Restaurant Week Recap

So Restaurant Week is long gone ... but not forgotten. This time around, I had the pleasure of dining at PS 7's, Penn Quarter's Zaytinya, and Olives for lunch. My first dinner of the week was on a Tuesday night. My good friend Shabobe, (pronounced Sha-Bob-Ee) and I had dinner at PS 7's. I had to do a little research to find out how it got its name. Apparently, PS 7’s is a combination of the Executive Chef/Owner’s name, Peter Smith and the address 777 I Street. The restaurant is located in the Chinatown/Penn Quarter neighborhoods of Washington, DC, which is conveniently just one block away from the Verizon Center and two blocks from the Gallery Place Metro Station. Any place that is accessible by metro, in my opinion is bound to do well. PS 7's is no exception. The restaurant's dining room is very modern, yet cozy. Some of the tables are a bit close to each other, which could be considered cozy or intrusive, depending on who you ask. PS 7's restaurant week menu was, how do I say it, almost barren (unfruitful, lacking). There was not enough appetizers to choose from, and if you don't like fish, well you'd leave hungry. For my first course, I ordered the "house-made" Black Pepper Parmesean and Lemon Gnochi, served with duck confit, haricot verts, pearl onions and watercress in a sage and vermouth broth. I thought that the gnochi was decent, but it was so peppery, that I coughed with almost every bite. For my second course, I opted for the Cornmeal Crusted Rainbow Trout, described as served with roasted yellow corn, watermelon and cilantro relish and baby spinach. Shabobe said that he had ordered the trout before and recalled it being very good, so I decided to give it a go. I wish I hadn't. I wasn't in the slightest bit impressed. I don't even think that I finished it. The fish was dry and with every bite, I wished I had more cilantro relish. I will say that I thought that offering Beingnets as a dessert was quite unique. I haven't had them since Nawlins, going on 8 years ago. They were delicious and I hope that they offer them all year round on their dessert menu.
A day or so later, I attended a meeting out of my office and found myself standing outside the restaurant Olives at located at 1600 K Street, NW. I sat at the bar and was pleasantly surprised by their restaurant week lunch menu. For my first course, I had melon and procuttio. I ate every single bite, although I think that the procuttio should have been wrapped more around the melon pieces. It was plated nicely, in terms of presentation, but it was rather difficult to eat. For the second course, I ordered what I thought would be a very simple boring chicken breast, but boy was I wrong. This chicken was the best chicken breast that I have ever had in my entire life. The meat was extremely tender and unbelievably juicy. It definitely had a mediterranean flavor and the ingredients were almost unidentifiable. I learned by researching the owner and chef, Todd English that he is not only, breathtakingly handsome, but very well known for his "rustic mediterranean cuisine". He owns several restaurants all over the US, including Bonfire, Kingfish Hall, Figs, and several locations of his restaurant Olives. I'd like to come back. Great place for a cool and chic happy hour.

