Goodness Gracious

I love fine dining and holes in the wall in almost equal measure. Born and raised in cattle country, I often crave hamburgers: Central and Matchbox are among my favorites in DC, Five Guys is great for a quick fix (the fries, however, are overrated) and alas, I have yet to try Ray's Hell burger in Arlington (I keep meaning to go, B. has yet to take me). Good Stuff Eatery probably owed it's initial buzz to Top Chef Fetishists (a chance to try a contestant's food!) but after a year, it's still going strong in a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue that's packed with restaurants.

The shakes are sufficiently thick, the fries crunchy and seasoned and the atmosphere jovial and quick without feeling rushed. The burger I keep going back to is the Prez Obama: applewood bacon, red onion marmalade, horseradish mayo, and roquefort cheese. The overtone is distinctly horseradish, paired with the smoke notes of all the other ingredients. The burger is warm enough to have the cheese be somewhat melted. With such a play of strong favors, I've never felt like I had to add condiments (though there's a mayo bar for the fries). The burger fits comfortably in my rather small hands - it leaves you full, but not overwhelmed.

The salad options look interesting, but the line at Good Stuff is where all diet resolutions should go to die. Walk it off with a power walk around Capitol Hill if you must.



Good Stuff Eatery view menu
303 Pennsylvania Ave SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 543-8222
www.goodstuffeatery.com

Come Again

Last week a post-conference dinner for 4 quickly turned into an 8 people affair, and I had no time to call for reservations. Since everyone else had been travelling all day, a 40-minute wait was not an option. I shepherded the group down New Jersey Avenue, hoping the views of the Capitol would stave their hunger. The host at Bistro Bis was gracefulness personified – he welcomed everyone (the nametags were a dead giveaway) and had a round table set at the far end of the wood, steel and glass dining room, which allowed me to split my attention between musings on legal anthropology and the vintage food posters in French.

Bistro Bis, a sister restaurant to Vidalia, is a few blocks away from Union Station at the George Hotel. Split into three areas that flow into each other, the rooms are tied together by the use of natural cherry wood and soft lighting. Though its location says power lunch, the feel is cozy, and there were plenty of dates going on around us.
As a quick starter for the table (aside from the bread basket, devoured in record time) I ordered mussels in curry cream for the table. The mussels have a wonderful kick from the piquillo peppers, and where it not for the consistency of the curry cream I would have thought I was at Brasserie Beck.

Since everybody was having different entrees, a bottle was impossible. I had a glass of Gamay, a fresh and floral wine that hails from the Beaujoulais region and is also served slightly chilled. The fruit notes were cherry, with the acidity of strawberry. For an entrée I had the Duck au Rhubarb, two of my favorite tastes. The duck breast was crusted with pink peppercorns, which added color and flavor to the meat while keeping it from drying out. The rhubarb was present as a compote as well as a gastrique. I’ve had duck with cherries on several occasions so the rhubarb is an interesting twist, highlighted by the fact that using breast instead of leg and thigh keeps the fat and its smoke away. A second cut sat on top of thinly sliced slightly fried potatoes and a touch of salad.

I ordered the Petit Fours for the table – a selection of confections, cookies and chocolates that on this particular night featured macarons, peanut butter and dark chocolate triangles, and lattice cookies. My favorite on the menu, though, is the spiced carrot cake topped with buttermilk panna cotta, a wonderful combination of acid, warmth, degrees of firmness, and a refreshing side of mandarin orange sorbet.

We poured into E street happy, well fed, and fully recovered from the first day of the conference.

Bistro Bis @ the Hotel George
15 E St NW
Washington, DC 20001
www.bistrobis.com