American Bounty Restaurant (Culinary Institute of America)

Hyde Park, NY‎
(845) 471-6608‎

http://www.ciachef.edu/restaurants/bounty/

I was really looking forward to this meal, and I was not disappointed.  Like the other restaurants on the CIA campus, the students work both the front and the back of the restaurant.  The result is great service, remarkable food, and a pleasant atmosphere at a fraction of the price.

We started our meal with blueberry mojitos.  I lived in Miami for a bit and I appreciate good mojitos.  These were good.  To start, I had fois gras on "French toast" with a cherry sauce.  The liver and the sauce were delicious; the French toast was a bit greasy and overpowered the already rich duck.  My dining companion had an asparagus salad with warm goat cheese and pickled beats.  The sweet and sour beats paired nicely with the warm cheese.

For our main courses we had Lobster Burgoo--according to our waiter, a Southern dish that is typically made with possum or squirrel.  The lobster was a welcomed and delicious substitute.  My companion had braised short ribs.  The succulent meat fell off the bone and into a pool of creamy polenta.

For dessert we shared a strawberry rhubarb cobbler with homemade ice cream.  The top of the cobbler was more cookie like, and not my favorite (I am partial to biscuit crusts on cobblers), but the fruit compote and ice cream were delicious.

Oyamel

401 7th Street NW,
Washington, DC‎
(202) 628-1005‎
http://www.oyamel.com/

I love Oyamel. I usually go here for girl's nights, but my mom was in town and my husband and I thought it would be a great place to go for dinner. It was. My mom was a little hesitant because Oyamel is Mexican food. It is not the heavy, flavorless standard fair, but rather a light interpretation of interior Mexican flavors.

Before I get to the food, I just want to mention the atmosphere and the drinks. The restaurant is filled with Neiman Marcus inspired butterfly mobiles, Mexican masks, and bright colors. Maybe it's because I lived in New Mexico, but I love the festive atmosphere. You can't help but be in a good mood when you enter the restaurant. I recommend the Oyamel Margarita. It is a standard margarita served in a martini glass with salt foam, rather then a salt rim. The foam is light and delicious. I also recommend the "Frutas Agumadas," mango juice and mint combine with chili and tequila. It is slightly sweet, and slightly spicy--an intriguing alternative if you don't feel like a margarita.

The food really is good. I have eaten here on several occasions and although some dishes are definitely better then others, I have never been disappointed. I am a big fan of tapas because you get to try lots of different things and if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. On this visit, we started with two types of ceviches--blue marlin and wahoo. The marlin was spicy and delicious. Ever since I first ate Marlin in Honduras, its been one of my favorite--but hard to find--fish. Marlin reminds me of a white fleshed salmon, and it works well with grapefruit and Jalapeno (the way Oyamel serves it). The "verde" wahoo ceviche lived up to it's name and was covered in avocado. I preferred the delicate balance of the Marlin ceviche, but the wahoo was delicious. We also had guacamole (good, but not as good as mine. Of course, I am biased), a special bean tapa (fabulous), hearts of palm salad, grilled flank steak, and an amazing chicken tamale. To top it all off, we each had a taco. I had the relatively standard grilled chicken taco with onions, guac, and peppers, which was good, but not amazing. I highly recommend the fish tacos (the fish melts in your mouth and is sauteed, not fried) and, if they have it, the braised goat tacos.

We ended our meal with coffee and warm chocolate cake with mole and vanilla ice cream. We were so full, but it was a great end to a fabulous meal.

Evo Bistro

1313 Old Chain Bridge Road,
McLean, VA‎
(703) 288-4422‎

http://www.evobistro.com

We decided to go out to lunch today.  Our usual routine is to dutifully eat lunch at our desk, so this was a bit of an occasion.  We decided to go to Evo because 1) tapas are fun and 2) we really needed a glass of wine.  Evo has traditional Spanish Tapas, but with a Middle Eastern flare.

