Five Bites On Friday

CityZen's butter poached lobster
photos by the Dapper Diner

Five Bites just got its first three-peat! The Dapper Diner, who chimed in on Five Bites in September and again in February, is back to share more delicious dishes — but sadly, he's left us. "To celebrate finding a new job and moving back home to California, I stopped by a few of my usual faves in DC before leaving," he wrote. "DC offers a chance at amazing dining without the pretentiousness you get at other cities that are more well-known for their dining." Here's the latest culinary tour.

1. Butter poached Maine lobster with parsnip puree, matignon, applewood smoked bacon, and red wine bearnaise at CityZen

2. Fried chicken in the lounge at Citronelle

3. Chocolate hazelnut "flex" mousse, frozen praline and mint anglaise, chocolate caramel, raw organic cocoa at Volt

4. Parmesan egg with migas at Minibar

5. Special off-the-menu dessert sampler at Central

BONUS material! The Dapper Diner also had a few things to report back from visits to a couple DC restaurant counterparts on the West Coast. On The Bazaar by José Andrés in LA: "Michael Voltaggio, Bryan Voltaggio's brother (Volt), is the chef de cuisine. I can honestly say, the DC diners win this round, as Volt is much better, and the food [at The Bazaar] is mostly a sampling of courses, or variations on courses, found at José's DC restaurants."

"Paella style" striped bass with seafood from Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch

And on Citronelle at Carmel Valley Ranch: It's "like a hybrid of Citronelle and Central — a mix of dishes from both to provide a nice formal dinner or easy, casual California dinner."

Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and now DC's top chefs — to share all the delicious things they've been eating and drinking. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com.

Stay tuned at noon for Five Bites from Cliff Wharton of TenPenh.

Comments

The Dapper Diner said…
Actually, an update on The Bazaar. I went to the Taste of the Nation: LA event where The Bazaar had a booth. To my surprise, Voltaggio was "no longer with the company" as of a month ago. Instead, he has been replaced by Zaytinya's Jorge Chicas! Marcel from Top Chef, who works there as well, was goofing off behind the booth.
6/26/2009 6:24 PM
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