Mondays are Play Days!

So my job is beginning to wear on me a bit, and to keep from going absolutely insane, I decided to take off all of the Mondays of Screen on the Green. Everyone keeps saying: "wouldn't it be more sensible if you took off on Tuesdays?" But no silly people, it wouldn't be because then I wouldn't have a 3 day weekend. Duh! So this was my first Monday off. I couldn't really enjoy it to its utmost because I was coming back from Delaware that morning, but Erin and I were able to catch some schmancy lunch with a friend. Then I introduced them both to TangySweet (new converts! yes!). Then we picked up lots of delish cheeses for a Screen on the Green picnic, and we closed the night out nibbling on brie and gouda while listening to James Bond seduce 3 women in under 2 hours.


But back track to the schmancy lunch... Erin and I decided these Monday Play Days would be a great time to try out nice restaurants we wanted to go to during lunch when the meal would be (theoretically) cheaper. So this Monday we hit up Circle Bistro in the Washington Circle Hotel. I have been to a few other hotel restaurants in DC, and I have to say I liked the atmosphere at the Circle Bistro the best. The decor was still a bit hotel-y, but the color palette really opened the whole place up. It was all fun oranges and yellows. The bright, warm colors were the perfect balance to the feeling of being underground and closed in.


Ok now down to more important things: food and service. Let's start with the service. It was exactly what I would have expected from a classy hotel joint, completely professional and a bit uptight. Our waitress wasn't making any small talk, but all dishes were served at perfect pace, all together, and to the right person without the food runner having to "auction off" anything. ("Auctioning off" = when they say "who got the chicken with the pasta type stuff on the side?" FYI from a former waitress, auctioning off is considered tacky in the world of formal restaurants. So I always note it at restaurants I feel should know better.) Service bonus: our waitress had some unidentifiable European accent and was built like a model, making her seem that much classier.

The surprisingly pleasant atmosphere and classy service was nothing, however, compared to the food. It was freaking awesome. We started off with the duck confit and a corn and pepper soup. The duck literally melted off the bone. It was cooked to absolute perfection. Seriously it was like Moses parting the Red Sea. The meat just glided away (and into my mouth) like there was some divine intervention. No joke. Don't believe me? Not sure if you believe in divine intervention? Try to the duck confit, Judas, and then get back to me. Food bonus: the portion was not small! In fact nothing that came out at Circle Bistro was teeny tiny in that snooty way some kitchens try to make their food seem cooler by putting less of it on a plate. Portion size alone would have won them a decent review. Erin also loved her soup. I tried it and liked it a lot, but I was glad I got the duck! Then the main dishes came out. I got the soft shell sandwich. Great job on the crab, but the bun was a bit to big for the whole thing. Erin got the salmon. She didn't say much about it, but there wasn't anything left on her plate at the end of the meal. So I am assuming it wasn't too terrible. Our friend who was dining with us got the burger. It always seems odd to me to go to a really nice restaurant and get the burger, but he could not shut up about how good it was. So I think in this instance, he probably got the best meal out of all of us. The bill came, and it was actually not horrendous. It wasn't cheap either, but I do think our attempt at eating a less expensive meal at a classy joint was successful for the most part. Everything was so good that I was tempted to see what they had for dessert, but TangySweet was calling! So off we went to the rest of the days adventures.