Ripple

I cannot compare DC and NYC dining.  It's unfair.  But the limited options in DC just makes me that much more excited when I find a really good restaurant here.  A really good restaurant being one that is delicious throughout the entire meal because dessert seems to be a struggle here.

My friend Jamie was leaving DC on an extended assignment for work and we met up for dinner at Ripple in Cleveland Park. It was a cold and rainy day.  It was the kind of day where I was wearing the wrong shoes which never bodes well.  I was a little grumpy but that all disappeared when I started eating.

The restaurant itself is not exciting.  We were sat in the back and it's very dull looking.  The food deserved a much better space.  I started with the housemade ricotta with baby heirloom carrots, raw honey and black pepper.  I have been on kick lately about carrots.  They taste like candy to me and it's what I crave everyday.  This dish was beautiful and perfectly paired the sweet with the savory.

I was then super excited for the foods the make me think of Spring - ramps and fava beans.  The roasted halibut was perfect and flaky.  It was served over potatoes and oyster mushrooms.  This is my perfect memory of a fish at the moment.

It was really difficult for me to decide on dessert - not to have it but which one.  I was in a chocolate mood so I ate the twix mousse pie with chocolate mousse and housemade twix.  Jamie had the no bake ricotta cheesecake with rhubarb and almond-oat crust.  Happiness.