Although I’ve reviewed Roux before, I don’t think I did it justice. Mike Robertshaw, the head chef, is headed to Arkansas on a new adventure, which meant we had to get into the restaurant one last time before he left. Although the Black Knight and I didn’t see him behind the counter that night, Roux served still served some amazing dishes.

beet salad – with endives, pomegranate, puffed rice, and blood oranges; sweet, tangy, crunchy and full of beets! this is probably one of the more original beet salads that I’ve had (note, there’s no cheese paired with the beets)

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The Black Knight and I go running, and nothing sounds better after a long run than comforting southern food.  Today’s pick: Witness Bar in Capital Hill.  It’s not a super trendy bar, so we were fine in our running gear sitting on the patio. There was a birthday party with a drag queen diva and it’s a lively place, smallish but not too cramped.

chicken & waffles: Love love love the waffles, soft but so buttery! The chicken, well, probably could have used a little more seasoning, but it's the combination of sweet and salty that we're after here.

pork sliders - a nice combination of slaw and pulled pork on a brioche bun; I was in it for the French fries though - and that horseradish cream sauce that goes with the fries! Those are pretty good fries!!!

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I had wanted to go to Roux ever since it opened since Southern food is one of my many weaknesses.  The last time I tried to go to this restaurant, it was snowing and we ended up at Toulouse Petit as a compromise.  Some of the same crew from Toulouse are now at Roux, which makes sense given that both have a focus on Southern and Cajun food.  However, they are completely different when it comes to nuances and taste.  Whereas Toulouse is a crowd pleaser with an extensive menu, Roux elevates everything to the next level.  Toulouse is a bar where people go to see and be seen, and Roux is similarly packed on a Saturday night, but the bar here is also part of the kitchen.

We had the best seats in the house, right next to chef Michael Robertshaw, and watched everyone work their magic on delicious looking dishes all night long. The only drawback of sitting next to the kitchen is that everything looks so good and you want to try ALL OF IT!  I guess that just means we have come back to try the rest of the dishes.  We ordered:

jalapeno hush puppies: drizzled with honey, these are honestly the best hush puppies in town and I’ve had them at every restaurant that serves them…  They weren’t too dense or too dry, which is often the problem with over-fried hush puppies.  But these were so amazing, with just the slightest hint of spiciness and plenty of honey to give a nice balance of flavors. Continue reading »