Charred Spanish Octopus with chick peas, pearl onions, sundried tomatoes and sherry vinaigrette
Sometimes being a food blogger has its perks.
Last week I was fortunate to be among a group of DC food bloggers invited to a special dinner at
Tallula in Arlington.
Tallula is an American bistro known for its informal setting, extensive wine collection, and menu driven by seasonal ingredients from local farms. In April the restaurant introduced Barry Koslow as the new Executive Chef. And just recently, The
Neighborhood Restaurant Group (of which Tallula is a member) welcomed Wine Director Juliana Santos on board.
Most recently, Chef Koslow served as the Executive Chef of Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar. During his tenure, the restaurant was listed on the
Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants list three years in a row.
Wine Director Juliana Santos brings both culinary and sommelier experience to the Neighborhood Restaurant Group. Santos is a graduate of the
Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and a certified sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers. She has worked as a meat chef at
Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, and most recently hails from
City Zen, where she worked under sommelier Andy Myers.
The four course dinner was meant to showcase Chef Koslow's creativity and versatility, as well as Juliana Santo's ability to pair each course with the perfect wine.
To sum it all up: every bite was memorable. Each dish included an inventive or unusual element-- such as the halibut encrusted in lentils and smoked bacon complimented by the sweet spiciness of a curry sauce. In each course, creativity met with positive results. The flavor combinations were well balanced and very pleasing to the palate.
Perhaps the most impressive dish was the octopus. Previously, I have eaten octopus mostly to prove my adventurousness with food. Each octopus experience was memorable just because it was octopus, and also because its texture was so rubbery.
Chef Koslow's octopus was a different experience altogether: tender, flavorful, and wholly enjoyable to eat.
To finish our dinner experience, we were served chocolate-toffee brownie cake with pistachio ice cream. The description "brownie cake" doesn't do the dessert justice. It was more like one large piece of decadent candy-- finished off with a a 10 year Tawny Port.
Delicious.
And as if that wasn't enough, Chef Koslow surprised us with nutella beignets as a final hurrah.
I left satisfied, a little happy from all the wine, and ready to come back to Tallula very soon.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
For more about executive chef Barry Koslow, check out the District Domestic's interview with him
here.
