We were in Washington in September to attend a conference (sorry I am posting so much later). We arrived a few days early to do some sightseeing and eating, since most of our meals were taken care of during the conference. We booked a few fancier meals, one to celebrate our anniversary and two with colleagues. We also selected places that were dissimilar to what we have available in Toronto, showcased local food, or were classics (or tourist traps, depending on your point of view).
FANCIER MEALS
For our anniversary meal, we decided to go with Jônt. The food was intricate, eye-catching, and delicious. Both the wine pairing and the non-alcoholic pairing brought all kinds of interesting and fun options. Service was attentive and informed. Music (mainly 90s hip hop) was blaring and made it hard to hear the servers’ explanations.
They offered us champagne to start - J. Lassalle Preference, Premier Cru, Brut - lots of berries and brioche. With that came a series of amuses:
- Steamed bun, with red bean fudge and pork belly slice on top
- Blueberry brioche doughnut with kinome leaf, miso, sesame
- Dungeness crab tart in a buckwheat shell, with nasturtium petals and fingerling lime
- Zabuton (shoulder blade) wagyu tartare in beer croustade, with mujimite (vegan marmite)
- Tachiuo (Japanese belt fish) with binchotan charcoal wakame shell and some kind of ranch dressing, Meyer lemon, and Kaluga caviar
Our first wine was Merkelbach “Urziger Wurzgarten” Riesling Kabinett 2022 (Mosel) - gentle and apricotty, noticeable residual sugar. Our first non-alcoholic pairing was “Zerozzante” from Raumland, Traube Rhabarber, Verperlt, Cuvée No 4 - 0% wine with some rhubarb and carbonation - delicious. These accompanied the onagadai from Kagoshima, clarified green tomato water, amazake, koji, pressed and clarified cucumber, Hokkaido bafun uni, fresh wasabi, edible succulent, citrus lace, and some tiny Asian gooseberries - exquisite overall.
Our 2nd wine was Gavalas, “Natural Ferment” 2023 Santorini Assyrtiko - very smooth, not very acidic. Our 2nd non-alcoholic option was a refreshing cucumber and mint soda (with champagne acid and koji) that came with a fun metal straw. The food course featured grilled managatsuo (silver pomfret) from Saga, Japan, in buttermilk with dill chive and basil, foam from Carolina gold rice with koji, onion soubise, and 90-day aged Kaluga caviar - more straightforward, but still lovely.
Our 3rd wine was Trefethen “Main Ranch Vineyard”, 2022 Oak Knoll District, Napa, Chardonnay - very light on the oak, with plenty of mineral. The 3rd non-alcoholic pairing was a housemade muscat juice with cultured smoked butter - very perfumy. They accompanied one of the better dishes of the night: sasanishiki short grain rice from Miyagi, cooked in donabe pot, made with sauce of cultured butter and maitake, with Japanese king crab, miso, crab head, lemon and chive, with winter Australian truffle - smooth, rich layers of flavour, lots of umami.
We then had a palate cleanser of pink pineapple from Costa Rica in pineapple dashi with shio kombu, baby radishes and kombu oil.
Wine 4 was a Chateau Gloria, St-Julien, 2015 Bordeaux (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Franc) - strong cherry nose, tannins a bit harsh. The non-alcoholic option was cherry juice, thyme, and hojicha green tea on lemon thyme foam - more a tea with fruit and herbal notes. The dish was a slice of supple Elysian Fields Lamb loin with a rich jus, shio kombu crust, concentrated porcini fudge underneath, and a seaweed butter - the only defect was the lack of bread to mop up the jus.
Wine 5 was a Domaine Larue premier cru, Sur the Sentier de Clou, St. Aubin, Cote d’Or, Burgundy, 2018, pinot noir - smoky, a bit earthy, very smooth. The non-alcoholic option was apricot and white peach juice, chamomile with a bit of Darjeeling tea, verjus, and non-alcoholic gin fortified with chamomile tea - pleasant, but hard to pick out the non-alcoholic gin flavour. These paired up with 3 dishes:
- Toasted almond tart (would have been foie gras, but we asked for no foie) with yellow peach jam, kombu mousse, dipped in yellow peach and silver leaf - nice.
- Overly salty chicken sausage (neck, heart, and liver), Carolina BBQ sauce, and fried marigolds
- Beautifully moist breast of Amish yellow chicken with zampone sausage under the skin, with sasanishiki rice, almond and yellow peach purée, and a reduction finished with toasted almond oil (instead of foie).
At this point, we shifted into a separate bar/lounge area for the desserts, which were lovely and mainly bite-sized:
- Maple puff pastry, white peaches, Tomme de Savoie, and tonka bean mousse
- White peach (from K&J Orchards) bomb with peach juice and yuzu inside - particularly impressive.
