Last night we were invited to Grace's Mandarin
(www.gracesrestaurants.com) at National Harbor, just 15 minutes south
of DC in Maryland, with gorgeous views over the Potomac. The food is
also gorgeous to look at, and almost everything made a great
impression with me from the first sip of my DIRTY MARTINI with the
most wonderful wasabi stuffed olives!
The sashimi and sushi is not what I would call the best in town, but
it made for a very nice start with some selections including excellent
SMOKED EEL and CLAM as well as a CRAB roll with a bit of Tempura
crunch in it.
Paired with SUIGEL Sake it was a treat.
The white wines were a tangy Cakebread SAVUVIGNON BLANC 2008 which
worked amazingly well with the spice in the top quality super spicy
Mandarin Special Pan-Fried Calamari with Peppers (incl jalapenos that
were not too spicy and full of flavor). The NEWTON Red Label 2008
Chard was very creamy and went well with the extremely rich (from the
cream cheese) CRAB RANGOON and the tasty Chicken Pot Stickers.
Salads here are tasty from the excellent house SESAME DRESSING which
should be bottled.
The Grace's LUMP CRAB CAKE is a bit creamy and has a slight spicy bit
making it very different from the average in DC, but still a treat.
Asian grilled LAMB CHOPS was the only dish that was a bit overcooked
and dry, but don't skip the SINGAPORE PINEAPPLE RICE with its huge
shrimp and pieces of pork. The Pan Seared vegetables of broccoli and
bok choy are also a nice side. WILLAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR 2008 is a
light pinot, but works well with many dishes as well.
Since our host was celebrating his birthday it was a nice treat to
have the gorgeous Grace come out and open a magnum of Veuve Cliquot
along with the superb Strawberry & Almond Mousse Supreme Birthday Cake
from Gerard's nearby in Oxon Hill!
YUM YUM--Grace has got it going good!
This is the last summer meal from home--off to the UK!
