THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE 21From top: A broth of mushrooms and herbs
greets guests; chef Bin Lu; an appetizer course
of foie chantilly tart with blood orange curd.
specials. “It was a deliberate decision,” says executive chef Bin
Lu, 36. Regarding diners and preferences, “There’s no one size
fits all.”
Born in Shanghai and raised in Virginia and Texas, Lu fell
into cooking out of necessity in college. He didn’t care for the
quality or the cost of the cafeteria fare at the University of
Virginia in Charlottesville and decided to learn to cook for
himself. By his third year, when peers were talking about
internships and grad school, the history major opted to pursue
a food path. An initial job at the nearby Clifton Inn led to
positions in Washington (Bourbon Steak), the West Coast
(Manresa in Los Gatos, Calif.) and back to the District, where
he worked at the late CityZen and most recently as head chef at
the soon-to-reopen Pineapple & Pearls. He’s worked at some
good establishments, in other words.
One of the same things that draws diners to the property
lured Lu. “You can’t beat the view.”
The dining room feels connected to what’s beyond the
window. The buffed floor matches the shiny walnut tables, free
of linens but set with sleek utensils. Nubby blue chairs are the
type you notice when you leave and don’t feel as if you got off a
saw horse. Table No. 21, in front of a flagstone hearth, has Date
Night written on it, although I was happy for the solo diner
who occupied the perch the night I was in. Singles deserve
special nights out, too. Good weather opens the possibility of
dining on the restaurant’s terrace.
Bread costs extra here, and the house-baked olive oil
ciabatta explains why. Time and thought go into the $8 loaf,
sliced into hunks and delivered with butter that’s stained
orange with Calabrian chiles and lightly sweetened with honey.
“We mean business,” a server says as she notes the wide eyes at
my table.
Despite its brevity, the menu appeals to adventurous
diners and those who are more conservative in their tastes.
The introductory course is a decision between a foie chantilly
tart and a salad of local greens. The sight of the tart — a
wedge of what could pass for Boston cream pie — suggests
you’re getting dessert first. In reality, the starter presents
whipped chilled foie gras between crisp pastry dough and a
not-too-sweet dark cocoa glaze. Dots of mouth-puckering
blood orange curd add balance and complete the plate. As for
the salad, it’s a nest of local greens containing coins of
vegetables — carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes — whose
distinct textures make you think they were individually
cooked. The pretty vegetables arrive with two sauces, newly
trendy green goddess and vibrant gremolata. Every house
salad should be so captivating.
Lu says a dish is replaced every week or so until the entire
menu changes. Here’s hoping the sourdough cavatelli
“bouillabaisse” is the last to leave the party. The pasta shells,
cooked to retain some bite, are adorned with tender little
mussels, springy rock shrimp and sweet clams in a wash of
cream sauce hinting of saffron and flavored as if by the sea. The
rival pasta is no slouch, either. Some of the lightest gnocchi in
memory are draped with a tomato sauce that concludes with
PHOTOS: SCOTT SUCHMAN