Liberty Tavern (Clarendon for dinner)

I am in nirvana, having just quite unexpectedly had the best dining experience and meal out I've ever had in DC at Liberty Tavern in Clarendon. This always hopping place I've known for its bar scene and previously blogged about its decent brunch buffet can teach some of the 5 star joints around here about quality service and modern American gastronomics. As a thank you for dog sitting Ruby while in Key West, Alyssa and I decided on Liberty Tavern for a meal tonight. It's a bar. I didn't even think about making a reservation and didn't need one. Of course after the experience, I'm very surprised I could even get in. The bar was of course packed, loud and hopping on the first floor with all kinds of young professionals starting their weekend on a Thursday night. After only a few minutes of waiting, we were escorted upstairs to a table for 2. Our waiter, Jimmy, greeted us cordially. We chose an inexpensive sangiovese and ordered the shrimp appetizer, our first decidedly surprise of the evening. The large gulf shrimp came fried in a spicy batter with breaded fennel and, strangely, fried and breaded slices of lemon. Never thinking I'd see a fried lemon again, I decided to take a bite. It was like candy noshing on a lemon head. Interesting in the good way. When it was time to order, this is when Jimmy proved himself above the fold when it comes to waiters. We had a few questions about the menu. Not only did Jimmy answer our questions in significant detail, he anticipated follow-on questions going into third order detail. I felt like I could ask him the name of the boat my fish was caught on. When asked what the most popular dish and his favorite, he gave a lecture on the different dishes, my mouth watering at every word. Jimmy's favorite dish, something new, was the skate. A meal our table neighbor chose and it did indeed look good, but I went with the Branzino. The decision was difficult with the number of Executive Chef Liam LaCivita's wood burning oven choices on this season's menu. My Branzino was served over a bed of house made spinach spaetzle with a smoked pepper sauce. In a unique addition, two strips of thick and savory maple juniper bacon topped the fish. Before my fish came though, the home made bread came and Jimmy even described the different bread choices. An amazing waiter who deserved every bit of my 30 percent tip. Alyssa chose the Beef tri tip -- a cut of meat I had never heard of, but she raved over. I was so impressed with the night that I called the manager, Shawn, over to complement him on the excellent evening and Jimmy's service. For the last 4 years, Ceiba has held my top spot in all of DC for their service record. I'm sorry Ceiba, you've been served. Liberty Tavern takes that top spot now. High marks all around.