NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

“Take that back. I don’t want to eat all of it,” a companion warned me after inhaling a forkful of the divine lamb and carrot creation turned out by Robert Wiedmaier protégé and BRABO chef de cuisine Chris Watson.

I was only too happy to reel the dish back into my immediate dining orbit.

The décor is all about high-profile browns—chairs are wrapped in shimmering bronze pleather, random tables are bedecked in traditional butcher’s paper—and high visibility (bay windows spill sunlight all around, showcase bar puts cocktail crowd on display).

And while the kitchen obviously celebrates Belgian fare, the menu meanders quite liberally.

Seared beef sizzles beneath a sheen of shallot-spiked wine (vegetal sweetness and fruity spice boiled down to a gorgeous gravy).

Tender gnocchi and wild mushrooms buoy black pepper-crusted Chesapeake rockfish.

A multi-layered chocolate mousse cake reaches astonishingly sassy new heights courtesy of a snazzy, burnt orange-cardamom sauce.

By Warren Rojas

Food: 7.9 Ambience: 8.0 Service: 7.8

“Take that back. I don’t want to eat all of it,” a companion warned me after inhaling a forkful of the divine lamb and carrot creation turned out by Robert Wiedmaier protégé and Brabo chef de cuisine Chris Watson.

I was only too happy to reel the dish back into my immediate dining orbit.

The décor is all about high-profile browns—chairs are wrapped in shimmering bronze pleather, random tables are bedecked in traditional butcher’s paper—and high visibility (bay windows spill sunlight all around, showcase bar puts cocktail crowd on display).

And while the kitchen obviously celebrates Belgian fare, the menu meanders quite liberally.

Seared beef sizzles beneath a sheen of shallot-spiked wine (vegetal sweetness and fruity spice boiled down to a gorgeous gravy).

Tender gnocchi and wild mushrooms buoy black pepper-crusted Chesapeake rockfish.

A multi-layered chocolate mousse cake reaches astonishngly sassy new heights courtesy of a snazzy, burnt orange-cardamom sauce.