Dr. Granville's Mussels

I’ve now lived in the H Street corridor (or Atlas District or NoMa or Trinidad or whatever you want to call it) for over a year. I’ve eaten my way down the street, consuming plenty of pie, pizza, Italian ice and sushi along the way. Yet I somehow have missed going to what may be H Street’s most famous establishment – Granville Moore’s.

Granville Moore’s, a gastropub, is named for a neighborhood doctor that worked pro-bono a couple times a week to care for the neighborhood’s less fortunate members. This little hole-in-the-wall has been attracting neighbors, area residents and TV cameras since it opened in 2007. The restaurant has been named one of the best restaurants numerous years in a row by both the Washingtonian and Washington City Paper. In addition to that, Teddy Folkman, the restaurant's chef, was challenged to a “throwdown” by Bobby Flay and was a competitor on the Next Food Network Star. That is a lot of publicity for a restaurant that is barely larger than my one bedroom apartment.

I went into this dining experience with high expectations and thankfully was not let down. My friend Jess and I started with the risotto cakes. The outsides were crunchy and the insides were fluffy and warm. Each bite contained all the flavors of the risotto, cheese and balsamic vinegar reduction. The portion was far from huge but - needless to say - it was a wonderful palette teaser.

Our waiter was quite knowledgeable about the menu and steered us toward his favorite mussel preparations. Unfortunately, neither of us like blue cheese (a main ingredient in Chef Teddy’s most famous preparation) so I went for the traditional marinere with white wine, garlic, herbs and butter. Jess chose the jalfrezi with onions, red peppers, tomato, coconut milk and red curry. We also got a small order of frites and one of the house-made dipping sauces. Deciding which sauce to order was a hard decision, but I think choosing the truffle aioli was the way to go.

We were both served a generous portion of mussels. The sauces they were served in were flavorful and perfect when sopped up with the soft bread. With only a few exceptions, most of the mussels were open and ready to eat. The frites had clearly been hand cut and went well with the very truffle-y aioli.

Although I chose not to try one of the many Belgian beers that fill an entire menu, I plan to return soon and take advantage of their happy hour. Monday- Thursday they offer specials on mussels from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., leaving a few extra dollars in my pocket for a beer.

Show Us Those Mussels

Since I was a little girl, I have been a huge fan of mussels. I remember being about three years old and sitting on my grandfather's lap, trying my first bite of this delectable shellfish. Twenty some-odd years later, I still crave mussels on a regular basis.

Last week, Chef Robert Weidmaier opened his newest restaurant on Bethesda Row, which he appropriately dubbed Mussel Bar. Chef Weidmaier is already well known inside the Beltway because of his more upscale restaurants (including Brasserie Beck, Marcel's, and BRABO) that are located downtown and in Old Town Alexandria. Yet I believe the hope is this Belgian gastropub will be enticing to a more casual crowd that is just looking for a great place to eat in the neighborhood.

I try not to make a habit of going to a restaurant the first full day that they are open, but I work in Bethesda, and the thought of mussels was just too appetizing to resist. When I walked in at 1:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon I was greeted with a big smile and a half-full dining room. Since I was by myself, I chose to sit at the wooden bar. The bartender was extremely helpful and walked me through the menu. She clearly had tried most everything the restaurant offers and steered me toward her favorite mussel preparation: the classic.

The mussels came out of the kitchen within mere minutes, but the speed did not detract from the quality. Every mussel in the dish had an open shell, making it seem as if they were begging you to eat them. The shellfish were served with warm french bread, frites and garlic aioli. The bread was perfect for sopping up the broth that devouring the mussels leaves behind. Although I enjoyed the frites, I was not blown away. The aioli could have used a bit more zing and I couldn't tell if the fries were hand cut back in the kitchen or if they were just taken out of the freezer. The broth the mussels were served in was so aromatic that the garlic, shallots and white wine tickled the insides of my nose and sinuses. I am going to take a leap and say that these are easily the best mussels that I have tried since I moved to DC almost 6 years ago.

The bar also has one of the more impressive beer menus that I have seen in my time. They stock upwards of 130 beers, most of which are imported from Europe. Believe me when I say if I wasn't heading back to work, I could have enjoyed a few of them.

I can't wait to see where Mussel Bar goes in the coming months and years. I do hope that they debut a lunch menu and happy hour specials (because this is not the cheapest meal that you can have in Bethesda), but I'm sure those changes will come once the restaurant gets into a routine. One thing is for certain, there is no doubt in my mind that Mussel Bar will become a place where one can take a break, have a beer and enjoy some good food. As they say in Belgium - eer smakelijk - or bon appetite.

images: bloggers own

Four Sisters

There are few moments when I lament my decision to go “green” in Washington DC and forgo having my car here. For all of WMATA’s issues their service is fairly reliable and can get me just about anywhere I want to go in DC. My meal the other night at Four Sisters in Falls Church made me wish I was able to come out to this hidden restaurant on a regular basis – and that would clearly require wheels considering it would take over an hour to get there on the metro-rail and 2 buses.

Four Sisters was opened in 1993 by a family who had just moved to the area from Vietnam. Their dream was to open a restaurant that cuisine of their homeland and to introduce others to the complex flavors of the region. For over 10 years this small restaurant has developed a loyal following due to their wonderful food and being featured on “best-of” lists on a regular basis.

As someone who has had very little exposure to Vietnamese food (just a bit of pho here and there) I was excited to delve into more complicated dishes, especially after reading the multiple reviews that have appeared in the Washington Post and the Washingtonian.

For about $20 (with tax and tip) a person my dining companion and I were able to sample 2 appetizers and 2 main dishes and still have leftovers to take home. The menu is long and somewhat overwhelming. If you don’t quite know what direction you want to head in I would suggest you ask your server. They are knowledgeable and will happily steer you towards the best dishes the kitchen has to offer.

The standout of the meal was absolutely the grilled black pepper beef. The beef was very tender and perfectly marinated giving it a lovely citrus flavor. This was the most expensive dish we ordered (at $15) and we could have easily split it without ordering another entree.

Yet, being the adventurous eaters that we are we also tried the shrimp toast, asparagus and crab soup and the well-known steamed rice crepes. The shrimp toast was out of this world. You could tell that the kitchen was using the finest ingredients to create the shrimp paste that is put on top of a beautiful piece of French bread. My dining companion thought the soup was lackluster and compared it to egg drop soup that you order at a Chinese restaurant. After trying it we did remind ourselves that it was the only dish we picked out on our own.

If you have a car (or a friend with a car) this is a restaurant that is absolutely worth the trip. Make an evening outing out of it and linger at your table under the umbrella while enjoying the delightful cuisine. I can guarantee you that you won’t be disappointed.

image: bootsintheoven