Mon Ami Gabi

C – Have I mentioned this place before? I think only as a stopover on the way to Red Velvet Cupcakery, so perhaps it deserves a post of its own. Mon Ami Gabi bills itself as a “classic french bistro.” It is, in fact, somewhat of a chain restaurant with five locations across the country: Las Vegas, Chicago, Oak Brook, Bethesda and Reston.

I’ve been to the Reston location several times and it’s good. Not spectacular, but good if you’re looking for a business dinner that won’t break the bank.There’s something to please everyone here. Some of my favorites include the warm brie cheese appetizer, steak frites w/Bearnaise sauce and the chicken paillard.

It tends to be quite crowded here on weeknights, so reservations are recommended. If you have a large group of people, they are very accommodating and have some great private space. But again, plan ahead. Overall, I see Mon Ami Gabi as a restaurant with consistently good food and an excellent location for business dinners.

Mon Ami Gabi
Reston Town Center
11950 Democracy Drive
703.707.0233

 

Temptations at Restaurant Eve

K- Finally! I made it to Restaurant Eve! It’s just been one of those things on my list that I never got around to….until this weekend.  I will say that I had built it up in my mind that whenever I finally went it would be a fabulous experience with amazing food and wasn’t disappointed.

According to their website “Restaurant Eve has one intention: to bring everything together in perfect harmony—ingredients, cooking techniques, presentation, and that ephemeral, indescribable characteristic that we call soulfulness. We purchase from farms that share our values of quality and sustainability, and showcase the best hand-fed, farm-raised, organically grown bounty Virginia and the surrounding countryside have to offer.”

Entering the restaurant was interesting – you walk through a little candlelit tunnel to get to the door. Inside is warm and welcoming with paintings of food and flowers, wood and nicely spaced tables.  No getting close and personal to the diners next to you – which was very pleasant for a change!

We started off with a cocktail. The cocktails had very long name and were a bit pricey but as it was a special occasion, we had one.  All I can remember as far as the drink’s name was that it started with “Dublin” however I do know that it was made with Irish whiskey, ginger and something spicy and it was very good.

We decided on the Chef’s tasting menu, which had five courses, as I wanted to taste as many things as possible since I didn’t know when I might get to return to the restaurant.  We also did the wine pairings.

We began with the amuse bouche that included a mini-gougère and deviled quail egg, they then brought a small bowl of asparagus soup and finally a spoonful of sorbet – everything tasted delightful –  before they began serving dinner.

Before I continue, I have to confess that I didn’t take many pictures of the food. I was so captivated by the cuisine, atmosphere and company that I completely forgot that I needed to take pictures – but that’s a good thing, right?

Okay, so dinner began with Sashimi of Deepwater Golden Snapper with Green Thai Chili, Garlic Emulsion, and Red Mizuna (I know that because it was on their FB page) that jumped and melted in my mouth. We then had Diver’s Scallop, grilled fish and shoat and for dessert some heavenly chocolate concoction with raspberries. I wish I knew exactly what they were called and all of the amazing ingredients – but alas, I was too enthralled with the different delightful tastes that I was experiencing.  Warm slices of bread accompanied our dinner and of course, the wine pairings. I must admit that I was disappointed with the wine. It was good wine, but not as brilliant as the food. I felt that at $104 the wine should have excited me as much as the food, but it didn’t.

As for the service, it was very good at the beginning but as the evening continued the service became uneven. At first, we had a knowledgeable sommelier who gave us interesting information about the wine we were drinking, such as it was a Kabinett that came from a stainless steel cask rather than oak. However, in the middle of dinner, we had two other people bring us our wine pairing who said very little about it and when we asked questions they didn’t seem to know the answer. Also, near the end of dinner, service slowed down a lot. I’m fine with the slower service however it was the opposite of what we began with. I will say that there was a moment that I was extremely impressed with. I was sitting on the long booth side of the table and the table near us had four kids with them (yes, that is correct and I was surprised) and one of them was kicking the booth continuously and noisily. The manager went over to him and discreetly went over and talked to the child and got him to stop.

Overall, a bit on the expensive side but yes, I will return! Oh yeah, went around Old Town too.

