Viridian

Current mood: satiated

So, I went into this dining experience with sort of an attitidue about "spa food." They try to limit the amount of added fats, and concentrate on seasonal and healthful, as well as delicious, dishes. This is a great idea in theory, as long as the flavor stays intact.

The dining room is beautifully modern, though very, very light-on-bright-white during the daytime, and warms up considerably as the night progresses. The patio is a very comfortable place to enjoy a meal - I don't generally care for dining outside in DC, but Logan Circle isn't yet *quite* as busy as other parts of the city, so we weren't sucking down fumes with our food.

I wasn't sure what to make of the arugula pesto, which comes out to accompany the focaccia bread. I'm still not sure if I liked it, as I just couldn't wrap my mind around a non-nut? (I think) "pesto," but others at the table seemed to like it. The onion jam tasted vaguely like tamarind chutney to me, (am I on crack? Is that what properly confit-ed onions are supposed to taste like?), spread very easily on the bread, and was gone in mere moments.

The tuna and streak tartar appetizer was tasty and generously apportioned (em, each was about the size of a small can of cat food - I'm sorry, but that analogy is stuck in my head and I can't think of a better one). The (fresh, high-quality, not-at-all fishy) tuna was chopped and very lightly dressed with herbs, and the yolky steak mash paired nicely with a tangy mustard sauce. This dish was served with several homemade, seasoned crackers. In contrast, the scallop appetizer only had one scallop. The disparity in portion size was surprising, but there was more than enough tartar to share.

For mains, we tried the trout, the barramundi, artic char substituted for the red trout, and the lamb. All enjoyed their entrees, which prominently featured vegetable or fruit-spiked sauces and sides. The phrases "bright," "summery," "light," and "coulis" kept springing to mind. However, the feelings inspired by the different tastes, while all kind of generically "good," were not as memorable as the pretty and colorful presentation of the dishes. I guess am partial to strong flavors, or maybe I just miss my finishing pat of butter.

Desserts included the champagne sorbet, the flourless chocolate cake, the citrus cake, and the lemon and lime bars. The lime bar was extremely tart and verrrry easy to gobble up. The lemon bar was less tart, but still retained a lemony, fruity essence. The citrus cake was strangely unheavy and mildly flavored, and went well with a luscious-and-yet-also-oddly-light orange cream.

Overall, I liked it, though going into the experience I wasn't really sure I would. Sometimes, I feel that I eat out so I don't have to know exactly how much oil and butter is going into the creation of my meal, but it's nice to have an option that can deliver diverse flavors on a slightly lower (in theory, anyway) caloric budget.