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RESTAURANT REVIEW : Washington D.C. has a plethora of restaurants that I want to try. You can literally go outside, pick a restaurant, and chances are you’ll be satisfied with the results. The specific restaurant I chose for this night was Rural Society which is a contemporary Argentine steakhouse from a famous renowned Chef Jose Garces next door or inside (depending on how you want to look at it) of the Lowes Madison Hotel. This restaurant is absolutely beautiful! It’s not the biggest but the decor is simple which I think most restaurants should be so the focus should be the food. I live by simple is better than the extravagant. I believe at restaurants the food should be the main event, not the decor in the restaurant. It’s a plus when you get both though. The restaurant has a nice bar that is in a separate room from the dining area, I’m assuming because it’s attached to a hotel it’s easier for the guest to go have a drink when they decide to. Convenience is always a plus, especially when you’re at a hotel. Maybe one day I’ll spend the night, well… probably not.
(DINNER): The main event! I usually get an appetizer wherever I go and this restaurant specializes in different porks. I am not eating pork like I used to and as much as I love bacon I always feel sluggish after I eat it. (You are what you eat reference) If bacon is mixed in with a dish and/or on a burger than it’s fine, I’ll eat it, but sausage, ham, things of that nature, I try to stay away from. I ordered the “Carpaccio De Pulpo” which was the Braised Octopus, tomato Escabeche with Malbec Chips. The Octopus was amazing. It had almost a citrus(ee) flavor to it but it wasn’t overwhelming. It had the consistency of a cold seafood salad but with octopus specifically. The only thing I wish was that the appetizer portion was longer, but I have to remind myself it’s an appetizer, not an entree. Nevertheless, I would order this again or would opt for the braised Wagyu Beef Belly, something I’ve never had before.
For the main course I went with surf and surf and turf. (No typos on the surf and surf and turf) The items that were ordered were the “Picana” which is Snake River Wagyu, Bronzino and Jumbo Gulf Prawns. You can’t forget the sides when ordering dinner either which was “Crema” Garlic-whipped mashed potatoes and “Esparragos” Asparagus. The Wagyu was made with love and appreciation. It was almost as if my grandmother cooked it and if you have a grandmother in your life or have had one cook for you, then you know how good the food is. It was my first time having wagyu which is generally a more expensive piece of steak. It was amazing. I ordered it medium and it was cooked to perfection. It wasn’t too salty or too rubbery, sometimes when you order steak you may run into it being rubbery, which I apologize on behalf of that chef if that ever happens to you. The Bronzino which was a Whole Mediterranean Bass was buttery, flaky, and it melted in your mouth. They filet it down the center and split it open so you can enjoy a nice piece of fish. It was topped with capers, brown butter, and lemon. I would order the exact same fish if I were to ever come back to this restaurant.
The jumbo gulf prawns were a bit rough as I believe they were on the grill maybe a couple seconds too long. The salt was a little overbearing on the prawns and unfortunately you couldn’t ignore that fact. Prawns are a favorite of mine as I love shrimp, but only when it’s not as salty. This will NOT stop me from loving this restaurant either, lol. The mashed potatoes were probably the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever eaten in my life. They were very creamy and had the consistency of hot pudding, ok, maybe my comparison is off a little but you have to try them. They are un-believable. The asparagus was pretty good too, it was charred and cooked with sea-salt. As far as what I would rate this restaurant, I would give a 4.9 out of 5 but ONLY because the prawns were over seasoned. I know it may seem weird that a 4.9 is given but I believe Argentinean food specializes in “seasonings”, I’ll have to do more research on that one though, but I believe I heard it from somewhere. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone asking a good place to go to in the Washington D.C. area.
SavoryTravels 