youngfood

Proof is fast becoming one of my favorite spots as well. I think Hillvalley coined the term 'medium roller' and I'd like to note that while Proof has plenty of potential to run up an enormous tab, a medium roller can do quite well for a reasonable price here. Two sparkling flutes, a bottle of red, three small plates, a large plate, and a dessert ran us about $135 pre-tip and was a plenty indulgent celebration for us. The excellent Gnocchi has been well documented and still features chanterelles, now with leeks where before there was corn. New to the menu was a Crudo of White Tuna with foie gras essence. Four glistening, thinly sliced, but fairly large two-bite pieces of fish in a lovely intense foie sauce were delightful. I don't know if I can order crudo at Hook again after that! The Tuna Tartar is the only nonsushi restaurant-based tuna fix, I've enjoyed in years. Placed above and below nori tempura chips of sorts, the tuna is well dressed with wasabi-soy emulsion and hess avacado bits. Desserts here haven't gotten much attention, but the goat's cheesecake deserves some love from anyone who's into that sort of thing. It's a fun play on the idea. Our server warned us that it was less traditional (read not as thick) than most, but we loved the strong goat cheese flavor. It's served in a glass with the graham cracker crust and a tart fruit flavor layer on the top and gooey goat cheesecake below. Once you get a spoon or so in, you can mash the various components together to produce a well balanced bite. And no post about Proof would be complete without some love for their wine program. Their lengthy list is a fun read even if I'm limited to the small roller side of it. Although the list offers many high end options, Proof deserves much credit for many affordable by the glass options, and a decent number of affordable bottles. I wasn't familiar with most of what I saw, so I asked for help. Sebastian landed us with a 2003 Cote des Fees, which was amazing. A blend of grenache, syrah, mouvedre, and carnigan, this was served from a bottle that was cold to touch, in some gorgeous huge stems, and was about the most stunning wine I've ever tasted. The wine was a deep dark hue and the second you smelled it, you knew it was going to knock your socks off. It was more fruit-forward than I expected from an old world wine, but no where near enough to suggest that it came from this side of the pond. I wish I had more to say about this, but while I know what I like when it comes to wine, I'm still working on figuring out how to describe it. I can say that this bottle made an otherwise delicious and fantastic meal special. And it elevated Proof from a spot where I thought you could have a couple delicious courses and some good wine, to a major player in the medium roller big night out category.

Any word on how much this will be? And, thanks to everyone who is working to make this happen!

That's too bad. This is a LOVELY spot to have breakfast. One of my mentors has been taking me here for our semi-regular breakfast meetings the past few years. They make a great frittata, press your coffee to serve, pour fresh squeezed OJ and offer cute little smoothies to start the meal. The service is always excellent. It's a great escape from the hussle and bussle of downtown, and an elegant and relaxing spot to start the day.

7 pm, please. And to clarify, is the $50 to Vidalia in lieu of the $28 to Vidalia that was mentioned previously and in addition to the $19 to Don, or in lieu of the prior divided payment system entirely?

Cod Grapefruit Beurre Blanc Roast Chanterelles and Cauliflower Roast Brussel Sprouts and Chesnuts Gaba do Xil Godello 2006 (hat tip to Don from several months ago, I've only just now found a Godello at CW for $9 and it went great with my otherwise mismosh dinner flavors and was much more interesting than any other cheap white I've had of late) Chocolate Pound Cake Acacia A Pinot Noir 2005

Well, at least in part because it has been misdescribed, not described (despite a number of folks asking what is actually on it), or described differently than what I was served last weekend. If I had ordered smoked mozz & onions, it would not have been the same. Ricotta was a critical ingredient and there were no onions, was garlic, and may have been some other spices that were on the pie that may or may not be on a pie which is ordered ingredient by ingredient. That said, I think ordering smoked mozz, ricotta, and garlic would likely do the trick.

I finally got around to trying the pizzas at Bebo last weekend. Of course, I had to try the much touted "smoked mozz." The bartender (who was perfectly nice) looked at my like I was nuts when I attempted to order it, but the chef was manning the pizza oven and so we were in luck. Others here have described it as having onions, but ours did not. As described above, it was smoked mozz, ricotta, garlic, and a mix of dried herbs - mostly basil/oregano (I think) and a touch of rosemary. The combination of smoked mozz with ricotta is really stellar - the creamy ricotta cuts right through the potentially overpoweringly rich smoked mozz flavor to produce a really fantastic balance. It wasn't the best pizza I ever had (Pepe's white clams reigns supreme), but it was good enough to convince me to return to Bebo in spite of some other service mishaps that would keep me from ever suggesting the place for a first date or special occasion. The sausage & broccoli rabe combination is very good as well, though its tough to hold up to the smoked mozz & ricotta punch.

