Another D.C. Restaurant Week has come and gone. As much as we like to complain about over-crowded restaurants with “dumbed down” menus, there is still a part of us that finds it alluring, so we still take the opportunity to see what restaurants have to offer. Among the places we ventured out to, there were some hits and a few misses. One place that really hit the right notes with us was Viridian in Logan Circle. Having never really considered this place, we decided to go on a friend’s recommendation. It turned about to be a relaxing and satisfying evening in what is normally a chaotic week for diners.

Viridian is located in the 1515 Arts building, which houses several art galleries on 14th and P Street in NW. Accordingly, the décor of the restaurant is essentially an on-going gallery. The food philosophy, however, is simple: local, seasonal, and organic. Every night from 5:30 pm-7:00pm they offer a pre-theater, three-course prix fixe menu for $32 plus tax and tip. Another special they offer is half-price wine every Sunday and Monday night.

The menu is diverse in its cuisine; Viridian describes it as “global,” which “allows the diner to experiment freely.” They are more focused on flavors that will accentuate the ingredient rather than a specific cuisine genre, and we found that this was not such a bad idea. We were able to sample many different dishes including Scallops Romesco with Spicy Pepper Puree, Chilled Melon and Cucumber Soup, Chicken Under a Brick with spinach, homemade pickled onions and olive oil emulsion and Rack of Venison with a Gin and Juniper Jus, shaved fennel, almonds, and tarragon. We also tasted a fantastic vegetarian dish dubbed “Santa Fe Casserole” which was comprised of firm polenta, spinach, queso fresco and scallions in a spicy molé sauce.