Category Archives: 4 out of 5

The Chesapeake Room

Posted on by Hungry in DC

Location: Eastern Market

Price: $$$$

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: A superb showcase of the area’s best seasonal flavors with minor mis-steps in execution 

As the blue crab season winds down, we were glad to have finally made our way to The Chesapeake Room, one of few restaurants we hadn’t sampled on Barrack’s Row. Usually when we’re on 8th St, we have a different restaurant in mind or look at the menu and opt for a cheaper option (there are plenty around). Yet, the open-aired seating at the bar and cozy atmosphere of the back patio complimented the night’s weather so well that we couldn’t resist. In hindsight, we can’t imagine why it took us so long to make the trip.

Before we had even started our dining experience, it was obvious that one of the highlights of The Chesapeake Room was the ambiance. The open air seating was lovely, the deep, atlantic blue walls and rich wood moulding offset by the candles. The atmosphere was casual, but refined. We sat on the patio, complete with ceiling fans and rolling upholstered arm chairs. Our server bent over backwards to find the right bottle of wine to match our first thoughts for entrees and sold us on more than one of our ultimate selections.

Our first order was the Cucumber soup, freshly pureed cucumber with sour cream and parsley. Crisp and light, the soup had a surprisingly full body for that with a cucumber-base. This was thanks in part to the addition of sour cream that also lent some pleasant tang without dominating the cucumber flavor. The aftertaste had a slight spice and brought out a great finish on the soup. If you usually don’t partake in sour cream, we recommend you simply ignore the fact that it’s there and enjoy the combination, only a slight tang from the cream catching on our tongues. Besides enjoying the soup itself, it was refreshing to have a chilled soup that didn’t have a tomato base and reminded us what we loved best about summer.

For our second order, we chose the Cream of crap soup, a creamy mix of lump crab and cayenne pepper. While there wasn’t a large amount of actual crab in the soup, the crustacean’s flavor shown through brightly and what crab we did enjoy was wonderfully delicate. WIth a full body that didn’t weigh down our palate, this was one of the better versions of this classic dish that we have encountered this summer.

With the name Chesapeake Room, we would have been remised not to have ordered the Maryland crab cakes, two cakes of lump crab topped with a small amount of whole grain mustard creme and served with a watercress salad, house slaw and house mac-n-cheese. The crab cakes had little filler and were bound by a a black pepper and mayo combination, allowing the succulent flavor of the  quality crab to boldly shine through without any extras getting in the way. The mustard creme topping the cakes complimented the crab well and thankfully the amount of sauce didn’t drown out the fresh crustacean.  Unfortunately, everything else of the plate seemed like a throw-away after thought, the mac-n-cheese having a grainy texture and very thin body. While we appreciated the attention given to the crab, too often restaurants follow this pattern of serving two crab cakes and leaving you with nothing else on the plate to look forward to.

For our final plate, we decided on the Eastern shore bourbon & honey glazed farmhouse chicken, served with a mix of jasmine rice, sautéed green apples, white raisins, arugula and topped with a honey curry sauce. Served bone-in, the chicken was tender and a joy to eat, the glazing on the skin highlighting the sweetness of the chicken with notes of honey. The honey curry sauce covering the bird seemed like a forced combination and, while the chicken tasted well enough with the it, each aspect of the sauce seemed to compete with each other. The jasmine rice mixed with small pieces of green apple and red onion gave the dish a soft, sweet/tart mixed character that we had seen attempted before, but not successfully executed until now.

The Chesapeake Room prides itself on bringing an organic, sustainable & free range dining experience while bringing to life the natural & fresh taste of each season. Everything we were served whole-heartily supported their boast and, combined with on of the most inviting atmospheres in the area, put it in our minds as one of the better restaurants available on Barracks row. Although some items on the plates could be improved or given more attention, the meal overall sold us on the idea of coming back again before the end of the blue crab season. It may not be the cheapest option on 8th St, but it’s hard to argue that you don’t get your money’s worth.

