PassionFish - Jeff Tunks goes to Reston

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PassionFish
11960 Democracy Dr., Reston

I have reviewed three other Passion Food Hospitality (PFH) Group restaurants before such as Ceiba, DC Coast, and Acadiana. Each restaurant has their own expertise. Ceiba is Neuvo Latina cuisine, DC Coast is local seafood, Acadiana is what the name suggests, Cajun Southern cooking. I was anxious to visit their newest sister, PassionFish in Reston, VA. The website mentions that the restaurant focuses on "Global" seafood.
The dining room decor and design resembles the other Passion Food restaurants. It's open, clean, crisp, and modern except because this space was newly built, probably just for them it is much larger than the other restaurants. I'm not sure about the exact table count. Hmm... I could look into this. This dining space like the others offer diners remarkable views of the kitchen at work. This seems to be a signature of their establishments. I loved that I could see from my table Mike Yarger, General Manager checking each plate before it goes out. The floating glass chandeliers are gorgeous and the glass staircase is remarkable(see photo to the left).
It's also the little things, the small touches that makes a restaurant it's own. PassionFish continues their central theme to the table top with flatware with fish tails and hugging Koi salt-n-pepper shakers. I took a lot more pictures, but I can't include them all here. (see photo to the right). My good longtime friend Rick and I were seated on the upper level at the top of the floating glass staircase. The view of the large dining room was quite impressive.
I was surprised and pleased to learn that the Restaurant Week menu offered all of their regular menu entrees with the exception of the lobster and there was a small surcharge. First course offerings included two kinds of Ceviche, a mixed green salad; Caesar salad; Louisiana seafood gumbo; lobster-and-roasted-butternut-squash bisque; blue-crab-and-corn chowder; Peruvian-style ceviche; Yucatan shrimp ceviche “cocktail”; and trio of nigiri with tuna, salmon, and hamachi. I was able to sample the ceviche cocktail and lobster bisque. The ceviche was a deliciously thick and chunky shrimp salsa served with tortilla chips. The server was very thoughtful and brought an extra spoon for us to share. The bisque had some lobster chunks and was deliciously creamy. I've had the bisque at other PFH restaurants. It was as good as I remembered. The portion was plentiful ... certainly enough for two persons to share. For the main course, I ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with Chipotle Remoulade (see photo on right). The crab cakes were pretty good; certainly not the best that I have ever had. Some bites were crunchier than others; I found a few shells, it's bound to happen. I would have also preferred to have the sauce on the side. Rick ordered the salmon colored Poached Icelandic Arctic Char. It looked exactly like salmon, coloring, texture except that it tasted like a white fish. I would have been pleased if I had ordered the Char as my entree. It is on the regular menu so I of course could order it at my next visit.
For desserts I sampled the Salted-caramel crème brulee with hazelnut biscotti and the molten chocolate cake with vanilla-malt ice cream. I don't ever order chocolate desserts so I enjoy being able to taste someone else's. Rick said that he thought the chocolate cake was the best dessert that he had ever had in his whole entire life. I didn't share his enthusiasm, but it was flavorful.
I have to mention that I was very pleased to find out that there is a substancial children's menu and at a bargain with entrees just $6 [including a drink], and desserts and sides $3 each. Kids also get an adorable Menu placemat with a number of nautical word games. Menu items include a trio of Mini Burger Sliders, a "Beach Bucket" choices of Fish, Shrimp, or Chicken and Fries which arrives in a jaunty nautical blue & white tin bucket, fish Tacos, grilled Cheese, and even PassionFish's own "Beginner Sushi Roll" which features cucumber, avocado, and fresh crabmeat that comes with soy sauce in a seashell-shaped bowl. There are a few side dishes as well. I didn't see any children in the restaurant when I was there so I don't know if kids will dig what's on the menu.

DC Restaurant Week Lunch at Vidalia

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COST:

