Belga Cafe

So I went to Belga Cafe Monday night to meet a friend.....I frequent this cafe at a rate of 2-3 times per month. I've always been a fan of Belga, it's simple, fancy but not quite, moderate prices and very close to where I live. I met chef Bart during his stint as the Embassy of Holland resident/executive chef. The dining room is neat with exposed brick walls, modern decor yet homey. 9 times out of 10 I can be found dining or drinking at the bar; a beautiful dark grey granite top with about 12 seating. The bar serves a huge selection of Belgian Beers and other imported favorites, great cognac and armagnac collection as well as whiskey and bourbons.

Chef Bart van Daele has been pretty hands-on in creating a simple, yet sophisticated menu with great fish selections as well as a couple of steaks. The appetizers are great, especially the chicken and crab "cigars" (eggrolls)......an Asian touch within an updated Belgian cuisine menu that serves 7 (seven) choices of mussel preparation. Among them are prepared with Belgian beers as well as a traditional garlic and white wine preparation.

This time I came to meet a friend for a drink; my usual beverage of choice is a 1998 Chateau Simard Bordeaux. I also decided to have the Foie de Canard, a smoked duck liver similarly presented as Foie Gras and as always it never disappoints. The texture is not as creamy as a Foie Gras, but the smoky flavor and velvety texture goes very well with the Bordeaux.

On other visits I've tried almost everything else on the menu such as the Beifstuk met Friets, Steak and Fries, Zeebars (Seabass), Heilbot (Halibut).........all are very well prepared. Simple, yet flavorful and consistent.

I tend to stay away from chicken dishes at any restaurant........typically an afterthought to please most customer base.

I keep coming back to Belga for its consistent preparations for simple Belgian cuisine, which to me is more like comfort French Cuisine.

Belga Café • 514, 8th Street, SE • Washington DC • Tel. (202) 544 0100 • Fax (202) 544 0204
Pricing: $50-65/pp includes starter and meal with either a glass of wine or beer. Tax and tips not included.

New Restaurant(s) in Petworth

So, I heard that Marvin, that great Belgian restaurant on 14th St, NW has applied to open another one in Petworth!!
There must be something to it there!
Those 2 brand new apartments right on top of the Metro may perhaps be a telling story about the neighborhood.
I also know that the owners of U Street Cafe and Tynan Coffee and Tea have also applied for permits to open a full service restaurant right inside Park Place, the New apartment building on the corner of Quincy and Georgia. The name has yet to be determined and this will be a new venture for them, since U Street Cafe and Tynan are not quite full service.
U street Cafe has made great strides in improving their menu items such as homemade Mac n Cheese, homemade Tuna salad, chicken salad and eggnog latte/chai.
If you like the improvements you will also like the new Restaurant.
The same GM at U Street Cafe, who is a former chef, will be designing the menu and overseeing the kitchen operations.
His stint at Mt Vernon Inn (9yrs), Black's Bar and Kitchen, Greenwood's, says a lot of the expected menu style: Updated southern cuisine.
His past favorites: Shrimp and Grits - well, he uses Polenta for smoother texture and shrimp in creamy succotash spiked with bacon bits.......yum! let's see if he will re-produce that.
Nut crusted fish, like salmon, Halibut and Seabass.
In any case the excitement is there for Petworth with Marvin and the Tynan group moving in.

Domku Cafe

I haven't been to Domku lately.....last time was a few months ago, but it's sort of like an oasis in restaurant deprived "Not-Yet-Worth" Petworth.
It is one block off of Georgia Ave, NW on Upshur Street, NW
The place is very cozy with exposed brick walls, grandma - old - style sofas, high ceiling and chandeliers. The bake room used to have a pool table and tall communal counter tables. Its menu has pretty much an Eastern European, mostly of Austro - Hungarian and Polish oriented. Starters such as Pierogys, Kielbasa and Sauerkraut or (in the summertime) beet and carrot salad are small gems not found anywhere in DC. They also had Lamb Burger, in the fall Bison Burger.
The one thing that hasn't changed is the Grilled cheese sandwich........it may sound "un-special" but the use of cilantro and jalapeno peppers, make a HUGE difference.
I've met the chef; surprisingly this unassuming little Jewel in Petworth is run, founded and created by a Korean Chef!!??
Amazing! When I got a chance to speak with her, I found out that she (the chef) grew up in Poland and have traveled throughout the Slavic and Scandinavian regions of Europe.
Domku opened in 2005 and, hopefully, thriving. So, if you do read this.....pay them a visit, we want them to stay around for a while.

Domku Cafe
821 Upshur Street, NW
Petworth
WDC 20011
T 202.722.7475
F 202.722.7472
E domku@domkucafe.com
URL www.domkucafe.com
Prices: $45/pp (app.): starter, meal and wine/beer, tax/tips excluded

Park Cafe Lincoln park, Capitol Hill

I am going to meet a few friends at Park Cafe this evening. It is a great and small little cafe on Lincoln Park, just a few steps (literally) from my place. It's quaint, serves decent food and has a neighborhoody feel to it.
They serve the typical fare: crabcake, pasta, duck (surprising), etc.........so I will have to review this on my next blog......
To be continued............