- White peach entremets with vanilla, raspberry compote, yoghurt, and white chocolate shell.
- White peach sorbet on wakamomo granita (young underripe peaches) with sliced green peaches, and basil oil.
- Chocolate cake with mousse inside a chocolate shell, with smoked “grilled cream” ice cream, on hazelnut and chocolate crumble, with pecan praline - chocolate was satisfyingly dark.
With the above came Royal Tokaji 2017 (mainly Furmint, 5 puttunyos aszu) - complex and caramel-y. The non-alcoholic drink was No. “7” from Victoria, Australia - sour cherries, cold brew, garam masala, allspice, nutmeg, pink peppercorn - pretty savoury and interesting.
The came a bonbon cabinet:
- Warm vanilla madeleines (6).
- Yuzu-mandarin fruit de pate.
- Roasted black soybean macaron, with a centre mixed with white chocolate .
- Dark chocolate sablé with Earl Grey crémeux - great, not sweet.
- Salted matcha flodeboller, with a vanilla marshmallow layer.
- Three truffles: orange ganache, dulce banana (sweet fresh banana flavour), passion fruit (very tangy).
We added an extra glass of Amaro dell’Etna. They gave us a parting gift of wonderful mint matcha lattes (spearmint, matcha, oat milk, Okinawa black sugar).
Our second fancier meal was at The Dabney with a friend. The setting was lovely, a warm and almost casual space hidden away in a section of alleys. Food was generally excellent, less intricate than JĂ´nt but very satisfying. Wine pairings mainly focused on the U.S. (including one from Virginia) and were lots of fun (apologies in advance for not recording a lot of the precise details. Service was friendly and informed. Music permitted conversation.
They started us all off with a cup of switchel (Concord grape juice, bay leaf, ginger, maybe vinegar). We then had a glass of Raventós i Blanc - Conca del Riu Anoia brut rosé “de Nit” 2021, Catalonia - gently strawberry-apricot and toast, very charming.
Before the first course proper, we had several tasty little treats:
- Toasted ciabatta with Roma bean salad in poblano mayo and pickled oyster and lardo.
- Lamb loin with bene seeds and spicebush aioli, heirloom tomato, and mint.
- Poached scallop with cucumber salad and lime yogurt.
- Royal baika caviar tart with cape gooseberries and pecan cream - gorgeous, the standout of these four.
Our first pairing was a pinot gris from Sonoma, which had extended skin contact, yielding a warm salmon colour and what tasted like malolactic conversion. This came with saltwater-brined rockfish in melon broth (with slices of melon and fish), aji dulce dusted pepper, fresh paprika and cilantro - fresh, light, and delicate.
Pairing #2 was a chardonnay, Santa Rita, 2022 - gorgeous, light, crisp, and substantial oaking. This came with a fantastic iron griddle baked cornbread, with grits inside the bread, gernika pepper relish (oil-based and fragrant), charred tomatillo jelly, charred baby corn poblano relish.
Our third wine was a French chenin blanc - prominent yellow stonefruit, acid, and mineral. This paired well with a luscious grilled pork loin, with MD jumbo lump crab and boudin blanc dumpling, cucumber and green gernika catsup, okra-pork-pepper broth, dried shavings of fresh okra, red shiso varietal leaf on top.
The next pairing was a pinot noir from Clarion, Willamette pinot noir - light, with the smell and taste of fresh cherries. It came with a simple and superb dish of fresh cranberry beans and roasted Early Girl tomatoes.
In between courses, we had a delightful sweet potato croissant with sorghum butter.
Pairing #5 was SP68, Occhipntli, Sicily, (70% frappato, 30% nero d’avola) - strawberries and raspberries, with pepper and mineral. This was a nice match for Black Hawk Farms wagyu beef ribeye (deep, rich flavour), with a side of braised beef tongue, on Fireside Farms zucchini, plus Fireside Farm grilled eggplant, eggplant caponata (too salty unfortunately), charred eggplant purée with lime dust, eggplant chip, and black walnut.
For a palate cleanser, we had Garner’s cantaloupe sorbet, with green shiso granita, and whey foam.
Our last pairing was the most memorable as it was a chance to try a dessert wine from Virginia: Petit Manseng by Linden, demi sec, 2019 (Virginia) - lovely, with spice notes, pear, white flower. This came with Quaker Valley peach popover, brown sugar bourbon ice cream, candied Virginia peanuts, drizzle of peach caramel - fabulous. We also had a few petit fours: chocolate fudge, cantaloupe pâte de fruit, peanut nougat. They also gave us little cakes for the next day’s breakfast.
I was also tasked with finding a restaurant for a large group of colleagues, within walking distance of the hotel (downtown). Because of a severe seafood allergy in our party, I went with Elizabeth’s, which made several lists in an earlier incarnation. The gamble paid off. The plant-based chef’s menu was playful, wide-ranging, and delicious. Both the wine pairing and the non-alcoholic pairing were also very fun.
