Top Chef DC Episode 7 Recap

[In today's photo, let's celebrate the fact that I did NOT have to take the bar exam today, and that my friends who did are done...or at least, almost done.]


The Quickfire:
Republican Aaron Schock from the 18th District of Illinois 'splains the Toothpick Rule to the cheftestants. He's young, but he's smart.  He graduated college in two years. Create a whole dish packed into that toothpick bite in 30 minutes. J wants Andrea's fried chicken and waffle on a stick.
Alex, Ed, and Kelly were at the bottom.  Kevin, Angelo, and Stephen were at the top, and Angelo (and his cucumber cup) took it.  It was "like fireworks" in Rep. Schock's mouth.  Padma's braid is way too long, and she's wearing baggy cargo capris...eek.

Elimination Challenge: The Power Lunch.  They are going to take over The Palm.  They draw knives for the protein.  I think Kelly is right that Amanda will be slammed for breaking down the Porterhouses into filets and NY strips.  I'm not shocked at all that Angelo isn't familiar with the power lunch.  Anyone else digging the amped up music as the time ticked down?

Exec VP of The Palm lets them know that the winning dish is going on the menu in DC and their smiling face will go on the wall with the other famous photos.  There was a pea puree debacle.  The diners were Mark Warner, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, John Podesta, and Bruce Bozzi (Exec VP).  Kelly O'Donnell, Luke Russert, Savannah Guthrie, and Art Smith (of the local Art & Soul and Obama Chicago favorite Table Fifty-Two).

Kelly and Amanda on the steaks, and Kelly's was a bit salty.  Andrea and Tiffany with swordfish; Andrea's is maybe too sweet and Tiffany's is great but overcooked.  Mark Warner's tie is zesty, and he thinks Tiffany's fish is, too!  Alex's salmon is well-received, and Stephen's is not in symphony like Alex's was.  It has a "heaviness to it."  Lobster from Angelo was chewy, and the foam was "strange."  Ed's lobster was better, but the peas were unnecessary.  Neither Kenny nor Kevin aced the lamb.

Alex, Tiffany, and Ed were on the top.  Chef Smith loved that pea puree, the one that everyone thinks Alex stole from Ed.  Alex's salmon and pea puree wins gold!  Awkward.

Kevin, Andrea, and Kelly were at the bottom.  Kevin's lamb was overcooked and tooo spicy.  Kelly was salty mcsalterson.  And Andrea cooked food that she's done before--if they wanted that food, they would have come to your restaurant (says the judges). Kelly cries--this is me not caring that you weren't sure about the lines between bland, zazzy, and totally overpowering.  Andrea goes home--bummer, she's a nice gal.  I think she never got over being slammed by Michelle Bernstein, her alleged Miami nemesis. 

"I guess that's what happens when you don't share.  She deserves to be on the bottom."  Amanda on Kelly, who apparently hoarded the salt (really? There wasn't enough salt in a friggin' steakhouse?).  Winner of Best Quote today.  Tom's been all about the semi-working lines leading to the elimination--this week it was "instead of a power lunch, we got a power nap!" or something like that.  

The most interesting thing about this week's episode was my daydream about eating the macaroni and cheese from Art & Soul.  Bubbbbbling over the side of the mini crock pot-like bowl.  WANT.  Eventually I'll stop going to the pool, knitting baby hats, and actually tell you about Pizzeria Orso, Jersey Shore Part II, Bibiana (swoon), etc. Small hats, as proof of my busy-ness [pattern for hat here and logos here.].

J & G Steakhouse

So the other day I was having dinner with Hamid Karzai....oh wait, no, I was NEAR his hotel, but he didn't actually join us for dinner.  I assume he was at the Willard, security was hott right thar.

The W Hotel, formerly Hotel Washington, is home to a rooftop bar with quite the view.  The White House looks teeny next to the Treas from this angle!  It tickled me a bit that the Elevator Bouncer checked our IDs to head up to the rooftop, but no one checked 'em when we got our cocktails at dinner.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten is a man with a plan....to open delicious restaurants all over the place!  We may not be Paris, Bora Bora, or even Las Vegas (I'd rather be in DC than LV any day!), but we're one of the most recent additions to the JG family.  Like Bourbon Steak, the place has steak in the name, but the menu is so much more than that (links to Washingtonian & WaPo reviews show I'm not alone in this line of thought).

Drinks:  Dark & Stormy, New York Sour. 

The spring pea soup with parmesan was unbelievable.  GORGEOUS, smooth as silk, and the flaaaavors and the teeeeextures, for real.  I obviously dig pea soup--when done well, it's so so so happy.  The sweet pea puree was an awesome contrast to the thick, foamy parmesan area.  I kept tasting them separately, then together, then separately...ok, I had a little too much fun.

J had heard good stuff about the calamari - it was a big portion, but very light.  CRUNCH.

The halibut (with scallion and chili sauce, basil and celery) was quite tasty.  LB recommended it, and the fish was nice and light.  Lightly crispy top, as you can see.  And the fun underneath would make an awesome tapenade--I'd like to spread that on a cracker, you know?

