Restaurant Week Summer 2023

Happy September everyone!

I’ve been a bit MIA for a while now on this blog – between gearing up for my final year of grad school, taking on a second job, and traveling a lot the past few months, I’ve definitely fallen behind on posting to the blog. However, I’m excited to get back into the swing of things and share all the fun adventures I’ve been up to!

First off, DC Restaurant Week just wrapped up just last week and I went to a mix of trusted favorites and new places. While I only visited four locations this season, there was a great variety of dishes that I absolutely loved. Below I highlight the restaurants and my favorite dishes at each place!

Josephine’s

While not officially a part of DC Restaurant Week, I caught the tail end of Alexandria’s Restaurant Week this summer with some blogger friends and absolutely had a blast! This restaurant had been on my radar since officially opening in June of his year, so I was very excited to try out the much-anticipated Parisienne fare.

Highlights:

The Fromages (Cheese Board) – while outside of the RW menu, this customizable cheese board was EVERYTHING – you can pick from pairings of 3, 5, or 7 cheeses to share.
Customized mocktails – tell them your flavor profile and they’ll whip up a custom mocktail just for you!
Ratatouille starter
Gnocchi Parisienne entrée
Seared Salmon entrée

Petite Cerise

The Dabney’s new “little sister” restaurant certainly met my expectations! Part neighborhood café, part energetic bistro, this delightful restaurant is located right off the Green/Yellow metro and features so many delicious cocktail and food options. I definitely need to return for their brunch asap!

Highlights:

Ferme La Porte Cocktail – I loved indulging in this drink featuring a unique combination of lime, pineapple, and pistachio flavors mixed with gin and cognac. HIGHLY recommend trying their various drinks.
Cantaloupe Salad starter
Manifest Bread Baguette to start (French bread is always *chefs kiss*)
Flounder Meuniere (Their fish is a solid option, but I’m excited to see more pasta/winter veg dishes in the colder months!)
Honey Rice Pudding – while no longer on their fall menu, this dessert SOLD ME on trying out the restaurant and it certainly exceeded expectations!

Filomena

Filomena is a Georgetown (and RW) staple amongst me and my friends, so of course we had to make a stop their this season! You can never go wrong with the massive plates of pasta and indulgent desserts.

Highlights:

Their complimentary bread basket (the focaccia is everything)
Arancini (while I did not eat these, my friends absolutely loved these rich little rice-and-meat balls)
Rigatoni alla Vodka – originally “rigatoni con pollo e vodka,” they graciously accommodated my vegetarianism by removing the chicken without question

Dovetail

This RW brunch actually ended up being a pleasant surprise! After the DC Blogger event this past weekend at The Viceroy Hotel, a few of us grabbed brunch afterwards at their in-house restaurant, Dovetail. We were excited that they had actually extended their RW offerings through the weekend and took advantage of this great deal!

Highlights:

Pimento Cheese Spread (with matzoh crackers!)
Hush Puppies (ask for no bacon to make it veg!)
Appalachian Hoe Cakes (with delicious vanilla honey butter and pan fried apples in syrup)
Apple Strudel Dessert
Peach Cobbler with Blueberry Sauce Dessert