Week Four: Bond, The Willard, and Harry Potter

Let me tell you, I am a big Harry Potter fan and have been anticipating the release of the seventh book for quite some time. In fact, I pre-ordered it a few months ago, and for me, it was late because I even waited a few weeks after it was available for pre-order (big risk taker here, I know). To be honest, though, I've never been too interested in release parties. They seemed fun, but really not my thing. I just want to get to the store, get my book, get home, and get reading. With that in mind, I've gotten my last two Harry Potter books from the Borders at 14th and F St. NW, in downtown DC. Once the working day ends and the restaurants have closed, the part of the city near the Treasury and the White House becomes relatively quiet, and since the area isn't residential, the Harry Potter party is limited to people like me, who just want to stop by, get their book, and leave. Perfect.

I had Friday (relatively) planned-- I would test out the Willard's new restaurant, Cafe du Parc. As I knew a few of the concierges back from my days in the business, I would stop by their desk and reconnect for a few minutes. And if I got bored before midnight, I might even be persuaded to head over to Gifford's for some ice cream, or the Elephant and Castle for a Harp.

I went to Cafe du Parc. The bread there is the fantastic European kind with the hard, crunchy golden exterior and soft, white interior. The service is excellent as well. If there is anything that one can count on with the Willard and all of its associate ventures, it is the service. It is quick, it is friendly, and it is knowledgeable. I am told the Four Seasons has better service, but I'm not sure how much better you can get. I have a feeling that the differences there are in the most minute of details, and I am so not the splitting-hairs type.

The entree, I think, could have been better, but let me tell you what I did like about it. If you look at the picture, you'll see some roasted garlic and grilled eggplant. I really liked those. I don't know if I've ever had roasted garlic, but I've always known that garlic has a lot of sugar in it (anyone who has cooked with garlic at all, can see that). For this reason, I have no idea why I didn't think roasted garlic would be sweet, but it is--pleasantly so. The grilled eggplant was nice, too. As soon as it hit my mouth, I felt it practically melt on my tongue, my tension melting with it.

One thing I don't like about eating in restaurants is the fact that so many of them drastically over-salt their food. Cafe du Parc does not, even though with such a mild flavor, the eggplant seems perfect for some salt--and then a little more...and some more still. Instead, they grilled the eggplant with just a little bit of olive oil, allowing the flavor to shine through. Yummy.

I'm a little conflicted about the main part of the entree- the one that looks like a ribeye steak. The genius of it is that it's not really a ribeye steak. Ok, yes, I am one of those country bumpkins that gets all excited when my food is dressed up to look like something it's not. I giggled when I realized that the part of my entree that looked like meat was actually a mixture of greens. Not sure what these mystery vegetables were, but they were tasty, as was the hard-boiled quail's egg that was supposed to be the "bone" of the "ribeye", and which I was thoroughly certain I wasn't going to like (but tried anyway, and did like). The lighter section wrapped around the veggie-quail's egg masterpiece, however, was supposed to be the veal. I say "supposed to be" because, well, there wasn't a whole lot of veal there. Just fat. And I was kind of disappointed, because I wanted the veal.

Perhaps this was planned - perhaps the chef needed to increase the fat content of the "ribeye" to keep something from getting too dry. I'm not sure, but when the waitress came over to check on me, she insisted that everything on the plate could be eaten and exhorted me to eat the "veal" that was really fat. I ate a few more bites, just to be polite but really, there are better uses for the calories...

...such as the chocolate mousse topped with fresh raspberries that I had for dessert, for example. Yum. The mousse was dense, the flavor was rich, and the raspberries were at their peak. I was a happy camper with this mousse. Sadly, it was so rich, and I was so full from my dinner, that I was only able to finish half of it (though I polished off all of the raspberries). Ah well, better luck next time.

This is where my evening went off the track I had planned for it: during my meal, unknown to me, my friend Bond called and left a message inviting me to meet up with him and one member of his merry band of cads and scoundrels at Bourbon in Glover Park. I decided then that Harry Potter would just have to wait until Saturday and headed to the concierge desk to get an exact address for Bourbon, as well as hopefully shoot the breeze with the concierge on duty.

As luck would have it, an acquaintance of mine was working the desk, and we proceeded to chat for the next 45 minutes or so about restaurants and places to live, venues, activities, mutual friends and, of course, gossip about the Washington, DC hospitality scene. My Concierge Friend not only vetted my current list of restaurants, bars and venues, but even added a few to it, for which I am grateful (though my list is now so large I am unsure that I will ever see even half the spots I have on it). We exchanged email addresses, promised to keep in touch, and I really hope we do. I loved getting his insight and would love to check out some new restaurants with him.

Bourbon was as it has always been for me - very laid back and, for the most part, uncrowded. I love that. This is not a place that I would go to wearing, say, a tank top and cut-offs, but in my Friday office casual wear (a nice pair of jeans, camisole and a blazer) I felt quite comfortable. We told stories, Bond tried to get me drunk on wine, and his cadly friend hit on the cocktail waitress. Bond and I took a cab back to his Dupont Circle condo and chatted some more before I crashed on his couch. I have a distinct feeling that Bond (being who he is) had...other plans...for us for the evening...but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

And the next day, in the haze of a red wine hangover, I took the metro to Metro Center, got a coffee at the Caribou near there, headed over to Borders to pick up my book, and then went home. Delicious.

If you go:

Cafe du Parc
1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20004

Willard Intercontinental Washington
1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20004

Bourbon - Glover Park
2348 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20007