?

We went and it was quite good. We had the 5 course tasting menu. With the amuse and bread, it was definitely plenty of food. The day we went they had boudin noir as an appetizer and tripe parmesean as an entree. The boudin noir was really delicious. I'm used to stomaching them at French restaurants in french territories because that's what they eat. Cathal made me want to try more boudin noir. The tripe parmesean was just creative. Never would I have thought tripe would be served other than in some stewed fashion. He breaded it, fried it, and dressed it like veal parmesean (presumably after stewing it for some time) and it was wonderful. Unfortunately my wife's poached lobster was tough. With the supplements for foie gras and lobster, the meal gets expensive quickly. It deserves being one of the best restaurants in town in terms of food but not so much in terms of value. As for much of the whinging that went on before, the meal was served in just over 2 hrs.

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Come join your fellow Rockweilers at the Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve on Tuesday, October 14, at 6:30 pm for a 5-course tasting menu by Chef Cathal Armstrong!
Earlier this evening the Sunflower Room was filled by Rockweilers and the Sunflower Room returned the favor. Of course this was accomplished with the leadership and vision of Chef Armstrong, the witty and informative Craig Erion, a small army of able servers & FOH, unseen staff in the kitchen and their vendors. Polyface, Davon Crest, the Amish butter purveyor in Ohio and well-chosen, globally-diverse wineries were all mentioned and honored.

I'll sleep better knowing I've posted these pix. Ideally restaurant photography is done with available light, but I switched over to flash for better results. One of the cool things about eating with DR-folks & FORs [Friends of Rocks] is we tolerate flash photography at the table. Hopefully, more text to follow after a post-prandial snooze high on the "Dublin" Coma Scale.

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Yes, four amuses to start

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This amuse was described by my +1 as the 7th Inning Stretch

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There was one very fortunate veggie diner at our table and here are two of her tastes:

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Chef_Armstrong_Degustation_Menu_14_OCT_2008.pdf

Holy cow. I think it's worth noting that our 5-course meal turned into...drumroll please...8 courses! Plus, what, 5 gifts from Chef Armstrong?! And wine for all?!?! Folks, we were eating and drinking for 6 hours straight. And I've never been happier. The company was great -- I missed talking with all of you at the other end of the room, but I'm sure you heard my end keeping me in stitches the whole night :lol: And the food...oooooh. The skate remains my number one favorite dish, though the white pudding with lentils and -- of course! -- foie was stunning and seriously a close second. Among the amuses, the salt cod remains one of my favorite things that chef and his team can do -- take something with such a plebian history and elevate it to divinity. The wines also were very carefully chosen, with the Stephen Robert Rhone blend being a particular favorite of mine. As for the service, not a question went unanswered, and all with the greatest grace and aplomb. All the servers seemed to put up with our Rockwellian shenanigans without once wishing they could bean us with a decanter :) I think the fact that I spent the entire night feeling like we were the only table in the house says it best.

My sincere and joyous thanks to Chef and Meshelle Armstrong for setting this up and making it happen, to Craig for the fabulous wine pairings, to the great waitstaff, the always-charming bar folks, and the amazing kitchen crew, and to the other DR.com guests -- you all rock!!!

Thank you Walrus for setting this up.

Edit to add evening's menu. Please excuse the glaring typos on the file names.

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WWMeade and I took advantage of a rare opportunity to hit the bar together for a Lickety Split lunch today. Not long after we arrived at 11:30, the place was packed!

Two words: Mushroom Veloute. This is amazing, earthy, creamy, delicious to the last drop. Made with Maitake mushrooms foraged in the Shenandoahs, it is comforting, and I could feel my blood pressure go down a few notches with every bite (this does not constitute medical advice).

WWMeade had the mussels, with apples and rosemary: "Excellent".

My house-cured and smoked pastrami sandwich was the best use of grass-fed brisket I can think of, and WWMeade's mushroom risotto was unctuous and satisfying.

Go early or be prepared to wait to get into the bar. I think the article in the WaPo food section a few weeks ago sparked more interest.

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Hi all -- I am heading to the tasting room tonight for the first time ever. I have a kind of odd question -- does anyone know if the famed birthday cake typically appears on the tasting room's menu? If not, how terribly gauche is it to ask for the birthday cake as my dessert course? No worries telling me I'll be the height of tackiness -- I'd rather know before I ask!

