Adventurous Italian. That's how I would describe each dish served at this DC hidden delicacy. With a maximum capacity of about 25 diners at a time, it truly offers an intimate experience with both company and cuisine. With a price-tag of about $80 per person without alcohol, the wines can add a shiny coin to your bill, but are the perfect compliment to each unique flavor brought to the table. It's a set menu, with options at the Primi, and Secondi and dolce offerings, as well as antipasti and formaggio plates.
Italian dishes are traditionally small, and both the primi and secondi dishes were true to form, but the antipasti came more in the form of Spanish tapas. Classic plates arrived with a unique flavor such as a sweet balsamic glazed calamari bruschetta. Other hand churned cheeses came along with muscles with a white wine sauce along with Tuscan bread (unsalted).
For the Primi, the choices were mainly stuffed pasta options. I had a quail ravoli that was in a soupy mixture that reminded me of a boston clam chowder. A flavorful broth highlighted with sun-dried tomatoes provided a deep saturation in which the quail could ruminate allowing the flavors to mingle richly.
Secondi came as a more full meat selection. Here I ventured into more unknown territories opting for the squab with nettles. Squab is a fowl akin to a pigeon and was smaller than a quail or a duck breast and arrived with it's feet intact curled into claws. The meat was dark similar to duck but with a bit more gaminess, although it was cooked so well that it was still able to be taken apart in the mouth with little chewing. Rather it melted with the orange butter sauce with an even consistency. The nettles provided a nice bitterness similar to dandelion garnish that brought more out of the caramelized orange glaze on the squab.
The formaggio plate came next with an assortment of fresh cheeses and a fresh basket of bread as well as an accompaniment of a fig/berry spread. I am not as eloquent as I would like to be in regard to cheeses so I will leave this dish here saying only that there was an assortment of textures, richness and solidity on the plate in order to give a range of experiences.
Finally, the for the dessert option I chose the chocolate truffle mousse, which was THE purest, softest, richest, bite of dessert that I have ever put in my mouth... period. Accompanied by home made whip cream, it was one of my favorite desserts ever.
For wine, I chose a relatively inexpensive bottle of chianti (my preference only, from spending time living in Tuscany) and asked that it arrive later with the secondi so that we might enjoy it with the cheese and dessert plates.
Looking for Obelisk, you will not see signs or lines of people, but you will find a homely kitchen seeming in the background of the DC landscape.
Bests, the variety, the attentiveness and friendship of the wait staff and the relaxed atmosphere designed to have you eat like an Italian and truly take your time to enjoy the food.
Price is the only setback here (unless you tend to stick to the plain italian of more homely pasta restaurants, then this is not your pick)
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