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Graffiato, Modern Italian Small Plates In Chinatown, and the Original Mike Isabella Restaurant - Closed


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i agree Don, your reviews for your other sites would be most welcomed in the threads here.

It might be due to efficiency and time that Don has created a separate thread for dcdining.com reviews of area eateries. Either way, they can be found here, but not updated with Graffiato yet.

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It might be due to efficiency and time that Don has created a separate thread for dcdining.com reviews of area eateries. Either way, they can be found here, but not updated with Graffiato yet.

[Not efficiency and time; I'm trying for this website to be about other people, not about me. I spend countless hours working here, but I try to do it all in the background, hoping the effect is sort of like when you wake up at a ski resort, and all the slopes have been magically groomed (*) overnight. I'm always here, but I never want to impose my presence.

(*) That having been said, I fell a bit behind with the dining guides, and it's going to be another month before I can be proud of them again. (FWIW, the DC dining guides alone could be a 40+ hour a week job, and that doesn't even include dining at these places (which could by itself be a 20 hour a week job).)]

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Since I'm not much for Restaurant Week, I figured it'd be a good time to try lunch here. It was sparsely crowded, so I can't speak to the divisive atmosphere, but as for the food:

The sweet corn agnolotti with chanterelles and pine nuts ($11) was a very good dish, bordering on excellent. Personal preference but I like my filled pastas with just a *touch* more bite -- especially since there's a nearly liquid puree inside. Flavors were awesome though. I easily see why this is one of the restaurant's signatures.

My favorite, however, was the pork ribs with oregano and coriander yogurt ($11). The meat fell off the bone, and had a nice crust of oregano without being dry spice overload. I loved the yogurt as a dipping sauce (coriander is a favorite), and the little salad of radish and orange lightened everything up.

Chicken thighs with pepperoni sauce ($10) was a miss for me. Every element was cooked well, and I enjoyed them on their own, but the chicken and pepperoni sauce weren't the best pairing. I'd rather have a different protein (or maybe serve the sauce with something like arancini?). And to the debate on portion sizes, my serving of thigh(s) came in four chopped up pieces -- looking very much like small chicken nuggets.

Value-wise, I think you'd be better off dining here with a group of four or more. Otherwise, the small plates get expensive quickly (I was barely sated after three). Pizzas looked like a decent value, but there are other places I'd rather get pizza.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the food and will probably be back. But I'm not in a rush.

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On my second visit to Graffiato last week, i was sad to see that some of the dishes that were excellent during my first visit were now merely good. The first time i had the gnocchi with a vegetable presentation and they were amazing, a perfect pillowy texture and a distinct flavor of potato. This time they were served with tomato sauce and cheese, and seemed a bit mealy and overcooked, though the potato flavor was still pleasantly present. The tomato sauce on them was fine, but mostly tasted like crushed tomato rather than anything more memorable. The spaghetti with oil poached tomato sauce had really impressed me before too with delightfully chewy pasta and an intense tomato sauce that together were just the perfect simple dish of pasta. This time the pasta was less well textured (it may have been slightly overcooked) and the tomato sauce was just fine. I'm not sure if they changed the way they made it or if the change is possibly due to the difference between tomatoes in the heat of july and those in a cool early september. Regardless,it was dissapointing.

However, the corn agnolotti has been replaced with chestnut agnolotti with brussels sprout leaves and this dish was lovely. the pasta had good bite and had a perfect amount of filling, and the sweet chestnut, brussels and butter sauce combined quite well. Service was also good, attentive but not rushed. I'll return, but am nowhere near as anxious to return as i was after my first visit.

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I went for lunch earlier this week and liked everything I tried. The place was almost empty and service was pleasant. The complementary sparkling water was a nice touch. Here's what we had:

Broccolini (spicy pepper relish, feta, walnuts) - really good with a strong lemon or other acidic bite.

Warm Brussel Sprouts (pancetta, maple, egg) - I didn't try this because of the pancetta dressing, but it got good reviews from the table.

Striped Bass (potato, smoked eggplant, pine nut relish) - also didn't taste this dish, my friends thought the fish was overdone.

Chestnut Agnolotti (butternut squash, brussel leaves, brown butter) - a nice mix of sweet, but not too sweet filling, and creamy brown butter sauce. Brussel leaves didn't add much flavor, IMO. The dish probably would have been too rich if I were eating it by myself, but shared it was fine.

Forager Pizza (mushrooms, braised kale, ricotta salata) - I'm not such a fan of chewy, bready neopolitan style crust, but somehow the toppings and the crust worked together really well on this one. However, this could be influenced by the fact that the small plates are, well, quite small, and I was still pretty hungry when the pizza came out.

Cannolis (nutella, orange) - If I were not in public I would have licked the filling off the plate. 'Nuff said. At $6, this was the one dish that I thought was a good value.

I fully appreciate that they are using good ingredients and the flavor combinations were interesting. But I'm also in the camp of unlikely to be back regularly. I paid $26 for lunch, water only, and I was still hungry. (And I consider myself to have a fairly small appetite; I can make 2-3 meals out of normal restaurant servings.) I believe the server said they recommend about 3 small plates per person. At this price point that puts it into the "special occasion" category for me.

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I went to Graffiato for my birthday. I think Mike really likes pistachios, they were served gratis as a snack and were also in the very delicious bone marrow (along with lemon, bacon and bread crumbs.) The bruseel sprouts with egg, pancetta and maple were a bit of a mixed bag, the sprouts and sauce were fantastic but the pancetta didn't have enough influence on the overall flavor and the egg seemed extraneous. In reading about the dish on the menu I thought the egg would be poached or soft boiled so you'd get some yolk-y goodness but instead it was just the egg whites sprinkled over the sprouts. It was sort of weird. The White House Pizza was excellent. I also ordered three cheeses for dessert, the Powlet was especially good.

