Last Wednesday, while flipping through my Instagram feed, a friend’s post on her dinner at Rose’s Luxury popped up. From her words and with only seeing one photograph of the space, I immediately knew I needed to eat there during a weekend trip to Washington D.C with Monika to visit our friend, Vickie. Rose’s, however, does not take reservations.
Monika booked our bus from Manhattan to arrive at 3pm on Halloween. I dropped off luggage at the hotel while she headed to Rose’s. Around 3:30pm, Monika was in a queue already thirty people deep. Although it appeared as if we would be waiting for some time, at 5pm we were all seated promptly at the bar. Camaraderie between us, the staff, and other guests seated nearby was palatable. All in all, we had a terrific evening of drinks and merriment — and we stayed past closing. Their mantra of “awesome” in neon hangs in direct view of the kitchen and rings true of how we felt at the end of the night. I truly wanted to “Eat, go home, and come back tomorrow.”
1-4 The outside of Rose’s Luxury; interior space; dinner menu + and seasonal cocktail menu; fresh flowers in a wall mounter container at the bar.
5-9 Gorgeous, vintage cocktail glassware for the cocktails that were found on eBay: A simple Gin + tonic ($13); blanco tequila ($11); and a Gin-based drink with Bing cherry with lime, basil, and ginger beer ($13); the bar selection at Rose’s Luxury; a pour of the smooth, vanilla Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling CO.’s Barterhouse 20 year old Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey (I was already intoxicated at this point and can’t recall the cost).
10-13 For starters we had: One perfectly warm loaf of challah served up with a ramekin of butter sprinkled with black sesame surrounded by a puddle of sweet honey. Why didn’t I think of this? Malpeque Oysters with green apple + hand-grated wasabi granita ($3 each); Pork sausage, habanero + lychee salad ($13) came complete with instructions on the proper way of mixing it up to get all the flavor and solid advice on using a spoon to eat it; and the charred broccoli with Caesar dressing and white anchovies ($13).
14-15 The mains: Brooklyn’s Sfoglini Pasta Shop rigatoni — made in small batches using organic semolina flour — with Parmesan cream and the crunchiest breadcrumbs that stayed solid til the last bite ($12); Smoked brisket family style with basic toast, horseradish (the way I like it — fresh and coarsely grated with a real kick), and a small scoop of slaw ($29).
Consumed With Discretion 