Roberto's in Vienna(VA) is always a revelation!! & this trip was a reunion.(10-14-22)

 We wanted to get together with some dear friends who have always been friends with us and Roberto Donna, who has settled into his now 8-month old venue in Vienna, VA. It took 2 months of planning and several cancellations, but the four of us got together and many that we loved from the old days at Galileo in DC were there to greet us to boot!

We use the word "Dayenu" at Passover seder meaning "it would have been enough" to revel in what G-d did for us when we left Egypt. Friday night's dinner may not have been that religious, but it was indeed a revelation, and at each step we should have really sung "Dayenu" to Chef Roberto and his awesome team.

As soon as we finished hugging and kissing everyone, prosecco appeared at our table and the gorgeous bread arrived. New in the basket was a roll made with cheese that was a savory cheesy version of a cinnamon roll; we knew we needed to get some to take home for breakfast, and we did-DAYENU!

 I was chatting about my plans to take some food/wine/white truffle and more tours to the Dolomites and Piemonte in the fall of 2023 and spotted our fave white from Alto Adige on the menu (I should note we tasted this wine in a zoom wine dinner by Chef Roberto during covid, and he is resuming those soon!):La Manina from Manincor 2020 is a blend of Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay that goes with so many dishes. We polished off two bottles, before moving on to a super wonderful "welcome to fall" wine that GM Dmitri suggested, 2014 Campo del Peri Merlot from Tuscany; we all loved it, and it was much less than the wines I was looking at-DAYENU!

Three of us could not resists starting with the Ghiandole, gorgeous veal sweetbreads ever so lightly breaded and served with a Marsala reduction, polenta and polenta foam and rich Chanterelles mushrooms; a memory trip that had us begging for more-DAYNEU. Will had the Octopus with Smoked Potatoes, Tomato Sauce, Radicchio & Arugula that is always a hit.

the pasta here is not to be missed so Will & I decided to split the Pici Cacio e Pepe which is prepared tableside in a huge Pecorino wheel (catch the FB video) and is a divine simple dish with pepper and cheese on Tuscan Pici pasta, thicker or fatter than spaghetti-DAYENU!

We moved on to main courses and the lovely ladies decided to go for the pasta here: Risotto (cause Chef Roberto makes it best!) con Porcini was a monstrous dish of perfectly cooked risotto with mushrooms, porcini foam and Stracchino cheese and Mushroom Fettuccine is its nearby relative smothered with fresh Oregon Chanterelles in a Porcini cram sauce-DAYENU.

Well chose the Guinea Hen Roll made with potato foam, more of those divine Chanterelles and Guinea Hen jus while I adored the Roasted Mulard Duck Breast & Figs with Spinach, Fingerling Potatoes & Carrots in a Vin Cotto Sauce of which I have some for leftovers-DAYENU.

We decided that we should all share one dessert and Will chose the Baked Lemon Ricotta Cake which came as a birthday "treat" with candles as we were betwixt two birthdays at the table-DAYENU!

If this were all not enough, we got take away bags of those amazing peppery grissini which I love with my nightly salads at home-DAYENU.

AND finally, to top it off we had the best server in all Dc that we have known for so many years through so many Roberto dining incarnations--DEBBIE! -DAYENU!!!
We had a superb time reminiscing about the old days with Roberto and his buddies as one of our guests indeed worked for Roberto, and the other for Jean-Louis Palladin. A wealth of foodies at one table in a restaurant where food is indeed revered and a revelation!

Chef Danny Chavez has imbued ART & SOUL(DC) with a new life (10-13-22)

 We have loved going to ART & SOUL (artandsouldc.com) on Capitol Hill for years where it was the creation of Chef Art Smith from Chicago(chef to Oprah), but recently the hotel (now Yotel) was taken over and Chef Danny Sanchez has moved in to helm a totally new menu and design and has created a dining destination for sure.

From the new cocktail list, we tried the Dracarys (Spicy & Dirty) Martini which is named after the fire-breathing dragon on Game of Thrones(Who knew?) and packs a nice spice with the chili & olive infused vodka, dry vermouth, dash of pickle juice and is finished with blue cheese stuffed olives. Autumn in Oax (as in Oaxaca)was another hit with Vida Mezcal, Spiced Pisco Apple Puree, Lime, Cointreau and ancho syrup.

The wine list here is varied, fun and indeed top notch. we started a Barboursville 2020 Viognier Reserve and moved onto a Quinta do Crosto Douro Superior Tinto 2016 which is a superb smooth and full-bodied Portuguese red.

Our server K.C. seemed to anticipate our every need and we got to chat with the new chef, who is a truly generous and sweet guy as he sent us some very nice extra treats:

Houe Made Parker House Rolls come steaming hot and crusted with sea salt and a giant glob of yummy honey butter, while the Hamachi Crudo is seasoned to perfection with Crispy Shallots and dotted with Avocado Mousse but ultimately finished off tableside with a rich divine Horseradish Buttermillk!!  If you like sharing try the Charcuterie Platter with tons of meats, cheeses and pickles that is a step above the others we see around town these days.

We also ordered the Fried Brussels Sprouts and Kimchi starter made with Gochujang Aioli, cilantro and more of those yummy crispy shallots. It's a huge portion easily shared by the whole table (and we were 5). The winning starter for me was the Wagyu Beef Tartare that comes with soft grilled Brioche slices and has a soy marinated egg (think soy-cooked just past raw) to break over the tasty beef which is seasoned with Garlic Puree. I could go back for this tartare (not to mention the crudo) every day.

