The Ghost of RW

In my original explanation of Restaurant Week, I neglected a small bit of information: many participating restaurants extend their RW menus for the entire month of January (or August, if it's the summer RW). In actuality, I didn't neglect this info so much as I totally forgot about it. In any case, I had the pleasure of dining at Dino in Cleveland Park last Friday- and they were still on their RW menu.

Dino is right outside the Metro station (yes, across the street from Alero for those of you who are paying attention. I can't say a whole lot about the space itself; it's an awkward space, frankly, as it is a corner spot cut into a triangle. The colors they've used are warm and lovely, and the rustic furniture enforces a comfy, casual atmosphere- but it does remain that the space is simply a bit too cramped.

It's difficult to comment much on the service I get when I'm in a situation like I was at Dino. For those of you who don't know, I belong to a dinner group. There are dinners held by the group on Friday nights, and the reservations are usually for anywhere from 20 to 50 people. When you have 20 people, the service becomes something else entirely. It's often slower and it's not uncommon to get the sense that the wait staff is somewhat overwhelmed. Our waiter at Dino did alright, though. He was a bit slow, but he was never overwhelmed- he was always friendly and willing to answer a question. Aside from the fact that it took a little while to get our orders placed, I really don't feel like we had anything to complain about.

Dino was offering their whole menu (which is delightfully extensive) up for RW. I started with their Bufala cheese. I'm kind of picky about my "buffalo" cheese- the last time I tried some here in DC it was runny and had an oddly tangy flavor. Still, I had a good vibe from Dino. The menu described that the cheese would be served with olive tapenade, tomatoes and basil. (Incidentally, I think the key to good buffalo cheese is serving it with good, fresh basil.) To my delight I was served with a healthy portion of cheese, surouned on the plate by little mounds of the olive tapenade, chopped tomato and roasted red pepper. The tapenade was awesome, the tomatoes were fresh and yummy and the peppers were perfectly roasted.

My entree was "Orechietti ai Funghi"- a cup-shaped pasta served with a creamy mushroom sauce. It was excellent. The pasta was perfectly cooked, and had a texture that clearly indicated to me that it was hand made. Some cream based sauces are very heavy and slightly oily- this one wasn't. It was light and clung to the pasta perfectly, with a strong mushroom flavor. The mushrooms in the sauce actually made it appear gray-ish, but I'm a big fan of anyone willing to sacrifice appearance for flavor.

By the time dessert came around I was stuffed. If it hadn't been a RW special I would have skipped the sweets altogether. But it was RW and I can't say no to a dessert when it's included- especially when there is the offer of Tiramasu on the table. To be honest, Dino's Tiramasu wasn't the best I've ever had. Not that it was bad- far from it- but Tiramasu is a delicate dessert, and is often served too heavy, with too much espresso flavoring or with a spongy cake. Again, Dino's didn't committ any of these crimes against Tiramasu, but it just didn't quite hit the nail on the head, either. Honestly though, I was already sold- between the buffalo cheese and the mushroom pasta, I knew Dino was a winner.

It's kind of odd that my best RW meal wound up being after RW had officially ended. Still, I'm just grateful I had one at all. Dino is yummy- if you are in Cleveland Park and are feeling peckish, do check it out.