Cork Restaurant and Wine Bar, Washington, D.C.

Before we went to go see This Beautiful City this past Sunday evening, my neighbor Joel took me to one of his favorite hangouts, Cork Restaurant and Wine Bar, for a pre-theater supper. Cork is on 14th Street near the theater district.

Once we got there, we decided to sit inside (air conditioning can be a good thing). The hostess wanted to put us at a little tiny two-top table against a wall near the bar—which would have been cramped with just two wine glasses let alone dinner—so we asked to sit at the empty table in the front window. After all, most people were outside and there were just a few occupied tables inside. She wouldn't do that, saying it was a table for four. So, we said we'd sit outside, where all the two-tops were full and there were only two empty four-tops. So, she put us outside, taking up a "big" table on the busier and more popular patio. The entire time we were there, that four-top inside in the window never was occupied.

The menu at Cork is a bit different. They have a page of hot dishes and a page of cold dishes, all desiged to be shared. I didn't realize how much they wanted us to share things, so I ordered a soup and a hot dish, thinking the sharing was optional. Then the soup came. I'd ordered the chilled minted English pea soup, which I'd expected just for me, but which arrived in two small bowls. I hope Joel likes pea soup! The soup had herbed olive oil drizzled around the edges, a dollop of crème frâiche in the middle, and a little chiffonade of dried mint leaves atop the crème. I thought the soup had a nice, intense pea flavor, though it was, I felt, a little too salty. Cold foods always require more seasoning than hot foods, though, so perhaps they were targeting people who like a bit more salt than do I. Anyway, I always like cold soups on hot summer days. Joel liked it, too, though he said he prefers his soups a bit thicker.

Next, we got what I thought would be Joel's first course, the rosemary chicken liver bruschetta, a little bowl of a tasty chicken liver mousse served with sliced and toasted bread, a little ramekin of a fruity, caramelized shallot marmalade, and a garnish of mostly watercress in a bright lemon vinaigrette. Joel liked it so much he ordered a second one.


Meanwhile, "my" main dish came, the duck confit with mushroom polenta. It was different, seeming more like it had been baked rather than fried. The duck was juicy, though, and fell off the bone. The polenta was good, too, but they served such a tiny, tiny dollop of it (it's hidden under the duck in the photo) one would think that corn meal mush was the most expensive item on the plate. Joel later explained to me that the chef at Cork used to be the sous chef at Citronelle, so that explains their nouvelle cuisine minimalism and tiny, single-taste serving sizes. Too bad, though, cause I would have liked two or three times as much polenta.


This being a wine bar and all, we had to have some interesting wines. We each got one of their wine flights. Joel got the flight of Spanish whites. It included Las Colinas Del Ebro, Garnacha Blanca, Terra Alta 2007; Gran Vinum, Albariño, Rias Baixas 2006; and Jose Pariente, Rueda 2007. The Albariño was his favorite.

I got the rosé flight. It consisted of Cune Rioja Rosado 2007, Domaine Terrisses "Grande Tradition" Gaillac 2007, and La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Cerasuolo 2007. I preferred the last two wines, with the Montepulciano being my favorite.


They had a number of interesting desserts on the menu. Joel got "Lizzy's Goat Cheese Cake," a unique, crustless cheesecake made with goat milk cheeses. It came on a rectangular plate and looked like three little scoops of ice cream strewn with slices of fresh strawberries and a dusting of chocolate cookie crumbles that resembled coarsely ground black pepper. He liked it. With his cheesecake he drank a Château Loupiac-Gaudiet Loupiac 2003.


I had a very interesting sounding grapefruit financier, a cake made from almond nut flour, egg whites, and butter, scented with grapefruit, accompanied by little strips of candied rhubarb, and garnished with a few fresh blackberries. The grapefruit taste was very subtle. Much as with the polenta, I should have liked more of the candied rhubarb than just three little strips. I washed down the financier with a Degiorgia Moscato D'Asti 2006, a nice sweet sparkling wine served in a flute.


Cork was an interesting experience. The wines are fun. The food is good. The presentation is creative. Our waiter was efficient and informed. The sidewalk patio is nice. The company was excellent. It's not a place to go, though, if one is on a budget or very hungry! Nevertheless, I expect I'll be back.