Oh and just as a bit of an odd note, I mentioned on my open table reservation and to the water that it was my birthday but that was totally went unacknowledged, no cake or candle or anything. Usually at most restaurants you get some kind of acknowledgement. Very odd. Other than that the service was fine.

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I went to Graffiato for my birthday. I think Mike really likes pistachios, they were served gratis as a snack and were also in the very delicious bone marrow (along with lemon, bacon and bread crumbs.) The bruseel sprouts with egg, pancetta and maple were a bit of a mixed bag, the sprouts and sauce were fantastic but the pancetta didn't have enough influence on the overall flavor and the egg seemed extraneous. In reading about the dish on the menu I thought the egg would be poached or soft boiled so you'd get some yolk-y goodness but instead it was just the egg whites sprinkled over the sprouts. It was sort of weird. The White House Pizza was excellent. I also ordered three cheeses for dessert, the Powlet was especially good.

Oh and just as a bit of an odd note, I mentioned on my open table reservation and to the water that it was my birthday but that was totally went unacknowledged, no cake or candle or anything. Usually at most restaurants you get some kind of acknowledgement. Very odd. Other than that the service was fine.

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Oh and just as a bit of an odd note, I mentioned on my open table reservation and to the water that it was my birthday but that was totally went unacknowledged, no cake or candle or anything. Usually at most restaurants you get some kind of acknowledgement. Very odd. Other than that the service was fine.

When you told the waiter, did he say "happy birthday"?

If so, what else did you want?

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After a meeting that ran late one day last week, I stopped in here solo for a late lunch at the bar. To be honest, this was a restaurant of which I was very aware (how could one not be?) when it opened and I'd purposely been putting it off expecting not to love it but, at the same time, wanting to be fair and at least try it. And, of course, have to start out saying this is based only on this one visit and, given that Graffiato offers a very limited late lunch (maybe regular lunch too?) menu the size of a postcard, probably not the best test anyway.

HEADLINE

This really seemed like a place built on hype and marketing a bit too cool for school. Foodwise, not so good. Undersized portions. Expensive.

VENUE

I'd hate to experience this place on a busy Saturday night dinner. At 3pm or so on a weekday, fairly empty, it was very noisy (loud music) with lots of staff on smart phones and a general, trying-hard-to-be-uber-hip vibe.

SERVICE

Sat at the bar. Wasn't crowded. Service fine. Not much to say here.

FOOD

I only ordered two things so all the more reason to consider this with a tsp of salt:

- Brussel Sprouts ($7). I ordered this as a starter though positioned on the menu as a side. Here's the thing with brussel sprouts. I feel like every restaurant serving them (and me at home, for that matter), basically knows to season with some s&p, something sweet (honey, balsamic or whatever) to cut the natural bitterness, maybe some cured meat and then roast 'em well to get some char. Do that and probably at least 84% of diners will be surprised and delighted while thinking chef or cook very talented. After all, most of us grew up hating brussel sprouts, right? At Graffiato, they make these with the usual s&p, maple syrup for the 'something sweet' and char formula but don't stop there. Finely chopped hard egg (get it? a breakfast theme with the maple syrup, bacon and eggs w/ brussel sprouts--freakin' brilliant!) and something else not usually seen in such a dish with good reason which I simply can't remember because there was so little of it. Likewise, the bits of bacon were so few and buried beneath the vegetable as to be funny. Over-charred, er, roasted. Portion size and pricing did meet the minimally reasonable sniff test.

- Lobster risotto ($17). I really struggled with the decision to order this. It's a tough dish to really love under the best of circumstances when one has had the Roberto Donna or Fabio Trabocchi versions. Staring at the very limited menu, I thought to myself, "Shouldn't order risotto generally but Graffiato is an Italian restaurant." And, "Then again, Isabella is Jersey Italian so maybe not the place for this?" But, there were only 2 or 3 alternatives and those didn't appeal. You get the idea.

Big time disappointing. First, this was undersized served in the same side-dish sized plate as the sprouts. More surprising, there were only a few of the smallest bits of claw meat (from the drier tip) that, together, maybe would have cleared 1 oz on a scale. The rest of the dish was, I guess, arborio rice but fairly glutinous, heavy and evenly pink with barely a lobster essence. C'mon man. $17? And, whatever the price, this dish was ridiculous.

VALUE

Silly. I mean, bad.

BOTTOM LINE

Again, big caveats as mentioned at the beginning. This wasn't dinner. Only tried two things. So good reason to discount this view. But I left feeling like this is owned by someone who isn't at all focused on quality or building a following of regulars. Rather, seems like a place hell bent on chef/owner "brand-building" while squeezing beer-induced rowdies coming out of Verizon and, of course, all the Top Chef fans/tourists in town.

And, of course, a Georgetown Mexican concept will be next out of the chute less than a year since this one opened. I'm not optimistic.

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Another good dinner at Graffiato. I think I might just live a charmed life or . . . something. I went here, in part, because of the recent negative reports, and had basically the same good experience as before. The people working tonight were flat-out fantastic and the pizza was nice and crispy, with a good char on the crust. We also got the pepperoni sauce, which is like I imagine crack to be, and the crispy lamb, which was, indeed, crispy (and particularly lamby, which I like). The only semi-dud we got was the octopus, which was fine, but I've had it better here. I just don't think they got great octopus in today. It happens. The zeppole dessert is fantastic, too.

