Mmm...Tallula

Last night DH and I went to dinner with my parents at Tallula. It's a part of the same restaurant group that owns Vermilion, Rustico, and Buzz Bakery (all places that we frequent) so of course we love it. Let me rephrase. We love Tallula. For the money, we think it's the best "value" menu of informal restaurants in DC. We can get in and out with starters, mains, desserts and a bottle of good wine for around $250 for two people. Add that it's just a $10 cab ride away, and Tallula's pretty much our "neighborhood" restaurant.

The new Spring menu is out and it. is. fabulous. While my favorite, Amish chicken with black truffle dumpling, is gone, I was *very* satisfied with my order.

Starters: My starter consisted of homemade egg fettucine with black truffle butter. As everyone knows, I LOVE truffles in any shape or form. The dish was also supposed to have crispy speck (a fruity proscuitto) on top, but I'm not eating meat for Lent so off it came. My parents and Rich split plates of the amazing mini burgers (topped with red onion marmalade and truffle butter), risotto fritters (soooo good with the green curry sauce), housemade chorizo mini corn dogs, and the venison meat pie. If you wanted a quick meal, I would totally get two mini burgers and a glass of wine.

Mains: I had the gnocchi with wild mushrooms, wilted swiss chard, ricotta and chive cream. It was completely rich and decadent and I would eat it again in a heartbeat. DH had the pork chop which was quite possibly the largest I've ever seen, with brussel sprouts and carrots. He ate it down with gusto. My mother picked at the Diver scallops but I think she wasn't eating because she was upset at us moving. Dad had the NY strip with crispy polenta and said that it was "very good...but Bobby Van's is better."

Desserts: I managed to talk the waitress into asking the pastry chef if we could go off menu and order from Eatbar, the gastropub next door. They have an amazing butterscotch ice cream sandwich that really hits the spot. (Word to the wise: it is HUGE and was easily split between four people.)

All in all, a great meal with the people I love the most in this world. I hope that we find a warm and happy restaurant in SD that reminds us of all the meals we've had at Tallula.