Urban Marinade

I’ve had an opportunity to visit some pretty awesome restaurants over the last few months and figured there has to be a way to voice my opinion. Sure, I can Yelp it up and tweet you all photos from my meal. But Urban Marinade isn’t just about dance music. We’re about the urban experience that goes along with dance music. And what do you always see world-class dance music artist tweeting about between gigs? Food!

So today I’m kicking off the Urban Marinade “Quick Stew Review” feature which will basically be our way of letting you know about the restaurants we visit without going into all that “I’m a foodie and know more about ingredients than you” rubbage. Cause seriously, I just wanna know if the food is good and I’m sure you do too.

We start with Sou’Wester, a restaurant that falls somewhere in the middle of my happiness range. The restaurant is located in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Southwest DC and boasts a lot about the view. Okay, so the hotel is kinda next to the Potomac and Tidal Basin. But you have stunning views of I-395 and a fairly busy (and wide) stretch of Maine Avenue. And what else is down there? Seriously…it’s like a remote island hotel stuck in a forgotten about corner of DC where only lonely business travelers are dining alone on an expense account. The area could be really awesome if the city actually developed a proper waterfront that connected the monuments of the Tidal Basin to the harbor. But for now it’s a quiet corner of DC where Chef de Cuisine Eddie Moran is free to do his work.

The space is nicely appointed but reminds me of a hotel restaurant. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s in a hotel…but if you’re going to hype a joint so much, it better look different than every other overpriced hotel restaurant without an identity.

The food is okay. I had the hush puppies as an appetizer ($7) and loved ‘em. After living in North Carolina for a few years, I grew to love this staple of southern cuisine. Moran’s take is crispy on the outside, sweet on the inside and almost hints of the freshly made donuts you find at places like Tabard Inn. I’d buy them again.

Joelle had a salad of shaved fall vegetables ($13) that included turnips, carrots, pear, walnuts, dried cranberries and a goat cheese fondant. It had a nice creamy texture that came from the fondant, but wasn’t as flavorful as I would expect. Decent, but not worth the price.

For dinner I had chicken “under a brick,” ($22) which is basically where they cook your bird with a very heavy brick resting on top. Supposedly it cooks faster and traps moisture. Along with my chicken came sweet potato fries and a broccoli rabe with golden raisins and chili flakes for heat. The meal was good. But the chicken was a tad bit dry and again, what made this stand out? I come to a meal where they label all their menus with the chefs name expecting to be wowed. I expect to eat something I can’t really make (or taste) at home. I still stand behind my opinion that Barcode has the best made chicken in DC. I would order the meal again, but only if someone else was paying.

Joelle had roasted duck with black rice. I can’t recall the price. I can’t recall the flavor. It was dark. It was a little tough and very salty. Overall, don’t order it. What else can I say?

Honestly, we went to Sou’Wester because we watched their pastry chef Matthew Petersen make the finale on Top Chef Just Desserts. But the service was so slow that we decided to skip dessert. Petersen is also the pastry chef for Mandarin flagship Cityzen, so we’ll give that restaurant a whirl and hopefully have the patience to hang around for the final course. Overall I was disappointed. But what can you say for a restaurant that appears to be catering more to the guests passing through than the residents who might visit more than once.