We were not disappointed.  Evo is kind of the place for "Mclean Ladies Who Lunch" to go and eat.  This actually isn't a bad thing.  The bistro with its high ceilings, blown glass fixtures, and wine wall, has a great atmosphere. Yes, you heard me correctly, there is a wine wall.  Evo has many wines on "tap."  You can purchase a card and taste as much or as little from the individual wines as you wish!  If you don't have to drive, it could be fun, delicious, and dangerous!

Although Evo has a full menu, I highly recommend getting tapas and sharing. They are delicious, and it's simply more fun to share your food.  We ordered two per person, which was just right.  First, my favorites.  The calamari was delicious.  It was lightly coated and cooked perfectly (I cannot stand heavily breaded overcooked rubber) and served with three delicious and intriguing dipping sauces.  I also recommend the Sweet Peppers stuffed with mushrooms and cheese, the tomato mozzarella salad, the spinach with chorizo, and the chicken kabobs served with saffron hummus.  We also had a portabello mushroom with goat cheese, empanadas, and the tortilla Espanola.  The mushroom had potential, but was kind of flavorless and the tortilla has way too much potato.  The empanadas were fine, but underspiced.  Also (and this is a completely personal preference) I prefer my empanadas with a flour/corn meal crust rather than a fried puff pastry.

I highly recommend Evo if you are looking for a place with excellent service,  plentiful drinks, good food, and a fun atmosphere.

Eventide

www.eventiderestaurant.com

3165 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 276-3165

I was curious about this new restaurant that opened in my neighborhood.  I went with one of my girlfriends, and found that Eventide was what I expected it to be--trying to be cool with a great bar scene, but with a food that fell short of potential.

The restaurant has a great atmosphere.  The downstairs is noisy, but I actually like that when I meet friends out for a drink.  The cocktail menu is interesting; its a mixture of drinks I could make at home (sparkling wine with elderberry liquor--which actually tastes like lycee fruit--and fresh berries) and different ones.  I had the "peach chumpy"--rum, peach puree, white balsamic vinegar, and ginger puree.  I had high expectations which were dashed at the first few sips.  The drink was too sweet, and the ginger syrup was made with preserved ginger rather then fresh.  As the ice melted into the drink, however, it got much, much better.  next time I would order the sparkling wine cocktail.

The restaurant is upstairs.  I loved the decor.  It has a converted warehouse feel with high ceilings and exposed brick, and a mixture of NYC hip and Victorian decor.  Crystal chandeliers mixed with floating test tube lights; velvet booths intermixed with granite tables; velvet curtails juxtaposed onto exposed brick.  I have to admit I was impressed.

The food was ok, but not great. We started with an amuse bouche of "Jezebel Hushpuppies" which was a nice idea which fell flat. The hushpuppies were cold and tasteless and left a greasy feeling in my mouth--definitely not the way I wanted to start the meal and it absolutely did not amuse my bouche.  I did love the fact that wines ordered by the glass were poured at the table.  It added a classier feel to a moderately priced restaurant.

I wasn't inspired by the main courses and we each ordered two appetizers instead of a main course.  I had an asparagus salad and bison carpaccio and my dining companion had a green salad followed by foie gras.  The salad was good, but not great.  I loved the concept--cold fresh greens, warm asparagus, and a "crisp poached egg" (a poached egg lightly dusted and quickly fried.  it was delicious).  The salad was also served with an herbed goat cheese.  I thought it would have been much better with plain, more flavorful cheese.  Also the salad desperately needed seasoning.

I should have gotten the foie gras which was delicious.  The bison carpacio was just ok.  I was intrigued by the condiments served with the carpacio--mole, jicama, and parmesan.  They should have skipped the parmesan and either gone with a queso fresco, or just skipped the cheese entirely.  The flavor of the parmesan was too strong for the bison, and the mole sauce was overpowered with chipotle pepper.

I would go back again, but probably only for brunch (they have a roof deck open for brunch in the summer) or for happy hour.  The potential is there, however I think they still have a few issues to work out in the kitchen.