We celebrated my wife's birthday last night at DC Coast. This is the second time we have been there, the last being my birthday (do I see a trend developing?) Our son also attended (he is almost 15 and loves eating in nice restaurants)

First, if it is a special occasion tell them so when you make the reservation. They had printed up menus with Happy Birthday and my wife's name on it for us. When we left they gave us one, rolled up and tied with a ribbon and a DC Coast pin attached. Very nice touch.

For dinner my son ordered the Buffalo Crispy Fried Oysters to start. They were served with shaved fennel salad, dressed with blue cheese and hot sauce butter. For his entree he had the Grilled Double Cut Pork Chop with puréed sweet potatoes and a cane syrup-Creole mustard sauce. It was very good, but I thought the sweet potatos were too sweet. But that is my taste, not his. For dessert he had a toffee pudding that was breadlike and delicious.

I ordered the Exotic Mushroom and Goat Cheese Anaheim Chile Relleno With Roasted Tomato Salsa (served on a black bean salsa that was stunning) My entree was the Pan Roasted Wild Rockfish with crispy polenta cake, lobster corn broth and apple-red onion relish. Absolutely wonderful and very filling. For dessert I had the Lemon Curd Napolion, which if you like lemon, is to die for. I thought it the best dessert on the list.

My wife ordered the soup de jour, a warm corn chowder served over seared scallops. Excellent. For an entree she ordered their signature dish, Chinese Style Smoked Lobster With Stir-fry Vegetables and Crispy Fried Spinach. Slightly spicy, wonderfully presented and the hit of the night. I highly recommend it, even if it is market priced and the most costly dish on the menu. I wish I know how to make the spinich, it was heavenly. For dessert she had the Chocolate Mousse Crunch, a white & milk chocolate Creme Anglaise served with caramelized bananas. Very good. They comped her dessert because it was her birthday.

We had a bottle of the 2001 Darioush Viognier with the meal and ended with coffee for us and an expresso for my son.

Service could not have been better. Polite, informative, helpful, and discrete. Our wine was kept out of the way in an ice bucket, but somehow our server knew when it was time to refill our glasses. She didn't rush us, but every time I thought about refilling a glass, she appeared and did so. Not one of those top it up every time she walked by types, but never had to wait either. I wish I know how she did it. The appetizers appeared very quickly, were hot and when we were finished, the dishes wisked away. We never felt rushed; they didn't come and ask how everything was every 10 minutes, but timed everything perfectly. The staff and the kitchen work well together. All in all, a very professional job that made for a very pleasent evening.

The entire meal, wine tax and a 20% tip came to $230. We could have kept the price down by not ordering the wine, but it was her birthday and what is a great meal without a good bottle of wine? Their wine list, BTW is quite extensive, with quite a few wines by the glass or half bottles. The prices are not bad for DC, but of course wine in restaurants is expensive. I do know that DC Coast will permit you to bring a bottle in for a corkage fee of about $20 as long as it isn't on their list.

For those of you who like having the url:

http://www.dccoast.com/

And yes thomas, I posted this on chowhound too.

I figured you might, dude. Great write-up. I love that place. I asked about hosting the DC Offline there, but they could not accomadate us on the date requested. If there is a small offline in the DC-zone future, we should try to get it there.

Here's a write-up of the offline I had there with Vino Me (& Mrs.), Dr. Tannin, Tannin Pig (& Mrs.), Mrs. TJ and myself -- all back in Sept 2002 I believe. Saved her enow for posterity--

DC Coast. This is a write up I did in the off-line forum about the DC Coast and Toast we did on 9/20 with Vino Me (& Mrs. VM), Tannin Pig (& Mrs. TP) Dr. Tannin, myself (and Mrs. TJ!).

Enjoy!

The Food/Restaurant

DC Coast. Yum. Nicely appointed dowtown location. Nice bar area. A HUGE mermaid greets you at the door. It was rather noisy and busy. We had a table near the kitchen and a busy thoroughfare near the steps leading upstairs. Next time, we’ll ask for an upstairs table. But that was the ONLY downside to the place.

