Restaurant Week Dinner at Mie N Yu

Ahh, another tasty and indulgent meal this week, thanks to Restaurant Week. Last night, friends and I went to Mie N Yu in Georgetown for dinner. The restaurant invites you to indulge your senses with the sights and sounds of “A Silk Road Celebration," offering contemporary American cuisine with flavors from Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. You walk into the space through textured off-white curtains, and upon entering you really do feel transported to a more exotic locale than M Street. The bar offers great and interesting cocktails, albeit for a steep price, and usually is fairly full. Last night it was at capacity but actually imbued a level of energy which lent itself to pre-dinner drinks and to anticipating the tasty treats yet to come. After a couple of rounds of drinks, we were seated in the restaurant's upstairs area, which probably usually is reserved only for private events. After ordering a glass of Terrazas Malbec from the restaurant's fabulous yet expensive wine list, we studied the menu and placed our order. I started with the Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad. The salad was definitely not grilled, but the lettuce was super fresh and I enjoyed the nice amount of Parmesan cheese and the Miso Caesar dressing which was peppery, creamy and delicious. Amy ordered the Boston Bibb Salad, which came with walnuts, oranges, grapes and blue cheese, and looked pretty, but the portion was quite small. Others opted for the Barbecue Lamb Egg Rolls, which came with kimchee (a Korean pickled vegetable mix), and Smoked Salmon Bruschetta, both of which were tasty. For my entree I ordered Shanghai Shrimp with Snow Peas and Rice Noodles. The shrimp were delicious and cooked perfectly, but the sauce was a bit sweet and tangy for my taste. I don't really eat carbs (just think they are filler and don't offer much taste) and so for the most part ate the shrimp and picked out the snow peas, carrots and red peppers slices which were cut into nice, thin strips. Amy ordered the Braised Short Ribs, which were delicious. Think melt-in-your-mouth pot roast cooked all day with a sauce which had a fabulous essence thanks to the slow-roasted meat. Others went for the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, which actually consisted mostly of crab meat, instead of filler and such as often can be the case, and were fabulously flavored with a bit of mustard, mayo and herbs. The Miso Marinated Black Cod came with a sauce made primarily of coconut milk and was well-seasoned and was pretty to the eye, but the portion was tiny. I don't really eat dessert, so I gave my Tiramisu to the table to enjoy, but I did have a bite and the crust was deliciously firm and tasted of pure bittersweet chocolate, and the espresso flavor was strong but not overpowering. Amy and a couple others ordered the chocolate cake for a $5 upcharge, and it was amazing. It was presented with a slice most of the way through the circular creation which revealed a molten center, and the cake was topped with a rich fudge sauce. I had a tiny bite and it was delicious. All in all a very good meal, albeit a bit expensive thanks to the pricey wine list.

Mie N Yu

3125 M Street in NW DC
http://www.mienyu.com/