Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Range by Bryan Voltaggio

I'm a huge Voltaggio brothers fan, and Bryan Voltaggio's new restaurant in DC opened this past weekend. I made reservations literally the day that reservations were available and was lucky enough to score a prime time 7PM table on opening night (sadly, I missed their soft opening weekend). I was so excited that I visited the space a week before opening to scope it out and take pictures, one of which is now the storefront photo for Range on Yelp :P I went to Graffiato not too long ago and heard that Range is supposed to be a fancier version of that, so my expectations were through the roof. Sadly, the experience was underwhelming :(

Waiting to nom

"I have high expectations."

Skillet corn bread with bacon marmalade: bread was too crumbly and could be moister + more interesting. Butter was just butter. Bacon marmalade was like a sweet beef jerky sauce, which was pretty cool.

Kimchi linguini, uni, bay scallops, nasturtium: best dish of the night since I liked the uni and scallops, but it didn't taste anything like kimchi.

Pork cheeks, celeriac, moustarda: just a really boring dish :( We also got a side of brussels sprouts, although there are no pictures. The brussels sprouts were cooked similarly to the ones served at Graffiato (fried with bacon) but less inspired.

Whole rabbit, hunter style: the worst dish. I expected a whole rabbit or something resembling a rabbit, but all I got was this super gamey giant sausage thing that tasted like I was eating intestines the whole time.

We decided to skip dessert and bake/decorate cookies at my place instead, so we got the check and were about to leave. I was disappointed by the food, but that didn't stop me from stalking out Bryan when we were heading out. I saw him in the open kitchen, so we went over and asked for a picture. He was making sure that each dish was properly plated, but he stepped aside from what he was doing for his groupies (me). He gets brownie points for being a good sport :) I would return again to give him another shot to prove himself after Range has been open for awhile and develops a stronger menu.

5335 Wisconsin Ave NW, Ste 201
Washington, DC 20015
(203) 644-3730

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