Illustration by Josh Kramer.
By DCist Contributor Josh Kramer
Who needs a cellphone camera when you have a pen and paper? Drawn to Flavor highlights local dishes and drinks in vivid watercolor. In these posts, Illustrator and journalist Josh Kramer tries to honor all the energy and creativity that goes into making food beautiful and delicious.
The other night I thought I’d try a small place on Barracks Row that I’d been hearing good things about. It’s called Rose’s Luxury (717 8th Street SE). Ever heard of it?
If you have heard of Rose’s Luxury, it may because of the famously long line people wait in to eat there, or because both Bon Appétit and GQ named it the best new restaurant in the U.S.
The atmosphere is comfortable, and the service is warm and familiar with a fine-dining formality. I’ve never been to a restaurant where servers in jeans poured tastes of wines by the glass. This tension between high and low food culture informs a lot of the dining experience at Rose’s. Chervil is tucked into creme fraiche whipped with black garlic, and ice cream is dusted with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.
The food is, without exception, extremely inventive and delicious. Like many before me, I fell for the pork sausage, habanero, peanuts, and lychee salad. It’s served warm and it’s a little disingenuous to call it a “salad.” There’s a base of country ham sausage and a sauce of habanero chile, coconut milk, and white vinegar. Next comes coconut powder, garlic oil, garlic chips, herbs (cilantro, mint, and basil), and lime juice. Finally the topmost and only visible ingredients: lychees, red onion, and whipped coconut milk.
The contrasting textures and flavors in this dish are a delight to puzzle out. The bowl, once mixed together, alternates between milky, spicy, oniony, and herbaceous. The cumulative effect is not at all subtle but instead surprising and compelling.
D.C. awaits the opening of Chef Aaron Silverman’s next restaurant, called Pineapple and Pearls, which will open soon next to Rose’s. It will be popular. But if Rose’s is any indication, it will probably also be great.
