It has been so crazy busy lately that I didn't even start thinking about my Birthday plans hehe...I think I'm the only person amongst my friends who still likes birthday parties and cake!
Anyhow, Peter knows how much I LOVE surprises and ended up planning a "Birthday Trifecta" of THREE Chef's Tasting dinners, 1 before, 1 during the weekend of, and 1 after my actual birthday!!! :)
The 1st of these Birthday Trifecta Chef's Tastings was at: Poste in D.C.!
Poste considers itself a "moderne brasserie of american cooking," and while I admit I didn't know much about Poste or its Chef Robert Weland, I was super excited when we walked up to Poste and Peter mentioned something about "20 Bites."
For those of you who know me, you'd know I can't eat that much in one sitting but I get hungry very often and love munching on small bites of different things. I think I told my friend the other day how buffets used to be my love, but now these tasting menus with multiple little bites of perfection have taken the place in my heart (or stomach) for buffets :)
Oh yah, it was a gorgeous day too...so glad spring/summer weather is slowly emerging after the crazy cold and snowy winter we had this season!
Entrance @ Poste--I really liked the walkway leading into the restaurant...it's very open and also hidden from the bustling sidewalks of D.C.
Gorgeous Day Out in D.C.
PZ--Oxxford Grey Blazer, Versace Dress Shirt, Hugo Boss Red Label Slacks
Me--Chanel 08P Red White Blazer with Gold Chains (the workmanship on this jacket is out of this world), Nation LTD Karen Distressed Tee (LOVE all my Nation tees and tanks, so comfy and easy to wear), True Religion Dark Denim Shorts, Lanvin Red Patent Ballet Flats (the patent lanvin ballet flats are much more comfy than their regular leather ones which have a tendency to cut into the back of my heels), Van Cleef & Arpels Turquoise with YG 20 motif Vintage Alhambra necklace, Vintage Leonard Red Sunnies, and ofcourse, my Hermes Birkin 35 Blue Jean Togo with Palladium Hardware!
Inside Poste Waiting to Be Seated, Peter is hanging out with Birkie :)
LOVED the open seating outside and on such a gorgeous day, tons of people were in the outside bar area and in the inside lounge room
A View from Our Seats at the "20 Bites" Tasting Menu Bar
Poste "20 Bites" $75 USD plus tax and gratuity (which is a flat 20% surcharge on your bill), seats 4 and when they say BITES, they mean BITES but it was the perfect portion for me and especially with 20 plates, I felt that many places we had been to previously had a tad bit more than I could handle on each plate...Peter, being the boy, felt he was full, not supremely stuffed like he had been at Volt Table 21...but there, I think I started giving him half of each of my plates halfway thru the tasting (which he didn't complain about hehe)
Chef Robert Weland seems to love using dill, creme fraiche, and truffles--they each made repeated appearances in many of the "bites" AND one thing we did note during the meal was how many times, the use of metal utensils with metal dishes made for a very unpleasant metal to metal "nails to chalkboard" like sound (especially if you're trying to scrape up a piece of delicious morsel like I was)...so perhaps a wooden or plastic utensil with a metal dish or vice versa...
Oh and we were sad that Chef Weland didn't come by to say "hi" before he left...it's okay, we still enjoyed watching all the action unfold in the kitchen from our seats :)
And here we begin the 20 Bites:
Kusshi Oysters--Hot & Cold (we don't even usually eat oysters but we decided to be adventurous this time and the hot oyster was our favorite with that yummy creamy sauce...oh and that block of pink is some sea salt crystal...very cool, we licked it and IT WAS salty LOL)
Crudites of Pickled Vegetables--this would be the BEST SURPRISE dish for me since Peter and I were both very hesitant about eating pickeld vegetables on metal sticks, but it turned out to be surprisingly flavorful, the pickled beet and one of the three types of pickled carrots was amazing...the olive oil and the different types of salts added the perfect touch to these veggies...I totally didn't expect to love it as much as I did!!
Marcona Almond and Heirloom Carrot Salad with Carrot Soup--this was simple and refreshing
Hamachi with Ruby Red Grapefruit and Ginger Vinaigrette--this was easily something I could have eaten many more of...I think if a Chef made a full tasting composed of just raw fish/sashimi and carpaccios, I would be in heaven hehe
Steelhead Salmon Tartare with Creme Fraiche and American Caviar--we both thought this was such a creative bite, ice-cream cone style with salmon tartare (another love of ours), the cone was made with Chinese Five Spices Powder and the creme fraiche was at the bottom under the salmon tartare!!
Not sure if you can tell, but I am super happy to have this in my hand!! (and somehow looked like a wabbit in the process too waaahhh)
Bresaola with Parmesan and Extra Virgin Olive Oil--Peter and I both jumped on this thinking it would be Jamon Iberico (the one we had at Restaurant Eve still resonates with us LOL) but it was Bresaola and still very yummy...the cheese was okay though...