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Hi all -- I am heading to the tasting room tonight for the first time ever. I have a kind of odd question -- does anyone know if the famed birthday cake typically appears on the tasting room's menu? If not, how terribly gauche is it to ask for the birthday cake as my dessert course? No worries telling me I'll be the height of tackiness -- I'd rather know before I ask!
I seem to remember it being an option on the 5 course tasting menu a while back but not sure what it is now. When in doubt you could call- they won't be offended.
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Hi all -- I am heading to the tasting room tonight for the first time ever. I have a kind of odd question -- does anyone know if the famed birthday cake typically appears on the tasting room's menu? If not, how terribly gauche is it to ask for the birthday cake as my dessert course? No worries telling me I'll be the height of tackiness -- I'd rather know before I ask!
I've never seen it on the Tasting Room menu, but I'm certain if you asked they would be happy to accommodate as they are really nice and flexible in there.
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Hi all -- I am heading to the tasting room tonight for the first time ever. I have a kind of odd question -- does anyone know if the famed birthday cake typically appears on the tasting room's menu? If not, how terribly gauche is it to ask for the birthday cake as my dessert course? No worries telling me I'll be the height of tackiness -- I'd rather know before I ask!

Definitely call and request that a birthday cake be brought out before your desserts. They will be happy to accomadate you.

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Hi all -- I am heading to the tasting room tonight for the first time ever. I have a kind of odd question -- does anyone know if the famed birthday cake typically appears on the tasting room's menu? If not, how terribly gauche is it to ask for the birthday cake as my dessert course? No worries telling me I'll be the height of tackiness -- I'd rather know before I ask!

I don't know that i'd bother. A group of us went there for drinks and while we were there, we ordered a few appetizers and desserts. the Birthday Cake was adorable, but universally disliked, between the 6 of us, less than half of the cake was eaten, and we were hungry! To me it just tasted like very ordinary supermarket cake, but the icing was sort of gritty, like they'd used some regular sugar in it rather than powdered. But then again, maybe we just got a bad one, there seem to be plenty of other people who liked it, and it was pretty cute.

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Hi all -- I am heading to the tasting room tonight for the first time ever. I have a kind of odd question -- does anyone know if the famed birthday cake typically appears on the tasting room's menu? If not, how terribly gauche is it to ask for the birthday cake as my dessert course? No worries telling me I'll be the height of tackiness -- I'd rather know before I ask!

I imagine that they get this question quite a bit. When we last went for my wife's birthday, I asked when I made the resevation and they said it would be no problem. They may have even brought it out in addition to my wife's regular dessert, but I may be imagining that. Personally, I'm with Sandynva and think that it's more fun than good, if you catch my drift, but YMMV.

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Holy amazing, Batman. I'm not sure after dinner at CityZen last week and Eve's Tasting Room this week that I can ever go back to normal eating again.

We did the five course tasting menu with friends last night and it was fantastic. Our server was incredibly knowledgeable, unobtrusive and laughed at my corny jokes. My meals last weekend and this weekend are an excellent reminder of just how much better a meal can be with such kind and well tailored service.

I can't remember everything we ate, so I'll just hit the highlights. An amuse bouche of some sort of (pureed?) salted cod, so creamy, made me want to have a whole bowl of it. I had three thick slices of pork belly with an array of Asian sauces -- I particularly liked a vinegary one with some heat added to it through some chilies (not sure what kind). Scallops in a creamy spinach and dijonnaise sauce were very good also. For dessert, I had Eve's version of Pain Perdu with carmelized bananas -- those bananas were perfectly done, not too mushy.

We had asked if it was possible to get 2 birthday cakes to go, and so Todd (I think?) brought over a complimentary one for us to try before we left -- more sugar! We enjoyed it, although it is VERY sugary (not a problem for me, wasn't the boyfriend's thing). I have a birthday cake in my fridge right now and am trying to convince myself to wait until at least noon before I take a bite. :lol:

I loved Eve, it was every bit as good as I imagined it would be, and I can't wait to go back.

