CityZen (American/モダンアメリカン料理, Washington DC) - ★★★★1/2

Restaurant - CityZen (American/モダンアメリカン料理)

Location - Washington DC (ワシントンDC)

Score - 4.5/5

Dish of Recommendation - All I ate that evening!!!

Comment - I finally found a top-class restaurant that could compete well with the peers in other gastronomic cities! I enjoyed every single moment at CityZen so much that I spent four hours during a weekday with only three main courses.

CityZen was not necessarily on top of my wish lists. Although its ranking is always among the top 10 restaurants in the DC area, the average price of over $100 by zagat had scared me off... For me, cost performance is very important, so I thought I would visit it if I get any great news (particularly after visiting Citronelle in Dec, which was slightly disappointing in terms of cost performance).

But, a colleague of mine, who seems like serious food lover, recommended that I should definitely visit CityZen. Within a week after his advice, I made a reservation at CityZen:)

I went to CityZen without almost any studies. I even didn't know that their executive chef, Eric Ziebold, worked at The French Laundry in California for eight years, just before coming to DC to open CityZen. His bio is interesting to me in terms of understanding the restaurant trend in the US - starting at Vidalia (Washington DC), then Spago Restaurant (LA) and The French Laundry /Per Se.

The restaurant, situated very close to the entrance of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, has a modern interior, hinting a bit of Asian influence. Open kitchen was giving liveliness to the otherwise could-be too chic atmosphere.

I went for three-course menu. The restaurant surprised me by serving two amuze bouches. I really liked the sweet onion tart, particularly pie's crispness and sweet onion's fineness. Fried onion ring on top had a combination of both pie and sweet onion. The sauce used in Scallops dish, Avgolemono (lemon sauce often used in Greek cuisine), was kind of unfamiliar to me, but it gave scallops freshness.

As much as I enjoyed overall the dishes, I loved CityZen's breads. They served breads twice. The first one was a basket of three different breads, and the second one was 10 golden mini Parker House rolls (invented in Parker House Hotel (Current Omni Parker Hotel) in Boston, MA long, long time ago...) in a cigar-like box. When I had a bite with this roll, I'm sure my large eyes even opened further. I seriously debated whether I totally forget about my weight and health, and eat all the mini rolls on the table.... Actually it wasn't the best match for my scallops, but for bread lovers like me, these mini rolls give strong reason to visit CityZen.

One more impressing thing about CityZen is its wine selection. Though I was initially about their wine by glass because they didn't show it to me (maybe because my friend didn't drink), I like both white wine they recommended. They do have more than a few glasses for each white and red. Chadonnay Cooper-Garrod was just phonomenal. For its year, this wine had a ripe pear with some butterscoth aroma. The retail price looked totally fine ($20 per bottle), so I should get a few bottles:)

This is absolutely one of the restaurants I need to revisit before going back to Japan. Well, the only issue is price - One of the most expensive restaurants in the area, unfortunately...

CityZen。DCエリアで、料理の質・サービス・価格的に納得がいく、もしくはNYやSFのお店にも対抗できるお店の一つだと思います。Zagatの平均価格でトップだったので、費用対効果はある程度以上の価格から逓減するという独自の経験則に基づき、行くつもりはなかったのですが、グルメ好きな同僚が最も気に入っている店、というので一瞬にして気が変わり、行ってきました。

決して便利のいいエリアでないところにあるマンダリンオリエンタルホテルのロビー側にCity Zenはありました。玄関に近すぎるのはどんなものか・・・と思いながら入ると、なんとなくアジア的なスタイリッシュな雰囲気が漂い、遠くてもオープンキッチンから活気が感じられました。

調べてみると、シェフEric ZieboldはCityZenをオープンする前にFrench Laundryで8年も働いていたとか。French Laundryは、ベイエリア滞在時に行こうと思っていたものの、友人から料理の質・サービスの評価は素晴らしいが価格と料理の量については結構様々な意見を聞いていたので、結局訪問しなかったお店です。今回、CityZenでFrench Laundry的な経験が多少は出来たのではないでしょうか？

料理は前菜・メイン・デザート($75)を選択。見た目も素晴らしいアミューズ2皿を楽しんだ後、前菜のsweet onion tartの食感のいいパイ生地と飾りのオニオンフライと玉ねぎのほどよい甘さのハーモニーがすごく気に入りました。scallopsは、ソースがレモン風味をしていたので、サイズが大きいと圧迫感も出がちなscallopsにさわやかな味わいを付け加えていました。

最も印象に残ったのはパン。私は本来からパンが大好きで、おいしいパンを買うためなら何処にでも行くぐらい。DCのレストランは残念ながらあまりパンがおいしくないなあと全般的に感じていますが、CityZenのパンは別格。3種類のパンに加え、メインと一緒に出されたパーカーパン(Parker House Roll)を一口、口にしたら、もうとろけそうになってしまいました！シガーボックスに入って出すところが粋だなあとも。

グラスワインのセレクションもハイレベル。Chardonnayは2004年とは思えないくらい、すごく熟成感のあるワインで、それなりにしっかりとしたソースを使った肉料理にも合うのではないかと思いました。

CityZenは、日本帰国前にぜひもう一度行きたいお店のリストのトップに入りました！毎月メニューが変わるらしいので、毎月行ってもいいなあ。


Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Ceàgo, Kathleen's Vineyard, Clear Lake, CA

Chardonnay 2004 Cooper-Garrod, Gravel Ridge, Santa Cruz Mtns

SUPER FINE SWEET ONION TART with Pickled Cippollini Onion, Roasted Pearl Onionsand Fried Onion Ring Salad

PAN ROASTED MAINE SEA SCALLOPS with Italian Parsley and Meyer Lemon Quenelles, Globe Artichokes and Avgolemono Sauce

CITYZEN GRASSHOPPER PIE Warm Pavé of Valrhona ChocolateGarden Mint Broth, Whipped Kendall Farms Crème Fraîcheand an Oreo Tuile


CityZen

1330 Maryland Avenue SWWashington, DC 20024

(202) 787-6006

★ - 4.5/5 DCエリアのLuxury Restaurantで最も気に入ったお店です。あの不便な場所も、隠れ家的な要素を付け加えているのでしょうか？最近、評価が更に上がってきているようですが、もう少し高くてもいい気がします。