Al Dente AKA La Forchetta–Roberto Donna Back in Action

Al Dente

3201 New Mexico Ave. N.W.

Washington, DC 20016

http://www.laforchettadc.com/

Roberto Donna is a true Washingtonian.  Much like many politicians around here, he can get beat up pretty good, sometimes deservedly, sometimes not, and then get right back into the fight.  I am very glad he’s back in town.

He’s always had some of the best Italian food in the city.  It’s not crazy modern stuff, it’s real, down to earth Italian that tastes like it’s supposed to taste and looks like what it’s supposed to look like.  His flavors are true, his ingredients are fresh, and everything is brought to a crescendo of balance.

This is what you see when you first come in.  A nice food-bar right in front of the cooking area.  The dining room is to the left.

I chose to sit at the food-bar and watch Roberto and his Sous Chef Fabio work.  I didn’t order off the menu. I was there with a friend who is also a chef but had never tried Roberto’s cooking, so I suggested that we just relax for a bit and have Roberto make what he felt like making.

The first course was burrata with a roasted tomato, some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Simplicity of ingredients married with excellent execution.

Course number two was a date wrapped in prosciutto and broiled with butter.  Very nice flavor combinations.

The third course a a fruite de mer pasta.  The tomato sauce with sparse herbs was popping with flavor and the seafood was perfectly done.

Roberto knows how much I love his risotto and dished some of that up as our last course.  It was done as it should be, still al dente, and the asparagus was crisp and crunchy.  It was topped with sun dried tomatoes to bring some balance.  If you’ve never had his risotto, go in and give it a shot.

I can’t wait to get back there for dinner when I have time to sit and let the meal progress.  Some great desserts were coming out of the kitchen including a new play on Tira Misu which I’m dying to try.  You’ll see it here. 
Thanks for reading.

Top 10 Things I Put In My Mouth in 2011

As 2011 sputters to a close, it's time for a little retrospection of what has come to pass.  I've done some serious dining.  Some of the food I had was so good that I actually get misty when I describe it to people.  Some of it, not so much.

What I've assembled here are the top ten dishes I had the presence of mind to photograph this year.  If you click on the pictures they will expand to show you the big shot.  Where applicable, I've posted a link to the blog entry giving you more details.

Strangely enough, I went through and picked out my favorites from all the items I shot pictures of in 2011 and they were all in fairly distinct categories.  I didn't have to choose between favorites in the same category, which is nice. 

Let's start with dessert first:

Best Dessert 

RJ Cooper, owner and chef of Rogue 24, sent this to our table towards the end of our 24-course tasting menu.  The flavor combination here was astounding.  Everyone in our party gushed.

Best Freebie on the Table 

This is the truffled pop-over from Kevin Sbraga's eponymous restaurant in Philly.  Crispy, tender, flaky, warm, and stinking of truffles.  Don't get me started.

Best Counter Service Chicken 

Outstanding Peruvian chicken is hard to find.  A lot of it is good, but there are only a couple that are superlative.  Super Chicken is the winner in the DMV.  The customer service is great, the sides are not an after-thought as they are in most other places like this, and the chicken is so good it makes you drop the knife and fork and pick it up with your hands.

Best Appetizer....by far 

Fiola,  Fabio Trabocchi's restaurant in DC, is a quiet return to some upper-end dining.  The bar can get lively, but I think of this place as a temple to this dish.  This is all I want when I go there.  Fois Gras, perfectly seared, over a buttery brioche.  There was some fruity element and a balsamic glaze.  This is not on the menu anymore, but I'm sure there will be another iteration of it there soon.

Best Pasta

The person who created this occupies 20% of my top 10.  Chef Mike Isabella.  The is the sweet corn stuffed agnolotti which he was showcasing when the restaurant first opened.  I've posted twice about this restaurant.  The first was here.

Best Pizza.  Ever. 

It doesn't matter who I'm with or what else we're having:  If I'm at Graffiato after 5:00pm I have to order one of the Countryman Pizzas.  Here is a link to the second post I did about this restaurant when I had the pleasure of trying the tasting menu.

Best Comfort Food 

Comfort food doesn't have to be Mac n' Cheese.  That's American comfort food.  Other cultures have comfort food too, and it doesn't have to be full of fat and cheese.  Not that I'm knocking fat and cheese, but I loves me a #12 at Pho 75 on Rockville Pike.  I checked my stats on Foursquare and Yelp, and I've been here, for this dish, over 40 times in 2011.  Crazy.  My neighbors and I live 10+ miles from this place, but we run into each other there.  We like it that much.

Best Side Dish

I'm not sure how else to describe the Palak Chaat dish properly. Vikram Sunderam pulls together many flavor and creates this wonder at Rasika.  I could go there, have a plate of this, and leave satisfied. 

