Michel Richard’s Central (pronounced mee-shall ree-shard’s sen-trall) is an establishment of fancy dishes served in a laid back atmosphere. The intent of the restaurant is for someone who arrives in a tshirt and jeans should be as welcome as the man wearing a sportcoat and pressed pants, but you’re more likely to see the latter than the former in attendance.

The appetizers here vary in satisfaction. Les Gougères (cheese puffs) are a treat if you’re a vegetarian- small bite sized pastries filled with melted cheese that can be inhaled faster than Rick James set in front a plate full of coke.

The Charcuterie plate has a sampling of country pate, La Queceria proscuitto, and assorted salami. Bold flavors really come out in these thinly sliced sheets.

My appetizer, the Pork Belly Confit with a Chile BBQ Sauce, was absolutely knock-off-your-socks good. The thick chunks of pork belly carried a fantastic combination of textures, both the crispy fried tops down to the juicy, meaty sections of belly beneath, all laid out on a swath of barbecue sauce. The price tag on this dish is a bit steep at $3 per bite, but the sheer amount of deliciousness makes up for it.

The lamb shank at Central is no joke, either. I’m always slightly worried about portioning with a dish like this, but Central does not disappoint, with a large portion of lamb, served with creamy corn polenta and fried onion strips, topped with a fresh sprig of rosemary.  The portions of tender, succulent lamb fall off the bone with the slightest pull of your fork, and the rich sauce that tops it makes my mouth water just writing this.

You can’t have a dish like that without a proper paleo side, so I opted for the small cast iron pan of Brussel Sprouts and Bacon. I was dismayed with how small of a dish comes out, as you can see in proportion to the serving spoon in the photo below. I do credit Central for pairing a classic combination of meat and vegetable here, but for a side that’s good but not great, I’d give this one a pass on my next visit.

Personally, Central was my first experience with gourmet burger houses in DC. While I’ve had a number of high end burgers throughout the metro DC area, Central served me my first taste of how a burger should be done. That being said, the burgers here aren’t inexpensive, but if you do pick one from their selection, you won’t be disappointed.

Desserts here are equally as good, such as their Opera Cake…

Or their rendition of the Napoleon Cake…

Or even their Chocolate Lava Cake.

While Central may not be the newest restaurant in the neighborhood, it stays as one that consistently puts out quality dishes with a very good array of choices to please just about any appetite, unless you happen to be a vegan or a vegetarian. Prices are not modest here, but they aren’t exorbitant for the quality you’d expect to get, either. I’ve been to Central on more than several occasions and I’ve never failed to be disappointed with any meal I’ve had, and I’d readily go back again.  The service here is very friendly, accommodating, and helpful with recommendations if you’re having a hard time choosing. There’s also are a plethora of other more interesting options for the more adventurous types, like the Frog Legs, the Sauteed Calf’s Liver with Bacon, or the Lobster Burger (a personal favorite).

If you’re a purveyor of delicious salty meats and, well, delicious salty meats, Central is an absolute must.

See Central on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Business Lunches
• Fancy Frenchies
• Sightseeing Tour Safehaven
• Paleoheads

Not Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Vegans
• Frugalistas
• All Of Your Gigantic Plate Needs

A little crafting in the kitchen a few weeks ago and I came up with this recipe. With rising temperatures and the changes in season, this is a nice way to cool out with the berries you pick up at the farmer’s market.

It also uses the Arbonne Essentials chocolate protein powder, which uses stevia as a sweetner. Stevia isn’t 100% paleo, but if that’s the only bad thing about this dessert, I think I can live with that. I haven’t found another protein powder that works as well as this for getting a nice balance in consistency, flavor, and ingredients for me besides this one to make this a vegan and paleo dessert, something that actually works great for both Jen and me anytime. Not even the vanilla powder seems to get the right consistency for me, strangely enough, but that works, because, c’mon. Chocolate.

