Restaurants For All My Men!

Lots of places to discuss because Bub was here this weekend (and now officially lives on the East Coast!) and so of course there was a copious amount of restaurant-visiting and food-tasting and wine-guzzling. I'll break up the posts so the continuous text doesn't hurt my eyes...

Saturday night: Bub's friend and girlfriend were in town, so it was off to Central. Being the Sietsema devotee I am, I was prepared to enjoy, and it was a pretty wonderful meal. It's a very warm (as in, atmosphere) space, all pale wood and open, and pretty loud and friendly. Loud tends not to bother me, nor does close seating. Our waiter sounded like Officer Barbrady, but was knowledgeable and helpful about which dishes had wheat in them and how they could re-work certain dishes. I started with the prosciutto, which came on a wooden board and was just the right thickness...but I digress to the short rib. I don't think I've spent that much space on this blog describing my love of a short rib, but I should. These are fantastic. It comes in slices, which means you don't get the slightly Viking/Genghis Khan sensation of pulling meat off the bone that you do at Creme, but who cares.

And the mashed potatoes. I am a connoisseur of mashed potatoes. These are the best in the city.

We didn't have dessert, unfortunately, because I read it's great - but we were stuffed. The only thing I can say about the place that's less than high praise is that it's still too formal - it's not a bistro, by any means, it's still a bustling, professional American restaurant. Which is fine, because it's clean and pretty and the kitchen is open and the prices are great. But if he was going for a neighborhood favorite or the lounging spot of the next Hemingway (who I seriously doubt is living in DC - what would he be doing, working for OPM?), it's a little off the mark.