The Chesapeake Room on Urbanspoon

Obelisk

Posted on by Hungry in DC

Location: Dupont Circle

Price: $$$$

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: An intimate and impressive modern Italian experience

With only 37 seats in a single room, you will be hard pressed to find a more intimate or personable dining experience in the district than Obelisk. While we may not have had a chef or fireplace at our table, the family dining room atmosphere worked perfectly with the restaurant’s theme of classic Italian flavors with some modern twists. The menu itself is hand written and is a constantly changing line up of courses and dishes, one week’s list likely different from the next. Pair that creativity with a kitchen using only the best local ingredients and you get a dining experience that is executed to near perfection.

Our first course was actually a variety of antipasta dishes. Every dish had the feel of classic Italian flavors and traditional starter plates with a local twist or a creative technique. The burata was a plate of fantastically fresh cow cheese with a light salt, pepper, and olive oil drizzle. The squab liver pudding was an unusual addition, but the meat pate’s smoky flavor combined with the candied hazelnuts was divine. Although the sardines cooked in prosecco were tad on the salty side, the sweet wine and onions helped lighten and balance it out. The grapefruit and fennel salad served as not much more than a plate of fruit, but the blood oranges and beets were a nice combination. Our last anitpasta dish were balls of risotto and cheese, breaded and fried to perfection so the innards melted in our mouth. The variety of ingredients and different styles of these starters plates surpassed anything we had expected to be served for only an antipasta course, setting the expectations for the rest of our meal high.

Our first pasta selection was tagliolini with sea urchin, a bowl of long and thin noodles and freshly prepared sea urchin. Be it the natural flavor of the sea urchin or an addition by the kitchen, we tasted little else than the flavor of sea water, the salt overpowering anything we could hope to taste.

Next we were served the arugula ravioli and Virginia ham, tightly packed pasta of ricotta and arugula decorated with small cubes of cooked ham. Cooked al denti, the firm ravioli still broke apart easily to spill the succulent filling, the arugula and slight amount of melted ricotta combining seamlessly with the hint of garlic cream sauce that barely made notice of itself at first glance. The consistency of the ham was pitch perfect, cooked well enough to eliminate a raw texture, but still far from giving an incompatible crunch. While we would have enjoyed the pasta to have been cooked a touch more, it would be hard to say no to another helping with such proud flavors.

For our Secondi, we first chose the duck breast, served with stoved tongue-of-fire beans. Although our duck was served rarer than some may be used to, the meat was incredibly succulent and barely clung to the fat surrounding the tender bird. A tad on the salty side, the tongue-of-fire beans followed suit, absorbing the juice and broth of the duck while adding its own texture and profile.

Our second entree was the culotte with escarole and onion. Our server described our cut of meat as a domestic version of kobe beef and the flavor didn’t let us down. Tender and juicy, the steak was cooked immaculately and had a wonderful smoky undertone. The onions and escarole by themselves were either overly sweet or salty. Combining either with a cut of beef brought to light the thought behind the pairing. Yet, the meat rang most true by its lonesome, the quality of the meat not to be understated.

For our final course, we decided on the chocolate cake with caramel sauces, surprisingly light piece of cakes topped with powdered sugar and surrounded by a pool of two different melted caramels. Luckily, the rich chocolate taste wasn’t overpowered by the super sweet sauces, although we eventually felt as though we had ingested enough sugar to last two meals. We whole-heartily suggest a latte afterwards.

Our second dessert was the Blood orange panna cotta, a long plate of what looked like a deconstructed cake with a crust of homemade short bread, panna cotta, and blood oranges separated. Although the crust and panna cotta worked well together, the acidity and tang of the blood orange didn’t pair well with the creamy flavor or smooth texture of the panna cotta. While we can grasp where the concept behind it, the dish simply didn’t come together.

It would be hard not to recommend Obelisk to the average Washingtonian. This unassuming restaurant offered us some of the best Italian we have had in the District in an intimate atmosphere second to none. However, some of the dishes just didn’t perform as well as others or came off as not fully thought out. This inconsistency makes us second guess the price tag associated with the meal, as the $75 three course meal is the only option available, but those dishes that were executed well were near perfect and made the meal. If you’re looking for a new place for that special occasion, Obelisk is well worth your time. If you’re looking for to just satisfy that Italian craving, there are other, cheaper options available.