Empty two cans of organic coconut milk into a large bowl or container. Quality does matter, and so does the fat. Light or low fat coconut milk cans aren’t going to work here, you want as much of those tasty, natural healthy fats for this recipe to work. You can always get a pretty good price on these from just about ethnic supermarket, even if you have to go with a non-organic brand.

Add four scoops of Arbonne’s chocolate protein powder, and mix well with a large spoon. Get the coconut milk to blend as well as you can with the chocolate protein powder. Half the fun is hand mixing it, and I enjoy making this stuff so much, I don’t want to waste a lick of it in a mixer.

Once you’re satisfied with the mixing, add 1/3 cup of those organic, pesticide-free blueberries. Add the 1/3 cup of organic raspberries, and finally, the last 1/3 cup of organic blackberries. Strawberries work just as well, too.

Fold in your berries of choice until they’re well mixed into your bowl, seal your container, and stick it in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4-5 hours.

When it’s ready, your mixture will have thickened into an what is a pretty gigantic bowl of omnomness. I may or may have not been accused of eating cups of this stuff in a single sitting, so I really found it was helpful to exercise some portion control.

An espresso cup seems to be just the trick. For me at least. Somewhere in the neighborhood of a junior scoop of ice cream. Half fill that minicup with your mixture, and top with a teaspoon of chopped pecans.

Fill the rest of your cup with more of the chocolate coconut mix, and then top with another teaspoon of pecans. You can garnish your dessert with a blueberry or a sprig of mint, and serve.

pow.

You can let me know how this dessert tastes yourself. The first time I had it?

Ingredients:

• 1 handful (approx 1/3 cup) of organic blueberries
• 1 handful (approx 1/3 cup) of organic raspberries
• 1 handful (approx 1/3 cup) of organic blackberries
• 4 scoops of Arbonne Chocolate Protein Powder
• 2 cans of organic coconut milk
• 2 tsp of chopped toasted pecans (that you can pick up at Trader Joe’s)

Taverna del Alabardero is reknown by local gastronoms as the best Spanish restaurant in the District. The establishment has over 20 years of experience serving everyone from diplomats to discount diners (I’m talking to you, Noble Restaurant Week Aficionado) with not a sign of having a slow night.

The restaurant has separate menus for lunch, dinner, and brunch, as well as a vegetarian specific menu on request. Offerings are rotated seasonally, so a dish that you declare your favorite could be here one day, and gone faster than a 22 year old’s tax return in May.

It’d seem a number of people (including Jen and I) take Restaurant Week (RW) as an opportunity to dine here, but to be fair, you can’t judge the quality of this establishment purely based on an experience there during that time. To start, the only menus available are RW specific, either for meateaters or vegetarians, but without the option to go a la carte.

Dishes during RW are certainly well executed, with extraordinary presentation and balance. Jen’s citrus salad wasn’t substantial by any means, but a nice way to start her three course meal.

It’s fair game to say that the owners have the expectation that the people filing in and out the doors are in for more of a bargain than Taverna del Alabardero’s absolute best performance. A sampling of this, a sampling of that, but neither Jen nor I could say the meal was truly memorable.

Their arroz con leche (rice pudding) with clementine ice cream even felt a bit blasé- again, a very good dish by any standard, but a dish without real passion or creativity.

Even the service, by and far, seemed lackluster. The one highight of the evening was having a conversation with Gustavo, the restaurant’s sommelier. The man spoke of true passion for Spanish food and his wine craft, enough that we were convinced to give the restaurant a second try on a regular dining night.

So… we did just that.

Fast foward a few months, and Jen and I (well, maybe just me) are excited to see how Taverna really operates. The restaurant is noticeably less crowded at the bar, but tables remain filled up with large boisterous tables celebrating special occasions, and couples like us enjoying an intimate meal in a upscale but relaxed atmosphere.

To start, Jen decided on one of the vegetarian tapas – the Parrillada de Verduras sobre Gazpacho de Espárragos

I took on the plate of Jamon Iberico (Iberian ham), something that might be a safe bet with any haute coutre Spanish restaurant, but a favorite of mine ever since traveling through Spain a couple of years back. The leg of ham sits near the bar, a massive display of perfectly salted perfection. Served with miniature breadsticks, this plate is a dish best shared between two, unless you have a particularly voracious appetite.

