Kitchen Wench

In case you didn’t know, Westend Bistro is the brain child of pouty-lipped chef Eric Ripert. If there is any doubt about this, please visit the Westend Bisto website. You can listen to some horrific ambient electronic music, accompanied by a giant headshot of Ripert. There is also this “thought-provoking” quote by Ripert: “A cook and a chef are different entities. “Chef” is a title… but when you are a cook, that is who you are. It’s your spine and soul.”

So, is Ripert a cook, a chef, or both? Wait, do I actually care?

No. What I do care about is how my food tastes. Last night, I went to Westend Bistro for Lee’s birthday dinner. I had done some research via Don Rockwell and had learned that Westend Bistro was good but perhaps not awesome. (I also learned that Don Rockwell members are incredibly snotty.)

To start, we ordered two seasonal appetizers: rabbit rillettes with apple and celery and soft shell crab on a watercress, fingerling potato, and caper salad.

The rillettes were a bit over salted and one note. Mostly, you tasted salt, then the rabbit pate. The delicate apple and celery shavings were completely overwhelmed. As a personal bias, I’m just not that big a fan of spreadable meats. The mushy texture doesn’t do anything for me.

On the other hand, the soft shell crab was very good. I was a little skeptical of the flavor combination, but was very pleased when I tasted it. I am a die-hard soft shell crab fan, and this crab was perfectly dredged and fried. Very light and crispy, though a touch too salty. However, the light, tangy flavors of the salad balanced out the richness of the crab. This was one of those dishes in which you must eat all the components together on your fork to get the full experience. Apart, they are a bit pedestrian, but together it’s quite wonderful.

For our main courses, I ordered the braised veal cheeks with potato puree and wild mushrooms (pictured above). Lee had the special, roasted shoulder of lamb with white beans and pine nuts.

My veal cheeks were tender and served in a very rich pan gravy. Again, the sauce was a bit too salty. There was not enough potato on the plate to make up for the richness of the meat and sauce. The mushrooms were earthy and bursting with roasted flavor; the carrots were tender but not mushy and the sweetness was a nice contrast to the meat. If this had been served with more potato and carrot and a hair less salt, I think it would have been successful. That said, I don’t think it was anything earth-shattering–it kind of tasted like an upscale beef stew. Given that spring has officially arrived in DC, I think a dish like this is a little too heavy. I probably should have ordered fish or something lighter.

Lee’s entree was much more seasonally appropriate. I only had a bite, but the lamb was perfectly roasted: tender and pink, but not bleeding. It did not have even the slightest bit of gamey taste, though the layer of fat on the outside did. Unfortunately, like everything else, it was slightly over salted.

Dessert at Westend Bistro was our best course. We ordered the rhubarb tart and the nougat glacé (pictured above), based on a tip from DonRockwell.

The nougat glacé is basically a little mold of very creamy hazelnut ice cream, served with an orange sauce and candied pistachios. The best part was the edges, which had melted slightly and were incredibly smooth and rich. If you have good self-control, I recommend letting the dish rest a few minutes so the nougat can melt a little. I have a bad habit of rapaciously attacking my desserts and, after nibbling at the edges, began hacking at it very loudly with my spoon.

The rhubarb tart was even better than the nougat. The tart was served with a scoop of strawberry mascarpone ice cream. It tasted as good as it sounds, especially since the strawberries were fresh and the mascarpone made for an extra rich texture. The tart had stewed rhubarb pieces atop a firm, pear-flavored custard. I was expecting more rhubarb flavor, but I actually really liked the combination of tart/sweet flavors and stringy/custardy textures that resulted from the rhubarb and pear marriage.

Overall, my reaction to Westend Bistro is mixed. I would definitely return for the desserts, and I was impressed with the soft shell crab appetizer. However, the entrees were a bit disappointing, especially considering that they were between $20-35 a plate. Starters are $10-15, salads and soups $7-12, vegetable sides $7-10, and desserts were $9. (Funny, because bistros are supposed to be cheaper…) If I’m going to pay that much for my main course, I can get better food elsewhere.

That said, I believe you can eat at Westend Bistro for a better price. We did not try any of the sides, but the couple next to us was eating the mac and cheese for two, and it looked delicious (herb and breadcrumb topping, served in a little cast iron dish). If I were go to back, I would stick with appetizers, salads, sides, desserts, and some of the cheaper entrees (the burgers looked good, and the mac is big enough to be a meal for one). The more expensive entrees simply aren’t worth it. The dining experience itself is very pleasant–the waitstaff are very attentive, the atmosphere is friendly, relaxed, and the decor is warm and modern. In that sense, it is exactly what a bistro should be.