Four of us headed across town to North Capitol & Florida where ANXOS sits on a busy corner at 300 Florida Ave, NW in a neighborhood that has undergone massive changes and gentrification recently. The downstairs was heaving at 715pm when we arrived and we had to push and squeeze our way to the stairway to get to the dining room upstairs which while open to the bar below was much quieter and a welcome space with only just over a dozen tables and another bar. In nice weather, I would assume the bar crowd fills the outdoor patios space, so I would not want to be a neighbor to this noisy crowd.
Our server Malcolm was the only one working the room at first and he gently explained the ciders and plates and I asked if I could have some tastes since cider was relatively novel for me, especially since there were about 30 different kinds. Anxo Cidre Blanc was dry and had a taste like Sauvignon Blanc and Anxo Grand Cru 2019 was made with WA Bittersweets and Native Yeasts, but my favorite of the tastes was the Rose that had apple intensity, reminded me more of wine and a slightly sour taste. I enjoyed a glass but switched to the Vevi Verdejo 2016 white from Rueda in Spain and ultimately loved the Pares Balta Mas Petit 2015 Penedes red from Spain. The descriptions of the ciders and wines is extensive and makes it hard to choose, but Malcolm was patient and helped. The other guests tried the Cider Flight which for $12 gives you 4 two ounce pours and the Boozy Flight which has 4 one ounce pours of ciders that have over 50% alcohol content...really brandies; an intense trip. The FB photos are fun, especially the empty taste glasses lined up on the window sill.
The food varies from superb to okay with the Cantabrian Anchovies being extremely salty but that was tempered by the little breadstick like picos that came with them; wrapping the fish around the pico was the ideal was to make it work. Patatas Bravas were nice, but not a touch on the ones we get in Barcelona and while both the cheese and charcuterie platters were both excellent varied and nice, the $25 price for each seemed a tad high. The Valdeon Blue was a highlight of the latter and the Lomo also a hit.
Bunuelos de Bacalao Vizcaina are not what we would call cod fritters as they are more doughnut like with a hint of cod flavor and a small dot of the red salsa on top; not a winner.
Tuna Tartar comes in a small taco cup and is made from quality yellowfin with salmon roe, shallots, orange and salsa rosa. I adored the rich Chicken Liver Mousse Montadito with apple mostarda and guindilla peppers. They sent out a Short Rib Montadito with smoked anchovy and pickled onions by mistake, but we ate it and loved it too.
Main courses brought a boring Gambas al Ajillo which had the right ingredients of garlic, apple brandy and lemon, but seemed lacking in overall flavor.
Grilled Kalbi-Style Lamb Riblets were the daily special with soy, garlic, sesame oil and District Dry Cider marinade and scallions that I loved but the top hit was the simple Grilled Green Onions in romesco sauce!!
Desserts were quite good and we chose three to share: Goat Cheese Flan made from Pipe Dreams Goat Cheese with caramel and membrillo sauce, Cider-Poached Apple Terrine with salted caramel frozen custard and brown butter crumble and the winning Basque Gateau with apple marmalade.
You sense the apple cider drift in the dishes, but it is not overwhelming and it's a fun place if you don't mind the noise, because by the time we left the upstairs was full and heaving and the crowd downstairs was gone. Who knew?