If Mike Isabella hadn't been on Top Chef this place wouldn't exist. Whatever. In my experience, it's always been good, and it makes me wonder if the haters are just hating on fame in general. If so, they're disrespecting the great staff because their boss was on TV. But I think this is probably not the case. Rather, I can see how this place could get overwhelmed and maybe put out some sub-par stuff when slammed, particularly pizzas (they cook a lot of stuff in that oven, and space is at a premium). So, I guess my advice would be to try it at an off time, or a slow night.

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My wife and I and a friend went here last night. It was our second visit and again we got the chef's tasting menu this time. I felt just about exactly opposite from darkstar above. I thought it was a crazy amount of food for a low price. For $55 dollars each, we got something like 18 courses/dishes and were defeated by the end. We could only eat about half of the desserts and 3/4 of the final entrees.

If you go to Graffiato, get the chef's tasting menu! The amount of food and more importantly the variety of flavors/tastes/dishes makes it all worth it. And they seem to change it up quite a bit. We were last there in late March and most of the dishes were different this time around. Our friend had never been there before and asked the waitress how many courses it was and she said three. I had to jump in and explain that each course had about five dishes!

Here's what we had to the best of my recollection (from the online menu):

First Course:

Broccolini $6

spicy pepper relish, walnut, feta

Baby Beets $7

house ricotta, orange

Roasted Cauliflower $7

pecorino, mint

Charred Sugar Snap Peas $7

lardo, sesame

Spicy Pistachios

Second Course:

Chilled Grape Soup $7

cucumber, ginger

Burrata $11

honey glazed onions, nigella

Caeser $8

cream cheese croutons

Cured Meats:

Olli Toscano, VA

Biellese Speck, NY

Prosciutto Di Parma, Italy

With Honey

Flatbread & Pepperoni Sauce $5

Pizza:

Countryman $18

black truffle, fontina, farmed soft egg

Third Course

Marinated Octopus $13

romesco, olives, almonds

Crispy Lamb $13

favas, yogurt, cucumber

Spiced Pork Ribs $11

tomato mostarda

Fettuccini $13

blue crab, summer squash, arugula pesto

Dessert:

Blood Orange Cheesecake $7

passion fruit, basil

Warm Chocolate Cake $8

fudge, salted caramel gelato

Blackberry Crostata $8

pine nut, whipped mascarpone

Everything was very good with one or two exceptions. Highlights included the charred snap peas, the chilled grape soup (like nothing I've ever had before), the caesar salad (with "croutons" that were hard on the outside but were filled with almost-liquid cream chese), the pizza (served with a sous vide (very) soft boiled egg on top that was broken and spread over the pizza at the table), and the desserts.

The only misses were the octopus which was a little tough and chewey. (the first time we were there we sat at the bar and were given an extra octopus dish that they mistakenly prepared and it was much better than what we had last night. So they can make it well, we just got one that was maybe a little over cooked). The other thing that was less than perfect was one of the final meat courses (the lamb I think, but it may have been the ribs). It was a little too salty for my tastes. But it hardly mattered as we were so stuffed at that point we could barely eat anything.

In conclusion, I loved the place!

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Lunch at the bar yesterday wasn't compelling. The bartender, Greg, was delightful. Very helpful and funny. Olympic soccer on the big screen above us was quite entertaining. The food was generally not memorable. Broccolini was not overcooked, but kind of overwhelmed by the sauce and cheese. "Greens," which I thought might have been served hot (collards or kale) was actually just a salad of mixed greens. It was fine, but nothing special. The crispy lamb was delicious, but there was quite a lot of really fatty parts, yielding a small serving for $12 or $13. The Americano pizza with added sausage for $18 was undercooked. The center was damp and gummy. Definitely a letdown. Add two beers and two draft proseccos, and the lunch was over $70 before tax and tip. It seems like a fun place and the employees we spoke with were genuinely enthusiastic and eager to please. Just not excited about the food.

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I had a pleasant meal here a few weeks back. We had relatives in-town who were on a Top Chef kick, so they were dead set on heading to Graffiato. My only other meal here was for lunch a few months after they opened, and the restaurant was actually much more subdued this particular night.

I’ll get my bias out of the way up front. I love eating at tapas restaurants! I detest eating at “tapas”-esque restaurants, as the overarching goal seems less to present the cuisine and culture of a particular area (say, Barcelona) than to charge more money for less food.

Upon seating, our server launched into a 5 minute long soliloquy about the menu, the restaurant, the chef, how to order, how much to order, what not to miss, what he had for lunch (seriously), and probably 10 other things I tuned out. The lesson would have been better received had it been (a.) three minutes shorter and (b.) culminated in a drink order. Had he asked me if I wanted a drink 1st, he could have sold me another drink by the time he was finished filibustering. Aside from that, the service was very good and unobtrusive the rest of the meal.

As for the food-

Broccoli Rabe – perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, served with raisins and maybe pinenuts. Nice.

Flatbread with Pepperoni Sauce –tastes just like liquid pepperoni. Truth in advertsing, but I am surprised this sauce so impressed Tom, Padma, Gail etc.

Smoked Arctic Char – very flavorful fish, just a miniscule amount. The yogurt was tangy and quite good, but a little more char would have been even better

Charred Octopus- a little less char would have been even better. The loan clunker of the night

Risotto – it’s not easy to cook risotto in a restaurant setting, particularly one with as high a volume as Graffiato. Very well done, perfectly cooked; I could have done without the saba, YMMV*

Cavatellli with Lamb Ragu – They do pasta very well here. The ragu was delightfully spicy and I could have greedily eaten a whole bowl of this. A whole bowl would probably cost you $45.*

Tagliatelle – a simple order of eggy tagliatelle with parm and olive oil. Well made pasta, perfectly cooked. Portion? See above.

