The dining room at the Evening Star Cafe is a Tinkertoy jewel box. Bright saffron-yellow walls play off of chrome-trimmed, lipstick-red tables atop a black-and-white checkerboard floor. Wooden booths look like mini-pews, and each is lighted by a small lamp with a shade trimmed in old Erector Set hardware. The lamp bases are old trophies (the one in our booth paid homage to a diner who had consumed two tenderloins in a single meal) or coffeepots or toys.
The restaurant and its Majestic Lounge, which opened in 1997, were the beginnings of what has become a mini-empire known as the Neighborhood Restaurant Group. The Planet Wine store opened next door a year later, and the upstairs of the same building became the No. 9 Lounge a year after that. Now the group also includes Vermilion, Rustico and Buzz bakery, all in Alexandria, and Tallula and EatBar in Arlington.
Evening Star Cafe's original menu had a heavy New Orleans influence, partly because two of the four owners hailed from Louisiana. Although gumbo and jambalaya are still on the menu, chef Matt Cordes is offering more of a New American menu since his arrival more than a year ago. Asian accents mingle with French notes and hearty American fare.
The wine list, basically anything in stock at the adjacent wine store, is broad and well-priced.
Traditional Caesar salad hits a high mark with a zing of chipotle pepper in the dressing for a sheaf of whole Romaine leaves, which are adorned with the vibrant taste of Spanish white anchovies. A warming portion of tomato bisque distilled the essence of tomato into a bowl without being heavy. But the Vietnamese-style spring roll, stuffed with roast duck, was greasy, and even the appealing ginger vinaigrette dipping sauce couldn't rescue it.
In contrast, a trio of caramelized scallops was nearly perfect against a backdrop of mashed potatoes and celery root. The entree list is small, with fewer than 10 choices, but it includes a sublime roast chicken, lovely lamb chops and beef tenderloin.
Some desserts come from the group's Buzz bakery. A pumpkin cake topped with apples and served with ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce reflected the winter season but promised spring.
--Nancy Lewis (March 29, 2007)
We'll Always Have Paris
By Tom Sietsema
Sunday, January 15, 2006
A beacon in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood, Evening Star Cafe is the culinary equivalent of a pat on the back, a quick hug, a friendly handshake. Its American menu -- conceived by the recently arrived Matt Cordes -- weaves red, white and blue (think roast chicken) with contemporary notions (the bird comes with thyme-scented gravy). And the space all but says, "Howdy, neighbor." Ketchup-red booths hug mustard-yellow walls that are illuminated with sconces fashioned from toy parts. Sure, it's small. But the smiles are big, there are two cozy lounges to wait in until it's your turn to eat, and the blue velvet chairs make it easy to hang out.
Some of the food will keep you in your seat, too, particularly anything with an Asian accent. Piping hot spring rolls filled with shredded duck and presented with a not-too-sweet peanut dip make a nice introduction, as does a salad of green beans tossed with red onion and radish slivers, and bound with a zingy ginger vinaigrette. And mussels in a creamy coconut milk broth, whose richness is cut with pickled ginger, turns out to be one of those dishes that is as good for its sauce as for its star.
Like its siblings, Tallulah in Arlington and Vermilion in Old Town, Evening Star lets you drink well. Its basic wine list offers some good sips (and nothing is more than $30), while its extensive master list reflects the restaurant's ties to the shop next door, Planet Wine.
Curiously, some of the homier-sounding dishes fall flatter than Nebraska. Beef tenderloin reveals very little savor, a problem exacerbated by wimpy mashed potatoes and a crown of fried onions bested by the stuff you can buy in a can. The grilled pork chop is almost as lackluster, though it's thrown a lifeline in the form of a dollop of soft polenta. The kitchen serves a respectable hamburger, however, and desserts tap into primal pleasures. Made with risotto, the kitchen's riff on rice pudding is gussied up with candied pistachios and a breezy-with-mint syrup. Chocolate can be experienced a couple of ways: as an espresso-blasted brownie partnered with nutmeg ice cream or, more fashionably, as a ganache tart with a cap of bananas and meringue. Either requires great patience with your table mates, who will undoubtedly want in on the action.
