Fig & Olive + Oranges = New Spring Menu
Fig & Olive Crab Salad Image via JKGF
New seasons mean new menus in D.C. This is evidence that seasonal ingredients mean something around these parts. Fig & Olive was one of those places that I prejudged by the mere fact that it is an offspring from a small chain of sister restaurants. Chains typically keep the same thing on their menu day after day, year after year because most of their dishes are coming from the freezer. Fig & Olive recently proved me wrong with a menu filled with some of the seasons favorites: oranges galore.
What Fig & Olive has done with oranges to its new menu gave me a new appreciation for the citrus fruit. When I think of oranges, I think strong, acidic, overpowering flavors. Executive Chef Wilfrid Hocquet has discreetly introduced it into each new dish on the menu. The burrata and asparagus, for example, has blood orange dressing that you can barely detect on first bite because your palate is getting a creamy mix of the rich flavors of the cheese and orange. The crab salad is my favorite new item on the menu where jumbo lump crab meat, subtle notes of celery and green apple lime come together on a plate for a salad that is far from boring (Follow us on Instagram @johnnaknowsgoodfood to see our live reactions). It is, unfortunately for orange lovers, the only thing on the menu that does not have oranges incorporated in its ingredients.
My one complaint about Fig & Olive is their pasta, which was not made in house on my last visit. Perhaps things have changed but I did not get an opportunity to experience it. The primavera risotto still left me feeling lackluster about this section of the menu where the cream overtook the flavors of the rest of the ingredients. It was like they were not even there. The seafood section has gotten a boast with the sea scallops, which were accompanied by carrot-orange purée, roasted orange honey and heirloom carrot. I found myself looking for the body of water where they got these scallops because they were so fresh.
Spring is here and Fig & Olive is here for it. With all these oranges on the menu, no need to do the guessing work of how you can squeeze some vitamin C into your diet with this menu. City Center has yet another reason for patrons to check out D.C.’s newest trendy neighborhood.
Category: restaurant reviews, Reviews, Washington D.C.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.Subscribe
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