By: Laurie Wallin
Capital Cooking Contributor
The Mosaic District continues to
grow and is quickly becoming one of the DC area’s hottest culinary
destinations, and I was able to see why when I attended The Dish – a
Mosaic Tasting Tour with four stops at several of their newest restaurants. Not
only was this a great event, but it’s something that the average diner could
easily do – hop from place to place and create your own “Mosaic District progressive dinner.”
The evening began at Cyclone
Anaya’s with margaritas, nachos, and specialty tacos. I began with the Avion
Strawberry Margarita and tried to keep myself away from the chips and dip.
Cyclone Anaya’s chips were warm, not greasy and accompanied by a smoky tomato
salsa. In addition, I was able to sample the Slow-Roasted Brisket Tacos with spicy
coleslaw – they were incredibly tender and that’s because the restaurant
braises them for 14 hours beforehand. In addition, I really enjoyed the Crispy
Shrimp Tacos (Negra Modelo beer batter fried shrimp with spicy coleslaw), as
well as the Crab Nachos.
Next, it was off to True Food
Kitchen. I began with the Vegetable Crudités with Tzatziki and Black Olive
Dips. Not only were the crudités super fresh, but they were presented
beautifully. The Edamame Dumplings were
incredibly smooth and earthy, and the Grass-Fed Street Tacos featured
incredibly tender, juicy steak. Also, I
loved sitting near the kitchen at True Food and watching the employees
literally make my meal from scratch.
Off to B Side! I’d been to B Side
a few weeks prior and was eager to try more of the menu. The Buffalo Spare Ribs
were delicious and had much more of a kick than I was expecting. The Charcuterie
Platter was absolutely phenomenal, with meats sourced from Red Apron Butcher
next door. Another item that had a kick was the Papusas, and the Pork Rinds hit
it out of the park – they were super crispy, warm and crackling; I couldn’t get
enough. I accompanied my meal with the Old Brown Shoe cocktail with Old
Overholt Rye, Lemon, Cinnamon Honey Syrup, and Domaine de Canton, which was
just sweet enough to offset the spicy Papusas and Spare Ribs.
Gypsy Soul was the final stop. I began my meal with the “Smashing Pumpkins” cocktail, made with
Zaya 12-year rum, Benedictine, black walnut, Ovaltine Pumpkin Ale, and
marshmallows. I sampled several of their Pantry items, including the
pimento cheese with “Gypsy Soul” ritz style crackers, the deviled eggs with
corned nam and togarashi, and chicken skin cracklins with snake oil and roof
top honey. All were delicious, although the chicken skin cracklins were
particularly addicting, especially with their sweet & spicy sauce. I devoured
the Shrimp and Grits – ruby shrimp with alliums, tasso, grits, and gullah nage.
The evening ended with apple crisp with sour cream ice cream.
The Mosaic District is a dining gem, and I look forward to designing my own “progressive dinner” in the near
future – no doubt, all four of these restaurants would be included!
#mosaicdish
http://mosaicdistrict.com/events/event/the-dish-on-mosaic/
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