A little R & R..

Gosh, i can't shut up... perhaps installment reading might a little more palatable..

Last night (Monday) there were a couple of “R” events that merit recollection but in the interests of the reader’s most valuable time, I’ll only cover one of the R’s today..

And that would be “Richard”. As most local foodies know, Michel Richard is one of the Nation’s top chefs, along with his flagship (DC) restaurant Citronelle. I have yet to visit that venue, but last night we did sort of a spur of the moment visit to his newest “most playful creation” ,Central. Our reason for being in DC was the second “R” (keep ‘em guessing) which started at 6:45, so our friend suggested we try Central for a “pre” meal, at the unusual hour of 5:30 (the earliest they start serving). Central is located on Pennsylvania Avenue, a few blocks down from the White House, in sort of an unassuming storefront. The day was pleasant, the sun out, the trees were green, and the stately buildings in that area are somewhat reminiscent of Paris I thought. Several people were heading home from work, many suits and nicely dressed females a very pleasant scene. I also noted the prevalence I’ve seen before for men with “European Shoulder Bags” or what some might call “man purses”. Ahhh, the big city.

Before proceeding, we must again address that most important aspect of a dining experience, the “expectations”. In my mind, the name Michel Richard immediately raises them to pretty lofty levels. My expectations therefore were along the lines of excellent food, presentation, and service, however I was unsure about the effect of the “downscaled” venue from Citronelle.

Upon entering through the double heavy glass doors, you are confronted with a “stand” and a partition which separates the bar area from the dining spaces. The dining spaces are relatively small with only three rows of tables from left to right, one down the center, and the other two on the walls. The overall impression is “warmth”, with all the wood being (what’s the word?) blonde and no tablecloths. There are large textured ceiling fixtures for lighting, and which I think also help with noise reduction. On the bar side of the partition is the long bar and a few bar tables along the partition as well as a small seating area near the door. There were some odd glass flowery things at the back bar which I really didn’t add much other that curiosity. At the end of the bar is a large glass enclosed wine cellar with different colored lighting, and past that is a very large open kitchen. As an aside, the restrooms (worth a visit) are located down a little hall that separates that wine cellar from the kitchen, and there is a little window where you can stand and watch the kitchen and the dishes having final touches put on them before going out. I could stand there for quite a while..

Since we arrived a bit before service started we were forced to one of the little tables in the bar and made to order cocktails. Darn the luck. There was a little plastic card on the table with wines by the glass as well as cocktails. An extremely interesting selections of old as well as new world wines, many of which were unfamiliar to me. A server approached and asked if we would like a drink while waiting for our table. Duty required me to do the drink test as it was the first visit to this restaurant. I did, and he immediately said (reminiscent of Harry Browne’s) does that mean you want less than normal sweet vermouth or dry? MFO got her standard Bombay Gimlet, and our friend got an intriguing rose of Grenache - Syrah.

Very shortly the three drinks were delivered in very nice glassware, correctly fabricated, nicely sized and not skimped on the spirits. After a few sips we were notified that our table was ready and were led further and further to the back (thank you, thank you) to a nice table with a view of the kitchen. Glasses were immediately filled with water, and we were soon approached by a server in kaki pants a white shirt and black apron. He had a French accent, much later confirmed by his name on the check, Stephane. There were no stock speeches, and when we told him we needed to be out the door by 6:30 he said that would easily be possible (no “No Problem!!). His service to the table remained top notch, attentive without being assertive, friendly without trying to join the party, excellent. The menu was a folded piece of paper that you had to open and unfold till it was fairly large. Knowledgeable foodies will know that Michel Richard is noted for his “playfulness” with food, fashioning ingredients in unconventional ways, like creating a poached egg with caviar and some food foam. While the menu here is not quite that adventurous, there are entrees of skate, calves liver, fried chicken, three steaks (hangar, filet and strip), scallops, fish and chips, most anything. The most expensive entrée was the filet steak at 35 dollars, but most were mid twenties. Appetizers included frog legs, pork belly confit, gougeres, several salads, etc., most were about 12 bucks. There is also a “sandwich” section that includes lobster (29 bucks), chicken, and ahi tuna burgers.

Without too much time we settled on appetizers of the Gougeres, I opted for Shrimp Remoulade, and our friend a chopped green salad. Main courses were that chicken burger for MFO, our friend took the fish and chips, and I decided to try the lamb shank on creamy corn polenta. The server guaranteed I would like it (after I ordered it). A quick perusal of the generous wine list led to a Grgich Hills Chardonnay (hey it was before six!). Immediately after ordering the wine, some larger glasses were substituted for the stock ones on the table. Always a nice touch. The wine turned out to be a good selection, not too heavily oaked and lots of fruit. Some excellent bread was also brought.

Soon the appetizers arrived with the Gougeres in one of those little spiral vertical baskets which are sometimes used for fries, and a large bowl of greens for the salad. When I think of remoulade, I mostly think of a mustard based sauce. My Shrimp arrived on a bed of shredded lettuce, with stacked shrimp and a celery leaf top that reminded one of a palm tree. But the sauce was sort of a piquant almost salsa like quality, sharp and tangy, but not what was expected (uh oh). The shrimp were “pinky” sized at best and I really didn’t get much shrimp flavor from them. That dish turned out to be the most disappointing (to me), of the evening. The Gougeres were good, and judging by other tables, quite the popular choice.

Soon the other dishes arrived. The burger was just that a nicely formed patty half an inch thick on a nice roll (Seitsema: “a divine chicken burger perked up with lemon zest, and dressed the Richard way with a flat potato tuile for unexpected crunch beneath the air bun), the fish were somehow a bit cylindrical and served with non-Sysco fries, and my lamb shank a generous portion of lamb over that polenta and a very tasty sauce. We didn’t “table taste”, but everybody was satisfied. I never know what to expect with lamb, but this wasn’t sharp and had a nice flavor. And, a lot of it.

Time beginning to get short we resolved to return for dessert, and departed for the second “R” of the evening.

Such was my first experience with Michel Richard. I think my expectations might have been a bit too high, perhaps unjustifiably so. The service was excellent (did I mention that they served wine by the glass from the bottle?) throughout, and the food was very good, but not “over the top”. I of course would return in a heartbeat, and I will, but with a little more perspective eye. And I will go with slightly lowered expectations. Citronelle remains enticing..

And of course without saying

DFD