District Kitchen: a warm welcome to Woodley Park!

District Salad & a little ginger squash on the side

Woodley Park’s restaurant scene is full of great choices from all ethnic food varieties to meet every palette where it is.  There are choices galore for all kinds of food lovers.

District Kitchen is its newest gem, and it sparkles brightly on Connecticut Avenue.  With all the bright lights of the food choices and shops lining Connecticut, District Kitchen offers a muted down feeling from the street. Its inviting by sight alone, and then you lay eyes on the somewhat up-scale, yet still un-messy menu – and you’re sold.

The ambiance is calming, despite the boisterous, menu-savvy patrons that fill the space.  It has internal brick walls, simple yet cozy tables, a plain stone floor, low lighting, and an inclusive bar that easily sweeps into the restaurant as a whole.

Amish chicken, a-la-king

My husband and I already have healthy obsessions with a few dishes: for a starter, the lamb chili, done Cincinnati style, poured atop long strands of fusilli. It’s equal parts comforting and filling, and could stand-alone paired with a glass of hearty red wine.  For entrees, we love the roasted Amish chicken, which comes with whole beech mushrooms and carrots – almost stew-like – and is served on top of grilled farm bread (an awesome touch, it makes the dish like a huge open-faced sandwich) with a hearty gravy overall. It’s fancied up Southern comfort on a plate.  Then, (drum roll, please) their cider-braised pork shank with a kohlrabi kraut, which eats like a long-grain risotto (wow), and house-made dumplings that soak up the saucy gravy that helps the meat fall right off the bone.  For reals, so tender.

If you want to add some freshness to the meaty entrée choices, the salads are all desirable, too, with seasonal vegetables and local additions that are appealing to carnivores and vegetarians alike.  We tried two: their house salad, which was fairly standard but topped with a great Dijon vinaigrette; also, the wild cress and arugula salad with black walnuts, sliced dried apples, and a bleu-cheesy dressing. This one packed a punch that was both sweet and cheesy in the right balance.

The biggest hit of the evening was the mashed gingered squash puree – truly, outstanding.  Sweet and savory with buttery flavors that met with the subtle sweetness and strength of the veggie’s natural ways of being delicious. It was an awesome side dish, but could almost pass for a sweet treat at the end of a meal, maybe sided with a port to sip on or something like that.  Worth a try, anyway.

Pork shank with kohlrabi and dumplings

Whether you pop in for one of their hearty starters and a cocktail, sip on a brew while you wait for your table, or get a bottle of wine with dinner, their bar has what you want. First of all, the bartenders are friendly, pour generously, and are excited to help you navigate the menu if you decide to dine at the bar.

How can you resist a new, cozy and delicious spot, right off the red line metro (Woodley Park), on your way home from the zoo?  Oooo, now that’s a good Valentine’s Day date waiting to happen. 

For now, DK is closed on Mondays, but they plan to eventually be open 7 days a week.  Their current hours are Tuesday-Thursday 5-10pm, Friday-Saturday 5-11pm, and Sunday 5-10pm. They are located at 2606 Connecticut Ave., NW.  I recommend a reservation at District Kitchen (uh, not the zoo) and you can do that here, through OpenTable.

Dinner with Geoff: duck, sprouts, & potatoes like you've never had 'em before

I recently went to a fabulous dinner at my friend Geoff’s place.  He always blazes tasty new trails with recipes that take work and a little risk.  He also had a cool, Southern way of serving the food – he often serves drinks in Mason jars and leaves the food in their original pots to serve in a homey, comfortable, but cool way.  For this dinner, he made duck, Yukon gold and sweet potato gratin with Gruyere, and Brussels sprouts.  Finish it off with some of his homemade spiced bourbon, and you’ve got a quite a meal.  Details below!

The duck recipe can be found here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Duck-Confit-102313  

Geoff says to ensure the duck is young, as the meat gets tough with age.  He recommends that you only use the leg & thigh sections, because the breast and wings tend to be a bit too lean.  He says it worked better for him going higher on the heat, around 250 or 275 degrees.

Potatoes:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Scalloped-Yukon-Gold-and-Sweet-Potato-Gratin-with-Fresh-Herbs-350455 

Geoff notes that when cooking the potatoes, it is better to leave them covered longer, say 45 min, and then 15 uncovered to brown.  He particularly loves how the yams and Gruyere go so well together, creating a creamy and hearty taste.

For the sprouts, Geoff halved and placed the sprouts in a pan with just the littlest bit of water to steam them.  He then added a few cloves of garlic and a couple TBS of butter to sauté the sprouts a bit once the water steams off.  If you have time, he says, he likes to soak the sprouts in salted water, which seems to help them retain their green color after cooking.  Great idea!

As for wine, Geoff always says that even though you’d traditionally serve a white, he likes to serve it with red wine due to the slightly gamy flavor of the duck.