With this recent visit to DC, there was one restaurant in particular that piqued my fancy. It was none other than Rose’s Luxury. When I began googling “Best Restaurant in DC” Rose’s Luxury showed up multiple times in the results. And to my surprise, President Barack Obama recently celebrated his 54th Birthday here so I knew it must be worth checking out.
While researching Rose’s Luxury, I learned that you can’t just walk inside the restaurant and grab a bite to eat. Instead, schedule some time out of your day to wait as you will be greeted with quite the long line. This is because due to the limited space, the restaurant has a first come first serve policy, so no one (other than the Obama’s) gets a leg up by making reservations. This information alone was discouraging as there is no guarantee that we would be dining that night once the restaurant was full. But alas we stuck it out like troopers and waited for what was to be the meal of a lifetime.
When my sister and I arrived at around 4:30, the line was already about 100 people deep. By the way, the restaurant doesn’t open till 5 so if you want to be seated at 5 or 6 I suggest you begin lining up around 2 or 3. Trust me, it’s that serious. After standing on our feet for some time, I’ll admit there were moments where we considered leaving and going home. Passerby’s were confused by the now 200 strong line down the streets of East Market. Some thought we were in line for a concert, but they were very shocked to learn we were waiting for the most talked-about restaurant in town. A line outside your restaurant is the perfect free promotion.
After being lined up a few blocks away from the actual restaurant, there was a sudden rush of joy when the Rose’s Luxury signage came into view. We knew then that we soon would be able to experience the most raved about DC spot. An hour has passed and the hostess finally gives us an estimate of when we can live in the lap of luxury at Rose’s. Our dining time was between 7:30-8:30. We had already come this far so we decided to wait an additional 2 hours downing drinks at the bar. As a tip, I would suggest waiting inside the restaurant instead of going somewhere else while you wait. If you wait inside, the hostess can find you and you will be seated much sooner.
A few drinks later, the hostess comes up the stairs and tells us our table is ready. While most diners will gladly take any table available at Rose’s Luxury, I’m here to tell you that since you’ve waited hours to dine at the best restaurant in DC you have the right to be picky. My sister and I requested to sit at the highly coveted chef’s table. Directly behind the table is a bright neon sigh with the declaratory statement awesome. I think this was their way of letting us know what type of experience we had signed up for.
Lined up in a row, diners are treated to quite the show as they watch the master chefs at Rose’s Luxury work their magic. The oven is filled with flames and pasta is stirred all before the eyes of the diners. As each dish is prepared, it makes it quite difficult to select what you want to order since it all looks so incredibly delicious. From the brightly colored vegetable Panzanella to juicy pork braised shoulder it was impossible to not salivate over the tantalizing creations. Fine presentation is certainly a point of pride as each dish is carefully constructed and artfully organized before being served.
To kick off our meal, we did what anyone living in the lap of luxury would do and we selected the caviar service. We selected the high-quality sturgeon caviar. Sparkling beads of fish eggs were served in a shining silver seashell platter complete with potato chips. My sister and I sample the caviar that lay before us and we turned to each other in astonishment over the immaculate taste of the dish. I could have easily finished this dish entirely by myself, and while it came with chips, the sturgeon caviar was so good it didn’t need any type of accompaniment. This was certainly a good prelude to our meal.
The next dish would be the Grilled Avocado with Tomatillo, Poblano, Cotija Cheese, and Cilantro Stems. One could never go wrong with avocado, but this dish was simply divine. Each scoop of the avocado peeled perfectly into the spoon. It was incredibly easy to eat with just the right amount of consistency. The sprinkles of cheese on top were the perfect compliments.While I’ve always loved avocado, my love intensified due to the fine preparedness of this dish. When you order the avocado it will be difficult to share and you won’t want to leave a trace of it left.
I’ll admit I was sad when the avocado was gone, but I was ready for the Chilled Vadouvan Curry with Macadamia Nuts and Caramelized Banana. The pea green colored curry was poured right before us, making our mouths water with each drip of curry. This soup like dish carried a sweet aroma with floral finishes. It was quite different from other forms of curry I have tried in the past so I recommend this for those who have an appreciation for curry. While the dish was simplistic, it was certainly not lacking any flavor. The banana and nuts also added a nice touch to the dish.
And then there was the Softshell Crab Sandwich with Bloody Mary Mayo and Tomato. I seriously can’t think of enough words to describe this dish. With each bite and scoop, there was a new discovery of flavors that were even better than the ones before it. Of course you can never go wrong with crab but this may be the best crab dish that I have ever tasted. I’ve never even had Bloody Mary Mayo before let alone knew it existed but who knew that it was the perfect fixture to appear on crab. All I can say is this dish was pure perfection.
Of course we couldn’t leave Rose’s Luxury without trying their desserts. Admittedly I’m stuffed at this point but of the desserts we sampled the clear favorite for me was the ice cream. Rose’s Luxury’s ice cream isn’t like your average scoop at Ben & Jerry’s. Instead, expect to see the theme of marvelous presentation continued with florals and other decorative features on the dish. The textures varied from smooth to crunchy with each scoop carrying a new surprise. I’m not even sure what accompanied the ice cream, but you can take my word for it that it was tasty.
You probably wouldn’t expect corn to be in a dessert dish, but it certainly makes it’s presence known in the créme brulée. The dish is prepared using corn milk so corn lovers can rejoice as there is a dish created specifically for you. The presence of corn is incredibly strong so only order this if you like corn.
It’s safe to say that based on the wonderful meal that was had at Rose’s Luxury, it was well worth the 3-hour wait and this confirmed that the Obama’s have great taste in restaurants.