Best Cheese Course 

I miss this dish, and the man who created it, Roberto Donna.  I'm hoping to see him back at work somewhere soon.

  The Budino Parmiggiano.  This was a different presentation than the one in my original post, but it made a better picture.  Sublime.

Best Home Cookin' Feature 

As readers of my blog know, I sometimes take on a home cooking project and post about it.  This was the tastiest adventure of the year.  Shrimp and Grits, using a recipe posted by RJ Cooper on StarChefs.  I made it for a party my wife was attending and this was the test run.  Salty/creamy with layers of acid and flavor.  One of my best, if I do say so myself.

It was a good year for food and restaurants in the DMV.  2012 should prove exciting as well.  Please be sure to stay tuned for more posts on this and my other blog, POSmelson where I post information about the issues, tools, tricks, and technology behind and involving restaurants.  As always, your comments, forwards, retweets, and emails are appreciated.

See you next year.

Galileo revisited and a night on the town...

People say to me, they say, "Hey Dave, what's it look like when you do a night on the town?" Actually, I've never had anyone ask me that. However, I figured I'd share it with you anyhow. I haven't posted much in recent months because my camera literally fell apart...but I've got new gear so here we go. My pal from two doors up, Shawn, agreed to be my designated driver for the evening. Sweet!

I love watching a professional kitchen...all clean, sparkly, shining, and competent.

Hey, isn't that Chef Roberto Donna? As a matter of fact, it is!

We started out with some cocktails...a bourbon something for Shawn and a Hemingway Daquiri for me. Grapefruit juice, rum, lime...awesome.

The budino. Last time I had it I remember it being one of those dishes that actually took my breath away. This time, not so much. The flavor was there, but the texture was different. Not as creamy/silky as I remembered it being.

This is the cold marinated/poached rabbit with green beans. The green beans were cooked to perfection. It's a little thing, but it makes a difference.

This a black pasta with cherry tomatoes and soft shell crab. The crab was keeping warm under the pasta. I can't even express the simplicity, and elegance, of the dish. The crab was absolutely perfect and burst with flavor when I bit into it. This dish was a 10.

Considering that the soft-shell was a 10, this was the 11. This salmon was one of the most perfectly cooked pieces of fish I've ever had. It had a flawless sear. I wish I could cook like this at home. I've tried many times. I asked Chef Roberto what he put on the fish to get that perfect, crispy top. He told me all that was on the fish was salt and olive oil. He said it was the quality of the fish that made the difference.

This was Shawn's dessert. It was a citrus-y thingy. The green on the left was fennel poached in vanilla. Pretty cool.

I got the hazelnut semi-fredo.

After dinner drinks anyone?

A little post-comis Absinthe.

So from there we went to Blues Alley to see one of the greatest living guitar artists of our time...Tim Reynolds.

Showing off with my fancy new camera.

Can't get much closer than this to the stage without being in show business. There was a dick in the audience who kept talking to Tim throughout the show...may he die friendless and poor.

All in all, a great evening with a good friend. Dinner was fab. If you have a chance to eat at Galileo, take it. Roberto is still in top form and the service is gracious. If you go, tell them I sent you.

Until next time....

Crushed by Roberto Donna at Galileo III

People have opinions about Roberto Donna. I am very happy to count him as a friend.
What I can tell you is that he is one of the most accomplished chefs I have ever met. I wouldn't hesitate to have him cook for any event I had to hire a chef for. The bigger the better.
This man can cook. His artistic and culinary skills are top notch.
We went to his restaurant Saturday 12/4 with six people and he brought his A game.
The wine was flowing throughout.
We started with a Ruinart Rose Sparkling, followed by a 2001 Opus One, a '99 La Casa Montelcino Brunello, and a 1990 Barbaresco.
If there had been a wine pairing option, we would have taken it. Luckily, I had a big wad of gift certificates that I had to use, so the bill wasn't a concern. These were huge wines. Very satisfying and pleasurable, particularly the Opus.
The ten course menu was just enough, but not too much. It's not on the menu, so if you want it, you have to ask. It was very reasonably priced.
We've done chef tastings before and left feeling hungry. Hard to believe, but true.


Chef Roberto and my guests.... A cheese pudding of sorts, Budino Parmigiano...sublime.
Tuna appetizer

Cotechinoe sausage with lentils. This was a big hit with everyone.

Scallops on yellow and black polenta...the black being cooked with cuttlefish ink. Very nice.

Raviolini Del Plin...pinched pasta with trhee meats and veal jus with sage. I could eat these by the bowl full.

Pappardelle with a wild boar ragu. Perfect.

Porcini dusted veal medallions...

It took us over four hours to get through to dessert. Would I do it again? Absolutely. If you go, tell him I sent you.

Thanks for reading.