First pairings:
- Wine: Weingut Richard Böcking, Burgberg, Riesling Kabinett, Mosel, Germany 2016 - off dry and fragrant.
- Non-alcoholic: Selbach, FunkelwĂĽrtz Zero, Mosel, Germany (de-alcoholized sparkling) - quite pleasant.
Amuse duo:
- Churro tart, mole almendrado, purple cauliflower, delfino cilantro pesto - many layers of flavour in just one bite.
- Soaked celeriac (like crabcake), heirloom carrot, mustard seed, caramelized grapefruit, old bay aioli (enhanced the crabcake angle), avocado oil, and carrot “hair” on top.
Second pairings:
- Wine: Mastroberardino, Radici, Fiano di Avellino, DOCG Campania, 2020 - very mineral, creamy.
- Non-alcoholic: Lautus, sauvignon blanc, South Africa (de-alcoholized) - nice grapefruit notes.
Second course:
- Charred fennel broth (with cippolini), poached chayote, sous vide pear, young coconut, oyster leaf - probably our favourite dish, great combo of flavours and textures.
Third pairings:
- Wine: Arianna Occhipinti, SP68 Rosso, Sicily, 2023 - same one as at the Dabney.
- Non-alcoholic: No-groni Sbagliato (Lyre’s Italian Organe, Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso, with sparkling Verdejo) - impressively reminiscent.
Third course:
- Purple bell pepper sofrita (quite meat-ish), living cashew cheese, nightshade plum sauce, yellow beet confit sous vide, and red and green plum sauces on top (midnight plum and hibiscus in the red sauce; spinach, yuzu, jalapeño and wood sorrel in the green sauce).
Fourth pairings:
- Wine: Nanbu-Bijin, Tokubetsu Junmai Sake from Iwaye, “Southern Beauty” - lots of banana.
- Non-alcoholic: hibiscus and rosehip infusion - nicely tangy.
Palate cleanser:
- Lemon drop melon & verbena sorbet, verbena smoked lemon olive oil and charcoal salt - fragrant and refreshing.
Fifth pairings:
- Wine: Chateau l’Escarderie, Fronsac, Bordeaux (right bank) 2018, aged in oak and terra cotta amphora - black fruit and violets.
- Non-alcoholic: Thomson and Scott, Noughty Rouge, Syrah, South Africa - remarkably dry and tanniny, very close to wine.
Fifth course:
- Red wine braised royal trumpet mushroom ravioli in shallots and carrots, grilled sunchoke chimichurri / cream sauce and crisps, summer truffle (significant slices), smoked macadamia “Parmesan”, coriander infused salt, deep fried grape leaf (neat but not quite chewable) - gorgeous pasta.
Sixth pairings:
- Wine: Cocchi, Brachetto d’Aqui DOCG, Dolce, Piedmont (NV) - cherries and roses.
- Non-alcoholic: Prima Pavé, Rosé Dolce, Demi-Sec, (Friuli?) - fun sparkling drink.
Dessert:
- Cornbread pudding French toast with spiced fava bean milk, topped with silver queen corn ice cream, pink and green pepper sauce, rosemary two ways gel and powder, and popcorn tapioca tuile - part comfort, part adventure.
STUFF WE DON’T HAVE MUCH OF IN TORONTO
Although we have access to great seafood in Toronto, relatively little of it hails from Chesapeake Bay. Fortunately the Dupont Circle location of Hank’s Oyster Bar was just a short walk from where we were staying and a great place to have a patio brunch.
We started with 2 dozen local oysters:
- Proprietary Salty Wolfe oysters, from the Lower Chesapeake, Virginia - delicious, deep shaped like west coast
- Watch House, Maryland - huge and sweet
- Wavelengths, Virginia - lovely
- Salt Buoy, Maryland - extra briny
As it was brunch, we had the peanut butter cold brew from the Black Vinegar Collection, which was creamy and not too sweet.
Local clams were steamed with white wine, lemon juice, herb butter, with a surprise kick and a nice chunk of French bread. Crab cakes (mostly sweet crab with minimal filler) were a great base for eggs benedict and came with crispy home fries. Key lime pie had a crunchy graham crust soaked in lime syrup, fresh zest on top, and a incredible creamy tangy lime custard.
Toronto has lots of great cheap Caribbean food, but fewer fancy and fusiony takes on this cuisine. So we tried Bronze for one dinner. It was good, though not as outstanding as we had hoped. Service was great, very friendly and accommodating.
