THE MONOCLE - WASHINGTON, DC

THE MONOCLE

WASHINGTON, DC

I made a reservation weeks in advance so that we could enjoy lunch at The Monocle. This is the place where Supreme Court Judges, Presidents, Senators and Congressmen dine on a regular basis. The walls here are adorned with photos and autographs of the most influential people in American politics. We arrived at 12:00 and the place was just starting to fill up. Suit after suit arrived and then there was me in shorts and a golf shirt. The Maitre D looked a bit surprised when I said we had a reservation. He checked the computer and quickly sat us in a nice booth near the back of the main dining room. My eyes rolled left and right looking for someone famous. After a while all the suits look alike so we just got into the food. We started with a Paradise Salad ($6.50). Hearts of Palm, avocado, vine ripe tomatoes and mushrooms over romaine with a house vinaigrette. This salad was good and way better than the Frommer's recommended Federal Salad ($4.50) which is house greens with a tasteless dressing. I had two bites and put it aside in favor of the Spicy Lump Crabmeat Imperial with sliced avocado ($12.5o). This was full of tasty lump crab and fresh avocado. For our lunch entree we tried Penne Pasta with Cremini, wilted spinach and tomato basil cream sauce ($12.50). This was a good dish. I took Frommer's recommendation again an ordered the Monocle Angus Burger served with shoestring potatoes. ($10.50 with Cheese). The burger was big and came with a nice piece of onion, tomato and lettuce. The thing was a little dry and had absolutely no flavor. I ate half and called it quits. We also tried the Shrimp with asparagus over Orzo Pasta ($17.95). 6 nice size shrimp grilled and served with the pasta. The shrimp were excellent. The Orzo was really good according to my guest. Perfectly seasoned and perfectly cheesed. The entire dish was finished. The waiters here are nice but you could tell they are used to waiting on big time politicians. We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the owner or manager as we left. He politely asked where we were from and followed us outside to the front. We engaged in a nice conversation about his trips and memories of Hawaii. This was a very nice touch to a good lunch.

THE MONOCLE BURGER

THE MONOCLE, WASHINGTON DC