While we have been to Jeffrey Black's local spot BlackSalt here in the
Palisades, this was our first visit to BLACK's Bar & Kitchen
(www.blacksbarandkitchen.com) in Bethesda, and it is surely one of the
stalwart finer places in the area.
We settled in (again, if it's chilly, which it was not) you might want
to sit further towards the back. Black's has a warm feel and the staff
is sure friendly enough.
We did notice at the Black's website that Sunday was 1/2 price wine
and perused the menu with glee only to find out that the 1/2 price
deal extends to only ONE page on the back of the wine list. We opted
for the GODELLO 2008 from Vina Godeval in Valdeorras, Spain which even
without oak was a creamy tasty wine that anyone would enjoy alone or
with food. A yummy slice of complimentary Clothbound Cheddar with
toasted raisin bread and honey arrived to our surprise.
We then went on to some oysters. Will and I each had one of the five
offerings:
Chesapeake Bay
Daybob Bay (Washington State)
Stellar Bay (Wash State)
Kuchi
and Quilcene
(I think the last two are from BC?)
They were all superb and while Will loved the Daybob best, I preferred
the Stellar, Kuchi & Quilcene.
Our friends had the side of ASAPRAGUS with Local MUSHROOMS that was
yummy but lacked salt (easy to fix that!).
We moved on to a MANU Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from Marlborough, New
Zealand that had one of the most intense grapefruit noses and tastes
that we loved with the oysters as well.
Our starters were WoodGrilled BRUSCHETTA with White Beans, Roasted
Garlic & Prosciutto which suffered only from way too much oil making
it soggy. The Organic BABY BEET SALAD with Baby Spinach, macerated Red
Onion, Toasted Pecans, Bruleed Goat Cheese, Pickled Pumpkin Bacon
Vinaigrette was a delightful salad, and did not suffer from being too
small or chintzy as beet salads can do. I went toward the heavier side
with the Oven Roasted Long Island DUCK BREAST with Quinoa Risotto,
Golden Raisins, Macerated Shalltos and Port Demi-Glace which is indeed
a huge starter and was really a treat as well. It filled me enough,
that I could enjoy the lighter mussels for my main!
We moved on to a delightful red from DW Hinman in Washington
State(Columbia Valley) called FIVE HERITAGE H 2006 made from 85%
Merlot and 15% Primitivo, a grape I have never seen in Washington
before (only Italy & Calif). It was just slightly spicy and was great
with two of the slightly spicy PEI MUSSEL dishes, which can be either
a starter or main. At first my CAJUN MUSSELS with Amber Ale, Tomato,
Tasso Ham, Crawfish, Oregano and yummy FRIED OKRA on top did not seem
to spicy, until I actually sipped the tasty broth. ADDIE's Mussels are
more traditional with Tomato, Garlic, Shallots, Lemon & Parsley, but
also had a slight spiciness.
FRIED CHICKEN looked superb, but was slightly dry and came with Sweet
Potato Waffle, Bacon Braised Collard Greens and a Molasses-Pecan Jus
that was not quite enough to moisten the meat. SEARED SEA SCALLOPS we
were told after ordered would be switched to the smaller BAY Scallops
(they ran out) with CRAWFISH-THYME Butter, Sauteed Swiss Chard and
Garlic Whipped Potatoes which was another success.
We wanted desserts but were filling up and decided to split two:
BANANA BREAD PUDDING with Caramel Sauce, Bruleed Banana and Peanut
Butter Ice Cream (we substituted Vanilla) was okay, but the star was
the CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL TRIO made up of Warm Brownie, Salted
Caramel Tart and Salted Caramel Ice Cream (which had an odd taste, but
did please). Aim for this and you will go home happy.
Our delightful server Eric Boxton (who goes by Boxton, not Eric!)
brought out some plain and chocolate fudgy Madeleine like spongy
cookies and we went home quite happy.
I do have to say that a number of the items on Black's menu are carbon
copies of those at BlackSalt, but we did not mind as we love them as
well!
