Although some may not normally chronicle the ins and outs of a family vacation online, especially Father’s Day, my family tends to plan our trips around meals. Given this confession, I will be reviewing all of the restaurants that made up the vacation plan of my parents weekend visit to Washington, DC. The first was a Friday afternoon lunch at The Oval Room, followed by dinner at CityZen. On Saturday we started early with brunch at the Blue Duck Tavern and finished with a fantastic dinner at Citronelle. Sunday, as you might have seen in my “Virginia Wine Adventure” post, was taken up by a tour of Virginia wine country and lunch at Palladio at Barboursville. But what I didn’t mention was that immediately following our return to Washington, DC, we headed out to our final meal at Al Tiramisu, which I cannot believe I have not reviewed yet.
Just over an hour after my parents landed at Reagan Airport, we met at The Oval Room just off of Farragut Square on Connecticut Avenue. This was one of those rare days that was not too humid and a perfect temperature to enjoy the patio dining option. The patio is private and is set up perfectly, blocking the ongoing traffic of Connecticut Avenue. Although lunch is frequently an occasion to eat less and try some portion control for many people, this is not a goal for my family, especially when on vacation. Despite the many scheduled meals and the impending dinner at CityZen in less than 4 hours, we tackled the menu and our lunch as though we
would not eat again for days.
We tasted five dishes on the menu including the Peekytoe Crab Cake, Tuna Tartare, Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi, and a salad with champagne vinaigrette, goat cheese, and shrimp. The food was delicious. The crab cake was perfectly crispy on the outside with no shortage of crab inside and the Gnudi was delicate and unlike any other Gnudi I have had. The meal was topped off with the decadent chocolate cake with strawberry pearl tapioca. Everything was wonderful, the service was attentive and the Puligny Montrachet certainly did not hurt. The meal is well priced and was the perfect way to start 
Father’s Day weekend and the feeding frenzy to come.
More to come from CityZen in my next Father’s Day Weekend review.
[...] July 14, 2010 by Maria Yes, I realize it has been four weeks since Father’s Day, but I have fallen behind in my recent cramming for a LEED Certification and another career search as the end of another internship looms. But, my Father’s Day eating experience cannot be easily forgotten, and I am compelled to describe the experience my family and I had at CityZen Saturday night, only four hours after our meal at The Oval Room. [...]