J&G Steakhouse Restaurant Week Menus

I'm excited about trying J&G Steakhouse during Restaurant Week, the Jean-Georges Vongerichten's newly opened restaurant in DC that has won praise from Tom Sietsema and Todd Kliman. They are doing lunch and dinner. Menus aren't posted on their website, but when I called, they were happy to e-mail them to me. Uh, why not just put them on your website! But looks good, many options, and from their regular menu.

Lunch:

Salmon Tartare, Ginger Dressing, Fresh Radish

Or

Crispy Calamari, Pickled Chilies, Yuzu Dip

Or

Arugula and Boston Lettuce, Fines Herbes, Mustard Vinaigrette

Or

Creamy Tomato Soup, Cheddar, Sourdough and Basil


****

Slowly Cooked Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, Truffle Vinaigrette

Or

Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Chipotle Mayonnaise

Or

Fried Haddock Sandwich, Black Olive Tartar Sauce

Or

J&G Cheeseburger

Or

Hanger Steak, Mashed Potatoes, J&G Steak Sauce

****

Green Apple Crisp, Cinnamon Ice Cream

Or

Crème Fraîche Cheesecake, Glazed Figs, Concord Grape Sorbet

Or

Ice Cream and Sorbet

$20.10

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Dinner

Salmon Tartare, Ginger Dressing, Fresh Radish

Or

Rice Cracker Crusted Tuna, Citrus-Chili Sauce

Or

Butternut Squash Soup, Wild Mushrooms

Or

Parmesan Risotto, Fall Mushrooms, Herbs

****

Roasted Golden Tilefish, Glazed Mushrooms, Poblano and Dill

Or

Seared Cod, Scallion-Chili Sauce, Basil and Celery

Or

Parmesan Crusted Organic Chicken, Artichokes, Lemon-Basil Butter

Or

6 oz Petite Filet, Mashed Potatoes, J&G Steak Sauce

****

Green Apple Crisp, Cinnamon Ice Cream

Or

Crème Fraîche Cheesecake, Glazed Figs, Concord Grape Sorbet

Or

Pot de Crème, Liquid Caramel

Or

Ice Cream and Sorbet

$35.10

Charlie Palmer DC: Restaurant Week 2008

My evening at Charlie Palmer’s was everything and more than I expected, and I’ve never read a bad review. While Bryan Vottaglio’s food shines, the desserts excel and it’s the service and personal touches that star. And Charlie really wants you to get to know his family. Three gracious hosts wait at the host stand to greet us and send us to two more young women to take our coats. But just like the rest of the involved dinner service, the staff involvement is more welcoming than intrusive. A maitre’d apologizes for our [short] wait, escorts us past the rectangular pond upon which the massive wine cube sits, and switches out the white napkins on our table for black ones—the better to match our outfits. There’s the water girl. The bread guy. The woman who seems to be our waitress but maybe is just the silverware person? The waiter and the busser. There’s sommelier Nadine Brown who chats us up about the wine list and offers us special pours of a grassy, vibrant sparkling wine from New Mexico (to honor Bill Richardson who just dropped out of the presidential race) along with a full bodied, earthy, complex Syrah from Idaho. The wine list is all American and features selections from 47 states. Pacing is impeccable. Yes, there are a lot of people waiting on us. But when the busser clears the dinner plates, there’s no one following on his heels to lay dessert upon us. We’re allowed to linger for a few minutes, enjoying what we ate and anticipating for the next course. No one’s rushing us through our meal and out the door.

A spoonful of salmon tartar, full of flavor, starts things off on the right note. I start with
a marinated grilled octopus salad which includes four of the little guys. There’s no resistance or rubbery texture to the cephalopods; they're cooked perfectly. The strip loin is a restaurant week cut, so I’m not expecting the kitchen’s best. Ordered medium rare, it arrives looking like a seared tuna…the outside is the only part that looks cooked. Just as well for me—I’m okay with rare— though my knife has a little trouble coming through. Either the meat could have been more tender or the knife sharper. The mashed potatoes are smooth, though most noteworthy because they’re purple. On the side, shredded haricots verts add a great crunch and color contrast to the straw mushrooms they’re sautéed with.