Slightly off-topic -- saw two couples eating in the tasting room last night. Both sat on the same side of the table. What do board members think? I have no problem with it (am not criticizing at all) but I kept thinking it would be hard to have a conversation....I like to look at the person I'm dining with if it's one-on-one!

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Slightly off-topic -- saw two couples eating in the tasting room last night. Both sat on the same side of the table. What do board members think? I have no problem with it (am not criticizing at all) but I kept thinking it would be hard to have a conversation....I like to look at the person I'm dining with if it's one-on-one!

The last (and only :-( ) time I've eaten in the Tasting Room was with my girlfriend (at the time, wife now). We were at a table that only had booth seating on one side and no chairs at all, in the corner of the room. I don't like sitting on the same side as the person I'm there with, but in that situation I thought it worked very well. It allowed us both to see out into the room, for the waiter to talk directly to us both basically at the same time, and helped set an intimate feel.

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So I have reservations for the tasting room this evening and I had some logistical questions that maybe you can help me with. My reservation is for 8pm and I was wondering what forms of transportation people (that don't have a car) use to get there and how easy is it to catch a cab or get back into the city. I was also wondering about PX and whether it will be open after dinner, I'm going to be dissapointed if I dont get to have at least one drink there. Thanks in advance for your help.

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So I have reservations for the tasting room this evening and I had some logistical questions that maybe you can help me with. My reservation is for 8pm and I was wondering what forms of transportation people (that don't have a car) use to get there and how easy is it to catch a cab or get back into the city. I was also wondering about PX and whether it will be open after dinner, I'm going to be dissapointed if I dont get to have at least one drink there. Thanks in advance for your help.
Not sure about PX, though if you're at Eve, you're drinking Todd Thrasher's cocktails :lol:. I know folks who have taken the King street metro there, but depending on time of day that could take a very long time, especially if you need to switch lines. I'm sure the folks at Eve would be happy to call a cab for you should you wish after your meal or after your drinks at PX.
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Not sure about PX, though if you're at Eve, you're drinking Todd Thrasher's cocktails :lol:. I know folks who have taken the King street metro there, but depending on time of day that could take a very long time, especially if you need to switch lines. I'm sure the folks at Eve would be happy to call a cab for you should you wish after your meal or after your drinks at PX.
There is a free trolley that runs from King St. Metro down King St., right past Eve; it leaves from the Metro every 15 minutes. On the way out, they can call you a cab but it also wouldn't take long to hail one on your own. I thought PX is only open Wed.-Sat., but maybe that's changed.
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I thought PX is only open Wed.-Sat., but maybe that's changed.
It hasn't - according to the website. The bar at Eve also serves some fine cocktails and is a nice place to end your evening - if you're not totally sated after dinner in the Tasting Room.

As Capitol Icebox mentioned, the free trolley is a great way to get down to Eve but it does stop running at 10pm. It's not a bad walk up King Street to the Metro (bundle up), and a pretty one at this time of year with lights and decorations up in the shop windows. Have fun!

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Yesterday's Lickety Split's Polyface ham & rutabaga veloute soup was an amazing revelation of flavors and texture. I paired it with the Bacon, egg & cheese salad for a luxurious but light lunch.

I wish Chef would give a cooking class just on making veloute soups! But even if I knew how to do it at home, I'd still have to go to Eve for a regular fix.

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Looking forward to both of your reports. I'll be going in one week (next Wednesday). In particular, any standouts off the menu that we must order, please let us know.

Another general question, for those of you that have gotten wine pairings, how did you fare? I'm leaning against doing it this time and suggesting that DBF and I just get a bottle of champagne. My motto is "Champagne goes with everything" :P and generally, even in the best of restaurants (Komi and Charleston come to mind) there are always one or two pairings that are just "meh" for me (wine is good, food is good, but nothing special together). If I'm paying another $75 or something (not sure if Eve has that sort of set price option or if it's just order by the glass as you go) I want to be wowed by every pairing. Maybe my expectations are too high, but nonetheless, that's what I'm thinking this time around. Plus, we'll have to drive back to Laurel and I'd like to remain sober throughout the meal so I can savor every bite. Thoughts from anyone who has done the pairings?

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Looking forward to both of your reports. I'll be going in one week (next Wednesday). In particular, any standouts off the menu that we must order, please let us know.
Wow, you are in for a treat. Last night was probably the best meal of my life.

