Black's Bar and Kitchen in Bethesda....Old Standards that Warrant a Revisit.

My buddy Mike, on the left, suggested that we go out and get some dinner last night as our children would be hanging out together at "Club Bells Mill."
It's one of those things where the kids hang out together at their school with entertainment and such and the parents get to go out for dinner. It's a fund-raiser for the PTA as well.So, as it turns out, lots of parents decided it was time to go out to dinner as we'd all been working hard all week to catch up from the week of being snowed in. The place was crowded. The only way we were able to get a table was for me to call my buddy who happens to be the director of operations for all four restaurants. He told me they had been booked (all four restaurants) since Monday, but he'd see what he could do.
John came through with the best table in the house. A corner table for two (since Mike had to drop out) for Cheryl and me. It was stylin'. We only had two hours to get there, have dinner, and get back, so we got right to business with two glasses of a nice Pinot, a glass of sauternes for me (and my FG), Truffled Mac and Cheese, 1/2 dozen Rasberry Point oysters, and a Trout for Cheryl. She doesn't eat FG.

The Fois Gras.

Our waitress and I had a discussion about FG. She said she could not bring herself to eat it. For me, fois is one of the few foods that actually elicits a response that can only be likened to a sneeze response, or possibly a shiver, something like that...I'm not going to say orgasm, but it's something similar. When paired with a nice sauternes, or a good Champagne, it just does something I can't explain.

The oysters. Firm, briny. A great mignionette, though these were so nice they really didn't need it.

Cheryl's trout. Nicely crisped. There was a sweet potato puree on one side and some kale greens on the the other. The only thing I would recommend to Black's to improve the meal would have been to wash the greens a little better and cook them a little longer. They were still bitter and gritty.

Other than that, a spectacular meal for just over $100.00 in less than 1:30.

Check them out. If you do, let them know where you read about them.

Thanks.

Bless the Spaniards. Jaleo Bethesda is Under Rated.

People speak of Jose Andres' restaurants like Zaytinya and Minibar as what's happening and where the innovations are taking place in his realm. They may be correct, but sometimes getting back to the roots of what made the man a success is in order. It started with tapas. My father and stepmonster came to town this weekend and asked me to make us reservations somewhere in the mid-range for prices and fun. I hadn't been to Jaleo Bethesda in a few months so I went to Opentable and made a reso. It was a good move. Here's Dad with shrimp legs hanging out of his mouth...more on that in a bit.

Here's an overview of the spread we started with...

The ever-popular cheese sampler. Love the apricots too.

These are special shrimp. You suck out the heads, then eat the rest shell and all. Slightly reminiscent of soft-shell crabs.

This is pressed caviar. We were instructed by John-Paul, who is the Exec Chef here, to spoon some out and wrap it in a small piece of the very special ham we ordered...

It was some very special pig. Lovingly raised and fed nothing but acorns. The fat in this cured pork melts at body temperature. Very tasty.

We left feeling we'd definitely got our money's worth.

Everything was good and there were no disappointments. We had a nice bottle of wine and a dish that looked so good that I dug in before I took a picture, which was a suckling pig roasted, pulled, formed, and stuffed with dried fruits and crushed nuts. Wow.

After all that it was still less than $50.00/person.

The vibe that night was very up-beat and there were a lot of families with children, so don't be afraid to bring the little ones.

Note that a few of the items shown above are not on the menu, so you'll have to ask John-Paul for them. That's one of the perks of knowing the employees of the establishment. Introduce yourself to the chefs at your favorite restaurants. They'll remember you sometimes and it can be very rewarding.

Thanks for reading.