A Saggy Dining Experience

Assaggi...

This place is fairly new but is getting a buzz because of its location in downtown Bethesda. It is basically a mozzarella bar.

My date asked for a table instead of trying to eat at the bar because we knew we would be trying a lot of food and needed some space. To start, we picked 4 of the 5 mozzarella cheeses they had to offer. Chose wines by the glass so we could keep our options open, very good stuff. Our cheese plate comes out with several different condiments, like roasted & marinated peppers and smoked eggplant. But the cheese plate has no olive oil on it, and there is no salt or pepper to be found either.

Now, I know everyone is different, but if you are not going to put those 2 condiments on your tables because you believe the food is coming out perfect, it damn well better be. I could never eat mozzarella without a hefty dose of S&P and some really good olive oil to accompany it. It's like a pairing made in heaven and the only thing missing were some heirloom tomatoes and basil, ugh.

So, for our entrees she tried the gnocchi with royal trumpet mushrooms. My eyes were glued to the black cod and pan seared scallops, served with root vegetables and a fava bean mash. I do not usually mention price because it shouldn't matter when on a food quest, but this dish was $32.

What I got may have cost the kitchen 5 bucks to put on the plate. My cod couldn't have weighed more then 3 ounces and it was split into 2 pieces. The scallops were tiny as well, and there was no seasoning in the fava mash or my vegetables. When the plate was first put in front of me, I must have looked like a confused child because I couldn't help but look at it and feel like I had been robbed. Her gnocchi would have been gone in 6 bites had it been me eating it.

Another 2 bills later and we didn't even try dessert. Disappointing. Look, DC has a pretty good restaurant scene, and I'm actually TRYING to enjoy myself...but I'm on a hell of a bad run right now!

We're getting close to our open date, and hopefully soon I can talk more about my new position!