Restaurant Week, a week late...

by Xani

So, I know this is delayed, but I did have one more restaurant week experience I wanted to share with you, dear Reader. Last Thursday I went to Taste in Belvedere Square with my good friends Heather and Jodi. I had never been to Taste before but I had seen it while shopping at the Belvedere Market or seeing movies at The Senator. When I noticed their (delicious-looking) menu on the Restaurant Week website, I knew it was the perfect time to check it out!

Heather drove all the way from Rockville for the event and we met up with Jodi at Taste. There was outside seating available but as everyone who lives on the East Coast knows, we've been having a HOT summer and we decided to dine in the air-conditioning! I was impressed with the decor inside-- fancy but not stuffy, it used organic materials like natural rope to decorate, but somehow didn't feel like a kitchy seafood place. I also liked the large Lucite wine cellar that we passed as we climbed the stairs to our table, which was near the back of the restaurant.

The place was pretty busy and it took a few minutes for our waiter to come over to take our drink orders. But once he did he was a pleasant and attentive server (well, as attentive as good be expected during the restaurant week rush). To start we decided to share a pitcher of white wine sangria while we enjoyed some yummy bread served with a sun dried tomato-olive oil concoction. Very tasty.

Then we were faced with the challenge of deciding what to order off this tempting menu:

Dinner Appetizer

• Gazpacho
• Baked Caesar Salad
• Individual Crab Con Queso Dip with Blue Tortilla Chips
• Strawberry and Orange Mixed Green Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
• House Salad with Choice of Dressing

Dinner Entrée

• Chicken Fiesta
  Marinated eight-ounce boneless chicken breast topped with tomato and chili chutney and cilantro cream sauce
• Risotto
  Sautéed garlic, spinach, feta cheese, asparagus, tomatoes and fresh herbs
• Malaysian Fish
  Fresh catch topped with achiote paste, presented with bok choy and baby spinach and wrapped in parchment paper
• Steak Rancheros
  Marinated flat iron steak - cooked to your preference and topped with salsa fresca and fresh guacamole

Dinner Dessert

• Fresh Berry Cobbler
• Blonde Brownie Cake
• Bread Pudding with Bourbon Créme Anglaise
• Seasonal Sorbet

For my first course I was leaning toward the gazpacho but as I had already had that earlier in the week, I decided to go with the Baked Caesar Salad, which the waiter described as a traditional Caesar put under the broiler for just a moment, to melt the Parmesan cheese and slightly wilt the greens. I was skeptical, but it ended up being a pretty tasty starter! The Caesar wasn't nearly as good as BCD Mom's, but really, what is?? I snagged a spoonful of Heather's gazpacho which was also quite good with a rich tomato-y flavor. Jodi got the salad with citrus dressing which looked fresh and delicious.

Baked Caesar Salad

Strawberry and Orange Mixed Green Salad with

Citrus Vinaigrette

Gazpacho

Onto the mains: Jodi and I both ordered the Steak Rancheros, which ended up being a perfectly cooked (medium rare, natch) flat iron steak topped with (potentially unnecessary, but fresh and tasty) guacamole and salsa fresca and accompanied by awesome skin-on mashed potatoes and perfect tender-crisp green beans. It was a really good and hearty plate-- all the elements were skillfully prepared and fresh tasting. Same goes for Heather's dish, the risotto, which worked out very well because, yet again, it was the other dish I was waffling about and I got to taste it, too! I thought the risotto was very well done, the rice al dente but not gritty or mushy, the feta cheese adding a unusual, but tasty element, and the veggies adding lots of flavor.

Steak Rancheros

Risotto

So far, so good. But it was about to get even better...

Dessert.

Jodi and I both got the Fresh Berry Cobbler. This was, by far, the best dessert I had during restaurant week. It was clearly made with very fresh berries, and was bursting with sweet and tart flavors. Instead of a traditional crumbly-type cobbler topping, it had a sort of sweet, delicious, crunchy cookie-type topping, along with a scoop of rapidly melting, high-quality vanilla ice cream. Heaven. Heather, being more of a chocolate person than a berry person, got the Blonde Brownie Cake, which looked absolutely rich and decadent, and she confirmed as much, but still ate every bite!

Berry Cobbler

Blonde Brownie Cake

After cleaning our dessert plates we settled our (very reasonable--man, I love Restaurant Week!) tab and headed out of the restaurant. It had been a great meal and a great chance to catch up with my friends and rehash the details of Heather's recent wedding! As you can see from the big smiles on Heather and Jodi's faces, we all had a wonderful time. I was glad to finally have a taste of Taste and, just like my other Restaurant Week discoveries, I hope to visit again sometime soon!

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