Is this true? A Restaurant Week-like event that continues throughout the entire year? I was recently told about the Washington, D.C. Tastings Journal. While there isn’t the grandiose restaurant selection, one can pay $45 pp and get a five-course meal that includes (one) glass of wine. Through May 31st, the featured restaurant is Indebleu. I’ve heard interesting, mixed reviews of this venue and was excited to try it out for myself.
Indebleu (currently without a functioning website) has a new chef – Michael Hartzer – and a bold menu selection for their prix fixe. We began with the chili relleno – dull. Forgetable. Next. For the second course I had the baby rocquet salad. This salad was heavily dressed, and accompanied with spiced cashews. The combination was not incredible, but hey, this is a cheap dinner and I’m not expecting their best. (Although, shouldn’t I?) The carrot soup, offered as a choice with the salad, was much better!
For the third course I decided on the scallops. Perhaps as an ode to their origins in some mysterious bay, there were doused by a heavy hand with salt. Almost inedible. Almost. The other choice, the mushroom pasta, was much better. For the fourth course, I had the tuna. The warm saffron vinaigrette was more orange (in color and flavor) than delicious. The tuna was well prepared – but let’s be honest, this isn’t rocket science. The fresh mint relish for the lamb was missing, I believe, the mint. And the lamb was not medium-rare, but red as a sacrificial offering.
Come on dessert! We’re all counting on you to save the day. Peach beignets with chevre ice cream – ah, this could be wonderful. But, wait a minute, uh-oh. The peach slices contained within the delicious sugared dough were hard. These weren’t fresh, ripe peaches, but rather rock hard peach-esque segments.
All in all, this was a disappointing dinner. The one saving grace of the entire evening, you ask? A drink from the bar – a libation that had nothing to do with the meal. I believe it was called – a Dirty Duck Sauce something? I don’t know. But there was vodka and gin in it, with some delicious olives stuffed with blue cheese and duck sausage. If I closed my eyes, and took a sip, it was almost like I was at Proof – and everything was going to be right with the world.
– AEK
