Lyon Hall (Clarendon, Arlington, VA)

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*****

Apparently reservations at good restaurants are tough to get for Valentine's Day around here, unless you make them a month or two ahead of time.  So, I was lucky to snag one just a couple weeks in advance at Lyon Hall, a self-described brasserie in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington.  This was already one of the dozen or so restaurants whose websites I had bookmarked to remind me I wanted to try them, so with its convenience to my apartment (at least on nights that there are not 40mph sustained winds) and availability of a well timed reservation, it was perfect.  Or, at least until I realized the Duke game was on.  But I digress.

Lyon Hall has two levels, with a long bar (with two TVs tuned to, of course, the Duke game), a couple dozen tables and a few high tops in the entry area on the ground floor, and another dozen or so tables upstairs.  It was nicely lit, not dark but not bright, though shortly after we arrived the manager turned the lights down a little upstairs (where we sat) which made it dark enough that the guy next to us was using his table's candle to read the menu, though I personally had no problem.

We started off with a special appetizer, the Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a small piece of foie seared lightly and served atop an apple tart, with apple butter and hazelnuts.  It was very tasty, and my girlfriend had never had foie before, so it was kind of an obvious choice for me, but I wish the dish had focused more on the liver itself.  The tart was a little too sweet (though the piece of apple atop it was actually not, and paired perfectly with the meat), as was the apple butter, so they overwhelmed the foie a bit when I tried to pile everything together into one bite.  Hazelnuts were a perfect choice, however, as they provided a crisp contrast with the buttery mouth-feel of the foie gras, and everything was cooked properly.

We were also provided with a small basket of a few different types of bread and some whipped butter; none of the breads were particularly special, but I really love when restaurants give you whipped butter instead of cubed, because it is just so damned easy to spread.

For our entrees, I went classic with the Grilled Filet Mignon, while Jess had the Pork Schnitzel, plus a side of Pommes Frites to split which was superfluous, as we were both pretty stuffed just from our own meals.  My filet was served medium rare, and was quite good, with a tremendous crust (described in the menu as a Roquefort crust, though I did not get a lot of  that flavor) that added a great textural contrast while also providing that great flavor only gained from a proper Maillard reaction.  The baked pieces of sweet potato were delicious, and the broccolini were perfect, with none of the bitterness that I often object to when they are served.  Everything worked well together, and while it was nothing new or inventive, it was a good piece of meat and well cooked vegetables, and that is something that never gets old.

Jess's schnitzel, also a classic in its native Germany, was perfectly crispy, maybe slightly overdone but not so much as to render it objectionable, and the spaetzle was amazingly good.  Roasted butternut squash spaetzle is definitely not traditional, but damn, it worked, and worked beautifully, especially when eaten with the accompanying pomegranate and the (much more traditional) red cabbage, something I really need to learn to make.

The fries were good, very crispy and also rather traditional, served with a garlic aioli, a bearnaise, and Heinz ketchup.  The first two sauces were...meh.  Heinz ketchup, however "boring" it may be, really is perfect with French fries, and I do count myself among the many people who associate the taste of ketchup with Heinz, and only Heinz, so I always appreciate when a restaurant goes simple like that.

Despite being stuffed (we took home the majority of the enormous pile of fries and a couple small pieces of schnitzel; good lunch for me today), we had the Sherry Posset, a custard-like dish served with a quenelle of lemon sherbet and carrot cake crumbles.  It was creamy, light, delicious and a perfect finish to the meal.

Service all in all was fine, and the guy who led us to our table and served our wine (Mas de la Barben's l'Improviste Blanc, a Roussanne/Vermentino blend, for a reasonable markup of just about 120%, very low compared to the absurdity of many other restaurants) was great, as was one of the other waiters who stopped by to refill our glasses and all of the guys who actually brought our food and bused our dishes.  Our actual waitress, on the other hand, was only okay, pushing the higher priced items a little too hard (seriously, a $43 ribeye is a little insane, even as a Valentine's Day special, on a menu where the highest priced normal item is the $29 filet that I was already asking after) and a little brusque the few times we actually saw her.  She was also not particularly present through much of the meal, and we did not see her for about ten minutes after saying we just needed a minute or two to look over the menu one last time, though in her defense I saw her downstairs as well, so apparently she had tables on both floors.  It was not a deal breaker, and since everyone else was so friendly, I'll chalk it up to a bad day on a busy night.

