Cashion's Eat Place

[Mark Sommelier]

Stopped into Cashion's last night after not having been there for several years. Happily, I found all my favorite dishes on the menu from my previous visits. We started with lightly battered, perfectly fried oysters. The other app was sauteed sweatbreads with spinach, garlic and pine nuts. Great dish. The middle course was Ms. Cashions spectacular tortellini with Tuscan meat sauce. The depth of this sauce is amazing. Very complex and rich. This was the most comforting plate of the evening. For main course, both of us ordered another Cashion's signature dish, the fritto misto. It is always interesting to see how a chef refines a dish over the course of a few years. In this case, the heaping plate of fried goodies has given way to a beautifully composed bowl with fried shrimp, vegetables, tuna croquette and fresh sardines. Very pretty to look at as well as eat. The last plate we shared was the pork shoulder. This arrives as a nice pile of savory pork with onions and cilantro, tortillas, perfectly cooked rice and crunchy beans with a fiery pico de gallo. Very tasty and fun to eat. An excellent walnut brownie finished us off. The wines were: Chassagne-Montrachet "Les Baudines", Domaine Bernard Morey 2001, Muscat Reserve, Domaine Weinbach 2001 and Domaine Brana Irouleguy 2000. Our server was very engaging and helpful. The place was quite busy on a Sunday night. Eating at Cashion's was like seeing an old friend again.

[MatthewB]

That's great to hear, Mark.

I had dinner there two years ago & I recently recommended Cashion's to a friend--though I noted that my experience wasn't recent.

I'll keep recommending it!

[Malawry]

They have a very good Sunday brunch too, although they never ever change that menu and that menu is not very long. I like that trout with beurre blanc for breakfast though, it's good stuff.

[DonRocks]

Eating at Cashion's was like seeing an old friend again.

Like seeing an old friend wig out, you mean.

I agree with everything Mark wrote here. For whatever reason, I hadn't been to Cashion's in about five years, and what I noticed most last night was how clean and tight everything was, without being ruined by the hamfisted saucing that is as much of a plague on society as is overuse of sourdough bread. The pork shoulder was beautifully presented in the form of a fajita, and could have actually used some sauce other than the pico de gallo.

Also, the cheese course featured an all-American cheese selection, and it was good although it would have been nice to see some more aging and color in the cheeses (there was a little pomegranate seed salad alongside). The nuts in the raisin-nut bread tasted somewhat rancid to me, though I don't know where they source their bread. Along with that chocolate brownie, we also had this blueberry compote stuff poured over ice cream - it sounds a bit simple but was really quite good.

The open-kitchen concept is okay, but when we were at the bar there were some less-than-savory aromas wafting in from the fryer.

I was strongly impressed with Cashion's last night, and I only wish it wasn't so difficult for me to get to or I'd be back there often. I'm sitting here ticking off the courses in my mind: the oysters (the portion size of this is too small), the sweetbreads, the elegantly reductive fritto misto, and most of all, the earth-shattering tortellini in Tuscan meat sauce. These are all really, really good dishes.

Cheers,

Rocks

[JennyUptown]

A friend of mine picked Cashion's for her birthday dinner. I haven't been there in a year and a half, but what I remember about it was 1. we had a very friendly, super-knowledgable server, 2. I had a buffalo steak entree and liked it, 3. the bill was pretty large because we drank a good deal of wine.

I've heard criticisms about Cashion's lately, mostly due to the fact that the menu hasn't been updated in forever. If that's the case, what have you eaten there and liked/disliked?

I cannot influence the restaurant choice so don't suggest that.

[Al_Dente]

Haven't been there in probably a couple of years, but I remember enjoying an espresso creme brulee.

[babka]

I don't go there often, but I've loved every single visit. Duck that tastes like roast beef is my firmest, happiest memory. my usual tactic is to narrow options down to two or three and ask the server which he recommends--and, at Cashion's, that's never failed.

[morela]

I have been enough in recent months to continue to endorse. I mean, even the most simple and boring-sounding thing (like leek tart) is really delicious. You can count on all the ingredients being the freshest and the service has been friendly and efficient. There's nothing adventurous about going there, but with good company, a medium-sized wallet and the hankering for a thoughtfully prepared meat/fish course with stuff that's in season, I think the value is high.

You'll have fun too!

Since I got punched, I'm scared of grubby Adam's Morgan, so I go far, far away for dinner...

Can't justify not walking home, so I just don't go anywhere that close.

[DonRocks]

It seems fitting that my January, 2005 Restaurant Week would begin at Palena and end at Cashion's, two restaurants that did not participate but still turned out amazing meals at the same prices as those who did. Palena deservedly gets lots of attention on this forum, and I've often wondered why Cashion's doesn't get just as much. In fact, in terms of quality, price, and solid, innovative cooking rooted in tradition, I cannot think of any restaurant in Washington DC more comparable to Palena than Cashion's.

I'm convinced that Adams Morgan scares people away from Cashion's, and yet valet parking is only $5.00 at the restaurant, so that's no longer an acceptable excuse.

The wines at Cashion's are a strength, and you cannot possibly go wrong with a glass of 2000 Pommard from Voillot for $8.00 (they also have a bring-your-own corkage policy, although I don't remember how much they charge).

Look at this wonderful meal:

Ann's charcuterie plate is fascinating, consisting of a housemade rabbit terrine, a druggingly delicious turkey ballotine, and a little pile of nutmeg-y pork rillettes served with a deviled egg and fresh, interesting greens lightly bathed in truffle vinaigrette.

Three perfectly cooked pieces of crispy sauteed veal brains, served piping hot, are placed atop a refreshing frisée & salsify salad with an appropriately acidic lemon-caper dressing.

A half-avocado is hollowed and stuffed with tiny wedges of pink grapefruit, and makes a fine transition from savory into dessert.

And then the red wine pear sorbet, made in-house, is one of the most important sorbets in the area. Served at the correct temperature, it comes across as vinous, granular, complex and even whimsical, as it's accompanied by a saxaphone-shaped sugar cookie with "Cashion's" scripted into it.

Every one of these plates is between $8 and $11, and if you're going for the first time, please don't forget the mind-bending spinach and ricotta ravioli with Tuscan meat sauce.

All this, plus one of the singularly great pieces of bar art in all the world. You'll just have to go for yourself to have a look, and when you do, you'll probably see Ann as well, working away in the kitchen of this wonderful restaurant - one of the best places to enjoy a meal in all of Washington DC.

Cheers,

Rocks.

P.S. I also had Sunday brunch at Cashion's a few weeks ago, and it's one of the best casual brunches in town. Not inexpensive, but good value for the money.

[cjsadler]

For some reason, I hadn't been to Cashion's for dinner in probably 3 years, even though I live just down the street. I wasn't that impressed by the ricotta ravioli in Tuscan meat sauce. The meat sauce, with a good bit of cinnamon in it, tasted like Cincinnati chili (but a rich and good one-- it's just not something I particularly like!). The rest of the meal was superb. The whole fried flounder was fried absolutely perfectly and served with a nice lime-chili dipping sauce. And there couldn't have been a better dish to eat in DC with snow falling outside than the osso bucco with truffled polenta.

The wine list is nicely selected and fairly priced (except for a couple of the wines by the glass, which I thought were overpriced). The red Burgundy we ended up drinking (can't quite remember the name) was mediocre, though.

Verdict: I need visit Cashion's much more often.

Edited February 1, 2005 by cjsadler (log)