Crispy Duck – blindfolded, I would never have guessed I was eating duck, it was just bland. However, the stewed lentils with celery underneath were outstanding . I secretly spooned them up while my family waxed poetic about what the duck tasted like (answer: not duck)

White House Pizza – a crisp and nicely blistered crust that exhibited none of the toothsomeness (hi Tom S!) and yeasty goodness I love about wood fired Napoli pizza. The toppings, however, were of very high quality and expertly placed and I would gladly order this again, just without the honey. The honey didn’t do it for me.

Panna Cotta – The salty, sweet chocolate pretzels on top really made the first few scoops of this dish. Once you were done with the pretzels and left with just the panna cotta, it was merely average.

Tart – Not sure what fruit was in the tart (pear? apple?) but the crust was just too dry so I did not dive further. The cardamom pumpkin sauce with the tart was freaking delicious and had he served that to Gail, she probably would have died of happiness right then and there.

*whoever was making the pasta this day, and whoever was cooking pasta this day, did a really, really good job.

We drank some of the house prosecco, which was fine and, from what I remember, reasonably priced. And I appreciate being able to order a macchiato after dinner and not have to explain what a macchiato really is. They did not have frapuccino.

Overall, there was some really solid cooking and but a few misses. This is not an inexpensive restaurant, and I would happily return. Now, If I could only get a bowl of any of the pasta dishes I tried, I’d be back all the time.

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Upon seating, our server launched into a 5 minute long soliloquy about the menu, the restaurant, the chef, how to order, how much to order, what not to miss, what he had for lunch (seriously), and probably 10 other things I tuned out.

"Have you dined with us before?"

My answer is always YES! Yes I'm familiar with the concept of farm to table small plates, thank you.

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Meh.

That's the only way I could accurately describe my dining experience here last night. There's nothing wrong or offensive about the food itself; it's a good deal better than a number of restaurants and eateries in the area. It is just that I, like so many others, succumbed to the hype around Mike Isabella's television reputation. From the crispy potatoes to the short rib to the panna cotta, nothing registered so strongly as to elicit an "oh s—" moment from me.

Oh well. At least the bar downstairs is pretty good, at least in terms of liquor selection and cocktails.

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I had a nice meal here last night. nothing was revelatory or superb, but all of it was good, and some was very good, which puts it ahead of many, many restaurants, imho.

the cocktails were delicious and the service pleasant. we had:

--broccolini--steamed with feta and a type of red relish on it, with a nice salty/citrusy bite. perfectly pleasant.

--cauliflower--roasted with mint and peccorino--a simple dish, but very tasty, the cauliflower was nicely browned

--brussels sprouts--these are deep fried and served with yogurt, maple syrup, pancetta and what appears to be crumbled hard boiled egg (though the menu doesn't list the dish as having eggs) i only had a wee taste as i was avoiding the pancetta, but though the sprouts were well-carmelized they were quite sweet, the maple is definitely present

--countryman pizza--black truffles, fontina, and spinach (usually comes with egg but we subbed spinach). the truffles aren't on top, they're in a sort of cream sauce that goes under the cheese. the crust was fine, but nothing special, but the pizza overall was delicious. quite nutty, mushroomy, and cheesy, i definitely want more of this.

--handcut spaghetti with oil-poached cherry tomatoes--this continues to be a lovely, simple and satisfying dish that i wish they'd serve big bowls of. the pasta was pleasantly chewy and the sauce was intensely tomatoey with plenty of basil.

--pan seared gnocchi with figs and feta--this usually comes with "crispy goat" but they made it without for me. my version had snap peas on it, but i'm not sure if this comes in the regular version. the gnocchi had a good texture and were well seared, and the fig was a paste on the bottom of the plate. mixed with the feta and the peas, it worked, but i was imagining how great the gnocchi would be with some of the tomato sauce from the spaghetti.

Overall a very nice meal with some good to very good (the pizza and spaghetti) food, and nice cocktails.

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The Gem Tasting Menu on Sunday and Monday nights is very, very worthwhile; sous chef Adam Brick does a great job. More information is here: http://graffiatodc.com/gem-tasting-menu/ $85 for twelve courses felt like a bargain.

Very interesting given the other new $85/12-course menu currently being offered by another well known Italian chef. I'm guessing I'd know which comes out on top here in a head to head but cannot yet say since haven't (yet) tried either. ;)

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The Gem Tasting Menu on Sunday and Monday nights is very, very worthwhile; sous chef Adam Brick does a great job. More information is here: http://graffiatodc.com/gem-tasting-menu/ $85 for twelve courses felt like a bargain.

Does anyone know how often Mike Isabella is on the line these days? I know Chef de Cuisine Marjorie Meek-Bradley is replacing Logan Cox at Ripple, but was still under the impression that Isabella was working the line (which he was when I've gone). However, this is usually the Chef de Cuisine's job, especially when the Executive Chef (which I presume is Isabella's title) has his fingers in multiple projects, e.g., Bryan Voltaggio.

Is Brick moving up to fill in for Meek-Bradley?

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Does anyone know how often Mike Isabella is on the line these days? I know Chef de Cuisine Marjorie Meek-Bradley is replacing Logan Cox at Ripple, but was still under the impression that Isabella was working the line (which he was when I've gone). However, this is usually the Chef de Cuisine's job, especially when the Executive Chef (which I presume is Isabella's title) has his fingers in multiple projects, e.g., Bryan Voltaggio.

