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Etrusco, Modern Italian at 20th & Q Streets in North Dupont Circle - Chef Eric McKamey Steps in for George Vetsch - Closed.


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Last time he overated what most thought was mediocre.

Edit to add - here it is - Etrusco

more explanation of the disparity between his 3 stars and what others have experienced (and I know this is kinda off topic for the Dino thread)

from Toms chat

In other news, I got a call last week from George Vetsch, whose work at Etrusco prompted me to award the Italian restaurant three stars ("excellent") earlier this year. I was subsequently surprised to hear negative reports from some readers and returned twice, a few months after my review, to see what the problem was. Indeed, the food was no where near as memorable as what I had experienced earlier.

Unbeknownst to me, Vetsch injured his hand -- badly -- shortly after my review and was unable to cook. In fact, his injury is so serious he can no longer work in a kitchen, period, and is considering a move to the front of the house (though not at Etrusco, which is looking for a replacement). I wish the chef well -- but I also wish I had known about the problem earlier.

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Unbeknownst to me, Vetsch injured his hand -- badly -- shortly after my review and was unable to cook. In fact, his injury is so serious he can no longer work in a kitchen, period, and is considering a move to the front of the house (though not at Etrusco, which is looking for a replacement). I wish the chef well -- but I also wish I had known about the problem earlier.

If you Google "George Vetsch," the top three hits as of this morning are:

1. A Robert Schoffner article from March, 2006
2. A Tom Sietsema chat from October, 2005
3. Tom Sietsema's review of Etrusco from March, 2005

As it turns out, George Vetsch's hand injury kept him away for only six months, and he has quietly - very, very quietly - been working at Etrusco since then. However, about a month ago, he really did leave, and his successor is young Eric McKamey, who spent some time prepping and working canape at CityZen, and then did some work over at Palena. If you order McKamey's Fritto Misto, you'll see an obvious tribute to Frank Ruta's fry plate in the fried onion rings, the fried slices of lemon, and the potato croquettes. That having been said, I'd give this kitchen a bit more time - the menu is in flux, the new chef is still finding his sea legs, and it's an incredibly slow time of year in North Dupont Circle.

And as for George Vetsch? He can now be found at Le Mistral in McLean, where one of his very first battles apparently involved protesting against the frozen ravioli he found waiting for him there.

Cheers,
Rocks.

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If you Google "George Vetsch," the top three hits as of this morning are:

1. A Robert Schoffner article from March, 2006
2. A Tom Sietsema chat from October, 2005
3. Tom Sietsema's review of Etrusco from March, 2005

As it turns out, George Vetsch's hand injury kept him away for only six months, and he has quietly - very, very quietly - been working at Etrusco since then. However, about a month ago, he really did leave, and his successor is young Eric McKamey, who spent some time prepping and working canape at CityZen, and then did some work over at Palena. If you order McKamey's Fritto Misto, you'll see an obvious tribute to Frank Ruta's fry plate in the fried onion rings, the fried slices of lemon, and the potato croquettes. That having been said, I'd give this kitchen a bit more time - the menu is in flux, the new chef is still finding his sea legs, and it's an incredibly slow time of year in North Dupont Circle.

And as for George Vetsch? He can now be found at Le Mistral in McLean, where one of his very first battles apparently involved protesting against the frozen ravioli he found waiting for him there.

Cheers,
Rocks.

 
More info here.

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Has anyone been here recently? I'm thinking of taking some out of town friends here bc they'll be staying nearby, but having never been myself I'm wary.

 
The wife and I went in recently and everything was magnificent. Green bean salad with pancetta, proscuitto and ricotta crostini, pesto pasta and veal scallopini were all perfectly executed. This place is a cook's dream. The cookies at the end were perfect too. Kudos.

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The wife and I went in recently and everything was magnificent. Green bean salad with pancetta, proscuitto and ricotta crostini, pesto pasta and veal scallopini were all perfectly executed. This place is a cook's dream. The cookies at the end were perfect too. Kudos.

 
Thanks for the feedback! Can you give me an idea on prices? I didn't see a website for the restaurant, let alone a menu.

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In what should be big Breaking News, but is in reality only a small fizzle, Etrusco shut its doors a week ago for the final time.

A well-placed source (not who you think) tells me Eric McKamey may land at Inox.

Etrusco is a beautiful space, and I hope whatever opens there will do it justice.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Eric McKamey's post here inspired me to revisit this thread. I also noticed that I hadn't retired Etrusco in Italic, and unless it went really badly downhill in its closing weeks or months, that seems like an oversight on my part, now corrected.

Etrusco's final service was Dec 31, 2008, and the space became One Lounge with Owner, and eventual Chef, Seth McClelland, opening on Dec 15, 2009, and closing on Jan 8, 2014.

After that, Mission, opened on Mar 25, 2014, featuring the chef from the wildly popular R&R Taqueria in Elkridge, MD, Rodrigo Albarran-Torrespost-2-0-83700800-1455588537_thumb.png

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