lunch at the Willard, Wash DC
 

I am fairly new to the area and I thought I'd relate lunch today downtown Washington DC.

I met someone at the Willard and we went into the restaurant there. The Willard is a fine old hotel, very ornate. About 10 years ago they were going to tear it down, but it got renovated instead and now it is an Inter-Continental.

We sat at the hotel and the chairs have big armrests that don't fit under the table so you have to be a little bit away from the table.

The prices were astronomical a la carte. A salad was $17, or instance. But you can order the "complete" lunch including any appetizer, entree and dessert for $34, which is what we did.

I had a crab compress which was fresh crab with avocado and tomato. It was good but I wouldn't order it again. My companions had a mesclun salad with fresh anchovies. The anchovies were not salty and were appearently excellent. They were put on top of each other to resemble a woven cloth, very interesting presentation.

For the main course I ate seared tuna, too well done for my taste, on top of run of the mill vegetables. My companion had lamb chops that looked incredible. He said they were very special.

Desserts were a choice of chocolate cake, or sorbet. I ordered the cake. It was beautifully presented with a thin strip of high quality chocolate binding together a delicate chocolate cream, a white chocolate cream, and a cake resembling a very soft shortbread. Really good. The sorbet my companion had looked awesome.

Service was adequate but not great. It wasn't slow, just amateurish, with the waiter giving us each the wrong dishes not once but several times. The ice tea was just average. I ordered an espresso that was lukewarm, all 2 millimeters of it. But overall I enjoyed it and would go back for a similar business lunch.

You don't happen to know if this restaurant is covered by the Georgetown meal plan, do you? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Next time, walk out the front door and, with your back to the Willard, turn to the right and walk about ten steps. Then, enter the Occidental Grill. You'll have a wonderful lunch and even better dinner in one of the oldest DC haunts...zillions of deals have been cut here.

It is a grill, but they do fantastic veggie plates, too.

[This message has been edited by joanek (edited 07-06-2000).]

They are also offering special discounted rooms package this summer starting at $209 that includes tickets(2) for the works of one of America's favorite artists, Norman Rockwell, at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

The hotel's fine dining restaurant features a "Rockwell at The Willard Room" dinner menu for $49 per person.

BTW-This price also INCLUDES complimentary valet parking at the hotel. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
"Rockwell at The Willard Room," a 3-course dinner menu created by Executive Chef Gerard Madani and Manager Francisco Nieto, connects each dish with a different Rockwell painting from the exhibit. The entree, "Roasted Whole Squab with `Abstract' Sauce," is presented on a square white plate drizzled with multiple-colored sauces to replicate Jackson Pollock's famous drip painting, which is celebrated in Rockwell's 1962 painting "The Connoisseur." Call The Willard Room for reservations at 202/637-7440. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


[This message has been edited by doc (edited 07-06-2000).]