Againn

Posted on by Hungry in DC

Location: Downtown

Price: $$$

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: The best non-pub pub you will visit in DC

In the spirit of disclosure, we had been to Againn before for lunch and enjoyed it thoroughly; the house-made corned beef sandwich is a treasure to behold and they have a foreign draft list worthy of any pub. The thought of a Gaelic-named restaurant bringing integrity to Irish-inspired cuisine in DC made us eager to taste their menu again. Yet, when we sat down for dinner, our server explained the theme behind Againn and made no mention of an Irish inspiration. He said that it was a contemporary gastropub with a selection of over 100 different kinds of whiskies and a menu of traditional pub dishes re-imagined.

We started off with the Pumpkin Soup, pureed pumpkin and squash that was thinned out with milk before adding sage and brown butter. The soup was sweet, but not so sweet that it makes you think you’re drinking a pumpkin pie. The sugar complimented the pumpkin puree well and the addition of squash kept the soup grounded. Warm and hearty, the flavors of the soup are all very familiar and can get tiring after a while if you’re not a huge fan of sweets. Still, we would order it again, but possibly in a smaller quantity.

Our appetizer was the Marinated Olives, an assortment of seeded olives sitting in a bowl of olive oil that had been seasoned with orange zest, rosemary and fennel. The dish was really nothing more than a bowl olive oil with a generous amount of olives. If you don’t LOVE olives, then do not order this.

The first entree was the Braised Veal Breast, a healthy piece of meat sitting on a whole grain mustard spaetzle, red wine braised torpedo onions and a small pool of veal broth. The cut of meat was very tender, the slow cooked beef kept together only by a succulent but thin layer of fat. Well marinated and expertly braised, the veal’s savory juices worked harmoniously with the torpedo onions it sat on. The whole grain spaetzle extended the life of the flavors and did well to soak up the veal broth and mixed liquid, offering a slight crunch and not turning to mush in the mouth. As it should be, the veal was the prima donna of the dish while the extras performed admirably in their supporting roles.

Hoping for a lighter dish to compliment our heavy veal, we ordered the Local Rockfish, a generous piece of fish sitting on top of beluga lentils, spinach and celery. Topping the rockfish was a slight swiss chard and a significant amount of romesco sauce made from pureed red and yellow bell peppers, paprika, and butter. Although we were first put off by the large amount of red paste, the thick cut of delicate and tremendously flavorful rockfish had plenty of area for the romesco sauce to compliment, opening up the flavors of the fish with its smoky, peppered tang. We would have preferred a more balanced proportion of lentils to spinach, but the sides did well to extend the life of the heavy fish. While we had expected a lighter dish, we still enjoyed the sleek and well spiced fish.

Wisely, we saved room for dessert and indulged in two choices. Our first choice was the Sticky Toffee Pudding, a toffee cake drizzled with a toffee sauce and toped with a homemade stout ice cream. Although intrigued by the stout ice cream, we quickly realized that it was not best to sample it by itself. The flavor was different and not altogether distasteful, but it shone its real purpose when combined with the toffee sauce and soaked cake. Even though it was soaked with sweet liquid, the cake still held its form well and tasted magnificently light. The toffee mixed with the tinge of the stout ice cream gave us a treat that was both familiar and new.

Our second choice was the Brioche Bread Pudding, a recipe that our server informed us changed us almost daily. This edition had the taste of a banana custard cake and held a delicate texture despite holding its form. Much like our previous dessert, this one was also soaked in a sweet caramel sauce and had a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The brioche bread pudding combined with the melted carmel and fresh ice cream was a true treat and guaranteed a return trip to the restaurant.

Againn’s focus on the re-interpretation of pub fare hit the mark where so many other restaurants have failed. Many establishments turn out to be bad jokes, hollow impersonations or ignorant caricatures. Instead of being defined by any one cartooned culture, Againn elevates the menu of the generic, local pub and serves as an example for how even common, peasant food can be nobly reconstructed into fine cuisine.