Fiola - Christmas Eve dinner Italian style (Christmas Eve and Christmas in July)

I ventured to Fiola on Christmas Eve. I grew up in New England and was exposed to the various holiday traditions of classmates growing up.  A close friend of my mother often invited us over dinner on Christmas Eve. We sat at the dinner table for what felt like hours being served multiple courses of food including antipasti, fried shrimp, pasta, and then ending with cannoli and lemon cello or Sambuca and coffee.  I've since discovered were participating in the Feast of Seven Fishes dinner.  This year due to a very heavy workload time off during the holiday season would be minimal- would Fiola remind me of sitting at the family friend's table for Christmas Eve dinner?

The restaurant was bustling with customers at the bar and in the dining area when I walked in the door.  The server quickly offered to check my coat and show me to a table. I ended up sitting a cozy corner seat near the bar.  As I looked into the dining area below I noticed that many dining parties of less than four were seated at or near the bar.

Amy, the bartender/server assigned to the area stopped by with the menu, wine list for me to peruse while she checked on nearby guests. When I informed Amy that I wanted the try the Christmas Eve dinner she immediately brought a  placemat, silver and napkin for me.

My Christmas Eve selections:

Burrata of Buffalo Mozzarella, roasted beets, baby artichokes, pesto of basil Genovese

Fiola Maine lobster ravioli, ginger, chives

Fiola veal ribeye and braised cheek, alba hazelnuts, wild mushrooms, gremolada, ossobuco sauce

Neapolitan Baba- dried fruits in Armagnac, vanilla cream

 

 I told Amy I wanted to pair each dish with a glass of wine. Amy suggested prosecco with the buratta.  The buratta had an incredibly dense but creamy  interior. The buratta was atop a base of mixed shoots. Sadly the beets tasted old and the baby artichokes were a bit bland. I think the buratta was a good attempt, but not outstanding to me. In my opinion,  Ripple has a better buratta.

The lobster ravioli was paired with Hartford Chardonnay.  I was pleasantly surprised to see sizeable pieces of lobster in this colorful dish. The presence of ginger is subtle, but adds complexity, chives were sprinkled liberally over the dish. The lobster pieces that were enveloped in ravioli were tender, sweet. The lobster pieces not enveloped in ravioli varied in texture from tender to somewhat chewy. The lobster ravioli is a one of Fiola's most popular dishes. I'm glad I tried it, but would not order it again on a subsequent visit to Fiola.

At this time Amy told me that she was leaving for the evening and that she had informed her colleague about the wine selection for my third course.

As promised, another member of the Fiola team delivered a glass  of Valdisanti by Telaini to enjoy with the veal ribeye and braised cheek dish.  The cherry and pepper notes of the Valdisanti were a great match with the artfully presented dish. One ossobuco sauce wafer creation was topped with veal ribeye, alba hazelnuts and then topped with another wafer. The creation featured the veal braised cheek. The ribeye was a little tough, but the cheek was tender and easy to manage.  A side of wild mushrooms accompanied this dish. My container primarily contained nicely sliced tender trumpet mushrooms.


veal ribeye and braised cheek with alba hazelnuts

Amy recommended the Baba. It was not a hard sell because I like Armagnac. The cake is moist of full of subtle sweetness that does not overtake the Armagnac soaked toppings (I had fig (rich with Armagnac flavor), pineapple (milder in flavor ) and chestnut . The vanilla cream was very much like a crème fraiche.  While chatting with another member of Fiola team I asked what his favorite dessert was. He replied immediately, 'panna cotta'.  When he heard I was having to the Baba he insisted I try the panna cotta to see what it was the best choice.  It turns out the panna cotta is made on premises. There is a station on the serving floor where this enormous panna cotta is showcased. The exterior of the panna cotta is dark brown, but the interior is soft, and melts in the mouth. The panna cotta was served with a sauce.

Between meals I soon realized it was difficult to determine bathroom designations in the dimly lit hallway. The untidy bathroom was a stark contrast to the well kept dining area. I would recommend that Fiola use a different type of receptacle to store garbage and assign a staff person to check the status of the bathrooms hourly.

Fiola's attire is listed as casual on Open Table. I noticed that the attire  was varied for male and female diners.  Many of the women's attire ranged from casual business attire to suits to after five dresses.  Many of the men wore casual business attire or business attire. I saw only one person wearing jeans. When I asked  Amy about diner's attire she told me that Fiola wanted be to come, relax and enjoy their dining experience while at Fiola so they didn't have an attire requirement.

Fiola's entrance in on Indiana Avenue. Penn Quarter/Navy memorial is the closest Metro stop. Metered street parking is available - meters run until 10pm Monday thru Saturday. There are also parking garages within walking distance of the restaurant.

I'd return again to Fiola to explore other menu items.

Fiola was voted one of the 10 Best restaurants in the DC area for 2013 by Washingtonian magazine.