Palena

[mdt]

Oh, and if you find out, please let us know.

God, driving all the way from Montgomery County to Palena and finding it closed was sooooo disappointing.  And then a crappy meal on top of that...<sighs>

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All the way from Montgomery County? Come on, its not that far. Although I understand the disappointment.

[JennyUptown]

Palena was closed for cleaning on Monday. Apparently it's a two-day process that started on Sunday.

[Gastro888]

Oh, and if you find out, please let us know.

God, driving all the way from Montgomery County to Palena and finding it closed was sooooo disappointing.  And then a crappy meal on top of that...<sighs>

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All the way from Montgomery County? Come on, its not that far. Although I understand the disappointment.

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Hey, hey, hey - in the rain, it was a hike.

Took me 45 minutes from where I was with all the @#$! traffic and such.

We wouldn't have been as disappointed if we had a "oh-look-a-great-new-discovery-of-a-restaurant" meal instead of the Sorrio's episode.

[Gastro888]

Palena was closed for cleaning on Monday.  Apparently it's a two-day process that started on Sunday.

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Oh, I see. Wow, I wonder who they use as their cleaner? Hmm. Interesting.

[mnebergall]

And I wonder how often they clean, if the job takes two days to do.

[dinwiddie]

My wife and I ate at Palena la couple of weeks ago on the spur of the moment. Our son was at work so I called and got an early reservation (6 p.m.) with the intention that we would be back home in time to go get him when he got off.

There is only one way to describe the food at Palena - Absolutely stunning. The dining room is simple, pleasant and elegant. Up front of the restaurant is the Cafe where a simpler menu is available and there is seating on the patio in front of the restaurant.

Dinner in the dining room is priced at $55 for three courses, $62 for four, and $69 for five. You can select from any of the three sections (first, second, and main courses) which have 4 selections each. The fourth course is traditionally a selection of artisanal cheeses and the fifth dessert. However, if you want to mix and match, no problem.

My wife started with an absolutely delicious Manhattan as we were trying to decide what to eat. Believe me, it is harder to do than you would think even when there are only 12 dishes to choose from, because you keep saying, but that looks good too.

She finally decided on one dish from each course. She started with the salad of roasted heirloom beets, lobster and blood orange. The beets (golden and red) were sweet, the lobster a whole claw, and the blood orange gelee sweet and tart at the same time. A thin slice of dried, candied blood orange garnished the gelee and was a treat in itself. Next she had the Dover Sole filet. Pan roasted with yellow flesh potatoes and leeks with Kumanoto oysters in a sea urchin sauce. The sole was to die for, firm yet flavorful. The potatoes were just the right texture and the flavor of the sauce was so good you had to check that you still had bread to make sure you could sop up the last drop. The oysters were plump, briny and smooth and the sea urchin sauce added just that touch of the sea that made the dish. Her third dish was the Spring lamb from Gilson Martin Farms (PA). It was served marinated and pan roasted with rapini braised with raisins, almonds, potato and piquillo pepper. Ablsoutely wonderful. She likes her lamb cooked medium and this was perfect. Again every drop of the sauce was captured with the bread before letting the plate leave.

I chose one selection from the second courses and two from the main. I started with a ricotta and nettle ravioli with Gaeta olives, trumpet royale mushrooms, and a light tomatoe sauce with shaved pecorino cheese. The ravioli were light and tender with an absolutely stunning filling. The tomato sauce was so light as to be almost magical, presenting the ravioli with a perfect counterpoint that only enhanced the ricotta. My second course was the New Zealand Snapper. Braised with endive, black truffle and crayfish, it was served with a spinich flan and warm tomato saffron vinaigrette. This is the best piece of snapper I have ever eaten. The spinich flan was delicate, full of flavor without being overpowering like spinich can be, and perfectly paired with the fish. The snapper was firm yet flaked easily. The vinaigrette accenting the flavor well. This is the kind of dish that makes one put down his fork between every bite just so you can enjoy. Third I had the Grilled Snake River Farms Prime Kobe Style American Beef. Now I was in Heaven. It was served with Piemontese corona beans, puntarella, and a warm anchovy-balsamic vinaigrette. The beef was perfectly grilled, rare just as I asked, with a flavor that was intense and restrained at the same time. The beans and puntarella were bursts of flavor that counterpointed the beef perfectly.

We finished by sharing a cheese course and a dessert. The cheese came with an dense date bread that was made in house. Sliced thin, it was the perfect server for the cheeses. The cheeses (as does the menu) change based on what is available and good (or excellent in the case of Palena). Five cheeses, all served with just enought that the two of us could get a couple of bites of each. First came a Robiola Rocchetta (Italian made with cow, sheep and goat milk) soft and creamy with a mild flavor it was Karen's favorite. Next was a ash washed goat cheese from Pipe Dreams Farm in Pennsylvania. One of my favorites, it was tangy and smooth with just the perfect texture. Third was a Spanish sheeps milk cheese called Manchego. A firm hard cheese, it was almost like having a fine Picorino, good, but not our favorite of the selections. Fourth was a Fougerous from France. Wonderfully creamy, brie like with a rich and pungant odor and taste. Last was my favorite, a Gorgonzola Cremificato from Italy. A rich, soft, pungant cheese that attacked your tastebuds with an agressive rush of powerful flavor. Perfect on the dense datebread, it was everything one could want in a Gorgonzola yet had a creamy texture like a brie. Wonderful.

