A little lost at West End Bistro

You should never turn down an offer to eat at a famous chef's restaurant, even when he's not in the kitchen. Even when he's not on the same continent... So I am ready to check-out Eric Ripert's West End Bistro, especially after so many months of opening, when all the issues should have been cleared out.

Eric Ripert is known for his perfectionism, the way he brings flavors to the table as fresh as possible and without disguising them. When he brought his touch to Washington DC, we all foodies got excited and had to try what was cooking in his kitchen, so the place got popular fast. It is refreshing to see a Ritz-Carlton hotel shed its traditional layer, and present something different than what has always been the same. West End Cafe is lighter, brighter, livelier, and cheerier than its precedent. Most importantly, it is much more casual so that we don't have to check our attire, go back home to get a jacket (on this humid July day!) and change our behavior as if we are going to our grandma's house. We can make a stop after a casual day at work and not be too concerned about it (disclaimer - my casual day at work still consists of nice clothes because I like to look nice. If your "casual" day means torn jeans and flip flops, this is not the place for you) For a change, I don't feel out of place with my sleeveless black top, and I don't see anybody with a jacket or tie, which is a great sign.

We are seated at one of the banquettes by the window, which may or not be a good thing depending on the day. The view is not particularly attractive - another busy Washington DC street, with people walking by and possibly glancing at what you are eating. Window seats may be more interesting for kids of certain age due to the Fire Station across the street, but I definitely would not suggest that this is a kid-friendly restaurant. It certainly is a grown-up place. One thing nice about the window seats are the fact that they have more light, and more space. The other tables across from the window seem too cramped, and based on experience at my previous visit, too close to hear other people's conversations (and touch their elbows).

The decor is much lighter than one would expect at a Ritz-Carlton (which they clearly tried to distinguish from, there is a separate entrance from the lobby) with striped banquette seats, bare tables (i.e. no tablecloth), and whimsical china. The open kitchen and elevated ceiling makes the atmosphere lighter, even though I can't figure out who came up with those lights - totally in the wrong place.

The service is friendly still not overly enthusiastic, our bread and butter is delivered almost instantly and we get the usual question of "sparkling, flat or tap water?" Upon ordering sparkling, I am expecting something nice and fancy, at least different, but we get the same old San Pellegrino I buy for $1.29 at the market. It makes me wonder if the menu has an Italian twist - which it clearly does not, except for the tuna carpaccio and the tagliatelle bolognese. I would have loved to see either some interesting bottle, or even better, one that gets bottled on premises (see my blog on Poste) helping both the environment and my pocket - I bet we'll go through these bottles pretty fast, and get charged an-arm-and-a-leg for it.

They are quick to get our beverage order (which is a Caymus Conundrum, a very reliable choice, and to my surprise presented at the right temperature as opposed to my last experience) but not as attentive with the food order. And they forget the glass with ice one of my companions ordered until after we are almost done with our entrees.

Menu is nicely presented with beverages on one side, and food on the other. It has plenty of options to tantalize your desires and make you wonder. Being a big fan of rabbit and finding it so rarely on the menus today, I settle on the rabbit rillette, yet leave my heart divided between the Soft Shell Crab and the Fried Poached Duck Egg Salad. Fortunately, one of my companions ordered the salad so I can see what I missed. As soon as my rillette is delivered I am not impressed. It said apple, radish, and celery salad. I don't see any radish, and I don't see any salad. All I see is rabbit pate smeared on two slices of toasted bread with apples and celery julienned over it. The taste is fine, but nothing to write home about, especially in the shadow of the Fried Poached Duck Egg Salad, which looks exciting and intriguing with the perfectly balanced egg cooked to perfect consistency so it oozes on top of the asparagus salad when you break into it. That's what I want on my plate!

Once the appetizers are cleaned out, we are ready for our entrees, which take a while to come out. I know my fish won't take that long, my companion's roasted chicken should have already been cooked, and the carpaccio won't hold the order up. To my surprise, the fish and the chicken are delivered first, and about 3-4 minutes later, our companion gets his carpaccio. And it doesn't look like it was just made. I feel sorry for him - such a disappointing dish to follow a wonderful appetite tantalizer? Good thing we ordered the mac-and-cheese and the fries!

I think I've ordered the best entree at the table - skate with brown butter sauce and braised endives. Skate definitely is worth writing about, and makes me slow down in order to extend the joy of eating it (which doesn't happen that often). As the piece gets smaller on my plate, I cherish every bite of it and the lemony caper sauce that came with it. The endives are overcooked, almost to a tasteless point, and one of them is burnt at the bottom. But I happily munch along, adding some of the fries to my plate which are a better companion. They are crisp light, and perfectly balanced with a touch of spice. Mac-and-cheese with its crunchy breadcrumb topping and the slight meatiness from the ham is a close-second. If you are a fan of the classic mac-and-cheese, this may not make you happy, but I am a big fan of creative mac-and-cheese options, so couple more servings find their way to my plate. Yet, I am not sure, if I'd be back for mac-and-cheese alone. As for the rest of the table, chicken looks uninteresting to me, so much so that I don't even have a desire to taste, which is unsual. The stuffing is cut in big rectangles, raisins are sprinkled in between, and the chicken is cut up in chunks underneath. From the expression on my companion's face, and the fact that he's left about half of his dish on his plate, I know he's not too impressed either. The carpaccio is gone fast probably because my companion is hungry, but he never mentions a word of it, which tells me there's nothing to talk about.

By the time we get to dessert, we have a totally different server pouring new bottles of water, and he is as serious as a worker at a nuclear plant, precisely focusing on the glasses but paying no attention to us. Pot de creme is exactly what you'd get anywhere, a little too cold for me, and I'm not sure how fresh it is. It tastes as if it was made a day or two ago. The "lemon tart" has very little lemon cream in it, it is basically a blueberry pie with lemon cream as a base, and the shell is hard as a rock - confirming my theory of desserts being older than a day. Probably the best sweet in-house is the rice pudding, unpretentious, simple and definitely fresh. It is slightly warm, not as creamy as it should (but I like mine on the lighter side), and nicely balanced with a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. I like that it is not overly sweet which most desserts are in this country, but if you are used to the typical "American-sweet" desserts, you may be disappointed.

Overall, I would go back for the skate and the fries, and I'd love to try that poached fried duck egg salad. But other than that, the service is unimpressive, food is not consistently exciting, with a number of hit-or-miss items on the menu. From past experience, I know the tagliatelle bolognese is a dish to go for, as well as the Chesapeake Bay Stew (hoping they are delivered at the same level consistently). I know a number of people who go to West End for the burger, but for my money, there are plenty of good burgers around town without having to pay $18 plus $7 for the fries. This certainly is an expense account place where the staff isn't that interested in taking care of you or making sure you return. If you don't care what the bill is, go give Eric Ripert a try, but if it is your money, there are plenty of other places around town to leave with a happier stomach and better appreication of yor business.

P.S. In case you are wondering, we paid close to $300 without the tip, which in my mind is a little too high for what we got (or didn't!)

West End Bistro: 1190 22nd Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20037 (located in the same building as The Ritz-Carlton) Phone: 202-974-4900 http://www.westendbistrodc.com/