I made our reservations about 3 weeks ago for the Laboratorio. I called a day before my birthday to confirm, and found out that some loopy person had put our names in the wrong book. And of course the Laboratorio was booked, because of the special white truffle menu. I got pretty upset, and the woman asked me if it was a special occasion...I told her it was my birthday, and she promised to try and fit us in. She called me back 45 minutes later and told me they'd decided to squeeze us in since it was their error that froze us out. Phew.
Erin was stuck waiting for a train, so I arrived at Galileo alone. The host started to greet me, and then saw somebody behind me who apparently was some bigwig 'cause he interrupted himself and started fawning over him. I wasn't too pleased with this, but that's what happens when you're a kid in your 20's at one of the most exclusive restaurants in town. Grrrr. I sat down at a table and waited for Erin to show up and watched all the people in the bar area. Most people were in suits or nice dresses, which made me feel a little funny in my wide-leg khakis. There was lots of glitz and lots of working the room going on. I felt a little invisible and a little nervous...this was power broker DC, a part of DC I normally don't experience or witness. When Erin showed up, I acted a little catty about the other people around and my treatment by the host to help me feel a little better. J
Eventually we were shown to the Laboratorio. We walked through the main dining room into a back room with a big open kitchen. There were small tables beyond the kitchen, and I was relieved to see I wouldn't be sitting next to a stranger but would instead enjoy privacy with Erin (I'd imagined one large table with everybody together, from reading descriptions). As we walked into the Laboratorio, a gentleman handed me a pink rose, and we were both handed a flute of champagne. Nice touch.
We sat down, and I was given a big book with the wine list to look through. There was a short list of wines by the glass at the front. I ordered a Pinot Grigio glass and nursed it most of the evening. Nice and crisp, fruity wine, good for cleaning my palate between bites of yum.
Here's what we ate:
Fried bread fingers, focaccia, little crispy breadstix, champagne
This was set out right after we sat down. The bread fingers were slightly warm, virtually grease free delights. They looked like french fries, but they were dough instead of potato. They had a delicious salt that tasted of minerals dusted over them. The focaccia smelled like rosemary and had the same salt on it. I thought the bundle of tiny crisp bread sticks on my plate was adorable, but they had way more texture than flavor. Oh well.
Spoon of parmesan cheese and truffle
This was one of those Chinese soup spoons like you get with egg drop soup. It was plated on a black and gold plate with a lace doily on it. There were about 4 or 5 shaved chunks of parmegiano-reggiano in the spoon, with a shaved bit of white truffle in it. We smelled it before we tasted it, and it smelled so heavenly?earthy and rich and dairy and musk all rolled up in one little spoon. Popping it into the mouth was a sensual pleasure, and the cheese melted slightly as I ate it. Perfect.
Poached egg yolk with fonduta in coccotte
This was a small quantity of an Italian-style fondue that came in an individual square glass vessel with its own lid. The fonduta was made with fontina cheese that had been melted down gently and whisked into a smooth sauce with the egg yolks. The serving was small, only about � cup, but I don't think I could have eaten much more of this rich treat. There were shaved white truffles over the top of the fonduta, and they gave us small spoons to use for eating the delicious liquid.
Chestnut soup
This was probably Erin's favorite course. A huge bowl with a small quantity of the most velvety, smooth chestnut pureed soup I've ever dreamed of. We didn't drink it, we draped it over our tongues. There were of course shaved white truffles on the top of the soup, which gave that distinctive musk-earth note to the rich liquid.
Agnolotti of ricotta and spinach with butter and sage sauce
Four small agnolotti came out next, small pasta pillows filled with a ricotta and spinach mixture. The agnolotti filling had a slightly bitter note, which I found pleasing after a few bites. The butter sauce was mildly sage-scented, and there were a couple of small pieces of fried sage floating around in there. The sauce was much lighter than it probably sounds?none of that swimming sauce that you get in American-Italian restaurants, just a light coating. You'll notice a theme: there were more shaved white truffles over the top.
Taglierini, Piedmontese-style
This is how G-d meant pasta to taste. This was a small, round nest of taglierini (somewhere between spaghetti and linguine in thickness, though very delicate) with a slightly cheesy, slightly oily coating. The pasta was so thin and delicate, it was amazing it stayed together in its strands. It tasted strongly of fresh egg. It's going to be hard to eat my usual dried spinach spaghetti after this dish. Wow.
