DC food scene

I recently went to a long conference in Washington, DC, and was really lucky to stay at Dupont Circle, one of the better neighborhoods for food and going out. When I was walking through the area, it felt like I was in heaven: several blocks of restaurants, cafes and bars that covered a range of prices and types of cuisine. I think I did a pretty good job in experiencing the variety that I was presented with :)

Representative of this diversity was the first place I tried: Russia House. I'm coming from Eastern Europe and always knew Russian people, but I had never been to a Russian restaurant before. One of the things I had always wanted to try was a traditional soup called borsch. The other thing I ordered was the pierogis plate. I don't know whether the borsch is supposed to be a hot or a cold soup, but it failed on both fronts; it was served just lukewarm. The taste wasn't too bad, but it wasn't as rich as I expected it to be. I imagined something similar to pot pie, but got a light tart soup instead. It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't satisfying to me. The pierogis were slightly better, but the temperature was again an issue. It seemed like they had been made earlier in the day and just warmed up a little bit in the oven. They supposedly had duck meat inside them, but all I noticed was the potato filling. Thankfully, they came with a good dipping sauce that finally gave some flavor to the meal.

My next foray into the Dupont Circle food scene was a place called Thai Chef. Like so many Thai places, it also served sushi, which is what I ordered. One of the main reasons was the fact that the sushi was included in the happy hour menu for ridiculously low prices. That did make me a little nervous about the sushi quality, but I went for it. I was boring with my first choice and got a spicy tuna roll. To make the meal a little more exciting, I also ordered a piece of smoked octopus nigiri. Well, I was glad I got the tuna because it was exceptionally good! It was some of the spiciest spicy tuna I've had. The fish itself was fresh too. I liked the octopus nigiri as well, but I didn't love it. The smokiness was well-pronounced, and I guess I wish I had gotten more of the pure octopus taste. I have only myself to blame, though...

Moving back to the Old Continent, my next meal was at an Italian restaurant called Cafe Odeon. I was in the mood for something light, so all I got was the Scampi Fra Diavlo, or Spicy Shrimp. The dish did have an adequate number of shrimp, but it came way short on the spiciness level. Plus, all of the side vegetables were too overcooked. At least I had a Scoutmob deal so I didn't have to pay too much for a very disappointing meal.


Finally, I gave Italian food another chance with an outing to Sette Osteria with my labmate Mrs. LSU, and I am so glad we went there! I occasionally think whether something I've had is good enough to be referred as the best thing I ever ate, and the Scialatielli pasta I got at Sette is definitely the best pasta I've ever had! What made it so special? The real basil leaves incorporated in the fettuccine dough. I need to learn how to make this! It made the pasta taste so fresh and light! And that's something you don't often think about pasta. The tomato-based sauce contained eggplants, mozzarella and bell peppers, and also tasted great. Mrs. LSU got pumpkin-stuffed ravioli. She said that they were a bit too sweet for her, but that the quality of the ingredients made up for the strange taste. We also got dessert, with me ordering the tiramisu and Mrs. LSU getting the Italian-style cheesecake. The cheesecake was dense and delicious. My tiramisu was surprisingly light and with a strong coffee flavor. I did like it, even though the powdered cacao made me choke on the very fist bite I had.

That's pretty much what I had for dinner in DC. There was a stop for beers and pizzas one night, but the pizza wasn't anything out of the ordinary and the beers were too overpriced. $10 for a glass? Come on! Still, I had a great dining experience in DC, and I hope I can try a few more places at some point in the future.