It's Restaurant Week: Round 1

I would not be a good foodie if I did not participate in restaurant week.  I mean how else can I afford to go to some of these high class restaurants without a little help from restaurant week?  But first I have rules for this sacred holiday: 1) You pick restaurants that are in the $25 and above range.  What's the point if you can afford it on a regular basis. 2) Check out the menu early and compare it to the regular menu.  You want to order things that are on the more expensive side so you actually get your $35.09 worth.

With that said my first reservation for the week was Friday night at Hook, a Georgetown seafood establishment which believes in only serving seasonal and sustainable seafood.  That is something that I can support. I have wanted to go to this restaurant since it opened and out of the 2 reservations I made for restaurant week, this was the one I was most excited about.  Did it live up to all of my high expectations?  Did it provide a delicious meal and good service?  Yes & yes!  I would definitely return to Hook again and would say that of all the restaurants I have gone to for different restaurant weeks this was by far the best meal I have ever had.     

The first thing that I liked about Hook upon perusing the menu is that most of the regular items were put onto this prix fixe menu as well.  You will see so many restaurants take away their best items, dumb an entree down, or put it on there with an $5 charge to try it.  What is the fun in that?  And I think that this completely defies the purpose of restaurant week.  To Hook I say thank you for allowing the masses to try some of your best dishes without extra fees.  

I began my meal with the grilled calamari with a fennel/spring mix salad.  The portion was amazing.  4 (head an legs!) gorgeous squid was set before me with alight salad on the side.  I was actually amazed to see that the head of the squid still had their little rutters attached, as I had never seen one this way before.  The calamari were smoky and still had a satisfying chew to them that set my palette off into a happy dance.  I literally closed my eyes and may have even let out a little moan of satisfaction.  It was so simple and clean, and yet it set off a complex set of emotions of satisfaction, desire, and need.  To put it bluntly, this dish will turn you on! 

For my entree I had the bluefish with polenta, carrots, green beans, and pesto.  Bluefish is an oily, flaky white fish which played well against the simple unfussed sides.  No heavy sauces., which would have drowned out the richness of the fish, just a perfectly crispy salted skin with  the flesh of the fish giving away easily to my fork.  I have never thought of seafood as decadent, but this entree changed my mind on that. There were definitely contented sighs and affirmations of "I must come here again", because it was that good.

 Dessert was a rich chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream and chocolate hazelnut biscotti on the side.  I wanted to make my bed in that bowl!  Curl up next to one of those little chocolate balls inside and never let go!  It was a rich, but manageable portion size and man was it good.  The perfect ending to this meal that blew me out of the water.  Get it? Water? Seafood?  HAHAHA.....okay it may have been funnier in my head than it is written down.   

Hook:

3241 M St., NW

Washington DC, 20007 

202.625.4488 

Sidebar: Whenever I read about Hook I think of the movie with Robin Williams and start chanting "Where's the hook?!" and "Rufio!".  Although hook is in reference, in this case, to what is put on the end of a fishing pole. :)