Oya: on the fast track to 100's Best

So last night I checked out Oya (777 9th St., NW). The restaurant calls itself, "Contemporary Asia-French fusion". Traffic was horrendous, as there was a Capitals game at the Verizon center and a baseball game at the new Washington Nationals stadium. Besides that, getting to the restaurant was uneventful. It's on the same block as Zayatina and the Capital City Brewing Company. They offer Valet, thank goodness because they probably know that there is no way that a diner would be able to find parking on their own, well especially not on a night like tonight.
Inside the restaurant is breath-takingly sexy and chic. It has a clean crisp design with white leather tables and chairs and the foyer is adored with a heavy metal chain link curtain on the wall. On the restaurant website, you can see their interior photo gallery for pictures. http://www.oyadc.com/Interior
The bar and lounge area had at least two areas that were reserved for special parties. The bar itself was fairly large and could easily accomodate a couple hundred people for a bustling happy hour.
One thing that I noticed right away once we were sat at our table, besides the decor, is the din. You can't really hear the person sitting with you and you especially cannot hear your server. I had to ask my friend more than once what the server was saying. You simply cannot hear over the noise level in the dining room. I'm sure that the bustling lounge and bar area nearby didn't help. The servers are dressed in head to toe black, which is a stark contrast to the tables and chairs. On almost every table there is a unusually tall thin bottle of trendy (probably over-priced) water (Zengo).
One very unique thing about Oya other than the decor is that they offer a prix fixe menu every day of the week. They offer a $20 lunch menu and a $30 dinner menu. My friend and I both ordered off of the prix fixe menu. For the first course, I ordered the coconut shrimp. It was cooked perfectly. Shrimp that is overcooked, usually is very rubbery. This was very good. The shrimp was lightly battered like tempura. Since Oya serves tempura, it was probably the same batter. My friend ordered the Spicy Tuna Roll (sushi) as his first course. I of course tried it and thought that it was spicy, but not enough so that you can still taste the tuna. There wasn't a lot of the tuna in the roll. I thought that there was a lot of "white" in the roll (rice). I noticed that the wasabi was presented as if it was squeezed out of a decorators tube. We also ordered a California Sushi Roll. The ginger was un-died, it wasn't that pink that you would find at other sushi joints.
For the second course, I ordered the Grilled Sirloin which I ordered medium. I rarely ever order red meat so rare, but I truly think that meats are juicier more rare. Boy, was I right! This steak was so moist, so tender, it almost melts in your mouth. My friend ordered the Chilean Sea Bass which came with stuffed roasted peppers. I did not try the peppers, as I am allergic, but the Sea Bass was perfectly cooked as well. It didn't taste "fishy" at all. Light, soft, delicate buttery flavor; it was delicious. When I return, I will order the Chilean Sea Bass. For dessert, I had the trio of sorbets, mango, strawberry, and pineapple. All in all, when it's all said and done, I think that the atmosphere makes it a great date place, but not for a first, second, or third date, as you would need to be able to hear someone that you are trying to get to know. I think the food was delish. I bet in a few years, it will find itself on the 100's Very Best. I can't wait to go back!

Restaurant Week is coming!! Yay!!

DC's Restaurant Week is rapidly approaching. Foodies all over the DC area area anxiously await not Christmas, or New Year's Eve, but YES, Restaurant Week!!
Washington’s twice-a-year Restaurant Week, always creates quite a stir for DC Area diners. It's the time of year that normal folks (those without a hefty expense account) can actually afford to dine in Washington's best restaurants. Restaurant week occurs usually once in the Fall, around October and the second week in January. The upcoming Restaurant week officially begins Monday, January 14, 2008, but some establishments are observing early and expanding their participation to all month. Most of us foodies already have at least a lunch and dinner reservation booked. Actually, most of us booked them before it was announced which restaurants would be participating. *wink*
Participating Restaurant Week restaurants offer a gourmet 3-course prix fixe menu, $20.08 Lunches and $30.08 Dinners. The participating restaurants list includes some regulars like Corduroy, Bistro Bis, Butterfield 9, and Vidalia. Some newcomers include Restaurant K by Alison Swope and Rasika. I wonder when restaurants like Komi, Restaurant Eve, CityZen, or even Citronelle might open their doors to Restaurant Week. Well ... only a girl can hope!

Rustic Italian Dino offers its full menu, with a few upcharges, starting January 2 and lasting the entire month. Romantic Butterfield 9 is starting the promotion a week early, on January 7, and extending it to the 26th. All of José Andrés’s area restaurants—Spanish tapas flagship Jaleo, Mediterranean-flavored Zaytinya,(pictured left) Modern Mexican Oyamel, and Latin-themed Café Atlántico—offer Restaurant Week for an extra week, through January 27. The same goes for two places owned by restaurateur Ashok Bajaj—Cleveland Park’s neighborly Ardeo and its wine-bar sibling, Bardeo.

I already have reservations at Circle Bistro in Foggy Bottom and Foodie Favorite, Corduroy for Dinner. I will just slide into Zaytinya just in time on Sunday for dinner, as well. Make sure you return to see my reviews!