Valentine's Day Outings

Last night we went to Palette, which is in the Madison Hotel in downtown D.C. We had a pre-fix meal with wine pairings, which I have never done before, so I was looking forward to it. The salad course was a goat cheese, beet, and pecan salad with one of the best pinot grigios that I have ever had. I forget the name of the wine, but it was from Oregon and it was so easy to drink and went great with the salad. For the entree I had chicken, which was very juicy and good, with bread pudding and spinach. It came with chardonnay, but it was pretty smoky, which I can appreciate, but prefer crisp tasting white wines because they are easy to drink and really refreshing. The cheese course was not spectacular. There were only soft cheeses and one tasted like pizza cheese - not so good. My dessert was great - it was a soft cake with cream and strawberries. Matt had the chocolate cake, but there was too much of an orange/bitter taste to it. Overall, the food was good, the atmosphere was pleasant and modern, and the service was great. We had a very good time.

Afterwards, we went to the Donovan House Hotel restaurant, which is a couple blocks away. It is not officially open yet, but they have the bar open with some temporary tables and lounge areas. I was not impressed. Maybe it will be better when they officially open, but they did not have good drink - my G&T was pretty weak and Matt did not like his Cabernet. We heard one of the waiters say that the same chef who cooked at Tao in Las Vegas is going to be the chef there, so maybe it will improve. I will give it another chance when it officially opens. It was a fun night and it was exciting to check out new places!