Last Wednesday I went with my wife and a friend to Driftwood. We live close by and were glad something replaced the disappointing TruOrleans. Hoping for a good local bistro, we ventured in. They bill them selves as American fare with a Middle Eastern influence. Not enough influence. I will caveat the review by stating that they had only been open for eight nights, so make of it what you will. We sat upstairs which provides a good view of H St and the heaters in the ceiling were enough to stave off the cold leaking in from a blustery evening in DC. We did wonder how comfortable that section will be in January. The decor is welcoming and rustic. The light fixture on the wall as you ascend the stairs is pretty interesting. More importantly, what about the food? The waiter described the plates as large enough to share but not small enough to be consider tapas. So right off the bat, they need to figure out whether this is a sharing place or a one-entree per person place. We ordered the charcuterie platter to start. It was a generous portion for about $7 and included pastrami, cured pork, and belly with some pickled garlic and spicy peppers. Overall, it was tasty, but lacked some accompanying mustards or even bread. It amounted to a bite of pastrami, which is a bit odd. Again, it was tasty.
We opted for the tapas interpretation of the menu and ordered five dishes. The menu was a bit heavy on short ribs - and I like short ribs, but they were served with tagliatella as well as in an autumn stew. The meat was tender, but both dishes lacked the depth of flavor you would expect with braised meat. The sauces were a bit thin, somewhat greasy, and in need of seasoning. The macaroni and cheese with ham was tasty and the ham provided the much needed salt. Most in need of salt was the heirloom tomato salad. Tasty, ripe tomatoes, but they need to go across the street to DC Harvest to see how it should be done. The desserts were the star of the meal. We ordered the panna cota and a chocolate terrine. They both stole the show and provided the necessary incentive to return.
Overall, a huge step up from the previous tenant and given that the restaurant was only eight days in, left us with the impression that we could deb back there much more often. We are looking forward to seeing them make the necessary adjustments to become a formidable competitor on H St.