Dish of the Week: Brown Butter
Where: Boss Shepherd’s, Rural Society
“Excuse me, waiter, my fish tastes like popcorn.”
A little bit like the buttery movie theater variety, actually. And a little like the salty sweetness you get from kettle corn, if we’re being exact. That’s the flavor profile that jumped out at me on first bite of the Carolina trout presented at Boss Shepherd’s, newly opened in the Warner Theater building downtown. That’s the effect of the brown butter sauce integral to the dish, here finished with lemon and capers. For the sake of the fish, the fillets are served atop some incredibly creamy and toothsome white grits.
To create the brown butter sauce, tablespoons of the stuff are thrown into a hot pan. It immediately sizzles and begins to foam, the water evaporates, and the milk solids begin to turn brown. Or burnt, if you turn your eye away for too long. But hopefully a nice brown that deepens as it goes. The butter takes on a nutty richness, hence why the name of the sauce in France is beurre noisette, which translates to “hazelnut butter,” to reflect the color and touch of nutty flavor it produces.
The classic sauce is often used to finish a fish or pasta dish, or sometimes baked into other ingredients, like a crumble for a fruity baked dessert. But why wait until the end of the meal? In the case of the espárragos at Rural Society, brown butter crumbs are sprinkled atop the charred green stalks. Again, the focal point of a savory dish that adds an unexpected element of buttery sweetness.
Small Bites
Vegan Brunch at Muse is Loose
As the transition of the Corcoran Gallery of Art hangs in the balance, so does Todd Gray’s Muse, and the vegan brunch buffet he serves. As a result, he’s moved the weekend meat-free fest to his Equinox restaurant. The menu for the $30 brunch changes seasonally. Menu items this summer include blueberry stuffed French toast, grilled avocado and Rhappanock peaches, sweet corn tamales with summer succotash and roasted peppers, and a gazpacho with pickled melon and Thai basil.
Saison with Sisson
Heavy Seas Brewery founder Hugh Sisson will be at Heavy Seas Arlington on Monday evening for a four-course beer tasting dinner. $65 gets you four courses and beer—tax and tip included, along with comments from the brewery’s main beer man. A house-made smoked rabbit sausage with purple tomato and rhubarb relish goes with sips of their new Red Sky at Night brew. Loose Cannon from the cask is meant to cool off the heat of ghost pepper cracklings; an accompaniment to wild boar course. Seats can be reserved here or by calling 703-879-4388.
Finding RareSweets
As retail at CityCenterDC begins to take shape this fall, bake shop RareSweets will be one of the complex’s first occupants. Until then, pastry chef and founder Meredith Tomason will be popping up to preview her goods. This weekend, she sets up shop at Salt & Sundry to showcase her baked goods, which, among other things, includes brown butter blondies. Ice cream is also part of her repertoire too, so she’ll be scooping it into espresso, making affogatos at coffee shop La Colombe in Shaw on Friday, August 8.
Peru’s Weekend
Monday is Peru’s national day. Las Canteras on 18th Street in Adams Morgan will celebrate all weekend with a three-course dinner menu for $29 a person. Specialty pisco cocktails, featuring one with pisco infused coca leaves, are included. A la carte ordering is also available, except for Monday, when the menu starts with an amuse bouche as a starting course. It costs $39.50.
