Archive for January, 2009

I found Farrah Olivia by Morou by accident, really. I was in D.C., and I was at the Springfield Mall, looking for a place to eat dinner. That’s what happens when you get in your car after getting off the Metro. With nothing but fast food there at the mall, we sat in the car, shaking our iPhones silly.

Urbanspoon kept shuffling around like a slot machine, giving us restaurant recommendations. Nothing in Springfield, VA appeared very good. We began expanding our reach. One iPhone spit-out the name Farrah Olivia, and I said, “What is that?”

Soon enough, on a whim, we’d plugged the address (600 Franklin Street) into the GPS, and off we went, to Alexandria. It’s on the corner of Washington Street (Route 1), adjacent to a Balducci’s gourmet market.

So, they took walk-ins, which was great for a Saturday night. I didn’t know what I was expecting as it wasn’t I who read the description. It was a very nice dining room, small, but chic and there was an air of formality. It wasn’t a loud place; all the guests were keeping their conversations low. Windows looked out on busy Washington Street, which was kind of fun. Inside, quiet and serene, outside, cold and busy.

It turns out, chef Morou wasn’t new to me. No, he’d been a contestant in the “Next Iron Chef” show on TV Food Network. Wow. A visit to the restroom indicated this was one of Washington’s better restaurants. (It has been listed on their top 100 list; consequently, the list was on display in the bathroom, but I digress.) I didn’t need Food Network or Washingtonian Magazine to tell me this place was special.

The amuse was a fried lobster ravioli with fish roe on top. Scrumptious, and hot.

My appetizer of vanilla lobster was outstanding, covered in an aromatic foam. It was luxurious, and served over tapioca! Wow, there was a little caviar served on the side. Reminded me of Keller’s Oysters and Pearls.

My companion’s appetizer, a seafood chowder, was “outstanding,” he reported. Filled with lobster and smokey bacon, it had a “just right” consistency and was served in an innovative bowl.

The entrées were no less spectacular. I opted for the vegetarian morel gnudi, little soft packets of dough, this time served under parmesan/truffle oil foam. Around the gnudi were arugula and green and white asparagus. It was tasty.

My companion ordered Morou’s wild black cod with a lemongrass “perfume.” This was a very light curry sauce, and he continually reported that each bite was fantastic.

Service was great at Farrah Olivia, not too fussy, but professional and attentive. They offer wines by the glass, and at least one of my selections supremely enhanced my entrée.

They offer desserts, and we chose one dessert (the apple pizza) and a cheese (lionza, from Fiscalini). Both were appropriate sized and as with all the dishes, very innovatively plated. Each plate looked like mini works of art.

The owners describe the restaurant as a “boutique” setting, and I think the name fits. If you carry pretense on your shoulders, you’d be fine here, but if you don’t, you’re equally at home. So don’t let the label scare you away.

This place has legs, and we’d encourage you to visit yourself at the next opportunity when you find yourself near Alexandria, VA. We loved this unexpected find, from the hot and tasty amuse bouche to the silky, delicious French press-served coffee.

Warmly recommended.

Ever since coming to Richmond, I’ve read and heard about Lemaire. People I know who have gone always had the best things to say. I made a deal never to go there, until I was ready to leave Richmond. It would be some kind of ceremonial last meal, “Richmond’s best,” before I left the city.

Well, it turns out, Lemaire is leaving before I will. Today, supposedly on January 1, 2009, Lemaire is no more. So I’m not sure how relevant a review is. But review it, I will.

The Jefferson Hotel has been running a marketing campaign to get folks in the door, to say “goodbye” to Lemaire. So, I bit. I figured that the hotel would be sending diners out on a positive note before they retooled the space and concept with something new.

Instead, Lemaire went out with mere whimpers. Let me explain. You can analyze the dining experience along several different avenues: the dining room, the other guests, the service, the food, etc. So many times it’s the combination of all of these things that make the total experience what it is, good or bad. So many folks only focus on the food.

Lemaire this past week made good food. No doubts there.

But the service this time kind of ruined it. Specifically, one aspect of the service. Speed.

