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“OSCAR SNUBS,” MARCH 27
KEY TO THE PREVIOUS SECOND GLANCE
MARCH 27
some heat from Calabrian chiles. Down the hatch, and noted in
my prefrontal cortex.
The food can be brought out by servers who sound
comfortable and enthusiastic in their roles or who seem to have
memorized a script that doesn’t allow for ad-libbing. One meal,
I listened to a server introduce the menu, word for robotic
word, to three different tables, including his description of
romanesco: “tastes like broccoli.” All the delivery really needed
was a relaxed translator.
I suppose a restaurant like this needs to have a steak on its
menu. Lu beefs up the staple, dry-aged rib-eye, with a rub of
Middle Eastern spices and a vinaigrette that blends beef stock,
red wine and a suggestion of rosewater. The more daring third
course option is briefly aged duck, which Lu roasts and places
on a chocolate-colored puddle made from blood sausage, an
entree that becomes a feast with the arrival of a cluster of warm
rolls and potatoes whipped to near-satin with butter. There’s a
vegetarian option as well, showcasing mushrooms, some
transformed into crisp and convincing “scrapple” made from
mushroom trimmings, blue corn, garlic and shallots. Take
note, Impossible Meat.
Lu is his own pastry chef. “Warm chocolate souffle cake” is a
fancy way to describe the cake with the gooey center everyone
likes, an idea the chef personalizes with brown butter ice cream
and a lattice of hazelnut praline. The dessert’s opposite is a riff
on lemon meringue pie, its surface jazzed up with citrus curd,
olive oil jam and little tufts of meringue. A plus for whoever
needs to drive any distance after dinner is good strong coffee,
from Necessary.
Blue Rock’s nearby competitor is the formidable Inn at
Little Washington, one of the best-known dining destinations
in the country. Lu says he’s “not trying to do what chef
[Patrick] O’Connell is doing. Nobody can.” The fresh face is
content offering a tavern where “you can get a glass of wine at 2
in the afternoon and watch geese at the pond” and a restaurant
that leaves diners thinking “overall, I’ve had a great night.”
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.
From top: The dining
room offers 32
comfortable seats,
and if you time it
right, there are
majestic views of the
mountains. Warm
chocolate souffle
cake is topped with
hazelnut praline and
served with b rown
butter ice cream.PHOTOS: SCOTT SUCHMAN; ORIGINAL SECOND GLANCE PHOTO: WASHINGTON POST READER DAVID C. KENNEDY