Some recent developments: house-bottled water, ingredients coming in from the garden, a new seven course option (5 is now $110, 7 $125, 9 $150), a change in pastry chef that may be responsible for the best dessert course I've had in my visits here, and various types of truffles up and down the menu (we had "Tennessee" and Burgundies -- Whites were available, but the surcharge was too much for us). I'm sorry that the 5 course entry level option has gotten as expensive as it is, but everything about our meal last night convinces me that the Restaurant has raised the level of its game to justify the increase.

Our meal was a string of wild successes with only a couple less-than-stellar plates. We did the seven course route and were able to have different plates for each of us with each course, so by sharing I tried fourteen of the offerings off the current menu. The current menu includes only a few of the dishes from the menu posted online and a few of the standbys from menus past (butter-poached lobster with carrots & ginger, OOO, etc). I wont dig in too deep because I don't want to ruin the fun of surprise for those of you who are going over the next few nights, but I would be sure not to miss:

OOO - not new, but was new to me and a real wow dish if you haven't tried it

Otoro - gorgeous, glistening, reminded us more of the amazing wagyu from last year's tasting at Vidalia than it did of what we've seen at sushi spots lately, not sure where he's getting it from but he seems to get an extremely high grade of fish

Foie - best I've ever had - beautiful, large slab, great brioche and fruit accompanied by Sauternes. Probably a fairly classic presentation, but again extraordinary quality

Butted Cod and Cod Cheeks

Tripe - even if this doesn't naturally appeal to you it is worth trying here

As I mentioned above, the treats from the garden were exciting. Last night, that included beautiful little brussels sprouts on the side of one of our courses and a savory celery sorbet palate cleanser that would knock your socks off. I was equally impressed by the new dessert menu, which for me has been the only weak point of past meals here. If I recall correctly, the (relatively) new pastry chef came recently from the French Laundry. We tried both chocolate options and were impressed.

Only the Sweetbreads (earthy, but slightly off in texture and taste) and the Patridge (might have been great if it had cooked a bit less and wasn't overly dry) were less than spectacular. They are heading to NYC to do a big truffle dinner at the James Beard House soon and whoever gets to enjoy that meal is surely in for a hell of a treat.

Another general question, for those of you that have gotten wine pairings, how did you fare? I'm leaning against doing it this time and suggesting that DBF and I just get a bottle of champagne. ... If I'm paying another $75 or something (not sure if Eve has that sort of set price option or if it's just order by the glass as you go) I want to be wowed by every pairing.
This is a tough call and I think a personal decision. We did them last night and were quite pleased. On a previous occasion, when we had them I thought the pairings were very good, if not great, but found the experience of hearing about what I was drinking to make it well worth my while. Last night, we didn't get as many details about what we were being served, but the caliber of what we had seemed very high. Not every pairing totally sung, but they all worked well and I thought everything we were poured was very good. An Albarino with the Otoro was a surprise and a great match, but most of what we had was french and old world style and the pairings tended to be relatively classic, ie Sauternes with Foie, Champagne with OOO, Burgundy with earthy Sweetbreads, etc. I was very pleased with that and I think we got very good value.
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It had been almost 2 years since we had been to the Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve, primarily due to pregnancy (my wife's, not mine), the birth of our daughter, as well as the cost of diapers, daycare, babysitters, and formula (for daughter, not me). Saturday night my wife took me to the tasting room to celebrate my birthday. We opted for the the 7 course Degustation menu. Both my wife and I got the same courses. Next time we will specify that we would each like different courses. The online menu is very close to the menu from Saturday night. Wine pairings were very good as usual.

Highlights:

-Duck Foie Gras paired with a Vouvrey wine. We are not huge Foie fans, but this was good, and the wine was absolutely perfect with this dish. Probably the best pairing of the night. Normally Sauternes is paired with Foie but I like this better because the wine wasn't as sweet as a Sauternes but had the right acidity to counteract the richness of the Foie.

-House-made Chestnut Tortellini - Eve always does pasta well.

-Filet of Barracuda (in the online menu replace "Cod Cheeks" with Barracuda) - cooked perfectly, the fish was coated in a very light fish & chips type batter.

-We had both the Sweetbreads and the Partridge. Unlike what "youngfood" experienced, ours were cooked perfectly.