Jen’s order of the fried mushrooms came out spectacularly well – comparable to a vegetarian’s fried calamari with a similar texture but a much lighter taste. These things come out molten-burn-the-shit-out-of-your-mouth hot, so do take your time stuffing them into your face. I thoroughly enjoyed stealing several morsels of these off of Jen’s plate, but the deep fried action just wasn’t really doing it for her.

Not pictured is the Spanish cheese plate, which, even if you’re really into cheese plates, I’d give a pass on when eating here. The fresh chunk of honeycomb to accompany the cheese samplings is a nice touch, but overall, the cheeses just aren’t that great, especially at this price point.

I took a gamble on our server’s recommendation with the Rabo de Toro Estofado a la Cordobesa con Croqueta liquida y Zanahoria al Pedro Ximenez – a fancy name for Boneless Beef Oxtail Braised with Liquid Potatoes Croquette and Poached Carrot in a P.X Sauce, and I’m glad I did. The succulent portion of meat falls with even the gentlest pull of a fork. Bring it through the puddles of liquid potatoes and to your mouth, and you’ll never want to have another meat dish that’s any less tasty for the rest of your life.

How do I put this in no uncertain terms?

I could go back to Taverna del Alabardero right now for a second serving of this dish. I’m drooling on my keyboard as I type just thinking about it. I’ll spend months fantasizing about this dish, only to realize I need deep psychotherapy to get over this dish. It’s good. Really, really, really good.

To top off the meal with dessert, I took another recommendation from the server and ordered the Pisto de Melocotón en Almíbar de Café, Crema Catalana con Bizcocho de Magdalena – a Peach Ragout in a Light Cofee Syrup with Cream Custard topped with a Magdalene, which boiled down to a sweet, creamy soup loaded with chunks of fresh peaches. Good, but in retrospect, something I’d pass on entirely on a return visit.

So how’s the NON-Restaurant Week experience? Well, it’s tough to say. Jen was much less impressed with her meal than I was, although we both agreed that it was a 180 from our first foray there. She did end up losing a fight that the fried mushrooms put in her stomach with cramps and pains afterwards, but that’s more of an effect to her having completed a cleanse a month back and not being able to handle such deeply fried food. The oxtail was a home run with me, which makes me think that Taverna’s a great place to take a carnivore who’s looking for a extraordinarily executed meat dish. The deserts seem to be less inspired, and if you’re a vegetarian, you can make your own judgement call based on their menu online whether or not you’d like to eat here. It’s still nice to know that an upscale restaurant like this does indeed cater to vegetarian tastes to a high degree, where most places would offer a few salads and pasta dishes, and then call it a day.

Service here is inconsistent, at best. Our server and associated staff were very attentive for the first part of the meal. We never once had to ask for refills on wine or water, plates were quickly escorted away at just the right times, and recommendations were for the most part, pretty good. The service rapidly declined towards the end of our meal as the restaurant started to shut down, and we sat waiting for our check for 20 minutes as our server disappeared along with numerous diners around us. I finally flagged down another server who brought us our check, but it left us with an unfortunate sour note to leave on to what was otherwise a pretty good meal.

If you’re looking to try Taverna del Alabardero, the best time to head over is right after work, when their entire tapas menu is 50% off. Prices are otherwise a bit steep, and thankfully, we dined on a graciously provided gift card. I’d likely go back some time to try another one of their meat plates in the future, but I have a feeling if I do, I’d have to go without Jen’s company.

See Taverna del Alabardero on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Courting Fancy Spaniards
• Paleoheads
• Business Jerk Power Lunches

Not Recommended For:

• Obtaining Fancy Lanyards
• Restaurant Week Dining
• First Date Frugalistas

With a name like the Flying Pan in the heart of Hong Kong, the now ancient joke of “flied rice, you plick!” from Lethal Weapon 4 comes swimming up back from the depths of my mind. But all ridiculous jokes aside, it is incredibly difficult to find a good breakfast in Hong Kong. For all intents and purposes, it seems to be the one meal that the city would rather forget. There’s certainly a wide array to cafes willing to accommodate your money in exchange for meats of questionable origins, half-cooked, runny eggs, and all the congee you can eat, but after several frustrating days of disappointing meals, Jen and I turned to the Googles for help.

