From August 2005

"We wanted to make it a place that appealed to the neighborhood," says Mark Medley, co-owner with chef Orlando Hitzig of the new restaurant Mark and Orlando's near DC's Dupont Circle. Medley knows the neighborhood--he was a waiter next door at Pesce, and when he heard the space was going to become available, he recruited old friend Hitzig, a veteran of the kitchens at Blue Point Grill and 701, to go into business with him. The partners did part of the remodeling: Medley refinished the floors while Hitzig did much of the electrical wiring.

The result is an appealing two-story space, simply but attractively decorated. The lower floor is Orlando's place, with a small bar, white tablecloths, and a glimpse of the kitchen in the back. Upstairs, in Mark's space, wall art gives way to a flat-screen television set, and the Modern American menu becomes more casual--sandwiches, salads, and appetizers. Any item from Orlando's menu is also available in Mark's space.

Orlando Hitzig's cooking is skillful and straightforward--good ingredients dressed up enough to show them off but not to obscure their flavors. Bread is served with a quartet of spreads--butter, bean dip, tomato butter, and a nut spread. Appetizers have included a very good tomatillo soup, the acidity of the fruit cut by a dollop of lime crème fraîche; a delicious plate of house-smoked fish with crème fraîche, capers, and yucca chips; and best of all, a light, crisp goat-cheese-grits cake on a bed of shaved fennel with a mildly spicy ancho-chili sauce.

Main courses have included a terrific pork chop, stuffed with apple, pancetta, and bleu cheese and served on a rosemary-flavored bed of spinach and pearl onions. Hitzig's coq au vin is a combination of traditional and modern, the dark meat stewed in red wine and the white meat carefully grilled for crisp skin and moist meat. Calf's liver is cooked to a requested medium-rare and served with fingerling potatoes and bacon. A New York strip is cooked to order and served with a ragoût of baby vegetables. Moist and flavorful crab cakes are complemented by a smooth avocado purée and the sweetness of baby beets.

On Mark's turf upstairs, there's a very good cheeseburger of house-ground beef accompanied by terrific French fries. There are also items from downstairs--a chicken sandwich, a cheese platter, a smoked-fish plate, and the grits cake--plus an odd selection of "grilled" Caesar salads, a treatment that doesn't do much for lettuce.

The main attraction at dessert time is Orlando's daily-changing selection of ice creams--on a recent visit lemon verbena, watermelon, and an unexpectedly delicious ancho chili. The flourless chocolate cake is very good, but an alternative is to order the plate of cheeses with nuts and dried fruit to enjoy while finishing one of the reasonably priced bottles of red wine from the list.

It's a lucky neighborhood that has a neighborhood restaurant of such quality.