REVIEW: Grapeseed 4865 Cordell Ave, Bethesda

I borrowed this from their menu….poetic license and oh, so true!!!
“Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with.” -- Kathleen Mifsud

Had a spontaneous “date” on Friday night. I’m a VA girl, so crossing two state lines and going OtB (Over the Bridge, which I do not do often) just for dinner, it had better not be a disappointment…

I prefer to sit at the bar since you have more one on one interaction with your server and you meet some rather interesting characters. Service was a little less than on the ball and it was not that busy – she had several regulars so there was an abundance of extracurricular chatting.

We enjoyed a lovely bottle of Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc. SB is one of those wines that is meant to be served chilled, not ice blasted cold, however the wine should send shudders down your tongue like really tart, fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice. We had to ask bartendress twice set the wine back in the chiller. For those who have yet to patron Grapeseed, it is a wine bar, hence the name. They have a great variety of wines by the glass in the “wine on tap” chiller – so get it together on the wine 101!

We shared four starters, which was plenty. Cornmeal Fried Oysters with a Bacon Beurre Blanc, Fricassee of Wild Mushrooms Sherry Vinegar & Truffled Polenta, Mussels In Belgian Beer Crispy Sweet Potatoes, Fried Chicken Livers Poblano and Bell Pepper Jelly, Crouton.

The fried oysters were good, although I prefer the ones at Kincaid’s. Not everything is better with bacon, just too much smoke and overkill for the nicely fried oysters (I hate a lot of batter).

I am on a quest to find good polenta – the best I ever had was Amici on Palm Beach, however this was giving them a run. I prefer polenta to be soft while still getting the feel of the corn against your tongue. Nice variety of mushrooms and the sherry vinaigrette was just a touch of acidity to the earthy mushrooms.

If there are mussels on the menu, I am in! These were good although the sweet potatoes were disappointing. A nice surprise yet rather mushy and tasteless.

I love, adore, seek out chicken liver and pate. I drive out of my way to get chopped chicken liver from the deli for a decadent weekend breakfast; these were soggy, like they had been fried and sat under a heat lamp. The pepper jelly is a nice kick – hint: you can pick some for yourself at the grocery store as this was clearly not house made nor even house enhanced with fresh poblano or red bell pepper

Not bad for $46 per person, plus gratuity. Not a disappointment either, I would certainly venture OtB again for another adventure at Grapeseed. I posted a modified version of this review (they only allow 750 characters with spaces!) on The Washington Post - I've been published!!!!