The more we go out in this area, the more exciting it is to find a place we could see returning to time and again. Truthfully, we now seem to judge a place based on whether or not we would consider repeating business rather than going on to the next new spot. District Commons, situated on Washington Circle in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood in DC, truly garners a repeat performance in the weeks to come…

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Scott and I were impressed the moment we stepped foot inside – an American tavern re-imagined. The bar scene was hopping for happy hour, and though we were there for dinner we couldn’t help crane our necks as we passed by on our way to the formal dining area with a slight bit of jealously. Fortunately once we were seated, the open concept of the restaurant did our desire justice and we still felt close to the celebration that the end of a work day brings.

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The restaurant marries the classic dark wood of a traditional tavern with clean lines and modern features. It opened the space and the large windows offered abundant light (which always makes food look good…). We began with two of their special cocktails; I had the Rosie the Riveter and Scott stuck true to his love of gin and tonic with the District Gin Rickey. Both were refreshing and much larger than we had anticipated – always a pleasant surprise.

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Having received a variety of recommendations from our friends on Twitter and Facebook, we were pleased when our server Michelle was eager to spread the good word on many of the dishes. We began the meal with their famous Hot Pretzel Baguette, which can be summed up with my tweet that night:

‘Nough said.

We also split the Southwestern Grilled Shrimp Flatbread which was more the size of an entree than an appetizer, but we killed it in a matter of minutes. Absolutely delicious, and easy of the eyes.

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The entree portion of our meal was everything we love – the correct portion, excellent attention to both taste and presentation. Though I toyed for some time about the Meatloaf (ranked #1 in DC according to EaterDC), I went with my gut (pun intended) and ordered the blackened salmon, laid on a bed of succotash. The salmon comes with a drizzle of crawfish butter, which I didn’t mind, but I scooped up the crawfish and Scott said they were tasty :)

Speaking of, Scott decided to take our server’s recommendation and try the Roasted Duck “Low and Slow”, which is an unusual departure for him. I even attempted a bite (duck is often a bit greasy for my liking) but to my surprise was packed with flavor and extremely well cooked. He loved it, though by the end he was slowing down as it was a generous serving.

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It doesn’t matter how full Scott is, there is ALWAYS room for dessert. We again, thanks to our server, took her recommendation and tried the Salty Crunchy Sundae, topped with potato chips. Usually I’d rather skip dessert and order more carbs, but the salt here was perfect and I found myself competing with Scott for who could get their spoon in the fastest.

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The pastry chef added in some samples at the end, and though we were beyond stuffed we put a quality dent into the assortment, our favorite being the mint and chocolate.

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All in all, it was an excellent date night experience and the service was top notch. The only difference we’d make in going again would be that next time we’re going to sit outside, even just for drinks with friends. I spent the entire evening looking at the side of Scott’s face as he lusted after the patio. Complete daydream.

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Cheers,

Al
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