drjimkim

Had lunch at Range with the SO and my 21 month old son this past weekend. Great food, good but not spectacular service. Best (and most expensive) lunch we've had together in quite a while (dining with our son has limited our options). Was able to simply walk up and get a table right away without a reservation. 1. Skillet cornbread with bacon marmalade -- Had me at bacon marmalade. cornbread was good, but, oh that bacon marmalade. Wish they had given us a little more, since we ran out halfway through the cornbread. Son enjoyed the cornbread. 2. Potted foie gras. Loved this - my favorite dish. A pretty substantial portion, but my son ate half the brioche toast - the foie was so good, I just ate it straight from the jar once the toast was gone. The jam/puree (pear I think) that came with it was good, but not a perfect pairing with the foie, which was perfect on its own with the toast. 3. pasta with beef cheek and kale - not our favorite dish of the day, but the kale was really well prepared. pasta was perfectly cooked, but the thinly sliced beef cheek was unimpressive (not bad, just not up to par with expectations) and the sauce was a little bland. 4. roseta beef hanging tender (medium well) - cooked a little on the medium side (which I had no complaints about personally), but a really flavorful preparation, which matched nicely with the roasted shallot puree it came with. My SO and I both really enjoyed this dish, particularly with the mushrooms. 5. oyster and shitake mushrooms. a little on the salty side, but my SO couldn't get enough of these - the mushrooms were simply prepared, but had a great earthy flavor with a nice bit of char. 6. pinapple soda - never got past the vinegar, was a little over the top for both the SO and I. our server was clear about the vinegar content before we ordered it, however. Skipped dessert - we were stuffed and the son was getting antsy, but the chocolates looked tempting. Overall - its been too long since we've had a nice meal at a nice restaurant and Range was a fantastic break from our quick shopping trip. Not exactly something we'll do regularly (it was about $90 after tip & tax), but very pleased with our first visit to Range.

Don't forget the happy hour deal also extends to 11 pm - 1 am M-R and on Sundays now as well. Was just there a few nights ago, having moved back to DC, and enjoyed 2 1/2 dozen mixed oysters with my wife as well as a half dozen crab claws and a Guinness for under $50 with tax & tip. Never had much of an issue getting a spot during happy hour in my experience, but I tend to crave oysters late at night, not mid-day.

I don't know if I missed out on the true experience because I took my donuts home with me and ate them cold, but I bought a half-dozen this past Saturday and was thoroughly unimpressed. The donuts were nothing special themselves, and the toppings/glazes were too sweet/candy-like for my taste. More of a novelty for kids than a great donut shop in my opinion. Also, the bagels they sold tehre were terrible - dry and lacking "chewiness" (very much unlike the beautiful Ess-a-Bagels I bought on my visit to NYC last week).