5. Palena
Most restaurants on the list fall into the “special occasion” category. Since I am not visiting from out of town, turning thirty (yet!) or celebrating a big promotion, I would usually rather just have a casual night out with great food instead of the fanfare and tuxedo-ed waiters most places seem to try and charm me with. I feared the worst from Palena. A tiny restaurant with tough reservations and super high prices? I expected to be wedged between a table of just-engaged twenty-two year olds and one celebrating grandma’s 80th birthday. Commence groaning.
Much to my delight, Palena turned out to be the quintessential neighborhood restaurant. It was raining to beat the band on Friday night, so my date (the fabulous Katie from We Love DC) was running a bit behind. We blame the Metro. I climbed up to the bar where the poor bartender was stuck in a conversation with a couple who were going through every detail of their trip to Panama. He had apparently heard the story already from their next door neighbors the night before, but that didn’t stop them. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to know, or at least recognize each other. Though there was a rather obvious table of tourists dressed head to toe in FBI sweats. I guess that’s a hazard of being so close to the Metro station.
There are two ways to eat at Palena—the full out dining room experience, or the cafe. Since we’re gals without last names like Hilton or Kennedy, we opted for the cafe menu. The genius behind the cafe menu is that not only can you order the cafe entrees (ranging from $10-$14) but you are able to order off the dining room menu as well. As a result, I ordered the totally ridiculous combination of pate en croute for my appetizer, and a cheeseburger for my dinner. The cheeseburger had truffles in it, so it’s a little fancy I guess. The pate was quite nice and super salty and flavorful. I had been dreaming for years about trying this cheeseburger, and it did not disappoint. It was really peppery, and for the first time I called a cheeseburger “zesty”. It was served on a roll that really self-destructed when I attacked it, but that might have been more from my Tasmanian devil-style eating than anything else. My only critique was that the burger was not cooked the way I ordered it. I like my burgers medium to medium well and this guy was most definitely medium rare. It didn’t take away from loving it, but I would have preferred it a little less pink.
Though Katie had wanted to get the roast chicken, it takes 45 minutes to prepare and we were too hungry for that business. I’ll have to go back and try it sometime when I’ve got time on my hands. She did order the chestnut soup, which not only was tasty but went perfectly with the rainy cold night. For her entree she went with the swordfish, which was cooked well and a perfect portion. For dessert we shared the ricotta cheesecake, which I loved. I thought my heart only belonged to goat cheese cheesecake, but apparently I love all things cheese and cake.
Try Palena as fast as you can, even if it isn’t in your neighborhood. Just start asking the bartender if he knows any good stories about trips to Panama, and I’m sure you’ll fit right in.