The one place that came up time and time again as the best place for a more traditional Western breakfast was the Flying Plan. Deep in the heart of ex-pat district in Central, it’s easy enough to find once you board the travelator- a seemingly endless stretch of inclined moving walkways that snake their way over the bustling commerce of the streets below.

The sign for the Flying Pan can be seen as you take the travelator (yes, that’s the official name of it) up the hill, and being situated in the ex-pat community is the perfect location for the restaurant.

Stepping inside past the sliding door (which you have to manually slide open and closed yourself), the familiar diner decor, large plastic covered menus and tiled tables all seem to beckon a comforting feeling of a greasy spoon back home, and being the only greasy spoon in the city that we could find, the restaurant already had a lot going for it.

There are some anomalies here- but all for the better. Copies of various publications are plentiful at the door, including a local version of the Wall Street Journal if you’re into catching up on current events. Omelettes and the house specials come with your choice of an array of freshly squeezed juices such as orange, grapefruit, apple, cranberry, tomato, pineapple, or lemonade. You also get your choice of two sides, including spiced apples (highly recommended), fresh fruit, grilled tomatoes (another favorite between Jen and me), potatoes, baked beans, grits, or a small garden salad, and THEN your selection of white or wheat toast, an english muffin, a biscuit or a bagel to boot.

There’s a copious selection of omelettes to choose from, and I’m a little upset that I never got around to ordering the Kitchen Sink – an omelette stuffed with veggies, meat, and cheese, something that’s quite obviously designed for my inner fat kid. That’s not to say you can’t get by with the other choices, like my selection of the Three Little Pigs, with bacon, snausage,  and ham. You also have the option of ordering an egg white omelette if yolks make you scurred.

Which they shouldn’t, you ninny.

Jen dove right in with the Eggs Sardou – an eggs benedict version sans the meaty awesomeness, but with the addition of artichoke, tomatoes and spimmach. I guess I can give her a pass, being my girlfriend and all.

The food isn’t the most amazing diner food I’ve ever had, but it’s the best breakfast you’ll find in the city at a reasonable price. Service is very good, the space is clean, and you can’t go wrong with any of the options of pancakes, waffles, french toast, or blintzes on the menu. If you’re up for a challenge, there’s always the 4x4x4 Monster Pan – a large platoon of 4 eggs, 4 strips of bacon, and 4 sausage links, served with 4 slices of toast, 4 sides, and your choice of either a large glass or 2 small glasses of juice.

Just enough to fuel a paleohead until lunch.

See the Flying Pan on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Vegetarians
• Frugalistas
• Late Night Breakfasts

Not Recommended For:

• Claustrophobics
• Vegans
• First Dates
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Hanging Out, Plotting World Domination

The Po Lin Monastery stands at the outskirts of Hong Kong, far and away from the bustling streets of the city. In fact, not only do you have to take the subway, known as the MTR, almost all the way to the end of the line, you  also have to jump on an hour long cable car ride to Ngong Ping village, and climb some 200 steps up to get close enough to stand in awe of a giant bronze statue of the Buddha.

Don’t freak out! We’ll be taking a hiatus for a few weeks, but don’t worry, we’ll be back the third week of March with more stories and reviews!  Until then- happy eating!

Savour’s website, rather than following the conventional www dot restaurantname dot com, or some variation thereof, is actually just a page off of the website the company chose to highlight as their moneymaker, Sutra Lounge.

That same thinking is evident in dining at Savour. The restaurant, clearly an afterthought to the what brings home the bacon, has a simple interior, with the main entrance opening to 18th Street in Adam’s Morgan. Bright orange paint coats the walls, and in an effort to keep the holly and jolly spirit going, Christmas decorations continue to adorn the ceiling.