All in all, a good meal, reasonably priced wine list, good beer list, and $1 oysters all day Mondays makes this a good option in the area that I will definitely be back to.  That said, for the money, I think there are better options in the area, but it was certainly not a flop, and I can see why the restaurant is popular.  As a side note, the restaurant is in the same group as Liberty Tavern, which I have not been to yet, and Northside Social, my favorite wine bar in the area, that also has by far the best coffee and pastries in the area, and the menus at all three are planned by the same executive chef.  I will get around to reviewing Northside Social at some point soon as well.

Piccolo (Portland, ME)

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*****
Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2015!

Sorry it has been such a long while since my last post; it has been a busy season, between research papers, traveling to see family, and the holidays, and sadly, this has been the thing pushed to the back of my to-do-list.

But, I did have a couple of really great meals over the last few days of 2014, and Piccolo, a relatively new Portland restaurant, provided the best of them.  I went with a couple of my step-siblings and their father (not my step) and his wife, who very generously included me.  This was actually option B for us, and I am so glad we ended up there, as this was truly a spectacular experience all around.

Piccolo really lives up to its name, squeezed into a tiny space with only about twenty seats (if even that), but it does not feel cramped as you sit at the table, and the decor is simple but attractive.  The servers are all friendly, and we ended up having one of the owners, who is also the pastry chef, for our waitress, which was really great as she knew the menu so well.

We began with the "salumi" plate, which consisted of a couple of cured or salted meats (bresaola included, which was so rich and delicious I could have eaten it all night), some olives, and a few really fantastic pickled vegetables, my favorite of which were the beets.  Additionally, we ordered the "carotta" appetizer, which consisted of roasted carrots and a couple accompaniments, and which was a very good, albeit unspectacular, starter.

The entrees were where things really began to shine.  The six of us ended up ordering three different entrees, with each having two people picking it:  two "pasta fatta in casa;" two "calamarata," and two "del mar."  Everything was homemade, locally sourced if possible, and made with a care and technique that is rare to find.

The pasta (and the name literally means house-made pasta) was cavatelli, served with a lamb neck ragu, eggplant, orange, and pecorino, and other than my own dish, this was what I ate the most of, as one of the two who ordered it could not finish the rather large portion she was served.  The lamb neck was succulent and rich, the cavatelli themselves perfectly formed and cooked, and on the whole the dish was a delightful melange of flavors.

My dish, the calamarata, consisted of squid ink pasta (referred to as maltagliati on the menu, and seeming to be the ends of strips of papardelle) that was literally the best pasta I have ever had, the best cooked squid I have ever had (are we sensing a pattern?), charred tomato, peppers, and olives.  I'll admit, I missed the olives, but everything else was there in delicious abundance.  The pasta was perfectly al dente, the squid not even the littlest bit chewy (and anyone who has ever cooked that particular cephalopod knows how insanely difficult that is to achieve), and the tomatoes in particular was incredibly flavorful.  Everything just worked, so ridiculously well, that it has launched itself into the pantheon of best dishes I have ever had, a list that includes the short ribs I had at Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas a couple years ago.  I cannot recommend this particularly dish highly enough, even more so than the restaurant as a whole, which I recommend very, very highly.

The last dish was fish, the particular variety of which I cannot recall other than that it was a locally sourced whitefish (I do not think it was hake, but I may be wrong), which was perfectly cooked.  I only had a single bite, so I cannot speak to it more than to say my sister, who has impeccable taste, loved it.

For dessert, we had a funnel cake-like Italian fried dough that was really tasty, with a crunchy exterior and just a little bit of dough inside the thin strands to provide a little chewiness.  We also had a poached pear with chocolate mousse dish that was fine, but a little too rich for me; it was clearly well done in every way, just not my thing.

The wines we had were great (picked by my sister in the case of the white wine we had), and the owner was good enough to suggest a red wine that was significantly cheaper than what had been the previous choice.  That was just the beginning of the great service, and once again, I really cannot speak highly enough of this entire experience.  If you find yourself in Portland, this is a very reasonably priced, very well executed restaurant with spectacular food; just make a reservation, since there are so few seats.  The owners are both veterans of a Daniel Boulud restaurant in NYC, so they have the pedigree to explain their excellence.

I do not think vegetarians would be successful here, though they may be willing to make something special; if they do, I have no doubt it will be delicious.

Black's Bar and Kitchen (Bethesda, MD)

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*****

Good seafood is a wonderful thing, but in much of the country, especially those places not within a very short distance of a major fishing harbor, it is in short supply.  The DC Metro Area, an hour from the Chesapeake and much further from any major non-crab fisheries, was not where I would necessarily have expected to end up finding great seafood, even with the abundance of high end restaurants in the area; Saturday night, however, I had just that, up in Bethesda.

