Restaurant Week 2009 - Agraria

DC is a place with some pretty amazing restaurants...restaurants that on the average day I can only dream of being able to afford. There is a magical event that happens about twice a year, however, that is known as Restaurant Week. Together with the women from my office who share my love for food and my small pay check, I try to take advantage of Restaurant Week whenever it rolls around. During Restaurant Week I can barely (but always happily) find the money to enjoy a great meal with nice drinks and good friends in a lovely atmosphere. Agraria on the Georgetown Waterfront met three of the above expectations...all except the great meal part.

I have heard from several friends that the Waterfront restaurants are not worth much more than the lovely view of the Potomac. Sadly, Avery, Marie and I were there on an extremely cold February night with nothing but a broken water fountain to gaze at. We probably should have lowered our expectations since we made the reservation at the last minute after hearing that the restaurant we originally chose was not up to par. The fact that Agraria still had available reservations during Restaurant Week was a pretty ominous sign.

Overall, my meal was actually pretty good. I chose some safe, but in the end, smart choices. For the appetizer it was Fried Green Tomato with Cornmeal Crust, Basil Pesto, Goat Cheese Flan and Tomato Jam. It was the Goat Cheese Flan that really sold me on the appetizer. I always like the idea of cheese being made into something that seems unnatural (did anyone else get excited when Carla on Top Chef started talking about Goat Cheese Soufles during the finale???). In the end the Flan was way too sweet, but the tomatoes and the pesto were very tasty. Avery did not fare quite as well with her appetizer but she chose the House Salad, so there probably wasn't too much to say there anyway. Marie ordered Wild Maine Mussells which I was at first a bit jealous of, until she gave me one to try and I experienced my first completely uncooked mussell. The waiter told us the mussells were just very "naturally dressed" but to me they just tasted like the kind of mussell that comes back to haunt you at 3:00 AM (Marie survived without incident).

Both Marie and Avery had Potato Crusted Rockfish with Braised Arugla for their main entree. Avery made the mistake of asking for the waiter's recommendation between the Rockfish and the New York Strip with Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes. He basically called the steak boring and made me feel kinda bad for not exploring new culinary terrains, but in the end I won hands down with my steak and pototoes. Avery's fish was undercooked to the point that she felt inclined to send it back (to be fair, they did give her a free glass of champagne). My steak was well cooked with just a little too much fat in the cut and the mashed potatoes were probably the only thing on anyone's plate that was worth writing home about.

For the dessert, I will just say briefly that I order something called Campfire S'mores Pudding. I'm sorry...but how delicious does that sound? It was like my favorite childhood dessert had come back to me but in an extremely convenient format. No open fires, no pulling hot marshmellows off branches....perfection. Unfortunately, my pudding tasted like some had taken the burned branches and mixed them into the pudding. It was the bitterest chocolate flavor I have ever experienced and I spent the rest of dessert staring at Avery's carrot cake and Marie's blueberry pie which were both quite good.the drinks was pretty tasty, but at the end of the day Agraria has too much competition in DC for good, cheap food (see entry on Ben's Chili Bowl) to be putting out that kind of food and cha

Overall, Agraria is not a place I would go again. The company was great but you can enjoy great company for much less than$75+ per person. One less restaurant in DC to be curious about...