Montmartre, Washington, D.C.

Yesterday, we didn't get started until after noon, and headed over to Eastern Market to see the market and the flea market. It was a lovely day to be out and about walking around. We opted to have brunch at a wonderful little French bistro called Montmartre. Tony had a country style pate, eggs Benedict (Les Oeufs Benedicte—it used pancetta instead of Canadian bacon), and a cheese plate in lieu of dessert, starting with a bloody Mary for his hair of the dog. I had the calf liver, which was absolutely fabulous. The liver had been very gently sauteed to about a "medium", then laid on a bed of piped mashed potatoes (there was something tasty in the potatoes which I've yet to identify), then sauced with a rich demiglace and balsamic vinegar reduction with caramelized onions and slices of roasted garlic. Oh, my! Yummy! I know some people think they hate liver, but this would be the perfect choice to reintroduce them to the delicious and complex tastes of a properly prepared liver dish.

For dessert, I ordered the Il Flotante, mostly out of curiosity, since I'm used to "floating islands" at French restaurants being Oeufs à la Neige......little puffs of meringue swimming in a thin custard sauce. The Flotante was a three inch diameter meringue sprinkled with shaved almonds and a tiny bit of honey before being broiled ever so briefly and presented on a mirror of custard sauce. While we were finishing dessert, Leo popped in to the restaurant and had a piece of the blueberry tarte. Here's a picture of Tony trying to figure out what to do with his eggs Benedict: