According to their site:

Chef’s Best Dinner Auction presented by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation is our signature fundraiser. On May 13th, more than 1,500 guests will enjoy tastings from 60 of the region’s brightest culinary stars while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support children and adults facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses. In addition to a menu filled with one-of-a-kind delights, you’ll enjoy bidding on live and silent auctions featuring travel opportunities and other great adventures.

The event this year raised $960,000 which is a record breaking success for Food & Friends. This represents more than 10% of Food & Friends operating budget. And, the gracious and amazing Washington Hilton (the same one Conan O’Brien took a cheap shot at during the White House Correspondence Dinner – see my open letter scolding him), always plays a very gracious host.

However, the food took second place to none, and was as amazing as always. Below are some of my favorites from the evening (in no particular order):

Logan Tavern – cured Arctic Char with wakame and seaweed salad

The Heights – beef tenderloin tartare on garlic toast

The Pig – pork curry with cilantro yogurt (3rd place in my book)

Ruth’s Chris Steak House – prime beef sliders

Trummer’s on Main – buckwheat blinis with salmon tartar

Grillfish – house-made gravlax & salmon ceviche with pomegranate sour cream & pickled ramps

J&G Steakhouse – hamashi sashimi, chipotle mayonnaise and crispy rice

Chef Geoff’s Tysons – smokey Carolina BBQ puff (while good, I’m from NC, and this was no NC BBQ)

Fujimar Restaurant – if they labeled their sign, I’d know what this was, but it was epic

Bar Pilar – venison country ham slider with pepper jelly and cream cheese (2nd place in my book)

Meridian Pint – lamb stewed in porter with spring vegetables

Farmers Fishers Bakers – Virginia peanut butter mousse cups

Hank’s Oyster Bar – seared sea scallops with cauliflower puree, sea beans, and shitake mushrooms

Addie’s – Virginia beef tartare with caper, pickled ramps, boccarones, esplette, and farro lavosh (first place in my book)

Black Market Bistro – spicy Cobia with sweet pea mascarpone crostini with pickled onions

Drooling yet? You should be! Better get your tickets for the next event then! See you there.

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Upon entering B Too, the first thing you notice is the open layout. The long, clean bar is just to your left, with a few small tables by the large open window up front.

Walking past the bar, you enter the open dining room that is surrounding the open kitchen. There is also a downstairs, more intimate, dining area lined with a exceptional wine display.

Something else you are likely to notice, well, someone rather, is the restaurant manager Daniel Mahdavian. When he’s not greeting guests at the door, he’s usually buzzing around the restaurant making sure your meal is up to par (which it will be, and then some), and catering to patrons every request. Oh, and you might see Chef Bart as well. He’s tall, has a vibrant personality, and a great accent, so you can’t really miss him – and there’s a picture in their drink/wine/beer book that is about 3 inches thick – so you can play the restaurant version of “Where’s Waldo Bart?”

After enjoying a great Sazerac, and then a beer/liquor cocktail, the ordering began, and seemed to never end, and no one minded. The food is simply amazing.

To start, try the the steak tartare. Made with beef tenderloin, a hard boiled quail egg, cornichon pickles, capers, parsley and crispy onions. Served in a large portion with pear onions and a crisp frisee mixed green salad, it’s perfectly balanced. The mustard is just tart enough, and the beef itself is rich, earthy, and has a great mouth feel. Enough to share with two for sure.

Balance the rich tartare with something green, make your mother happy. The asparagus is crisp, light, and refreshing. Served in a butter sauce with eggs, parsley, and nutmeg, the dish takes on a very nutty quality while remaining surprisingly light (especially given the butter!).

When pork belly is on the menu, order it. When fried strips of pork belly are on the menu, order it faster. I was so happy that this dish was not dry or over-fried, rather the exterior was perfectly crispy and not greasy, and the pork on the inside was tender, moist, and perfectly cooked. Served with cabbage, mustard, butter (of course) and a sweeter fruit-based sauce, this was one of my favorite appetizers involving pork I’ve ever had. Imagine fries…but with pork…pork fries!

Of course, being a Belgian restaurant, and the fact that these are likely the most trending food item this year, Brussel sprouts were ordered. Cooked with bacon lardons and onions, as they should be, the sprouts were cooked perfectly – firm but tender, not overcooked, just simply prepared and delicious.

The entree dishes all looked amazing, and to start the rabbit prepared for two people was ordered. Coming in a large dutch oven to the table, the herbs, rich sauce, and vegetables lightly still simmered in front of me. The rabbit, I learned, was cooked in several ways. The legs and thighs were sous-vide, where the breast was seared and baked leaving the skin crispy. Easily some of the best rabbit I have ever had in a restaurant.

Sticking to wild game, the venison was ordered and devoured. Seared fillet medallions were cooked with fresh herbs, couscous, raspberry beer, parsnips and dark chocolate served over light, whipped potatoes. Perfectly medium rare and tender, the chocolate complimented the sometimes gamey meat well.

The last entree tried was the oven roasted lobster with a five-spice butter and fennel. The lobster was sweet and succulent, cooked perfectly, and melted in your mouth. The rich butter and the sweet lobster provided for a very decadent dish – personally, some orange or lemon zest, or some type of citrus would have been nice to cut the rich dish.

A perfect night is the only way to describe it. The decor was thoughtfully purchased, care was taken (to the tune of a $60,000 custom noise reduction) to reduce echos and make the area much quieter than it should be, and the food was amazing. But the creativity of Chef Bart and his team didn’t stop there. Check out the bathroom art below.

Men’s restroom art:

Women’s restroom art (Chef Bart said I had to check it out. I knocked):

Where: B TOO | Facebook | Twitter

Extra – check out my interview with Chef Bart exclusively on FamousDC

Chef Madrid says when asked about this creation, “There is nothing fake about this!” I asked Jeremy Carman, co-owner of Sixth Engine, how this came about and why they brought it back. He says,

The MacRib was created out of curiosity and fun.  Chef Madrid wanted to create something real, that tasted as good, if not better than the “other one”. Staff and the neighborhood fell in love with it, so we decided to bring it back!

Certainly glad they did. What are you waiting for!? Oh yeah…Thursday, duh! See you there!

photo credit: Stephanie Breijo

Where: Sixth Engine | Twitter | Facebook

T-Swizzle loves her some DC as evident by these profound tweets. Hit Tay up on Twitter and thank her for the DC love.

Unlike Conan who trashed his hosts while here in DC, Tay knows what’s up.