-Cheeses and dessert were terrific. In particular, the Honey Cake with Dulce de Leche was outrageously good.

Worth Losing a Limb For:

-Celery Sorbet palate cleanser

-Broth amuse, which was described as "broth with pesto and ham". I wish I could have gotten a container of this to-go. Best soup I have had by anyone not named Tom Power.

Honestly, we did not have a single dud/disappointing course. Service was generally terrific. I had asked shortly into the meal if they could write down the wines that we had/will be having. They were more than happy to oblige. They were nice enough to re-print the menu with both the food and the wine. Unfortunately this took a really long time because of printer problems (I would have been fine if they wrote them on the back of a cocktail napkin) and we probably spent an extra 30 minutes waiting for both the menu and our bill. The next day we noticed that on the re-print of the menu that many of the wines written down were wrong and that a couple of the courses were also incorrect. They were doing us a favor by printing this up for us, so I can't really complain too much; however, I had to come up with something negative in here so I don't sound like a shill, right? :P

Can't wait to go back in July for our anniversary.

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Pete, Did you happen to have coffee at Restaurant Eve? How was it? Restaurant Eve is one of the few fine restaurants with specialty coffee/espresso service in the Metropolitan area. I have an interest in promoting high quality coffee service at restaurants (because it is the right thing to do). I'm compiling a public Google map of restaurants featuring such. I'd like to incorporate reviews and comments on the posts, but haven't figured out a simple and clear format for that.

http://tinyurl.com/CoffeeCulinaria-US-Canada

If you didn't try their coffee perhaps someone else on this thread did?

Thanks!

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Pete, Did you happen to have coffee at Restaurant Eve? How was it? Restaurant Eve is one of the few fine restaurants with specialty coffee/espresso service in the Metropolitan area. I have an interest in promoting high quality coffee service at restaurants (because it is the right thing to do). I'm compiling a public Google map of restaurants featuring such. I'd like to incorporate reviews and comments on the posts, but haven't figured out a simple and clear format for that.

http://tinyurl.com/CoffeeCulinaria-US-Canada

If you didn't try their coffee perhaps someone else on this thread did?

Thanks!

I have always enjoyed Restaurant Eve's coffee, and we did have it on Saturday night. I believe they get their coffee from Caffe Pronto.

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I haven't gotten around to posting my full review from my meal on Wed night, but we did have coffee and it was quite good. They send some home with you too, along with their scone mix and some butter (at least they did for us, maybe b/c it was our birthday, but I saw others leaving with care packages too). Have to pick up some cream so I can have those with my birthday breakfast Sunday morning now that I think about it!

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Yesterday was Day 12 of my gluten elimination diet, and I was starting to understand what my doctor meant when she warned me that it can "affect the nerves." I was feeling more than a little bit irritable (think scratch someone's eyes out)!

Fifteen minutes after opening for lunch service, the bar at Restaurant Eve was nearly full. I scored a seat at the bar and all of my stress melted away!

Lobster bisque was an amazing soup du jour. It was rich and satisfying with small chunks of lobster meat. I didn't even miss the bread I couldn't eat (I didn't call ahead for gluten-free bread, because I wasn't certain I'd get there).

I stared a little too enviously at my neighbors' Dragon Creek (?) oyster po' boy sandwiches--beautifully fried oysters on a lovely potato roll. I must have been drooling, too, because the patron closest to me put her arm protectively around her plate.

I wasn't jealous for long, though, because my salad du jour arrived promptly and proceeded to knock my socks off! Medium-rare roasted lamb loin, chilled and sliced thin, atop Davon Crest salad greens and canellini beans with chippoline onions, a magnificent vinagrette, and a little dab of Pommery mustard. Wow!!!!

Once again, as I always do when I have the Lickety Split Lunch, I felt like I was getting away with something nefarious. Lobster bisque and roast lamb loin salad for $13.50!!!! No wonder people are starting to be willing to wait for a seat when the bar is full! Of course, if you weren't there promptly yesterday, you missed the bisque. The "second seating" patrons were offered a butternut squash veloute when the bisque ran out--still unquestionably a stellar soup.

And now I'm on Day 13, but feeling much better!

