24 Hours in DC: Rouge, Radio and Rose’s Luxury

Posted on Sunday, September 28, 2014

24 Hours in Washington, DC:

Rouge, Radio and Rose’s Luxury

I received great news that my Lanark Records client, rockabilly legend Robert Gordon, was invited to be a guest on SiriusXM’s The Loft. This is huge and very exciting news! So, David and I drove down to DC to escort Robert to the show.

I was able to book a great rate at a very cool boutique hotel called, The Rouge. When we arrived, our room wasn’t ready. So, we grabbed a quick bite and walked around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful area of town near Dupont Circle.

We checked in with just moments to spare. We were thrilled with the room, the vibe and the little kitchenette!

Here’s a little tip, if you have a red car, the Hotel Rouge will comp your first night of parking!

We arrived at SiriusXM just in time to meet The Loft’s program director, Mike Marrone and

to say hello to our old friend and former WMMR alum, Earl Bailey!

Robert Gordon and David stopped to snap a pic in front of the Starship Enterprise 😉 then made their way to the studio.

Robert came up with a list of over 40 of his favorite songs to play.

While they recorded the show, I stayed busy roaming the halls of SiriusXM.

If you have SiriusXM tune in to The Loft (channel 30) on Sat., Oct. 4th at 3pm to hear the 3 hour show.

The little bit I heard was truly wonderful!

Around 6pm, we caught the Metro back to Dupont Circle.

Emerging from the subway was spectacular!

We got back to the hotel just in time to freshen up and head out to dinner. When we got to our room, we were surprised with fruit, cheese and a nice bottle of wine! We had had a little bit of a bumpy start when we checked into the hotel. So, this was their way of saying “thank you” for your patience. Very nice touch!

With such a hectic day, we decided to have dinner in the neighborhood. The hotel suggested Floriana.

The walk to the restaurant was lovely. The architecture was more beautiful than I had ever expected.

We came upon this colorful basketball game along the way.

When we arrived at Floriana, we were pleased to see it was a charming little restaurant that,

like the hotel, was highlighted in red.

Dinner was great! We started with Caesar Salad and Mussels,

followed by Pappardelle Cacciatore made with hunter style chicken, mushrooms and house made pasta, and

Sunday Gravy with pork ribs, meatballs, sausage braised in tomato with rigatoni …Oh yeah!

We finished dinner with a Pistachio & Strawberry Panna Cotta.

We found this beautiful building on our walk back to the hotel. Although, I am not certain what it was.

We made a quick stop in the lounge and the lobby before calling it a night.

The view from our room was beautiful!

It was a long day and we were exhausted. So, it was time for bed.

The next morning started with a walk to THE White House…Not the other White House 😉

Apparently, this is the back of the house.

So, we walked around to the front.

You can see the Secret Service with telescopes and machine guns on the roof!

While we were there, there was some kind of security concern and we were all asked to move along…quickly!

The Washington Memorial was just across the street…

As we explored the area, we found more great memorials, museums and architecture.

We walked a couple of miles and worked up an appetite for brunch. Our hotel recommended Le Diplomat.

We didn’t realize at the time, that it was a Stephen Starr restaurant!

Very much like Parc, it did not disappoint. We went for two favorites, the Burger (of course) and Chicken Paillard.

But, we were so hungry, that I forgot to take photos before we devoured our meals!

After lunch, we decided to take a drive around the city. George Town was bustling and very cool. So many shops and restaurants. The view of the Patomac River at the bottom of Wisconsin Ave was beautiful. But, it was so packed we couldn’t find a parking space and decided to keep driving to cover as much ground as possible, during our short stay.

After we drove around most of the city, we decided to head over to the Capital Hill area to get in line for dinner at Rose’s Luxury. This was very exciting for me, as Rose’s was voted #1 New Restaurant in the Country by Bon Appetit.

We arrived to find the street filled with people, young and old, watching an event that celebrated the Marines.

After watching their incredible drills, we took our place in line at Rose’s Luxury.

We lucked out by being 3rd in line. Tip: If you want to get in on the first seating, get there an hour or so before they open.

Otherwise, it could be several hours to snag a table.

Here is a shot from the back of the line. See me all the way up front?

I snuck this shot through the open door, when they were preparing for the evening’s dinner service.

Rose’s is warm and casual and everyone is super friendly.

We decided to sit at the bar, overlooking the open kitchen, to watch all of the action.

They have a full bar on the second floor and a roof top dining area (their only reserved table) for a party of ten people.

And the food…OMG!

We started with the Bigeye Tuna with freshly grated Matsumoto Wasabi

Followed by the Pork Sausage, Habanero & Lychee Salad

I thought that the Lychee Salad was the best thing I have ever tasted, until we had the

Mexican Grilled Corn Salad, Guajillo, Lime & Cilantro!

It was very cool watching the chef and all of the food coming out of the kitchen!

Next, we had two pastas… The first was Linguitinni with Saffron, Shrimp, Butter & Lemon.

This photo does not does not do it justice

I dreamt about this pasta last night!

The other amazing pasta was Sfoglini Rigatoni with melted Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil & Eggplant.

Our friendly neighbor, next to us at the bar, had the

Caramelized Cauliflower, Greek Yogurt & “Some Other Stuff.” It looked so good, I asked him if I could snap a photo.

Our last savory course was the Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken, Honey & Benne Seed.

in one word, excellent!

For dessert we shared the Goat’s Milk Stracciatella & Raspberries with Spicy Meringue.

Yes, it was that good!

Our neighbor decided on the Foie Gras French Toast with Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream.

At the end of the meal, our server brought over an additional dessert of Chocolate Ganache. She wanted to wish us a happy 32nd anniversary. But, I didn’t hear her say that and didn’t have a chance to catch her before she walked away. It was obvious that no one sitting near us was having a 32nd anniversary, so we enjoyed the final bite of the night.

I felt guilty. But, couldn’t resist 😉

We were totally blown away by dinner.

So much so, that I asked the chef/owner, Aaron Silverman if he wouldn’t mind taking a photo with me.

Another thing that is very cool, is that the staff has permission to give away food and drinks to keep customers in good spirits. Our extras were listed on the check as “Side of Winning,” “Helluva Time,” “Side of Awesome” and “Happy Anniversary.”