As luck would have it, shortly after I got this little project off the ground, I had surgery on my left foot, which seriously cut down my food and social adventures. On top of not being very mobile, I also got tired easily; like, would walk to the bathroom and then need to take a nap. Boring, right? It was. As soon as I was feeling better though, I was feeling better with a vengeance; the first thing I wanted to do when I was feeling up to venturing out, was find somewhere delicious to eat.
About a week after my surgery, the cabin fever kicked in, after a week of resting and subsisting on bland food and eventually, take-out. I was ready to tackle moving about on my crutches, which let me tell you, is as frustrating and embarrassing as it sounds. The scooter that I terrorized everyone on for three weeks hadn’t yet arrived, so I was stuck on those metal monstrosities that hurt my arms and took way too much effort to maneuver.
I was determined though, to try a new restaurant that I hadn’t tried, so I could share it all with you. I was also in the mood for some good dim sum, so I Googled just that, and the first choice that popped up was Wolfgang Puck’s The Source. After looking at the menu, I decided it was worth battling Constitution Avenue traffic in NW D.C. at the height of tourist season, which says a lot, because I abjectly avoid venturing into the city during the summer because of the crowds, and idiocy of people in general.
When hubs and I arrived at the restaurant, the staff gave me a good feeling right off the bat; they saw me struggling, like a baby giraffe learning to walk, through the windows, and someone was at the door, holding it open for me as I gimped up the walkway. They were kind and very accommodating; they chatted with me, asking what happened, and gave us a table where I had plenty of room to maneuver and rest my foot. The inside of this place, which is located in the same building as the Newseum, is modern and really cool looking. All glass windows, clean lines, and minimally decorated, which gave an open feeling; you didn’t feel closed in or like it was dark.
I was ready to go all-out; I took one look at the menu and immediately decided I wanted everything on it. My husband reined me in by diplomatically suggesting that we start with a few things and see where we’re at. We started with cocktails because after a week on pain pills and no alcohol, I was READY. I had something called Show Me Love, which consisted of vodka, St. Germaine Elderflower Liquer, lychee, and lime juice. I love lychee and will always order any cocktail that has it. Mark had the Old Fashioned, and look how pretty they were!
Next up, were appetizers. They had an assortment of different dumpling varieties and OF COURSE I had to try them, so we ordered the Berkshire Pork & Cabbage dumplings and the Scallion Pancakes. The dumplings, I’m sad but also really happy to report, were better than mine. They were in the delicate wrappers that I prefer and the blend of flavors was incredible – everything complimented each other without overpowering, and I could taste every ingredient at exactly the right moment; I could have cried from how good they were. God, I’m getting hungry just thinking back on them! The Scallion Pancakes were not what I expected; this version was more like a flatbread, but they were just as tasty as the dumplings. Again, they were lightly fried, not too soggy or heavy, and the blend of flavors was just amazing.
At this point, after this show, I couldn’t wait for my main course to arrive. I went with the Sichuan Peppercorn Crusted Prime Filet Mignon “Au Poivre” and Mark had the Wok Fried Whole Branzino. Nothing about either of these was bad. The sauce that my filet was drizzled in had what I think was a ponzu-like base, with the right blend of chili oil or seasoning added to it and just brought the entire meal together. The Mala corn that was served with it was so GOOD. It was seasoned and cooked with something spicy and the taste was just phenomenal. Something I never thought I could say about just corn, but this was just so… I don’t even know!
I don’t know if being house-bound for a week and finally getting out made me starving (no pun intended) for food to the point where anything you put in front of me would have been good, or what, but I really loved and enjoyed this place. It was my first WP experience and I am now in a mission to try his other restaurants to see what else he’s created.
Food Made Me Say It 