Napoleon and Cashion's
I met a friend for a fun evening out in Adams Morgan this past Thursday. He was quite accomodating and agreed to go to Cashion's for dinner, even though he has been many times. We were considering several other options as well, all of which I have already been to, and I have been wanting to check out Cashion's for a while now, so we decided on that. He lives in the neighborhood, and hadn't been to Napoleon yet, and so that we could both check out a new spot we met for some vino at Napoleon. We got a couple of cozy seats at the bar and settled into the delightful spot. From 4 to 7pm on weekdays, the wines by the glass and champagne cocktails are $2 off. I had a glass of Joseph Drouhin La Foret 2004 Pinot Noir, which was a typical and lovely French Pinot - well-balanced, and slightly tannic and fruity. He ordered a Chateau Haut-Surget Lalande de Pomerol 2003 Merlot, which he said was great but definitely probably a bit young to be enjoying now. I got the young part - the nose was quite alcoholic - but apparently 2003 is a great vintage, and I was happy to sample. We also tried the Maison Nicolas Reserve 2004 Syrah, which was actually delicious and much lighter than the Merlot. Fragrant aromas of the crepes, mussels, steak frites and other tasty Belgian fare on offering at Napoleon were enjoyable, but I was glad when it was time to head a few doors down to Cashion's. We ot a great window table, and ordered a Monthelie Cuvee Paul 2004 Pinot Noir, which wow, we both really loved. It was fruity and luscious and yummy. We shared PEI mussels with white wine, garlic, tomato and chili flake, and a Tritip appetizer with spiced couscous. I loved the mussels, but the Tritip was a bit tough and the portion was quite small. If you haven't had Tritip by the way, it usually is an absolutely tasty and tender cut of beef. I thought it was mainly a West Coast thing, but I increasingly have seen it locally. We shared Sunnyside Farms Aromatic Brined Chicken, which was served with a dollop of mashed sweet potatoes and chard sauteed with pearl onions and a honey-rosemary glaze. Good roast chicken is always amazing, and this was great. Juicy, flavorful, aromatic and just good homestyle food. We finished up with the cheese plate, which came with several soft and creamy offerings as well as a slice that looked and tasted like Manchego but was even creamier, and all in all the selection was lovely, and I think we both had a nice and certainly gastronomous evening.
2 comments:
That roasted chicken is, regularly, the best roasted chicken on the East Coast. That woman can flat roast a chicken. It's just awesome every single time.
Conventional wisdom states that good things should be scarce. The same could be said about the brunch menu at Cashion's. The offerings are solid - I had a perfectly done open-faced spinach and gruyere omelette with fresh tomato on top - but the menu is tiny, averaging one option per brunch hankering. We were a group of six and they very graciously took our reservation on Friday for that Sunday (I had been shunned earlier by Tabard Inn and couldn't get a table after 1 in Peacock Cafe). Though our waitress tried her very best to keep us content with bed and ever-flowing coffee, the food appeared much to slowly, considering the place wasn't packed. The atmosphere is super relaxed - we practically closed the place down, and the staff couldn't have been nicer. If you want to experience the Cashion's touch at more accesible prices and aren't a very adventorous eater, this is a good pick.
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