In mid-February.

Or maybe that’s just extreme forward thinking.

Our waitress failed to inform us that one of the two vegetarian dishes would not be available, much to Jen’s chagrin, leaving her with the option of having either a curry tofu dinner (which did not appeal to her) or having a plate of fried tofu blocks. Given her paltry choices, she opted for the latter.

If that plate looks depressing, it’s because it is. A small mountain of unidentifiably fried something, with a few scant pieces of argula to decorate and “season” the dish. That’s not food. Not even a high school cafeteria would serve something that unappetizing.

My plate ended up a little bit better, with the flank steak, served with a slice of potato gratin pie and some green beans toss in for distraction. Not a side of green beans, but maybe four green beans. Really? Four green beans?

Thankfully, the steak was reasonable, and the potato gratin pie wasn’t too bad either.

The food here isn’t entirely deplorable, but calling yourself a vegetarian friendly restaurant with a limited number of options that may or may not be available isn’t exactly great. Our entrees, an appetizer of fried tofu blocks and a steak, took nearly an hour to get to our table, even after several tables who had arrived after us had already been served. Diners will be treated to frigid blasts of cold air on winter days every time the restaurant front door is opened with the lack of any sort of heavy curtains or a second set of doors to insulate the room, and the service isn’t the worst I’ve had, but it’s bad enough to say that I’d pass on the offer to eat here again.

If you’re really hungry, you can always get a Jumbo Slice of pizza just across the street. Quick, easy, dirty, and probably about as satisfying.

See Savor on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Zone Dieters
• Paleoheads
• Getting a bite to eat in between the OONTZ-OONTZ-OONTZ at Sutra Lounge upstairs
• Dates with that girl/guy who emphatically once told you, “OMG I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!”

Not Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Dinner with the Commander in Chief
• Dinner going Commando or in Briefs

Roberto Donna, the owner the well renowned Italian Chef at Galileo III, hasn’t had the easiest time with running a business smoothly in DC, with a history that spans over 30 years back to the roots of the original Galileo restaurant.

Naturally, Jen and I were eagerly anticipating our dinner here, but finding the restaurant just isn’t as easy as you’d think. There are no loud, backlit signs announcing YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT GALILEO III, no huddling crowd of smokers outside the doors, no…well, anything, to easily identify where the restaurant is at night until you get close enough to the frosted windows to see the Galileo III logo etched into the window, barely readable with the light of the sun.

Once inside, it’s still not clear if this really is THE new home of Chef Donna. The interior feels dated, despite having recently opened their doors in late 2010. Luckily, Roberto Donna’s wife, the steadfast champion of Galileo, greeted us and whisked us to our waiting table, to which there seemed to be a number of for a weekend night.

Each item on the menu reads as a unique testament to the chef’s skills and creativity. Jen started her meal with the Budino di Parmigiano, a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese pudding topped with Burrata cheese and cream of porchini mushrooms. The rather plan setting with little more than a doily to enhance the appearance didn’t end doing much to really get Jen excited about her selection. A rich, creamy concoction served in an small ramekin that’s very good, but not quite something that either one of us would call great.

My appetizer, the Taglierini Neri ai Frutti di Mare, a plate of black taglierini pasta with squid, octopus, mussels, clams and shrimp covered in a light tomato sauce, was considerably better. Large chunks of fresh seafood adorned the plate, and the pasta is fresh as it can be without someone in the kitchen throwing flour on the table and splashing me with water and eggs. Despite all evident quality of the dish, it still lacks the presence of of being prepared in one of the finest restaurants in the city.

Jen’s entree, the Tortelloni filled with red beets, seems to do a bit better swimming lazily in a baby pool of chive cream sauce with fresh microgreens. A good vegetarian friendly dish, but still fell flat of astounding either one of us.

My main course, the Tagliata di Manzo, consisted of grilled marinated beef rib eye, potato tart, and roasted chanterelle mushrooms, served with dry tomato and a black olive sauce. A winner! A succulent, flavorful portion of beef, complemented by the taste of the tomato and olive sauce, and perfect with the textures of the mushroom and potato tart.

