Farrah Olivia Resurrected Within Kora
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
Renowned perfectionist Morou Ouattara is ready to slide back behind the burners.
And he’ll be doing just that at TWO new(ish) Northern Virginia restaurants. They just happen to share the same address.
Beginning tomorrow, devotees of Outtara’s short-lived fantasy dining project, Farrah Olivia, will once again be able to indulge in fanciful, multicourse tasting menus–think: beef tartare embellished with berbere, “shocked” tuna, roasted quail with banana bread stuffing–courtesy of the tasting-room-within-an-established-restaurant model Ouattara is utilizing to reintroduce his critically-acclaimed cooking style within Kora ‘s four walls.
The embedded Farrah Olivia will feature 3-, 4- or 5-course tasting menus ($45, $55 and $65, respectively) to be served in a separate 50-seat dining room from 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. “There are separate menus, decor, staff,” Ouattara promised of the custom-tailored, fine-dining experience Farrah Olivia regulars have been clamoring for ever since the shuttering of his restaurant in Alexandria.
Ouattara is also retooling the menu at Kora, having assumed control of the kitchen after his brother, Amadou, stepped down in November.
“I found that most of our diners were slightly disappointed not to be tasting my cuisine since my name was on the restaurant. They were expecting Italian with a twist, not traditional Italian cuisine,” Ouattara said, owning up to the lukewarm response Kora has received to date.
According to Ouattara, Kora’s lunch fare will likely remain undisturbed. But he’s already begun fine-tuning the dinner program, eschewing convention in favor of fresh interpretations.
“I’ve fused Italian with modern American, some French and a few other things,” he expalined. Tentative updates include: steak tartare, tuna with caponata, balsamic and olive pearls, goat cheese gnudi with fried artichoke hearts and pan-roasted, walnut-crusted chicken breast flanked by bacon mac and cheese.
And that’s just for starters.
“I’ve also been experimenting with zero-calorie pastas,” Ouattara mused, casually floating plans to make calorie counting obsolete by marrying noodles and insoluble fibers into a guilt-free go-to.
And while he’s not entirely given up on his dream of returning to downtown D.C.–”My wife and I just had another daughter, Lily,” the proud papa reported (Kora and Farrah are the names of his earlier progeny)–he’s in no immediate hurry to race back across the river.
“Farrah Olivia will stay in Virginia for the foreseeable future,” he suggested, adding that he has nothing but fond memories of the friends he made on the outskirts of Old Town Alexandria. “I still remember the names/faces of our regulars: the Brunos, the Singers, the Outlaws, Michelle Boggs, the Jaffee Family. These people saw us on a weekly and sometimes daily bases [sic],” he shared. “I don’t know if I can find that downtown.”
Farrah Olivia will re-open Wednesday, January 5. For reservations, call: 703-445-6571.
–Warren
Tags: Alexandria, Arlington, Crystal City, Farrah Olivia, fine dining, Gut Check, hospitality industry, Kora, Morou Ouattara, Northern Virginia Magazine, restaurants, Warren Rojas