“Anything goes as long as it’s enjoyable,” says Rose’s Luxury chef-owner Aaron Silverman, standing in his kitchen on opening night.
This (non) guiding principle extends throughout the Capitol Hill restaurant, which
opened Wednesday and is named for Silverman’s grandmother. The 100-year-old building
on Barrack’s Row exudes the feel of an eclectic townhouse, with each dining space
possessing its own feel. The same menu is served throughout, but you might be seated
in the first-floor atrium amid potted plants and dangling string lights, perch on
white leather stools across from the open kitchen and its wood-burning stove, or gather
at the rooftop picnic table in warmer weather. Climb the narrow staircase and you’ll
find a living-room-esque bar on the second floor, set with a trim couch for drinks
before dinner. Despite spreading out over the entire structure, the rooms only seat
around 75 diners total.
The menu is just as diverse as the decor, and similarly concise in size. Silverman’s
résumé includes impressive stops at restaurants such as McCrady’s in Charleston and
New York’s Momofuku Noodle Bar and Insieme, and you can spot influences of all. Small
dishes dominate. You might start with Vietnamese pâté, chicken liver mousse crowned
with Asian herbs and a layer of fat skimmed from Silverman’s pork
pho (coming soon). A section of pastas such as spaghetti with a savory combination of
strawberry ragout and ricotta or classic
cacio e pepe speak to the chef’s Italian training, while smoked beef ribs with house-made peach
vinegar head back to South Carolina.
Family-style plates currently also draw from the South. Chicken is brined in bread-and-butter
pickle juice, fried, and served alongside “trimmins” like pot liquor lima beans with
confit leg meat, deviled eggs, hot sauce, and honey. Brisket gets a five-day cure
and low-temperature smoke before being piled alongside horseradish, slaw, and slices
of white Sunbeam bread for DIY sandwiches. (Beer sounds like a good accompaniment
for this, divided on the menu into three categories: “fancy,” “cheap,” and “Mexican.”)
The platters are meant for two, and you’ll find several more options across the menu
once the kitchen has settled in.
In addition to a slightly expanded menu, look for late-night service in the coming
weeks, with most of the dishes offered until 1 AM on weekend nights. Another upcoming
feature: the option to let the kitchen riff a little and cook an off-menu meal for
the table based on personal preferences. Courses could range from three to ten depending
on the guests’ mood, with a tentative price of $56 per diner.
“It all depends what you want,” says Silverman. “This isn’t a food business or a restaurant
business. It’s the making people happy business.”
Rose’s Luxury. 717 Eighth St., SE. Opening hours: Monday
through Thursday 5:30 to 10, Friday and Saturday 5:30 to 11. Closed Sunday. The bar
remains open until 1 AM on Friday and Saturday.
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.
