reesesWeb

Grapeseed Bistro
4865 Cordell Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 986-9592

Hours of Operation:
Monday thru Thursday: 5:00 - 10:00pm
Friday: 5:00 - 11:00pm
Saturday: 5:00 - 11:00pm
Sunday: 5:00 - 9:00pm

This place is right down the block from us (we're 4835, they're 4865.) so we've been here a couple times. We're always the shabbiest-dressed people in there, because, honestly, getting Kat to dress up for dinner is just a little tough.

The wine list is pretty good, and the preparations are not bad. As neighborhood bistros go, this isn't as good as Chez Papa near our old place on Potrero Hill, but it could be a lot worse. It's just that they take themselves a tiny bit too seriously, or that could just be the Bethesda "we're the young and affluent part of Washington, DC" scene, which is pretty thick around where we live.

-- 2004-05-13 --

We were lazy about food, and wanted something rather quickly. I started off with a glass of the Acacia Pinot Noir, for some reason I'm thinking 2003, that wasn't bad, but not my favorite from the label.

I followed that with the foie gras, and got a respectably-sized lump of liver, on top of a brioche with a little apple-maple chutney, finished with a tiny bit of port. I love port as a sauce, hate it as a libation.

With some trepidation, I ordered the pepper-crusted columbia river king salmon as an entree, and it was the most thoroughly-cooked and HOT piece of salmon I think I have ever had. I actually had to let it sit for a moment, because it was so hot. It was on a risotto-like thing (some starch in tiny amounts), in a pool of a really pleasant tomato puree.

Kat had no first course, and just had the chicken that she absolutely loves. It's always on the menu, and always a safe choice.

For desert, we each had a berry crisp, which had too many strawberries, and not enough blackberries, for my taste. I paired it with a glass of the sparkling wine they recommended, but the crisp really brought out the earthy tones in it, so much so that it tasted a bit like dirt. I was suspicious because it was such an inexpensive glass, but what do I know?

Anyway, we got out of there for about $120, mainly because Kat had no starter and only drank Coke.

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