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Mango Tree in DC

K-Last night a friend and I went to Mango Tree at DC’s City Center.  According to its website  the restaurant was founded in 1994 and the original Mango Tree is located in a beautiful Thai house in Bangkok built during the reign of King Rama VI, almost 100 years ago. The chain has restaurants in cities including London, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Dubai and Manila.

The Mango Tree restaurant group, has partnered up with acclaimed chef / owner Richard Sandoval of Richard Sandoval restaurants for the DC restaurant and per the website “offers contemporary Thai cuisine with a bold new twist, along with authentic essential classics.”

I chose Mango Tree due to Tom Sietsema’s review in the Washington Post.  However, after I made the reservation, I began to read Yelp reviews and became a bit nervous after reading about people not getting their entrees even after a three hour wait, “meh” food, couldn’t find the dining area and other negative comments.  I warned my friend that we could be in for an unpleasant surprise.  Fortunately all that doom and gloom was for nothing.

I arrived a bit early so I sat down at the bar to have an happy hour drink at the bar. During happy hour drinks and snacks are $6.  I asked Tim, the bartender, about the strawberry basil caipirinha and he assured me that it was very good. I looked at him and said, “Ok, but then I’m going to expect it’s going to be amazing.” He said he would make sure of it.  I got my drink and took a sip and it was very good. Thanks Tim!

When my friend arrived he also had a caipirinha and as we were having drinks we asked if there was a way to let the dining room know that we were in the bar so we would be a little late – they said no problem and they would take care of it – mind you, this was around 5:15 p.m.  After about 15 minutes the hostess came down to the bar and asked if we were ready to go to the dining room – yes, we were – and she asked if we would like someone to carry our drinks up for us – nope, we were fine.

Dining room is beautiful. The windows are huge so you can get a great view of outside, yes its streets and buildings but hey, you are in the city.  Daniel, our server, was very knowledgeable about the food and answered all of our questions patiently, including some smart ass ones from my friend.

I ordered the grilled baby octopus salad and the eggplant and mushroom curry and my friend ordered the chili flake calamari and the grilled Portobello mushroom curry.  The salad was very good but if you are one that doesn’t care for spicy heat, I wouldn’t recommend it. I like spicy and didn’t mind that it caused my nose to run. The calamari was nice and crisp but the green apple and wasabi sauce was also spicy.  Both curries were very good but were not very spicy – maybe they were, but just not as spicy as the appetizers! We did have dessert, the mango cheese cake.  The cheesecake was light and tasted more creamy than cheese and the mango slices – one was good and the other must have been cut near the pit as it was a bit tough – made it very decorative. It was a nice dessert. Overall, I would say the meal was good – not amazing but good – and a little pricey.  I’m glad I went there once, but with all of the fabulous restaurants around town I’m unsure if I would return.

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Fun DC Stuff for Spring

C – I know it’s not Spring yet. Not even close. But a girl can dream and, in fact, plan. Here are a few fun things to look forward to this Spring:

The National Park Service announced yesterday, peak bloom for this year’s cherry blossoms. April 11-14. The actual festival will be held March 20 – April 12, so fingers-crossed the blooms will come out during the window. Follow the #Bloomwatch on Twitter @NationalMallNPS.

DC United opens the regular season this Saturday, March 7th against the Montreal Impact. A bit chilly for soccer if you ask me – the forecast shows a high of 43 – but perhaps the experience could trick you into thinking it’s Spring? Maybe?

Nothing says Spring like walking for a good cause. Walk for Wishes will be held at the Mosaic District on March 26th. Maybe it’ll be one of those awesome March days!

Iggy Azalea is coming to the Verizon Center May 12th. I have to admit, I’m curious. Plus, she has a very Spring-like name. So, there’s that.

I am not entirely sure how many beer festivals there are in the DC area, but I came across two that seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. The 2015 DC Beer Festival will be held Saturday, April 11, 2015 from 1:00 to 9:00 pm at Nationals Park, while Savor is on the calendar for June 5-6 at the National Building Museum.

I hope this helps at least a little bit. Good luck with the rest of Winter and look forward to a wonderful DC Spring.