Cheesecake is perhaps the silkiest I’ve ever had; the fork glides through it almost like it’s a cheese mouse. The Chocolate and Hazelnut Pave appears so small. It ends up being more than enough; it’s one of the richest and most delicious 1”x4” inch rectangles you’ll ever encounter. And you need not wait for restaurant week to have a value meal at CP. The choices offered during the week are offered year round for lunch only at $20.08 for three courses.

We were thoroughly impressed at this point. I'm not sure if we got the VIP treatment or if CP is this hospitable to all guests. But our bill arrives with a set of 4 complementary confections! A raspberry gelle candy takes the cake. The lemon merengue cookies, dense chocolate truffles, and homemade marshmellow make the plate an embarassment of riches.

The restaurant’s view of the Capitol is what clinches the place as a top flight dining experience. I knew the sommelier, but many reviews mention how eager the staff is to share their grand view with diners. Ask and ye shall be whisked to the top of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiner’s home to one of the most exquisite rooftop views of the city. Blocks from the Capitol, the view of the dome is unbeatable, a point blank birds eye view, level with the rotunda. It’s a cold January night, but one can imagine the power receptions held up here every night of the spring and summer.

Charlie Palmer Steak
101 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001

http://www.charliepalmer.com/steak_dc/intro.html

Restaraunt Week at TenPenh

The Passion Food restaurants are among DC's best to visit for Restaurant Week. They do it right, offering practically their entire menu with few upcharges. TenPenh is certainly the best RW week participant close to my Federal Triangle office (I'm not a fan at all of Chef Geoff's). So when my party of 4 other co-workers all bailed on me at the last minute, I cancelled my reservation, but headed over for lunch anyway.

Appetizers were abbreviated from their menu; basically all the selections that cost less than $10 were fair game. I couldn't pass up the lobster bisque "with lobster salad garnish." The bisque, satisfying and not overly thick or rich, was well balanced and nicely complemented by the lobster meat on top. That meat sat on top of a crispy fried wonton wrapper which sat on the soup. And that was the salad (I was envisioning something on a plate). The spring rolls next to me have three fun looking dipping sauces but are amongst the more oily food items I've seen. But that doesn't mean they don't look good! Mmm, high-quality grease!

The Hong Kong Style Crispy Whole Catfish is what I came for. They'll remove the head and tail if you want, but half the fun is having the whole 1 foot+ long creature set before you, battered, fried, and ready to be chopsticked apart. The skin is perfectly seasoned and ready to eat as is. The flesh is cooked well, but needs a dip in the chili tamarind garlic sauce it's served with. Catfish is no cod, but it's just pretty bland if not dressed up. A cucumber salad that comes with the dish features the cuke peeled into long ribbony slivers. The dressing doesn't inspire; its pretty much an Italian vinaigrette and you wish that a place known for it's pan-Asian ingredients would go somewhere more creative. Most of the dressing runs from the salad to the underbelly of the catfish, but the unintended bath tastes good on the fish.

The eatery does a pretty brisk takeout business, apparently and are happy to give me my Yuzu and Citrus tart with strawberries and Chantilly cream to go. It's waiting for me in the fridge!

The catfish is regularly $17. So I basically got soup and a dessert for $1.54 each. And the fish at lunch is a steal, with no upcharge. The only two RW upcharges are $12 for Chinese Style Smoked Lobster and $9 for whole crispy fish on the dinner menu (both are listed as market price on the regular menu). With the upcharge, I'd presume they're serving a more prestigious fish in the evening. Other dinner entrees start as low as $15 for a vegetarian hotpot, but average $26.

It's the first time I've thought to dine alone at a restaraunt bar. With the practice often extolled by WaPo's Tom Sietsema and others, I decided not to let my co-workers' cancellations ruin my reservation. The bartender was charming, efficient, and we even got to trade stories about our multiple Obama sightings at the restaurant.

TenPenh

1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC

http://www.tenpenh.com/main.htm