Is Brick moving up to fill in for Meek-Bradley?

When my girlfriend and I did the Gem Menu on Monday the 11th, Mike Isabella was at the bar with a glass of wine getting ready to leave the restaurant with some friends. So that's one data point. The Gem meal itself appears to be largely Brick's baby (he's spent time at Momofuku Ssam Bar, among others), with some consulting input from Chef Isabella. When we went, it was just after the big snowstorm in the Northeast, so several of Brick's planned menu ingredients weren't available and he had to improvise. Among the dishes he substituted in was one that he'll be showcasing at Cochon 555 this year; I can't say what it is, but it was absolutely delicious and involved Ossabaw pork.

Also, I should mention: I said the Gem tasting menu was 12 courses for $85, and while that's technically true, Chef Brick threw in a couple of additional courses as surprises (and those ended up being among my favorites). So let's call it fourteen courses and an even better bargain.

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I was there last night. We saw Mike once toward the end of our meal (we were sitting directly across from the wood fire oven and he appeared on the oven side), but he was not working the line in any way.

I'll have to reserve my full review for later, but for now I will say I was really pleased with our meal. A few small nitpicks, but overall the food was really good and not imo pricey at all as I'd heard. I left full and having had 2 drinks for $50.

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I was there last night. We saw Mike once toward the end of our meal (we were sitting directly across from the wood fire oven and he appeared on the oven side), but he was not working the line in any way.

I'll have to reserve my full review for later, but for now I will say I was really pleased with our meal. A few small nitpicks, but overall the food was really good and not imo pricey at all as I'd heard. I left full and having had 2 drinks for $50.

Yeah, I don't know how anyone could think of Graffiato as pricey. It's one of the most reasonable places in the city for the quality of the food you get, right up there with Dino. In my opinion.

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Yeah, I don't know how anyone could think of Graffiato as pricey. It's one of the most reasonable places in the city for the quality of the food you get, right up there with Dino. In my opinion.

I haven't been back in a while, but when it first opened, it was pretty expensive for the amount of food served. It's quite possible they've adjusted that over time, but the references to its being pricey may date back to comments made a while ago.

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Yeah, I don't know how anyone could think of Graffiato as pricey. It's one of the most reasonable places in the city for the quality of the food you get, right up there with Dino. In my opinion.

Granted this was a few months ago, but the portions I got at lunch were laughable. I had the caeser salad and gnocchi. The salad was the smallest version of caeser salad I have ever received and smaller than any vegetarian dish I've had at a tapas place (i.e. Jose Andres restaurants, Estadio), however it was at least in the same realm as portion sizes I've seen. The gnocchi portion was ridiculous. I forget now if it was 4 or 6 individual gnocchi, but either way, I have never seen such a precious portion of gnocchi. Fiola's half portion of gnocchi and tortellini are several magnitudes bigger, admittedly for 3-4 dollars more once Fiola ratcheted up its prices after opening. Eola's tasting menu's gnocchi portion was larger. Meat portions at tapas places were bigger than this vegetarian dish. To add insult to injury, it was missing an advertised ingredient. I wasn't very hungry and the tiny portion was very good, so I wasn't that put out, but I left thinking that Graffito was not a great value by any means. I've had gnocchi dishes at Proof, Unum, and Fiola that were at least as good as if not better than Graffito's, that were much better values.

Dino's portions on the other hand are hearty and, at least in the case of half orders of pasta, several magnitudes larger than Graffito's and can actually be considered a meal by someone other than an anorexic.

Gadarene, I do not doubt that you have received good food for reasonable prices at Graffito, its quite possible I ordered the two dishes with the most paltry portions or the chef wasn't putting out the correct gnocchi portion. I did notice the pizzas were a decent deal. But my solitary experience at Graffito and numerous visits to Dino suggest the two could not be further apart when it comes to overall value.

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For the build-your-own pizza, the last time I ordered a basic made-to-order 9" sausage pizza for close to $20 (build-your-own starts as a white pizza for $11 or $12, then add $3 each for cheese and sausage). I wouldn't necessarily qualify that as value.

For contrast, the price for pizza at Range or Ardeo (i.e. restaurants that happen to have pizza on the menu) is cheaper relatively.

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Just to nitpick, each order of magnitude is "times 10." So if an earthquake registers 5 on the Richter scale (which is based on orders of magnitude), and another one registers 6, the second one is 10 times stronger. If one registered 7, it would be 10 times 10, or 100 times stronger.

So if an order of gnocchi is several orders of magnitude bigger than another, that is one hell of a lot of gnocchi! :lol:

All this having been said (and this isn't specific to Graffiato) ... with all the years and years, and thousands and thousands of mentions of the novel "small plates" concept, why doesn't anyone ever write that, all other things equal, it's a way for restaurants to cut their food costs? Portale stacks 'em high; Andrés packs 'em small; Carmine's loads 'em up. It's all about packaging.

(This is where Mark Kuller will jump in and say, "Hey Rocks, it would be nice if you knew what the hell you were talking about...." B))

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...my solitary experience at Graffito and numerous visits to Dino suggest the two could not be further apart when it comes to overall value.

Very much in agreement with thetrain. Like thetrain, I've only been to Graffiato once, for lunch, and was underwhelmed but have been to Dino many times. While my personal experience is a bit limited with Graffiato, I think the difference is indeed vast in several respects inclusive of value such as transparency, authenticity, variety and overall comfort and feel of the venues...oh, and the wine lists...with Dino winning by knockout margins in all respects. As always, ymmv.

