Chris and I travelled to D.C. in January (no, not for work! Isn't that exciting???). Chris thought he read that the week we were there was Restaurant Week, but it turned out to be during the previous week (which was our original travel plan). The concierge at the Washington Hilton advised us that Urbana was not only a very good restaurant, but also had extended their Restaurant Week and that we should check it out.
A new restaurant for us AND a great deal? Chris was all over that.
P Street is easy walking distance from the hotel and the large, bright sign facing oncoming pedestrians made them simple to find. Their Restaurant Week offerings were not advertised outside their doors, but the very friendly maitre d' confirmed that our information was correct and exuberantly explained how their RW menu worked which was, he was proud to share, that they offer their FULL menu during RW, not just select items. We were able to pick any Starter and Entree from their regular menu and then from a choice of 3 desserts all for $35.12 each. A few items (I believe it was 2 Starters and 2 Entrees) incurred an "upcharge" of $4 to cover costs but other than that, it was go-time.
As a small eater, I was excited to see a "Small Bites" selection, as part of "Starters". All items are under $10 and luscious-sounding, so size really does not matter. They offer bites like "beer" nuts: candied peanuts with sour cream and onion spice; arancini: fried wild mushroom risotto with raclette fondue; dates with bleu cheese and serrano ham; calamari with spicy tomato sauce; beef tongue grilled with charred cauliflower and lemon maynnaise. I chose the arancini and Chris got the foie brat: housemade foie gras sausage with soubise onion, cider, and herbs. They were served in twos: 2 brats in a white, miniature casserole-type dish and 2 round arancini in a deep white bowl, floating happily on the raclette fondue. Each was the perfect amount for one or two people and each was delicious in its own way. The apple cider was a noticeable, delicious flavor with the sausage. The fondue was worthy of cleaning the bowl with a finger, or the tongue if that were socially acceptable. We decided to use spoons and fresh, crusty bread instead. After all, it is a classy place.
For Entrees, I chose the cacciuco which is a stew of bass, calamari, mussels, shimp and clams with roasted pepper rouille and tomato shellfish broth. I don't think I can say anything else about it to make it more delicious. I will tell you this though, I was so taken with the aroma, I held it across the table for Chris to smell. Fragrant, rich, delicious. Chris chose the venison, which came highly recommended by both the maitre d' and our server. The venison is coated in espresso beans and is surrounded by a moat of Japanese sweet potato puree and braised greens. I haven't had venison since I was a child and my grandfather tried to convince me that this odd-smelling meat was actually steak. There is no way you could ever confuse the two and I found it so unappealing I haven't had it since. I tried this venison because, well, Chris insisted and we always share. Plus, it looked so rare and tender it actually looked GOOD to me. And it was. I'm not sure I could eat the whole entree, but the piece I had literally melted in my mouth. It really was very well prepared and the puree made it even better. There was another item on the plate that neither Chris nor I could identify, and we couldn't remember what the menu said. They were over an inch long and resembled worms, but were firm to the touch and crunchy when bitten. The taste was familiar, like Chinese food. We finally asked our friend the maitre d' who explained that not only was that one of the top three questions he is asked every night, but they are called "crosnes" (pronounced: crones) and are part of the mint family. They are pickled which is likely what made me think of Chinese spices (sweet and sour). In looking them up to write this, I see that they are also called "Chinese artichoke" where it grows wild in Northern China. Clearly, I have a knack for this.
To end this cavalcade of deliciousness, we chose the pots du creme and the caramel apple. The former is a thick mousse of dark chocolate creme with hazelnut anglaise and almond biscotti. Yummmmmm. Caramel Apple is just that with spiced sugar cookie, peanut crumble and dulce de leche. It was light and tasty but it was no pots du creme.
