Palena in Washington DC

Last week I also ate at Palena in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington DC, and it immediately became a new favorite with its subtly inventive cuisine, which delighted me with many small surprises.


Palena was founded by two former 1980's era White House chefs, Frank Ruta and Ann Amernick, and though pastry chef Amernick has retired, the food is still stellar. Co-owner Ruta won the James Beard Award for best Mid-Atlantic chef in 2007.

I ate in the less formal section in front (called the Palena Cafe) where you you can choose from both the cafe menu as well as order a la carte from the prix fixe menu served in the formal dining room.

The Food
I wasn't very hungry after eating at Central earlier in the day, but wanted a good cross-section of the food so I ordered the lamb and barley soup; the gnocchi; and the roast chicken, the latter two at the suggestion of the friendly, knowledgeable waiter.

I received my first surprise before any of the main courses even arrived, when they brought out the bread basket with two types of bread. The lighter bread was good but it was the dark bread that excited comment upon my part. The server said that it was pumpernickel-rye-nutmeg, and I think it was this last spice that left an unusual, but very pleasant aftertaste.


When the soup came out it was good, even though I'm not usually fond of the consistency of barley after it's soaked in liquid.


I tried the Yukon Gold potato gnocchi because this is apparently a house specialty that is always on the menu in some form or another. The gnocchi itself was a tad mushier than I like, but the tomato-based sauce had a touch of fennel that gave it a nice twist.


The roast chicken was also very good, with tender meat where the flavor seemed to go all the way through and crispy, salty skin. It was very tasty in a very refined way, though my personal standard for a decadent roast chicken experience is still the small "Fest chickens" barbecued on butane spits in Germany (called Hendls in Bavaria and Haenchen elsewhere).


I was full by this point but had enjoyed my meal so much that I couldn't resist getting dessert, so I chose the cinnamon ice cream with pistachio pound cake. It was terrific, with the ice cream in particular having a nice balance between the asperity of the cinnamon and the underlying sweet creaminess.


The Verdict
I left eager to try Palena again in the near future. I'll probably opt for the Cafe again as I like the option of choosing from the entire menu and you can walk in without reservations, which I understand are difficult to get for the dining room. My entire experience there from the food to the service was excellent.

The truffled cheeseburger was also highly recommended by the waiter, and I'll have to try that on a future visit and maybe the minestrone soup. I might want to experiment more from the dining room menu also.

Getting There
Palena is located literally next to the Cleveland Park Metro Station exit on the east side of Connecticut Avenue. This is a pleasant neighborhood and if you sit at one of the two-toppers in the bay window as I did, you can watch the traffic going by.

They're only open for dinner, from 5:30 to 10:00 pm.

Cleveland Park is one stop up from the National Zoo (which is in the Adams Morgan district, a lively neighborhood known for good ethnic and progressive restaurants and nightlife).