[ad_1]
Almeda is located at 828 Upshur St. NW. Maybe you’ve been there before. The last resident was Little Vietnam, the successor to Magpie and Tiger, followed by Pom Pom, Himitsu, Crane and Turtle. All those places had their moments. None of them made it past puberty. But in retrospect, Secret, one of my top 10 restaurants of 2017, has a Japanese menu created by chef Kevin Tien and sake expert Carly Steiner, with a menu of lower quality It was almost impossible to find dishes.
Big difference between then and now: Almeda opens on Halloween The restaurant, which weaves together the African diaspora and the chef’s personal history, has the smallest seating capacity of any of its predecessors, at just 18 seats. His gleaming espresso machine now occupies the space once occupied by the elbows of customers sitting on counter stools.
Another interesting item on the menu is the fried catfish and spaghetti. Harris, 31, a Black woman from Cleveland, said the pairing was part of a youthful baby shower, cookout and other gatherings. Why pasta? “Spaghetti fed a lot of people without spending a lot of money.” Speaks like a true Midwesterner. Meanwhile, this fish represents the South with its buttermilk brine, tangy hot sauce, and light cornmeal batter.
Harris started his career in the industry at age 15, like many chefs, as a dishwasher. She cooked in college and became a sous chef at age 19. Since moving to the area in 2015, she has worked in corporate and private catering, as a manager at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and as a server at Tien’s Late Emily’s. In 2021, she opened her studio, Little Food, a cafe across the street in Almeda. (We used to sell sandwiches, pastries, and coffee, but now we’re making products for the restaurant’s daytime hours.)
In Almeda’s small workspace, the menu is just 10 items. But every dish has a reason for being there, sometimes with a compelling story associated with it. Consider jerk pork tenderloin with yam puree. It’s an elegant dish that’s easy to serve on white linen. Harris first made the dish for her fundraiser in Fort Monroe, Virginia, she said. Fort Monroe was an entry point for enslaved people in the early 1600s, and one of the sites of emancipation after the Civil War. Lightly charred and edged with slightly melted pearl onions, it’s the star of this little galaxy.
The “medium” plate provides maximum flavor. One is a doubles riff, a shout-out to street food and Trinidad. Chickpeas seasoned with cumin, ginger and fenugreek are piled on top of a crunchy saucer of fried plantains. “I like the texture,” says the chef, whose tostones are an alternative to the traditional soft roti. Harris’ fact-checker was Chinelle Watson, a 30-year-old pastry chef from Trinidad whose father was also a pastry chef. The double tostone is “my favorite thing” on the menu, Watson says of the light meal’s rendition. Homemade pepper sauce. The other medium plate features beef short ribs massaged with awazu, an Ethiopian sauce with a hint of berbere. We are talking passionately and happily. Lettuce ruffles serve as a wrap.A tangy tomato salad will help fill you up.
This is one of those rare restaurants where bigger is better. Main courses are better than appetizers. In addition to jerk pork, there’s also whole chicken, which leaves very few untried techniques. The chicken is salted, lightly smoked, roasted, fried, and “everything but ground-cooked,” said the chef, who came out of the kitchen to introduce it to my party on one visit. Welcome like a dinner bell, this platter includes bundles of ahi his amarillo-seasoned potatoes and crisp green beans.
Restaurants mark dishes that are meat-free, gluten-free, or contain nuts. Very helpful.A tribute to West Africa, Harris’ Vegetarian Jollof Risotto is a delicious bag of tender charred cabbage, peanuts, red pepper, tomato, and a pinch of ginger that can be eaten by many. One scoop begets another scoop.
There are some things you can give away. One is the pumpkin and mascarpone spread that is part of the restaurant’s (toasted) bread service. Too much maple syrup in the dip makes you feel like you’re eating dessert. Another minor moment is the beautifully but docile poached “boiled shrimp aguachile.” Accompanied by rich homemade masa chips, this should be eaten on its own. Again, I just dined at Mexican standard-bearer Cielo Rojo in Takoma Park and Amparo Fondita in Dupont Circle, but the bar for aguachile is high. Either way, the Almeda tells a more compelling story than its closest competitor, the dashing but inconsistent Bronze on Northeast H Street.
Harris went to school to study design, but never graduated. She keeps her good eye. Shiny new tabletops, sheer orange curtains, and blue upholstery brighten the previously dark interior, while larger-than-life palm fronds sway on the left wall. Regular customers from the previous tenant cheer at the white toilet. (It used to be black. “You couldn’t see it,” the chef jokes.)
The people taking orders and dropping off food are very nice, even if they sometimes get loud and annoyed if everyone in your party doesn’t go through the door at the same time. “Do you know when they’ll be here?” I asked a concerned server when I showed up alone a few minutes before my first reservation. Understood. Especially for small businesses, punctuality and turnover are extremely important.
The best prologue to the bill, which includes a 20 percent service charge, is Watson’s lean, rum-infused (yes!) gluten-free brownies, all paid to hourly workers. Decadent but not obnoxious, these fucky bars are topped with butterscotch and savory yucca-ginger crumbles and served with bunches of pink and purple whipped hibiscus tea on the side. While you can enjoy more of the pastry chef’s handiwork during the day, Almeda recreates Little Food her studio and serves cookies, scones, coffee, and other items until the early afternoon.
According to the owner, when Harris was washing dishes, he vowed to become a chef by the time he was 30.
nice dream A better reality.
828 Upshur Street NW. There is currently no phone. almedarestaurant.com. Indoor dining is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM and Friday and Saturday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM. price: Appetizers $12-$24, main courses $25-$56 (shareable chicken dinner). Volume check: You must speak 74 decibels/loudly. accessibility: A narrow entrance, a small dining room, and a small toilet. Wheelchair users cannot move easily.
[ad_2]
Source link
