Our first dinner in DC was at Proof, one of the recommendations Jed and Liz (of the infamous Sports-glutton blog) made and it truly DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Proof is a moderately price American restaurant with an eclectic menu (their words). It’s contemporary design with rustic elements (brick walls, wooden tables and antique dressers) make for a very warm and inviting eating establishment — the bathrooms are wild! We chose to eat inside because of the high temperatures outside, but their patios looked amazing! I also wanted to mention that the dinner had a lovely pace to it, not too fast and not too slow, all in all it was almost two hours for the three courses which was perfect.
Both our server and somelier were friendly and attentive enough without being over-bearing — we never once had to fill our own wine glass. We decided to share the starters and chose the Bresaola, which was from Uruguay, cured, juniper scented beef tenderloin ($8US), I thought it was quite tasty although the juniper was very subtle and for $8US I felt we got a good serving size for the price. We also shared the Duck Liver Mousse (aka Fois Gras) with Pickled Red Onions & Baby Greens ($11US) and it was over the top, the duck liver mousse was so creamy, yet felt rather light in the mouth. Our server even brought us a nice selection of house made crackers and breads because as you can see, there are only three crostini’s with the dish. We were off to a great start.
My main course (appetizer portion) was the Ahi Tuna Tartare with Crispy Nori Tempura with hass avocado, wasabi soy emulsion ($15) and I must tell you it is by far the BEST tuna Tartare I’ve ever had and I’ve had quite a few. The flavours just hit me perfectly with just the right amount of wasabi (no tears). The crispy Nori was a beautiful contrast in texture to the creamy avocado and the soft tuna. If you can believe it, my mouth is watering as I type this. I could have had two portions it was THAT good.
JT chose the gnocchi which came in two sizes, a small appetizer portion and a large main portion — this is the smaller size and as you can see, it was plenty (the bowl was about 24cm or 9.4 inches in diametre. The dish was Sautéed Potato Gnocchi with Hen of the Woods Mushrooms spring peas, baby chard in a sweet farm butter with basil and Parmesan sauce ($15/$27). JT was kind enough to allow me to taste this beautiful dish (sorry, it was already dark when I took the photo) and it was fantastic, but don’t let the sauce fool you, even though it’s not a cream-based sauce there is A LOT of butter in this dish! Both of our courses were lip smackingly good and I immediately wished we had this restaurant in Toronto as it became a fast favourite!
Thank you kindly for the reco’s Jed and Liz, you really hit this one bang on. It’ll be on my list whenever we return to DC.
If you find yourself in DC, do yourself a favour and try this place, it won’t disappoint.
Overall rating of Proof DC (in my opinion): Decor 4/5, service 4/5, food 4.5/5, Value 4/5, Noise: 4/5 (1 being very noisy, and 5 being very quiet).
Disclaimer: We purchased our meals for full price and my opinions just that, my opinions.
Proof DC
775 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
proof@proofdc.com
202.737.7663
Lunch
Tuesday – Friday 11:30 – 2:00
Dinner
Monday – Thursday 5:30 – 10:00
Friday – Saturday 5:30 – 11:00
Sunday 5:00 – 9:30
It sounds like a lovely meal….a good recommendation from Jed and Liz.
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Thanks Karen, there’s really nothing nicer to have such a great experience from a recommendation. And Jed and Liz were bang on.
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Ooh, I adore tuna tartare and would have ordered it, too! Sounds like an amazing meal!
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Thanks Liz, I’m still dreaming about it.
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Isn’t it great to get recommendations from friends? And it sounds like a great meal with spot on service too 😀 That tuna tartare looks fantastic!
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Thank you kindly Lorraine, it was a fantastic restaurant indeed.
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Ok, I have to ask… why exactly were the bathrooms “wild”? 😀
That food all looks lovely – I’m guessing the dark (black?) stuff in the second pic is the nori, right? Do you know how they crisped it up, because it looks very sturdy. Maybe toasted?
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Hi Charles the bathrooms are uniquely decorated (these are the best photos I found http://dcraconteur.blogspot.ca/2010/09/proofs-designer-revealed.html?m=1)
Yes, the black is the nori and its been flash fried; it was incredible.
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Hoho, ok that is quite the unique decoration there! Beats the typical “tile and lino”.
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It’s the latest trend here in NA, the bathroom décor is almost as important as the décor in the restaurant.
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You’re most welcome Eva!! I’ve always enjoyed Proof…for many reasons. 😉
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🙂
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Sounds like another restaurant to add to our list. We hope to get to DC one of these days. We’ve kind of been holding out until the kids are a bit older. (Unless of course Mike ends up at a conference there!) The tuna tartare looks fabulous! And you know fois gras is right up my alley. This looks like a definite winner. 🙂
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Thanks Kristy, there are a lot of activities for the kids in DC, but they would probably appreciate them a bit more as they get older. There is also supposed to be an amazing zoo too.
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You’re making me hungry again. What a lovely restaurant and they’ll be thrilled with your review. I don’t mind paying a lot of money if the food and the experience is worth it.
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I totally agree Maureen, thank you.
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I love how the tuna tartare is served up on nori (in a pretty starfish shape to boot :)) that would positively delight me! I always appreciate getting your restaurant reviews Eva particularly in cities that tend to have a very busy daytime/lunch crowd, it can sometimes be difficult to suss out quality evening meals. I’m going to pass this post on to my sister who mentioned having a bit of a challenge finding dinner time restos in DC. (Love the name of this spot too!).
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Thanks Kelly, I’d love to hear if your sister goes and enjoyed it. We had some good luck in Ottawa a few years ago, but then they too were recommendations.
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It’s so satisfying when you have a terrific dining experience. All the food looks good and I can’t believe the prices but then again, I’m so used to paying through the nose to eat out – that’s the Sydney way! xx
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Hi Charlie, I was rather surprised too that the prices were not crazy — but we did have a difficult time finding a reasonably priced hotel. I find Australian restaurant pricing very expensive too — don’t forget we have to add on 15-18% gratuity in North America.
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You’re lucky my friend,
i won’t share sthe starter for sureif i was there..hehehe
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Thanks Dedy, it’s a way that both my husband and I control calories and costs, plus in the US they usually give you way too much food anyway.
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It sounds like a fantastic meal, Eva! There is nothing better than a recommendation from someone you know (especially a food blogging gourmet!).
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Thank you kindly Sissi, it was a wonderful meal, and I would definitely go back there.
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If I ever visit, I need to go here, the food looks so rich and of such good quality 😀
Cheers
CCU
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Thanks CCU, it would be worth the trip.
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Both the dishes were probably great but I would have tried the tuna as well. I bet the duck liver was deliciously rich.
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The duck liver was so light and airy that it definitely gave you the false sense that it was not rich, but boy it was.
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The food looks incredible, and great portions too! It does look value for money. Bookmarking this one.
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Thanks Minnie, try to get there as date night, it’s not much of a kids place.
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What beautiful food and great portions for the price! I had no idea there was any place in DC with prices that reasonable for such high quality food and ingredients. That tartare does look amazing!
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Thanks Betsy, all in all, I didn’t find DC all that expensive — well. except for the Four Seasons, their cocktails were a bit out of this world, but then again, they are here too.
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I would go for the tuna tartare too. It looks very tempting, Eva.
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Thanks Angie, my mouth still waters when I think of it.
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