Cafe La Ruche, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

After attending the world premiere concert with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center last night, my friend Fr. Steven and I walked over to Georgetown for dinner. Fr. Steven took me to one of his favorite Georgetown secrets, a little French cafe hidden away on 31st Street just above the waterfront called Café La Ruche. It was delightful!

Café La Ruche, a phrase meaning "beehive cafe," is in an old, narrow building up a steep hill from the waterfront. Inside is modern and comfortable though, with relaxing beige walls and upholstery. French art posters, photographs, and street signs decorate the walls. In the far end is a service area and a large dessert case. A singer-guitarist also sat back in that area, and we got to hear him sing a variety of older international pop songs in a variety of languages.

The food here appears to be simple, basic, traditional foods—sort of the equivalent of a French diner. Of course, the French have different ideas of "comfort foods" than Americans, so I saw a lot of things like whole artichokes, bowls of mussels, coq au vin, French style salads, quiches, French sandwiches, pates, lots of soups, and so forth. While we looked over the menus, we were given some of the most wonderful big, round, crusty rolls. I do so love French breads!

We started by splitting an order of lamb sausages. These links had been fried to a nice crispness on the casings, and inside, the lamb meat was highly seasoned with lots of cayenne pepper, and I think I also detected traces of rosemary, anise seed, and French salt. They were served on top of slices of French bread, which caught the flavorful grease and juices, providing an additional treat.

Fr. Steven chose the shepherd's pie for his main course. It was served in a large au gratin dish with the top layer of mashed potatoes broiled to a golden brown, and he reported a strong wine taste in the sauce. It came with a big plate of a romaine salad. I had the Swiss fondue. They brought me a big plate of sliced carrots and zuccini, broccoli florets, and cubes of French bread. The fondue pot device, however, was a little bit frightening. There was no means of controling the Sterno under the pot, so it blazed on "high", putting the pot of cheese and wine into a rapid boil. It was also a bit rickety, and I worried I would knock the pot off the rack, spilling hot wine all over everyone. The pot handle was metal and very hot, so I had to remember to use my napkin when I needed to move or adjust the pot. Eventually towards the end of the course, I had to make the decision to put the cap on the Sterno and completely extinguish the flame, since the cheese was starting to scortch on the bottom on the pot. I guess they were aware of their uncontrolled flames, since they had the melted cheese in what I at first thought was an excessive amount of white wine. It did seem to work out okay in the end, though. I would have used a bit more kirschwasser in the liquid, but it was still good.

For dessert, we had to inspect the dessert case.



Hidden on the right side of the case by Fr. Steven's glasses was a pretty little chocolate almond meringue frosted in whipped cream that he ate. I had an apple dumpling, which is pictured in the very middle of the case. My apple had been peeled and cored and wrapped in croissant dough, then baked. A dollop of French dark chocolate garnished the top. They did, however, commit the ultimate sin with my apple dumpling: they microwaved it. Microwave energy is scientifically known to change the molecular bonds in the gluten in breads and pastries, making them tough and rubbery, not to mention the fact that the microwave often gets food too hot. Had I known they were going to nuke the dumpling instead of warm it in a regular thermal oven, I would have preferred my dumpling cold.

I'm looking forward to a chance to go back to Café La Ruche again soon. Their simple food is delicious and best of all, the prices are extremely, surprisingly reasonable. While we weren't drinking last night, they also had a nice selection of wines by the bottle and by the glass.

City Lights of China, Washington, D.C.

Since we've gone to pretty much all of the restaurants in Chinatown, we decided to go someplace different last night when Leo took us out to celebrate the first night of Chinese New Year. Based on a recommendation from my lawyer friend Will, we decided to try City Lights of China on Connecticut Avenue just north of Dupont Circle.

We had high hopes for City Lights, since a 2002 Washington Post review called it the "best neighborhood Chinese restaurant" in D.C., tourbooks from Frommer's and Fodor's both recommend the place highly, and even the New York Times says it's "a consistent pick on critics' lists."

It was a beautiful day, so we walked up to Dupont about five o'clock. The restaurant has two parts, the old location, and a new dining room two doors down with a big bar and sushi bar; the new dining room wasn't open yet. We walked into the old location, which is slightly subterranean, and were immediately seated in the side dining room in a booth. Decor is very spare and simple. There were one or two Asian patrons in the dining rooms, but the rest were non-Asian (I like places which are packed with Asians—it's a testimonial to the authenticity of the food). We had a Chinese waiter, so Leo did all the ordering. They don't have a Chinese menu, so he had to order from the regular English one.

He selected several dishes for us all to share: a lamb dish, a szechuan seafood dish, some traditional noodles, and a big fried tofu dish (the tofu in honor of Will, a vegetarian). One person had a little bowl of hot and sour soup. Rice was complimentary with the meal, but my hot jasmine tea was not.




Long noodles are a Chinese New Year tradition, representing longeveity, and ours were pretty good. The lamb was a bit disappointing. The meat had been tenderized a little too long, so its consistency was a bit mushy and it was hard to tell if it was lamb or beef. The seafood had a slightly fishy taste to it, indicating to me that the scallops and shrimp had been frozen and were not fresh. The sauce on both the lamb and the seafood was sweet (that's not a good thing). The tofu came in big, thick slices which had been deep fried and by themselves tasted pretty good, but they were absolutely drowned in a way-too-sweet sauce, and quickly became soggy. We didn't finish the dish—it got to be nasty-sweet. Also, all of the dishes had been ordered "spicy," and there was very, very little heat to anything.

If City Lights of China is the best neighborhood Chinese place in town, they sure were having a brownout last night. There's a place on the other side of the circle that's just a notch above fast food that I like way better. The menu is filled with Chinese-American dishes and American-style versions of some of the simpler, more common Chinese dishes. I saw a "shark-fin soup" on the menu, but there was no way it could have been real shark-fin at the low price they were charging. They also had Peking duck on the menu and we saw a nearby table order it, but they served it chopped up like any old duck; other places make a big deal of the skin and some people eat only the skin and ignore the meat. Everything seemed aimed at an unsophisticated American clientele, which I find an odd marketing strategy in a city with a large and accessible Chinatown. The prices are reasonable but not cheap. The food quality is average, if one likes a lot of sweet sauce.

While I'd not reject dining here again, there are dozens more places in D.C. I'd rather go for Chinese than City Lights. I have the distinct impression none of the reviewers have been there in a while. I give the Washington Post and New York Times reviewers only one star.