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Summer Restaurant Week: What’s on the Menu

By Ann Limpert , Erin Delmore , Rudi Greenberg , Abby Holekamp , Jason Koebler , Lauren LaBorde , MJ Lee , Sarah Zlotnick Published Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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The ever-popular Summer Restaurant Week runs from August 24 through August 30. Three-course lunches are still $20.09, but dinners have jumped to $35.09, which isn’t exactly a bargain-basement price, especially if there are lots of surcharges (we’re looking at you Bistro Bis). So, to help you choose your meals carefully, we’ve got menus from many participants, with more added daily. Our advice: Look for a generous and varied selection of dishes, and pick a place you wouldn’t otherwise splurge on.

*Updated Tuesday, August 25 at 11:12 AM.

• Acadiana
“Big” and “rich” are the buzzwords at this Louisiana-inspired dining room, where eating lightly can mean a BLT salad. The restaurant lets you choose any entrée off the regular menu, with upcharges for crabcakes and a New York strip steak.

Lunch and dinner appetizers: Turtle soup; smoked-chicken-and-andouille-sausage gumbo; roasted-corn-and-crab soup; trio of deviled eggs; mixed-greens salad; BLT salad.

Lunch and dinner desserts: Warm raisin bread pudding with butterscotch and vanilla ice cream; toasted-almond crème brûlée with cane syrup and almond shortcake; chocolate-raspberry cake with raspberry caramel and vanilla ice cream.

• Adour
Alain Ducasse’s elegant and expensive bistro in the St. Regis Hotel is offering a special dinner menu.

Dinner appetizers: Tomato-and-watermelon gazpacho with basil and fresh almond (add $12 for lobster); dorade ceviche with corn emulsion, lime, and ginger; mixed-greens salad with summer-vegetable crudité and black-olive dressing (add $9 for tuna confit).

Dinner entrées: Pasta with summer greens, ricotta, and pesto; roast lamb chop and vegetable-wrapped tenderloin with pommes boulangeres and sautéed spinach; salmon medallion with bell-pepper “piperade” and espellette jus.

Dinner desserts: Strawberry-and-vanilla vacherin with chantilly cream and meringue; apricot sachertorte with marmalade and bittersweet chocolate.

• Art and Soul
Chicago chef Art Smith, who used to cook for Oprah, oversees this Capitol Hill hotel dining room. He’s offering Southern-accented fare of his regular menu for both lunch and dinner, and extending Restaurant Week through September 6.

Lunch and dinner appetizers: Capitol Hill salad with apples, blue cheese, pecans, and apple-cider vinaigrette; arugula salad with blackberry/ale vinaigrette, watermelon pickles, and goat cheese; Caesar salad with white anchovies; gazpacho with shrimp and avocado crème fraîche; soup of the day; grilled shrimp with succotash.

Lunch entrées: Fried chicken with country potato salad; blackened catfish with crawfish etouffe and pickled yellow beans; ravioli with herbs and spring vegetables; salmon with pea risotto, golden-beet relish, and preserved-lemon vinaigrette.

Dinner entrées: Fried chicken with country potato salad; ravioli with herbs and spring vegetables; salmon with pea risotto, golden-beet relish, and preserved-lemon vinaigrette; pork chop with charred-stone-fruit relish and sweet-onion broth; crispy whole trout with spring-bean salad and rhubarb vinaigrette.

Lunch and dinner desserts: Lemon pudding cake with mixed-berry compote; peach/pecan crumble with bourbon-caramel and vanilla ice cream; chocolate cheesecake with chocolate sauce.

• Bastille
This Alexandria restaurant offers a dinner menu of French cuisine crossed with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors. A $9 cheese course is optional. It is $5 if substituted for the dessert course.

Dinner appetizers: Soup of the day; Caesar salad with Parmesan panna cotta and white anchovies; calamari-and-rock-shrimp beignets with sheep’s-milk yogurt and harissa; heirloom tomato salad with Burrata, basil, and oregano vinaigrette; goat-cheese cromesqui with baby arugula, berries, and dijon/citrus vinaigrette.

Dinner entrées: Grilled Mediterranean sea bass with cherry tomatoes and fennel-and-orange ragout; pan-seared sea scallops with fennel pesto and cumin-and-eggplant caponata; grilled lamb chops with merguez sausage, harissa/ras el hanout oil, couscous with raisins and chickpeas, and summer vegetables; Moroccan-style chicken tagine with seasonal vegetables, dried fruits, harissa, pearl couscous, and garbanzo beans; marinated hanger steak with Cabernet/shallot sauce and French fries; roasted-corn risotto.

Dinner desserts: Valrhona-chocolate truffle cake with Kirsch and cherries; crème brûlée; vanilla chiffon cake with peaches and cream; ginger crème caramel with blueberries.

• Bistro Bis
The menu at Jeff Buben’s French power-dining room on Capitol Hill is just as wide-ranging as the one at sibling Vidalia, but the nearly identical lunch and dinner menus are full of upcharges. It’s also doing a $20.09 three-course weekend brunch.

Lunch appetizers: Country-style pork pâté with pistachios, mesclun salad, toasted baguette, and mustard sauce; roasted heirloom-beet salad with goat cheese, walnuts, orange, and citrus-infused olive oil ($3 surcharge); mussels steamed with heirloom peppers, linguiça sausage and oregano/tomato broth ($3 surcharge); steak tartare with capers, onions, spicy aïoli, cornichons, and garlic potato chips ($3 surcharge); field-greens salad with market vegetables, radishes, shaved beets, egg, and lemon/tarragon vinaigrette (add $2 for warm goat cheese); endive salad with caramelized pears, peppered walnuts, bleu cheese, and red-wine/walnut vinaigrette; scallop mousse with salmon, shrimp, cucumber/dill salad, and sauce vert; frisée salad with bacon, poached egg, and sherry vinaigrette; onion soup with sourdough croutons and Gruyère; vichyssoise with bacon, chives, and brioche croutons.