So Friday night I went to Park Cafe, literally steps away from my place on Capitol Hill.
It is an unassuming little cafe that serves nicely composed dishes such as Muscovy Duck Breast, Lamb Steak, Wild Boar for main courses, tomato mozzarella stack, maryland crab soup in clear broth for starters. I say unassuming due to the fact that it is small, mostly Capitol Hill residents know it but it should be better well known than it is now. Alcione Vinet opened Park Cafe back in the late 80s, when no one wanted to open a restaurant in that neighborhood. Vinet persisted and without a liquor license, customers had to bring their own bottle(s).
Vinet's journey of having to fight a liquor license ban due to the proximity to a church and finally getting his license, is a story in itself.
From serving Mexican cuisine, to currently a cafe with white table cloth, a cellar with 3500 wines and serving finely prepared cuisine.
Park Cafe has a serene atmosphere to it that makes customers come back. Austere, warm colors, modern, yet homey.
The menu is very sparse; with about 6 items for starters and similarly for the main courses. Everything is A la Carte, meaning all courses do not come with sides of vegetable or starch.
Starters are typical with a Caprese style salad (Fresh Mozzarella and sliced tomatoes) served with Prosciutto, which is fair. The Anjou pears with nuts, Blue cheese and greens is very good; the balsamic dressing is strong but not overbearing that it overwhelms the composition.
Soup of the day was lumps of Blue Crab ina clear broth with lightly cooked vegetables.
It was refreshing but not really new.
The Main courses however, are prepared almost perfectly.
Seared Muscovy, cooked enough to savor the sweetness of the duck, but also subtly seasoned. This is best consumed medium rare.
I had the Wild Boar, which was good, but I didn't quite taste the gamey flavor that most wild grown meats do such as Venison. It tasted more like a Pork tenderloin which is very similar in flavor but not quite as sweet.
lamb steak is likely a loin, due to its tender qualities; again nothing mind blowing, but well seasoned and prepared.
I do think that once one has accomplished a certain level of culinary skills, simplicity becomes second nature. Simplicity not because it a short-cut, an improvisation of sorts, but returning to simple, basic yet sophisticated way of food preparation.

Park Cafe
106 13th Street Southeast
Washington, DC 20003-1408
(202) 543-0184
Open Mon-Sat 11am-2:30pm, 5pm-11pm; Sun 11am-2:30pm, 5pm-9:30pm
App. $50-65/pp, based on Starter meal and a glass of wine, tips and taxes excluded.

Belgian Restaurants in DC

I don't know if anyone's noticed, but in the last few years, 5 to be exact.......perhaps more.....there has been an explosion of Belgian - specific restaurants in DC. Here are some to name a few:
Belga Cafe, on Capitol Hill
Granville Moore, H Street Corridor
Brasserie Beck, Downtown on K Street
Bistrot du Coin, Dupont Circle
Marvin's, 14th and U

I love Belgian cuisine, it is very similar but to me it seems slightly more accessible than French Cuisine. I call it comfort French Cuisine. The really cool thing about Belgian cuisine is that it uses French techniques.
I guess, you can tell I am a French Cuisine enthusiast; Being a former Chef of 10 years, trained using French techniques, I have to be one. As the French say, once you've mastered the French cooking technique, everything else makes sense (cooking-wise).
So, there are also a few favorites in DC:
Bistro D'Oc, 10th street, NW
Bistro Bis, E street by Union Station
Citronelle, Georgetown
Marcel's, Georgetown
Bistrot Lepic, Upper Georgetown

As much of a foodie and impressed by great local chefs that I am.............as of late I am more impressed by simple preparations. I think this is what's missing in the latest American style restaurants. Cooking is like Art painting: too many colors put together, most times comes out brown, grey and less color definitions. Same thing with food; more ingredients, less flavor.
For example, many restaurants offer herb or fruit infused sauces or marinades with many of their sauces and center of the plate offerings. Usually paired with "other" flavors, etc...........
What is wrong with a simple sauce deglacee............sounds complicated, but not!
French style steak preparation involves a very hot sautee pan properly seasoned with fresh cracked pepper and kosher/sea salt. A hot pan will crystallize the salt and pepper and make a crust, especially when the steak is properly dried. The caramelization of the seasonings and steak will leave a "fond" on the pan. This is the best part of the preparation where you "deglaze", hence the word deglacee with either beef stock or red wine and thicken with butter to finish.
It's tedious but very simple........
grill preparations have great flavor but lacks the richness in flavor of French style prep.
Similarly with Fish preparation, caramelization and properly seasoned meats and fish are always key to great dishes.

Anyways.......there many restaurants that don't Half-Ass this process and create great classic American Dishes:
Black Salt, Palisades DC
Black's Bar and Kitchen, Bethesda
Addie's, Rockville
Kinkead's, GWU

Don't get me wrong, places such as Cafe Deluxe (Cleveland Park, Tysons Corner, Bethesda) prepares decent American style comfort food that are not fussy, simple yet tasteful.
Unfortunately, they tend to cater to the cookie cutter mentality of the burbs; Cookie cutter menus. Prime example: Great American Restaurants (Silverado, Coastal Flats, Sweetwater Tavern, Mike's American, etc) and Clydes Group (Clydes, 1789, The Tombs, Old Ebbit Grill, etc). Don't get me wrong, they produce great products, simple menu/recipes, uncomplicated..........BUT Typical.

To be continued............