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| - We have eaten here several times, as we live in the neighborhood. Had dinner there just the other night, and had to write a review.
In short, this is the kind of cooking that made me want to be a chef when I was a younger person. Truly creative, beautifully expressive, engaging. Yes, those are some pretty tall words for a restaurant review, but truly fine food should be an experience, and Grit & Grace delivers that in spades.
First, the cocktails. They don't make as big a deal about it as say Tender in Lawrenceville (which makes some SERIOUSLY good cocktails), but I would say that their Gin-and Tonic is right up there with the best of the "new-old cocktail" trend. You will never think of a gin and tonic the same way again.
Next, the Dim Sum. This is part of their theme, and it really works. They have my favorite Kimchi in all the land. Maybe not as funky as the best authentic Kimchi, but fresh, tasty, spiced very well, constantly good, and delicious.
They have a Soba Noodle and smoked tofu dim sum that is also excellent. Noodles cooked perfectly, great layering of flavors, beautiful tofu. Did he just say "beautiful tofu?" Yes, he did. If you've seen my review of Nine-On-Nine, you know how I feel about restaurants serving lame vegetarian dishes. Grit & Grace serves unapologetically excellent vegetarian dishes, and that's how it should be done. A restaurant should never say "we're serving this dish because you don't eat meat". They should say "we're serving this dish because it's truly great tasting. BTW, it doesn't have meat in it."
The Pork Rillette (sp?) Dimsum is also beautiful, so good in fact that you're veggie-friends can just eat the greens and pickled veg and have a terrific experience (if they're not hung up on letting you eat the pork Rillette, which is yummy).
For dinner, we had the Seafood sausage, and their Ramen dish with pork belly and 5 minute egg. The seafood sausage was one of the best plates I've seen, and enjoyed in a long-long time. Beautifully layered flavors, and if I could get that sausage in the market, it would be in the cart ever week. The Ramen was equally good, with a fantastic broth and perfectly cooked ramen. And the star of the Ramen dish? The marinated shitake, and the triangle of seaweed on the side of the bowl. No kidding. Again, beautifully layered dish, where each component brings something to make the dish more interesting, not just more complicated (I'm looking at you Cure...). In case you were wondering, the smoked pork belly was also great, just not in a way that was so unexpected.
Portion sizes are perfect as well, just a little on the small side, so you're satisfied without being fatigued. With the Dimsum beforehand, it's just right.
Now, I've given 5-stars because I don't think you can serve food that's this truly interesting and not get the recognition that that deserves. But all is not perfect at Grist & Grace. Their front-of-house has always been a bit "wobbly" in our experience. Just a bit not quite right. And for a restaurant that has the Dim Sum thing as such an important part of their overall theme, it's a bit surprising how long it can take for the first round to make its way to the table. The dim sum dishes are cold, so....
But with that in mind, go there, it's definitely among the very best of the 'burgh.
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