Last week i joined three lady friends I met at a Jacques Pepin event here in May and we headed to Chef Cedric Maupillier's new fine dining destination BARBOOUZRAD. It has been open only two months and the place was heaving, yet it still had a reserved, refined air of elegance in the gorgeous decor. There is a long bar on one side, and the very large open space has dividers, but tables are well spaced. The noise levels were muted due to carpeting and very comfy padded furniture.
We ordered a bottle of Chablis "Le Finage" La Chablisienne 2022 that was delicious but alas came at warmer than room temperature and desperately needing chilling. Where is the white wine stored? The menu is divided into several categories and the raves from Tom Sietsema's final review before his retirement from the Washington Post went on about th FAUX GRAS OPERA which was a plate of bite-sized chicken & duck liver on brioche with a dab of preserved cherry port jelly that was simply divine indeed. Some of us had salads which were monstrous sized while I indulged with the Scallops a la Plancha starter which was so NOT French and a rich, but wonderfully spiced Asian-style dish with curry, lemongrass, ginger emulsion and beets and corn royale(like miniature souffles) that was quite filling. I knew I had ordered too much when my pasta of Lapin a la Marseillaise arrived piled high with cappinelle, rabbit ragu, white wine, tomato, olive, mushroom and pecorino!! I had a couple of bites and asked for the rest to go. I was so excited when the server, Carolyn, gave me a coat check number to claim the "doggie bag" on my out! What a brilliant idea! And how stupid I was to leave without it!!
Joseph the sommelier was very helpful, and we ordered an amazing Chinon (Cab Franc) from the Loire by Mellot that was a little earthy and full of flavor. It was great with the other dishes as well such as Daube de Boeuf (like a huge stew), Branzino and the rich Salmon with caper beurre blanc and sorrel caviar.
One of the ladies knew that the huge private party in the back room was Punchbowl News, which of course, I have never heard of..I am so not a DC person when it comes to that! We were all amazed when Chef Cedric tore himself away from the VIPs to come say hello to us! He is really an amazing chef, as well as a generous person, and I am so glad he was able to reopen in this grand downtown location with a truly top-notch fine dining establishment.
We decided to share one dessert which was the NOCTURNE, an all chocolate ultra rich, layered velvety ganache with cocoa glaze, Espellette chile for a great little spice in a saffron sauce with sea salt! I am not a chocaholic, but splitting this four ways was ideal as I got just one and a half bites!
I can't wait to get back to Barbouzard as there are so many wonderful dishes to try on the menu and maybe I can get my leftovers :-))!!
