Around the District

Apologies for being a bad blogger. After Mardi Gras, I came down with a cold, and in the last week have also gone to two restaurant openings, an art exhibit opening, and two more dinners out. Throw in writing several articles for various publications, and it has been a crazy week. Some highlights:

- Inox opening
The new spot in McLean may be a far trip for District residents, but the food is spot-on. Butter poached lobster is paired with short rib ravioli in a dish that is decadent and perfectly matched. A chocolate bread pudding is served with a liquefied Kalamata olive inside, taking the salted chocolate dessert to a different level.

- Vapiano opening
The newest outpost of the European chain opened in Chinatown last week at 623 H St., NW. The pizzas and pasta I tried were really tasty, and word on the street is that they have great happy hours.

- Louise Bourgeois retrospective (above) at the Hirshhorn
While I'll have more about this later, I will say that it's kind of a magical show, and works perfectly in the circular set-up the Hirshhorn has. It's like walking through a labyrinth populated by enormous spiders and strange-figured humans.

- Indique
The lovely A. held a birthday dinner at Indique over the weekend. The saag paneer lost points for including corn, but the cocktails were the hit of the night. Tamarind margaritas, pomegranate martinis, and then my favorite - the campari-tini.

- 1905
I went to research a forthcoming piece on absinthe, and stayed for a snack. The burger, topped with smoked Gouda and onion marmalade, is tasty, and I want to go back to try the gnocchi with duck confit. The atmosphere is very cool — it is barely-lit and evokes a turn of the century aesthetic.