In the Neighborhood: Tapas in Midtown

Last night we went to Panache for a birthday dinner, and I left the restaurant surprised I had never heard of the place before yesterday.  The restaurant is a bit hidden - it is on a side street behind the Mayflower Hotel - so it could be overlooked pretty easily.   It is in a perfect location, however, if you either live/work in the area or want to grab a bite before a night out in Dupont.  The service overall was good, though there were some off moments.  The greeters were extremely friendly.  While we were waiting in the bar area for the rest of the group to arrive, the bartender managed to made himself pretty scarce, though it seemed like he was the only person serving that side of the restaurant so I'm sure he was super busy.  However, once we got seated (in a nice cozy booth!) and started ordering, things went smoothly.  We ordered tapas and they started coming out right away, and were nicely spaced so we could enjoy everything but still have plenty of variety on the table.  They must have had a run on wine last night because the server indicated they were running out of some of the offerings, but the bottles we got were good.

But really, the highlight of the evening was the food.  We ordered tapas so we could try a little of everything, and it turned out great.  The tapas menu is pretty extensive and includes both hot and cold offerings, so we were really able to find something for everybody.  If you like your food raw, they had some awesome offerings.  The tuna tartare was delicious, and the beef carpaccio was fantastic.  There were plenty of vegetarian options as well.  The zucchini purses were delightful - I am going to have to try to recreate them at home.  The grilled portobellos were good (anything with goat cheese is good in my book!), the wild mushrooms were delish, and the fattoush and grilled vegetable dishes was simple but satisfying.  In terms of fish, the crab cakes were decent and the rockfish was delicious.  The only set of offerings for which my overall impression was less than steller was the cooked meats.  We tried the chicken satay, beef skewers, and smoked pork; all were decent, but not worth a special trip.

If you are in the mood for tapas but do not want to deal with the crowds at some of the bigger-name tapas restaurants downtown, Panache is a really good option.  It is small, so you would probably want to make a reservation, but it is lovely and the overall experience was such that I would recommend it.