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I haven't been to Dino, but I've had the Chef's Tasting menu at Graffiato a couple of times (upthread) and I've been floored for the amount and quality of the food that we got for 55 bucks. I've never just ordered a couple dishes off the regular menu so I can't comment on the value to price ratio, but for the Chef's menu, I think it's a great deal and a ton of food.

My wife and I did the tasting menu at the Ashby Inn last summer and we loved it, but 3/4s of the way through the meal, I realized I was still going to be hungry when we left, and sure enough, I was raiding the refridgerator as soon as we got home. And that meal cost $99, nearly twice the price of the meal at Graffiato.

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I haven't been to Dino, but I've had the Chef's Tasting menu at Graffiato a couple of times (upthread) and I've been floored for the amount and quality of the food that we got for 55 bucks. I've never just ordered a couple dishes off the regular menu so I can't comment on the value to price ratio, but for the Chef's menu, I think it's a great deal and a ton of food.

My wife and I did the tasting menu at the Ashby Inn last summer and we loved it, but 3/4s of the way through the meal, I realized I was still going to be hungry when we left, and sure enough, I was raiding the refridgerator as soon as we got home. And that meal cost $99, nearly twice the price of the meal at Graffiato.

Wow, three reactions to your post, Bart that came to me in order as follows:

1. Hmmm. Very helpful. As one who only had the couple of items from the menu that one time and wasn't that excited, the tasting menu value prop is something I didn't know or at least hadn't considered. And, to be fair and really more informed about the place, I should. And I will.

2. Wait! Wait! I again fully admit I haven't given Graffiato the fairest of shakes per my posts upthread and here, but is he really going to compare it to the Ashby Inn? OMG! That has to be madness. He is going to do it.

3. Repeat #1 here. Have to try that tasting menu before I can really form a view about any of this.

Thanks Bart.

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My wife an I ate here last night before the Caps game. We shared 5 plates, one desert and each had two beers. The total was $100 incuding tip which we thought was a good value. Were we stuffed no, but very satisified with what we ate. Would go back soon though it is a bit loud and service was slow as the wait staff and GM seemed to fawn over a table of Wash Post staffers who had many bottles of wine open at their table.

We had

Cauliflower-Well executed

Romanesco-Very tasty

Flatbread with Pepperoni Sauce-Tasty

Scallops-Two large and well prepared scallops

Glazed Pork Belly-Very nice dish

The scallops and pork belly combined several textures and tastes into a small plate which was really nice. The Scallops came with thin slices of apple which added a real nice crunch and sour note.

Panna Cotta-This was OK, not as light as I would like

This is a good place to eat. A great addition to the VErizon Center/China Town/Penn Quarter area, Is it fine destination dining-no, nor is the goal to be the best value in its class. Choose smartly on the menu and you will have a great meal.

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Wow, three reactions to your post, Bart that came to me in order as follows:

1. Hmmm. Very helpful. As one who only had the couple of items from the menu that one time and wasn't that excited, the tasting menu value prop is something I didn't know or at least hadn't considered. And, to be fair and really more informed about the place, I should. And I will.

2. Wait! Wait! I again fully admit I haven't given Graffiato the fairest of shakes per my posts upthread and here, but is he really going to compare it to the Ashby Inn? OMG! That has to be madness. He is going to do it.

3. Repeat #1 here. Have to try that tasting menu before I can really form a view about any of this.

Thanks Bart.

Hahahaa!

I was just making the point that the Chef's tasting menu seemed like a great bargin. I loved the Ashby meal but it was quite pricey and quite small. Very, very good, but just small. And sadly, that's one of the first things that pops into my head when I think about the meal. Sure I remember the beautiful outdoor setting, the beautiful sunset on a warm late summer evening, the sweet staff, the unique dishes (cooking my steak on a molten rock, soup "flavored" with burning hay on the bottom of my plate - see my post for photos), but right behind all that is the feeling that I wasn't even close to full when we were done, and that we'd need more food that evening.

At Graffiato on the other hand, we couldn't finish the last entree and only had a couple bites from the 3 desserts.

And can I get a hand for 2-13-70? ;)

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Hahahaa!

I was just making the point that the Chef's tasting menu seemed like a great bargin. I loved the Ashby meal but it was quite pricey and quite small. Very, very good, but just small. And sadly, that's one of the first things that pops into my head when I think about the meal. Sure I remember the beautiful outdoor setting, the beautiful sunset on a warm late summer evening, the sweet staff, the unique dishes (cooking my steak on a molten rock, soup "flavored" with burning hay on the bottom of my plate - see my post for photos), but right behind all that is the feeling that I wasn't even close to full when we were done, and that we'd need more food that evening.

At Graffiato on the other hand, we couldn't finish the last entree and only had a couple bites from the 3 desserts.

And can I get a hand for 2-13-70? ;)

I'll give a hand for most anyone for most any reason. We all need that kind of support and enthusiasm once in awhile and it costs nothing to be nice.

So, hear hear for Bart and "2-13-70"!!!

P.S., What's "2-13-70"? :blink:

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Wanted to actually post my full review before, as typically happens it fell off of my radar entirely.

I stupidly made our reservation for the wrong night so when we showed up at 6:45 on a Friday night things did not look good for us, but we were able to grab seats at the bar directly across from the wood-fired oven, which I recommend given that the restaurant is a bit drafty downstairs with the door opening and closing constantly (or don't screw up your rez and sit upstairs :P).

We started with cocktails. Because I was chilly I went outside of my comfort zone and ordered the Hot Tottie with laird’s apple jack, ritternhouse rye, pumpkin puree, lemon, honey angostura bitters, nutmeg. It was delicious, nicely balanced and not overly sweet as I had feared. My second drink was the prosecco on tap. One, I love the idea of prosecco on tap, and two, at $8 a glass it was a perfectly nice accompaniment to our food.