[edited to change "crab meat" to "lobster meat"]

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Dined at Restaurant Eve last Sat evening for my wife's birthday and had a wonderful experience start to finish. We arrived early for our 9pm reservation and found the bar crowded but not packed. Settled in with a near perfect sidecar, which I have found to be a good indicator for how good or bad a bartender is, so that seemed to be a good omen for the rest of my drink orders. Tried one of the signature gin & tonics next with the housemade tonic. While interesting, it was certainly refined and subtle, i couldnt help but miss the usual tang of a traditional gin & tonic - maybe a bit more lime or a splash more gin. Anyway, those are minor complaints about what was a overall a very nice drink made with much care.

We moved onto the Bistro and both remarked favorably about the crisp, clean mouth-feel of their house filtered water. My wife ordered a scallop appetizer and i ordered the fried sardines. Both were exquisite. The sardines tasted like the sea, not a hint of off-fishy flavor at all, and were fried to perfection. The scallop was cooked perfectly of course. We ordered Dover sole, sea trout, and side of fingerling potatoes for the main course and were equally impressed. The Dover sole was the entire fish, which was a sizable portion, cooked with the bones in but deboned before plating. Cooked perfectly, minimally dressed, and outstanding. I had never eaten sea trout before so was surprised it was so salmon-like in appearance, texture, and taste. It too was fantastic. Dessert was a miniature birthday cake which was perfectly sized and quite tasty, especially when washed down with a nice glass of Madeira.

Overall, the experience was everything we had hoped for. The ambiance was refined but not stuffy, the menus thoughtful and unique but not daunting, and the service attentive but not obtrusive. This restaurant to me is the perfect destination for a special occasion and, given how thoughtfully the Armstrongs run their business, is the kind of establishment we should be supporting. It's a locally owned establishment that takes great care in their work and is equally mindful of how their enterprise fits into the bigger picture. I'm happy to support any chef that takes the time and effort to maintain a garden on the premises, composts his scraps, and filters his own water. It's nice to see such a sense of responsibility coupled with a such a high level of cooking.

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Overall, the experience was everything we had hoped for. The ambiance was refined but not stuffy, the menus thoughtful and unique but not daunting, and the service attentive but not obtrusive. This restaurant to me is the perfect destination for a special occasion and, given how thoughtfully the Armstrongs run their business, is the kind of establishment we should be supporting. It's a locally owned establishment that takes great care in their work and is equally mindful of how their enterprise fits into the bigger picture. I'm happy to support any chef that takes the time and effort to maintain a garden on the premises, composts his scraps, and filters his own water. It's nice to see such a sense of responsibility coupled with a such a high level of cooking.
<Nodding my head> I shamefully never posted my review after my boyfriend and I went to jointly celebrate our birthdays back in January. Hopefully someday I'll get around to a full review, but the quick version is that it was by far the most money we've ever spent on a meal (and I've eaten at Komi, Gary Danko, Charleston...) and was worth every penny. To be honest, it was the best meal I've ever had. We both did the 7 course degustation with wine pairings and everything - food, wine, service - was exceptional from beginning to end. My goal is to get back sometime for a more affordable cafe meal, but being in MD makes it tough. I might actually move to Old Town just to be near Restaurant Eve (okay, maybe stretching a bit there...). :rolleyes:
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Heading here next week with friends for my "last meal out in DC"...I think we're planning on doing 5 courses. How does wine work here? I don't see a "wine pairings" option on the menu and there doesn't seem to be much talk about the wine side of things in the last couple pages of this thread. There will be four of us...I don't see half-bottles on the list but that's generally my inclination for a tasting menu. Split normal bottles? Go by-the-glass?

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Heading here next week with friends for my "last meal out in DC"...I think we're planning on doing 5 courses. How does wine work here? I don't see a "wine pairings" option on the menu and there doesn't seem to be much talk about the wine side of things in the last couple pages of this thread. There will be four of us...I don't see half-bottles on the list but that's generally my inclination for a tasting menu. Split normal bottles? Go by-the-glass?
They have a pairing if you ask
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Ah, nice. I much prefer to put myself in the hands of someone capable when it comes to wine. Anybody been recently and know how much $ it is?
I was there about a month ago and I think that it was around $50 per, but why don't you PM Todd Thrasher and ask. It is the way to go IMHO with the tasting menu.
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Fifteen minutes after opening for lunch service, the bar at Restaurant Eve was nearly full.
The word is out! The bar was completely full at 2pm yesterday, so I waited (15-20 minutes or so), along with two other parties, for a space to open up. As usual, the wait was well worth it. While tempted by the parsnip veloute, I enjoyed the seared diver scallop with mock risotto and scallop veloute to start. The scallop was cooked perfectly with a golden caramelized crust. I followed with the salad du jour - a generous piece of monkfish (pan roasted?) paired with Davon Crest greens (including beautiful baby chard - red and yellow), orange segments, and shaved fennel.

