Bloomberg News Gushes Over D.C. Hotel Food
Yesterday, Bloomberg reporter Jim O'Connell published a review of a few of D.C.'s most well-known hotel dining - and he seemed to like what he found in hotel kitchens across our nation's capital.
First up was the "appropriately swank" CityZen at the Mandarin Oriental - which, as you may recall, proved to be too cool for the WSJ reporter last week (she couldn't get a table) - which he declared "well worth the splurge" of, presumably, both calories and dollars.
Next on the tour de delish was Michel Richard Citronelle at the Latham Hotel, which serves up innovative, fun dishes that are more than just smoke and mirrors:
The changing menu recently offered "breakfast for dessert," featuring cookies that resemble strips of bacon, apples disguised as hash browns and meringue impersonating a soft-boiled egg. Obviously Chef Michel Richard is having fun in the kitchen. Even so, the clever-looking plates he's concocted don't mask Richard's real achievement: This is seriously accomplished food.
Though this seems kind of ass-backwards, some of us eat dessert-y things for breakfast (hello cheese danishes), so why not the other way around, right?
Also at Citronelle was a well-received paella with pine nuts and, for the grand finale, a "spectacular dessert" like a Kona Souffle or a decadent chocolate dessert plate.
It seemed like the reviewer loved this one best - and even pointed out that the jackets-only dining room kept the food comin' and wasn't too snooty.
Receiving a slightly less laudatory review was the Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord National Resort. Though the crab cakes and artisanal cheese plate were memorable, some other items "lacked care." Most notably:
The rockfish wrapped in zucchini ($38) falls flat. While the fish arrived flaky and moist, the flavor escaped somewhere between the ocean and the plate.
Also, for a steakhouse, serving up big (though delicious) slabs of meat with a "wafer thin" potato is pretty lame - and Old Hickory lost points there, too.
Bottom line: looks like Citronelle is your best bet - especially if you can't get into CityZen (not even the WSJ can!) - but if you go for the Old Hickory, then stick with the crabcakes and cheese.
[Photo: Michel Richard Citronelle via Bloomberg News]
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