Restaurant Week Review: Bibiana

After being treated to an amazing lunch at Carmine's the previous day, I ventured out again this time to Bibiana (It's actually called Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca but for brevity I'm sticking with Bibiana). It's located in the heart of downtown about a block away from the Grand Hyatt on H Street.

I arrived about 15 minutes early for the reservation and took the time to observe the beautiful surroundings while I waited for my sorority sister to arrive.  When you enter through the glass entrance you are greeted by an expansive bar.  The restaurant is filled with dark woods, mirrors, black leather and silver accents, it felt very modern and posh.

Once we were seated we continued to check out the scene. The restaurant was packed, not sure if everyone was there for Restaurant Week (RW) or it's usually like that but I took it as a good thing.  We quickly glanced at our menu and decided what we wanted. 

For appetizers, we had the Suppli al Telefono (rice fritter) and Soppresata (Italian-dry cured salami) with pickled vegetables. My rice fritter was a ball of deliciousness.  It was rice (the consistency was more like risotto though) and it was filled with mozzarella, peas, ham, and tomato sauce.  It was sooo good. I could definitely see myself going back for happy hour just to order that with a glass of white wine.

Next was the main course, she ordered the Atlantic skate while I asked for the steak.  When my dish came out I had to admit it wasn't at all what I expected.  It truly looked like a gourmet hamburger (without the bun) and fries.  Truthfully, had I known it was going to be ground steak I'm sure I would've ordered something else.  I'm not really a fan of burgers or ground beef for that matter.  The steak was cooked to perfection and was well-seasoned, the potatoes were enjoyable but I would've preferred they weren't fried.  Needless to say eventhough it was a nicely sized portion I ended up devouring it.

Finally, it was time for the dessert.  I remember as I was waiting a woman walked up to the host stand and proclaimed that their chocolate mousse was the best she'd ever had in her life.  After hearing that glowing comment of course I had to try it.  It come out with some type of nutty wafer on top and was drizzled with a hazelnut syrup.  It was heavenly!  Each bite was savored and I'm sure I even made a few noises to express how happy I was with my choice.

Bibiana definitely did not disappoint.  Although I was satisfied with all of my selections, my favorite was the chocolate mousse hands down. Buon Appetito!

Food A-
Ambiance A
Service B


Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca
1100 New York Ave Washington, DC 20005
(202) 216-9550
http://www.bibianadc.com/

Restaurant Review: Carmine's DC

I first noticed Carmine's was coming to DC, a couple of months back when I was going to see a performance of Step Afrika at the Lansburgh Theater on 7th Street NW.  It's the latest restaurant to open in DC's Penn Quarter section.

I was familiar with the name because I had been to Carmine's several years ago with family while on a trip to New York City.  Truthfully, I can't remember what I thought of the food, all I remember is the walls were covered with photos of famous Italians.

When I found out not only had they just opened but they were participating in Restaurant Week, I jumped at the opportunity.  I invited one of my co-workers who is soon to be leaving to start B-School at Wharton (impressive right?).  We arrived around 1:30 for our lunch reservation and were seated along the wall so we had a great view of the restaurant. 

It's designed to feel like you're in someone's Old Italy-style home from the light wood flooring to the rustic chandeliers.  We were seated and then greeted by not one but three separate waiters and waitresses.  Our main waitress was extremely familiar with the menu, surprisingly so being that the restaurant had only been open for 2 weeks, and told us anything we could have possibly wanted to know about anything featured on the menu.  Throughout lunch, several of them continued to cater to us and made sure we were comfortable and never in need of anything.

While we were discovering the menu, all of a sudden we became fascinated with what the waiter brought out to the gentleman seated next to us.  I hate staring but I couldn't keep my eyes off of the largest piece of bread pudding I'd ever seen in my life.  The way the waiter sat it down, it just looked heavy and everyone around us laughed at the thought of this man trying to tackle this absurdly large dessert.  (See photo to the right and that was after a few bites)

After the laughter died down, I ended up ordering a Meatball Hero and my co-worker a Portabello Mushroom Hero, both minus the bread with caesar salads.  As soon as we put our order in a huge basket of bread came out, there were about 5 different types of bread, two of each.  Since, I ordered my hero without the bread, I figured I could indulge a little.  There was one piece that absolutely melted in my mouth.  It was topped with garlic, marinara sauce, and a little shaved parmesan.  In my Long Island accent, it was simply "To die for".

There was a slight wait as we anticipated our meals but we had plenty of bread to try which kept us satiated.  In the tradition of family-style the food and salads arrived together.  When I say the portions are huge, that would be an understatetment.  They could only be described as gigantic, colossal, or whatever adjectives describes a massive amount of anything. 

By the time I finished my caesar salad, I looked at the meatballs like do I want to even dare.  I barely managed to eat one when the waitress was like, yeah I knew you weren't going to finish that.   My co-worker wasn't all that impressed with her portabello but she's a picky eater so I figured it would be hard to please her. 

Everything I had was seasoned exceptionally well, the service could not have been any better, and I still can't believe all the food they give you for only $9.  We didn't even get to take advantage of Restaurant Week since it was so affordable.  I definitely look forward to going back soon!

Food A+
Ambiance B
Service A+

Carmine's
The Penn Quarter District
425 7th Street NW
Washington DC 20004
202.737.7770 
http://www.carminesnyc.com/locations/wadc/index.php