Yesterday afternoon we attended a concert in Silver Spring and headed just up the block to JACKIE's (www.jackiesrestaurant.com) where
there are smiles waiting on your arrival in this brick garage turned
restaurant where the fabric patterns will wake you up and the cozy
warmth was just right on a cold wet night. We ordered a bottle of La
Cartuja 2012 from Priorat which our server Dan was not sure, so
he checked with manager/bartender Ryan and we gave it a go. A warm deep
red from Spain that despite its youth is drinking superbly now and goes
with so many items on the menu. Samuel chose the TRUFFLE CHEESE FRIES
from the snacks menu which was a HUGE portion, not a snack, but yummy
nonetheless. By the time the dish is finished though, the cold fries are
no longer as exciting as they are on arrival, so gobble up. We also
tried the CHICKEN LIVER CROSTINI starter which is a snack of three
slices with fresh Black truffles, Arugula Pesto and Grano that is a nice
starter. The 3 course dinner special is a steal at $32 (there are some
supplements), and includes either snack, appetizer and main or
appetizer, main and dessert. Sam continued on to the BEEF SHORTRIB with
Smoked Gnocchi, Cabbage Crème Fraiche & Red Onion jelly. the cabbage
was not a hit, but he adored the gnocchi and ate a good part of the
huge meat portion.
Will started with the Walla Walla ONIONS,
LAMB BACON, Raisin, Radish & Kale Chimichurri which is a great dish
and awesomely smoky from the bacon and chimichurri. My starter was the
Salt Roasted BONE MARROW with Foie Gras CRUMBLE, Shallots,
Vanilla(Butter) Brioche which were three huge bones and oh so yummy, but
slightly overdosed with shallots making it hard to really taste the
marrow itself. The crumble was great and the Foie gras taste came
through just fine.
We moved on to a bigger wine, BOBAL from
Finca Sandoval "Signo" 2010 from La Mancha in Spain which is groan at a
high altitude in lime, but still has huge fruit notes in the wine. Ideal
with Will's thick rich Roasted COBIA with Cauliflower
Variations(puree& roasted), Black Fig, Prosciutto Vinaigrette &
Cheese Gnudi. The puree was intensely salty, which Ryan later agreed
with us on, but overall the dish was a star. Chef Adam Harvey has been
there a year now, and was out last night, so perhaps the sous chef had
oversalted erroneously. My GLAZED DUCK with Fermented Bok Choy, Sweet
& Sour Eggplant & Cherry Mustard was cooked on the rare side and
yet, still had a crunchy crisp skin I adored.
For
desserts we chose two and Samuel gobbled up his Warm Chocolate GANACHE
with Concord Grape, Peanut Butter & Salted Caramel Popcorn while
Will and I tried the Buttermilk PANNA COTTA with Gala Apple, Oatmeal,
& Vanilla Dulce di Leche which was a nice dish, but not your
traditionally flavored custard as it did just seem slightly odd, though
tasty.
We had a real nice time here and the place
was almost dead, so it was very quiet on a Sunday....maybe we need to
get out of DC to get to the quiet these days?