Galileo III has some of the best Italian dishes in the District. The service is very good, and Donna’s wife is constantly making the rounds to make sure your meal is as good as it possibly can be. The menu structure, with options for a three, four, and five course meal, are a bit confusing, as I thought I could order three entrees for a three course meal, which is, obviously (and to my stomach’s dismay) not the case. Portion sizes are good, the noise is low enough to have a conversation if there’s not a loud screaming girl at the bar, and despite the decoration being a bit behind the times, it’s not really going to detract from your meal. The quality of ingredients are good and the talent in the kitchen is there, but the execution is a bit lacking at times, and you should note that at three courses for $55 to start, it’s not going to be a cheap meal.

While I’m glad to have finally had a meal at the hands of Chef Donna, I can’t say that Galileo III is a place I’d consider being so good that I’d immediately think of going back to again. There’s no doubt that very good meals are served here, but I can’t ensure that the meal you’ll have here is going to be great.

See Galileo III on a map here.

Recommended For:

Jen and I have been trying to get a table at Birch & Barley for months. That’s not to say that they don’t take walk-ins and put your name on a list, but it takes a bit of foresight and putting in reservations at least a week in advance to get a table here without milling about near the front door for an hour and a half, staring at the floor, wondering when was the last time you’ve shined your shoes or painted your toes.

Jen and I have been dissuaded from eating here numerous times after conversations with the hostess would go like this.

Me: Hi! We’ve really been looking forward to eating here. Can you tell me how long the wait is?

Hostess: Sure! It’s going to be a 90 minute wait.

Me: Really? A 90 minute wait?

Hostess: Yep! 90 minutes.

Me:

So we finally made it in for a Sunday Brunch after putting reservations a week in advance, mostly on my part to try their Luther sandwich after reading about it here on the Washington Post. A sammich so secret, it’s not listed on the menu. A slab of fried chicken topped with strips of bacon, served in between a maple donut? I didn’t actually think stuff that delicious existed in real life without the aid of half a bottle of absinthe and trading in your soul to the Devil. But it does exist, and I was determined to have it. Mine. All mine.

That is, until I saw the menu.

Birch & Barley’s boasts a wide selection of mouth watering plates, so amazing that I decided I was better off ordering what was on the menu than the quasi-imaginary dishes that were not.

With fried chickum on my mind, I didn’t hesitate to order the Fried Chicken & Waffles. Large chunks of moist, tender chicken, battered and fried, served with belgian waffles lightly dusted with powdered sugar, buttered pecans, and a maple-chicken jus to bring it all together. Wow. This dish was damn good.

But why stop there? I mean, if I’m not going to be eating paleo for a meal, I might as well burn it to the ground, right?

So I did just that. A side of a Warm Sticky Brioche Bun, topped with Brown Sugar Caramel, Pecans, and secretly containing a Cream Cheese center. I figured, if I’m not ordering the Luther sammich, I might as well order the equivalent of a deconstructed version. An amazing accomplice to the Chicken & Waffles, I was forced to eat this myself after Jen regretfully declined the opportunity to send insulin levels skyrocketing.

Suit yourself! I wish there were words to properly describe how this Brioche Bun makes you feel. It’s like…it’s like…

Yeah, it’s a bit like that.

Just to be sure that I had enough to eat, I also put in another side order of 2 fried duck eggs, served with tiny hash brown squares and enough greens to liven up the plate, but not much more than that.  I did appreciate the fact that the yolks were given the proper treatment, a gentle flick of fat/oil on top of each, but the egg whites were a bit too rubbery for my liking.

If you’re going to cheat on your diet, make sure you cheat with your entire heart.

Or stomach.

Jen, ever the source of reason, rational thinking, and alcoholic tendencies (I kid, I kid), ordered the Whiskey French Toast. Giant, inch high slabs of toast, served with local gala apples, candied walnuts, a dollop of mascarpone cream cheese and bacon, which she asked to have removed from her plate in favor for extra apples.