I should have mentioned the bread at the beginning, since that is when we ate it. Perhaps I was subconsciously leaving best for last. Eat the bread. Ask for more. We requested to take home our partial loaf because it was so good and our server not only bagged up our loaf but gave us an additional full loaf to take in a reusable Urbana tote bag. Bonus!
www.urbanadc.com
A new restaurant for us AND a great deal? Chris was all over that.
P Street is easy walking distance from the hotel and the large, bright sign facing oncoming pedestrians made them simple to find. Their Restaurant Week offerings were not advertised outside their doors, but the very friendly maitre d' confirmed that our information was correct and exuberantly explained how their RW menu worked which was, he was proud to share, that they offer their FULL menu during RW, not just select items. We were able to pick any Starter and Entree from their regular menu and then from a choice of 3 desserts all for $35.12 each. A few items (I believe it was 2 Starters and 2 Entrees) incurred an "upcharge" of $4 to cover costs but other than that, it was go-time.
As a small eater, I was excited to see a "Small Bites" selection, as part of "Starters". All items are under $10 and luscious-sounding, so size really does not matter. They offer bites like "beer" nuts: candied peanuts with sour cream and onion spice; arancini: fried wild mushroom risotto with raclette fondue; dates with bleu cheese and serrano ham; calamari with spicy tomato sauce; beef tongue grilled with charred cauliflower and lemon maynnaise. I chose the arancini and Chris got the foie brat: housemade foie gras sausage with soubise onion, cider, and herbs. They were served in twos: 2 brats in a white, miniature casserole-type dish and 2 round arancini in a deep white bowl, floating happily on the raclette fondue. Each was the perfect amount for one or two people and each was delicious in its own way. The apple cider was a noticeable, delicious flavor with the sausage. The fondue was worthy of cleaning the bowl with a finger, or the tongue if that were socially acceptable. We decided to use spoons and fresh, crusty bread instead. After all, it is a classy place.
For Entrees, I chose the cacciuco which is a stew of bass, calamari, mussels, shimp and clams with roasted pepper rouille and tomato shellfish broth. I don't think I can say anything else about it to make it more delicious. I will tell you this though, I was so taken with the aroma, I held it across the table for Chris to smell. Fragrant, rich, delicious. Chris chose the venison, which came highly recommended by both the maitre d' and our server. The venison is coated in espresso beans and is surrounded by a moat of Japanese sweet potato puree and braised greens. I haven't had venison since I was a child and my grandfather tried to convince me that this odd-smelling meat was actually steak. There is no way you could ever confuse the two and I found it so unappealing I haven't had it since. I tried this venison because, well, Chris insisted and we always share. Plus, it looked so rare and tender it actually looked GOOD to me. And it was. I'm not sure I could eat the whole entree, but the piece I had literally melted in my mouth. It really was very well prepared and the puree made it even better. There was another item on the plate that neither Chris nor I could identify, and we couldn't remember what the menu said. They were over an inch long and resembled worms, but were firm to the touch and crunchy when bitten. The taste was familiar, like Chinese food. We finally asked our friend the maitre d' who explained that not only was that one of the top three questions he is asked every night, but they are called "crosnes" (pronounced: crones) and are part of the mint family. They are pickled which is likely what made me think of Chinese spices (sweet and sour). In looking them up to write this, I see that they are also called "Chinese artichoke" where it grows wild in Northern China. Clearly, I have a knack for this.
To end this cavalcade of deliciousness, we chose the pots du creme and the caramel apple. The former is a thick mousse of dark chocolate creme with hazelnut anglaise and almond biscotti. Yummmmmm. Caramel Apple is just that with spiced sugar cookie, peanut crumble and dulce de leche. It was light and tasty but it was no pots du creme.
I should have mentioned the bread at the beginning, since that is when we ate it. Perhaps I was subconsciously leaving best for last. Eat the bread. Ask for more. We requested to take home our partial loaf because it was so good and our server not only bagged up our loaf but gave us an additional full loaf to take in a reusable Urbana tote bag. Bonus!
www.urbanadc.com
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