No big plans for Valentine’s Day? Plenty of restaurants are going all-out with prix-fixe menus, including Bourbon Steak, but you can still grab a seat in the lounge for the regular bar menu during lunch and dinner. We’re often tempted by the decadent burgers, but in the spirit of the holiday, the Wagyu flammkuchen should do the trick.
The thin, Alsatian-style flatbread isn’t for the faint of heart when it comes to offal. Chef John Critchley layers crème fraîche and melted Appalachian cheese with house-made beef-heart pastrami, smoked beef tongue, and shaved Wagyu rib eye. The smoky richness of the meats and earthy cheese is perked up with lightly pickled onions, making for an addictive snack. Barkeeps Jamie McBain and Duane Sylvestre like to pair it with their Operation Neptune cocktail, a mixture of Knob Creek rye, Calvados, smoked salt, and cinnamon syrup. Prepare to eat your heart out.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