Black's Bar and Kitchen is one of the seven restaurants of Black Restaurant Group, all of which seem to focus on seafood quite heavily (one of them is actually a fish market that also serves food), and all of which are fairly high end.  Located in downtown Bethesda, MD, it is just one of dozens of restaurants in the area, but with great reviews and a long wait at the restaurant I originally planned to dine at, Black's stood out from the crowd.

My dining companion and I both had some difficulty deciding on what to eat, as everything on the menu sounded delicious, from the Seared Sea Scallops to the Duck Breast cooked on a wood fired grill, but in the end we narrowed it down to two dishes each, which happened to be the same for us both.  I ended up going with the Coriander Crusted Yellowfin Tuna Loin, and she the Pan Roasted Salmon Filet.  As it turned out, after trying both dishes, we each decided we had ended up with the right dishes, as she liked her salmon best, and for me, the Yellowfin was slightly superior.

The salmon did have two things going for it, which were its tremendously crispy skin, and that it was served with cockles.  Since I loved cockles (shellfish of all varieties, really), and she did not, I got to not only sample them, but in fact eat them all!  They were slightly briny, a little chewy in the same way clams are, but overall simple and delicious.  The salmon was nicely cooked, a proper medium, and was obviously fresh, though I felt that it was less flavorful than some I have had.

My tuna, on the other hand, was slightly more cooked than I would typically go for, but that was my own fault for not just ordering it rare.  Because it was not just lightly seared, it was starting to fall apart around the edges, though it was a perfect medium-rare all in all.  Sliced into several medallions, it was served separating a thick smear of Orange Annatto-Chipolte (sic) Emulsion and the various vegetables it was served with.  The emulsion had a nice spice to it that complemented the fish, while the coriander crust was heavenly, providing a slight crispness to each bite and a ton of the spice's unique flavor, but without ever making me feel like the fish was not the center of each bite.  Pickled peppers (local, according to the menu) added a little more heat, while the crisp, juicy grilled baby tomatillos, sweet pieces of pineapple, and crispy (sort of) yucca provided nice contrasts to the fish in both flavor and texture.  The tomatillos may have actually been my favorite part of the meal, as they were bursting with flavor as if picked off the vine and thrown directly over some flames, and had the little bit of char that had begun to form just before being plucked from the grill.  There were also pieces of orange that provided much the same result as the pineapple chunks, but were no less successful.  All in all, I was really pleased with the dish, and my date enjoyed her's as well, so I can comfortably recommend this as a fine place for a nice dinner out, whether with friends or a significant other.

******

We also each had some wine with dinner, and even with my limited knowledge of the subject, I could tell their wine list was solid.  That said, it was also significantly overpriced, both the ones available by the glass and those by the bottle.  I know the intent is to recoup the cost of the bottle with the first glass when serving individual portions, but the markup on the bottles was insane, at three times retail (and thus probably 3.5 or more over their cost), and is the kind of thing that makes me not want to get a bottle with dinner even when on a date.  Pahlmeyer Chardonnay, for example, is available at Schneider's of Capitol Hill, a fine wines and spirits shop in the District, for $49.99; a bottle at Black's Bar and Kitchen will run you $166, a 232% profit even assuming they are paying retail.  It is, to say the least, ridiculous. 

This is, of course, not limited to just Black's.  Most restaurants I have been to do similar things, so I do not want this to seem like I am picking on or necessarily even blaming Black's; it is, after all, industry standard.  That said, I think it is insulting to us as consumers, and more importantly, I think it prevents people from really being able to try or enjoy wines that they might like to.  As someone who knows only a little about wine, but likes to try new things, I find it tremendously frustrating when I go to a restaurant and the wine is marked up at such an incredible rate.  I pretty regularly buy wine at local stores, and find that oftentimes I can find very reasonably priced wines that I enjoy a great deal, but this is just impossible at a restaurant.  It is why I typically stick to beer, and that is unfortunate, because there are times that wine is absolutely the better choice.

Richard Auffrey of The Passionate Foodie has written about this topic several times, including a very interesting take on the subject as it pertains to his personal favorite, sake; I urge you to take a look at his post.

Miami Trip (Miami, FL)

I took a trip to Miami this past weekend to take care of some family matters, but with them looking rather less bleak upon my arrival than anticipated, I took advantage of some of the happier aspects of this ridiculously hot city.  I should just mention first though that the people at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach are incredible, and anyone who goes through that hospital should be thankful.
My second night in town, my uncle and I went to a whiskey tasting event, which included Scotch, bourbon, rye and even Japanese whisky, which I had never had before.  Ten dollars got you a tasting glass (which you were welcome to keep), samples of about fifteen whiskys, and paella, plus ten percent off any of the bottles being sampled.  The paella was good but not great, featuring a variety of meats, which I enjoyed, though my uncle was thus forced to pick through it.  The liquors varied from terrible to amazing, but the real treat of the night was meeting a couple of the people who work for the distributors.