It had been far too long since I had a Lickety-Split lunch - hope it won't be so long until the next time. I might try to make it during the week to avoid -some- of the crowd. Still the very best lunch deal in town!

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I might try to make it during the week to avoid -some- of the crowd. Still the very best lunch deal in town!
You pretty much have to get there at 11:30 to avoid some of the crowd, as far as I can tell. And, indeed, it is the very best deal for lunch!

Also, Val is great behind the bar. I haven't had his cocktails, but his service is over-the-top great!

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We're going here for lunch on Monday -- we usually take our visiting guests to the Tasting Room, but when we realized that they had never eaten in anything BUT the Tasting Room, we knew that we had to correct that error. We will try to mobilize early and maybe snag some of that inordinately tempting pork!

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Locally-farmed pork belly + 7 day brine + 6 hours slow cooking = crazy delicious.

You aren't kidding...wow, the pork belly is indeed crazy delicious. We also had the yukon gold potato gnocchi with fresh morels and ramps...the gnocchi were light as air, the earthy morels were plentiful, and the ramps gave the whole dish such fragrance...loved it!

Sitting at the bar was fun - the cocktails are made with such skill and precision, watching the bartenders work was a bit mesmerizing.

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Every time I do the Lickety Split lunch I kick myself for not making it there more often. The mussels are gone from the menu but the maine diver scallop with mock risotto (potato and mushroom) and scallop veloute is an incredible replacement. The scallop is large and beautifully cooked and the intensity of flavors in the dish make you wish you had gotten two of these for your lunch. No matter though, because the salad of the day yesterday was pork rillettes. Served on a wooden butcher board, the pink 3 inch wide and nearly 1 inch thick disk of rillettes was a tasty and generous portion. The richness was the rillettes was set off nicely by the davon crest greens, cornichons, a grilled crostini, and some mustard sauce. How Restaurant Eve manages to serve this quality of food, with fresh ciabatta bread and Kerrygold butter to boot, for $13.50 is mind boggling.

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Anybody happen to know if PS7's is still offering some sort of lunch special?

My dad's coming down to DC, and I want to take him out to lunch. I'm in the process of picking between PS7's and Proof, but if PS7's still has that $20 lunch menu, or a similar offer, then I think that makes the decision for me.

If you could get to Alexandria, I would go to Eve. I was meeting with clients down there all last week and had the Lickety Split Lunch twice and was amazed at the quality of the food (two courses) that you get for $13.50.

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This past Saturday, the Mrs. and I had a dinner date at Eve. We started in the bar, and the cocktail I had was fantastic! Called the "Sweet Meat," it includes Sazerac rye, pecan water and peach bitters. At first sip it was very sweet, but then the flavors started to really develop and ... bliss. Toasted pecan, rye and peach. Not to be missed.

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We made our first visit to the Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve last week. I have wanted to dine there for quite some time and I fully expected to love it. Sadly, I did not. In fact, I was surprised by how much I did not love it.

Let me start with the positives. The ambiance of the restaurant itself is lovely. I adored the look, the feel, and the sound of it -- the soft edges – it was a nice change from the hard-edged look and sound of so many restaurants today. This made me want to love it even more. The service was friendly – perhaps too friendly – we learned a bit more than we really needed to know about our server’s budding career as a writer for the Food Network. The gin and tonics, with house-made tonic, that we had to start the evening were far and away the best version of that drink I’ve ever had.

