Citronelle

I’m still slightly hungover from the most fabulous meal of my life, so I won’t go into detail. Do you need any with an introductory statement like that? Black truffles, baby, on an all-truffle menu (except for dessert), available from now through February. It was also, by far, the most expensive meal of my life. It was worth it. I’ll be back. A lot.

A good restaurant can suspend reality as well as create fantastic food. Citronelle manages both so well that when my dining companion and I contemplated the total cost for the evening we felt it had been well-spent. It wasn’t until we were walking, later, and framed it in more general terms, that we began laughing at ourselves. We spent half a grand on one meal for two people. And yes, though I cringe to be typing this: it was worth it. I’m just glad I wasn’t paying!

We elected to proceed with the 10-course tasting menu. There were some culinary bobbles, to be sure- and really, were Citronelle anywhere but in DC I doubt that the foie gras we had would have made it on the menu. But one must nod to the expected, after all.

The amuse bouche was a visually interesting trio. The mushroom cigar, a delicate egg-roll confection in a ginger sauce, was a standout. (Normally, I can’t stand ginger. But that sauce was excellent.) A bit of mozzarella with orange tomatoes was presented to look very realistically like a slice of a hard-boiled egg. My poor confused tastebuds! The texture was spot-on, but the flavour was a bit mild. Haricot vert tartare in an egg shell was bit strong on the scallions but very tasty.

Ah, the onion soup! I loved the onion soup. A delicate and subtle onion soup. And I liked the flavour of the gruyere cheese souffle that rested in the middle of the bowl. But combining the two muddied the flavours of both, which was a shame for the spectacular soup. I endeavoured to keep them segregated, and was mostly successful. Next up was the completely uninspiring and slightly recalcitrant foie gras over red onion pickles. I finished the onions.

A roasted dorade royale was crispy and clean, delicate and flavourful. This was some of the best fish I’ve ever had. Truly. The accompanying potatoes and leeks were just the right note- supportive but not overpowering. I savoured every bit of this dish, and was very glad my plate was out of reach of my friend. They were plotting to steal those last few bites, I could tell. Seriously, I cannot do justice to this course at all. It was wonderful.

Following the dorade was a lobster medallion in citronelle sauce over japanese eggplant. I’m not a huge fan of lobster (again, it falls in the category of “expected” versus “interesting”), and it merely served to highlight the outstanding achievement of the dorade. After the lobster came squab three ways, with sauteed greens. There was a sausage-like confection, a medium rare heart-shaped patty, and leg confit. The sausage was the overall winner in this course, followed by the leg confit.

Winding down the meal, there was a cheese course featuring Roquefort, a chevre, a Camembert, and a hard cheese reminicent of manchego, but nuttier.

There was a tasty flat bread from breadline to go along with the cheeses, but it was unnecessary; the cheeses are all excellent on their own, and the strong seasoning of the bread would have interfered.

Easing into the dessert act, we started off with a raspberry vacherin; the fresh raspberries on top popped with flavour, and the raspberry cream filling was lovely. The raspberry meringue shell was too sweet for me; I admit that most meringues taste like slightly stale styrofoam to me, and this was no exception, just sweeter, and pink. But all was redeemed when chocolate three ways and the petit fours were placed in front of us. There was a dense chocolate hazelnut confection, a smooth gelatinous chocolate morsel with a syrupy center, and a chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate bits that tasted very much like scharffenberger. And then- a dark chocolate-covered grape, a chocolate wafer seasoned with salt (mmmm!) and an almond wafer. The almond wafer was pretty but I would have traded it for another grape or wafer in a heartbeat.

As for Citronelle itself... well, we are in DC. Standard-issue modern-neutral decor, with a rear-projection screen providing a bleed of colors in sequence. More business-like than romantic, and I’d recommend sitting away from the screen unless your attire and skin tone can handle sudden influences of blue or green or purple. Finally, while the chef can come up with a three-course menu that would admirably serve our vegetarian friends who happen to be dining there, I wouldn’t recommend Citronelle as a special outing for a vegetarian- I just don’t think it’s possible to appreciate the range of the kitchen through a pure vegetarian offering. And I would deem it nearly impossible for the chef to happily accomodate a vegan.

In sum, a great meal.