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Viridian, Chef Michael Hartzer and GM Kevin Blonshine on 14th and P Street in Logan Circle - Closed


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I think that it is great for not only M.H. But really great for Viridian too. This young restaurant that has had Great Chefs, but no constant, will have yet another opportunity to shine and turn into a destination point. Congratulations to Viridian for making a Great Choice!

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As Viridian is the closest restaurant to my front door, this is fantastic news.

You read stories about vagrants being holed up and living in the National Cathedral for three years before being found.

Clearly, we've finally figured out what is causing the creeky noises coming from the Studio Theater attic.

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This makes the whole Sturm und Drang in the 'Classics' post about him leaving to open his own joint sound even more like a fresh one. How will this gig give him more time to open his own place?

I would not bring this up except that the restaurant biz is a public one, and I was amused by Landrum's rant of righteous indignation at the mere question of why they parted.

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This makes the whole Sturm und Drang in the 'Classics' post about him leaving to open his own joint sound even more like a fresh one. How will this gig give him more time to open his own place?

I would not bring this up except that the restaurant biz is a public one, and I was amused by Landrum's rant of righteous indignation at the mere question of why they parted.

I don't see any reason why we have any right to know why they parted just as I see no reason to know why Britney Spears and K-Fed parted-- and it doesn't get much more public than that. A restaurant's dining room and health department scores may be "public", but why should anything else be? I mean really, WTF?

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This makes the whole Sturm und Drang in the 'Classics' post about him leaving to open his own joint sound even more like a fresh one. How will this gig give him more time to open his own place?

I can assure everyone that the public story is what Michael Hartzer also told me in private.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Which I always believed (not that I particularly care). I just think that that question passed a few minds and when someone asks it (as I did a bit sarcastically) I would recommend ignoring it rather than devoting 10 paragrahs to it.

I can assure everyone that the public story is what Michael Hartzer also told me in private.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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You read stories about vagrants being holed up and living in the National Cathedral for three years before being found.

Clearly, we've finally figured out what is causing the creeky noises coming from the Studio Theater attic.

You've blown my cover. I was really enjoying all the free shows too...

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Which I always believed (not that I particularly care). I just think that that question passed a few minds and when someone asks it (as I did a bit sarcastically) I would recommend ignoring it rather than devoting 10 paragrahs to it.
Why bother asking a question that you admit should be ignored? :o

Daniel's right on:

To me it seems that Viridian will give Hartzer a chance to really set a direction and make a menu, where at RTC the concept was more Landrum's, and Hartzer was there to execute and provide input.
I never made it to Viridian under the previous dozen chefs (ok, it only seemed like that many). Time to change that once the diet permits. Any chance that Chef Hartzer will be moving completely away from the "lightness and healthfulness" approach? :lol:
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Any chance that Chef Hartzer will be moving completely away from the "lightness and healthfulness" approach? :o

there's nothing wrong at all with light and healthy, but the initial approach put an unnecessary drag on this place from which it doesn't seem to have totally recovered (although i was only there for the first two chefs and even before things began to improve, the situation was far from hopeless). however, even with the arrival of someone who eclipses the likes of anna nicole smith (i'm not sure i had ever even heard the name before her well publicized demise), you still have to wonder about what the future holds for an establishment that runs through its kitchen staff like it's chopping up onions.

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there's nothing wrong at all with light and healthy, but the initial approach put an unnecessary drag on this place from which it doesn't seem to have totally recovered
That's what I meant - the concept seems to have been a millstone. They might do better emphasizing good food, and trying to hang on to a chef for longer than a few months.
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A few of us descended here for Happy Hour last night. The place is beautiful, with ample bar space and comfortable bar stools. No purse hooks though.

We ordered all of the food specials: parisian pumpkin gnocchi, smoked trout croquet, mussels with chorizo, and chicken salad with prosciutto on rye crackers. (We had a lively, and unresolved, debate about whether the pumpkin was Parisian, or the gnocchi. The menu was somewhat ambiguous on that point.) The food was just OK. I look forward to seeing the changes Chef Hartzer makes in the menu.

The drinks could use a workover too - many of them read like they were put together with an eye to the antioxidant content rather than taste. :o The blueberry Collins needed something (maybe a little simple syrup?) to round it out. I love bitter drinks but this was too astringent. I switched to a glass of Newton Cab and was very happy.

I'll be back.

(PS We made quite the dramatic exit. A big "thank you" to the staff who rushed out to clean up the broken bottle of wine.)

