Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis: Review: Eola

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Review: Eola

Photos by Emily Clack

Initial Thoughts:

Design and Decor: Cozy setting in a renovated town home with dark wood tables and a rustic feel.

Food: Get ready for some adventure at Eola when Chef Singhofen brings some surprising dishes to the table. The food is fantastic.

Drinks: Excellent wine and cocktails options.

Service: Outstanding. Our server was one of the most knowledgeable that I've had.

Would I go back? Yes.

Capital Cooking Eola - slideshow maker

Photos by Emily Clack

Eola pays close attention to detail on every dish that comes to the table. Pretty much everything in the restaurant is homemade. Emily had the best time dining with Kyle Schmitz of 2911 Productions. So I unfortunately arrived late and I was a bit frazzled from my long day at work, but I was greeted with a Pear Harvard martini. The Pear Harvard was just what I needed to take the edge off. I had no idea of what Chef Dan had in store for us.

Photos by Emily Clack

We started with an amuse-bouche of Confit of Pork Heart with a brandied cherry and pecan. I must admit that the sound of that didn't immediately sound appetizing, but the spoonful of flavor changed my mind. The meat was so tender and all of the textures were perfectly balanced. Then we tried the crispy pig ears with the homemade tartar sauce. Again, wouldn't normally be my top choice to eat a pig ear, but OMG, pig ears are awesome. The bread was freshly made with the best chive butter.

One of my favorite starters was the Warm Salad of Suckling Pig with lentils, mushrooms and pickled onion. Next came the Coddled Farm Egg served in a potato porridge, puffed wild rice and petite greens. A sunchoke and almond velouté with crispy wild rice had the ideal balance of textures. We continued to be wowed by one dish after the next…Tortellini of Pig’s Brain with a melody of spinach, pumpkin seeds, lemon zest and butter, Potato Gnocchi with a sausage and tomato ragout and Parmesan cheese, the FBLT with foie gras, truffled brioche, petite greens, and Madiera aioli that simply melts in your mouth, the creative Deviled VA Rabbit, and the Mediterranean Red Mullet with rutabaga-orange puree, togarashi gastrique and petite greens. That was just the starters.

Onto the entrees, the house made tagliatelle with bacon, onion, Parmesan and the poached farm egg was one of my favorites along with the Border Springs Lamb with the most scrumptious croquette and barley.

For each dish, I really tried to give it a fair shot before diving in. I tried not to think about what I was eating before I ate it. Everything was so delicious that the next time I'm presented with these options, I'll be ready to order.