2011 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Sunday, October 16, 2011
... My date and I could easily just drink the night away, but the dinner list finds us with knives and forks, cutting into juicy steak served with a brushstroke of eggplant puree, and stamp-shaped agnolotti stuffed with biting peppers and tamed with ricotta fonduta.
2011 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The margarita at Ripple has just the right zing, and if you want a Sazerac like the classic you get in New Orleans, the bartender aces that cocktail, too. But he goes the extra step, even though it's Friday and this Cleveland Park hot spot is packed, to forge a connection with his audience on the other side of the mosaic counter. Want to see his greyhound? He surrenders his iPhone to show off the pooch. Care to try something booze-free he created for his girlfriend? Fresh carrot juice and coriander on the rocks sing well together. My date and I could easily just drink the night away, but the dinner list finds us with knives and forks, cutting into juicy steak served with a brushstroke of eggplant puree, and stamp-shaped agnolotti stuffed with biting peppers and tamed with ricotta fonduta. Logan Cox can get carried away with accessories, but the young chef's food mostly impresses. I could make a habit of his mussel-garnished scallop "dumpling," which goes down like a mousse from the deep blue sea. The artful food gets an appropriately fetching frame: three witty rooms designed by the owner's wife, Betsy Marmet, who studied at Parsons. The scenery, like the food, is an eyeful.