2011 Spring Dining Guide

By Tom Sietsema
Sunday, May 15, 2011

The best restaurant in Adams Morgan, missing from my fall guide for a couple of years, has blossomed into one of the top tables in Washington.

If you haven't acquainted yourself with the cooking of chef-owner John Manolatos, 37, here's what you've been missing: a fragile tempura of sweet soft-shell crab (summer); flatiron steak staged with marrow mayonnaise and a cone of French fries fragrant with sage (fall); grilled pork belly supported on a jazzy bed of shredded cabbage, mango, peanuts, chilies and mint (winter); and lush dips of whipped fish roe and garlicky hummus that sail you to the Aegean. The last dish, one of the few constants on the menu, is also one of the few that celebrate the chef's Greek origins.

Veteran chef Ann Cashion sold the place to her longtime employee four years ago; Manolatos is confident enough in his talent that he sees no reason to change the name, although the old family photographs that dress the walls are now his rather than hers. Does the room feel lighter than before? New chairs and tables in wood and leather are just the gentle facelift Cashion's required. Is the wine list less dreamy? The recession has resulted in an abbreviated book, but the choices are still choice. Meanwhile, an "after dark" menu served from midnight to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday draws off-duty restaurant workers and regulars who want to steer clear of the neighborhood's typical crush of party animals. The lures include bison burgers and tandoori chicken wings.

Don't count on finding the broccoli and beer soup with the texture of a souffle; the butter-glossed, crab-tossed fettuccine; or the elegant tangerine tart you loved from a previous visit. Manolatos often draws up his shopping list for tomorrow's dinner depending on what's in the market. "We want people to get to trust Cashion's, keep an open mind," says the chef. There might be a dish that's too busy on occasion, but his tendency is clean and interesting presentations.

"Is everything to your taste?" a waitress inquires. Her query is yet another reason I'm always in the mood for Cashion's: the smart, smooth, subtle service.

If Cashion's Eat Place were a magazine, it would be Saveur, the worldly periodical that's smart without being smugand as eager to look back as to look forward with its food. Opened in 1995 and helmed by John Manolatos since 2007, the softly lighted Adams Morgan destination is a sublime example of how to mature with grace.

I always order a few more dishes than usual for two from the menu, which is packed with interesting choices. Goat cheese souffle and veal sweetbreads with garlicky spinach make regular appearances; a recent creamless soup of three squashes is brighter than it sounds, thanks to the kaffir lime in the bowl. Someone at the table should seize on the chef's heritage: order the goat, a Greek mini-feast of spit-roasted meat -- tender shreds punctuated by crisp ends -- sparked with cilantro and chilies offered with pillowy flatbread and cool tzatziki sauce.

Now and then, the kitchen reminds me it's human. It's fun to see turkey on the winter menu, but not when the braised "shank" is sapped of its juice. The accompanying broad, house-made noodles, however, are divine. Come to think of it, any of the pastas here are worth your taste buds' attention. A gracious and knowing staff discusses the food with the sort of pride that comes more from the heart than from a desire to get rich and famous.

Before I fell for a reluctant gourmet, Cashion's was my go-to date spot; these days, the restaurant is where I head when I'm meeting a fellow chow hound or, really, anytime I want to be reminded of the power of a great meal.

-- Tom Sietsema