As we had munched some hor's d'oevres at a reception for Glimmerglass Festival just prior, we knew that we could not finish a whole main course. Will and I really wanted the Fried Chicken, and I suggested we get two orders, so we have leftovers for before we go to the theater Saturday night--GENIUS. This was awesome crunchy fried chicken that was brined prior and then set atop a bed of Creme Fraiche Mashed Potatoes with Swiss Chard and heavenly Chicken Gravy. Other mains that were all gone quite quickly were the Moulard Duck Breast with Root Vegetable Gratin, raisins, pomegranate molasses and duck jus; Pan Seared Scallops with Tri-color Cauliflower, Chili Oil, those Crisy Shallots and Sweet Potato Puree. As we had a vegan guest the pasta dish was re-created without dairy and the gorgeous Homemade Tagliatelle came with Roasted Mushrooms, Butternut Squash and Arugula. every dish was indeed presented perfectly and looked like a work of art.

As if all this was not enough, the chef sent out a bottle of Campo Viejo, Brut, Cava with our delicious desserts: Trio of sorbets: Papaya, Lemon & peach; the yummy Tiramisu Parfait which comes in a glass with Coffee-soaked Lady Fingers, Cocoa, Mascarpone mousse and it topped with crunchy Chocolate pearls. Strawberry Bread Pudding is made with brioche, creme anglaise and vanilla ice cream and finally the decadent Chocolate Ganache Tart has a Shortbread crust with Popcorn Brittle and orange whipped cream. I am not a chocoholic, and because it said popcorn, i avoided the dish. we figured this is not popcorn, but the same as the British cinder toffee, which our two Brits in residence loved!

What meal, what a restaurant and indeed a new destination to keep on your restaurant radar here in DC!

Los Angeles' A.O.C. is always on the charts (10-2-22)

 For our last dinner in LA we headed west to the second incarnation of AOC from Chef Suzanne Goings after enjoying a thrilled matinee of Lucia at the opera. I had been to the AOC West Hollywood location years ago and her restaurants here have always been consistently excellent. The food at AOC Brentwood was just as good, although I have to say that at times the service was a tad slow. The concept here is to share many plates, tapas style, and we decided to order starters first then consider the heavier options and the timing over the entire meal with our dear friends, Raul & Matt, and our son, Sam, was timed perfectly.

The drinks here are fun, and we arrived early to sit at the bar with the excellent bartender, Randy, who customized our Campesino on the less sweet side with Mezcal, Alejandro's Honeydew, Basil and Jalapeno. At the table we started with Etna Bianco from Barone di Villagrande 2019 which was ideal with the many flavors in the dishes and so good, we had a second bottle. Our red was a yummy Crianza from Bodegas Ontanon 2018 in Rioja, Spain.

Our server Chris helped us to navigate the menu and choose which dishes would work best. The Farmer's Plate was the ideal veggie starter for Sam with roasted veggies, muhamarra and chickpea puree(a spicy take on hummus), burrata and grilled toast. They actually charged $1 for an extra piece of toast!! We tried both focaccia on the menu and they were really more like mini pizzas: Milliken's Young Leeks with Point Reyes Cheese, Pea tendrils and Walnuts was nowhere near as fluffy and decadent as my Potato/Leek focaccia, but the Spicy Sopressata with Roasted Tomato, Caper Bagna and Senorio de vaca was a treat. The Stone Fruit salad with Triple Creme cheese, Arugula & Santa Barbara Pistachios was nice, but simple. Clams were cooked in the oven with Sherry, tons of fresh sliced garlic & sherry and were a true treat, especially to mop up the sauce with the grilled bread.

White Bass came with Linda's Greens, Jamon Piperade, Chickpeas & Black Olives and was a divine fish dish, while the Liberty Duck Breast was cooked perfectly with Fennel-Potato Gratin(not too fennel-y) & roasted peach. Sam adored his rich Weiser Farm fingerling Potatoes with creme fraiche & chives while we finished with the Arroz Negro with quid and saffron aioli.

The place filled up quickly and got very noisy and then the a/c went up full blast and we began to freeze. It was hard to get someone to turn it down as I was worried I was going to get sick!

We ordered some yummy desserts to share: Butterscotch Pot au Creme with Creme fraiche came with Salted Cashew cookies and the yummy Beignets were served with Raspberry Jam and Vanilla Ice Cream.

A truly wonderful night to celebrate our anniversary and then take Sam back home to enjoy his new apartment as we head back east today.

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SEOUL SALON in LA's Koreatown is savory and super, but all at once! (9-30-22)

 Our first night here visiting Sam, we headed to a small local place around the corner from his new apartment and it was an excellent choice. SEOUL SALON is one of oh so many Korean options in Koreatown, but we were happy with our choice. The only big problem was that all the food(and tons of it) arrived all at the same time, despite being called appetizers or main courses. Maybe this is the way they do it here, but we learned a lesson for next time....order as you go, one course at a time.

They had a nice crisp dry Gruner Veltliner for the spicy food and then I switched to yummy Korean Soju called Jinro Hanllasan(spelling?). The dumplings here are deep fried with beef and pork and there is a starter called Corn Cheese that is exactly what it is and oh so decadent(photos on FB) and rich and delicious. Sam loved his Stir-fried Kimchi with fried tofu and we were thrilled with the Spicy Rice Cake "Tteokbokki" with fish cake(really fried fish dumplings), cabbage, egg and gochujang. Spicy and heavy, but a wonderfully novel treat. Spicy Pork Bulgogi with cabbage, onion, jalapeno, red pepper and gochujang. Spicy chicken was fried and served with a topping of gooey Mozzarella; is this Korean?

Sam and his friends had plenty of leftovers and we were all full, only regretting the speed of the meal was just way too fast and all at once!