VIDALIA
1990 M Street, NW

On Monday afternoon my friend and former co-worker and I ventured into the city to have lunch at Vidalia. Neither of us have ever been there before, so was really looking forward to it. Vidalia has been open since Spring 1993 and has continued to receive accolades from local and national authorities, including being listed annually as one of Washington's Very Best restaurants.
In 2009, Vidalia was listed as #7 on the Very Best list earning three and a half stars out of four. Executive Chef, Jeffrey Buben has also received his own awards including Best Chef (Mid-Atlantic) from the James Beard Foundation. The decor of the inside of the restaurant is tastefully neutral. The space is open yet intimate.
Despite the fact that Vidalia ranked among the top 10 of Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants, it still participates in DC's Restaurant Week twice a year. I was lucky enough to score a last minute change of plans reservation at this top establishment and at a prime time lunch hour at that. I was also lucky that it so happened to be a national holiday and parking near M Street was not as in demand. I don't like to pay to park in a garage, if I can help it.
Vidalia's menu for restaurant week reflected their usual menu, it's daring and adventurous. For their restaurant week lunch menu, choices for first courses included suckling pig galantine, marcho ranch veal cheek salad with sweetbread terrine and veal tongue, and crispy pig tails. I was able to try both the citrus cured madai snapper with key lime, watermelon radish with grinnel caviar, and avocado and piquillo pepper sauces and the smoked pappardelle pasta with rabbit bacon, smoked gouda, and preserved apples. The madai snapper was presented beautifully (see photo) and was served resembling the size and shape of sushi pieces. You could hardly tell the snapper was fish except that it was raw. The tiny bit of lime on the top of the snapper reminded me of wasabi. Placing citrus with fish is not unique, but it is truly a wonderful combination. The smoked pappardelle pasta was a larger portion than the snapper (see photo). With every single bite, you could taste the rabbit bacon, smoked Gouda, and apples. It had a creamy consistency and was delicious. A slightly different version of the pasta is available on the regular dinner menu, but the pricey black périgord truffle was replaced with apples. Fair enough.
For the main course, I ordered the braised Wagyu brisket served with heirloom root vegetables and potatoes in a rich beef bouillon (see photo). Most briskets that I have had have been dry, bland, and tasteless. This brisket was, however; moist, tender, flavorful, and delicious. The beef bouillon and vegetables were perfect accompaniments. I also tried the shrimp and grits which the server indicated was one of Vidalia's "signature" dishes. The brisket was a much larger portion, however; the shrimp came with three jumbo shrimp atop yellow grits with andouille sausage, pearl onions and spicy shellfish cream. The shrimp were perfectly cooked. I was glad that I was able to try something off their regular menu.
We also decided to order an additional side of baked macaroni with cave aged cheddar and smoked virginia ham with fresh shaved truffles. I am not sure if it was really worth the $8.50. The cost is probably associated with the truffles. There has been a recent trend of high end fine dining restaurants creating their own version of a comfort food, such as macaroni and cheese. I guess people like it. I thought that the macaroni and cheese was pretty good but I only had a little bit due to the probable fat content.
Speaking of fat content, for dessert I ordered the banana napoleon served with caramelized bananas with salted caramel mousse, bitter sweet chocolate layers and salted caramel sauce (see photo). The banana napoleon was beautifully presented. The banana and caramel combination was to die for. It was truly heavenly. I think the dessert could have easily come with peanut butter instead of the caramel and it would have been just as delicious. I also sampled the Georgia pecan bar served warm with bourbon caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. I think that this was the better of the two desserts nbt to mention it was a larger portion. If I ever visit Vidalia again, I am sure that I won't forget that Pecan Bar. It was sweet but not too sweet. The Georgia pecan bar is a good example of what is Southern on the menu at Vidalia.
Overall it was a superb meal. In terms of value, even though we had wine and an additional side, it was a pretty good value. To cost down on costs, diners who want to stick to the $20.09 lunch should drink water and skip the wine and additional side items offered. Also to get the bang for your buck, you could order the pasta as a first course, brisket for the main entree and the pecan bar and have a very filling meal!
I'm not sure if there is a kids-menu, but I don't think that Vidalia is very kid friendly.

Valentine's Day at Morton's

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COST:

MORTON'S STEAKHOUSE
8075 Leesburg Pike,
Vienna, VA 22182

My husband and I decided to use our $200 gift certificate that he won from his office Holiday party for our Valentine's Day dinner celebration and go to Morton's Steakhouse. Neither of us have ever been to Morton's and the $200 was burning a hole in my husband's pocket. I realized beforehand that Morton's menu is not run by the Executive Chef per se and is a corporate menu that it won't be like going to an independent restaurant. There are many locations, including several in Northern Virginia, but we decided to go to the Tysons Corner location (8075 Leesburg Pike).We had a 7 o'clock reservation and were glad that there was a valet because we were running a few minutes late.
Once we arrived and looked to check in with the host/hostess we wished that we had not rushed. They were extremely backed up. Perhaps their computer system was down because there was "Oscar" who was frantically trying to organize his little slips of paper with everyone's reservation information on them. There were at least half a dozen other couples waiting for their 7 p.m. tables (now at 7:30 p.m.). Not to mention that many seven-thirty reservations were attempting to check in as well. It was quite chaotic.
Once we were seated our server gave us his little schpeel about the menu. I startled when he picked up the lobster off the tray and he moved! I joked that he stayed still on the tray because he knew that he was part of the presentation. Well ... I guess that you just had to be there.
The two-tops on the dining room floor were very close together. Diners were moving the table in and out to let the other in their party get by. They were pretty close.
I ordered a special champagne cocktail to celebrate. It was pretty Chit-ching! $14 I think is a lot for one drink ... they did leave the rest of the small bottle of moet champagne that was left in the bottle so I could top it off.
Most restaurants offer a bread basket, it's pretty common but at Morton's there is no question that this is the largest loaf of bread that I have ever seen. This enormous round onion topped loaf is deliciously warm on the inside and crusty all over. It's quite difficult to cut ... I made a mess! (see left; borrowed photo)
I was interested in their Jumbo Lump Crab Cake appetizer, but I decided to go with the Morton's classic combo for dinner which is sort of like a surf & turf and includes a Western Australian lobster tail and an 8 ounce filet mignon. It comes with a cesar side salad, but Ben and I decided to "swap" salads and he would order the wedge and I would give him my cesar. It would have worked out except that the server brought out the cesar salad and Ben's oysters on the half shell at the same time. I nibbled on the salad but wanted to wait for the wedge. Apparently, this center cut iceberg wedge salad is their most popular salads. It comes with egg, bacon bits, diced tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing. (see photo on the right; courtesy of Morton's). Since I have dieting I have been really watching my fat intake. This salad is pure fat. I decided to order it despite that and justify by saying that it's a special ocassion. I was very disappointed. The center cut didn't appeal to me at all. The wedge had too much dressing and tasted mostly like egg. I simply could not eat it.
I ordered my filet medium plus which is just a tad less rare than medium and less done than medium well. The filet was over cooked on the outside, it was too charred for my taste and I think that even for medium plus, it was closer to medium rare. Ben agreed that it was too pink for my taste. I didn't send it back because I was filling up anyways and decided that I could reheat it at home without drying it out. The filet was served with jumbo asperagus with Bernaise sauce on the side. The lobster tail was delicious ... perfectly cooked and quite tasty. I used just a splash of lemon juice and a dash of melted butter. I wish I had more lobster than filet. I would have been more satisfied with my meal. Ben ordered the NY Strip. I had a piece of his steak. I honestly couldn't tell the difference from the piece he cut off his steak and my filet.
I had their house apple pie for desert which was delicious and I liked that it was served a la mode.
In terms of value, there is no question that our meal was not worth the $290 that we spent. We used the $200 gift certificate so we didn't use but about $100 of our own money. My husband remarked that if we had to spend our own money that he'd be angry. I pity all the other couples who were there that did.
I noticed that there were children that were there before we sat but I wouldn't really call this place, "kid-friendly". I give Morton's a "one pacifer".

Restaurant Week and Extentions List

Restaurant Week officially starts Monday.
I'm looking forward to my week at various DC area restaurants. Monday I have lunch at Farrah Olivia - one of my favorite spots and is of course one of the Washingtonian's Very Best 100 Restaurants.
I've been able to find out the RW menu for Farrah Olivia. It is as follows, with the standard Lunch 3 courses prix-fixe for $20.09
First Course:
Painted soup (smoky chestnut, gingery squash, beet cider)
Organic green salad
White grit cake (cinnamon cider squash, candied red cabbage)
Second Course:
Tarragon gnudi (with arugula salad)
Pan roasted chicken (pecan crusted with mushroom mac and cheese)
Arctic char (with yucca couscous)
Dessert:
Almond panna cotta
Chocolate espresso cheesecake
Vanilla crème brulee

Tuesday dinner I will venture out to Reston
to Passionfish. PassionFish is the newest restaurant of Passion Food Hospitality, whose owners, Chef Jeff Tunks, Gus Dimillo, and David Wizenberg. I am of course very familiar with their work since I have visited DC Coast, Acadiana, and Ceiba. I don't believe that I have ever been to TenPenh. Here is a copy of the Restaurant Week Menu with their offerings for lunch and dinner.

I might try to schedule a visit to Dino on Sunday. I got a newsletter type email from the Chef, Dean Gold. He said that Dino has some availability for Wednesday and Sunday, and decent avaiability on Tuesday. I noticed that according to opentable.com that they have a lot of dinner reservations such as 5 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 5:45 p.m., etc. Also that Thursday, Friday and Saturday are pretty tight already except for early and late time slots. I thought that it was interesting to find out that Dino plans to open for dinner service 30 minutes early February 16 thru March 22 to accomodate as many as possible! They are also extending restaurant week another full week thru March 1. They said that they offer "restaurant week" every week, they are adding a crostini trio to patrons meals for this week (there will be no free corkage or menu della sera thru March 1).

Other Restaurants who are extending their Restaurant Week Promotions:
1789 (1 additional week)
701 (1 additional week)
Adour (1 week)
Ardeo (1 week)
BlackSalt (Entire month of February)
Bombay Club (1 week)
Cafe Atlantico (1 week)
Cafe Bonaparte (Extending until March 8th)
Circle Bistro (1 week)
Dino (Extending until March 1st)
Domaso (1 week)
Farrah Olivia (Entire month of February)
Hook (1 week)
Il Mulino (Entire month of February)
Jackson 20 (1 week)
Jaleo - all locations (1 week)
La Tomate (1 week)
Nage (Extending until March 1st)
New Heights (2 weeks)
Oval Room (1 week)
Overwood (1 week)
Oyamel (1 week)
Perry's (1 week)
Petit Plats (Entire month of February)
Prime Rib (1 week)
PS7's (1 week)
Rasika (1 week)
Urbana (1 week)
Vermillion (1 week)
Willow (1 week)
Zaytinya (1 week)