Red Sage

A Mark Miller creation (he of Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, NM; almost singlehandedly the force behind the Southwestern food craze). Red Sage was (in)famous when it opened in the early 90s (I think), because Miller spent five million dollars just to get it open. That was unheard of in DC in those days. For the first few years it was hot, hot, hot. I haven’t been there in five years myself; at that time I had the impression that the fire had cooled and the place attracted mostly tourisits, which is just what happened at Coylote Cafe, (where locals wouldn’t be caught dead). Also, by that time Miller had moved on (to Raku and God only knows what else). Still, the food was highly creative and had quite a kick. I really shouldn’t even give it a numeric rating, because it’s been so long since I last ate there. Caveat emptor.

Well-executed food, good presentation, interesting space. It’s not a jeans and t-shirt kind of place, but I don’t think I’d go here on a date- it’s much better to try it if someone’s expense account is picking it up.