Tujague

Fortunately, the spaghetti trees of Switzerland were spared any damage and the harvest will go on.

I went with two friends to Ardeo last night for the first time last night for the RW menu, and we all thought it was excellent. We went pretty early (6:15) and there was good availability of tables at that time. For appetizers, two of us had the beet and goat cheese salad, which was really yummy--a nice portion of diced beets (red and pink), some frisee salad, and a good-sized slab of goat cheese in nuts and herbs. Our friend paid the upcharge for the scallops with polenta and dandelion greens, which he said were terrific.For entrees, my partner had the halibut, our friend the NY strip steak (another upcharge), and I had the pork tenderloin. I only got a small taste of the halibut, which was fine but nothing special (I forget what the grain and vegetables accompanying it were). Our friend again seemed very satisfied with the steak, which was very good sized and looked to be perfectly grilled. Again, I don't recall the sides. The pork tenderloin was exquisitely moist, and I liked the pickled okra on top. (What's with okra and pork? Indigo Landing is serving that too.) The bed of pureed roast tomatoes, spinach (?), and beluga lentils was good, but maybe a bit much--it felt more like an autumn dish rather than summery. Desserts were the homemade sorbets, carrot/walnut torte with an odd but tasty carrot ice cream, and the lemon berry tart--all nicely done though not exceptional. The service was very attentive, not intrusive, and aiming to please. All in all, I was impressed with the place, and judging how full it was by the time we left, others feel that way too. This strikes me as an excellent example of a DC midpriced restaurant, and RW is a good time to check it out.

Whenever his birthday rolls around, my partner always puts atmosphere ahead of food reputation in his choice of restaurant to be treated to for his birthday meal. That doesn't mean we haven't had some lovely meals on that day, but it does mean that we sometimes don't go to the newest and best. This year, Indigo Landing was his choice for his celebration, and the view was easily the best part of the experience. That is not to say the food was bad. They started us out with an amuse of cucumber and red onion with what seemed to be a chili oil. The tastes were fresh, but it was a rather uninteresting starter, not the sort of thing that really shows off a kitchen's talents or creativity. I had the Indigo cocktail, which was light and refreshing though not very flavorful (a good squeeze of the lime helped that) and sort of a toilet water blue. Partner had the Charleston bog, Maker's Mark with lime and crushed raspberries. He liked it but I thought it was a little strange. The appetizers were much better. My partner had the oyster Cobb salad, three plump fried oysters on a good-sized chopped salad made extra flavorful by smoked ham. I had the fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade--three perfectly breaded and fried slices in a pool of just spicy enough remoulade and three or four small to medium shrimp. Very tasty. We also liked the bread basket. The entrees were less satisfying, competently done but not outstanding. Partner had the pecan-crusted pork loin with roasted okra and spoon bread. He like it though I thought the pork was slightly dry. The okra was a big hit with both of us, as was the spoon bread. I had the pan-fried hake with a succotash. The hake was a thick cut, though otherwise smallish, and a not particularly distinguished fish, very plain in its cooking method, and maybe on just a few seconds long. The succotash had lots of fresh veggies but the flavor was odd--too salty on one hand, but I think the Virginia ham in it also made it weirdly sweet. I didn't dislike it but the flavors didn't quite add up for me. I think Moscatello is a talented chef, but I won't be surprised if he winds up at another restaurant better suited to his abilities. Maybe he's the guy to refresh Red Sage, which is also a part of this restaurant group? The biggest problem was the service, which started off competently enough, but became less impressive as the evening wore on. Our server seemed fresh off the catering circuit, efficient and smiling but not particularly personable--more just a dish jockey. He offered little or no help through the menu or wine list, and no water was offered. Clearly, this was a guy who was going to make you work for what you wanted. Drinks and appetizers were brought out promptly, entrees a bit less so. Our wine bucket was mostly water, little ice, and after the entrees were delivered, he never again appeared to keep our glasses filled. In fact, after the entrees were delivered (by another server) we never saw him again until the very end. Our empty plates sat in front of us for nearly a half-hour with no one picking them up. By that point we decided to skip dessert, since the service had fallen off so badly (even though the restaurant had emptied quite a bit), and we wanted to enjoy a stroll on the parkway on such a nice evening. Also, we were told that a table on the deck would be a 45-minute wait, though it was clear that the deck had many empty tables throughout the evening. Maybe they were short-staffed for deck service, but on such a great night, this was a disappointment. Indigo strikes me as a place where I might bring out-of-town guests who want a restaurant with a view, or where I might stop in for a late afternoon drink and appetizer. I might even return for brunch. The charms of the view and the modest delights on the menu don't make it a top-tier choice, however. And the amateur nature of the service--really, catering service is the best description--is a major disappointment in a restaurant with these prices and that aspires to more than its predecessor.

Tom said in a chat in late June that he had not yet been to Le Pigalle, so I'm surprised that he got this done so quickly.

If memory serves me, the first Buca di Beppo was in Minneapolis, and I think it was in the basement of the building that housed the Billy Graham Evangelical Association. When it first opened, it had a very good reputation there, not as a competitor of the best Italian place in town, D'Amico Cucina, but as a fun place to go with a group and to have some decent food--it was very well reviewed. But since it's morphed into a chain, the reputation has plummeted. (The folks that run Buca also run Oceanaire, by the way, so not all their endeavors are totally evil!)

Things that were so-so: mahi mahi with grapefruit, the carrot soup amuse, the carrot cake (muffin), and the caramelized onion and black olive tapenades. I'll concur on the carmelized onion spread that came with the bread basket--it was strangely devoid of flavor. I preferred the black olive tapenade, though it was a bit salty.

Friday night, my partner has friends in town from Salinas whom he hasn't seen in over 20 years who have invited us out for dinner. Where to go? We thought of sticking with our tried-and-true Capitol Hill favorite, Montmartre, but decided to try someplace different, closer to his work. At first, we thought of Merkado, though my last experience there was only so-so, but in the end we settled on Viridian--it wound up being a more-or-less inspired choice. I went in knowing of the personnel changes that had occurred early in the restaurant's life, and the comments on the place on the foodie boards since were few and far between--nothing extreme bad or good--so we weren't quite sure what to expect. The interior makes the first, and best impression--perhaps the most New York-ish of the new restaurants in the neighborhood (if not all DC), with off-white walls adorned with abstract art and photos, and a truly au courant, ongoing wordless art film projected on the wall above the bar. The plentiful hard surfaces and high ceilings portend an acoustic nightmare that, fortunately, did not kick in as the evening went on (credit the foam insulation under the tables?). The waitress started us off with an amuse bouche of house-made kim chee on a fork--delicious, not overly hot flavors, but perhaps a bit risky for those not keen on spice. We opted to share two salads and a couple of sides in addition to our entrees. The salads--one a nicely composed combo of arugula, duck confit, pecans and blue cheese, the other a sort of napoleon of watermelon, pineapple, guac, and queso fresco--were refreshing starters, good sized and easy to share. We had a nice, inexpensive Italian red to match. (Since I didn't see the wine list, I can't recall the label.) Entrees were also good overall, though I do recommend ordering a few side dishes with each to fill out the plates. Two of us had the pan-fried organic chicken with potato salad--a surprisingly "down-scale" dish for an upscale-looking place--but the chicken was nearly perfectly fried (boneless except for the nub of a wing that provided a little "handle"), greaseless and only a tad dry. My partner had the organic pork chop which he said was excellent, and the other diner had Florida tuna that looked to be exactingly seared and deep red inside--he loved it. Sides of sauteed mushrooms and asparagus rounded out the meal. Service was unobtrusive and helpful, the noise levels surprisingly low, the atmosphere tres chic, the prices reasonable. I won't put Viridian at the top of the heap of trendy DC midprice restaurants, but it's a decent, attractive option in the neighborhood that I look forward to trying again. The early troubles perhaps have made some diners skittish about trying it, but it's definitely worth a look--plus, it won't break your bank account even as you want to look hip.

There are some reports on the Hill that Montmartre is actually expanding to a second location, not moving per se. Perhaps they're shutting down the Capitol Hill site while the new stories are being added, and then will reopen once the construction is done? This could be a win-win situation, if they can keep the quality up at two sites (and if they can gain a bit more space at the 8th St. location!).

I mostly concur with what's been said about the Park Cafe, and I do so sadly. Several years ago, when it had a quasi-Peruvian menu, it was sort of a low-key charmer, and it offered an exceptional wine list, filled with interesting labels I never saw anywhere else. (Unfortunately, their by-the-glass portions/prices were laughably chintzy.) Then, in the last couple of years their efforts to be a more contemporary upscale bistro have been terribly misguided. I don't think the food sucked as much as it was never exceptional enough to justify the prices--not to mention the absurdly small portions. In short, they're trying to be something they're not, instead of adopting a tenable concept that would really serve the neighborhood--an affordable, everyday neighborhood place emphasizng fresh, local ingredients. The Twin Cities, my old stomping grounds, is full of such places but they're a rarity here in Washington. The Park Cafe would be an ideal place for such a restaurant if they would only set their sights realistically--as it is, they seem driven by illusion, greed, or desperation to help pay the owner's mortgage (I think he lives upstairs).

My partner and I went to Rasika last night for Restaurant week, and our experience reflects that of Pat. The evening started a bit inauspiciously, as there was a bit of a wait for a table and we were virtually ignored in the bar area (when I finally did get to order the delicious ginger and gin, it made up for the underwhelming greeting). Once seated, Bob had the radga pattice, which he described as a sort of "deconstructed samosa," and indeed, it did have much of the texture of a (very good) samosa filling, with a subtle but not overpowering dose of heat. My serving of Tawa Fish consisted of two iPod-Nano-size fillets of red snapper (ok, maybe slightly larger; I just like the image), perfectly cooked and with an appealing spiciness. Bob's black cod entree was the hit of the evening--two good-sized fillets dotted with honey and star anise, extraordinarily buttery in texture and sumptuously flavored. My mixed grill was anticlimactic by comparison, but it did give a good sense of the kitchen's skill with three very different preparations--tandoori salmon (a nice-sized slab), chicken tikka (two small boneless thighs), and a minced lamb kabob. Each had subtle and appealing flavors. Apple jalebi and the fig kulfi for dessert--nothing special to add on to those earlier descriptions--both very good (though the kulfi was a bit grainy). The waiter was efficient but not particularly personable. But overall the impression was very fine, and I would definitely go back on a non-RW budget to try out more.