So we wanted to help an area restaurant because the global pandemic has hit DC and all the restaurants have pretty much shut down in some way. Many have reopened but with a limited or different menu. I love food and I love fancy pants dining, but I have a 2 year old which means a sitter, so we pass. But as I mentioned in my last post, this disaster has presented an opportunity to dine from some very fine restaurants with the 2 year old.
Tonight, we tried out Bloomingdale’s Red Hen. In 2017 and 2020 it was named as a Bib Gourmand restaurant in the Michelin guide.
Looking at this I’m admitting I tipped poorly, but I was aiming for a round number. I sent the spouse out to get the food and he came back with some switchels I did not order, I should have tipped more. (See note below).
Anyway, Red Hen’s regular menu and their take out menu are pretty close. I found their drink menu, entertaining. The house cocktails were either a kit or a batch. Their bottles of wine range from $45 to $145. Not sure what the $20 corkage is.
I had the Italian Chicory Salad and the Roasted Spaghetti Squash. My spouse had the Chicken Liver toast and the Radiatori. Our 2 year old had bits of our meals. The food came in paper take out containers. I do realize a lot of what makes some fancy schmancy places special is presentation and well, it’s the end times, whaddya want? They looked very nice in their packages. At first, the 2 year old loudly refused samples of what we were having. But as soon as he saw us eating, he wanted some. He took about 1/2 of my spaghetti squash dish, and ate most of it. He had a few bites of Daddy’s toast…. nope, he did not want any butter or chicken liver. It was the fancy hard bread. He had a few slices of Wonderbread level soft bread from the Inshaw kitchen. He also had Daddy’s pasta, but by the time he got around to getting a second bite, Daddy was done eating.
I have no star rating. It was good. We enjoyed it. It probably would have been better if my spouse left the house earlier to pick it up ad if we ate immediately after he got home with the food but the 2 year old delayed things. So some of the cheese had solidified in the pasta dish, but not to the point it was less than tasty. It was quite tasty. It is better when it comes fresh from the chef’s kitchen. So my advice is walk faster and eat sooner.
NOTE (edited 3/23/2020): I noticed the charge on our account for this was higher than $70. My beloved spouse gave an extra $30 tip. So now I don’t feel bad about the tip anymore.