Crush, by Kathleen Gibbons/ Palace Line Cook
Some old family friends were recently in town doing college tours with their youngest daughter. We decided it would be nice to meet up as I hadn’t seen them in at least a decade, and we settled on going to Crush on Capitol Hill for dinner on a sunny Tuesday night. I had never been to Crush, but I’d heard great things, so naturally I was thrilled not just at the idea of seeing old friends, but more so at the idea that I would be dining with fellow food enthusiasts.
The setting was beautiful. It seemed the restaurant was designed with minimalism in mind, with a simple white and cream color scheme, very clean lines, and accented with funky chairs and intricate modern decor. The setting sun filtered through the blinds to light up the space, creating a warm glow. I loved the simplicity, and all I could hope for was a complex, delicious, and colorful meal to create a full and well rounded experience. All my expectations were blown out the door, as what I was about to indulge in was far superior to what I imagined.
I wish I could write about what all of us had, but a lot of plates hit that table, and so, for now, I’ll just discuss what I was lucky enough to eat. We started with a cheese plate with four different French cheeses (photo top left), each paired with a particular garnish to enhance the natural flavors of the cheese (extra virgin olive oil, kumquat marmalade, nuts) and all served with crispy crostini. We each had an appetizer, all of which were delicious. I chose the crispy sauteed sweetbreads in bourbon sauce with grain mustard cabbage and apple slaw (photo top right), a dish whose balance of flavor made for an incredible experience. The hard sear on the supple sweetbreads, the crunch of the apple, and the acidity of the mustard all combined with the sticky-sweet bourbon sauce. Oooooh, the bourbon sauce.
We were served a small scoop of Meyer lemon sorbet (photo middle) to cleanse our palates- the cold tartness immediately banishing the flavors of our first courses, and we were ready for more. Our lovely waitress, who was the perfect blend of attentive (but not clingy), honest (but not brash), and extraordinarily knowledgeable recommended the Painted Hills boneless beef short ribs on Yukon potato puree with carrots and truffle oil (photo bottom left), and I was happy to oblige. She said “beef”- I was sold, especially after spending the previous hour drinking wine and getting whiffs of truffle every few minutes. I was very happy with my decision. The potatoes were rich and creamy, not gummy, and the sauce on the beef was thick and sticky, without overpowering the flavor of the beef. One of my dining cohorts ordered the rabbit wrapped in prosciutto, which was salty, crispy, and moist, and I considered, only for a second, pouring my glass of wine on him so I could finish his dish while he was in the bathroom cleaning up. But I didn’t want to do that to him and deprive him of such a delightful dish. And I didn’t want to waste the wine.
We all ordered dessert. I had the chocolate coulant cake with a slightly molten center served alongside a creamy caramel brown sugary ice cream (photo bottom right). Needless to say, I made mine all gone. After a four hour meal, the Murray family and I were sitting contentedly, behind a table of empty, almost licked clean plates. I wasn’t stuffed, I didn’t have to unbuckle my pants, and I didn’t feel like a garbage disposal, which was surprising because the meal I had just consumed was NOT light and calorie free. I was content, satisfied, pleased. It is clear how much thought went into the planning of this menu: rich components paired alongside complementing acidic and fresh flavors in appropriate portion sizes. This is not food that was meant just to be eaten; this is food that is meant to be smelled, examined, tasted, savored, eaten, and then admired.
I was lucky enough to have been able to enjoy a delicious, rich, and indulgent meal with people that I love (and don’t see enough). This experience made me bow down to the incomparable power of food and its ability to bring people together. We would have had a nice time no matter where we’d chosen to dine that night, but the meal that we all shared together in this one moment made for a truly unforgettable evening.
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