J's lamb, cooked medium, with a side of root vegetables.  The first bite I had wasn't as good as the next two--those were awesome (I think the first happened to be a more done bite, and I'm all about the pink).  Very simple - seasoned with salt and pepper, then a dried black olive breadcrumb situation (this was light--if you're anti-olive, no worries).  The result was a yummy, charred, smoky, super delicious lamb dish that was so good I almost didn't want dessert because I wanted the last taste on my tongue to be that lamb.  The texture was what it should be--not chewy, not gritty, just perfect.  Root veggies were root veggies--but the puree underneath them was awe-inducing.

A bit of dessert.  Light and fluffy cheesecake with some "exotic fruit compote and sorbet."  Pineapple?  Passionfruit?  Mango?  Something, or maybe a mixture.  I didn't care for the sorbet, but the cheesecake was very good, and adorable.  And A+ to the staff for listening attentively when I said it was J's BIRTHDAY!!!!  Happy day to him.

As we pondered our meal and awaited our check, a gentleman next to us was going on and on to the server and then the manager about the Caesar salad.  Apparently his lettuce was very soggy, and it was unacceptable, and he wouldn't recommend that people return.  J and I exchanged glances that said Who Would Get a Caesar Salad With This Freakin' Menu, Is This Guy Out Of His Mind.  Then we joked about my 19-year-old cousin who orders a Caesar salad wherever he goes--he's a connoisseur.  We'd have to put it to his test to really find out if this guy was right!   For what it's worth, the manager was very receptive to the criticism, and managed the complaint nicely. 

Service was great--our server recommended the "signature" dishes, which were all ones we had heard about beforehand from other blogs and friends.  He wasn't pushy on the drinks, but definitely was encouraging for us to drink more. The line between being attentive to empty glasses and wanting to up our bill is a fine one, and he got a little close.  But I liked him.

We had a wonderful meal, and a wonderful time.  We'll be back! And yes, my photos got increasingly darker as our window seat became irrelevant--night time, a pox on you!

J&G Steakhouse
W Hotel
515 15th Street NW (Penn & 15th)
Metro: Orange, Blue, & Red Lines to Metro Center (or O&B to McPherson, or Fed Triangle...)

Ray's News, Courtesy of WaPo

Ray's the Steaks, Ray's the Bar, Ray's the Classics, Ray's Hell-Burger, and coming soon Ray's the Glass, Ray's the Game, and Ray's the Catch.  Read about the news that Hell-Burger is moving down the street (I guess to the base of the Bennett Park Apartments, based on the address) to make way for Ray's the Game.  No clue when, but I'm sure our pal (jk, we don't know him) Michael Landrum will keep us posted somehow.  We've been waiting on the Catch for a while...

Thank goodness I follow @tomsietsema  on Twitter!

Ray's! Soon! Clarendon!

Remember when I said it was going to happen?

It's happening this Tuesday.

Hide the women and children! No wait, take them out for steak.

Ray's The Steaks

Ray's is awesome, and it's no secret. Washingtonian named it 43rd in the Top 100 Restaurants in 2008, a letdown from #38 in 2007. The place is known for being reservation-free, which often leaves hungry diners waiting for hours (literally), with only two sparse benches outside to do that waiting. That's why I recommend going early, possibly choosing a weeknight, and avoiding cold or rainy days.

Ray's is by no means any of the following things: softly-lit, quiet, romantic, relaxing, luxurious, pampering. But the food is reliably excellent, the service is prompt, and the prices are extremely reasonable. Thus, it draws a crowd.

On Sundays, Ray's has what they call A Place At The Table--patrons can choose from $25, $30, or $35 options (there are a handful of entrees for each price), and each meal comes with choices for a starter and dessert. A portion of the proceeds go to a different local charity every week.

The French onion soup was just sweet enough without being like candy, and I appreciated the portion-size--after all, it's a starter. it was just the right size. It didn't have the typical layer of sorta melted rubbery cheese on top, thank goodness, and it did have a large happy crouton.

I don't even eat steak, so anyone who knows me would question Ray's as a birthday destination. But Ray's makes the best piece of salmon on Earth. Or at least in Arlington! The blackened salmon is super hot all over, fluffy and moist on the inside, and CRISPY on the outside. CRISPY as in when you put in your fork or bite down you hear a ::CRUNCH::. Oh, it is so good.

Those old reliables, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, still come in cast iron shareable sides, but I tried to ignore them in a failed effort to save room for dessert.

The dark chocolate mousse with strawberries and fresh whipped cream was so good that I almost wished I'd left some salmon on my plate so I could actually enjoy more mousse. Almost. The mousse has such a great consistency there, it was cold and really thick--if you had a flimsy plastic spoon, it would definitely bend and possibly snap. I can spot a bad mousse a mile away, when it's sort of like chocolate whipped cream, you know? And this was no such mousse!

Ray's the Steaks
1725 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA
Metro: Court House; there is a parking lot, but it is often full--some street parking is around the Rosslyn/CH area, though