Cuisine: Chef Barry Koslow’s terrines and pâtés stand out on a contemporary farm-to-table menu that has moments both robust (cavatelli with veal sausage) and refined (crisp fried oysters with puréed celery root).
Mood: The dining room, with its orange-red walls and Mission-style wood furniture, lacks the character of the restaurant’s popular gastropub, EatBar, but the curvy corner booths give you a wide-angle view on the whole room and subdued lighting makes it feel more intimate.
Best for: Those who believe that good wine is essential to a good meal; besides three- and six-ounce pours, you can order ten-ounce beakers and half and full bottles.
Best dishes: Terrines, including the rosy rabbit and silky chicken liver in ceramic pots; fried oysters with celery-root purée and apple “risotto”; marvelous spaghetti squash served casserole style; farmers-market lettuces with breakfast radishes and Champagne vinaigrette; roasted gnocchi with braised wild boar, Niçoise olives, and rapini; cavatelli with lemon, chili flakes, and veal sausage; toffee brownie with pistachio ice cream.
Insider tips: Saturday brunch means old-time cartoons such as Foghorn Leghorn and Pepe Le Pew on the big screen in EatBar; on Sunday, look for family movie screenings.
Service: ••
Open Monday through Friday for dinner, Saturday and Sunday for brunch and dinner. Expensive.
See all of 2010's 100 Best Restaurants
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 Petworth.
