Sections
  • Home & Style
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Events Calendar
  • Food
  • Health
  • News & Politics
  • Longreads
  • Our Events
  • Parenting
  • Real Estate
  • Shopping
  • Things to Do
  • Travel
  • Weddings
Reader Favorites
  • 100 Best Restaurants
  • Takeout Guide
  • Quiz
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
Washington’s Best
  • Apartment Rentals
  • DC Travel Guide
  • Dentists
  • Doctors
  • Financial Advisers
  • Health Experts
  • Home Improvement Experts
  • Industry Leaders
  • Lawyers
  • Mortgage Professionals
  • Pet Care
  • Private Schools
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Restaurants
  • Retirement Communities
  • Wedding Vendors
More
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
© 2021 Washingtonian Media Inc.
Privacy Policy
All Rights Reserved
 Rss
Skip to content
Washingtonian.com
  • Search
  • Subscribe
  • Menu
  • News & Politics
  • Things to Do
  • Food
  • Health
  • Shopping
  • Home & Style
  • Real Estate
  • Weddings
  • Travel

  • 100 Best Restaurants
  • Takeout Guide
  • Quiz
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Trending Now in Food
  • Fire
  • Winter
  • DC Restaurants
  • Daoud Harris
  • Chefs
Food

Steal This Mosaic

Written by Todd Kliman
, Ann Limpert
and Cynthia Hacinli
| Published on October 30, 2008
Tweet Share
Michel Richard’s eel-and-hamachi mosaic debuted at Citronelle several years ago.
Photograph by Renee Comet.

Chefs often poach, and we’re not talking eggs. The latest in menu thievery: the word “mosaic.” This vague dish descriptor has been turning up on menus around town, including those at the Oval Room, Vidalia, and Rustico. It derives from a plate Michel Richard made famous at Citronelle, an arrangement of thin slices of hamachi, eel, tuna, and salmon that, in its intricacy and interplay of color, resembled stained glass. Since then the word has emerged as a highfalutin term for a complex arrangement of ingredients. There’s no copyrighting of dishes, and chefs have long insisted that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

This appeared in the November, 2008 issue of The Washingtonian. 

More>> Best Bites Blog | Food & Dining | Restaurant Finder

Get Our “Brunches This Weekend” Newsletter

The best breakfasts and brunches to try every weekend, plus our most popular food stories of the week.

Or, see all of our newsletters. By signing up, you agree to our terms.
More: Best BitesFood TrendsFrom the Magazine
Join the conversation!
Share Tweet
Todd Kliman
Todd Kliman
Ann Limpert
Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Logan Circle.

Cynthia Hacinli
Cynthia Hacinli

Most Popular in Food

1

The Most Charming Outdoor Bar and Restaurant Setups Around DC This Winter

2

DC-Area Restaurants Extend Outdoor Dining Season This Winter with Igloos, Lodges, and Yurts

3

Yep, Donald Trump Only Visited One DC Restaurant in Four Years

4

Tasting Room Georgetown Opens With Prix-Fixe Menu and All You Can Eat Taco Nights

5
Photograph by Jeff Elkins.

61 Neighborhood Restaurants That Make the DC Area a Better Place to Eat—and Live

Washingtonian Magazine

February 2021: Great Neighborhood Restaurants

February 2021: Great Neighborhood Restaurants

View Issue
Subscribe

Get Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Get Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Related

The 7 Most Notable Homes in the Washington Area This Month—and Who Bought and Sold Them

February 2021: Great Neighborhood Restaurants

January 2021: Joe Town!

The 7 Most Notable Homes Sold This Month in the Washington Area—and Who Bought Them

More from Food

Tasting Room Georgetown Opens With Prix-Fixe Menu and All You Can Eat Taco Nights

Pair pizza with beer at Pizzeria Paradiso's winterfest. Photograph by Juliana Molina, courtesy of Paradiso

5 Fun Food Events Around DC This Weekend

A New Dining App Aims to Support BIPOC Chefs in the Pandemic

This Friday: Chat With Food Critic Ann Limpert

8 National Margarita Day Specials Around DC—to Stay or Go

Denizens Brewing Co-Founder Is Joining the Biden Administration

Birria Ramen, Spicy Pozole, and More Super Comforting Soups to Get You Through Winter

Della Barba Launches a Pizza “Tasting Menu” With New York, Chicago, and Detroit Pies

© 2021 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Washingtonian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Privacy Policy and Opt-Out
 Rss
Get the best news, delivered weekly.
By signing up, you agree to our terms.
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs