Al-Tiramisu

I went with my parents and grandmother this past Sunday evening to dinner at Al-Tiramisu, which has been at 2014 P St, NW for a little over nine years, and gets consistently good reviews. I’d never been before, but will almost certainly go back. I arrived about five minutes late (e.g., On Time), to find my relatives already seated at a very small booth in one corner. The booth had been billed as “cozy,” which it certainly would have been for two sets of Olsen twins. For four real people, it was a bit cramped. Drinks had already been ordered (and brought...I may be predictable but a Ketel One and tonic is hard to beat!), and my slow-to-decide parents had already heard about the specials. The waiter did not repeat them for me, except by name - I had to probe repeatedly as to preparation and accompaniments. The gorgeous (and expensive) wine list included only three by the glass reds: a high-alcohol but otherwise tasteless Cabernet; dull Chianti; and a Merlot no one tried.

Once it was delivered (again at much prompting) the bread was delicious - a hearty farmhouse and a divine foccacia, the latter of which did not need the olive oil never brought. The black olive tapenade was nice...very, very mild, sortof a background flavor more than a topping, but good as a palate cleanser.

Every single table around us was engaged in its own discussion of the real estate market. Yes, we are in DC.

We finally ordered. My dad and I both started with the fennel and orange salad, which was very good. The fennel was much milder than I usually expect, and set off the oranges beautifully with the olive oil dressing. My mother had a half order of the gnocchi (they were happy to accommodate this), which were excellent. Not at all greasy or heavy, in a light tomato sauce that was just a bit sweet and a tad tangy. This was identified as the chef's signature dish, and it's clear why. My grandmother had the caprese, which came with bright fresh basil, really nice mozzarella, and unfortunately grainy, tasteless tomatoes. Hey, there's a shortage, so I forgive them.

At the next table over, one woman - six of whom could have sat comfortably in our booth - was blabbing on and on about how she only wanted to spend 1.5 but was willing to go to 3 if necessary. I assume she meant $million. The phrase "just peanuts" came up a few times.

For the main course, I ordered the Duck, which came in a honey balsamic sauce, with a ball of polenta and precisely two slices of grilled zucchini and one of carrot. It tasted great. The sauce had enough herb in it (sage and rosemary, I think) that it was not at all too sweet. I love vegetables, however, and would have liked more of them. My mother got silver snapper, which tasted fine to me (though I'm not a snapper fan at all), but she thought was excellent. Ditto my grandmother's Dover sole. Dad got the special veal chop, which was the Clear Winner: it came in a port wine and fig sauce, was not too heavy, and was prettily presented.

The skinny woman is biting the 'stem' part off her basil leaves, and only eating the leafy bits.

The second course was slow in coming, and our server was in no hurry to take dessert orders. He did, finally, and we got two desserts and two coffees. The espresso was perfectly nice (better than Starbucks, not quite Andalus), and the decaf cappuccino was (besides pointless) very tasty. The tartufo was very good, if frozen a bit too hard, and the lemon tart was nice, but not very lemony (which my grandmother announced to the whole restaurant - at 91, she knows she can get away with it).

The food was, overall, very good, but for the price (about $240, plus tip); we felt we'd received entirely second class service. First, we were put in this cramped booth despite the place not being very full at all (there were plenty of better tables), and were assured it was the best spot. Then, my dad spilled his whiskey (he was clearly not drunk, the glass was just slippery), and was not even offered another. At any other restaurant, another would have been brought immediately. As I said, there were lags between courses, and the bread required prompting (and we never got the oil that appeared at other tables). My mom got the impression that all this was due to our not being regulars...the hostess did seem to know someone at almost every other table.

All in all, we will almost certainly go back (since there is so much on the menu that looks so good), but probably only on a special occasion.