I won't bore all of you with another introduction about how I think the Italian food in Washington, D.C. is poor! I will say that when a colleague of mine sent me a link from Esquire Magazine with a review of Bibiana, I knew I had to try it for restaurant week.
So on the last night of restaurant week, a very cold, Sunday, Chris and I ventured out for a comforting Italian meal. We each started the evening with delicious choices - I chose a fried risotto ball with mozzarella cheese and Chris chose a polpette (or large meat ball) over polenta. I would venture to say that for me the appetizer dish was my favorite of the evening with a close second going to the dessert. The risotto ball was delicious and perfectly fried. The risotto oozed out and hit the spot on a cold night. While I tend to avoid tomato at all costs, I did eat up the dusting of marina on the bottom of the plate since it was so well prepared. Chris' meat ball also blew me away. High points for the appetizer course all around!
On to the entree. Many of you may not know that I have a weakness for sage, butter and veal. I know a lot of people do not like veal, which is completely understandable, but it just happens to be a meat I have grown up eating and very much enjoy. So when I saw there were veal-filled ravioli served with a butter and sage sauce on the menu, I nearly jumped out of my chair. To clarify, I made this discovery at my office five days before going to the restaurant, so I went into Bibiana full well knowing what I was going to get. The dish was delicious and I would only rank it third of the three dishes I had that evening because I was so pleasantly surprised by the appetizer and dessert. I will say that during this course, I felt a little rushed and did not appreciate when the waitress watched me eat my last bite before taking away my plate. Chris also enjoyed his beef cheeks served over... wait for it...polenta. In retrospect, he probably should not have gotten two polenta dishes, but he did really like it.
Finally, for dessert, I ordered chocolate sorbet and Chris ordered panna cotta. I had never had panna cotta before, but as soon as I tasted Chris' dessert, I knew I would need to trade dishes with him because it was to die for! It turned out to work out very nicely because Chris happens to love chocolate sorbet. The panna cotta was served with crumbled amaretto cookie on top, which sealed the meal for me.
Overall, Chris and I had a great time at Bibiana, but I think we would have both liked to spend more time there. We were finished eating in about an hour, which can happen for restaurant week, but still.... I also wish that Bibiana were a touch more affordable since we all know D.C. could certainly use an affordable Italian joint. Bibiana you get 4.25 dumplings out of 5.
www.bibianadc.com
