2009 Fall Dining Guide

By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

I dislike epic tasting menus, but I love Johnny Monis's cooking. So even half a dozen (little) dishes into the young chef's $90 Greek-inspired banquet, instead of checking my watch, I'm wetting my lips for more. Steamed brioche with golden trout roe melts on the tongue like butter. Raw salmon turns into a delightful poem when it's served in a coupe with candied pine nuts and a cool dot of shiso sorbet. Hot green peppers and a garlic whip join forces to create one of the most exciting octopus dishes around. And months after eating it, I continue to hanker for the BLT reimagined by Monis as a perfect bite of pork belly tucked into a button-size roll with a sliver of heirloom tomato. If I die tomorrow, I'll sign off grateful -- and full. Is there room left for pasta? There is when it's spaghetti garbed in sweet crab and custardy sea urchin roe. Same goes for an entree, one of the few decisions you'll have to make (all those exquisite hors d'oeuvres just flow from the kitchen, unannounced until they're set before you). Go for the goat and the chance to be carried to the Greece of your fantasies when the tender shoulder or leg meat arrives with warm folds of pita and a tray of enhancers including cabbage and hot sauce. The long dining room near Dupont Circle is softly lighted and spare; the service is smooth and smart. The fresh face? That's Kathryn Bangs, a veteran of the Tabard Inn and a vivacious guide to the wines of Greece and beyond. She's as endearing as the lollipops that always signal the close of a meal here.

Tasting menus per person $90 and $125.