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I gotta say I really liked what I have had off this new menu so far. The tartare duet, ahi tuna and steak, was served with violet mustard, caper berries and a cucumber thing. It worked very well but, like hebrew, I had to go left to right. Main course was again tuna, big eye this time. I can't recall the menu descriptions but, raisins and cous cous were there, adding subtlely to a very good cut of fish. Monday also has 1/2 price wine so, a bottle of declassified condrieu washed everything down. Over all I have to say my first impression is very positive and I look foward to future visits. The new menu will take some exploring....

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I went to Viridian last night to check out the happy hour. I live in the neighborhood and have visited several times over the past year. I've got to say that I am a big fan of the new happy hour menu and the vacuuming lady is pretty cool. The mussels were kind of tough, but the other 3 dishes were winners. I especially enjoyed the beet salad with olives and citrus, a flavor combo that seemed odd at first but ended up really working.

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Gus and I checked out the $32 three course pre-theater menu last night. What a great deal! I started with the beet panzanella. I don't know if it really qualifies as a panzanella since there are just a few tiny croutons sprinkled about for crunch but it was fabuous nonetheless. It had the typical beet/goat cheese combo but the addition of grapefruit and olives set it apart and added a nice saltiness and tang to balance the sweetness of the beets. Chicken under a brick was my second course. Tender and flavorful though not quite as juicy as Palena's chicken, the garlicky sauce, sauteed spinach and pickled onions really complemented the chicken. For dessert I had the apple tatin cake and Gus had the cheese plate. I think there were at least 4 or 5 cheeses, all very generous portions. The apple cake was served warm with nice chunks of apple throughout. Looks like Michael's settling into his new home.

P.S. wonder when they'll be changing the woman vacuuming the beach installation?

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P.S. wonder when they'll be changing the woman vacuuming the beach installation?

From the Viridian web site.

THE ART

Viridian features art that is curated by co-owner Giorgio Furioso. The art changes periodically. To be notified of when a new show will open please contact us at eat@viridianrestaurant.com

Current Show:

"Landscape as Escape" featuring the works of Wade Hoefer, Frank Hallam Day, Maxwell MacKenzie, Sueraya Shaheen, and Lisa K. Blatt.

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We made a last-minute reservation at Viridian for Friday and very much enjoyed our dinner. If I could sum up the flavors of the menu in one word it would be this: assertive. The appetizer scallops are accompanied by two powerful sauces, the romesco-based pepper-hazelnut squiggle and a smaller heap of green (scallion?), plus a tiny pile of what I think was dried lemon peel. All are delicious but I was glad I tried the scallops alone first, because they had a great subtle flavor all by themselves. Similarly, I tried one of the pickled onions before tucking into the chicken they came with, and while I didn't think they were a great idea after that first bite, by three bites in I was absolutely addicted to the combination of the spinach and the chicken and the pickled onion all swirled up together. So basically, it all gave me the impression that I was dealing with a chef who is much smarter than I am, which is kind of a fun way to spend an evening.

Dessert was a little less exciting -- the semolina cake with balsamic blueberries, lavender, and blueberry ice cream didn't quite hang together, but it was definitely a nice combination of flavors and a couple of tweaks would make it great.

I think it was $160 before tip including $50 of wine, so, not cheap but not out of line with what we'd spend for two courses each and a shared dessert elsewhere in town. Combining the half-price wine nights with the pre-theatre menu sounds like it would make this a downright bargain.

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Does anybody know how the $32 Prix Fixe works? Is it a separate menu, or are you simply allowed to order off the full menu?

You can order a subset of the regular menu, though the menu available online does not denote which dishes are available. I do remember that when I went last week, the scallop appetizer was not available on the prix fixe menu.

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My wife and I enjoyed a very nice dinner at Viridian last night before catching "The Pillowman" at the Studio Theater. We both went with the $32 prix fixe, which is a great value. All told, we shared the chicken salad and mushroom/spinach lasagne for appetizers; the snapper and tuna for dinner; and the cheese plate and apple tatin for dessert. A glass of wine and a cup of coffee ticked the tab up to about $73 before tax and tip. It was well worth it.

I agree with jm chen that the flavors in nearly all the dishes were very bold. The jalapeño coriander sauce which accompanied the snapper was bright and fresh, but didn't overpower the fish (which had a delightful crispiness to the skin). And the slight sweetness of the raisin au poivre glaze with the tuna (seared just right to leave the center perfectly rare) was almost like a high-end, delicious bbq sauce. The tomato confit in the lasagna app made me wish it was summer.

