Capital Spice

<<EDIT 7/13/10 9:49 AM – Sorry guys, we jumped the gun on this one.  Keep an eye out for our Google map when the time comes, but for now we’ve pulled this post at the request of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, as they wouldn’t confirm any dates.>>

What could be a better comfort on a cold winter night than deliciously prepared French food in a beautiful setting? Experiencing it during Restaurant Week for $35.10 per person. Previous attempts to visit Adour had been foiled by illness, meaning Chef Ducasse’s restaurant lingered on our must-visit-SOON list for longer than we liked. When the Restaurant Week participant list came out, Mike jumped on a prime Saturday night reservation.

Adour sets the right tone as soon as you enter the bar area. I admit I am a sucker for a killer interior design. Done right, it sets expectations for the entire evening telling diners exactly what they should anticipate for their palates, their service, and their wallets. I’m not loyal to a specific style. Be it the old world coziness of Tabard Inn or 1789 or the sleek sexiness of Sei, distinct design tells me the restaurant has put extra thought into the full dining experience. Designed by David Rockwell, Adour sends diners the message that wine is an important facet of their experience (witness the glass wall that allows diners to peer right into the cellar) and cuisine served will be modern with the eyes of the classic French techniques watching over it (enjoy the interplay of sleek, masculine furniture and banquettes underneath gorgeous rococo ceilings).

Upon seating, we were quickly greeted by our deft waiter who welcomed us to the restaurant with the confident reserve of an industry professional, guiding us through the menu options for the evening. Frankly, the Restaurant Week menu options were wholly uninspired compared to their a la carte cousins. Of the three entree dishes available one was a chicken breast and another a beef short rib. My spirits lifted as soon as we were greeted with a plate of peppery gougeres - the rich man’s cheesy poofs! – which was shortly followed by demitasse cups of a robust pumpkin soup. If these tastes were  a sign of things to come, perhaps the limited menu would work out well.

Dining experiences and how we got Restaurant Week pimp-slapped after the jump. (more…)

Click on the image to go to our Google map that locates every restaurant participating in DC's Winter Restaurant Week 2010.

Last week, we gave you the heads up as soon as Washington’s Winter Restaurant Week listings went up.  The announcement caught us off-guard…the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington did a nice job keeping the dates of this year’s event under wraps until they were ready to let everyone know.

We took advantage of some unexpected downtime during Saturday’s Snowpocalypse to do our usual trick of putting all of the participating restaurants onto a Google map.  You can use it to see if your favorites are participating, or check out a neighborhood and see how many Restaurant Week deals you can score in a six block radius.  It’s yours to do with as you please.

As you look at the map, you’ll notice that there are some real treats participating.  Of course, some continue to confound us with their Lunch Only participation – it’s just SO hard to get away for a decent three-course lunch when your full-time job expects you to be working.  Even so, we’ve seen a few newcomers and some old favorites on the list that are going to make this another good time for DC diners.

These days, you’ve got plenty of us food bloggers working to gather the participating restaurants’ menus.  DC Foodies are the originals when it comes to this, but you’ll probably see some reporting from Brightest Young Things and Dining in DC among others.  We’ll stick to the map-making.

Check back as Restaurant Week approaches early next year – while some of the menus are already getting out, most won’t be finalized until the week or so beforehand.  But don’t wait to book your reservations; you’re going to have to gamble if you want to score a reservation at any of the more sought-after participants.

We’ve already given you some tips to make your choices, and we definitely encourage you to make use of OpenTable (hence the links on our map) for reservations and UrbanSpoon for aggregated reviews.  We’ve already got a couple of blue chip reservations locked in.

It’s that time of year again.  Without a Presidential Inauguration to delay this year’s Winter Restaurant Week, it’s definitely snuck up on us.

If you were counting on us to give you advance warning like we have in the past…our bad.  The list of participating restaurants was posted this morning, and Hungry Hungry Hipsters are already out there booking reservations.

Because this is the first Restaurant Week of 2010, prices creep up by another penny.  Three-course lunches will run you $20.10 this time around, and dinners will set you back $35.10 for three courses.

The good news is that all of our previous advice still holds true:

• Do your homework. Don’t book a reservation at a place that regularly offers a similar deal.  Do some scouting work and find a place that sounds appealing, then check to make sure the deal really is.  (NOTE: Once menus start coming out, look out for upcharges that significantly alter the deal).
• Be flexible. EVERYONE wants a Restaurant Week reservation for Saturday night around 7 PM.  Try to snag one ASAP using OpenTable, or set your sights on a mid-week dinner.  Either way, be prepared with two or three choices to hedge your bets.
• Be adventurous. Try a place you’ve never been but always wanted to.  Or check out a place you’ve never even HEARD of.  Either way, it’s a better use of the Restaurant Week experience than a trip to your favorite steak place.
• Think new. We’re always excited to see new restaurants jumping on the Restaurant Week bandwagon the first time around.  Kellari Taverna and Bibiana both jumped out as first-timers, and I’m sure we’ll find a few more as we dig deeper into the list.

As always, we’ll be posting our signature Restaurant Week map for your reference so you can plot out your plan of attack.

We’ll also have some recommendations – just as soon as we’ve got our own reservations locked in!

In the meantime, let us know where you’ll be going when you book your Restaurant Week conquests…we’re always looking for a few good recommendations.