For our meal, 3 of us shared:

Broccolini - red pepper, feta, walnuts

This was one of my favorite dishes. A nice balance of flavors, the veg was perfectly cooked and the red pepper added a nice kick of heat

Roasted cauliflower - pecorino, mint

The one "dud" of the meal. It was fine, perfectly edible, just lacking in anything special. I couldn't taste the mint at all, and would have preferred a bit more char on the cauliflower.

Brussels sprouts - pancetta, maple, yogurt

Loved these. Deep fried brussels sprouts always rock my world. One thing of note, the maple is heavy on this dish. I enjoyed it, but my friend found it too heavy handed and once they started to grow cold I did start to find it cloying. There's a generous portion so my recommendation is to get them, but plan to share them with a larger number of people.

Charred octopus - pistachio, grapefruit, fennel

I loved the flavors of this dish, especially the pistachio, which is in the form of a puree on the bottom of the plate, but the octopus itself left me cold (it's served somewhere between cold and room temperature incidentally). I found the octopus to be a bit chewier than I would have liked, nothing offensive, I am probably nitpicking, but it actually had a fishy flavor. But, the flavors were spot on. I would consider ordering it again and hoping the octopus was better.

Countryman pizza - black truffle, fontina, farmed soft egg

I only had a bite of this because I'm not eating grains/gluten, but the bite I had was filled with truffle-y deliciousness and I liked the crust. The egg was also perfectly cooked and they had no issue accommodating our request to only put it on one half of the pizza so our vegetarian friend could eat from the other half.

Service was fluid throughout. We had to make a couple of attempts to flag down our server for additional drink orders once or twice, but given how busy they were it was nothing major. The only negative is how loud it is inside - there were 3 of us lined up at the bar and quite frequently both people would be talking to me (I was in the middle) not realizing the other was talking. Other than that, our experience was really positive on a whole and I really liked the food. As I mentioned above, with 2 drinks each, our bill was about $50/person including tax and tip and we left full.

Given our experience, I would definitely give the tasting menu a shot.

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I'm a Dead fan. So, at the risk of embarrassing myself even further, okay but what connection to this topic or Graffiato? :wacko:

Nothing! We were sort of having a converstaion so I decided to give your name a shoutout. I figured the "Darkstar" name was a Grateful Dead reference. The 2-13-70 show is considered by many to have the greatest Dark Star ever played. Me, I consider it to be the greatest piece of music ever played! You can get it on "Dick's Picks Vol. 4" from the Grateful Dead's website. If you're a fan of Dark Star or the Dead, this is mandatory listening!!

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Nothing! We were sort of having a converstaion so I decided to give your name a shoutout. I figured the "Darkstar" name was a Grateful Dead reference. The 2-13-70 show is considered by many to have the greatest Dark Star ever played. Me, I consider it to be the greatest piece of music ever played! You can get it on "Dick's Picks Vol. 4" from the Grateful Dead's website. If you're a fan of Dark Star or the Dead, this is mandatory listening!!

Ah, of course! Thanks again, Bart!

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Anyone been recently? I believe the menu is at least somewhat seasonal, so curious what is good on it right now. Heading there with the +1 Saturday night after a 9am-6pm hospital preparation for birth class :blink: , so I know we'll be hungry. Trying to decide if we should try the tasting menu (not the "gem") or just go a la carte.

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I was there a couple of weeks ago. Looking at the menu right now to try to figure out what we had. I think we went with at least a few of the specials, which were all great, but I can't really remember what they were. There was definitely squid, and some vegetables. That's not helpful. Off of the menu that's posted, the broccolini was quite good, as were the chicken thighs with the pepperoni sauce. And the scallops. The agnolotti was good, but not nearly as good as the sweet corn version that appears in the summer.

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I was there a few weeks ago before a game - The Flat Iron Steak was excellent (but remember tapas portion size). I did not like the risotto (This is the first time in memory that I sent back risotto - their service was excellent and gave no issues and replaced it with something else).

We did not get pizza, but the table next to us ordered the porky's revenge pizza and it looked REALLY GOOD (I have made a mental note that next time I am at Verizon Center I want to go for pizza).

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We were there last Saturday. Had their pizza for the first time. Wanted to test out their version of Neapolitan pizza and it was great: just cheese, tomato sauce and basil. Crust was pretty salty, but that's how we like it, great chew, and, bravo, not at all soupy. Don't miss the charred asparagus: baby stalks and butter, yum!

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Thanks to those for providing some guidance! A leisurely meal it was not (I think we had finished our dinner food no more than 30 min after being seated, but took our time a little with dessert and were still in and out in less than an hour), but the food was good, and our server was very helpful at giving advice when we were wavering between a few things (side note: I hate when a server basically says "it's all good" or "you can't go wrong with anything on the menu." I much prefer definitive answers and helpful suggestions).

