Where do you go in Washington DC for a special celebration to make memories with family and friends over food and wine?
My choice for my birthday this year was Fiola Mare restaurant, the newest brainchild of award-winning chef and owner Fabio Trabocchi (below), whose passion for cooking and for seafood came from his years growing up in Le Marche region of Italy.
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Opened in February 2014, Fiola Mare strives to evoke the kind of seaside dining experience found along the coast of Italy and the Mediterranean, with a focus on "pristine seafood prepared with elegant simplicity".
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In many respects, Fiola Mare succeeds in attaining this goal, with serene river views featuring DC landmarks, superbly fresh and creatively prepared seafood married with homemade artisanal pasta and the best of farm-fresh produce, an extensive wine cellar, and the pampering provided from expertly trained staffers. Add the elegant sophistication of the contemporary décor; the trendy bar with cocktails aptly named for the DC crowd such as "Foreign Policy"; the fascinating people-watching both inside this powerhouse restaurant and outside on the docks; the ambiance created by just the right edginess to the music and the perfectly dimmed lighting; and you have an overall experience that indisputably competes with some of the finest Mediterranean restaurants featuring seafood prepared with the "elegant simplicity" for which the Italians are famous.
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But I truly would not call our meal "simple", although it was indeed "elegant" ... elegantly prepared and served, and elegantly delicious.
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Following in the spirit of the Italians, we shared every course we ordered so we could appreciate and enjoy the tasting experience together, and we kept our wine choice simple but memorable ... a delightful and refreshing Chablis, Jean-Marc Brocard, Montée de Tonnerre, 1er Cru 2013.
We began with the raw bar (above), which included East & West Coast Oysters, Maine lobster, Middleneck clams, jumbo prawns, Blue Bay mussels, ahi tuna tartare, jellyfish salad, wakame salad, sea urchin, ocean trout sashimi, and Alaskan king crab. A veritable feast and a meal unto itself, served with three different sauces ... a classic mignonette, a rosy mayonnaise with a kick, and a tart pomegranate. The freshness of the seafood did not disappoint, but the deliciousness of the jellyfish salad and the sea urchin was totally unexpected ... most certainly a result of extraordinary culinary creativity.
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We then moved onto "Colors of the Garden" (above), a salad which included California strawberries, Marcona almonds, snap peas, baby carrots and beets, and casatica di bufala cheese finished off with edible pansies. An edible work of art, this salad provided sheer delight as we savored the tart sweetness of the macerated strawberries with the crunchy saltiness of the toasted Marcona almonds and the creamy sweetness of the casatica di bufalo, all the while appreciating the freshness of the ingredients.
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What transforms a marinara sauce into a thing of beauty that evokes the sea at every bite? The answer: Catalina sea urchin. We next moved onto a bucatini with wild tiger prawns, espelette chili pepper, and of course ... the sea urchin (above). Awesome and satisfying at every bite.
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We splurged at dessert, unable to resist either one of two offerings, but followed our ritual of sharing. The crostata di Fragola e Rabarbaro (above), is a warm, light strawberry, rhubarb, & almond tart, served with honey gelato - a perfect complement to the tartness of the crostata.
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Chocolate bon bons (above) - passionfruit milk chocolate, coffee and cardamom dark chocolate made from the renowned El Rey single-origin Venezuelan cacao - were the perfect ending to a truly memorable meal.
Proust was right. The aromas, the sight and the taste of exquisitely prepared food provide you with a powerful experience and memories that last well beyond the meal. The next time you are looking to make memories over food and wine in DC, I recommend you try Fiola Mare, and I hope you savor the memories for many years to come.
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