Down the Gullet: EVOO

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Graffiato

As I sit down to write this post I realize I'm pretty bad about keeping things current. I went to Mike Isabella's Graffiato shortly after my last post, and almost a month ago. I wholeheartedly apologize to all three of you who read this, and I pledge to post more frequently from now on. Without further ado, I bring you, Graffiato.

Pistachios with some kind of sweet chili seasoning.

I was on a business trip to New Jersey and reading some food blogs in my downtime when I discovered that Mike Isabella was scheduled to open a new restaurant on the same day I was to arrive back in the DC area. I called to see if I could get a reservation and the earliest available was 10pm the following Monday. I later got the incredibly friendly staff to change our reservation to 9:30, at which time the place was still packed. We had a nice (and VERY knowledgeable) waiter who brought us some seasoned pistachios to snack on while we browsed the drool-inducing menu.

I'm no cheese conniseur, but I know I enjoy a good camembert so I ordered the Green Hill camembert (from Georgia of all places) and we let our waiter choose the other two. He suggested the Cracked Pepper Piedmont (a sheep's milk cheese, reppin' VA) and a goat cheese from Cherry Glen Farm in Maryland. I was pleasantly surprised by both relatively local options.

From left to right: Green Hill Camembert (GA), Cracked Pepper Piedmont (VA) and Cherry Glen Farm (MD)

Bread

Next up, Branzino Tartar. Over the past month, there have been multiple instances where I find myself thinking, "You know what would be perfect right now? A plate full of diced sea bass, radish and cucumber topped with shaved fennel, that's what." This might be my new favorite summertime refeshment. It is the perfect release from the sweltering heat and stifling humidity that is a DC summer.

Along with EVOO, stuffed pasta (ravioli, manicotti, tortellini, tortelloni, canneloni, etc) might be one my favorite things in the world. My number one rank, and accepting all challengers, is the broccoli rabe ravioli from Pastosa - a small chain of Italian deli/markets in Staten Island, NY. A close second is the sweet corn agnolotti from Graffiato. I WILL be going back there for this dish alone.

Sweet Corn Agnolotti with Chantrelles and Pignoli

We weren't going to order any pizza, but the table next to us got one and it smelled phenomenal. Nadine adores white pizza, so we decided to go with the 'White House' Pizza. It was very simple, but a unique concept that intrigued both of us. Like most other pizza, it was topped with mozzarella, but it also had taleggio, ricotta, prosciutto, and black pepper honey. I know what you're thinking, "Honey!? On Pizza!?" It sounded strange to me at first, but I figured it was worth a shot. Bullseye. The black pepper honey and excellently-cured prosciutto provided an harmonious coupling of sweet and salty.

Garffiato was amazing and if you're in the DC area, you should definitely go there. I have no affiliation with the place, but I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Chef Mike Isabella and his team really did it with this one. Per usual, I threw in some more pics below that will probably make you hungry. Enjoy!

Bone Marrow with pistachio, breadcrumbs, bacon and cured lemon.

Menus - refined excellence

Nutella cookies. Great either before or after the rest of your meal.

Carrot Panna Cotta

Carrot Panna Cotta - so good, we ordered it twice.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Tapas y tapas y tapas

Greetings blogosphere. My name's Kevin and before I delve into my maiden post, I want to take a moment to discuss tapas. I'm not here to gripe or groan about the portion size or the number of dishes one must order to fully satisfy one's appetite. In fact, I'm more interested in the word 'tapas' itself. It seems to me that tapas might be one of the most commonly misunderstood words in the English language (when pronounced correctly). The parallels between the words 'tapas' and 'topless' in conversational English are uncanny. I think of the countless conversations I've had in which someone has mentioned going to "a great new tapas place" only to see their audience's eyes widen and brows raise trying to discern how the topic conversation suddenly shifted to some new strip club.

In any event, I did go to a fantastic tapas place recently and that's what I'm here to share with you. One night last month, my girlfriend and I decided to grab a quick bite at La Tasca, a small chain restaurant with five locations here in the DC area. I'm not here to tell you whether you should go there or not, but I'll tell you what I ordered and what I thought about it. Take from it what you will.

We were seated at a two-top right right by the front door and greeted by two of my favorite things in the world: Bread and extra virgin olive oil. I believe my affinity for fine bread may have originated from the after-school job I held many years ago at Best Buns Bread Company in Arlington, VA. If you haven't heard of it, I highly suggest you go there immediately and try everything they serve. But I digress. The bread at La Tasca was obviously fresh and the oil was your typical no-frills EVOO. Olive oil is deemed to be extra virgin only if it is the first cold-press of the olives. A lot of the time you'll see "Pure Olive Oil" on the side of the bottle, which basically means this is what we got when we chemically extracted the oils from the already-mashed olive pulp after we made extra virgin olive oil. EVOO is the obvious choice and my go-to for any recipe that requires oil.

Now onto the real fun.

This is a duck leg confit between a puree of roasted garlic and carrots and caramelized apples and onions and garnished with a sprig of rosemary. I love rosemary, and it enhanced the aesthetic of the plate, but this was a dish so full of complimentary flavors that the rosemary was rendered useless. The confit was prepared with nutmeg and orange peel, which gave it a wonderful flavor and acidity, and it was cooked to absolute perfection. A pat of warm butter would have been jealous of the duck's ability to melt in your mouth.

These are bits of octopus legs that were skewered and grilled and seasoned with garlic, parsley, and of course some EVOO to boot. The tasty cephalopod morsels are resting on a bed of thick-sliced fingerling potatoes and then dusted with paprika. Admittedly, I've only eaten octopus a handful of times, but this was by far the most tender and succulent octopus I've ever had.

I think you get the picture: I enjoyed the food. Speaking of getting the picture, here are a few more. All photos courtesy of Nadine Matar and her Nikon D3100.