Citronelle and President’s Day Weekend

Friday Jill made her tasty pasta for dinner, so I got to relax and read the paper. After dinner we watched a couple episodes of 24, but I was tired and we didn’t watch all of them. We did enjoy some of the chocolate I’d gotten for Jill on Valentine’s Day. Saturday I slept in some, but got up when I awoke to walk Illa (he’d been having runny #2 and I wanted to take him out as soon as I could). I made an egg sandwich for myself, then read the paper and watched some TV. I broiled a pork loin for dinner in a tasty marinade of oj and Italian dressing with some potatoes, then we had some more cheesecake for dessert. We watched another 24, then read for a while.

Sunday I again got up somewhat early to take Illa on a long walk, then came back and made myself some schmorgles. After I cleaned up, I started an eBay auction of electronics and Ghost Rider comics (seemed like a good time), and by the time I was done, it was almost time to go. The snow coming down was alarming, but the weatherman said it was only a “dusting”. That was fine, but after we parked in a garage in Georgetown, it was back and whipping at our face, not to mention sticking to the sidewalk. With Jill in heels, it was a tough getting to the restaurant.

But it was worth it. My Xmas gift from Jill was a trip to Citronelle. It’s often cited as one of the best resturants in DC, and I’d been wanting to go for a while. We were a tad early, so we waited upstairs in the lounge until they called us. We started with an amuse bouche that was a tiny crab cake injected with lobster consomme – scrumptious. I had a tough time deciding what to get. The ten course tasting menu sounded good, but I wasn’t sure if I was that hungry, plus I really liked the sound of some of the regular entrees. On the other hand, it isn’t often Jill’s willing to do the tasting menu, which typically has to be ordered by everyone at the table. Eventually I flipped a coin, and the three course meal won.

I ordered a house cocktail, the Riesling pear sangria, made from a Riesling, rum, and fresh pear, while Jill had a glass of Pouilly-Fuissé chardonnay. Hers went well with seafood, which was what she was having for both courses. Her first one was in a caviar tin and designed to look like caviar, but was in fact pearl pasta dyed with squid ink, sitting on top of lobster with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Because of the egg, not her favorite and I ended up finishing it. Meanwhile, I had the scallops with a raspberry sauces, served with a breaded egg (!) on a leek tartar mixture. I thoroughly enjoyed both dishes. The best was yet to come, though. Jill had salmon with a crab risotto and optional truffles grated on top she loved, and I had a fabulous lamb dish, slices with a breaded mushroom crust (I didn’t expect to like it, but I did) with a jalapeno white bean sauce and a potato log with sauteed veggies on top. My own pairing with their dunkel was perfect.

For some reason, I thought the three course meal wouldn’t fill us up, but I was fast approaching it as dessert arrived (perhaps the three slice of bread had something to do with that). The desserts were preceeded by another amuse bouche that was an orange mousse with raspberry sauce and pistachios on top – not my favorite. Jill had a pistachio cake, and I had the apple tasting: sorbet, a pastry, a deconstructed pie, and cider. The desserts were accompanied by a tray of goodies: a cookie with a molten chocolate center, a raspberry and a blackberry on a cracker, a chocolate covered grape, and paper thin pistachio and hazelnut cookies. The service was European, very attentive to detail, but they nevery bring the check until you ask for it. A fabulous meal, definitely my favorite Christmas present – we’ll have to see how Jill likes hers (spring break).

After we got home, we were wiped out, but not too tired, so we watched “The Producers”. I’d seen the original film and knew the plot, but most of the songs were new to me. Not bad, but I prefer the shows we did see on Broadway – don’t know if I’d go even if Broderick and Lane do return to it (as has been rumored). Today I slept in some, got up and took Illa out first even though he’d been doing better. I made a breakfast burrito for breakfast, then read Sunday’s paper as I’d been lax. I had a massage in the afternoon, then came back and played with Illa before coming up here and working on the photos section of my site. Gotta go make dinner now – beef in coconut milk, then hopefully watch Heroes and 24 before bed.