For dessert we split a pumpkin cheesecake with a pomogranite coulee. Light, creamy and delicous. Coffee for both of us accompanied dessert.

I took a bottle of the 2002 Loring Clos Pepe Vineyard PN with me. WOW what a wine. It went well with the meal, though it was a little overpowering for the fish. However, by the time we got to the lamb and beef, it was showing stunningly. I posted the TN in the appropriate section. Glassware was more than adequate, the proper glasses brought for the wine, and the corkage fee while a little high for DC ($20) was not onerous.

Service was attentive yet the pacing of the meal was leasurly. Partly because of the early hour, partly because we wanted it to be that way. We arrived at 6pm and left the restaurant at 8:45. Even thought the portions seemed small, they weren't. Served on large plates and presented beautifully, we were absolutely stuffed when we left.

Edited June 3, 2005 by dinwiddie (log)

[jm chen]

Stopped by last night for dinner -- they didn't have the chicken and if I remember right it'll be a week or so before they have it again. Something with the distributor. Disappointing, since I was looking forward to finally sinking my teeth into one of those! Oh, well, I'll just have to go again! Darn!

Quickety meal review:

* Manhattan -- whoa. Delicious. More than one of these and I'd have fallen ass over teakettle off my barstool.

* spinach and Vidalia onion soup with sea urchin flan and oysters -- eh, too salty, not at all oniony, wouldn't order it again.

* fritto misto (cod, skate, spring onions, asparagus, shrimp) -- mmmmmmm, yummy. Light, crispy, perfectly done.

* cassis sandwich (cassis jelly, shortbread, and custard) -- best. dessert. ever.

[Bricktop]

Bump. Any new reports? I am headed down to DC next month,

and this is a real fave of mine.

Also, I wish they would update the website from 2003.

[JPW]

Bump.  Any new reports?  I am headed down to DC next month,

and this is a real fave of mine.

Also, I wish they would update the website from 2003.

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Raviolini from the cafe menu.

[jm chen]

It's not open for Saturday lunch anymore, so don't get your hopes up for a panini.

The pumpkin goat cheesecake is excellent.

[Busboy]

I find the cafe menu much overrated and service in the back room dicey at times. So I like to sit in the cafe and eat off the back room menu, zeroing in on anything with fish -- which they seem to do better than anyone in town -- or bacon.

[bilrus]

...or gnocchi - again, as good as you'll find anywhere in town.

[mhberk]

I find the cafe menu much overrated and service in the back room dicey at times.  So I like to sit in the cafe and eat off the back room menu, zeroing in on anything with fish -- which they seem to do better than anyone in town -- or bacon.

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I would have to disagree about the service. I've been there three times and it's been pretty consistant (consistantly POOR that is). The first time we went (after having such high hopes for this place), our reservation was at 5:30 and they didn't get the menus printed until 5:50 (this was on a Friday or Saturday evening). So we sat at our table without drinks, bread or a menu until close to 6:00. Our waitress turned out to be pretty ditsy and not at all what you'd expect at a "white table cloth" service restaurant at those prices.

The second time we went, we sat outside and ordered off the cafe menu. It felt like it took forever before the waitress came over and took our order. I got the chicken (which of course takes 45-60 minutes) and my wife got the burger. When we were served, my wife asked for kechup or mayo or something like that. Our waitress said she would bring it right out, but never did. She didn't even come out to check on us for the next 20 minutes.

And the third time, I was out with some friends and we were eating at Indique. I wanted to bring a chicken home for my wife so I called Palena to order one (knowing it would take 45-60 minutes to cook) when our food arived at Indique. They told me that they wouldn't accept orders over the phone and that I would need to come in to order it. No problem. I just crossed the street and went in to order it. When I arrived, I was reminded of the time involved in preparing it. I told them that I was aware of the time and that I would be back in an hour to pick it up. So I went back over to Indique to join my friends. After an hour I came back to claim my chicken. The waitress came out and said that she had totally forgotten to put in the order! She DID give me a GC for a free chicken for the next time I'm around, but I live in Howard County and can't make it out to DC as often as I like.

But even as consistantly bad as the service has been, I would highly recommend the food to anyone! It's the service that keeps Palena from near the top of the list for me.

[Bricktop]

It's not open for Saturday lunch anymore, so don't get your hopes up for a panini.

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Is that a seasonal thing, (ie back next spring) or for good?

[jm chen]

It's not open for Saturday lunch anymore, so don't get your hopes up for a panini.

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Is that a seasonal thing, (ie back next spring) or for good?

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Tough to tell. Despite the well-established fervor for the Saturday lunch among this crowd, it was never all that well attended, and got suspended indefinitely in August. Last we were told at the restaurant is that they'd start it up again if they "could find a way to make it work."

[mhberk]

OK, went to Palena again over the weekend and the service was exceptional! I don't know what happened the previous 3 times I went, but Palena redeemed itself with my last visit. I guess I'm just a sucker for their chicken!

Speaking of their chicken, have any of you narrowed down what might be in the brine? As we were sitting there over the weekend, we noticed a hint of vanilla bean and cardamom.

[Mark Sommelier]

I was there earlier this week and can rave about the housemade charcuterie. I haven't had any better, anywhere in DC.