2008 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

Sound Check: 71 decibels (must speak with raised voice)

Proof was there at the beginning of the explosion of wine themes around town, and, despite the competition, the handsome watering hole across from the National Portrait Gallery stands out as one of the best places to sit, sip and snack the night away. For openers, the dining room, warm in brick and espresso-colored booths, is both comfortable and stylish. Second, Proof's vast inventory of wine can be sampled however you wish: by the taste, the glass or the bottle. Finally, chef Haidar Karoum is cooking better than ever these days. One of the best raw fish dishes around shows off dominos of dewy tuna scattered with what amount to fireworks: mint, papaya, lime, jalape?o -- a burst of flavor in every bite. While every other chef was ladling out pea soup over the summer, Karoum was feeding us a puree of edamame, its gorgeous pale green surface streaked with lemon creme fraiche and dressed up with julienned carrot and radish in the center. Even the simplest-sounding dishes burst with personality. Hanger steak is sliced over panzanella and tickled with a chimichurri sauce, while duck breast is matched with grilled garlic scapes and finished with hazelnuts and pomegranate sauce. The service is crisp, the cheese course shows passion, and the addition of a patio extends the pleasure outdoors.

Proof Positive
The food and wine shine at this fun Penn Quarter outpost

By Tom Sietsema
The Washington Post Magazine
Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007

There are abundant reasons to visit Proof, the latest restaurant to support Penn Quarter's standing as Washington's most diverting dining destination. Exhibit A is found in your wineglass.

One scorching summer night, friends and I want to start the weekend off with something refreshing, white -- and not too expensive. "What's your favorite white wine under $40?" I ask my waiter, who goes off to pose my question to sommelier Sebastian Zutant. He's not yet 30, but Zutant comes to Proof having made strong impressions at Komi and Rasika, both in Washington, and I'm eager to taste his response.

"I like that challenge," Zutant says when he returns to the table with a 2005 label from Daniel-Etienne Defaix, one of France's best producers of chablis. The $39 wine banishes thoughts of the heat with its lively minerality and honeydew notes.

Zutant is determined to make wine fun, and accessible, at Proof. His champagne cart -- a trolley with a mound of shaved ice embedded with six to eight bottles -- allows starving artists to pretend they're moguls with a $7 Spanish cava, although it's also possible to drink in the clouds with a $50 glass of Krug. Curious about a particular label? Zutant will open any bottle under $300 and pour you a glass for 30 percent, give or take, of its price on Proof's list, which is how I got to savor the rich 2005 Grand Firepeak Cuvee Pinot Noir from Baileyana for $12 a pour. Don't let the suit fool you. Zutant, hired by owner (and Washington tax lawyer) Mark Kuller to oversee his rich cellar, is a playful wine guide, given to responding to satisfied customers with two thumbs up.

Another reason to drop by Proof is to check in on Haidar Karoum, 33. The former chef at Asia Nora occasionally reminds us of where he used to work, with an Asian slaw here or a wasabi emulsion there. At Proof, he also shows his range -- and a flair for what's spare -- with accents from all over the world.

Something from the sea or flatbreads make a great beginning. The citrus-"cooked" raw fish dishes might include sheer slices of hamachi enhanced with the soft crunch of crisped garlic and a suggestion of Hawaiian sea salt; better still is the pleasantly chewy conch arranged with creamy avocado, tiny tomatoes and pungent cilantro. Even that workhorse of appetizers, tuna tartare, manages to taste fresh when the yellowfin is bound with ponzu, tamarind juice and sesame oil, and served with seaweed wafers brushed with tempura batter. The flatbreads are tiny Frisbees cut into four wedges, each crisp slice dabbed with something delicious; burrata cheese -- made from mozzarella and cream, and the current darling among food cognoscenti -- along with lemon thyme and infant arugula turn in particularly strong performances. A group of diners can share the long and generous board of pink and red heaps of cured meat -- the ubiquitous charcuterie -- that might include bresaola, prosciutto, coppa, speck and a slab of chicken pate studded with cherries and pistachios.

At one meal, I feel as if I'm eating at a farm stand in the country. Green and yellow beans united with chopped tomatoes in a blaze of colors would be good by themselves but are elevated to glory with a shallot dressing and a cheese-filled squash blossom that breaks open to a rivulet of goat cheese, ricotta and minced herbs. Another evening, a trio of soft little meatballs, each topped with a basil leaf and pooled with fresh-tasting tomato sauce, bring to mind Lean Cuisine as conjured by Marcella Hazan; they are light -- and luscious.

One of Karoum's strengths is rounding up the usual suspects and giving them new identities. Chicken is made crisp with panko on its skin and vivid with green stripes of salsa verde on its plate, and pink slices of hanger steak are ratcheted up with a nest of creamy Swiss chard veined with smoky bacon bits. A tiny crown of potato threads and a house-made steak sauce, jazzy with jalapeno and tamarind, broaden the beef's appeal. But more often than not, the combinations are just plain good. Delicate gnocchi nestled with sweet corn and buttery chanterelles, a late-summer statement, is rich but not overwhelming -- and hard to stop eating.

Some diners dismiss the interior. "It reminds me of a really fancy restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina," one dining companion cracked, Zagat style. Others, myself included, find the space warm and welcoming. One block from the Verizon Center, Proof opens with a single-sofa lounge and a pewter-topped bar whose overhead display is not a series of TVs, thank goodness, but monitors that take advantage of the nearby National Portrait Gallery's vast archive of images. The bank of screens flips from Albert Einstein to Gen. George S. Patton to jazz greats, giving viewers a dose of culture with their cabernet. In the dining room proper, see-through racks of wine double as dividers (and reinforce Proof's theme), espresso-colored leather booths create cocoons of privacy, and brick walls are punctuated by copper-framed round mirrors that reflect the show out on the sidewalk. Naked light bulbs suspended from the ceiling cast an amber glow, while patrons including Wolf Blitzer add further wattage to the scene. Be sure to check out the restrooms, which have become talkers; their walls (well, I can vouch for the men's walls) are a cross between a Playboy centerfold and film noir -- sensual nudes in black and white.

Servers rave about the silken goat cheese cheesecake, smartly served in a tumbler with a crumbled shortbread topping and passion-fruit base, and the sticky toffee pudding cake, topped with velvety, vanilla-rich ice cream. You can also drink your dessert. Another of Zutant's stamps on the liquids menu is "Mr. Randy Watson," an after-dinner libation named after a character in the movie "Coming to America." The combination of chocolate and peanut butter liqueurs and chambord goes down like adult chocolate milk.

Proof is not too good to be real. A starter of raw fluke might get oversplashed with soy sauce, and grilled leg of lamb sliced over a pretty salad of tomatoes and bread cubes (panzanella) delivers mute meat. Sweetbreads flavored with dates and caramel jus taste as if they had been made by the pastry chef. And if you plan to meet here for drinks after work, you had better show up early, because a lot of people have the same idea. By 6 p.m., the pack at the bar is thick. Envious late birds will be eyeing places to perch, none too patiently hovering near your stool.

"We want people to learn things," Zutant told me in a telephone call after my most recent visit to Proof. He was talking about his wine program, but he could just as easily have been speaking about the overall experience at the restaurant, where the lesson is this: You can be serious about what you pour and cook, and still let diners have fun at the table. This student sure did.