Best Thing We Ate: Adour’s Sweetbread Pasta in the Hotel’s Bar/Lounge

Photo: Jeff Martin

By Olga Boikess

We stopped by the elegant St. Regis Hotel, just steps from the White House, to check out its bar and lobby redo. The hotel was built in the Italian Renaissance style, so we were pleased to see that the tall, ornate French windows and elaborate gilded wooden ceilings that add such distinction to the space were still unchanged. But, there’s now a light and airy feel thanks to modern appointments like pale cream walls and swank leather couches, a bold fireplace front piece, and large filament globe lights above the dark wood bar.
Some of the fare from Adour (the hotel's top-rated restaurant) is being offered in this inviting setting, so we quickly settled into a sofa for a luxurious treat. We started with appetizer spreads (tapenade and eggplant caviar are among the choices) accompanied by crunchy, grilled country bread, and also sampled a delicious Portuguese wine. There are several enticing-sounding cocktails that we’ll try next time.

All-day fare includes a croque monsieur, Cobb salad, lamb sliders, burgers and steaks. But after 5:30 PM, you can also order dishes like casarecci pasta with sweetbreads, mushrooms, lardons and pearl onions, duck breast and baked lobster. We choose the pasta and received a casserole of toothsome penne in a meaty jus, topped with crisp sweetbreads, soft mushrooms and crispy pork tidbits. The caramelized onions added a flavor pop. While we were tempted by the desserts from Adour’s famed list, we decided to save that for another visit (923 16 St. NW; 202-509-8000).