MattyDC's Profile
Stick a Fork in The Caucus Room
A friend and I dined at The Caucus Room earlier this week. What happened to this place?
The bar, which used to have some atmosphere, felt like a Howard Johnson's. Equally disappointing was the dining room. An 8:00 reservation and only two other tables in the entire restaurant were occupied.
With only about fifteen patrons in the restaurant, I would have thought that the food would have been impeccably prepared. I ordered the rib-eye to medium, which their menu states is a warm, red center. It wasn't exactly cold in the center, but it didn't look cooked.
If not for the wines I brought from home (don't get me started on their list...) the evening would have been a total washout.
Sad. I really enjoyed this place "back in the day" and used to attend wine dinners there quite frequently.
I can only imagine that the arrival of so many other "steak" places in DC (BLT, J&G, Charlie Palmer, etc.) have drawn interest away from The Caucus Room, but I was ill-prepared for what I saw.
-----
The Caucus Room
401 9th St, Washington, DC 20001
Marcel's or CityZen?
Just to update...opted for CityZen and was not disappointed. Two of us opted for the tasting menu while my wife opted for ala carte. With an extra course (ubiquitous beet salad) thrown in for her, the pacing of her meal with our tasting menu was a non-issue.
I know there have been postings on here about service issues but our server Nicole was great. The food was very good. We opted for the caviar supplement, which at $50 was a bit rich for the amount of caviar provided but it was of fine quality and we were celebrating. The look on my brother's face was worth the cost.
The butter poached lobster was a bit of a disappointment. It was accompanied by a shrimp that was less than inspiring and a foie gras mousse that I frankly didn't get. With the rich buttery lobster the foie offered no real counterpoint.
Beyond that one course, the meal was excellent and the equal of any I have had in DC. Of particular note was the rabbit ravioli my wife had -- it was hands down the best course of any served and I could have easily put away a half pound myself.
The meal was helped by two very enjoyable wines, an 05 Mikulski Mersault Genevrieres and an 00 Lignier Clos de la Roche, which I noted was on the list at only a 50% mark-up to current market. Granted 50% is enough but the rest of the list was closer to the triple markup that sadly appears standard at fine restaurants.
-----
CityZen Restaurant
1330 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024
Marcel's or CityZen?
My brother is coming in from out of town and I want to treat him to a nice dinner. We currently have reservations at Marcel's and CityZen. I've been to Marcel's and really like it but think CityZen might offer more of an experience for him. Assume that we will not be ordering the tasting menu, in view of my wife's aversion to anything from the sea (she has other remarkable qualities, believe me).
Obviously I've read plenty on this board with respect to each of these restaurants but would be interested to hear opinions as to which reso to keep (and which to promptly cancel).
Thanks.
-----
CityZen Restaurant
1330 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024
Where can I find duck legs in the NOVA/DC area?
Balducci's in McLean frequently carries the packaged legs from D'Artagnan.
Where to buy black truffles?
Anyone have a line on where to purchase some black truffles in the DC metro area? Thanks in advance. (I know, a little late in the season for them).
