Tom Sietsema Upgrades Fiola to Three Stars

It appears that Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema has had a change of heart over the last eight months when it comes to Fiola, which he revisits for this week's review. Though his original review back in July was filled with unmet expectations — and a disappointing 2.5 star rating for a once four-star chef — Sietsema has now determined that chef Fabio Trabocchi has found himself at Fiola and upgrades the rating to three stars. While the critic still loves the restaurant's design, cocktails and desserts, now he has more kind words for the food:

"A Michelin richness imbues many dishes. Not much on the menu comes without a truffle, a scallop or a froth of sauce as embellishment. Branzino, for example, is dressed with plump belon oysters and sweet minced leeks, then sent to the table in a rich foam of prosecco and lemony fish stock."

Sietsema also notes all the beautiful and powerful people who dine at Fiola, dubbing it the "Cafe Milano for VIPs who care what's on their plate." [WaPo]

Chris Shott takes an initial look at Boundary Road and its "decadent & dinky" foie gras torchon PB&J sandwich. There's more foie gras to the sandwich than the version over at America Eats Tavern, but Shott still finds it pretty small for the $15 price tag. He washes it down with a $16 beer, which in the end he prefers to the sandwich. [WCP]

Rina Rapuano visits Uncle Chip's Cookies in Truxton Circle and finds a lot to like. There are the vegan, gluten-free black-bean brownies that sell out immediately, breakfast sandwiches made with bagels from Ray's in Brooklyn, coffee and baked goods like egg-free cookies: "Chewy classics such as chocolate chip and chocolate-chocolate chip would make the originals proud." [WaPo]

Don Rockwell picks Adour as his Restaurant of the Week in this week's Minibites. Though his lunch at the Alain Ducasse restaurant was a freebie media event — prompting fears about the quality — Rockwell determines that "[t]his was very close to Michelin two-star dining (this was better than some two-star meals I’ve eaten in France) ... A virtuoso performance, especially considering this was essentially a glorified banquet." He also reviews Bayou Bakery, Kushi, Harth and more. [DC Dining]

Roll Call's Warren Rojas takes a look at Capitol Hill's new Boxcar Tavern, the latest of about a zillion restaurants from restaurateur Xavier Cervera. Though Rojas notes some "heavy-handed experiments gone awry" — steamed mussels, a croque monsieur and more — he does have praise for the chicken confit wings and a London broil meatloaf. [Roll Call]

THE BLOGS: DC-Wrapped Dates tries brunch and dinner at Volt and decides it is "[j]ust as amazing as everyone says it is;" While in Frederick, they also went to Lunchbox.

Fiola [Photo: AJ Chavar/Eater.com]