Jordan Wright
June 2019
Photo credit: Jordan Wright
East Indian Glamour at Punjab Grill ~ Gâteau Bakery Café & Tea Room Brings Bespoke British Tea Time to Old Town Warrenton ~ High Street Café – Latin-inspired Brasserie in Georgetown
Punjab Grill
Glamorous table setting at Punjab Grill
As a great admirer of Indian cuisine (inspired by my mother who turned down a marriage proposal from the last Maharaja of Sarila , I have been delighted with the wide variety of Indian restaurants around DC. Dining at the award-winning Rasika or Indique or Bombay Club (think days of the Raj) spring to mind. Even casual spots like Indigo and Pappe – which all are on my short list. Travel outside city limits and a new Indian restaurant seems to pop up every month. The more exposed we are to the joys and complexities of Indian food, the more we want to try a new one.
Tandoori Tiger Prawns at Punjab Grill
Punjab doesn’t tumble neatly into any of these categories. It stands alone as a temple to Indian fine dining with its luxe décor – Hermés plates, napkin rings and gold-handled silverware – and well-trained, crisply uniformed waitstaff. If I were hosting a dream dinner party it would be luxuriating in its private dining room where 150,000 miniature, convex mirrors reflect the light from dozens of candles and low-lit chandeliers, and where a long dining table inlaid with mother-of-pearl creates a glimmering, shimmering ambiance that reeks of regal sophistication. Dubbed the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ or ‘Palace of Mirrors’ it accommodates ten of your nearest and dearest.
Punjab Grill’s Chutney Flight
Another dining room – dubbed the ‘Passage to India’ is inspired by the private railroad car journeys through India taken in the comfort of royal saloons. Each table is supported by a hand-carved marble base, sourced from the same mines as the Taj Mahal. Its walls are artfully decorated with beautifully carved wooden latticework.
Malabar Macchi- Chilean Sea Bass with jaggery cumin glaze, Brussels sprouts thoran and kokum coconut sauce
A translucent onyx bar at the entrance beckons you to order one of their delicately-spiced cocktails. Decorated with marble inlays and aglow with amber lighting from within the stone, it makes for a dramatic introduction to the dining rooms where dishes are treated as works of art.
Aloo Tikki Chaat surrounded by pomegranate seeds
A must-have starter is the sampler of six distinctive chutneys – mango, pineapple, mint yoghurt, ginger tamarind carrot pickle, turnip pickle, radish pickle and laccha onion surrounding an assortment of crisp “breads” – poppadum, dosa crisps and naan grissini. The pink one is tinted with beet juice.
As beautiful as the dishes are, they are not mere window dressing. The food is divine – a tribute to Executive Chef Jaspratap ‘Jassi’ Bindra’s modern twist on Indian cuisine.
Salted Caramel Paneer Cheesecake (L) – honey cashew crust, mascarpone cream / Chocolate Pistachio Giandiya (R) – cardamom ganache, chocolate sable
Punjab Grill, 427 11th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20004. Reservations are recommended. Call 202 813.3004 or visit www.punjabgrilldc.com Valet parking is available at dinner.
Gâteau Bakery Café & Tea Room
Gâteau Bakery Café and Tea Room in Warrenton, VA
I met owner Lora Vennettilli Gookin at a Gold Cup event in The Plains, Virginia a few years ago. I had been gobbling up her delicious pastries while visiting the Airlie tent and was introduced to her by a mutual friend. Lora let me know she was opening a bakery in Old Town Warrenton and was in the process of restoring a historic building in the center of town. She promised to contact me when it was ready. Fast forward two years later and Lora made good on her pledge and that was how I came to experience Gâteau Bakery’s delightfully delicious afternoon tea.
Owner/Baker Lora Vennetilli Gookin in front of the historic bank’s vault where she houses the collection of cups and teapots used for tea service.
A short drive out from DC, and a world away from the stresses of the city, the charming bakery plus tea room is situated near the Fauquier Courthouse and Fauquier History Museum and Old Jail, both of which are worth a visit. Built in 1860, the bakery itself with its interior brick walls is housed in what was once the Bank of Warrenton. On one side you’ll find the tea room on the other near the entrance a gift shop, takeout bakery and a café serving soups, salads and sandwiches.
Baba au rhum at Gateau Bakery
Lora is a superb pastry chef and enterprising baker. All the scrumptious baked goods are baked by Lora and her well-trained staff of bakers. In the bakery section you’ll find lots of flavors of cakes (caramel cakes!) and cupcakes (coconut chocolate almond!) plus savory treats to take away – cupcakes, muffins, biscuits, cookies, cakes and classic desserts like baba au rhum. For those with specific food issues or allergies, you can still have your cake and eat it too with gluten-free, dairy-free and/or vegan options. For my friend and I, the exquisitely prepared afternoon tea is what we came for. Take away sweets can wait.
Different levels of the tea experience are offered. I recommend you go all in with the Royal Tea featuring cucumber sandwiches, mini savory puff pastries with tomato, basil and mozzarella, scones (flavors at the whim of the chef), Virginia ham and sweet potato biscuits served with mustard butter, curried egg salad, mini chocolate tarts with shortbread crust, and an assortment of cookies and scrumptiously rich cake bites. It is a tea lover’s dreamland heightened by the freshly whipped cream and seasonal fruit jams.
