The brief and pricey truffle season is back, and D.C. restaurants are getting in on the truffle game by making truffle-specific dishes or allowing diners to shave the delicacy all over their food.
While dishes with truffle oil are much more easy — and inexpensive — to spot around town, this guide only focuses on the rare whole or shaved truffle sightings, which tend to taper off at the end of December. Be prepared to drop up to three figures to taste white or black truffles atop dishes.
Eater will be updating this guide regularly throughout the season. Send any truffle sightings to dc@eater.com.
Aperto
2013 I Street NW
Seasonal Italian white truffles can be added to any dish at chef Luigi Diotaiuti’s Foggy Bottom restaurant. A full portion (14 grams) costs $150 while a small portion (seven grams) is $70. Prior to being served, the truffle is presented in a special container that allows the guest to see and smell it before they’re shaved tableside.
Bibiana
1100 New York Avenue NW
Ashok Bajaj’s reinvented Italian gem will showcase the delicacy by incorporating three grams of white truffles for $35 to $75 per dish (think: tagliolini and a rack of lamb). Guests can also opt for a three-course white truffle tasting menu at $150 per person or $225 with wine pairings (tax and gratuity not included). Additional white truffles can be added to any dish for an added cost of $15 per gram.
Blue Duck Tavern
The Michelin-rated restaurant’s new executive chef Adam Howard has a handmade vegetable pot pie on his new fall menu, which is made with truffle, carrot, rutabaga, wild mushroom with a petite salad ($28).
BLT Steak
1625 I Street NW
The downtown steakhouse is serving a gamut of truffle dishes, like American wagyu tartare with shaved truffles, a creamy white truffle risotto, and a whipped white truffle mascarpone cheese with sponge fingers. A five-course truffle tasting menu runs $150, or dishes can be sampled a la carte ($18 to $120).
Brabo Brasserie
1600 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia
At Brabo Brasserie, head bartender Brett Oye is shaking things up with truffles behind the bar. A Truffle Vesper cocktail features Plymouth Gin, Burgundy truffle-infused Chopin, and Lillet Blanc, garnished with a hand-cut Burgundy truffle shaving ($60).
Charlie Palmer Steak
101 Constitution Avenue NW
Chef Mike Ellis’ newly delivered truffles star on a rotating tasting menu every Friday ($149, plus an extra $50 for beverage pairings). And at least one special truffle dish appears on its menu throughout the week ($50-$65), like shaved white truffles atop A5 beef carpaccio with black garlic and maldon salt or bluefin tuna sashimi with rice noodle salad.
Dino’s Grotto
1914 9th Street NW
A five-course tasting menu at the cozy Shaw eatery includes a quarter ounce of white and black truffles for $79 per person, which can be paired with five wines for $39 more.
Dirty Habit
555 8th Street NW
Housemade gnocchi comes with Burgundy truffle, fresh parmesan, and buerre blanc sauce at The Kimpton Hotel Monaco restaurant, which also offers truffle parmesan fries sprinkled with fine herbs and white and black truffle.
Equinox
818 Connecticut Avenue NW
Equinox’s egg yolk fettuccine with chanterelles, Brussels petals, and shaved white truffles runs $35 as an appetizer and $55 as a main course.
Mastro’s
600 13th Street NW
At the glitzy downtown steakhouse, Alaskan red king crab is sautéed with black truffles and tossed in Asiago alfredo.
Osteria Morini
301 Water Street SE
Chef Michael White’s cappelletti acts as the creamy canvas for black truffled ricotta ravioli with melted butter and topped with prosciutto ($25).
Petite Loulou Creperie
Multiple locations
The Parisian cafe is making an oversized, hand-rolled croissant stuffed with shaved white truffles, gruyere cheese, and whipped eggs. The croissant is brushed with truffle butter and available at both Petite Loulou locations in Union Market and Purcellville, Va. throughout the duration of truffle time.
1200 16th Street NW
The Michelin-starred restaurant’s menu includes truffle carnaroli risotto and Hudson Valley foie gras terrine with truffle cream from chef Ralf Schlegel.
Quadrant
1150 22nd Street NW
This season, the Ritz-Cartlon bar is serving Hanger steak with freshly shaved black Burgundy truffles imported from France. Without truffles it’s $20, and with, add $8-10 extra per order.
Rare Steakhouse
1595 I Street NW
Chef Marc Hennessy’s new white truffle cacio e pepe, available in the upstairs steakhouse dining room during lunch and dinner, features housemade spaghettini, cacio e pepe, and shaved Alba white truffles ($55).
San Lorenzo
1316 9th Street NW
Shaw’s Italian hit is offering a risotto di tartufo bianco ($25) with preserved white truffle, white truffle butter, and parmesan, that can be blanketed in fresh shaved white truffle for $30 more throughout the duration of the season.
Urbana
2121 P Street NW
For the month of November, chef Ethan McKee will be on hand to shave fresh, white truffle tableside on any dish on the menu for a $10 fee. McKee suggests sprinkling the delicacy onto speck, cipollini, and mushroom pizza or its spaghetti carbonara with duck egg. Or order tagliatelle simply dressed with butter, parmesan, and a generous dusting of white truffle for $30.