Friday, April 08, 2011

The Atlas Room, DC


I had a really good pre-concert dinner at The Atlas Room, in the Atlas neighborhood of DC.
Their menu is unusual in that it is divided by (I hate to use this term) "proteins". For instance, under beef, they list several plates of increasing size so you are able to select a small starter, an appetizer to share, or a larger entree sized item.
I started with the grilled seafood salad which consisted of mussels, calamari, scallops, & shrimp on a bed of Israeli couscous. It was plated with droplets of basil & oil.
My second course was an order of their beef short rib ravioli served with onions, mushroom and an herbed demi-glace.
For my final course, I got one of the medium plates, the saddle of lamb with chickpea puree, fennel, tomato, olives ragout and parsley sauce. The lamb was cooked a perfect medium rare, and was just beautiful.
The restaurant also has a good selection of pre-prohibition style cocktails. I started dinner with a Clover Club made with Beefeater London Dry Gin, housemade Grenadine, lemon juice and egg white. It was sweet and pleasant.
For dessert, I opted to have a second cocktail, a La Rosa Flip. It was Cruzan Blackstrap rum, Java Head Stout, and an egg yolk topped with nutmeg. It was nice and creamy, reminding me of a coffee milkshake.
The Atlas Room makes simple, very well executed plates of food and great drinks. I would say it's probably the best restaurant in the Atlas district right now.

1015 H Street NE
Washington D.C.
(202)388-4020

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