Open less than a year, PS7 is the project of chef/owner Peter Smith, formerly the long-time chef de cuisine at one of my favorites, Vidalia. He found a space in the block just north of Chinatown and had a facility constructed in a very contemporary, high-style look. A large, open bar with glass-walled wine cellar occupies one half of the restaurant and the dining room (overlooking an outdoor patio) the other. Contemporary art hangs on the walls and a large, blue, wooden "wave" runs almost the length of the room. Even the restrooms are striking. The men's room is tiled in black with two illuminated large goldfish bowls embedded in one wall, pin spots over each of the urinals, and frosted glass lavatories illuminated from below. That, plus a spherical crystal chandelier with just two very low-wattage light bulbs provides all the light for the room.
The only menu they had was the Restaurant Week menu, and there was quite a nice range of choices in each category. They also had an elaborate cocktail and wine menu with some creative cocktail combinations and a short list of well-chosen wines.
Ryan's friend Laurent started with the tuna sliders. These were three tiny "hamburgers" on Parker House buns, filled with a spicy tuna tartare (raw, like sushi, then chopped and mixed with spice and cilantro). Ponzu and wasabi sauces graced the plate. A salad of long, thin julienne of cucumber rounded out the dish.
Ryan was less adventuresome and got the roasted tomato soup with basil crème fraîche.
I managed to pair some of my very favorite foods in my appetizer and entrée choices. I started with a crispy duck confit with spiced, roasted peanuts with a salad of arugula and pickled grapes in between paper-thin tuilles of potato. Yum! The duck was just exploding with flavor.
It was followed by an exquisitely prepared combination of braised breast of veal and roasted sweetbreads with a wild mushroom, cream, and wine sauce and topped with the shreds of dauphin potatoes. The sweetbreads were perfectly done and the veal was fork-tender and juicy. I was very pleased.
Laurent got a beautiful plate with a thick piece of pan-seared king salmon surrounded with a melange of fresh fruit and berries and blackberry-red wine sauce. He ordered it medium, and it looked very good on the inside without being dry at all. I also suspect there was a bit of a spice rub on the fish, though I forgot to ask him.
Ryan had meat and potatoes—this time the roasted hangar steak with some very interesting deep-fried potato gnocchi and a dice of cooked wild mushrooms in a blue cheese aioli, all topped with a wad of newly sprouted greens. It looked good, though he ordered it medium well, and I prefer steak cuts to be less cooked.
Desserts were not quite so spectacular as the appetizer and entree choices, but they were still above Washington standard. Ryan got a peach crisp with vanilla ice cream, the crisp being heavy with oats, and, from his description, I think perchance the peaches were not quite as ripe as they could have been.
Laurent had the Black Forest mousse cake, a thin rectanular slice of baked mousse cake layered with mousse and accompanied by a cherry compote and an egg-shaped dollop of whipped cream. Both were garnished with sprigs of mint.
I had the beignets with strawberry and chocolate sauce. These were the little small rectangular "doughnuts" that are so popular in New Orleans, in this case dusted with confectioner's sugar. It was a light but tasty ending to a very rich meal. Also with my meal, I drank a very nice Brut Rosé Cremant d'Alsace NV Willm—a sparkling wine we would call champagne if it were from the Champagne region of France instead of the Alsace.
Thus was dinner. I highly recommend PS7 for people looking for a nice change of pace with better American food. I think you'll find a few neat surprises.
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