Medium Rare is Well-Done

Simple, meaty beauty.

Cleveland Park has a lot of eating gems to take part in.  After much anticipation and delay, my husband and I finally went to Medium Rare, a prix fixe steak restaurant at 3500 Connecticut Ave.  Wow.  We loved the food - and the concept: for $19.50, you get a hearty baguette and creamy butter, a simple but great salad, and steak (drizzled with their secret house sauce, witch tastes mushroomy) and steak frites.  Yes, for $19.50.  Every day, all the time.  But that's not all...they bring out a second portion of steak and fries half way through the meal.  If you act dainty and refuse, they give it to you anyway.  You paid for it! $19.50.

There's a short list of wines and beer, moderately priced and specifically chosen to go well with the menu.  So, again, you can't go wrong.

They also have a dessert list, all for $8, which consists of treats like apple pie, layered carrot cake, and NY cheesecake. They serve fantastic coffee and espresso drinks, obviously to recover from the huge meal you just had.

The ambiance is plain and beautiful, white paper table cloths (where they write down your order with crayon), low lighting, wood floors and internal brick walls.  Like their menu, simple but substantial.  And just for fun, French language lessons are playing in the bathroom.  What a nice touch!  By the time you've freshened up, you'll know how to ask for more water and how ask someone out.  Do with that what you will.

They take reservations (but they're not required) and can seat a few big parties.  Hours: 5-10:30 daily; 11-2:30 Sunday brunch.