BLT Steak

This post from DCist contributor Matt Cordell

Although BLT Steak just moved into town ("BLT" is not bacon, lettuce, and tomato, but Bistro Laurent Tourondel as in New York City's BLT Steak, BLT Prime, BLT Fish, and BLT Burger), it has already masterfully affected one of D.C.'s core stereotypes: the clubby lobbyist haunt. Here, in a scene of dark wood and suede, pricey food comes heavy, dull, and fast, but without any serious missteps.

As soon as my date and I sat down, we were immediately greeted by a fair-sized jar of oily, rich paté. Granted, we did eat every morsel (although plain, it was paté), but the heavy taste of meat and oil did set the tone for the rest of the meal. This convoluted "amuse bouche" numbed, rather than sharpened, the taste buds. In truth it made little difference; what followed came like a stack of forgettable broad-stroke canvases.

The paté was almost immediately replaced by ham hock-sized gruyere popovers. They're well made, and LT knows it (he includes the recipe in an attached card). Cracking them open released a puff of steam and revealed the soft, moist interior, just begging to be slathered with butter and sprinkled with salt from the accompanying silver shaker. They're a nice touch, but, at this point, I'm wondering when I'm going to get to drive this train and whether I'd be able to taste anything after two such heavy courses. LT had me on the ether.

At this point, we almost regretted the fact that we had ordered appetizers. Even a modest salad was likely to leave me struggling to finish my entree. I was safe with my tuna tartare ($16), but, unfortunately, my date's salad was anything but modest, its bulk overflowed our dainty preconceptions. What was simply "Baby Spinach/ Bacon/Maytag Blue" ($12) on the menu expanded to crest the top of a head-sized bowl at the table; she barely made a dent. Despite my impending limit, I made a Herculean effort to finish off my tartare, a pure cube of packed rich red tuna set on a thin foundation of avocado and wasabi lapped by a puddle of soy and lime juice. Once again, the tuna was quality but the dish, as a whole, was heavy and unrefined (and actually also a little too cold, muting the flavor of the tuna).