First dinner out in the New Year was at Chloe with friends who lean vegetarian and there were no disappointments at all. I figured Chef Haidar Karoum would be recovering from New Year's Eve, but his team is so amazing there was not the slightest glitch with any of the superb dishes we ordered (except that I forgot to photograph two of them for FB!)
Our server Nikina was excellent and gave us some great ideas, even on the wines that were also top notch. With the chill in the air, we started with the Torii Mor 2021 Oregon Pinot Noir and then moved on to an earthy and full-bodied Dido "La Universal" Garnaxta/Syrah blend from Monsant in Priorat, Spain, one of my favorite wine regions.
Dishes here are meant to be shared and we did exactly that with the Garbanzo Felafel with roasted Garlic Yogurt, Mint (I could not taste it at all) and Pickled Veggies. The dish is a treat on a plate and has a nice spice kick to boot. It would have been perfection with a small piece of pita! If you like salads but don't feel like Burrata, just ask for the vegan version and you will get the Winter Avocado salad with quinoa, fennel, roasted butternut, pepitas and a pomegranate vinaigrette! For us, the logical progression after felafel was the Spiced Veal Hummus which is served with Beiruti hot sauce, pickled radish, buttered almonds and comes with a snowshoe naan to wrap it all up. The hummus has ground veal on top and is so flavorful you might be tempted to ask for seconds--don't as the portions here are quite large and we all decided to share a main which was the Norwegian Salmon with marinated cucumbers, piquillo peppers, castelvetrano olives and dill yogurt for one couple, while we loved the Spice Roasted Chicken with Vietnamese style greens, sticky rice and a toasted chili-lime dipping sauce. The huge 1/2 chicken was juicy and cooked to perfection while the sides and sauces made the dish simply wonderful. We also ordered a side of Crispy Fingerling Potatoes with boardwalk malt mayo, old bay and sea salt which are surely one of the best potato dishes around that I can ever recall. Crispy, crunchy and tasty...they could make a meal! The Pan Roasted Shitake & Cremini Mushrooms with ginger, garlic, chilies, soy and toasted sesame were also a hit!
We were way over full and could not even consider dessert, but had a super time and will make sure to keep Chloe in our minds (except during baseball season as it can be havoc to park there when the Nats play!); we even found a free space 1/2 a block away!
