Four of us got into Compass Rose(yes they now take reservations, but you have to be ready to click on RESY at 10am exactly a month prior!) and had a spectacular time making our way through the international menu. Our server Ayla was super helpful explaining the categories(
I asked about the Selian Carignan Red from Tunisia and Ayla brought over a taste which had a slight sweetness to it, so we chose the Lacrima Christi Scianscinoso red, a nice full-bodied option on a cold night for spicy food.
We all chose our favorites and each dish arrived one a time and we enjoyed them all save for the Baja Fish tacos (from Mexico) with mahi mahi, pico de gallo, chipotle crema and cabbage which just lacked the excitement that all the other dishes excelled in.
Sambal Udang was Malaysian shrimp with tofu crisp wafers, lemongrass and fermented chile and tomato that was indeed exciting and tantalized our taste buds. Yum Talay was a Thai salad with Chesapeake Crab, Poached Shrimp, Tomato, Shallot, Mint, Cilantro, Radish and a to die for Fish Sauce Vinaigrette(that I am going to try and recreate next week at home) that was so amazing we ordered a second portion of the huge and truly invigorating salad.
Szechuan Green beans with sesame, house fermented chiles and a rice wine vinegar are excellent, though not novel like many of the other dishes.
Gado Gado is an Indonesian salad of Napa cabbage with daikon, tofu, hard-boiled egg and a peanut dressing with crispy shallots that is a vegetarian dream.
The Spice Bag from Ireland is crispy chicken, potatoes, red peppers, onions, Chinese five spice roasted and served in a paper bag with a spicy mayo dip for the chicken and potatoes; fun, but the highlight was the mayo!
Curried Lamb is from Jamaica with allspice, scotch bonnet peppers, thyme and rice and is a large dish but not as good as the amazing Korean Bulgogi Ssam of ribeye, ssam sauce, sesame salt, an amazing kimchi and rice all with romaine lettuce to make a wondrous wrap!
We adored the Khachapuri from Georgia which was "mixed" tableside with the cheese-filled bread, organic egg with local butter and za'atar.
We were quite full but opted for one Sticky Toffee Pudding(UK) to share which had a superb toffee sauce and whipped cream and Will declared it an official winner--that's the Brit! OMG! Happy group were we with our world tour. (photos on FB)
