drewster

RIP Chef. Your love of life and love of food made DC a better place for all of us.

Reporting on the 3 course pre fixe at the bar. This is the best deal in town!! 3 courses from the most underrated chef in the city for 30 dollars on any night they are open. Yes, you heard that right, 3 courses for $30 dollars per person!!! 2 people: 1 beet salad , 1 duck spring roll, 1 faux ribeye, 1 duck leg confit, 2 desserts-pistachio bread pudding and a pineapple tart(!)= $60 for 2 people on a Saturday night, next to the Convention Center and the soon to be opened 1200+ room Marriott Hotel (It's open now as of 5/1/14). This is the steal of the city with Tom Powers cooking.

Finally joining the fray...and I'll miss Palena as much as the rest of you. I had a chance to grab them on Fri before they closed. Probably 40+ in the last 10 years, mostly all in the cafe. Made it to the bar around 9:30pm and standing room only, but a staff member found me a stool so I can relax by myself. Had the Pappardelle. Fucking wonderful! Ordrered the chix,but alas, it was 86'd, so going to plan B, Burger. Burger is Med Rare and again wonderful with nice gamey beefy flavor! Had the fries but not the fry plate (If you remember fry plate from original cafe had fried lemons slices and a bunch of random shit!) Had 2 Quartinos of Michel Satta Bolgheri Rossi and a Negroni (classically made on the rox) . No room for dessert. God, I'm going to miss this place!

Hello All! My name is Andy Stewart. This site Rocks! Have been a lurker for awhile, but am ready to join the conversation. I am in the restaurant industry, currently a server at Zaytinya. I have a love of wine, food, and good times. Looking forward to meeting other Rockwellians! Best, Andy