Ambar
My last stop on Summer Binge 2018 was at Ambar Capitol Hill, near DC’s Eastern Market. In addition to the Capitol Hill location, Ambar has a branch in Clarendon, Virginia, and one in Belgrade, Serbia.
The food at Ambar has gotten a lot of online praise, and it’s well-deserved. What isn’t often noted is that the restaurant is one of the best bargains in Washington. It’s a small-plates restaurant, with about 50 offerings. The prix fixe menu at lunch includes an unlimited selection of those dishes for only $22. There are restaurants in DC—not many, fortunately, but some— that charge more than that for a hamburger.
Here’s what I had:
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts, with lemon and garlic yogurt, dusted with bacon.
Grilled Calamari
The calamari was grilled, and served with fennel and a tapenade. For some reason lost to history, I avoided olives for years, picking them out of salads and setting them aside. Now I’m making up for lost time and missed opportunities. I have yet to put a tapenade on a serving of ice cream, but at this point, I wouldn’t rule it out.
Sliders
On the right. a house-ground Lamb Slider with herb sour cream and pomegranate syrup. On the left, a Beef and Veal Slider with Boston lettuce, smoked mayonnaise, and tomato.
Ambar Fries
The fries were in a pool of aged kajmak, which is a Balkan cheese made from unpasteurized milk. This sounded more interesting than it turned out to be, probably because the fries were only slightly warm. This was the kitchen’s only real misstep during the meal.
Pork Tenderloin
Best dish of the day, by a mile. Peanut-crusted Pork Tenderloin on mashed potatoes and bacon, with a miso mustard sauce. If there weren’t so many other menu items to explore, I might have ordered seconds of this one.
Lamb and Veal Sausages
Lamb and Veal Sausages, made with bell peppers, onions, garlic, chili flakes, and tomato.
Raspberry Sorbet
Dessert was a light and simple Raspberry Sorbet…
♫ She wore a
Raspberry Sorbet
The kind you find in a second-hand store. ♫
…with some nice juicy strawberries.
♫ She wore a
Raspberry Toupée
The kind you find in a second-hand store. ♫
[Sorry, Prince. But I was dining like it’s 1999, and I got a little carried away.]
Update
The 2018 edition of the Michelin Guide for Washington was released a few weeks ago. Ambar is now recognized on the Guide’s Bib Gourmand list, as one of the DC restaurants “that offer excellent food at a reasonable price.”
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