bon appétit magazine just recently released their “hot ten” list of The Best New Restaurants in America 2014. I was pretty elated to see a DC newcomer in the #1 spot: Rose’s Luxury.
The magazine claims their 2014 list to be their most “eclectic and unexpected” ever. And with a mix and mosh of restaurants representing many different ends of the dining spectrum, it really is a well-rounded list. And there should be no surprise that Rose’s Luxury not only made the cut, but took the top seed. In honor of this feat, I am sharing my Yelp review of RL (which has garnered 3 “Useful,” 3 “Funny,” and 2 “Cool” votes to date).
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Since Rose’s Luxury set-up shop on Barracks Row, it has been making waves as the city’s best new thing. I read about it everywhere, and heard good things about it through word-of-mouth. I also heard that it was one of the hardest places to get a table on a busy weekend night. Having recently been, I can say that the restaurant is definitely one of the best that I’ve been to in DC, even with the hour-long wait. (!)
So a few friends and I decided to meet up for dinner a few Saturdays ago, and we figured we’d give Rose’s a try. One of my friends lives in Cap Hill, and made her way there to get on the list. We waited upstairs at the bar for about an hour before we were seated, which was exactly the wait time they gave us, AND we were there early enough that we weren’t exactly biting off our fingers out of starvation. We managed our own expectations well.
We were seated in the main dining area just against the window, which was perfect that night we were out. The windows were open, it wasn’t humid at all, and there was a nice breeze blowing through DC. It was the perfect night to be out and about in the city. The set-up of the place is really cozy and comfortable… almost as if you were in someone’s own dining room.
The main draw, obviously, are the amazing dishes… and there were plenty of great things to choose from. Our party of four ended up trying the Jonah crab claws, grilled asparagus with pineapple aioli, the gnocchi, crispy squid salad, and rigatoni. We also ordered a special “strawberry” pasta, and was given a complimentary dish from the chef: the jerk chicken with green papaya salad. I really can’t expound on the culinary amazement that we experienced at our table that night, but if I had to make a call-out, it would have to be for the strawberry pasta.
I believe it was an angel hair dish -I can’t recall exactly. But the pasta was perfectly al dente, and sauced with a concoction of tomatoes and strawberries. It sounded so weird off-the-bat, but when we tasted it, we all agreed that it was the perfect mélange of sweet and savory, salty and spicy. It truly was a genius dish, and I feel it should be made a permanent offering–something Rose’s can definitely “own.”
(I just dropped my mic. And now I’m walking away. That’s all I have to say.)
Just kidding.
But in all honesty, everything about this place was great: the service was excellent (even for having to tell us about the hour-long wait, the hostesses were charming and assuring vs being callous and cold as they can be at other “trendy” spots), the ambience was perfect, and the food was extraordinary. I have since encouraged a friend to try it before she left DC for a new gig in Istanbul, and she couldn’t thank me enough for doing so. Clearly, my work was done. I had created a fan…in Istanbul.
717 8th Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-580-8889
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bon appétit is an American food and entertaining magazine published monthly, and is currently part of Conde Nast Publications’ roster. The magazine is currently lead by Adam Rapoport, who previously worked as an editor and writer for the James Beard Foundation’s publications office.
Wen Actually 