DC Harvest is a restaurant that flows with the seasons, which means what you eat is what is currently in line with nature. All natural and all good for you. Every season they change the menu (keeping some gems and most loved items a constant) and this time Hungry Lobbyist tested out their Spring menu.
First up was the mind blowing spring edamame and leek pancake. When I first read the item on the menu, it did not sound appealing and I was quite hesitant to order it but the Chef insisted and promised he would show me otherwise. He sure did.
It is made up of smoked shad, pea shoots, herb greek yogurt and pickled fresno chili. The combination in flavors as well as temperature created warm fireworks. I made a request to never remove this off the menu and to please rename the dish as it certainly does not do it justice. Highly recommending this would be an understatement.
Next up were oysters and with spring coming up these were a must to try. DC Harvest gets their oysters from Virginia and serve their local oysters on the half shell with a ginger shallot mignonette.
For the spring roll the Chef decided to be more sustainable and use broccoli stems instead of cabbage slaw since they had a large amount of stems from their other broccoli dishes. I loved how this dish further embodies the mindset of DC Harvest’s pursuit of being environmentally and food conscious. I personally was not a big fan of this dish as I do not like fried items but putting that aside if you are a spring role fan then go ahead and try it!
For the main courses we explored a fish and pork option (I did not try the latter but my friend had all good things to say). The grilled pocono rainbow trout comes with a spring vegetable saute of sugar snap peas, roasted beets, rainbow carrots, mistake mushrooms, Tasso almond jus. The best part of this dish is that it is both gluten and soy free! So, people with allergies rejoice!
The second main course was a rock creek bourbon smoked berkshire pork cheeks featuring a job’s tear pilaf, English peas and shaved kale and fennel slaw. This dish is also gluten and soy free! As for taste I can not personally comment as I do not eat pork but the pictures look delicious and my friend ate it with a large smile so both good signs for the pork lovers out there.
Finally we ended with dessert, my favorite part of any food experience. The Chef sent us the DCH ricotta cheesecake which caused the physical reaction of wide opened eyes, jaws dropping and silence for the duration of eating this delicious piece of heaven on earth. This dish is made with a gluten free white chocolate cookie crust passion fruit glaze and a mint kiwi salsa. Having started with the leek pancake and ending with an even better start was exactly what a rave review needed. Friends you must try these two dishes, you can thank me later.
To end I will leave you with a picture of their Cherry Blossom drink that embodies all the feelings of spring – fun, light and happy. Cheers to a beautiful spring with delicious food.
Follow DC Harvest here: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Full menu can be found here.