Monday, April 18, 2011

M Street Bar & Grill makes M Street pretty good (4-16-11)

Last month we purchased a meal for 4 at an auction for the M Street
Bar & Grill in the St. Greogory Hotel (at the corner of New Hampshire
Ave & 21 St, NW) (www.mstreetbarandgrill.com) and had quite a
surprisingly good meal there. Chef Edgar Melendez does well with a
basic hotel menu but ups the ante a notch or two with quality food for
a very good price to boot. You can eat any main course in the $20's
here and the wiens are the same or a bit more if you choose. We liked
the Penfold's Rawson's Retreat Merlot '08 as well as the Paul Dolan
2006 Zinfandel made from a blend of Mendocino(63%) and Amador
County(37%) grapes.
A nice crunchy amuse of two large plump coconut crusted shrimp arrived
and we gobbled them up quickly.
The starters were CHICKEN & TORILLA SOUP with Pico de Gallo and the
House made EMPANADAS with Guacomole and jalapenos. Neither was very
spicy (again, this is a hotel) and the one issue we had was that the
food was not piping hot; it was about lukewarm to low hot.
The main courses were impressive dishes of PAN SEARED SALMON with
MUSHROOM DUXELLES, Chorizo Mac & Cheese Spatzle, Garlic Cream Sauce
and Crispy Leeks. The salmon had a tasty crust as well and wowed us
all. The Mac & Cheese Spaetzle also came as a side dish and it has to
be one of the best versions of MAC & CHEESE anywhere!
The NY Steak is a Grilled 10oz Angus Steak with Garlic Mashed
Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and finished with Sauce Mornay- a true
delight. If you want the steak sliced and spicy go for the M Street
Steak Inferno
Pan Seared Center Cut Sirloin Steak, over Bacon- Potato Hash, Wilted
Watercress
Topped with Cognac Cream Sauce and can be served “au poivre” which
makes for a superb tasty dish and a great juicy steak.
Desserts were SEASONAL BERRY CREPES with Creme Anglaise (which turned
out to be whipped cream) and a tasty (we were told) BANANA FRITTERS a
la Mode with Caramel Sauce.
All in all the service was quite good; we had to pour our wine once or
twice, and the food quality and reasonable.
I can't say that it is a revelation, but it is a good pacle to dine
for sure!

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