First Look: Mahogany
This post from DCist Contributor Liz Lawson
Mahogany Restaurant presents itself as a place representing the smooth side of the U Street revitalization; one that requires a certain attire for its patrons, like another that was the source of a bit of controversy when it emerged a few years ago.
Recently reopened after renovations, Mahogany sits on the street-level floor of Bohemian Caverns, which hosts local jazz nearly every night of the week in a basement space that lives up to its cavernous name. The renovations did the space well: the décor is gorgeous. The bar is made of red mahogany wood, and the windows open out onto the street. On these nice days, a seat at the windows would be a perfect location; that is, if the food was worth it. On a recent visit for brunch, the restaurant made sure that we realized it wasn't.
The brunch menu looks appealing on the surface: omelets, pancakes, even a breakfast sandwich for those who kind-of wish they were at Dunkin’ Donuts. Sound like appealing choices, right? Unfortunately, they weren't.
My meat eating companion went with the breakfast sandwich, and asked for the side of home fries to be replaced with the "cheese" grits. Those scare quotes are necessary. First of all, the requested side came out as an appetizer. Though the timing mistake was our first warning for the meal; the grits themselves were a clear second. I may have become spoiled during the year I lived in Georgia, but, honestly, I’ve had better grits in Pennsylvania. When the menu says "cheese grits," one expects some cheese; grits as a rule should not be able to be used as a shower sponge.
Photo from c_parascandola.
The breakfast sandwich itself was no redeemer for Mahogany. The sandwich came out of the kitchen on a small, desolate plate, with nothing to keep it company but its own awkwardness. Forlorn without its side of grits, it really made the sandwich itself look unappetizing. One would expect that at an establishment aiming to be upscale, the kitchen wouldn't place an entrée on an empty white plate and serve it to a customer.
But we weren't here to just look at the food, so we dug in. The taste didn’t make up for the lack of presentation. According to my companion, the bacon didn’t taste like bacon. Not that I'm a meat-eater, but the look of disappointment on his face said everything. Even I know that when you bite into pork product and you can’t figure out if it’s actually made of pork, that's not good. Given the near-religious fervor about bacon among you omnivores, I can safely say this is a grave mistake.
I guess it comes as little surprise they tried no harder on their vegetarian offering. It may be a generalization that chefs seem to believe that just because a food has a small number of calories it should be tasteless (See: tofu). Well, it shouldn't. There are many ways to make egg whites taste great. To use an explicit example for Mahogany, including in the omelet the pepper jack cheese that the menu claims is an ingredient to the dish is a good way to start. To top it off, they surprised me by replacing my side of buttered toast with a Caesar salad; these two things aren't even related.
Service during the meal was pretty spotty as well. I should throw in here that while the waitress seemed like a super nice woman who I’d totally hang out with at a bar, she wasn’t exactly on top of her game that day. While most of the service was fine, we waited an unacceptable amount of time for water to arrive at the table.
Mahogany is a new restaurant, and as with any new place, they need some time to settle in. It's time for them to start turning it on, though, and if this brunch was any indication of their current trajectory, it doesn't look like a long-term venture. That said, I probably will try them again for dinner, just to give them a chance to redeem themselves when the kitchen is working at full tilt. Hopefully the quality and the quantity of the food will better complement the beautiful space that has been carved out of the Caverns in its ideal spot along U.
Mahogany Restaurant
2001 11th St. NW
202.299.0800
Metro: U Street/Cardozo/African American Civil War Memorial