Convivial — Lunch on 21 January 2020

Convivial

Convivial has consistently found a place on The Washingtonian’s annual “Washington, DC’s 100 Very Best Restaurants” list since the year it opened, but I’d somehow never got around to visiting.  TripAdvisor lists 2,750 dining options in Washington, and with my limited daily food consumption—just the usual four meals a day, plus snacks, and an extra dessert now and then—it’s impossible to keep up.

So I was off on another trip to Shaw, to find out what I’d been missing. Turns out, I’d been missing quite a bit.

Onion Soup Gratinée

A week earlier, I’d had a stupendously bad lunch in a restaurant that had never been less than perfect in the past. (Let’s call it Restaurant X.  I may write about the experience in a later post.) My starter at Restaurant X was French Onion Soup, but the cheese, instead of being melted and stringy, was a big solid blob with the consistency of chewed and solidified bubble gum. Ever have to cut your soup with a knife?

The Onion Soup Gratinée at Convivial was the very model of what French Onion Soup should be. I relaxed; it was an excellent start.

Trout Amandine

Trout Amandine, my main course, was also a stunner. It was served with roasted almonds, haricots verts, lemon brown butter, and capers. I took a lot of time with this dish, savouring the taste and thinking about Julia Child and that famous Trout a la Meunière that changed her life.

Key Lime Pie

The only problem with my Key Lime Pie was that there wasn’t enough of it. I could have eagerly devoured three or four pieces.

Service was both friendly and efficient. Delightful place!

Lunch at Air Canada’s Poutinerie — 13 November 2018

Poutinerie

Well, this was a nice little surprise. Not my usual lunch spot, but irresistible. And fun, despite the hour-long, around-the-block, prime-time wait to get in.*

To promote Air Canada’s connections to more than 200 destinations through Washington’s airports, the company has opened a one-week-only pop-up Poutinerie near Dupont Circle, less than two blocks from where I live. Servings are a low $5, with proceeds going to Martha’s Table, a local non-profit.

Poutine is Canada’s contribution to the world of fast food. Classic poutine consists of French fries covered with cheese curds and brown gravy.

For the pop-up, Air Canada is offering not just the traditional poutine, but variations designed to be reminiscent of some of the cities that the airline serves.

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Full Poutinerie Menu
Poutine $5/Drinks $4

Montreal’s Classic (GF) | Hand-cut fries, traditional cheese curds, gravy
Toronto’s The Six (GF) | Sweet potato fries, pork belly, cheese curds, whole grain maple mustard, fresh herb confetti
São Paulo’s Sweet Chimi-Churrasco (GF) | Sweet potato fries, grilled carne asada, green chimichurri, queso blanco
Rome’s Eternal City Eggplant (Vegetarian, GF) | Garlic fries, Napoletana sauce, mozzarella cheese, eggplant ragu, basil chiffonade
Paris’ Brasserie-Born Braised Beef (GF) | Hand-cut fries, braised beef, mushrooms, horseradish cream
London’s Corner Pub Fish & Chips | Malt vinegar dusted chips, crispy fried cod, dill & caper tartar gravy
Seoul’s Twice the Spice Kimchi (Vegan) | Hand-cut fries, kimchi, kohlrabi Asian pear relish, sriracha gravy, cilantro
Mumbai’s Baked & Buttered (GF) | Hand-cut fries, tender butter chicken, grated paneer cheese, diced tomatoes, fresh herbs
Shanghai’s Neon Street BBQ | Shoestring fries, Asian BBQ pulled pork, hoisin gravy, sesame seeds, scallions, vegetable slaw
Dubai’s Late Night Shawarma (GF) | Shoestring fries, chicken shawarma, cucumber & tomato salad, tzatziki-garlic gravy

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I stopped by the Poutinerie during the off-hours, and tried the London’s Corner Pub Fish & Chips, because England. It was only later that I discovered that The Washingtonian had “Ranked Every Poutine at Air Canada’s Pop-Up Poutinerie”, and given my choice a lowly single Drake rating…

 

…on a zero-to-five Drake scale.

I’m going back to try some of the more exotic dishes.

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*But it was a polite, friendly line. I mean, it was Canadian, for gosh sake.