Winter 2013 Restaurant Week

I almost missed Restaurant Week this time around.  Honestly, I had given up on it, since it is usually in January.  Fortunately, there was a flyer in the elevator at work on Thursday and I was able to find us a last minute reservation for early dinner on Saturday.

I picked Evo Bistro in McLean.  The restaurant was not what I would have expected at all judging from the outside.  It's in a small strip mall and completely unassuming.  I liked this restaurant because they listed their Restaurant Week menu on their website.  I need to know that there will be something I will eat among the selections.  It was small and busy but with a casual atmosphere that I wasn't expecting from the website.  We will have to go back some time when I can try the wine list, which looked very nice.

For appetizers, we ordered the grilled artichokes with jalapeno aioli and the shrimp and grits.  Both dishes had some zing, but in completely different ways.  The aioli gave a bite and creaminess to the artichokes that they don't have on their own.  The chorizo in the shrimp and grits was spicy without being hot.

 

For the entree, Jim chose the sausage wrapped venison with parnips, swiss chard and cranberries.  I picked the Chilean sea bass with Swiss chard, caramelized salsify and spicy tomato sauce.  The fish was cooked perfectly and the Swiss chard was a nice counterpoint to the mild fish.  I had a bite of the venison, which I had not tried before.  It was much more tender than I expected it to be.

 

For dessert, we had the seasonal crumble, which was apple and date and the seasonal creme brulee, which was cranberry.