Risotto parmigiano
This was a large, white bowl with a small indentation at the bottom; the indentation was filled with about � cup of risotto. Donna leaves more bite to the risotto than I do when I make it, but I still enjoyed it. I was also surprised to see that the grains of rice were longer than what I typically think of being used in a risotto. Perhaps it's a longer Arborio-type grain. It tasted like Arborio rice, and the risotto had the creamy texture Arborio has. The dish was not at all sticky or gummy, just creamy and rich and succulent with its parmegiano flavor and (of course) its white truffles shaved over the top.
Polenta concia
A small crock with about a cup of polenta with shaved truffles was presented to me next, and a domed lid was theatrically removed by our server. The delicate, corn scent of the soft mush wafted up to my nose. I was getting pretty full by this point, and although I adore polenta and this was a particularly well-prepared polenta I was starting to experience starch-tiredness. I managed to spoon out a few mouthfuls, making sure to get all the precious truffles, and I enjoyed the slightly grainy dish as much as I could. I couldn't believe there were still several more courses to go.
Erin ate a celery root cake with lobster, shrimp sauce, and chives while I ate my polenta. Too bad I couldn't try it; he said it was phenomenal.
Roasted portabello with potato torte and chanterelles
After this course was cleared, our server referred to it as "the main course." I found this amusing, since it was a small dish as all the rest were, and it was no more or less filling than the other delights we'd already consumed. The portabello was a tiny one (it definitely wasn't a cremini, though; the gills were fully opened), marinated and cooked in some kind of delicious dark sauce that tasted of basil and balsamic or winey notes. There was a small pile of chopped sauteed chanterelles beside the portabello, which were tasty in a delicate way. The potato torte was delicious, sliced potatoes baked in a casserole and then cut in a small piece for my plate. They tasted of butter and black pepper. Naturally, there were truffles over the top. I think I ate less than half of these items, since I was getting so stuffed, but they were as outstanding as anything else we dined on.
Cheese trolley
I'd spied the cheese trolley in the dining room on my way in and had hoped it would come into the Laboratorio at some point. Indeed, it showed up, and we were asked which cheeses we would like to sample. I'd noticed a delightful looking Stilton wheel, so I asked for some Stilton and then whatever assortment the server deemed worthy. We were served 4 other cheeses, a small crusty piece of nut bread, another small crusty piece of raisin bread, and some yellow tomato marmalade. I thought I was a cheese fan, but some of the cheeses we were served were a little too overwhelming for me, especially after such a lengthy and rich meal. We tasted them all (we both liked the Stilton the best anyways), and I swabbed away at the yellow tomato marmalade with my bread. The marmalade was probably my favorite part of the cheese trolley, since it was such an unexpectedly delightful sweet, thin yellow sauce.
Roasted pear stuffed with mascarpone and gorgonzola mousse with hot moscato zabaglione
They killed the lights and sang "Happy Birthday" to me when they brought this out, and they served it to me on a chocolate-sauce-handpainted bowl. (I hate it when people sing happy birthday to strangers, but that's not something I'd blame the Laboratorio staff for. It's my fault for telling the reservations woman it was my birthday.) The pear was lounging in the bowl, soaking up the wine-flavored foamy zabaglione, covered with still more shaved truffles. I could hardly stand the thought of more food by this point, but I wanted to taste everything so I managed to eat a few bites. The fruit was perfectly roasted, soft and creamy-grainy the way cooked pears usually are. The stuffing was (fortunately) thinner than it sounded like it would be, and was fairly mild. Erin and I each nibbled a little of the chocolate sauce off the edges of my plate with the pear and zabaglione, which made a nice bitter contrast to the sweet, mellow fruit and sauce.
Bombolini
In keeping with the "comfort food reinterpreted" trend, a small tin of hot Italian donut-holes was presented as a finale. They were wonderfully yeasty, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and not too greasy. Donut holes that are served hot are a special treat. As we ate them, I felt coddled and cared for, and I found myself able to consume three despite feeling so full. Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts have nothing on the pastry chef in the Laboratorio. What a nice ending to a great birthday meal.
I'd highly recommend the Laboratorio to anybody who enjoys excellent food. This was hands-down the best meal I have ever eaten in a restaurant.