11 Jul Rose’s Luxury in Washington DC

Tell me a restaurant that is a challenge to get into and I am up for it! After all, month after month, I book at reservation at the 25-seat Maude Restaurant in Beverly Hills. I was in San Francisco and lined up in the early afternoon to get into State Bird Provisions. So when a friend in DC mentioned Rose’s Luxury to me, I made it a point to eat there on my last visit to DC. Rose’s Luxury is a neighborhood restaurant. But to get a seat to eat here, it is based on a first-come, first-served basis.There is no pretension to it. It is a cozy, energetic restaurant that has an inviting manner and delivers on the food. They maintain a first-come, first-served policy because their priority it to remain a neighborhood restaurant and make it possible to anyone to dine there without advance planning. But, this means that there is a line that forms around 4pm each day with people hoping to get in that night. And, I was one of them. It was towards the end of winter when I was last in DC so it was a bit crisp and cold outside. But, I arrived at 4pm and was the second person in line. I did not think there would be a big line due to the cold but within a few minutes, the line was inching its way down the street. As we all stood out in the cold, everyone was chatting, making the time pass but also setting the tone for the friendly neighborhood spot. When the doors opened at 5pm, I walked in and asked for a table around 6pm as I was waiting for a friend. I then headed upstairs to the bar for a drink (or two). The cocktail menu is very straightforward. The drinks do not have made up names and are simple list the ingredients. Brown Butter Bourbon and Apple Cider Spices – Anytime I see brown butter on a menu, I have to order it. And this was a perfect drink to start with. The drink was a cold spiced cider but the brown butter bourbon added a round, rich, full-mouth feel. 12 Year Rum, Carrot Juice, Cinnamon, Ginger – Another delicious cocktail with complementing ingredients, this drink had earthy and spicy notes. Scotch, Sherry, Genepy & Cardamom Bitters – A beautiful, smooth sipper, the oxidized notes of the sherry were long lasting. When my friend arrived, we headed back downstairs and took two seats at the chef’s counter where we could watch the chef’s prepare the dishes as we ate. As we perused the menu, which has thirteen items on it, we were served the Potato Bread with Butter and Crumbled Burnt Potato Skins. I could have eaten a dozen loaves of this bread and butter. I especially loved the burnt potato skins crumbled on top of the butter that added crunch. The menu is broken down to Small Dishes, in which there four categories – cold, warm & grill, other goods and pasta – as well as Family Style which has two larger meat dishes. Although we were just two people, we decided to order an item from each section of the menu. Cold: Winter Citrus, Spicy Cashews and Shaved Fennel Warm & Grill: Pork Sausage, Habanero, Peanuts and Lychee Salad with Coconut Foam and Togorachi Other Goods: Confit Goat with BBQ Sea Island Red Peas, Rice & Garlic Breadcrumbs Pasta: Hand-Cut Chitarra with Caramelized Cauliflower and White Wine Soffritto Family Style: Smoked Brisket, White Bread, Horseradish and Slaw Despite all the food we ordered (and we ate every bite), we could not miss dessert. The housemade Gelato was delicious but the Coconut Milk Ice Cream, Burnt Coconut, Lime and Kiwi was a perfect finish. It was light and refreshing with bright citrus notes.

The food was so good I would go back to Rose’s Luxury in a second. But, if you need another reason, for every meal eaten at Rose’s, they will donate 25 cents to the WFP-USA to help feed a hungry child around the world. Every 25 cents provides a meal in school and take home rations for one child. So every time you have a meal, a child will have a meal. Simple as that. So far: 96,815 meals served = $24,203.25 donated

Rose’s Luxury 717 8th St. SE on Capitol Hill Washington D.C