Monday, April 03, 2006

POSTE is positively palate-pleasing

It's been over a week since we dined at Poste Brasserie (www.postebrasserie.com) located at the Hotel Monaco at 555 Eighth St, NW.

I have been so busy with computer outages, preparing for Passover seder and running around, I just haven't been able to get my thoughts down in print.

POSTE is named for the Post Office Building that it originally was and has a wonderful view of the surrounding courtyard of the actual hotel itself. The dining room has quiet tables on the outside section with courtyard views or the main room looks over a huge open kitchen where you can watch all the action going on.

Chef Robert Weland has been at Poste for sometime now and has settled in quite well. He was not there last week, and his managers had all left by our 730pm arrival as well (Monday is, after all, the off night in the restaurant biz), but our service and food were at a level of excellence they should be proud of.

We decided to head right into red wines and opted for a DOMAINE LUCIEN MUZARD Santenay 1er Cru 2003 which was simply a pucker vintage. As you know many of the 2003s were superb, many not. I have always enjoyed the Muzard Santenay, and have even purchased it for my cellar, however, the 2003 needs a bit of aging and isn't quite ready for drinking to my mind. It did, oddly enough, work splendidly with my BEEF TARTARE, presented in a modern presentation, but traditional preparation; I loved the sea salt! The TOMATO BRUSCHETTA was simply one of the best ever, and we aren't even yet in tomato season!

A CHARCUTERIE PLATE was shared and had everything you could imagine from Speck, Duck Ham, Prosciutto and a Foie Gras Pate with a superb mustard that tingled.

Our second wine was the MAZZOCO MATRIX 1999, which at $79 may be a bit pricey, but it is a spectacular Sonoma blend that works with almost any food of lightness or intense depth. The BEEF BOURGUINONE was tasty, but suffered from bitter Brussels sprouts (where were those delish caramelized ones we have had elsewhere?); the ELYSIAN FARMS Lamb with Spinach Shepherd's Pie and Braised Lamb Shoulder was delish' the ALASKAN HALIBUT with BRAISED CHEEKS, Pan Seared Brandade, Garlic Pesto was another big hit, and my RED WINE BRAISED RABBIT with Poppy Seed Tagliatelle was just as yummy as the others. Each dish paired to
perfection in its own way with the Mazzoco!

A Cheese Plate was shared and had Cranberry Quince Jam with a wide variety of cheeses: Shropshire Blue, Duress Irish (cow), Pipe Dreams Goat, and St. Maure from Brittany. This is no half baked (excuse the pun) bistro cheese plate, it's the REAL thing!

The desserts are as varied as the cheeses and all the other courses, so we chose different ones and all excelled:
RHUBARB BUTTERMILK PARFAIT with Strawberries and Aged Balsamic
LOCAL APPLE TARTE TATIN with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream & Pecan Caramel Sauce
and my exquisite WARM MEDJOOL PUDDING CAKE with Prune & Armagnac Ice Cream

All I can say is that the combinations were superb, and people need to use ARMAGNAC more often in dessert (I remember how Jean Louis Palladin used to cook pears in Armagnac and serve them in pastry!). One of the most fun desserts was the simple LEMONGRASS & CHOCOLATE Sorbets that came in mini cones with a selection of sprinkles, nuts and chopped Oreos on the side!

We tried several dessert wines which were all varied and nice: a dark MUSCAT BURLER from Austria, a BOUTEILLE CALL from Bonny Doon (that I thought was wimpy) and a SAUTERNES RESERVES Maison Wieldas 2002 (spelling?).

Needless to say, the four of us rolled home happily!