Escoffier

100 King is a restaurant graveyard. That's where good restaurants go to disappear.

Hidden away in the Great Smoky Mountains and famous for being near the "Tail of the Dragon", Fontana Village Resort doesn't strike you as being the kind of place that might serve outstanding food but to those who know to ask for it, it does a great job. Known more for being headquarters for hikers on the Appalachian Trail and car and motorcycle buffs who have come to test their driving skills on the Dragon, the dining room serves good basic, Southern type food. Think fresh trout, and any number of small plates. However, I wasn't there to sample trout or small plates, I was there to participate in a special dinner prepared by Executive chef Tracy Williams and company. While anyone can ask for and receive a meal such as we had, very few people take advantage of the many talents of chef Williams. Dinner was prepared for seven lucky diners and served by two dedicated servers. Each course built on the previous one and the only bad thing about the dinner was that it ended. The menu (some comments, some without comments, all extremely well prepared and delicious). Course One: Scotch Egg. A chorizo wrapped six minute egg, breaded and deep-fried with a red pepper sauce. Paired with Perfecto Prosecco. An amazing surprise. Everyone at the table seemed to attack this with real gusto. There wasn't a unfinished plate on the table. Every bite was gone and I heard threats that there might be some plate licking if nobody happened to be watching. Course Two: Coquille St. Jacques. Baked scallops with a mushroom Gruyere sauce topped with breadcrumbs. Paired with Mistinguette Brut. The mushroom Gruyere sauce was an excellent accompaniment to the scallops. There were calls for bread to finish the sauce Course Three: Trout cakes. Smoked trout cakes with Creole remoulade. Paired with Jones Von Drehle Cabernet Franc. Everyone thinks crab when seafood 'cakes' are mentioned. These were made with smoked trout and were quite a pleasant surprise. The smoke complemented but did not overpower the delicate trout. Course Four: Duck. Maple-glazed duck over a mushroom risotto cake with a blackberry jalapeno jam. Paired as above with the Jones Von Drehle Cabernet Franc. Everyone was getting close to the food fatigue threshold but for some reason there was no duck left anywhere. The blackberry jalapeno jam was an amazing touch and provided just the right amount of sweetness balanced with a hint of spice. Course Five: The Pickled Salad. Pickled Red Cabbage, cucumber, carrot, and red peppers with a micro-green garnish. Paired with a Shelton Riesling. Maybe the only dish that received lukewarm compliments. Not for the quality,not for the taste but a couple of people did not like pickled vegetables. Chacun à son goût. Course Six: Dessert. A Strawberry Cobbler. Sound pretty pedestrian until you realize that strawberries and cream were mixed into an emulsion and then used as the cream in the batter. Topped with bits of strawberries. This might have been one of the best desserts I've had in a very long time. Paired with a Roumieu-Lacoste Sauterne. Did I happen to mention that the cost of this dinner was $128 per person? I'm almost certain I'll be back later on in the year to once again sample chef Williams cuisine, Fontana Village Resort and the area. You can learn more about Fontana Village Resort, Fontana Dam, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by going to www,fontanavillage.com

There's now a poke restaurant place where Z-pizza(?) used to be near 8th and H St. NW. Haven't tried it so I don't know how good (or bad) it might be. Just figured out (following one of the above links) that's Poki District.

They let Kent behind a bar? We haven't seen him in years (think opening months of Overwood).

I hang out and post now and then. Life has a way of getting in the way of fun things sometimes.

You must have a bigger appetite than I. A co-worker and i used to frequent the Shophouse at Gallery Place and I can't remember a time when I ever left there with a "I'm still hungry' vibe or even quiver. Never rice, always noodles, chicken, and red curry dressing and I was good the rest of the day.

I'm partial to Table for new American and Cucina 24 for Italian. Both on the Wall St. strip.

Personally I do the skin-on, butterflied breast a bit towards the well done side, medium spicy. Keeping the skin on keeps the meat from drying out too much. This way seems to be the most bang for the money and it's not overly filling. That comes with the frozen yogurt afterwards.

Nando's bake their chicken and finish it on the grill. If you ask, they will grill it skin on or off, give it extra time on the grill (or probably turn it into a hockey puck if you wish). I go to the original DC Nando's in Chinatown about one time a week (well, it's close to work and 99% of the time very good) and learned that they will cook it the way you want.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe naturally. Fits the fantasy.

That's a good question. I'll try to find out the next time I'm at either of the two restaurants (Tasting Room or Hotel Dining Room)

Nah, it's always been that way. I was born there and UVa (the correct way to specify the U (the other way :D)) has always been a very large factor in the city. You're missing out on a very dynamic (I was going to say town but it's really not a town any more) city.

Merci. It sounds like Robert has found another rising star of the food world to helm Brabo. We're looking forward to a new chef, new foods, and good times at Brabo.

