The Komi Experience

It's been about eight months since I last posted. My lengthy silence did not result from a lack of eating out. I've just been in a funk. Over the past eight months, I would try new restaurants, and then quickly lose inspiration to write about my experience because the meals, even if tasty, were just forgettable. That all changed with Komi, which is now heralded by a fever-pitched hype since being rated el numero uno by the Washingtonian in its annual restaurant review. And let me tell you; the hype is worth it. Not necessarily because it's the best food that you will ever eat; in fact, some of the dishes, while extraordinarily fresh, were a trifle bland. However, Komi offers one of the most memorable dining experiences available in the DC area without being gimmicky. First impressions first. I loved the atmosphere. The restaurant is located in a DuPont rowhouse (conveniently adjacent to Mr. Yogato). The dining room is small, un-fussy, and almost doesn't seem like a restaurant at all. It has plain dark wood floors and yellow walls and a big decorative wooden table toward the front of the dining room. Patrons seated facing the back of the restaurant can see directly into the kitchen through an open doorway and watch as the chefs prepare the food. In keeping with the atmosphere, the service was unfussy but impeccable. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and felt like you were being judged because you didn't look as shi-shi as the rest of the clientele or maybe because you didn't know as much about food or wine and the ritual of fine dining as the other guests? (Maybe you haven't, and I just have a complex, which is not outside the realm of possibility). Happily, that vibe is non-existent at Komi. The staff was laid back and communicated a true appreciation for the food and wine being served, unlike any I have encountered before. Some things to know about ordering. You can either order Dinner, in which case you receive a sampling of Mezzethakia (small plates), a pasta dish, and a main course and dessert. You can also choose to go the more elaborate route and select the Degustazione (chef's tasting menu), and allow the kitchen to determine what you will eat. The Degustazione comes with more small plates than the dinner, a selection of pastas, a main course, a cheese course, palate cleanser, and a selection desserts. I, being who I am, went for the whole hog, and really enjoyed not having to decide what to order and not knowing what to expect. It exposed me to food that I would not have regularly ordered, but ended up loving. For instance, before eating at Komi, I wasn't a huge fan of fish roe, sea urchin, salmon, or octopus, having only eaten those ingredients in sushi. Komi changed that by creatively pairing these foods with other ingredients (i.e., fish roe and creme fraiche), using the freshest seafood available, and really understanding how to manipulate food texture to make it appealing. Small Plates. We had several rounds of small plates, including, but not limited to (if you're a lawyer, and really hurting for humor in your life, you might think that's funny): hamachi loin sashimi, hamachi belly sashimi, divers scallops prepared two ways -- pureed and in a thinly-sliced tartare, a mini BLT served with a strawberry gazpacho, roasted cheese (mascarpone?) stuffed dates topped with salt, Kumamoto oysters, salmon tartare, grilled octopus, roe served atop a creme fraiche-injected brioche puff, deep-fried cubes of caesar salad (a bit bland and weird), and other things that I am surely leaving out having stupidly neglected to write everything down. One of the funnest things about the small plate experience was the way the food was presented. For example, the scallops were served on scallop shells; the salmon tartare came in a martini glass, and the gazpacho came in a pretty shot glass. Such presentation led me to believe that the restaurant has an insane amount of small, knick-knacky serving ware. Also, it seemed that new silverware was provided after each small plate, which makes me cringe to think of how much dishwashing my meal alone necessitated. Pasta. The small plates were followed by two pasta dishes: A tomato-corn pasta (can't remember if there was meat involved), that was a bit bland, yet fresh, and a spaghetti with crabmeat and sea urchin packed with pungent, but non-fishy seafood flavor. Main Courses. We were served roasted goat and roasted suckling pig. The suckling pig was the piggiest tasting pig I have ever eaten, and this is a high compliment (much like Julia Child's description of French chicken as chickeny). It was tender, and the chef relied on the natural flavoring of the meat rather than mucking it up with a bunch of seasoning. The suckling pig not only included the meat, but squares of skin and fat, which while nice and crispy, did not hold a candle flavor-wise to the meat itself. The goat, like the pig, seemed to be only lightly seasoned, and was deliciously crispy on the outside parts. Accompanying the main dishes were five different condiments and gorgeous pita. The condiments included an avocado salt, a "spicey" red paste (the quotes mean, not really spicey for people who can handle the heat), an eggplant dip (think baba ganoush), lightly pickled cabbage, and a nice tzatziki containing nice chunks of cucumber. Cheese. The cheese course was delicious. It was a soft burrata mozzarella with pesto and a grilled peach. Palate Cleanser. I can't remember if this came before cheese or after cheese and before dessert. It was a lot of fun. Instead of boring sorbet, we got a sangria snow cone, which was really syrupy and tasty. Dessert. We received two selections: a peanutbutter/chocolate crunchy gooey thing and a mint ice cream bonbon covered in chocolate. The bonbon was my favorite and was accented with just the right amount of salt to bring out the flavors. And of course, we got homemade lollipops at the end (which I have yet to eat). Amazingly, at the end of this approximately three-hour gustatory experience, we still had room in our stomachs. I'm not sure if it was because we're chronic over-eaters with hugely expanded stomachs, or if it was because the restaurant does a good job of portion control so that people can actually get through the meal and try everything given to them. I'll assume that it was the latter. At any rate, when dinner was over, we headed to Mr. Yogato for some frozen yogurt, which was a nice cap to a truly distinctive meal.