03 April 2011

DC Restaurant Review: Medium Rare CP

This is my first blush at Medium Rare in Cleveland Park.

I'll be honest I have been craving steak frites since I started reading Medium Rare's menu last week.  The first free time I had to go to this newly opened establishment was during Sunday Brunch.

What did I eat?
Bloody Mary, Mixed Green Salad, Bread and Salted Butter, Sliced Steak with a mushroom sauce, Frites and Hot Fudge Sundae.

Time of Day?
130ish, It seemed like right after the brunch run.

Where I sat?
At the bar by myself.

Thoughts on Food:
Bloody Mary:  It was spicy, a bit lite on the alcohol.  It did the job but I like to be bowled over by my bloody.  I'm not talking about drinking Everclear.  What I want is spicy, fiery tomato juice, horse radish I can see, clouds of Worcestershire and a pickled veggie.

Mixed Green Salad:  It had grape tomatoes and was dressed with a light oil and vinegar.  It was fresh, lite and geared me up to eat.

Bread:  I love bread and butter.  This bread was great, crusty outside, chewy inside with a nice butter with sea salt sprinkled on the top.    This is the kind of bread that should be served at every dinner.  Perfect.

Steak:  because it was brunch, I added a pouched egg.  The steak was covered in a mushroom sauce.  The sauce was creamy, earthy and bread worthy.  The steak was pink, tender and scarfable.   Frankly, I could have had 30 slices but it came with 10.  Thankfully, the sauce didn't overpower.  The Pouched egg described as the perfect egg was a bit over done.  I like my pouched to run when I break into it and this was like a yogging.  It's a soft J.

Frites:  Crispy, thin, and aggressively salted.  On a scale of one to ten.  One being Ore Ida baked and ten being Les Halles.  They were a seven.  I think if they were slightly thicker they would be good.

Sundae:  It seemed like a quart of vanilla was scooped into this dish.  It was covered in fudge that was chocolatey without being too sweet.  Wet nuts of the walnut variety so they were salty and sweet.  There were Crunch Candy Bar balls, awesome.  Whip cream and rainbow sprinkles.  It was excessive and glorious but name a time when a sundae isn't glorious.

The Bad:
This did not happen to me but I did over hear the manager asking why some tables didn't get their salads.  The frites were aggressively salted.  I also heard dinner has been jam packed.  i think at full service this place would be a zoo.

Overall I was happy, a bit too happy.  I don't know if that was all the build up or all the french comedies I have been watching.  The food was spot on.  I would eat here over and over and over again based on this one experience.  Also, Chef came out and said I had to finish my sundae but he did it in that crazy french accent.  Great addition to CP and for $20 bucks for steak frites you cannot go wrong.

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