Mussel Beach

It is fair to say how UNFAIR it is to get the stomach flu on the eve of your pre-birthday weekend. I had no idea what plans were in store for me so I am grateful for a quick-ish recovery though I am afraid that my delicate state probably affected my enjoyment of the experience I had in DC/MD this past weekend. I had a great time but it would've rocked hardcore if I'd been feeling 100%.

I spent Saturday afternoon being pampered at the Spa at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington, DC. In a freak showing of freedom, I went commando in the spa hottub and jet showers. It was somewhat forced upon me when I had forgotten to pack a bathing suit but the experience was somewhat liberating. Of course, no one else by my sister was present so I was saved the embarassment of being naked a la "sex & the city" steamroom scenes.

The evening was a delight of GASTROnomic proportions. We put our name in to reserve a table at Granville Moore's, which was a 90 min wait. I was dubious - what is it about this hovel of a restaurant stations in NE DC, amongst a Popeye's and other unsavory places. It may be up and coming but it's got a ways to go.. however, I was assured the wait was more then worthwhile. And wait we did -with a few Allegash Whites (homage to Maine) at the Red & Black bar/tavern.

This bar is biker bar meets chic.yuppies. The food menu (though we did not eat) is catered but there is a microwave and panini grill behind the bar. That being said, the food smelled surprisingly good - red beans n rice, muffaletta sandwich, etc. The wall board/menu was much more about the brews though. Nothing on draft but they had a wide and varied assortment of beverages, including Woodchuch Cider, Harpoon Kilsch(?), and Alleghash White. I am a wheat beer girl - Alleghash went down smoothly.

And sure enough, we were called to our table at Granville Moore's about 1 hr 45 min after putting our names on the wait list. It was worthwhile, as I was told.

We were seated in the window overlooking, well, construction on the street, but the ambiance was unique, festive and very, very lively. The menu seems limited but has a clear focus on stepped up comfort foods with a burger and other pub-type entrees. The go-to food though are the Mussels. Prepared 5 different ways, I chose the Fromage Bleu that had spinach, blue cheese, bacon and shallots. My sister got the mushroom preparation so I was lucky to try a second variety. We split a large order of frites (delicious fries) with three dipping sauces... horseradish cream, garlic mayo and chipotle mayo.. very French. Very Very good.

The steaming bowls of mussels arrived at our table along with some bread for dipping and the crisp frites. I strongly advise there people to consider sharing two orders of mussels as one a-piece turned out to be far too much food. Of course, we had started with an appetizer of Ricotta Cakes that tempered my appetite after a hungry wait. Nonetheless, the portions are generous and the mussels are HUGE... so dig in and don't forget to leave room for bread to dip in the amazing broth waiting under the massive serving of shellfish.

The food was good, it was worth the wait, and the establishment was a total dive which made wearing jeans MORE then right.. in other words, this fit all my criteria for a great place. Comfortable, understated refined dining.. 4 stars. :)

My O Face

I have traveled far, I have traveled wide (which can be interpreted many ways.. ) I can say I have eaten in some fine dining establishments and I have eaten in some real dives. I have a fair amount of experience with food, being the foodie that I am and someone who is interesting in cooking. I know when chicken is overcooked. I know when fish is undercooked (don't remind me!!) And so I went into Restaurant week with fairly high expectations.

Restaurant Week in Portsmouth, NH (http://www.portsmouthchamber.org/restaurantweek.cfm) is a week set aside for restaurants to encourage patrons to try them for the first time, or return for new menus. Most, though not all, restaurants agree upon a prix fixe menu price of $29.95 for a three course meal: Appetizer, Entree and Dessert. It is usual to have selections to choose from, though that is not always the case. It is a great way to get to some of the more expensive restaurants and sample their fare at a reasonable price for a delicious multi-course meal.

I visited Cafe Mediterraneo (aka Cafe Med) with friends on the Wednesday of Restaurant week. It was jam-packed full of patrons. We had a reservation for five and were seated in the very back corner of the restaurant. It was the first time I had been in since their move onto a main street in town. The ambiance was nice, the decor was suitable though the acoustics were a little tough once the place was filled to capacity. Not only that but the service was extremely slow. I would have expected "all hands on deck" for restaurant week, even if it was just Wednesday.

It took a long time to get our orders in, but I did decide to go for the Restaurant Week Prix Fixe menu. I had the Tuna Bruschetta appetizer, Shrimp and Mushroom Ravioli entree and the Tiramisu for dessert. It's not worth really going into great explanation as each dish was just mediocre. I'm glad I went back to give them another shot, but there I only confirmed why I didn't frequent the restaurant before.. there are too many great restaurants in this area to waste time at the mediocre ones.

To take advantage of the specials, I made a plan to go to FOUR on the Friday night of Restaurant week. It is a newish steakhouse restaurant tucked onto the corner of State and Bow Streets. We were seated immediately and the staff was friendly and courteous. A little over-friendly at the bar in fact as I would say some frequent patrons were camped out and I had to listen to banter about the bartender's personal life while waiting for my friends to arrive for dinner.

However, once we were seated, we were treated to some homemade foccacia bread. I knew I was in for a treat once that started.. it was served with butter and whole cloves of roasted garlic. The restaurant week menu was actually a little disappointing since this was a steakhouse but it is reasonable to understand that they might not be able to fit many meat selections into the fixed price. So, the only steak they had was a hangar steak, known to not be quite as tender and succulent. The appetizers ranged from salads to haddock chowder, the entrees were the hangar steak, a fish, and noodles (what!?), and there was one dessert, upside down pineapple cake. That made my mind up right there. I was going to order off the nightly menu.

I shared an appetizer of Lobster Mac and Cheese with a friend.. creamy and loaded with chunks of lobster. It was rich but as a shared dish, it didn't ruin my appetite. I then had the Filet cooked Medium with roasted mushrooms and creamed spinach. You're allowed to select two sides with a cut of meat and that was tough to choose. The mushrooms are a favorite, I had to have those. The spinach was just ok.. but tasty in combination with the very tender and juicy filet mignon.

Then for dessert.. the O of my O face.. was steamed chocolate cake. Think brownie meets cake meets molten chocolate cake with whipped cream. It could've been a messy, messy treat (as my friend demonstrated with his portion), but I couldn't waste one bit of this by spilling it on the table. I was careful to get every last drop onto my lips. OOOOooooooooooooooooooo so good!