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Rose's Luxury

A celebration landed me at the restaurant which has been on the top of my list for many many years.  The notorious line wasn't that long and wasn't even necessary as the restaurant didn't fill up during our visit.  Was it worth it?  Yes and no.  The fun, funky interior had reclaimed wood tables and a warm ambience but major points were lost on the thumping music which made the small space too loud and conversation difficult.  The limited chef's menu, switched up on a regular basis, offered two "starters", two small plates, two pastas and a couple of larger meat plates.  There were three options listed as vegetarian or "could be made vegetarian".  Apparently the starters (a popcorn soup and a strawberry pasta) could have been made veggie as well but my menu didn't indicate that.  In any case, we received gratis sour cream biscuits with yummy creme fraiche and a freshly made marmalade.  These were amazing and melt-in-your mouth.  The fluffy biscuits combined with creamy, tart toppings were a meal in themselves.  For me, the next round was a salad which was good but didn't have the toppings/ingredients well mixed.  The top was just greens and by the time I got to some of the interesting stuff at the bottom of my bowl I had missed the opportunity to savor everything together.  One of my companions got the fried wings which they declared to be the best wings they have ever tasted.  Next up was the Lychee Salad which was clearly the star of the show.  The veggie version has seasoned tempeh, which was delicious with a host of other unique ingredients, like a coconut creme puff, peanuts, and more.  As the waiter says, this is the dish which has remained on the menu from the beginning.  I finished with the sweet pea primavera which was quite good and came with tiny seasonal flowers but was too salty.  My dinner companions got the brisket and "Tandoor-ish" chicken which were both good, they said, but slightly overdone, needing the various toppings to counter the dryness.  I agreed with one companion that the naan "grilling" was not ideal, giving the rich bread a toasty, burnt undertone.  Drink (for me) was the beet juice/vinegar combo which was quite good and a not-sweet selection, but at $10 for ~maybe~ a half cup of drink (the tumbler was loaded with ice) the place should be arrested for price gouging.  My companions ordered Bourbon and a dark beer, respectively, and each said the offerings were outstanding.  Dessert was a chocolate cake with "cashew frosting, passion fruit and a coconut swirl" which arrived as a little bundt cake with swirls of the frosting encircling the base but not the passion fruit or coconut swirl.  Instead the cake came with a large scoop of lemon ice on top (decorated with pansy leaves), which was far too tart to be eaten with the chocolate.  Fortunately, we received a scoop of vanilla ice cream as part of our celebration and I traded out the lemon for the vanilla, which worked well.  The cake was slightly dry so the cashew frosting and vanilla ice cream made for a good pairing.  On a random note the signage around the bathroom is adorable but having only a single seater meant waiting on line to go, which seems a bit much for an upscale restaurant.  Bottom line?  Great adventure, some hit and miss really good dishes and possibly worth a second visit as the seasons, and menu, changes, but not the "OMG" food I have had elsewhere.

Upscale chef-inspired menu
717 8th St., SE
https://www.rosesluxury.com/

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