I came away with mixed feelings. Though individually the courses were quite good, the presentation often striking, and the service very friendly and engaging, I struggled to find Aaron’s voice in the course progressions. I had difficulty linking each course to the next. Instead of the symphonic cohesion I’ve come to expect from cooking at this level, my experience was more of a well constructed mix-tape. And this began to make me feel apologetic to my guest who walked away feeling that his $325 had been misspent.
On reflection later that evening I tried to piece together where things were great and where they missed opportunities to inspire.
I think the problems with the meal can be summarized by the cook’s introduction to the first course.
Paraphrased: “The chef asked us what kind of dish we wanted to create. I wanted it to involve something new that I’ve been wanting to learn about, sushi. So we started doing research on sushi and ended up on this dish.”
[This was emblematic of the first problem. Each course felt disconnected. Interesting in their own way but there seemed to be little vision involved in the course progression and the thematic interconnectedness.]
Continued: “Now notice that this isn’t being prepared like real sushi. I’m using spoons to make the rice.” (balls rice up with spoons like one would ice cream) “Next I’m adding a pepper sauce in place of the wasabi element. And on top a nice piece of seared foie gras.”
[The irony, none of the techniques were incorporated into the course. The thoughtful precision of forming the rice was abandoned. The wasabi was duplicated as a flavor layer but the traditional reasoning and balance of the wasabi was ignored. Little thought was given to the cut/shape of the foie in relation to the rice. And though the course was delicious, the concept of foie gras nigiri could just as easily been improvised by the least experienced sushi eater. So I’m calling bullshit on the months of sushi research and saying this was a fun derivative amuse bouche but no where near the type of thoughtful french/asian fusion you might find at a Robuchon’s L’atalier.]
I did enjoy the table side preparation and interaction with the cook. Though I thought it odd that he trumpeted the decision to use fingers for eating like traditional nigiri but coated the foie gras with a sticky glaze which I needed to scrub off my fingers and coat my napkin in sauce at the first course.
Uni over creamy tofu with a crisp lacy wafer. The creaminess of the tofu was surprising and quite good paired with the fresh uni. The tempura wafer was a bit stiff and thick like a cracker instead of light and airy like traditional tempura. It was difficult to break through without using too much force, damaging the uni, which was obscured underneath. The tofu and uni were almost too similar in texture; they blended well but I’m not sure either element helped the other stand on its own. Visually interesting but lacking in a bit of thoughtfulness that could take the dish to the next level.
Typically one would see a pate en croute in traditional fine french cooking but this one took on an element of an earthy meat pie with veg, sausage, and gravy included.
The slice was ok, but the flavor of the sweetbreads was entirely masked by the preparation. The filling became a yummy if indistinguishable mush along with an ok crust. The brightness of the vegetables to me were better than the pie. All in all I enjoyed this dish but felt that it was difficult to tie it to other courses thus far.
The three pork preparations were a pork pate, cooked pork belly, and fried pork skin on top. I am a sucker for pommes Anna and these did not disappoint. Tender inside, crispy outside. And the veg was humorously presented almost as a roasted pear but tasted like roasted beets.
The main difficulties with this dish were presentation. First, both portions were arranged on a single metal tray on which the sauces were spooned. It was too awkward to eat from the dish so we immediately had to replate the elements onto our own plates, attempting to scoop up the sauces with forks which was difficult. A direct plating would have been better, as the dish as I ate it was not that attractive. I also had an issue with the “a la Bocuse” attribution. In comparison the prep and plating was clumsy and lacking the precision to do justice to a Bocuse course. And tossing a chicharrón on top of two fairly simple pork preparations and calling it a third seemed like a stretch.
Three simple chocolates in a box. I enjoyed the dark chocolate and blue cheese pairing. The bark was good with interesting texture. The truffle, creamy and rich. Decent espresso as well.
(Thanks Joseph for correction). I liked how calmly the kitchen ran. Everyone seemed to be working on time. The volume was quite low. I saw smiles as courses were being put together. Although the early course progressions seemed to drag a bit.
I felt the space itself was quite refined. The lighting was well thought through with attention paid both to mood and style. There was a nice balance between modern and traditional. The colors remained muted allowing the food to stand on it’s own but with subtle nice accents through flowers, gold trim, and art. I got a classic french sense but with the bright and minimal styling you might find in Paris today with a dash of pink or blue here and there. Bright whimsical tiles were used for the kitchen floor. One wall was left entirely unfinished in contrast the rest of the space (I didn’t get the story on that). And blue translucent screens over the frosted bathroom windows provided a bit of mood. I was happy to see the fresh linen towels in the bathroom.
Outside there’s no sign. We had to look around a bit. It reminded me a little of Alinea in its external presence.
Last but not least the pairing was quite good. I didn’t always like the selections but they were always creative and interesting. The sommelier was friendly and knowledgeable and always there to refill a glass or answer a question.
Pairings
Welcome cocktail
Hofgut Falkenstein, Spatlese Riesling, Krettnacher Eucheriusberg, Mosel, GER 2016
Gautheron, Les Fourneaux Chablis 1er Cre, Burgundy, FRA 2016
Paolo Bea, Santa Chiara, Montefalco, Umbria, ITA, 2015
Massimo Clerico, Nebbiolo, Lessona DOC, Piemonte, ITA, 2009
Logsdon, Peche ‘n’ Brett, Hood River, Oregon, USA
Domaine Rousett-Peyraguey, Aither, Sauternes, Bordeaux, FRA, 2010
Menu
Foie Gras Nigiri
Foid gras, morita chilies, and vegetable caramel
Silken Tofu with Hokkaido Uni
Tempura tuile, chili oil, and scallion
Bone-in Turbot, Carved Tableside
Sunchokes, celery, and sauce grenobloise
Crispy Turbot Skin
Olive oil and black sesame tahini
Ravioli Doppio
Robiola bosina, nettles, and dates
Veal Sweatbreads En Croute
Chicken boudin, root vegetables, and cream sherry veloute
Selle de Porc “a la Bocuse”
Pommes Anna, leeks, Anson Mills white rice peas
Tete du Moine
Hazelnut praline and perigourd black truffle honey
Fennel Sorbet
Labneh and grapefruit
Carrot Cake
Curred lemon and parsley gelato
Chocolates
While we waited for our seats we were presented with a welcome cocktail that included a recipe for the drink. I always like takeaways. =)
They also brought us this awesome little desert that said welcome to DC. It was a creamy layer cake coated in chocolate. I almost ate the whole thing by myself.
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That isn't not Aaron Silverman looking over his shoulder that is chef de cuisine Scott Muns
Thanks Joseph. I mistook the photo of Scott on the website for Aaron. No wonder he looked so different from the other photo I saw online. =). I corrected it.