FIG

Background: Mike Lata opened FIG (Food is Good) in Charleston in 2003. By 2009, he won his first James Beard Award and the accolades continue to roll in. FIG is now one of the older restaurants on the inexhaustible Charleston scene, which multiplies in delicious cuisine seemingly by the minute, but it remains a do-not-miss--at least for our impromptu double-date weekend with Danny & Nancy (Dancy). Lata is currently cheffing at his new restaurant, The Ordinary, but everything about FIG remains unbridled foodie perfection. 

Eat This: We couldn't get reservations at FIG for Saturday night, but we were prepared to wait it out at the bar. An hour and two cocktails later, we were seated at the community table where we made a new friend--Arthur! Arthur was a lovely dining companion who loves food as much as we do, so we just ordered pretty much everything and split it. We left full and happy due to the wonderful food and even better conversation. Arthur--this one's for you! 

Standouts--

Well, if you read our last post (ahem), you know that Jason's favorite dish of last year was the spaghetti with soft shell crab from FIG. This time, they had spaghetti with blue crab, and it was very similar. Jason proclaimed it good, though not quite as good as the iteration he had in the spring. 

My favorite dish here is by far and away the Ricotta Gnocchi with pork bolognese. This was the first dish I ever ordered here, and I can't stay away. The gnocchi are fluffy pillows and the sauce is delightfully savory. Don't skip this one! 

The other small plate we tried was the Duck Egg Tartine with oyster mushrooms and fromage blanc (that would be "white cheese" in french #sophisticated). This dish was Nancy's jam--it was just the right amount of salty, and who doesn't love a perfectly fried egg? 

For entrees, we tried the Chicken al Mattone, the Grey Triggerfish, and the Snowy Grouper. All of the mains were terrific and flavorful. Jason especially liked the chicken, which was perfectly cooked and served atop a Caesar salad. Chicken is either merely fine/edible or mind-blowing in its simple perfection---this one was the latter. 

Dessert: If you know anything about Javon you know we love dessert, so naturally we ordered one of everything. That night we had Buttermilk Panna Cotta with grapefruit, Gingerbread Pain Perdu, and Buttered Rum Cake. They were all delicious. Art admitted that he doesn't even like gingerbread, but even he couldn't stop eating this one. Jason's favorite was the rum cake.

Drink: The cocktails at FIG are always top notch. This time we tried the Witches Blossom, which was aptly described as a "lemon herbal smoke show" - scotch, pamplemousse rosé, strega, lemon. Whoa. 

Atmosphere: The atmosphere at FIG, while not terrible, is definitely a bit dated. It still holds the early 2000s "charm" from its opening days, and they clearly are aware, as this was the last night FIG was open before they closed for a remodel for a few weeks. How lucky are we that we got in before that? Uh, very. 

Southern Hospitality: The servers here have a tendency to be a little "too cool for you," or maybe that's just my insecurities showing. Bueller? Bueller? 

Frankie's Notes: There is nothing nicer than sitting at a community table and having the most unexpectedly lovely dining companion; What are the odds that the community table would be a bunch of mensches?; Shout out to Art for asking Danny the hard-hitting questions about #Dancy's future; Danny's ghost tours aren't what they are cracked up to be; When you go to Charleston and the food options are so exciting that you go home with a box of donuts and a stomachache. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 and 1 Michigan Pug

Et Cetera: 

232 Meeting St
Charleston, SC 29401
Monday-Thursday 5:30-10:30
Friday-Saturday 5:30-11:00
Closed Sunday

http://www.eatatfig.com/ 

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Top Five Restaurants of 2015

We had a pretty darn good 2015, due in no small part to the things we stuffed our faces with. Without further ado, here are the top 5 places we ate this past year.

Jason

1. Funky Gourmet

Athens, Greece

(Snails with fresh black truffle pictured above). A 2 star Michelin experience worth every penny. Each dish was perfect its own little way.

2. Rose's Luxury

Washington, DC

(Vadouvan Curry). There's a lot of hype to Rose's, but it is one of the few places that actually lives up to the hype. If you're in DC , it's a must visit.

3. FIG

Charleston, SC

The best dish of the year goes to FIG - this soft shell crab pasta was one of the top things I've ever eaten!