The bakery and gift shop at Gâteau
Twenty-five varieties of tea grace the menu. Your selection is brought to the table in an individual pot, kept warm with hand-knit tea cosies Lora has made in England. Each pot and cosy are unique and tea varieties are custom made exclusively for the bakery by Green Alchemy Herb & Mercantile Company owned by nearby Lovettsville residents, Sarah and Peter Roussos, a former chemistry teacher. Be sure to take home a few of these unique teas. The Roussos’s ‘American Chai’ has been patented and is the perfect morning sip.
The Royal Tea at Gateau Bakery
Lora also serves a Children’s Tea, which is the best way to introduce your child to the finer things in life (including good table manners). The Gentleman’s Tea is more meat- and cheese-centric and features bison sliders and smoked gouda grits washed down with a sprightly pilsner. For those craving something with a bit more punch, the bakery has a full-on liquor license that includes cocktails, wine, beer and champagne.
Once a career civil engineer who, encouraged by friends, attended pastry school in Scottsdale, Arizona, Lora has her own style. Though many of her pastries are of the classic variety, this is not your average corner bakery. On-trend sweets as well as gorgeously decorated multi-tiered wedding cakes that are her most popular items. Lora is committed to the best quality ingredients – many of which are locally sourced. A visit to her website reveals more about her exacting practices. “All of our cakes, fillings and frostings are skillfully made from scratch using select organic ingredients, no shortening, unbleached and unbromated flour, aluminum free leaveners and non-GMO ingredients.”
Gâteau Bakery Café and Tea Room is located on 12 Culpeper Street, Warrenton, VA 20186. Reservations are recommended for afternoon tea. Call 540 347.9188 or visit www.1gateau.com
High Street Café
The bar at High Street Café
Imagine my surprise to find Georgetown’s old Paolo’s turned into an American brasserie with a Latin flair. It’s like having culinary Europe at your doorstep. Veteran restauranteur Manuel Iguino is back and center stage. (Nearly a decade ago he served the pounded plantain dish mofongo at his Puerto Rican-influenced restaurant Mio.) Whether sitting on the patio smack dab on Wisconsin Avenue (perfect for people-watching) or perched at the intimate bar, or nicely cosseted on a banquette, Georgetown’s hustle-bustle is at eye level. Located in the heart of Georgetown’s toniest environs, his latest venture, High Street Café, affords diners a sunset view, an accomplished chef, Gerard Cribbin, and an ambitiously creative cocktail program by Beverage Director, Carl Townsend.
Cribbin, who once cheffed a few blocks away at Filomena’s making fresh pastas, drifted farther south. After stints in Greenville, SC, a noted foodie destination where he was chef and co-owner of Gerard’s, he cooked at The Lazy Goat and later became the executive chef at Coal Fired Bistro. For now, he’s back in the nation’s capital. Let’s hope he stays. At Coal Fired Bistro his seafood bisque became all the rage. It’s one of his specialties and on the menu here. Cribbin has his own way of interpreting the dishes we think we’re familiar with. A starter of tuna tartare was a surprising refresher. Not your usual raw fish dish, this version becomes elevated with the addition of tiny cubes of sweet mango and a silken dressing of orange cream.
Scallops with wild mushrooms, sherry cream, spinach and saffron risotto
A wide array of menu items (I spotted lechon pizza!) beckons, but I drilled down on a calf’s liver starter. Now there are a lot of things that can go wrong with this rarely encountered delicacy – a chef that thinks it’s okay to substitute beef liver (too bitter), overcooking (tough as shoe leather) and near-raw onions.
Calf’s Liver with caramelized shallots
The onions must be caramelized through a process of long, low and slow cooking. For those who are equally as discerning about liver and onions, I can report that this one was sheer perfection and served with caramelized shallots. Even better, as these tiny bulbs yield a sweeter result.
Tuna Tartare with mango, orange cream and baby kale
Another dish I measure a restaurant’s chef by, is Spaghetti alla Vongole. Cribbin prepares it with the tiniest of sweet clams, plenty of garlic, seasoned bread crumbs and a charred lemon on the side. Memorable. A dish of perfectly bronzed scallops with wild mushrooms and sherry cream and risotto was oh, so rich and delicious too.
Spaghetti alla Vongole
Although I was racing off to the theatre and I usually forgo a drink when I’m working, I wanted to try, on this very hot day, just one mojito. It’s a good way to test a bar’s credibility as too often this classic Spanish cocktail is dumbed down by a lazy bartender who plants a solitary sprig of mint and calls it a day. Townsend’s was a veritable garden of mint and limes and super hydrating.
High Street Café’s Mojito
Here are a few of Townsend’s specialty summer cocktails: ‘Mai High Tai’ with Novo Fogo Cachaça, Dry Curaçao and orgeat; ‘Seasonal Buck’ with Gin Lane 1751 ‘Victoria’ Pink Gin, lavender and ginger beer; ‘Ponce Old Fashioned’ with Don Q Añejo Rum, turbinado and bitters; ‘Spicy Guava Pisco Sour’ with Soldeica Pisco, Ancho Reyes and sichuan syrup; and ‘Paloma-rita’ with Rooster Rojo Tequila, lime and grapefruit soda.
Two house-aged cocktails presented by High West Whiskey are also featured – the ‘Chili Aged Manhattan’ with High West American Prairie Bourbon, vermouth and Amargo de Chile; and the ‘Caribbean Negroni’ with Don Q Gold Rum, Tiki Lovers Dark Rum, amaro blend and vermouth blend.
A return trip (with alcohol) is definitely on the horizon.
High Street Café – 1303 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007. Call 202 333.0256.