We have always loved DINO (www.dino-dc.com) and last Monday was a total treat especially with the deals being offered. I have stressed that DC is full of deals now and DINO has $35.09 3-course restaurant week thru Sept. 13! plus 33% off all wines over $50. Check out al their deals at their website.
We sat down to a selection of amazing appetizers NOT TO BE MISSED. PROSCIUTTO e PESCA BLANCA con SABA is a divine White Peach wrapped in sublime Tosini prosciutto that is ever so soft and sweet. It is served in a sauce of balsamic and molasses that is simply perfect. We also fell in love with the PESCA GRIGLIATA which was the same divine fruit with pancetta, duck stock, onion reduction and a scoop of mascarpone.....U CAN NOT SKIP THIS DISH!
We opted for the wine deals and started with a spectacular HOFSTATTER 2000 (yes 2000) "Steinroffer" Lagrein from Alto Adige in the north of Italy; a great red that deserves attention. Our second red was the PRIMA TERRA "tonos" 20006 from Cinque Terra that is a conglomerate of wonderful grapes with lots of fruit and was best with the fish dishes we had.
Appetizers were all a hit from the CAPRESE which has super bufala mozzarella and top notch tomatoes. I chose the 1/2 pasta starter of PAPARDELLE con STRACOTTO di CONIGLIO which was papardelle with rabbit, onion, celery carrots and herbs. It was good but easily beaten by the STRACCI con ANATRA an amazing pasta "rags" with house cured duck prosciutto which was pan crisped and sauteed with mixed spicy greens. This was a superb pasta dish and ranks very high on the ultimate DC pasta scale. Speaking of pasta, Samuel gobbled up his PAPPARDELLE with WILD BOAR SAUCE (he gets more adventurous each day!) and then adored two of the three fruit sorbets (Cherry Black Raspberry/Plum). Which he liked I am not sure of because he gave the third scoop to our friends' nephew who said it was delish!
For main courses two of us had the superb PESCE SPADA al POMODORO a freshly flown in Hawaiian swordfish grilled with Pennsylvania organic tomatoes, garlic, kalamata and served with sauteed pea shoots. The CINGHIALE DOLCE FORTE is an novel and interesting preparation of rare seared Wild Boar Strip Loin with a Tuscan "mole" sauce made with cocoa, garlic, dried fruit, pine nuts and red wine. While akin to Mexican mole it was less intense and had a totally different flavor and was simply delish with the wonderful meat sliced thin and cooked perfectly. It was served with Tuscan potatoes and Cavalo Nero, a black cabbage very similar to chard in consistency.
Desserts were irresistible and we chose from a perfect Tiramusa, a nice Torte di Pistacchio, a Tuscan style cake with pear sauce and whipped cream and the simpl divine SUSINE ROSSO al RICOTTO, four Pennsylvania plums oven roasted and served atop ricotta cream with a black peppercorn gelato. Need I say more?
Cheese is always special at Dino, as Dean has the best selection of Italian cheese anywhere in the city. We tried three semi-hard to hard cheeses:
BRATE NERO a cow/goat/sheep mix that was mild and tasty
ASIAGO VECCHIO that was harder and tarter and
PECORINO sheep aged 4 months that was a toasty as a superb
parmeggiano.
Incidentally, the three course meal allows many options including cheese or dessert or two appetizers and an entree..and it all includes a small glass of either Moscato, grappa or limoncello to send you on your way.
The six of us went on our way all quite happy knowing there are some great dining deals especially at Dino.
