RW Madness: PS 7's
Restaurant Week is risky business. In order to secure a spot at the best restaurants during the prime 7 p.m. dinner hour, you'll have to book two to three weeks in advance. But even the most careful planning and meticulous research will not guarantee a perfect meal. Like the best things in life, Restaurant Week is high risk, high reward. Which is to say, when it's good, it's really good; and when it's bad, it's really bad.
For those of you who scored reservations at PS 7's, congratulations. You are about to enjoy a wonderful meal.
PS 7's is a great Restaurant Week value for a number of reasons. Diners choose three courses from an extensive menu (seven appetizers, eight entrees, three desserts) and portions are generous. Last night, my dining companions and I were very pleased with our selections and attentive service.
For our starters, we ordered the tuna sliders and the mussels. A hefty tablespoon of tuna tartare is piled into sesame-dotted Parker rolls and served with a smears of sriracha and miso sauces. It is a big mouthful of cooling fish, rich buttery roll, crunchy black sesame seeds, and a bit of heat from the sauce. However, the sliders are trumped by the Prince Edward Island mussels, poached in a broth of beer, rosemary, and whole grain mustard. The ale and mustard give the broth a deep, complex flavor that heightens the natural sweetness of the mussels.
For my main course, I ordered the five-spice lacquered chicken with ginger plum dumplings, wild mushrooms and Napa cabbage. The PS 7's website lists this dish as five-spice lacquered duck, not chicken. This substitution is unfortunate, as duck would been best suited to this dish. Nothing tastes as good as a crackling, golden-brown layer of fatty duck skin. Still, the skin of the chicken was pleasantly crisp and flavorful. The meat was a little dry and not nearly as tasty as the skin, but the coriander jus, juicy mushrooms, and tender cabbage pack enough flavor to overshadow the chicken's shortcomings. Meanwhile, the little purple plum dumplings offer a lovely sweet and soft counterpart to the salty sauce and crispy skin.
The lamb steak is probably the best deal on the Restaurant Week menu. It is large enough to feed two and nearly covers the entire surface of the square dinner plate. The lamb is of excellent quality — tender and flavorful without tasting gamey. It is topped with a ragout of eggplant, bright green fava beans, and a well-balanced sauce of mint and slightly bitter preserved lemon.
And, for those seeking something lighter, the cornmeal crusted trout is a perfect summer meal. A featherlight skin is easily pierced with a fork to reveal juicy flesh beneath. The delicate fish is paired with a sweet, crunchy mix of corn and watermelon.
For dessert, we ordered the beignets, a little puff of a donut rolled in cinnamon sugar. Ours arrived still hot from the fryer and were complimented by tart raspberry and dark chocolate sauces.
Despite all the full tables, service at PS 7's was fast, smooth, and courteous. We were seated immediately upon arrival, and each course came out quickly. In short, Restaurant Week dinner at PS 7's is just as good as regular dinner at PS 7's — except it was only $35.08. So, for all you Restaurant Week haters, I'm sorry. There's no horror story here. This meal was exactly what Restaurant Week was supposed to be: the kind of deal that makes all the research, planning, and reservation juggling worth it.
If you haven't booked your table already, you still have a chance to enjoy a great meal for a small price. PS7's will be serving their Restaurant Week menu until August 23.
PS 7's
777 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-742-8550
Hours
Lunch: Monday - Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: Monday - Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.