Restaurant (and Wine) Week in the District
It's that time again! Nope-not when one's dreams of getting a summer job are dashed (that's every day for me). Monday, February 16 is the official start of DC Restaurant Week, which means us hungry, culture-deprived law students can join the lobbyists, politicians, and real lawyers in restaurants that have actual silverware.
So what does Restaurant Week mean? It means that almost 180 DC area restaurants are having special prix fixe lunches and/or dinners at reasonable prices. Three-course lunches are $20.09 and three-item dinners are $35.09, not including tax, tip, and drinks, of course.
The drinks are where things can get interesting. You can have a glass of wine, which will add $10.00-$20.00 to the check. Or, if you're out with your friends or a "special friend" and you're feeling extravagant, you can add a bottle of wine. Now we're talking triple digits-as in money, not a potential tort case.
There are a few ways to approach this. The most common way is to get the best, most delicious wine for the least amount of money possible. It is an established restaurant fact that people don't order the least expensive bottle because they don't want to look cheap, especially on a date. Therefore, most people go for the second or third cheapest bottle.
A less common way is known as the "expense account" or "getting out of the doghouse" way, where a person goes for the most or one of the most expensive wines on the list.
Both ways have their perils. Restaurants make most of their money on the wines at the bottom of the list because they can charge a greater markup, sometimes as high as 300 or 400% above wholesale! Thus, you often see bottles at stores for $15.00 sold at a restaurant for $40.00. On the other hand, a restaurant can't charge 300% more on a bottle that already costs $100.00.
At the high end of the list, what you often see are wines-Napa cabernet, Italian brunello, and Bordeaux, for instance-that could probably use some cellaring time to mellow out and become... well, drinkable. And even if they are drinkable, they might overpower the food because they are so big and bold and assertive.
So what should you get when you're dining out, especially at Restaurant Week restaurants where the food prices are lower but the wine prices are the same?
Try out lesser-known varietals (types of grapes) and appellations (regions): you will find some wines with great quality-to-price ratios. For instance, if you find yourself at a steakhouse go for a nice malbec, which delivers great smoothness with notes of blackberry or cherry, chocolate, and earth. It goes very well with steak and other red meats. Try malbec from Argentina, specifically the Mendoza region.
You will even be able to find bargains in "big" wine countries like France. Reds from the Côtes du Rhône or Languedoc will be a safe bet with heartier fare, while sauvignon blanc from the Touraine region of the Loire Valley pairs wonderfully with seafood and shellfish.
Try doing some research before you go to your Restaurant Week restaurant. Hop online, look at the wine list, and pick a few that are within your price range. You could stick with the varietals and regions you know, or you can up the ante:
ARGENTINA
Great for malbecs and malbec blends (with merlot and/or cabernet).
AUSTRALIA
If you like smooth, opulent wines, you can't go wrong with shiraz. Shiraz (a.k.a. syrah) is a comfort wine and goes well with almost anything-you can have it with your meat dish and finish the rest of the bottle with a slice of chocolate cake.
CHILE
Really high-quality cabernet; but try carménère if you can find it-cherries, spiciness, and medium tannins.
ITALY
Sicilian Nero d'Avola is a nice, simple red that goes well with tomato-based sauces and pizza. Instead of Chianti, try going for sangiovese, which is the primary grape in red wine from the Chianti appellation. It's a nice red with high acidity, again-great with tomato sauces.
SOUTH AFRICA
Known for pinotage, which is medium to full-bodied, with a natural smokiness that goes well with barbequed meats. South Africa is starting to offer some great inexpensive cabernet, and their sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc are solid white varietals.
SPAIN
Garnacha (grenache) is an all-around good wine for lighter fare; albariño is crisp, minerally, dry and great with seafood, while the less common txakoli is a very dry, semi-sparkling wine that's superb as an aperitif.
Have fun, and bon appétit!
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DC RESTAURANT WEEK
February 16 - 22, 2008
http://www.washington.org/restaurantwk/