4. Michael's Genuine

Miami, FL

Michael's was amazing, but this dessert was the best of 2015 - a smore ice cream pop with dark chocolate dipping sauce.

5. Momofuku Ssäm

New York, NY

I've been wanting to get the duck at Ssäm for roughly 5 years, so in 2015 my dream came true! Shout out to Vishnu and Andrew for helping us devour this guy. 

Yvonne

1. Funky Gourmet,

Athens, Greece

Everything about this meal was beyond any other dining experience I've had, and this dessert was so innovative and tasty. I couldn't stop freaking out about the fact that we were having our first night in Europe together, that Jason was running the marathon in two days, that we just got ENGAGED...and then I was served a potato filled with ice cream. All was right with the world. 

2. Eating House

Miami, FL

(Heirloom tomatoes with nuoc cham, peanuts, & coconut ice). This was pre-blog days, but it was definitely one of the meals that inspired us to start telling people about the specifics of the massive amount of calories we run off every week. This salad was molecular gastronomy done right--the coconut ice didn't detract from the fresh tomatoes and thai flavors, it only added. The different flavors and textures here were mind blowing, and I've spent a lot of time thinking about this dish since June (that's normal, right?). 

3. Momofuku Ssäm

New York, NY

When we were in New York (sadly, also pre-blog), we spent the whole weekend eating, to the point where I felt kind of sick on the plane ride home. We had breakfast, lunch, and two ice cream places before 2:00 Sunday afternoon--but when we ate this duck on Saturday, I was actually hungry, and not only is hunger the best sauce, the sauce that came with this duck was the best sauce. Also the mint and the chive pancakes (AKA scallion pancakes!). Oh yeah, and the duck. Ya dig? 

4.  Det Lille Apotek

Copenhagen, Denmark

We ate this meal hours after we landed in the magical fairyland of Copenhagen. The streets were like a doll's house come to life, the people were beautiful, the night was crisp and sparkling with Christmas lights...I was so in love with everything that night, especially my wonderful fiancé who brought me there (and the sure promise of danishes the in morning). Our cab driver recommended this spot, and told us it was the oldest restaurant in Copenhagen. Due to that, this restaurant may have been a bit touristy, but what we ate was authentic Danish/Nordic cuisine. The sampler included so many delicious meats and pickled vegetables, but the standout was the smoked herring with onions and capers with warm rye bread and butter. I ate this several more times on our visit, and it inspired me to eat like this all the time. That definitely hasn't happened yet, but one day I will recreate this meal and imagine I am back in my favorite place, future spot of Javon's summer home, circa 2036. 

5. Rose's Luxury

Washington, DC

Yes, the bread put this place over the edge onto my top 5 list. Like everything on their menu, Rose's rotates out the variety of bread and compound butter, and I am so glad that this was the iteration we got to try. I mean, you add potato to bread, and then make it taste even more like a potato? Shut your mouth. This list really made me come to terms with how much I love potatoes, and that I am much more long-winded than Jason. WHO KNEW?

Bonus Categories

Best Cocktail

Lidkoeb, Copenhagen, Denmark

This winter wonderland magic was from a bar in Copenhagen called Lidkoeb. I don't remember what the liquor was, what else was in it...just that it had this cute little powdered sugar dusted piece of a pine tree in it and it tasted like hygge and happiness. Signature wedding cocktail inspiration? Le duh. 

Best Non-Michelin Dessert

The Frieze, Miami, FL

The rum raisin ice cream from Frieze in Miami. This was the year I decided I loved this old lady flavor, owned it, and grossed out Jason with my adoration of it. Special consideration to the rum raisin at Bar Cocoa at The Ritz. (We didn't take a picture, so here's Ollie in his cone of shame)

Rose's Luxury

POTATO BREAD

Beef Ribeye Tartare

Fall Vegetable Panzanella

Pig's Ear Salad

Vadouvan Curry

Confit Goat

Charred Carrots with Harissa

Grilled Quail

Hand-Cut Chitarra with Caramelized Cauliflower

Off-Menu Truffle Pasta

Peruvian Chicken

Brisket

Eggplant Tarte Tartin

Coconut-milk Ice Cream with Toasted Coconut Granola

Chocolate Amazingness

Ice Creams

I'd wait all day for Potato Bread

The Truth

Background: Rose's Luxury opened in October, 2013 in the Capitol Hill district of Washington, D.C. by owner and chef Aaron Silverman, who previously worked with David Chang of Momofuku fame. Almost immediately after opening, Rose's became one of the hottest restaurants in DC. In 2014 it was listed by Bon Appetit as the hottest new restaurant in the country. The restaurant is so hot right now that side businesses that have been set up just to hold your place in the waiting line! There is a bar down the street that has a cocktail on the menu called 'Waiting for Rose's." 