A girl who turns down bacon at any given opportunity, and I still love her. I think that speaks volumes.

The service here is on par with the food. Unpretentious and top notch, I’d easily make my way back here for another meal. With such good food, service, and atmosphere, it’s not hard to see why Birch & Barley won the 2010 RAMMY award for best restaurant, or why we’ll be coming back again soon.

See Birch & Barley on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Brunch
• Vegetarians
• First Dates
• Horrendous Hangovers

Not Recommended For:

• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Fancy Nancys
• Prom Dinner

Italian restaurants are a dime a dozen in DC, which isn’t to say that all are created equal. When it comes to competition like that, the capabilities of the kitchen are indubitably of importance, but what about the basics of a meal, the fundamental elements used in every dish?

Restaurateurs will sometimes go above and beyond to ensure their ingredients are of the utmost importance. Acquiring their agriculture locally and thereby supporting local community. Obtaining their seafood from sustainable fisheries. Making sure every steak and sausage comes from pasture-raised, antibiotic meats. Using local, organic dairy vendors for the mountains of cheese used for every plate.

Well, now you’ve got an idea of the lengths Dean Gold and Kay Zimmerman of Dino go through to ensure that your meal is as unforgettable as they can make it. After all, the devil is in the details.

This Cleveland Park restaurant is a long hike from downtown, especially in the sub-arctic temperatures Jen made me carry her via dogsled (Normsled), but it’d easily be a great walk in temperatures otherwise warmer that we encountered in our winter stroll (car and metro options would have been entirely too reasonable). Tables are outfitted with giant dishes of sea salt and bottles of olive oil, perfect to soak your fresh, tableside bread in.

Highlights of our meal included my order of the Uova alla Diavola. Creamy Sriracha achovy aioli, anchovy salsa verde and fresh yolks make for some of the best deviled eggs I’ve had in years.

A wide assortment of cheeses are available from cows, sheep, and goats, all paired with rustic slices of bread, fruit, and candied nuts.

My locally sourced Dr. Joe’s Pekin duck breast with pasta stood no chance to an appetite built up from a good 30 minute sprint uphill, with Jen cracking the whip and screaming “MUUUUUUSH! MUUUUUUSH!” to my lone ears and tired legs. She even noted that I was unconsciously pushing the strips of duck to the side of the plate as I powered through the plate,.

Jen: What are you doing?

Me: Huh?

Jen: Why are you pushing the duck to the side of the plate?

Me: Uh, apparently because I wanted to save the best of this for last.

But really, the duck here is unreal in flavor on a bed of Dino’s finest house made pasta.

The Budino de Pane, or bread pudding, however, was a bit lackluster not only in presentation but substance. Made with barberries and raisins, then served with a scoop of vanilla gelato and and amaretto whipped cream, this was by far my least favorite dish of the night, but with 10 other different dessert choices, I’m sure I can manage to eventually come up with something I like on that menu.

The service is of the caliber of the dishes served here at Dino. Our waiter was friendly and accommodating, great with casual banter and recommendations on the restaurant’s formidable list of selections. Nothing about this place screams “DC HOT SPOT” but rather, an upscale dining establishment that Cleveland Park just happened to be blessed with having in their ‘hood.

What is it about Italian restaurants that make them so plentiful throughout the District? Is it our region’s love for pastas, rich sauces, and abundant selections of wine? Or is it somehow a considered a comfort food among gastronom and omnomnomnivores alike?

Whatever the reasons, it’s refreshing to come to an Italian restaurant that simply, somehow, just does things better than the status quo.

Add in special considerations such as a $39 for three course special every night of the week, and that the restaurant has a number of gluten free options to choose from, I can’t see why I wouldn’t be returning.

Unless Jen suggests we take the dogsled again.

See Dino on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Pastafarians
• Frugalistas
• Paleoheads
• Dinner Date after the Zoo

Not Recommended For:

• Indecisivists
• Jersey Shore Casting Call
• Haters
• Gators
• AC Slaters