Saturday, September 1, 2007

New Spot in Dupont - Plum Blossom

Earlier this week my friend and I had finished up happy hour in Dupont and were headed out for dinner. We didn't want to do the wait at Lauriol Plaza and so were headed further up 18th Street. We noticed a new spot, Plum Blossom, which bills itself as a sushi restaurant, wine bar and cafe. There were only a few people at the small bar in rear of the small space when we walked in, and as it turns out it was the owner and the bar and wait staff. The venue is narrow with high ceilings and warm, taupe colored walls with few adornments. The light fixtures and furnishings are minimalist and sparse. They didn't seem to have done any marketing about the opening at the beginning of this week which seemed strange, but I imagine there are items in the works. We ordered a few glasses of Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa, as the wine list hasn't been put together and formalized as of yet. The menu is actually really nice - Asian-style appetizers and mains and a small sushi and sashimi selection as well. We decided to just snack and went for Tahini Chicken, which is shredded chicken seasoned with tahini, garlic and fresh herbs and served in lettuce cups. It was quite tasty and very rich as well. Other options that looked appealing include Vietnamese BBQ Beef, or seasoned, sliced sirloin with Fuji apple salad an orange-ginger dipping sauce; Calamari Ceviche, which is grilled calamari with red onions, sweet peppers and lemon basil vinaigrette served atop mixed greens; the Duet sushi roll which is sweet salmon, scallion threads, lemon mayo and cream cheese; Pomegranate Chicken, or Beijing style roasted chicken marinated in pomegranate juice, sake and honey and served with wasabi mashed potatoes and sesame spinach; and Miso Honey Lamb Chops which are marinated in miso, honey and fresh herbs and served with wasabi mashed potatoes, stir fried vegetables and sake butter sauce. I think Plum Blossom probably needs a little time to get folks properly trained and to figure out the wine list, but I think the potential for this place to be a great go-to spot when in the neighborhood is quite promising.

Plum Blossom
1915 18th Street in NW DC

7 comments:

I See DC said...

Sounds fairly decent.

I notice you have other DC Food websites listed on your Blogroll. I started one a few months ago that has also been featured on DC Blogs.. It's called I See DC.

http://iseedc.wordpress.com

Melissa McCart said...

Oh, thanks for this. Glad you liked it. I'd been waiting for it to open since the end of July. MelissaMcCart

Richele Cole said...

What's the price range?

Leah said...

The price range is actually fairly good for the appetizers/soups/salads and sushi. Mostly under $10. The entrees are around $15 to 20 and look to be fairly good sized...

Emily Scott and Lee Trumpore said...

Ordered scallop maki roll, California roll and ocean roll. SO good!!! I was pretty surprised after reading some less than favorable reviews. Ready right on time, fresh, clean, etc. The two gentlemen were very nice and eager to please.

ilana said...

I ate at plum blossom last night with a group of people and we all loved it. i thought the rolls were very creative and reasonably priced. we met the owner and he was really helpful and attentive. we also tried some of their desserts, including the ginger bananas and their ricotta flan, which was awesome! I would highly recommend this place

Kevin H. said...

Our new home on the web.
http://www.plumblossomdc.com