I was hardly seated a minute before they took my order. Whoa, that’s fast. Then before I could sip the water, the first course was down on the table. Whoa, really fast.

The whole (quick) night was like this: before you’d wiped your mouth on the napkin from one course on their tasting menu, the next arrived. I literally had to chug each glass of wine before a new one came out.

i don’t like speed eating at restaurants like Lemaire. In fact, I don’t wine chugging and speed eating at any restaurant.

When I got up to use the restroom before dessert (mind you, I got up right as the plates were taken away), the coffee was already turning cold and the dessert was waiting when I returned. I got the sense by this point, “They want us out, and out now.” Before I had finished the said coffee, the bill was dropped on the table “when you’re ready!”

The first course of a Virginia cheese was the weakest. It was impeccably light (read: small), and while it tasted okay, it didn’t feel substantial enough to make a “course” in a six-course menu. Granted, I’d find they were playing with numbers. One of the six courses was a sorbet. That’s cheating.

While I was scraping my plate on course one, other diners were enjoying an amuse bouche from the kitchen. What’s wrong? I don’t rate?

The creamy oyster soup was divine. It was scented with applewood smoked bacon. This is the only dish where anyone said anything about what was on the plate. All the other courses were simply plopped down on the table. Typically, in tasting menus, the waiters will explain in detail about what you’re about to enjoy. It’s a little theater.

The scallop with a vanilla-laced sauce was also excellent. Scrumptious, you might say. Now, the plates were substantial enough to warrant real courses. But damn, they were coming out at record speeds. Folks, slow down. I almost said something, but as soon as the plates came out, the staff disappeared.

The sorbet was sorbet. Not fresh however, it was so solidly frozen that I imagine it was made long ago.

The entrée which came with an incredible “complimentary sweet corn spoonbread” was nice, yet not incredibly adventurous for a tasting menu item. Oh well, it was tasty: beef with veal sweetbreads. The wine-based sauce was scrumptious and went well with their pairing of a very fruit-forward, aromatic Merlot from Napa Valley, CA.

The decor at Lemaire was ultimately a little disappointing; it was classy, but a little dark, and a little less extravagant than I would have imagined. Fresh flowers would have perked the place up. I know they advertise live music on the weekends, but for their going-out party, why not bring someone in and spruce it up?

Whimpers. Hurried service, even a tad impersonal. Okay, more than a tad. At least the food had integrity. The dessert was nice, and came alongside a most delicious “tawny” port from Australia. I had drunk so much wine so fast… I couldn’t hardly make it out of the place. That was inexcusable.

My hope is that whatever Lemaire becomes in the coming months turns out to have at least equally good food. But even more, I hope they can work on the essence of their service. Having eaten at their sister property in Kiawah Island, I’ll say, service was far more personable and I never felt rushed.

Maybe they just can’t wait to turn the curtains and update the flavors?

My mother got me one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks for Christmas, Back to Basics. It’s my first from one of my favorite TV personalities for food.

We started with her roasted tomato caprese salad, here with mozarella, basil EVOO, and of course, the garlic-roasted tomatoes. I guided the lilly, so to speak, with a little prosciutto. Salt, and pepper.

The tomatoes take 4.5 hours in a low oven. But if you’ve got them “done” i the fridge, this is a real quick one to put together.

I added quick garlic sautéed baby spinach to her recipe for prosciutto-wrapped bass. I used sea bass, and the “side” is this delicious, sweet mixture of turnip, yukon gold potatoes, and carrots. She calls for butternut squash, but they were out today. You roast these for a spell, then add garlic. Really great.

The whole thing gets bathed in a warm butter-lemon sauce that’s been steeped in herbs.

For dessert, her signature dish from the book: French Apple Tart. This is simple, yet elegant and tasty. We rolled out freshly made pastry, so flaky after it was baked, and top the pastry with apples. After some additional fussing, it goes in the oven for about an hour.

Here it is, after being “glazed” with a rum-apricot mixture. You let it set for 30-75 minutes, then dig in. I’ll be making this one again, for sure.

It went great with some asti to ring-in the new year.