(L-R) Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Jim Beam Honey, Laphroaig 10yr

The folks from Beam Inc., best known in this country as the producers of Jim Beam, were the first I sampled from.  They brought Laphroaig 10 year, a Scotch that my mother loves and that I cannot stand.  They also brought Jim Beam Honey, Knob Creek 9 year (a very good bourbon, but one I have had enough times not to need to try it that night), and Basil Hayden's, which I had never had before and was very pleased to see, having heard very good things about it.  It was not quite as good as I was expecting, but that is simply an issue of expectations being raised unrealistically high; in fact, it was a very solid whiskey, and I really enjoyed it.

Heaven Hill Distilleries

"Kentucky Powerpoints"

Second up were the offerings from Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., which included some really spectacular and unique spirits.  This is the home of Evan Williams, one of the best drinks for your money out there, so I figured they would be decent, but I was really taken aback by a couple of things.  The Rittenhouse Straight Rye was exceptional for a 4 year old whiskey, having an insane amount of flavor and smoothness despite its short aging period, nearly equal to Redemption Rye.  The really incredible drink though, was the Bernheim Straight Wheat Whiskey, made in the same way as bourbon or rye, but with wheat as the primary ingredient, was like nothing I've ever had before.  It was not my favorite, but it was definitely the most interesting I had all night, and I can see that it would work perfectly for its primary intended purpose, as a utilitarian but flavorful cocktail whiskey.  They also brought what they called "Kentucky Powerpoints," bottles filled with the ingredients of the individual liquors, in the proportions that each contains.  It was a neat and clever way to show what is actually in the different drinks.

Following a little paella, I moved on to Bowmore 10 year.  It sucked.  Avoid at all costs.  Enough said.

Dewars' Aberfeldy 12yr

Dewars followed that, with their Aberfeldy 12 year; it was not my thing, but they made up for it with a drop dead gorgeous young woman presenting it, and they gave out free flasks.  The Aberfeldy was a bit too harsh and biting for me, without providing any of the really wonderful oak-y, vanilla-y flavors that I look for to balance that out.


The final company represented was Anchor Distilling Company, and they were by far my favorite of the night.  Bringing some that I had already had and loved, including Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace bourbons, each of which I brought to a couple weddings over the last few months and

(L-R) Hirsch Bourbon, Nikka 12 yr "Pure Malt," Nikka 15 yr single malt

(L-R) Templeton Rye, Macallan 12 yr, Eagle Rare, Buffalo Trace

which led to some seriously impressive hangovers--worth it--and which are classics at a very reasonable price.  Macallan 12 was present, a classic Scotch, as were Templeton Rye Small Batch and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve Barrel Select, the latter of which was less impressive than I was expecting.  The real winners of the evening, however, were the two Japanese whiskys and the Hirsch Reserve Small Batch Straight Kentucky Bourbon.  The Hirsch was deliciously smooth, oak-y and sweet in the most pleasant way imaginable, a truly spectacular example of what bourbon should be.  The two Nikkas, however, were just really cool to try, as it was my first foray into the Japanese interpretation of Scotch whisky.  The 12 year, which is labeled as a "pure malt," a blend of malts from Nikka's two distilleries, was really good, but once I tried the 15 year old single malt that was the only thing I could think about.  It was as good as almost any Scotch I have ever had, with a character and smoothness that showed the true craftsmanship of the master distillers.

(L-R) Buffalo Trace, 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, Four Roses Bourbon, Four Roses Single Barrel

***********

Saturday evening was spent with my cousin and her friends at Grovetoberfest, an annual beer festival in Coconut Grove, Miami's oldest neighborhood.  Far more of a festival than a beer tasting event, this was a lot of fun, but definitely targeted a different audience than the American Craft Beer Fest, where almost no one is trying to get drunk; at Grovetoberfest, that seems to be the predominant intent among attendees.  There were some very good beers there, including some local options that I had never had, but the best were from Founders Brewing Company, which was no surprise whatsoever.  All in all, it was a fun event, and I really enjoyed myself, but I prefer the ACBF.