What I didn’t love:

(1) Sadly, the food. Price-wise, Eve has placed itself in the same rarified air as CityZen, Komi, and Marcel’s. We have dined at all 3 of these restaurants over the last year and at each of them we more than loved the food. At Komi and CityZen we were blown away by the food. At Eve, we had the 5-course tasting menu and with the various amuses, palate cleansers, etc. we were served at least 9 different plates. Only one of these plates caused us to gush with pleasure – that was a soup that was not one of the 5 menu courses. The server spoke so fast that I couldn’t catch what it was – it seemed to be a tomato soup with a smoky accent. Of the rest of the meal, my husband really enjoyed the Roasted Whitewood Farm Beef Filet and the palate cleanser frozen gazpacho (I did not, which is strange because I love gazpacho – the tomato portion had a strange taste); I enjoyed the Sashimi of Hamachi – very fresh and enhanced by the Yuzu Vinaigrette. Two of the courses (the Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi and the Wild Chicken of the Woods Mushroom Custard) were over-salted and oddly flavored, though I must say that the gnocchi themselves were very delicate and exquisite; the mushroom custard had the consistency and taste of tofu, not a plus. For the cheese course, my husband’s was excellent (Terrine of Gorgonzola) and mine (Crottin de Chavignol) was wrapped in a phyllo dough that rendered the cheese invisible and tasteless and was not helped by the Sauvignon Blanc Gelee. Desserts were NWTC – not worth the calories (Almond Financier – very dry; Praline Crumb Doughnuts – nothing special). The breads were also a disappointment. Served toward the beginning of the meal, they consisted of a basket of 5 small rolls with a plate of Irish Kerry Gold butter (naturally!). When served, the rolls were so hot they could not be touched – obviously fresh from an oven. By the time they cooled enough to be touched, they were hard and difficult to break open and even the butter could not rescue them from nothingness. (These are nothing like the Parker Rolls at CityZen). Finally, we were served a plate of sweets/pastries with the bill. We both agreed that all of these were horrible. Not just ok, but horrible. Batting average: my husband loved 2 and enjoyed 2 of the 9 plates; I loved 1 and enjoyed 1 of the 9 plates. The rest were either bad or forgettable.

(2) Wine pairings: I had the 5 wine pairings. At $70 for 5, 2-oz pours, I expected to be served some really delicious wines. Not the case. They may have complimented the food, but none of the wines were exceptional and 3 of them were no better, taste-wise, than a factory wine. The wine pairings I have had at CityZen have been exquisite, for about the same price. I’d recommend that people just order a $70 bottle of wine – you’ll get a better wine and more of it.

(3) Service: I said earlier that the service was friendly and that is true. That does not mean that the service was of the professional level one would expect at a restaurant at this price-point. I am comparing the service to that we’ve received at CityZen and Marcel’s. In both places the service was impeccable. It was so finely honed, so professional, it blew you away as much as the food. At Komi the service was also excellent in a more laid-back way, inviting interaction with the server. At Eve, many of the servers seemed inexperienced and seemed to struggle with the menu terms. When dishes were brought to the table they were served in a rather haphazard way across the table rather than from the side, such that I often feared that my wine or water glass would be knocked over. Also, I heard a server at the next table describe a dish in a different way than it had been described to us by our server. Is that fish (sugar toads) from the Chesapeake Bay or from the North Atlantic? The young sommelier (not Todd Thrasher, obviously) really needs to study his pronunciation. As someone who lived many years in Europe, the way he mangled the names and regions of the Italian and French wines was almost painful to me. It was only the next day after I read the names of the wines on the menu we had been given, that I understood exactly what we had been served.

(4) Pacing: Slow. It seemed that we waited a very long time between courses. As we did the wine pairing, the wine would be delivered to the table without description and would sit there for 15 minutes before the next course would arrive. Then there would be a wait for the Sommelier to drop by and identify the wine. Twenty minutes could elapse between courses, during which time I have been sitting with nothing to drink and the wine’s temperature has dropped and so has my enthusiasm.

Considering that the cost of the meal, with 2 cocktails, 1 wine pairing, bottle of sparkling water, plus tax and tip, was over $400 for 2 – the experience was disappointing at best, unacceptable for us.

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Mr. MV and I enjoyed the Lickety Split lunch recently. Corn veloute (made it at home...not quite as good) and salad with halibut cheeks. Two large pieces of firm fish that were very pan fried and came with a mustard sauce. Incredible as usual.

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