all photos: Shauna Alexander
POSTE Brasserie, tucked inside (and sort of behind) the expansive Hotel Monaco, has long been a BYT favorite: we love their roasts, the patio in the summer is a terrific date spot and it always seemed to maintain a certain non-hotel-like integrity and identity of it’s own. So, when we heard that their new chef Dennis Marron was finally settled in and comfortable, we figured it’s as good of a time as any to go check out what changes he brought to the menu.
After all, could you improve that much on an already good thing? Well, it turns out while all you can do with the tried and tested dishes is keep them and try to do them justice, you CAN certainly expand upon the menu and make it a little more your own in that way.
And expand he did. What POSTE offers now, as a result, is one of the most comprehensive menus in a casual fine dining establishment I’ve seen around DC: something for everyone and everything for some. There is an extensive appetizer menu. A mussells menu. A whole pig/poste roasts menu. A shareable menu (for those date nights). A seafood menu. A sandwich menu. A frites menu. A salad and soups menu. A long and decadent entre menu. And naturally–a dessert menu.
After you’ve dug into the fry selection (hand cut, truffled, and almost no need to put anything on top of them, unless of course it is the bordelaise sauce), we highly recommend you indulge in the liver parfait or the standout Pork Rillettes, perfectly crispy and golden.
On the mussels menu, our server recommended the Chorizo ones (spicy and hearty, with white wine) and the Saffron ones (creamier, and with a dash of mustard) and both of them lived up to our expectations.
And while all of this would be PLENTY for any meal you may consider, it is worth noting that the entree menu is so rich and decadent that you’d be remiss to not show up very hungry. The vegetable crepes are a terrific option for the non-meat eaters (and are a remnant from the old menu) but the pan roasted filet mignon, seared foie gras, creamed spinach, sautéed mushrooms, sauce bordelaise is the crowning jewel. The meat doesn’t even need to be cut, frankly, and the combination of sauces, foie gras and vegetables while constantly teetering on the verge of becoming a (glorious) mess, just works perfectly together. No room left for seconds.
We’ll let you enjoy the food porn now, but make a mental note: this favorite is worth a 2012 revisit.