Eat This: Here's the deal: there are only about 12 items on the menu at a time. You want to try everything on the menu, especially after you just waited 2 hours to have the privilege of eating here. In order to do that you need to either be super hungry or get a reservation for at least 6 people. So make sure before you go that you have a) 5 friends who like to eat good food and b) get there at least an hour and a half before they open to ensure you can get a table. PSA: If you don't have 5 friends you can pay Javon to come with you. You're welcome.

The menu changes regularly but slowly. Our waiter Patrick said that they rotate out a dish once or twice a month. It won't be uncommon for a returning customer to see familiar dishes for a few months. That being said, here's what we ate:

Bread: If Jesus knew that you could make bread this good he probably would have turned all the fish into these magical loaves. The loaf is a spin on a loaded baked potato: warm potato bread served with a bacon and chive butter. When you eat the bread it gives you confirmation that waiting in line for two hours was probably, no, definitely a good idea. 

"Cold" Small Plates: We started with Beef Ribeye Tartare with pickled ramps and crispy potatoes. We then had Fall Vegetable Panzanella salad.

"Warm & Grill" Small Plates: Charred Carrots served with harissa, housemade yogurt, & pearl onions; Pork Sausage served with habanero, peanuts, & lychee salad; and Grilled Quail with Brussels Sprouts, Caesar & apples.

"Other Goods": Crispy Pig's Ear Salad with mango & cabbage; Vadouvan Curry with sweet potato & caramelized banana; and Confit Goat with BBQ Sea Island red peas, rice ,& garlic breadcrumbs. These dishes really divided the table, what with 1.5 vegetarians and two culinary curmudgeons. Our server Patrick said the Pig's Ear Salad was his favorite thing on the menu, and Javon super enjoyed it--the mango brightened up the dish, and the overall effect was surprisingly light. The curry, though, was our favorite dish of the night. 

Pasta: Hand-Cut Chitarra with caramelized cauliflower & white wine soffritto; Penne "alla vodka" with squid & basil; and an off-menu bonus dish for our resident vegetarian: Truffle Pasta from the heavens.

Larger Dishes: They had two larger dishes, which were family style portions. The Smoked Brisket with white bread, horseradish & slaw was like your grandma's brisket, only 100x better. What really stole the show here was the Peruvian-Style Chicken with fried yuca, sweet potato ceviche, & plantains. The chicken might have been the best chicken we've ever had - extremely juicy with a perfect seasoning. It also came with three sauces, one of which was a spicy red mole sauce which was to die for. Jason almost made Yvonne stick the rest of that in her purse.

Dessert: The desserts were the only part of the menu that didn't completely floor us. We ordered all of the ones on the menu, and the standout was the Eggplant Tarte Tartin--we had never had an eggplant dessert! 

Drink: They have a selection of cocktails which looked good, but ultimately didn't tempt us. We knew were in for a long food night so we stayed with water and unsweet tea. 

Atmosphere: Rose's Luxury is located on 8th street near Capitol Hill, which is quickly becoming a hot food community. The interior was Southern Modern and extremely homey and welcoming. It felt from the moment you walked inside like you were eating somewhere special.

District Hospitality: The staff is overwhelmingly gracious. Any question or concern was handled with swift and upmost care. We mentioned to Patrick that we really liked Charleston for food, and he came back to us a few minutes later with a list from all the chefs, including Mr. Silverman, of the best places to go in Charleston and what to eat at each place. 

Frankie's Notes: Sometimes, you love food so much that it confuses your loved ones and almost makes them miss the Florida State game; Javon ate truffles twice in one month: #winning; Standing in line for food brings people together; Confession: we came here directly from standing in a line to eat at Milk Bar.

Rating: 5 out of 5 + 2 Michigan Pugs

Et Cetera:

717 8th St. SE
Washington, DC
Monday - Saturday: 5:00pm - 10:00pm

http://www.rosesluxury.com/