Wonderful service from our very in the know wait staff person (gyts, help me out – what was her name?!). She knew the menu, she listened for comments in order to make recommendations. She was always there when you needed her and she was never in the way. She was super friendly and nice to boot. She even took a few pictures for us!

DC Coast is known for its seafood, but is also known for, well, really just good food. That and it is a place to be seen. Don’t get me wron, DC is not Hollywood or NYC, but, for the Capital City, it is a hotspot. If you want to be seen or to see ‘somebodies’, this is one of the places to be.

There was so much good food there. The bread was nice and hearty with good crust. The butter was sublime as it was extra creamy and served at just the right temperature – not too cold (which would make it hard to spread) and not too warm (which makes it too liquidy and changes the taste to me, anyway).

Appetizers ranged from a classic smoked salmon spread (w/Traditional Accompaniments and Dill-Garlic Bagel Crisp) (Dr. T), to Lobster and English Pea Rissoto (Lobster and Fresh
English Pea Risotto w/Tarragon Butter and Parmigiano Reggiano) (TJ and TP), to this wild Oyster thing (Harwichport Oysters w/Vodka-Japanese Pickled Ginger Ice) (Mrs. TJ), to the Tuna Tartare thing ('Poisson Cru' Tahitian Style Tuna Tartare w/Fresh Lime and Coconut Milk --
served in a coconut half) (Mrs. VM & Mrs. TP), to a signature dish – stuffed rellenos (Exotic Mushroom and Goat Cheese Anaheim Chile Relleno w/Roasted Tomato Salsa) (VM).

Some moved on to a salad mode. There was an interesting looking thing Dr. T had (what the hell was it, dude?). Then there were a few that got the tomato-cheese-and-something else with drizzled something else on it (Heirloom Tomato Tart w/Baby Arugula Salad, Shaved Ricotta, Basil Pesto and Balsamic Syrup). Mrs. TJ got a bit from Mrs. VM that she and I sharde (thanks Mrs. VM!!!).

Then came the entrees…. Mrs. VM and Dr. T both got one of the signature entrees -- Chinese Style Smoked Lobster w/Stir-fry Vegetables and Crispy Fried Spinach. It looked amazing (I think Mrs. VM called it “Lobster Roadkill”). TP and Mrs. TJ each got the Mushroom Crusted Halibut w/Portobello Mushroom, Truffled Potatoes and Porcini Broth – I actually got a taste of this and it was WONderful! For the life of me I cannot remember what Mrs. TP got, but VM got the Grilled Cowboy Cut Angus Ribeye w/Green Chili Macaroni and Cheese, Tumbleweed of Crisp Onions, I believe. It looked quite amazing, too. Lastly, I had what I believe to be (if not the smoked lobster) the best entrée -- Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna w/Brown Butter Creamed Spinach and Wild Mushroom Veal Jus. This was stunning. It was perfectly and expertly prepared – very rare, just as I ordered it. Melts in your mouth!

Somewhere along the way, we ordered dessert. Several of us had the dessert souffle of the day – in our case this was a chocolate souffle with pistachio sauce poured through the middle. While it was not quite what I expected, it was still pretty good. And this is when we were drinking that 1993 Disznoko 5 Puttonyos Tokay. Oy. I could repeat that course again and again. Not so much for the dessert, or even the wine (o the wine! O man, more on that later) – but the combination of both with all the fun we were having shattering on and laughing and everything.

There somehow appeared a lull in the conversation and we all looked up and realized that we were the only people left at a table. Sure, there were a few people at the bar, but it was I think 12:30 and we shut another place down (like Dr. T said).

Wow.

I would recommend DC Coast as a destination restaurant again. The only change I would make is to be more selective at where you're seated, preferably upstairs I would think. Otherwise, we need to get that wait person's name to request her the next time. She was awesome!

Just as an aside, DC Coast can be very noisy downstairs (wooden floors, high ceilings, lots of people) but upstairs if quiet. If you are in the mood for people watching and exhuberance, eat downstairs. If you want a quieter, more romantic meal, ask to be seated upstairs. Either place, the food is great, the service excellent, and you usually ask yourself, when can I come back.