Saturday, January 20, 2007

Friday night

Last night's restaurant was much better than I imagined it would be. I'd heard mixed reviews about it and the fact that it was WAY far out of the city was another reason why I didn't have high hopes.

Mallory, our friend Karen (visiting from NC), and I hopped aboard the metro and rode it for almost thirty minutes to get to our destination stop. It was freezing last night, so I was delighted to find that the restaurant was just over a block from where we exited.

When we arrived, my low expectations leapt considerably as my eyes took in the rich wood floors and deep red decor in the restaurant. Candle flames danced all around and added an elegant touch. We were greeted by someone who asked to check our coats and then another host led us to our table. By pure luck, we had the best table in the house. It was off in a little room towards the back of the restaurant that could be closed off to the rest of the dining area by a linen curtain.

We weren't the first to arrive. Dave and our other friends Archana and Abby were waiting. About five minutes after we sat, the last two (of our eight person party) arrived.

The menu was superb. Even though it was limited, there were still many options to chose from. I chose a carmalized onion and potato ravioli served with shrimp, dried red peppers, and a sharp cheese sauce as my appetizer. It was one of five on the menu. For my entree I had filet mignon (of course!) that was crusted with black and red pepper seasoning. It was complimented with sauteed mushrooms, onion rings (random sounding, but delicious), and what I can only describe as some type of potato and cheese fritter. Mmm. It was amazing. Finally, for dessert I had a slice of chocolate cream pie with a three-nut crust topped with whip cream and chocolate shavings. To compliment each course, I also added a "wine tasting" that featured a generous sample of wine.

Our dinner lasted for about two and a half hours. It was perfectly paced and the conversation was great. I really enjoyed our separate room and think it added to the free-flowing ways of the conversation. One of the guys in our party, whom I hadn't met before, was also from Winston and had gone to UNCG. Small world, eh?

Willow was a complete success. Everything was delicious and the service was exceptional. Our server had knowledge about the menu and personality, but also did not hover over our table.

I love restaurant week in DC!!

Tonight's plan is karaoke. Mallory, Drew, Karen, and I will be meeting Dave and some of our other friends at Rock It! Bar. haha. Sounds interesting, eh??










Taken during our super long metro ride out to Willow.









Our party- you can see the "privacy curtain" in the background. We left it open the whole night.





Yeah, I dunno... it was just a fun picture. I think we were showing off our truly sophisticated sides.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

GO GIRL...SOUNDS GREAT...

Anonymous said...

Just the restaurant atmosphere was
enough to win me over. After you described that I would have had a hamburger and it would have tasted good! :-) Fun you met new people too. Was the UNC-G person a guy or gal? Now, how about RockIT? ed

Anonymous said...

Atmosphere and good food! I would have had the appetizer (shrimp)and the entree you got sounded delicious - everything did! What fun making more memories to keep. jd