The two of us split the following:

  • Flatbread & Pepperoni Sauce ($5) - This was on the specials menu and is the only form of a "bread basket" currently available. It's a little cone of pizza dough strips and a small ramekin of the infamous pepperoni sauce. And dammit if that sauce doesn't taste like eating straight pepperoni. It really is very good, and I think a good value as well.
  • Broccolini ($7 red peppers, walnut, feta) - This was recommended a couple of times, and we both liked this a lot as well. The red pepper/feta/walnut sauce/chutney-type topping had a really nice flavor and the broccolini was tender while still having a nice crunch and vibrant green color.
  • Burrata ($13 kumquat, smoked pork loin) - A chunk of burrata topped with shaved pork and served with two slices of bread. This was good, but for the price we decided we'd pass next time. I feel like we've had better burrata dishes elsewhere (the pork flavor was pretty underwhelming and I don't remember the kumquat flavor at all come to think of it).
  • Ricotta Cavatelli ($12 lamb ragu, feta, mint, pistachio) - While in no way a bad dish, this may have been our least favorite of the night. It is a good-sized serving, and the pasta was tasty and well-cooked, but it was one of the least interesting flavor-wise to us. Maybe I have just moved on from a heavy winter taste to more springy thoughts.
  • White House Pizza ($17 mozzarella, taleggio, ricotta, prosciutto, black pepper honey) - We were torn between a few pizzas, but our server said this was one of his favorites. I love a good white pizza with prosciutto, and the honey added a nice sweetness to go with the salty cheese and meat. The crust had a good level of char and good flavor as well.
  • Gelato ($6 each for salted caramel and dark chocolate) - Despite our hesitancy to order two flavors of gelato that each cost $6 for one scoop (it is a good-sized scoop...but still!), it was a lovely end to the meal. The dark chocolate flavor was so dense and chocolatey we said it was like eating brownie batter or fudge. The salted caramel was great on its own, but we really enjoyed taking a taste of each together.

After a 1.5 year hiatus between visits, this made me want to pop my head in more often as the seasonal menu changes (and I want some more of that sweet corn agnolotti from my first visit!).

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Had a wonderful visit to Graffiato, which I wrote about on my blog today. I went several times when it first opened (and liked it a lot then), but hadn't been since. Knowing that Chef Isabella is poised to open his third restaurant, and having been disappointed by his second (Bandolero), I wanted to revisit Graffiato to (hopefully) be recharged and excited for Kapnos. I wasn't disappointed. We enjoyed everything we ordered and the service was excellent as well. I was really impressed with the menu. Because it had been recommended by several posters here, we started with the broccolini, which was really quite good (I was tempted also by the charred asparagus and smoked beets). We also had the pepperoni sauce, which I like is now offered with bread instead of just chicken thighs. At the server's suggestion, we had the Luigi, a seasonal ramp pizza with ramp pesto and ramp greens, which may have been our favorite thing. Sounds like some people felt rushed. We didn't feel that way at all. Felt perfect actually, with the food nicely timed to not crowd our table nor make us wait too long for the next thing. I think we took a full two hours with cocktails and dessert.

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I stopped by here today for a quick bite and glass of wine after a day of visiting museums. I had a really nice cabernet franc rose made from Finger Lakes grapes, but made by a NYC winery called Brooklyn Oenology.

For food, I started with the white gazpacho with marcona almonds, coconut and honey yogurt. This wasn't something I would typically order, but I was hot and sweaty from a day of walking around and the idea of gazpacho, especially with coconut sounded incredibly refreshing. I didn't know what to make of it at first, but the more I ate it the more I loved it and by the end I was scraping the bowl clean.

I followed that up with the broccolini with red pepper relish, walnuts, and feta, which I had enjoyed so much on my last visit. For the second time, I was surprised it was cold, but that actually suited me given the heat outside. The dish was as good as I remember. However, someone was heavy handed with the salt that day while making the red pepper relish. I love salt and it was a bit much for me unless I ate it in very small amounts in each bite.

As an aside, I didn't get to take good advantage of it this time, but I really like the beverage program (is that how you'd refer to it?) here. I love the availability of inexpensive prosecco on tap, they always have a nice selection of wines including some unique ones (not 1, but 2 Finger Lakes wines for instance) and in addition to their standard cocktail list, they offer a seasonal cocktail and punch.

A quick visit that served to reinforce that I really like this place and feel it deserves more attention. Also a reminder that I would still like to do the tasting menu some day.

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Damn it if I didn't just come back from a delicious lunch here. We had the broccolini, and I too was struck by the cold and crunch mentioned in previous posts, and really appreciated how the ingredients came together. The Chicken Thighs were skin on, cooked perfectly, with the skin having a nice crunch to it. The Flatbread and Porky's Revenge pizza had good char and salt content, and the toppings were ample. The pepperoni sauce is as good as advertised and would taste good on anything. I rarely get anything rhubarb, but really enjoyed the tart for dessert. I already trying to think of a reason to go back.

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Had dinner at Graffiato last night with my Mom and Brother.  We had some happy hour cocktails.  I had the punch and the Derby, both well balanced, but had an impact.  We went upstairs for dinner.  We had the broccolini, which had great crunch to it, I like the walnuts and sauce with it.  We also had the hand cut spaghetti which was light but very tasty.  We had the Caesar salad, as well, which we all really enjoyed.  Fairly typical, but well executed with a nice twist on the croutons.  We also had the clam pasta which we really enjoyed, it was a great dish.  Very rich and unctuous, but with really good flavors that weren't too over the top heavy.  We had the Amish chicken thighs, which were fine, but the pepperoni sauce really wasn't as good as I expected, but I will say pepperoni and I have a long love affair, so I wanted it to be more pronounced pepperoni.  The chicken was good, the skin was nice and crispy.  We got the Jersey Shore pizza, which I regretted, with so many other good looking pizzas, this one just didn't come together in flavor.  I thought the crust was good, just didn't like the flavors of the pizza itself.  I thought the portions were fair for the price, we had leftover pizza and were stuffed. Anyway I would like to try a few other pizzas and see some of the other things on the menu when the season changes.  I would go back, but I don't know that I would go back versus trying someplace new.  

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