Comments

Bistro Bis for dinner was ALMOST great! The ripped booth seat and very bright lighting led to less than perfect atmosphere. Why even have candles on the table when the place is so bright you can’t tell if they are lit? Service was outstanding. Portions were large. Apps = Pork Pate and Mussels. Entrees = Pork Belly and Trout. The pork belly was amazing, but the trout was a bit bland. I think they scrimped a bit on the brown butter, and I found myself wanting for acid. I would come here again if it was a more intimate setting.

Posted by: Tyler S., Aug 30, 2009 08:42:47 AM

The West End Bistro: I received a bowl full of romaine lettuce and 3 chives. That is it. The entree was either a salty fish burger or a potato and prociutto gnocchi (probably equally salty). Dessert was redeeming with a lemon bignette, but honestly, who can’t make a lemon filled donut?

Posted by: Monica, Aug 26, 2009 11:17:31 AM

I have been doing Restaurant Week since the 90s when I lived in NYC. I developed a certain "game plan" there which I’ve applied to DC’s version.

I always make a repeat visit to a place that I have liked - and I always add one new place.

A couple of years ago, I added i Ricchi as the "new" place - since it’s down the street from work. At lunchtime, it was overcrowded, they had run out of many items, and it was neither a great "savings" (one of my rules of thumb) nor great food. I would never go there again, Anna, and sorry you didn’t know either.

As for the Oval Room, it’s very near work and I usually include it as one of my "revisits" - but only at lunchtime. In years past, it has been great - but last year we had an incredibly long waiting period - bummer for my work group.

As far as The Oval Room not being crowded for dinner, I am not surprised - simply as this neighborhood (Golden Triangle) rolls up the sidewalks at 4-5pm - despite the fact that we have many good restaurants. They are hopping at lunch - but dinner always less so.

So - rules of thumb - pick a place normally so expensive that you couldn’t do it EXCEPT for restaurant week. If the price on the "special" is not so different than the regular menu price - you can go any day of the week and avoid RW crowds - and that’s true no matter how good the restaurant is.

In this "price break" category - I’d include Indebleu (in its current incarnation) and The Bombay Club at lunch. Good - but you can go there any day for not such a different price.

Similarly, if it’s normally very expensive - and turns out to be good - it’ll only be on RW one or maybe two times - and quickly be priced out of your range entirely - and booked up for 6 months in advance - so try it as a "new one" while you can.

That was true the first year I lived here (Citronelle) and may prove true for Adour, which is on my "new" list this summer.

A good "repeat" place - which was The Oval Room for me - is one where the staff remember you even though you only come in on RW, don’t "penalize" you because they realize you are not on expense account and can’t come there every day of the week, and yet give you the same size portions as a normal meal.

The Oval Room at lunch has always been same sized portions. Equinox - practically next door to The Oval room - at dinner - small portions. Wouldn’t repeat.

In NYC Daniel Boulud at lunch - portions so tiny my entire department had to go back to the office and order in pizza. That kind of "rap" on RW is bad press in NYC.

A big success, in comparison, Danny Meyer - and 11 Madison Park - now elevated to 4 stars. Glad I was there at the beginning some 10 years ago. And I have Restaurant Week to thank for it, and Aureole - which I regularly see featured in films and on TV.

Posted by: Jean, Aug 19, 2009 12:36:49 PM

I RICCHI WAS TERRIBLE.. they ran out of bread, the food was so so, the service was terrible and acted offended when we didn’t order their upcharge items. Don’t waste your restaurant week reservatrions on I Ricchi!!!

Posted by: Anna, Aug 19, 2009 08:05:32 AM

Ate at the Oval Room last restaurant week. It was hands down the absolute worst restaurant week meal we’ve ever had! Clearly others knew to avoid it as we were one of 7 full tables on a Friday night. Bite site starts, entrees, and desserts don’t exactly lend themselves to the three-dish only concept.

We felt like going a few blocks to BLT to fill up after our meal. Avoid!

Posted by: Steph, Aug 16, 2009 10:50:53 AM

• The Oval Room
Tony Conte conjures up brightly flavored dishes at this restaurant near the White House.

Lunch and dinner appetizers: Chilled corn soup with lemongrass and pickled chilies; Peekytoe crabcake with watermelon, lime, and sweet paprika; seared scallops with coffee pearl pasta and pea salad; duck-leg confit with grilled peaches, frisee, and soft egg; roasted chioggia beets with goat-cheese mousse and toasted pistachios.

Lunch and dinner entrées: Handcut pasta with basil pesto, Parmesan, and organic oil; roasted ribeye with Chinese eggplant, miso, and escarole; halibut with pickled cucumbers, red onion, and heirloom tomatoes; striped bass with stewed peppers, clams, and smoked bacon; crispy chicken with grilled squash and hazelnut/zucchini salad.

Lunch and dinner desserts: Berries with pink-peppercorn short dough and Thai-basil ice cream; vanilla cheesecake with graham-cracker streusel and cherry compote; chocolate custard with pistachio ice cream and espresso cream; lemon poundcake with yuzu curd and honey/ginger ice cream.

Posted by: Mathis, Aug 16, 2009 10:01:58 AM

what about the oval room?

Posted by: r, Aug 12, 2009 09:50:01 AM

Summer Restaurant Week: What’s on the Menu

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