I was pretty sure the email they sent said you had to email them about it AND bring a toy... Yeah, here's what the email said in full: Sweet Hope a Dessert for Toys reception... Saturday December 8, 2007 1:00-3:00 PM Desserts, Sparkling Cider, Hot Chocolate and Eggnog, with Music by The Georgetown Visitation "Madrigals", and more... Admission Tickets Required -tickets may be requested at citronelledc@luxuryresorts.com, or may be picked up at the restaurant, prior to 12/8/07. Please bring a toy or monetary donation to the children of St Jude Children's Research Hospital. (emphasis added)

Nice detective work! Don, maybe you and Todd can HUG IT OUT at your date night?!

Reheated Bebo pizzas leftover from last night: the famed "Smoked Mozz" and the Broccoli Rabe n Sausage. Even better on day two!

Awesome. I'm in for 2- Youngfood +1 ETA: Thanks, Don & E.Z.

The service at the bar last night was great! I was a little nervous about trying to score bar seats on a Thursday night, but we got lucky and there seemed to be a seat for almost everyone there last night. Some places take serving meals at the bar more seriously than others. Proof seems to fall clearly in the camp of those who treat bar-based diners with the same level of respect as those in the dining room. We didn't order that large a meal, but had a great time chatting with the bartenders about the wines by the glass and were pleased with the several reds we tried. Over the course of two and a half hours, three different folks behind the bar made a point of treating us with the level of respect you'd be pleased to have in any dining room. We never had to ask for a water refill, were offered pre-meal crackers & spread (Proof's pre-meal bread & butter), never struggled to get someone's attention for another glass of something or a recommendation for something new, and had our grilled bread accompaniment to the charcuterie replenished without hassle. I know, this isn't an exciting post, but it was some of the most noteworthy service I've had anywhere in quite some time and I thought it was worth giving kudos where they are due. Thanks to the bar staff at Proof! I will not hesitate to seek a seat here the next time I'm looking for a meal and some wine at the bar.

The 6:00 start time is a problem for me as well. Is that when dinner is really being served or is this something folks can stroll into a bit later?

Yeah, that was awesome. My brother found some for even less at a Cosco (in the Northeast) that he served up at Thanksgiving. I was thrilled to find that the P St store had them available in abundance on Sunday.

Does one need to have aristocrat-sized pockets to afford a bottle of this stuff? What are we talking about price-wise here? This sounds like a great Christmas gift for my manhattan-drinking old man, if it's not too pricey.

The crabcake sandwich here is a bargain for $10 and the staff is full of character.

Chef Geof does half price wine on Mondays. Sonoma seems to have stopped doing half price wine on Sundays.

Anyone have any recommendations off the wine list here? We've got reservations for tonight and just found out that we'll be celebrating my being offered a great job, so I'm hoping to try something good.

I thought this was the least researched, most crass and overly-generalized piece of "reporting" I've seen in a long time. I mean, I love making fun of 'kids these days' as much as the next guy, but this is a bit much. Where is the empirical support for any of this?! Such gross stereotyping is never helpful. I tell ya, reporters these days! Back when I was a boy, they used to actually do research and not just dreg up old stereotypes to exploit societal disdain for the usual characters...

Me too. I grabbed some at the Old Town TJ's a little over a week ago.

Fair enough. Does seem odd to pick someone who's covered one of the contestants so extensively.

Boo. Ruhlman responds to lame accusations about the new iron chef and his selection here. Symon won several of the previous rounds and appears to have been selected as the winner by all three iron chef judges on the final night. It was a great show and both Besh and Symon did some very cool stuff. Neither deserves to be slimmed after the fact. The regular judges, on the other hand, were my least favorite part of the show.

You know, I'm sure that's a fair point, but anecdotally, I've had better service at a number of spots over the past several months than I've previously experienced. Who knows why, but I've been pleasantly surprised by great service at spots on the hill - Locanda as soon as it opened, this past weekend at Sonoma (where I'd not been overly impressed by staff previously), at Westend on official day #2, and the Restaurant Eve folks continue to expand and hire new young staff who are well versed and friendly. I guess it's easier when you are part of the Eve group and I'm sure it is hard to find and retain good people for not-so-high paying jobs, but some places are doing it well. I suspect the places that do care enough put a lot of effort into it, but I've had more positive experiences over the past year than I have in any prior. Is this an anomaly or are other people finding that the overall quality of food service in this town is improving along with the caliber of the food itself?

That is sad. All the more reason to do something good this holiday season. BTW, I'd be in for some holiday season volunteering, schedule permitting. I've pitched in at So Others Might Eat previously. They're great, but are also a popular destination for local volunteers, especially on peak dates.

Pesto Shrimp Asparagus Gnocchi (Cooking Light) Store bought bag of gnocchi off the grocery store shelf (surprisingly not bad) 2-3 cubes of pesto from the freezer, half a bag of frozen uncooked shrimp from TJs, and half a bundle of asparagus. If you keep bags of shrimp and cubes of pesto in the freezer, aparagus is the only fresh ingredient required. Boil gnocchi and remove saving water to boil shrimp & chopped asparagus for 5 mins. Remove and add to gnocchi. Mix in pesto.