Will Write 4 Travel: Central Michel Richard (Washington, DC)

May 13, 2014

Central Michel Richard (Washington, DC)

A few weeks ago, Raisin Bread's mother and stepfather came to visit us during the week. We headed downtown to enjoy dinner at Central Michel Richard, a restaurant that I have been wanting to try for quite some time.

I read that the restaurant space can be quite noisy, but the hostess was kind enough to seat us in the very back of the restaurant in the private dining space so we were not forced to deal with the noise.

To start, Raisin Bread and I shared the roasted beets, arugula and warm goat cheese salad. I am addicted to these salads, but I was a little worried about the fried goat cheese. It was only flash fried in a panko crust so it was not greasy at all.

The table also shared an order of gougeres (cheese puffs). These are so addictive. They are light and airy. I could have eaten the whole basket myself if I didn't want to save room for my entree and dessert.

For my entree, I chose the lobster burger, served with confit tomato, Central mayonnaise, potato tuiles and French fries. I wish I had chosen differently. The flavor was not satisfying and the texture was slightly rubbery.

I also regret my choice of dessert. I chose Michel's Napoleon. Of the four desserts we ordered, this one was by far the worst. The puff pastry looked and tasted burnt. The rest of the dessert was boring overall.

Raisin Bread ordered the dessert special. It consisted of almond pastry, pistachio and strawberries. The strawberries were perfect and went so well with the other components. I loved it.

Next up was the profiteroles. This dish was so decadent. This certainly is not your run of the mill cream puff. Instead, it consisted of a scoop of vanilla ice cream covered in tiny pastry puffs and finished off with chocolate sauce. Drool.

The final dessert was the creme brulee. This was also a play on the traditional creme brulee in that it was not served in a ramekin but stood on its own on the plate. It was accompanied with fresh berries and dollops of fruit sauce. While not my favorite creme brulee, it was rich and custardy.