Grover and I and two friends celebrated (?), mourned maybe, Chef Harper McClure leaving Brabo by taking advantage of the Brabo five course tasting menu last night. The food was a tour through Harper's vast (and scrumptious) greatest hits. From the multiple courses, and there were many, the octopus, the beef cheeks, the beet salad, the crudo, more food than I can possibly remember, there was not one single dish that didn't win praise from the person lucky enough to get it. There was a lot of sharing, lots of plate passing, lots of great wines, and the usual verbal interchange with the gregarious and outgoing (in both senses of the word) Chef McClure. Harper, where ever you land when you decide to go back to the kitchen, we'll be there. Thanks for the great food, the wonderful friendship, and the professionalism you brought to the kitchen.

There will be some culinary changes at Brabo. Today is the last day for Harper McClure as executive chef at Brabo. Not sure who is going to take his place, but if the past is prologue, it will be someone adventurous in a nicely restrained way and will fix great foie gras.

Grover and I NEVER go to any restaurant on two consecutive nights... well, up until now. We went to Nasime on Friday night early. At 5:30 we were the only people in the restaurant. At 6:30 every seat was filled. The food both nights was amazing, light, fresh, subtly flavorful, (did I say fresh?) and different from day to day. The progression was somewhat the same, soup with eggplant and a fish of some sort in a souper (sic, I know) flavorful broth, followed by Sashimi and some of the best Uni I have ever eaten. As an aside, even the Soy sauce was remarkable. no, not Kikkoman, but direct from Japan Soy sauce. I don't know if you can describe soy sauce like wine but this one definitely had depth, a smooth on the tongue, mouth feel and was just light enough to add complexity to the excellent sashimi. The meat course was a New Zealand lamb chop. Not exactly Japanese food, but (insert favorite superlative here) had touches of Japan in the spices and preparation. The fourth dish was Steelhead Trout in a stew like preparation with rice (as described on the menu "Japanese risotto"). Even though we were both complaining (happily) about being full, there wasn't a grain of rice in the bowl when we finished. Dessert was Soy ice cream with banana and soy jelly. The perfect end to a great dinner. Overall, the pacing can be a bit off when the place is busy (and it will be after 6:30pm) and there is really only one server (the sous-chef fills in as needed) but the food is worth the marginal wait.

The Rasmus Auction Company sells business assets (eg. desks, chairs, the usual furnishings).

If that had been the original concept, we wouldn't be writing the obituary, we'd be talking about the food and service. This was poorly planned and conceived way before it became a physical presence. Ten minutes of serious mulling over the number of people who will spend almost $500 to eat dinner more then once should have stopped this nonsense before a dime was spent. I doubt this restaurant would have survived on Rodeo Drive, much less in DC.

For one quick double-taking second I thought you wrote bosoms... (boy was I disappointed)

We were there for the soft-opening, knew all the servers and front of the house people and enjoyed dining there ... for about a year. And then the usual...the food changed, the people changed, and for some reason, we just never seemed to return. We were in the neighborhood many times, Momo Sushi, La Bergerie (also closed but to reopen on N. Washington St as a restaurant/boutique B&B), even a few short lived restaurants on the docks, but never Overwood. Best of luck to the new restaurant.

Of course that was 75 years ago and the U.S. dollar was worth a whopping 65 cents and you could buy a side of beef for $3.49.

Fortunately, all the good stuff is still there even though it may not have pictures. We paid our annual homage to Stephen B. once again this year and were presented with that Reader's Digest of Chinese-American menus. We ordered things that have become tradition since Stephen left the dining room a couple of year ago. They were as good this Christmas as they were last and the only disappointment was that Stephen wasn't there to share dinner with us.

You know, we can prattle on (and on) about a chef's "vision" and "inspiration"and raison d'etre but the bottom line remains the same: Did you like the food, do you feel you got value received for price paid. In the end, that is what counts. MDW (that would be My Darling Wife) and I have spent $600 for dinner and we've spend $20. Both dinners have been good in their own way. Was there a difference? Of course. Was the difference worth the price paid? Well, that's subjective isn't it? We felt so. Do you think paying $1000 for dinner for two is worth the price? Personally, i think that's more for bragging rights than food satisfaction, but then some people aren't happy unless they have a 20 room house for two people. Chacun a gout, or to put it another way, de gustibus non disputandum est. And as someone much wiser than most said; "All publicity is good pubilicity". Well, maybe not.

With a side of Ventworm stew.

Year-end wrap up articles don't count Either I haven't been perusing the Thursday regional WaPo tab or I've been overlooking the articles. Okay, I just pulled the Regional section and there was something by Tim C. Now about the main point of my post... the mediocrity part, whaddya have to say about that? (okay, I give up, there must be at least 3 emoji and I can't find any of them, so this is going to have to do ;-) ).