Later that night, after we had taken a cab home from walking around Georgetown, Amy and I recalled how interesting the menu had looked at Bistrot Lepic and decided to get dinner there. It was 7:00 when Amy called for a reservation. We were able to sneak on in at 7:15, so we ran down to the car and drove down to Glover Park. Lucky for us, there is ample parking in this area and we made it just in time.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this Bistrot Lepic. Since I had heard so many good things about it, I had pretty high expectations. The restaurant is located in a small row house which means the waiting area is very small. When we entered, we were greeted by a young man with a very French accent. I thought briefly of a funny scene from The Holy Grail and laughed. ("I'm French! Why do think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king-a?!") We were quickly seated at a table that was not exactly private. There were four tables close to the front that were right next to each other. It was pretty much impossible NOT to listen in to the conversation going on at the table next to you. In fact, you're lucky if you aren't bumping elbows. I was happy that I changed out of my jeans  and into some nice pants and shirt. There were some people there in sport coats. Amy was looking beautiful in the new outfit she had just bought at Benetton in Georgetown. (Editor's Note: Awww)

To start with, I ordered the salmon tartare, hoping it would be somewhat like the tuna tartare that at Bradley Ogden in Vegas. Sadly, it was not as good, but few things in life are. I can say, though, it was pretty solid, but I kinda wish I had ordered the chilled asparagus soup. Someone at the table next to us ordered it and seemed to be really enjoying it. I’m so nosy. Amy ordered the beet and goat cheese terrine. I didn’t bother to try it, but Amy really liked it.

The proximity of the tables made it easy to check out the dishes that everyone else had ordered. I noticed at least one person at every table ordered the tuna, which went perfectly with the diet that I was on. Amy couldn’t help but get the beef medallions, but I have this feeling she really wanted to order the tuna. We shared each others dishes and liked them both. The tuna was cooked rare of course. The server asked me how I wanted it, to which I replied, “I know you have to ask, but you shouldn’t give people the option.” It’s a sin to overcook good tuna. It was served with tomatoes, lemon confit and mosto oil. I have no idea what mosto oil is. It also came served on a chick pea crepe which had absolutely no flavor at all. I did not really understand the addition of the crepe because it didn’t really add anything to the dish. The tenderloin…uh, I mean medallions, were cooked in a shitaki au jus sauce. The polenta that it came with was slightly sweet, and complimented the sauce well. Looking back, I think we chickened out a bit with the dishes we ordered. When I return, I will try the chicken with curry, lemongrass and basmati rice or sea scallops with ginger broccoli mousse and ginger butter.

We were not planning on ordering dessert, but suddenly the server appeared with a tray of tarts. They all looked awesome, but one in particular, the pear tart, caught my eye. “Did you say pear?," I queried. “Uh, yeah, I’ll have that.” I'm a sucker for anything with pear in it. I actually ended up sharing it with Amy -- How generous am I? Two minutes later, when we were done scarfing it down, the coffee we ordered came. Damn, that was a good tart!

After all was said and done, the bill came to just under $100 for appetizers, entrees, two glasses of wine and coffee and one dessert. Overall, I would say it was a little pricey for me, especially since we did not order a whole bottle of wine. However, the food was good enough that I would say it was worth it.

Bistrot Lepic
1736 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-0111
[email protected]
http://bistrotlepic.com

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