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Fancy Radish

Took a while to get to this upscale veggie restaurant.  Post food critic Tom Sietsema, a meat lover, declared it to be one of his top favorites and ever since reservations have been few and far between.  There were real strengths and a couple of weaknesses.  On the plus side it is just delightful to go to a restaurant where I can eat ANYTHING.  There is joy in having choices.  The menu is clearly seasonal and based on the interests of the chef.  Divided into three sections (Urban Picnic, Farm Board and Wood & Fire) there are four selections per section for a total of twelve offerings.  Portions are generally small and the waitress recommended picking one item from each section.  My first selection, the Stuffed Avocado (pictured) was the best of my offerings.  No only good on taste, it also had that nice mix of creamy, crunchy, etc.  Companions got the Beet Toast and Fancy Radishes, declaring both to be quite good.  The person who ordered the radishes said the best thing was that it didn't taste like radishes, which he didn't care for (he was being bold that night).  The second courses included the Smoked Carrots, Peruvian Potatoes and the Za'atar Grilled Squash.  The potatoes were declared the favorite with the squash coming in as a close second.  The portion sizes here were fairly large and left all three of us feeling full before the third course.  My final course was actually the most disappointing.  Companions got the Seared Maitake and a peas and carrots dish.  I got the Chermoula Tofu which was okay but kind of boring.  A chunk of firm tofu with some sauce and garnish, it just didn't live up to the flavors in the previous dishes.  I squeezed in the Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert, which was a mistake.  It was quite good but I was already full and found it to be "too much".  That was my fault.  On the part of the restaurant, I would suggest one or two improvements.  We were seated near the door.  This meant a cold breeze every time the door opened.  If the door were rehung to open to the left, it would not impact any seating (sorry hostesses).  While it was nice to have some time between courses for digestion, our meal stretched into more than two hours as the speed between courses was so slow.  Given the difficulty in getting a reservation they could certainly make more room if they sped up service a tad.  Lastly, as wonderful as it was to leave a restaurant full (a rare experience for me when eating at meat-heavy places) it would be nice if the size of servings was indicated in some way.  I could have made better choices and not felt uncomfortably stuffed by the end.  None of these are tragic mistakes.  Bottom line:  I look forward to eating there again.  It's a good idea to bring friends so you can sample a number of dishes.

Upscale Vegetarian Fare from Philadelphia Restaurateurs
https://www.fancyradishdc.com/
600 H St, NE

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