We had excellent service, as well. Servers were polite, quick and knowledgable.

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went to viridian. The service is very friendly as well as the owner. The food is tasty, but not too inventive. I miss c couple of the old items such as the fried eggs and the steak tartare before was more traditional and did not taste of sesame oil the way it does now. The food value on the medium sized plates is an excellent deal. I hope to one day see this restaurant become a larger success as the owner deserves. I do get the feeling they are on track in correcting the earlier problems.

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My wife and I enjoyed a very nice dinner at Viridian last night before catching "The Pillowman" at the Studio Theater. We both went with the $32 prix fixe, which is a great value.

We are thinking of doing that next week. How long did your meal take? Theater tickets are at 8pm, so I am trying to time a meal for 4 to end around 7:45pm.

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We are thinking of doing that next week. How long did your meal take? Theater tickets are at 8pm, so I am trying to time a meal for 4 to end around 7:45pm.

I can't remember how long the meal took, but it was paced nicely (i.e., not to quick, not to slow). You might want to give them a call to see what they would recommend - the employees are well aware that it is a pre-theater spot. In fact, we forgot what time the show started (tickets were at will call), and asked the hostess if she happened to know. She quickly referred to a schedule and informed us of the proper time.

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I was there for restaurant week last night. The service was good. They were fast, polite, not too stuffy. I don't like it when places overdo it. they did fold ur napkins when u got up, which was nice, but also unnecessary. the food was really good. i had the scallop appetizer. it was very good. it was served with some kind of nut with a little lemon zest. the lemon zest really made the dish for me. for my entree i had the venison. it was ok. it came with radish and some kind of buttery sauce. if i had i do over i would've picked the snapper that my mother picked. i don't know how they made it but it was delicious. it was everyone's favorite at the table. for dessert i had an italian citrus cake. it was like a citrus flavored pound cake. it was pretty light and subtle, which i liked. overall this was a pretty good restaurant week experience. they had a full house and the food still came out really quickly. the food was good, pretty big portions for restaurant week. the only negatives were that it was too loud (according to my parents) and they didn't have refills on soda. my sister drank 8 dollars worth of coke! but i guess i can't really complain if i'm paying 6 dollars for a beer or 10 dollars for a glass of wine. i would definitely go back.

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Viridian closed after dinner service on December 31st. I'm waiting on an email for further details, and will post what I can, but at this point, I'm not going to go digging for more information.

It was a nice restaurant with a lot of talent and potential, and I'm sorry it's gone.

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I had several nice lunches there, but have not been in a while, not sure they even offer weekday lunch. When we were there it was deserted, though. Very good food, but without any clientele it makes the place seem cavernous, which I experienced more than once.

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We just had our New Year's Eve dinner there and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. The piece of halibut and chopped leeks on my plate were great as was as my girlfriend's choice of the poached pears and gingerbread for dessert.

But, judging by the number of empty tables at the early seating and the fact that people were barely trickling in even after 8 pm seems to fit this news item.

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Here's a letter from the owner, Giorgio Furioso:

Dear Patrons,

After one year of planning and a little over two years of operation, I'm sad to announce that we at Viridian are saying goodbye.

We want to thank all of you who have supported us and became more than our patrons, you became our friends - we will miss you. It has been a wonderful experience bringing you what we envisioned as a beautiful, international-style restaurant in this wonderful neighborhood. Even though we were faced with financial losses, we kept our resolve to never compromise food or service, but finally we had to take the tough decision to close our doors.

Thanks and all the best in 2008 to you.

giorgio furioso

For any further information about the first floor space or Viridian, please contact me at 202 518 7888

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Overall the market is crowded with places to eat and quite honestly if you are not well funded at the top of your game you may not survive. I am an investor, not here, and can tell you the rents and overall operating costs are hurting a number of places. Personally I have seen an increased number of people coming to us for operating cash loans. They come to us because they have tapped out their credit lines and house mortgages. I think that 2008 will be a shakeout year for a number of places, some that we know and love.

Which places, do you think?

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As a recent victim of the Veridian closure if anyone has any info on who might need bar, server, backwaiter or any other postions. I would love to pass along the info to the staff.

Thank you,

Todd Willis

Todd, make sure you can receive PMs, and also that you have your email activated (I can do this for you if you need help).

There's a huge shortage of good restaurant FOH in this town, so it's just a matter of getting the word out to people before you guys are snapped up.

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