Following the festival, which concluded at about 7:00pm, our group headed to Sandbar Grill, a ridiculously loud and over-crowded tourist bar that nonetheless was a pretty fun place to hang out, as it was loaded with televisions tuned to various sports; plus, they had Yuengling on tap, and that's...well...awesome.  (Yuengling is coming back to Massachusetts!!!)  An old friend of mine from college who lives in the area joined us there as well, along with his best friend from childhood, and after a while of shouting at each other to be heard, the three of us, plus a friend of my cousin's friend adjourned to Vinos in the Grove, where we had a glass of wine each.  Their wine list is pretty impressive, including some really good by the glass options, and they also serve a few cheese platters that sounded pretty damn good.  Next time I am in Miami, I will definitely head back there, and it seems like a great place to take a date if you do live in the area.

******

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Julian Serrano (Las Vegas, NV)

Julian Serrano, the eponymous tapas restaurant residing in the Aria Resort & Casino, provided the best of the meals I had in my brief four day stint in Las Vegas, NV, arriving on Friday evening and leaving on Monday evening.  This was where my friend Joe, his classmate Renee, and I went on Sunday evening.  They had just run a Tough Mudder race that day, and were in the mood for a good meal to celebrate.  After a little discussion over where to go, Renee suggested this, and I am extremely thankful she did. 

Our waiter recommended that we get two or three tapas each, but since we decided we wanted paella, we ended up ordering three tapas and a dessert.  The first we received was the Black Pig Pintxo, a traditional Spanish bar snack, consisting of a slice of crispy baguette topped with caramelized onions and cured, seared Iberian pork shoulder.  They offer the pork cooked medium rare to well, and, of course, we ordered medium rare, which was perfect, tender, with a perfect Maillard reaction from the searing, and a huge pork and pepper flavor.  We all loved it, and since it only came with two pieces, we were all left wanting more.

Second to arrive was the cheese plate, consisting of four slices of toasted baguette, four cheeses, and a truly delectable fig spread.  The cheeses were: a caña de cabra, which is a very soft, easily spreadable goat's milk cheese; a year old sheep's milk Manchego; a cow's milk Cabrales bleu; and a soft sheep's milk La Serena.  All were fantastic, with Renee preferring the Manchego, Joe loving them all, and my favorites being the Manchego when combined with the fig spread, or the caña de cabra, which was a little too delicate to combine with the spread.  The bleu was remarkable, and La Serena was perfectly mild.

Third to come were the Tuna Cones, consisting of a crispy wonton wrapper cone, with avocado in the bottom, topped by cucumber, and ahi tuna tartare, lightly dressed with ponzu.  The tuna flavor was strong, extremely fresh and high quality fish, and the avocado, which was extremely soft and smooth, added a nice flavor and texture contrast.  The cones were presented in a nice, very likely custom, holder with three slots for the cones.  This was my favorite tapa of the night, for its simplicity and classic flavors, presented in a clever, new manner.

Following the tapas came the mixed paella, a signature dish of Julian Seranno's, consisting of half a lobster tail, mussels, chicken, Spanish style chorizo, vegetables and of course the classic saffron rice.  Served in a paellera, this was the highlight of the night for all of us, with perfectly cooked lobster, and mussels that were cooked well, but a little dry.  The chorizo was great, a classic flavor that anyone who has had chorizo before would recognize instantly, but with a bit more depth of flavor than normal.  The rice was incredible, so smooth and creamy, with crispy bits around the edges that are the trademark of a proper paella. 

Last to eat were churros, served with Mexican chocolate.  Thin, crisp, and just slightly sweet, while the chocolate was creamy and strong, though lacking the spice that I was expecting both from the description and from the chile de árbol that was in it.  The combination worked well, but I think it would have been better with that added hint of spice. 

Along with our meal we had a bottle of Martin Códax Albariňo Rias Baixas 2010, a crisp, dry white wine that went perfectly with the tuna, cheese and paella, though it was not the perfect combination with the pork.  The wine had some nice floral notes, and was among the best white wines I have ever had.  I will be looking at my local wine shop for this, I can assure you of that.                                                                                                                      

Overall, this was a fantastic experience.  The waiter was great, attentive, knowledgeable, and unlike many waiters at finer restaurants, did not appear to be displeased be be dealing with a group of younger people who would not be spending several hundred dollars.  Speaking of cost, with a 25% tip, the meal cost us just under $200, exceptionally reasonable when you consider that over $100 of that was from the wine and paella.  While I can't guarantee that I would return during any future trips to Las Vegas, that is simply because there are just so many places that I want to try in the city.

**As a side note, the restaurant does appear to be very vegetarian friendly, if that's your thing 

******

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