Againn

I can’t get the taste of last night’s hanger steak out of my mouth. And I don’t want to. It was grilled a hot medium rare; tender with a succulent, juicy, red wine flavor and a dollop of shallot butter—rich and mesmerizing. The other diners at Againn (pronounced ah-GWEN: a gaelic term loosely translating as “with us”) at New York and 11th faded into the background as the flavor of this perfect steak teased my pallet.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The occasion was Restaurant Week night 2 and my company was Darryl. We were both slightly phased by the idea of going British for our dinner, with images of Bangers and Mash, mushy peas, goat stomachs and whatever other bland, strange and fried stereotypes come to mind when one thinks of British food. But upon walking in to the restaurant (after walking past it), our dismay was quickly averted by the hanging fox heads and buzz of this trendy locale. Greeted and seated with haste, I barely had time to contemplate the raw bar awkwardly positioned at the very entrance, but it did what it was supposed to do: tempt me into a half dozen oysters to start the night. I made mental note of where they were from, which I quickly forgot trying to decipher the cocktail menu. It was filled with nothing that resembled alcohol. Our petite and attentive server explained that Againn hired somebody from California to design their drinks as a throwback to prohibition era. Darryl chose a curry flavored take on a Manhattan which could knock me out for the intricacies in it and I chose their popular mayflower martini, which was like drinking fermented rose water while sitting on a lily pad. The drink I really wanted had egg white in it, which the server insisted was prepared in a way to ensure there was no salmonella, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Againn touts their sustainable seafood, organic meat and local produce, so I wanted to hit all the bases. With seafood covered by the oysters, I went on to their Beetroot Salad made with frisee, walnuts, young goat cheese and a honey dressing. What a perfect combination of flavors. My only improvement is if the goat cheese, instead of turning into a mess with the frisee halfway through, could have been breaded and heated to sustain itself throughout the dish. The beets were varied in color and flavor, complementing the elements. While frisee can be an intimidating green, its texture served well for this salad. Darryl chose the pan-seared diver scallops with a sunchoke puree, salsify crisps and watercress. I was unimpressed. The dish was bland. The puree was odd. The salsify crisps looked like bacon, which would have made the dish flavorful, but were just texture. While the scallops were cooked perfectly, they lacked interest. I was far happier with my choice.

Moving on to the main dish… I’ve already described my steak, which came with “chips.” Darryl chose the pan-seared loch duart salmon served over French green lentils and braised greens. While England is an island, I don’t recall them being known for doing seafood well (not that the chef is English or has even studied in England). Risk the hoof and mouth to stay on land. The rest of his dish lived up to my perception. I will never understand why people serve lentils without lemon juice. Lentils have no flavor. They need something to kick them in the ass before serving. Lemon juice works perfectly. His fish was bland and braised greens just confused it all. After giving him a taste of my steak, he was immediately annoyed at how good my meal was and how flavorless his was. When I commented about my steak that I didn’t know the British liked such flavor and asked him how his tasted, he said, “More British.” Their wine list was extensive, but stiff with only two by-the-glass choices under $10 for the reds.

For desert, we both had the sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and stout ice cream. I could have eaten five of these. If I were at home alone eating this dish, I would have licked the porcelain off the plate trying to get the last taste.

Againn puts a heavy dose of marketing toward their scotch lockers, with their catch phrase, “meet, eat, neat.” While I didn’t sample their pub menu, claiming to be a gastropub where you should “meet” might be a stretch. The bar area was cramped, as was the entrance. The dinner menu was expensive and fit for foodies – not what I’d describe as a gastropub. The restaurant is a cross between a fine dining experience and a place to watch rugby on a Saturday.

While I’ve never watched any Rugby past the movie Invictus (which was really good), I’m not sure I’d want to watch it in a bath house. The leather ceiling and rich wood throughout the restaurant was in stark contrast to the vast expanses of white bathroom tile lining the walls and adorned with light fixtures I’d expect in a modern dungeon. Couple the decor with the 24-hour-diner layout, and one is left with questions. I imagine the decorator as a former British punk-rocker with skinny jeans and a lopsided, spiked mullet smoking a fag who grew up and got money.

Overall, I’m not surprised by the mixed reviews and I don’t see the restaurant staying in this space long. It is an odd location with a chef who has spent all of one week in London learning what British food is personally. There are too many contradictions that exist in this restaurant for it to be survivable: the rich and fantastic dishes I sampled compared to the bland food not worthy of the price; the glitzy high-end restaurant described as a pub; the scotch lockers and all-to-posh cocktail menu marketed to a rugby crowd; leather ceilings and bathroom tile walls; a Louisiana chef in a British restaurant who couldn’t tell mashy peas from mashed potatoes. While I had a wonderful evening with wonderful food, service and company, I’m simply left in confusion.

http://www.againndc.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/againn,1158196/critic-review.html