I'm not really in the mood to post this morning, but wanted to get this started at least.
Lord & Lady B, DancerinDC and I went out for a loverly holiday fun night last night. Lady B asked Tom where we could go that would be fun, hip, but not full of posers and kids (i.e. college kids out to get drunk). He gave us some suggestions and we went with Sonoma Restaurant & Bar on Capital Hill.
I Loved It!
Sonoma is where il Radicchio was back in the day. You walk in through a heavy velvet drape and come into a large room with a giant wine bar as the focal point. The rest of the room is dimly lit with simple tables along both sides. I pulled up a seat at the bar and looked at the wine menu. Several pages of wines sorted by body types...light and crisp, bold and full, etc. I was in a celebratory mood so I went with a glass of prosseco, Italian sparkling wine. Yum! With the exception of the prosseco, all the wines are in this giant climate controlled case and the wine isn't poured from the bottom, but a tap!!! What fun. Wine on tap! Probably 60 wines...all very affordable! Seriously!!!
The restaurant was a bit chilly when I got there, but it did warm up just enough once the place filled with peeps.
After some wine, we ordered some nibbles. What I loved about the menu is that you can order cheese and meats as your nibbles. We ordered a three cheese board. All the cheese were cow's milk cheese. I really loved them all! They were served with these impossibly light crostini that were to die for. And some spreads, but I was too infatuated with the cheese to go with spread.
Then we ordered the half charcuterie board...three sides of meats, shaved meats...we did sopressatta, coppa(salami???) and prosciutto. All were really tasty, as were the accompaniments...the grilled foccaccia, yum! The spiced nuts...yum! Mustard...which i don't normally like...yum! And wine soaked figs....careful, they will spill their juicy on you if you don't go careful! YUM. YUM! YUM>!>!>!>!>!
We did all this at the bar. The cheese board was really a taste of cheese. The meats were a little more filling.
We then moved upstairs. The second floor is all couches and comfy and cool. The problem. You can't order anything other than the cheese board and the charcuterie. So if you want to order something more, stay downstairs. Second...the staff person up there was a total tool and frankly, had no idea what he was talking about. After some more wine upstairs...which isn't really the same stuff as downstairs...for whatever reason we don't know...we moved across the street for some quick, chips and salsa and some greasy yummy Mexican.
I really want to go back and try some of the actual dinner items off their menu...or just drink more wine and have tasty nibbles. I enjoyed this place alot. GO!
Thursday, December 22, 2005
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7 comments:
Guess I was more in the mood than I thought. I'm a little in food/wine bliss from last night. Had a really good time...good food, good wine, good friends.
I loved it - so very different than other places on the Hill. I think their main menu is basically meat and pasta, but I thought these appetizer boards were unique and fun.
For cheeses they have about a dozen varieties, so you can mix and match. Cow, sheep and goat's milk options, as well as blue cheeses. And I think there were about 7 kinds of meat + pate'.
The little accompaniments were a real treat - the nuts were roasted with rosemary and thyme. They had pickled chopped scallions. And the bread alone was great! When I was eating the bread with sopresetta and mustard, I declared that it must have been what God ate on the 7th day. My wine was also very good.
At the bar we had a really nice server, and the host was very good as well. So I'd give it 4 1/2 stars overall. And if you can agree on a bottle of wine, it would be very affordable for two, I think. I look forward to returning.
It's well worth it. We live for the cheese and meat plate. There's a Spanish ham that's like proscuitto that's wonderful.
It was good times!!!! (stay away from the second floor lounge!) Love my Boyz. :)
Oooooooh, I've wanted to try that place for months now! So I definitely have to get a group together after the holidays for a decadent food/wine night out....
Way to scoop the Washington Post! They have their own review of the place in the Weekend section today. It sounds like a great place!
--Liz
I've scooped the Washington Post?!!? What fun...guess it'll be overrun now with blueshirts...? I do look forward to going back again! It's lots of fun and tasty.
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