Picasso, "Head of a Woman" 1901

Pablo Picasso made his first visit to Paris in 1900, arriving just before his 19th birthday on October 25, 1900. After about 2 months he went back to Spain, arriving in his home town of Malaga on January 1, 1901. Picasso returned to Paris for his second visit in May 1901.

Today's painting is one of two at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that Picasso painted in 1901, when he was 19 or 20 years old. Head of a Woman is a slightly grotesque portrait, similar to other portraits of Parisian ladies of the night but perhaps less grotesque.

You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Zola

Zola has bathrooms hiding behind a swinging piece of "wall." Shadows of PIs in fedoras and identical rooms that make you double-check whether or not you're actually looking into a mirror are the norm here.

Yup. It's next to the Spy Museum.

B and I agonized over where we'd do Restaurant Week lunch--she's a veg, so we wanted to make sure the vegetarian options would actually be worth the $20.09 lunch, and she didn't feel like having fish necessarily (like at Hook). We wanted a place that would be new to both of us, and exciting enough for our sophisticated guest from the Big Apple, L.

Zola offered their entire menu for RW. NICE.

First L and I had the soup of the day: roasted eggplant, tomato, and basil. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was silky smooth and just a touch smoky. Really delish, and not too rich/creamy (a common offense with some tom/bas soup).


B noshed on the Butter Lettuce Salad, which was topped with gouda, almonds, oranges, and a flat, chip-like crouton.



For lunch, I enjoyed the grilled romaine salad with roasted chicken. It was good, but not out-of-this-world. To be honest, I went with a salad entree to ensure some room in the belly for dessert. Still, not the best grilled romaine I've ever had. B had the lobster mac and cheese, which I gather was delicious but veeery rich. And L had this unbelievably moist and flavorful lamb burger. It was so juicy and so well-seasoned, it was aaaamazing. L was also a huge fan of the tzatziki-esque sauce on the side.



Dessert was lovely. Pumpkin pecan roll (with brown sugar sour cream ice cream), key lime cheesecake (with tequila anglaise), and warm apple-quince pie (with gingersnap ice cream. My favorite was the pumpkin pecan roll.







My overall impressions: good service, restaurant is bigger than I thought, not too loud, full of ladies lunching, food was overall delicious--some things more than others, but still a very strong showing.

Zola
800 F St NW
Metro: Green, Yellow or Red Lines to Chinatown/Gallery Place. Or take a short walk from Archives/Navy Memorial or Metro Center.