We celebrated our anniversaries on Wednesday evening at RIPPLE in Cleveland
Park and had a superb time. I say anniversaries, as we have Oct 3 for our more
recent (2010) legal wedding and Oct 1 for our first commitment ceremony which
was 20 years ago! The menu is not too large and Devon, our terrific server, was
most helpful in helping us negotiate the different choices. The wine list is
amazing and we headed right to the Georges Vernay "Les Terrasses de L'Empire"
2008 Viognier, Condrieu from a winery we have visited and adored for ages. The
Condrieu grape (a specific Viognier grown in the Rhone Valley in a very small
steep region on the river) offered a creamy luscious and almost orgasmic flavor
that we shall remember for a long time.
The dining room is long and narrow and there is a bar and lounge area in a
similar long and narrow area where you walk in. The tables are wood with
banquettes and decent comfy chairs opposite. There are several "pewter"-looking
old-looking chandeliers and lots of cute artwork. We were seated towards the
rear where there was one very large table with a very loud crowd, but they
quieted down after a while. We arrived at 730pm, and by 8pm, the place was full
and a bit too noisy for our tastes, but not awful. At one point a lady at a
nearby table got so loud and screechy, I asked Will to re-relate the story of
his ancestor who was murdered at a pub for being too loud! I was considering
this option for a while until she left!
Our shared starter of HAMACHI CRUDO arrived with Edamame Puree, Crispy
Ginger and Yuzu aigre-doux(sweet/sour) which was superb due to that crunchy
ginger and the sweet/sour combo. It was also divine with the Condrieu.
We went on to separate starters and Will had the STUFFED BONE MARROW which
is easily one of the not-to-be-missed dishes in DC. It is a huge bone filled
with tasty marrow, house bacon, chimichurri and a slash of apple butter on the
plate to temper the dish's intensity. The marrow and bacon are inherently salty,
so I am not sure why there was a small pile of sea salt on the corner of the
plate! I ordered the MATSUTAKE MUSHROOMS with DUCK EGG, Chanterelle Puree &
Fontina Focaccia, and when a small plate of extremely tasty wild mushrooms
arrived, I asked where my egg and focaccia were. I apparently was served the
side order of Wild Mushrooms, which was great, Will and I split this and
polished it off while I awaited my appetizer. Devon explained it was brand new
on the menu and the kitchen had made a small error. It appeared in 4 minutes and
was another superb dish that impressed me with its wonderful layered flavors and
I loved the multi-colored radish slices and pickled onion.
We moved onto a divine red which the manager Caroline helped us pick. We
had just been to Shea Wine Cellars in Oregon for a private tasting with Peter
Shea and were wowed by their single block vineyards so we had the BLOCK 23
Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir 2009 which is just drinking gorgeously after 5 years
in the bottle. We tasted the more recent 2011 vintages at the winery, so we
shall wait several years to drink the wine we purchased! Will loved the clove
flavors in the wine; I just adored the whole damn thing!
On
a trek to the men's room I adored the gigantic spoon, knife and fork
decorating the wall and I was thrilled to return to find our neighboring
screechy cantatrice (that's Italian for singer, but she really sqauked)
Will's main was HOUSEMADE SPAGHETTI with olive-oil poached Tuna
Belly,
Tilefish Cheek & Manila clams, a hearty dish for sure despite the
seafood;
any pasta lover would be impressed. My SEARED DUCK BREAST came rare and
juicy
with Roasted Beets, Baby Turnips, Celery & Watercress Puree that was
the most awesome pairing with the Block 23! We were both very happy
with our choices and by now, the dining room had quieted down so we
could enjoy quiet conversation.
Chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley
arrived to greet us and we gushed raves as everything was indeed
sensational. She has become probably the most famous up and coming
female chef in DC and has really made a name for herself. She will be
one of the challengers in the DC Central Kitchen Food Fight next month!
We had seen the cheese tray near the entrance and had our hearts set, so we chose several to share:
RONCAL-Spanish sheep from Navarre that was sharp and tangy;I called it Manchego-go-home
MONACACY
ASH-a 90days aged goat from Boyds, MD> with vegetable ash rind that I
always love for it's tanginess and goat creaminess
BABY HAZEN BLUE from Greensboro, VT that is also a creamy blue but so mild I felt I was not having blue
FELSA YAHR-a superb creamy nutty sheep, cave-aged washed rind from Howard, PA
HARBISON-cow wrapped in bark from Harbison, VT that was the winner with an almost triple crème feel
These came with tasty Clover Honey and Apple Butter as well as
spiced flatbread which we promptly took a taste of and packed up to go
so we could enjoy more.
Our dessert choices were
PANNA COTTA for Will-Poached Pear, Almond-Oat Crumble, Ginger Coulis and
Honey Jelly and my CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BAR with Dulce de Leche,
Cherries, Buttermilk Sherbert that we shared and both enjoyed a lot;
latter being a superb dense choco lover's dream and the panna cotta a
lighter yet tasty option.
A glass of Smith Woodhouse 200 Colheita Port was nice with the chocolate bars!
We headed home having had a very happy anniversary meal.