Several of the cocktails were great. Lush Life (Amontillado sherry, pineapple-cinnamon syrup, lemon, bourbon) was beautifully balanced. Bronze (Torontel pisco, cachaça, gin, ginger, lemon, yuzu, sesame oil) had a great punch from the ginger. Nakia’s Home (mezcal, vanilla, lime, jalapeño) was nice and spicy, not sweet. Voodoo (rhum agricole, overproof rum, aged rum, blood orange, white peach, lemon, absinthe) was more of a basic rum punch.
Charred yuzu squid with herb pesto, satsuma currant glaze was pleasant. Torched oysters (half dozen with kyuri, flying fish roe, chili) was also very nice, although the torching was not particularly obvious. Melon and citrus fennel salad had a nice dressing, but was otherwise fairly straightforward.
Braised oxtail with pappardelle could have been braised longer, but had rich meat gravy. Described butter beans were MIA. Bush smoked snapper didn’t seem smoked, the snow pea shoots were MIA, and the callaloo seemed to be chard. But the fish was very tasty (thyme-stuffed) and the greens were also delicious. We also had a side of slightly sweet Bronze coconut basmati and bamboo rice, with spring onion, thyme, and shallots.
For dessert the rooibos tea yoghurt came with passion fruit, kumquat and lavender in a coupe. While nice, it was a bit too sweet. Better was the guava cheese doughnut, although it was really more of a cream puff with blood orange, honey, cinnamon, and a guava sauce.
Toronto has several places claiming to serve central Texas style BBQ, but none resembles the real deal. Based on recs on this board, we decided to try the DC location of 2fifty Texas BBQ. We were not disappointed.
The brisket was superlative, very much in the Texas style: tender, moist, and peppery; salty but not too much. Even more impressive was the pulled lamb on nachos with pickled radish - robust lamb flavour, with plenty of fatty richness. For sides, the mac and cheese was great and the esquites was also amazing, with onion, loads of lime, red nacho crumbles, queso, and cilantro. Our one regret is not being able to go on a Thursday to try the pastrami.
The Toronto area has lots of great cheap Indian eats, but relatively few examples of fancy or fusiony takes on this subcontinent. So we tried the Penn Quarter location of Rasika. Resy showed lots of open tables, so we didn’t make a reservation and just walked over. This was a mistake as we then had to wait 45 minutes, despite many tables being open the entire time during the wait and through the rest of the evening.
The food was generally well-flavoured, though it had some mild execution flaws. Avocado banana chaat was redolent with cumin, tamarind, and a tangy date chutney. Crab pepper masala featured phyllo and crab layers, with lots of garlic and chili flavouring on the crab layers.
For mains we had the lobster hawa mahal, which was like a lobster-green chili pie with a meringue in place of the crust. It was unlike anything we’ve tried before and very tasty. The only flaw was that the lobster was a bit overdone. Halibut Goan curry had a rich coconut and tamarind sauce, with again slightly overdone fish. A side of butternut squash bharta never came. Garlic and herb naan was lovely and chewy.
For dessert, the kesar pista kulfi, saffron rabri, and pistachio crumble was all pistachio lusciousness. Rose rasmalai had a beautiful rose mousse, strawberry compote, passion fruit coulis, and a dense white pistachio cake.
DC CLASSICS/TOURIST TRAPS
I’m sure that many feel that Ben’s Chili Bowl is overrated, past its prime, etc., but we still go every time. We love the spicy half smoke smothered in chili. We also love the chili by itself. Virginia’s favourite banana pudding is also very enjoyable.
We also traipsed out to the Eastern Market for pancakes at Market Lunch. Unbeknownst to us, they decided to take a short holiday and were closed. So we opted for sandwiches at Canales. The rotisserie chicken sub, with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a creamy green hot sauce beside was superlative, with very moist chicken. Turkey with bacon, guacamole, provolone, mayo, tomato and shredded lettuce was pleasant, if messy. We also sampled a soft-ripened cow Virginia cheese called Atoka from Village Cheeseworks, which had a gooey exterior and clean chalky interior. One vendor had pawpaws, so we ate a bunch of those for dessert and chased them with an oat milk cold brew from Cam’s Kettle.
COCKTAIL BAR
We only had one opportunity to sample cocktails and went to Allegory, with its cool Alice In Wonderland-meets-Ruby Bridges murals and storybook menu. We tried three:
- Looking Glass: Ketel 1 vodka, Caravedo pisco, Chayote fino, yuzu, champagne lime sherbert - light and not overwhelmingly sweet, but a somewhat syrupy aftertaste.
- Unicorn: Equiano light Afro-Caribbean rum, pandan, sesame honey, eucalyptus, coconut, with matcha chili cream on the ice - smooth and delicious.
- Beat of the Drums: Altos tequila blend, Clairin, oloroso, mezo orgeat (housemade with mezon grains instead of nuts), mace, lime, lacto-huckleberries, and a huckleberry popcorn on top - very sweet, but the huckleberries came through clearly.
Happy to hear your comments on the places we tried and the places we should have tried.
