🚀 go-pugleaf

I recently caught an article in NY Times Magazine about Red Sage and
posted a query on the net.  For the benefit of those like me who may
have missed them first time thru, here is a slightly edited compilation
of the emails I got.

-----------------------------------------------------
From: bchivers@smiley.mitre.org (Brent Chivers)
Subject: Re: Article in NY Times Magazine about Red Sage
Organization: The MaiTai Corp, McLean, VA

In article <21893@oasys.dt.navy.mil> you write:
> The New York Times magazine section, published last Sunday, mentioned
> a chile/southwestern restaurant in the DC area called Red Sage.  Can
> anyone tell me about it?  (E-mail please; I'm not a regular reader of
> this group.)
> 
>    /|/| /||)|/  /~_/\| |\|)[~|)/~_  |   Everyone's entitled to MY opinion.
>   / | |/~||\|\  \_/\/|_|/|)[_|\\_/  |      goldberg@oasys.dt.navy.mil
> ========Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein=======

Daniel Reilly asks:

   Has anyone heard anthing about the "Red Sage" downtown?

Red Sage is Mark Miller's new restaurant, at 14th & G, NW.  Miller is
the proprietor of the "Coyote Cafe" in Santa Fe, NM, one of the
world's primier Southwestern restaurants.  Red Sage is definitely in
that class.  I've eaten there twice now, and both meals were
spectacular.  Good wine list, really wild SW decor (unlike anything
else in DC -- I hope it starts a trend).  There are two problems with
the place: (1) it's expensive (figure $30/person for appetizer &
entree, $50/person including wine, dessert, etc.) and (2) you can't
get a reservation to save your life.  Lunch time reservations are
easier to get than dinner time, but even then you'll be lucky to get a
1:30 reservation for two weeks from next monday...

And don't try to lie your way in.  It's the only restaurant I've ever
heard of that gives out confirmation numbers with its reservations.
*sheesh*

	Larry

--
Lawrence Hunter, PhD.
National Library of Medicine
Bldg. 38A, MS-54
Bethesda. MD 20894
(301) 496-9300
(301) 496-0673 (fax)
hunter@nlm.nih.gov (internet)



In article <2457@ra.nrl.navy.mil> reilly@cradle (Daniel Reilly) writes:
>
>
>Has anyone heard anthing about the "Red Sage" downtown?

A friend of mine has recently started as a cook there.  She says that 
if she'd known how popular the Red Sage was, she probably would not 
have applied there (she's from New York).  Supposed to be very popular,
someone else will know better.  Reservations are something like 3 weeks
in advance.

Mike 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mwerling@linus (or lucy, snoopy, woodstock) .umd.edu

Well, it IS hard to get a reservation, but the service at Red Sage is
wonderful; I found the staff to be unfailingly friendly and helpful,
even when quite busy.  If you want a reservation, either take what
they offer (dinner at 6pm is not necessarily a hardship) or ask what
date is the soonest they have an opening at the time you desire.  You
are looking at three weeks to a month for peak times (e.g. 8pm on a
Friday).  In my interactions with them, they have been even mildly
apologetic about the difficulty in making reservations.

In terms of food, I'm afraid Santa Fe East is a pale immitation of Red
Sage -- more weird than nouvelle, and not particularly honest to its
Southwestern roots.  I've had some interesting dishes there, but I've
had a few downright bad ones, too. The Austin Grill (on Wisconsin, N.
of Georgetown) or the South Austin Grill (in Old Town Alexandria) is
more my idea of good Southwestern food on a budget.

Another possibility is to just buy Mark Miller's "Coyote Cafe"
cookbook, and try making some of their dishes yourself.  You can walk
into Red Sage, take a look around, inhale deeply, buy the book and
some of the odd ingredients you need, all without a reservation!  (You
might even get lucky and find they had an open seat at the bar--no
reservations taken for those, and you can order anything on the menu).
I made his Duck Carnitas Rellenos last weekend and they were AWESOME.

Larry

--
Lawrence Hunter, PhD.
National Library of Medicine
Bldg. 38A, MS-54
Bethesda. MD 20894
(301) 496-9300
(301) 496-0673 (fax)
hunter@nlm.nih.gov (internet)

about the red sage... it's far and away the best restaurant i've ever had the
pleasure of visiting. well worth the wait, which in my experience is up to six
weeks. the anticipation rather adds to the pleasure.

everything i've had there has been absolutely delicious, with the exception of
the rattlesnake beer. my recommendation is to try the fish dishes.

I went to the Red Sage again last night, and I can't resist posting a few
tidbits about my new favorite DC restaurant.

First, we didn't have any problem getting reservations.  I called on monday,
and asked for anything they had on tuesday or wednesday.  They had 9:30pm open
on both tuesday and wednesday.  I originally booked for 4 people which went to
5, then 6, then 7, then back to 6.  They were cordial and helpful about making
and changing reservations.  Just out of curiousity, I asked how long I would
have to wait if I wanted a friday night at 8pm, and they said 4 or 5 weeks at
this point.

As has been my experience in the past, the food was just amazing.  I started
with a warm chorizo and black bean terrine, stuffed with goat cheese, and
served with a green chile salsa; a wonderful confluence of flavors and
textures.  Others at the table had oysters with a serrano mignonette (the
peppers and the large, sweet oysters played off each other wonderfully--perhaps
the best of the appetizers), a corncake topped with shrimp and salsa (very
good), and the Red Sage sausage of the day (pheasant and chipotle--another nice
combination of flavors).  My main course was rabbit, lightly coated with a
poblano & basil pesto and wrapped in bacon, served with the most amazing apple
and chile salad.  It was one of the best things I have ever tasted.  Others had
a sasparilla smoked duck (also a personal best, and I love smoked duck),
roasted pork with chipotle, softshell crabs and a lightly grilled tuna wrapped
in spinach.  Two of the entrees and two of the appetizers were among the best
items of their kind I have ever tasted -- an excellent batting average.

This time we also sampled their list of exotic liquors.  We began with the
special Daquiri, which is made by soaking vanilla beans and pineapple in three
kinds of rum for a couple of weeks; it's then strained and served over ice.
Wine was a '88 Canibel Pinot Noir (OK, not breathtaking, but much cheaper than,
say, the $90 '82 Lynch Bages, which would have been).  Then after dinner, we
sampled one of their half dozen different Calvados, an A.E. Dor cognac, and a
Framboise.  A distilled liquor drinker's paradise.

I also have to add that the service was great.  Our waitress was knowledgable,
helpful and present whenever we needed her.  She was especially good with the
three month old baby we had with us.  We stayed until well after midnight, and
we were not hurried in the least.  The atmosphere is the kind of relaxed,
informal sophistication that is much more common in the West than on the East
Coast, and the wonderful decor includes the contributions of dozens of artists.

Entrees range from $18 to $25, appetizers from $5 to $10.  Total meal including
alcohol, tax and a generous tip was $60/person.  If you want a special meal in
DC, skip Jean-Louis and I Ricci -- head straight to Red Sage.  They are located
on 14th between F and G, and the phone is (202) 638-4444.

						Larry
--
Lawrence Hunter, PhD.
National Library of Medicine
Bldg. 38A, MS-54
Bethesda. MD 20894
(301) 496-9300
(301) 496-0673 (fax)
hunter@nlm.nih.gov (internet)
   /|/| /||)|/  /~ /\| |\|)[~|)/~   |   Everyone's entitled to MY opinion.
  / | |/ ||\|\  \_|\/|_|/|)[_|\\_|  |      goldberg@oasys.dt.navy.mil
========Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein=======