1789 in Georgetown - 17 August 2011

Tonight we dined at the #20 restaurant in the DC area. I’m so proud; we got in to one of the top restaurants! My goal is to get in to all of the Top 100. Well maybe not all of them; there are some I really don’t want to try but I do have a spreadsheet of the Top 100 and every restaurant I want to dine at is marked. I’ll do it eventually! Yes, even the places I have already dined at are highlighted and have comments. Did you expect anything else from me!

1789 is an upscale Georgetown institution servicing classic and contemporary American cuisine. The location is amazing; near those old steep cobble stone streets. Love that area. We were seated upstairs and I admit I wasn’t expecting that, the majority of us had to “duck” at spots. This little excursion reminded me of going to my grandmothers attack and finding fun treats to play with when I was a child. Except this time, the fun treats were edible!

The staff was very professional and there was only one mishap which actually turned out fine. My friend and I had our orders switched by the server but we didn’t notice until it was too late. We sampled each other meals and were fine with the switch.

All I can say: I did a good job ordering tonight! The sweet Vidalia onion soup was really creamy, not too sweet, and a perfect choice; my friends enjoyed their Tomato Salads but liked the soup a lot. I ended up having the Red Snapper and I was surprised that I liked the clams. I don’t normally like clams but these were really good; I swear I tasted a hint of butter. The snapper was moist but held its shape. A lot of times fish tends to fall apart but not this one; combined with the potatoes, I would order this again.

I sampled the veal; very tasty. The Halibut was just as good as the Red Snapper. I will give the staff and chef two thumbs up for the following: one of my friends is vegetarian and the chef prepared a special meal just for her. He created a mix of veggies and pasta with some sort of garlic/cheese/bread crumb topping that was semi-sweet and tangy.

The “Coin” desert was by far the winner for the table. I think it was the whiskey mousse on a homemade wafer with smooth chocolate ice cream that topped it off.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a really good meal, excellent presentation, and wonderful service.

If you want to see pictures of our meal, go to: http://katfrancis.shutterfly.com/7126

Our menu:
Mine:
-Sweet Vidalia Onion Soup with crispy onion rings, onion tops and sweet and sour onion compote
-Red Snapper with smoked Manila clams, fingerling potatoes, roasted scallions and lemon
-1789 Chocolate Coin with whiskey mousse and milk chocolate ice cream

Guest 1:
-Tomato Salad with Smokey blue cheese, toasted pine nuts, aged balsamic vinegar and garden herbs
-Halibut with braised green cabbage, Carolina fresh shrimp, sungold tomatoes, baby carrots and young garlic
-Peach Cherry Cheesecake with toasted meringue and vanilla cookie

Guest 2:
-Tomato Salad with Smokey blue cheese, toasted pine nuts, aged balsamic vinegar and garden herbs
-Chapel Hill Farm Veal with braised baby bok choy, Oregon morel mushrooms, roasted white onions and veal jus
-1789 Chocolate Coin with whiskey mousse and milk chocolate ice cream

Guest 3:
-Tomato Salad with Smokey blue cheese, toasted pine nuts, aged balsamic vinegar and garden herbs
-The chef created a special dish for her; a vegetarian dish
-Peach Cherry Cheesecake with toasted meringue and vanilla cookie