Tom Sietsema Gives 3 Stars to Fiola Mare

Tom Sietsema reviews Fiola Mare this week, and count him as a fan. The restaurant receives 3 stars from the critic and praise for its view and seafood.

Trabocchi and team, featuring executive chef John Melfi, also go for Baroque with "Under the Sea." The catch is cast as if by Jacques Cousteau, with prawns, lobster and branzino — plus seared foie gras, sea beans and steamed quinoa — rising from a pool of Parmesan dashi...Equally impressive is brodetto, the Italian equivalent of bouillabaisse. It's chockablock with more fish and seafood than appear in a season of "SpongeBob SquarePants," each prawn, mussel and periwinkle tasting true and richer for garlic and espelette in their broth.

The kitchen does have a tendency to over-accessories dishes, he says. "A number of dishes would be improved by eliminating an accent or two." [WaPo]

The critic also does a First Bite of Greek restaurant Trapezaria. "To taste the chef's chicken-lemon soup, punched up with pepper, and his lamb chops, bold with garlic, is to imagine oneself at a family reunion in Athens. Whole grilled rockfish yields a snowy interior that needs but a squeeze of lemon to make the dish sing. Just as satisfying are the accompaniments: golden roast potatoes flavored with a splash of chicken stock; minty string beans cooked to near collapse." [WaPo]

The $20 Diner wanders through Union Market, and has trouble finding a seat. That doesn't stop him from enjoying the Badass empanada from D.C. Empanada or the smoked egg salad from Neopol Savory Smokery.

June, with temperatures pushing 90, is not typically a time when you want to stuff a wad of hot cheese down your gullet. But the rotating grilled-cheese sandwich ($7) at Ris is not your typical wad of hot, coagulated milk solids. The one I wolfed down in May mixed three cheeses (white cheddar, provolone and goat) with poblano peppers and red onions, the piquancy of the latter ingredients cutting through and complementing their fatty, tangy bread-mates.

Philip Elliott reviews Cantler's out in Annapolis for WTOP, a favorite destination for crabs (and hush puppies). "Fine dining, this is not. But it's local and authentic. The brown paper table coverings aren't here for kitsch. It's there for easy cleanup of errant shells that don't make their way into the plastic beer buckets." [WaPo]

Bethesda Magazine gets a first taste of Tyber Bierhaus. "After sampling dishes from each category, I'd say that the quality is a notch above most Bethesda bar food, but not good enough to make it a dining destination. The best of the bunch: salty-and-peppery hand-cut French fries; crisp potato pancakes; a decent goulash with tender meat, and a super-fudgy German chocolate cake." [BM]

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