ARDENT AT ARDEO?
Ardeo
[from August 1998 issue]

Far-fetched ideas--trendy, one supposes--guide the menu choices in this newish, rather up-scale Cleveland Park eatery. That plus a crush of well-heeled VIPs and a trim maitre d' who looks like a young Bruce Willis define the dining experience at Ardeo on Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park. Perhaps the most important aspect of this new bistro is its proximity to Uptown Bakers, that source of infinitely divine breads--time your Ardeo visit to pick up a few loaves.

All that aside, Chef David Nugent does pull out some interesting tricks from his hat, not the least of which is a black bean soup that has intimations of greatness. The kitchen takes the humble black bean and transforms it by marbling its soup with heavy cream and seasoning the mixture with cumin, chilies, and coriander. The cook then lightens an otherwise almost-ponderous mix with smoked ham and a wedge of banana. Ironically, at $4.75, the soup stars among its fellow appetizers of yellow tomato gazpacho, seared Maine scallops with red pepper coulis, and a grilled romaine salad.

Yet, Robert adored his evening appetizer special of chicken livers that came as plump treats with pan-seared applewood bacon and chunky cloves of garlic. Perfect, he mumbled, while forking up the garlic polenta accompaniment. These and the wonderful wedges of sourdough bread, undoubtedly from Uptown Bakers, and the humus dip are preambles to what that evening was something of a wait for entrees. Of course, the place was packed, but to add to the general mayhem, the kitchen seemingly is upstairs, and waitstaff galloped up and down bearing full or empty plates, depending on which direction they were headed. The kitchen serves everything in very large white soup bowls, which lend a look of abundance. The portions, by the way, are fairly standard. Given time to look around, patrons can note that the decor has a romanticized, hard-edged 1920s look: The oil painting over our table showed a comely waitress with a cartoon-like quality.

In an era when presentation is all, or at least, plenty, the Ardeo kitchen keeps up its standards with pretty-looking offerings. And our entrees exemplified this care: the potato-crusted cod comes as a block of browned and crusty-looking wedge of fish resting on a mound of creamed corn and mixed vegetables--color and texture contrasts. At first, Robert said, the very mild flavors of cod were swallowed up by the seasonings--but after a few mouthfuls, everything evened out.

But Nugent and staff trumped the evening with the soft-shell crab special. These crabs are hard to come by this season--something to do with the weather, according to one supplier--so when these appear on the menu, grab them. Especially here, where crabs are gently crisped without scorching and perch on garlicky mashed potatoes and the same corn/veggie mix that accompanied the cod. A sprinkle of minced parsley and voila! A meal fit for a potentate, or whoever else shows up at Ardeo.

Desserts are the least of the menu and come from a genre of mix-and-match trendiness that somehow doesn't always work. For example, why pair earthy mangoes with tart rhubarb? Or bake up very thin pecan cookies and sandwich them with ice cream? Nothing is lusty or robust, it seems. But we chose the pecan cookies dessert, listed as praline semifreddo with strawberry balsamic sauce, a delicate composition better suited to a ladies' afternoon tea. Why not a gutsy hunk of praline-and-something cheesecake?

You will want to embrace your experience here as a Washington one, for Ardeo has as its sister restaurants 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, The Oval Room, and The Bombay Club. Maybe it's too early in its game to make a final judgment, but one has the sense that the kitchen is still trying too hard to impress. Relax, fellows, and let the food do the talking.

Ardeo, 3311 Conn. Ave. 244-6750. Hours: Mon.-Fri.& Sun., 5:30-10:30pm; Sat., 5:30-11:30pm. Entrees: $13.95-$17.95. Major credit cards accepted.