There's Chef Robert Weland in all white far right of the picture...and his kitchen staff hard at work!
Crispy Pig's Tail with Dijon Vinaigrette and Mustard Greens--this was a nice crispy fatty morsel of deliciousness!
Pineland Farm's Steak Tartare with Sunnyside Quail Egg--everything from the mini brioche bun to the quail egg and raw steak tartare was SUMPTUOUS though I admit we both felt a bit weird eating RAW BEEF hehe...
Head Cheese with Gribiche Sauce--another yummy piece of fried tastiness that we just popped in our mouths and went "hmmmm"
Hot and Cold Foie Gras--this dish looked like a "glass skateboard" and one thing I would praise Poste for too is their use of unique dishes and plates to serve their delectable bites...lots of thought was put into it and we definitely appreciated the aesthetically pleasing portions served to us. Peter thought the crepe wrapped foie gras to the right was heaven in his mouth so he popped half of mine in their too LOL
Side Note: we noticed that Hudson Valley seems to be the only place restaurants in the DC/MD/VA area get foie gras...are there any other places or is it just this one location in Hudson Valley?
Fresh Chickpea Crusted Halibut with Rhubarb Vinaigrette--we both thought this was yummy but not like "woweee" amazing...the fish was cooked right but I guess it didn't have the burst of flavor like in some other bites
Sea Scallops with Rutabaga Puree and Smoked Cremini--the scallop was seared to perfection and had a nice very light crunchy exterior on each side...I usually don't even love scallops and so Peter was expecting this one to pop in his mouth too but alas, I think he only got 1/4 of it hehe
My very darling BF looking sharp in his new Oxxford Grey Blazer and Versace Blue White Woven shirt...their fit is amazing btw...if you're looking for modern contemporary tailored shirts w/o being too tight like Dolce & Gabbana tight LOL
Wild Steelhead Salmon with Parsley Root and Brussel Sprouts--the crispy layer of Salmon skin was super yummy and the salmon was cooked to perfection and we were both very happy :)
There was a Blood Orange Granite palate cleanser which I was very excited to try but the orange vodka overwhelmed it for me and I wished I had a non-vodka version
Crispy Envelope of Pig's Trotter with slow cooked quail egg, frisee and whole grain mustard sauce--usually its a hen's egg on the regular portion but quail egg is fine by us...we love egg on any meats :)
Peking Duck Breast with Toasted Farro, Black Rice, Winter Squash and Dandelion--I was surprised to find how lovely this Peking Duck Breast tasted as I usually don't like breast meat but also for ducks...I may be biased but haven't found duck outside of a Chinese restaurant that I truly enjoyed hehe...but this one had the layer of fat AND crispy skin on it YUMMYY!!! The sauce and black rice and everything else was just okayy...
Wood Grilled Capretto with Anson Mills Polenta--I didn't eat this at all, not a huge fan of polenta or peas and yah, this was GOAT =(
Me being cheeky as usual...oh yah I was super happy we had all 4 seats to ourselves so we didn't feel smushed in AND Birkie had his own seat :)
Tete de Moine cheese with Toasted Brioche and Currant Jam--the jam was not sweet enough for me and while this cheese presentation looked very cool, they scrape the cheese with this device to make it look like a flower...it tasted okay to me...
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pudding Cake with celery, almonds and creme fraiche--OMG I usually am not a fan of many desserts as they usually are too sweet, too dark chocolatey or something but this was SO SO YUMMY, kind of reminded us of the Green Tea Macha Cake Peter and I LOVED at Tenpenh!
Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding with Milk Chocolate Ice Cream--OMG another amazing dessert, could this be? I LOVED this and I usually DO NOT LIKE ANY CHOCOLATE DESSERTS cos I'm a huge milk chocolate fan and most places serve more dark/bitter chocolate desserts...but this was heaven for me...so yummy...
Petit Fours--one of them is a gooseberry dipped in white chocolate, it was our favorite :)
Our parting gifts from Poste--a nice little jar of Rhubarb jam and the 20 Bites Menu
Our lovely maitre 'd, Jeff, was super sweet and very energetic, definitely gave us all the insider info on each dish and its ingredients :)
Thanks Poste, I would highly recommend Poste "20 Bites" for anyone looking for a Chef's Tasting experience not just for the incredibly reasonable price but also for the unique touches from Chef Robert Weland and the fact that each portion was perfectly "bite-sized" :)
hi chloe...thanks for following the blog!
each Hermes Birkin varies in price greatly depending on size and leather, i would definitely call the Hermes boutique near you for pricing :)
mine was a gift from my bf :)
Posted by: Cory Style | October 04, 2010 at 12:13 PM
really? A hermes, I start to love to hate you now haaha .. how much u payed for it, may i ask? And all the foods, looking good, want to taste some too! :D
Posted by: Chloe | October 01, 2010 at 07:16 AM