Proof: My DC home away from home

I was in DC for work a couple of weeks ago, and having fond memories of Proof from my last visit, I decided to head back. I'll say up front: Proof was even better this time around, so good that I ended up there for dinner two out of my three nights in the city.

First off, the atmosphere is almost insanely welcoming. It's artfully lit, with cozy booths and spacious tables; wine bottles line a floor-to-ceiling room divider; there's a bar area in one corner; and the far corner, near the kitchen, houses a quiet little cheese counter, with a cheesemonger (?) methodically portioning enormous wedges of cheese into cheese-plate-sized hunks.

Oh, and the service-- it's spot-on. My waiter the first night came over to welcome me back the second night I was there, even though my table was not in his jurisdiction. Service is solicitous without being overwhelming; it's knowledgeable and friendly but not intrusive.

Proof is a wine bar, so of course there's wine. A decent selection of wines by the glass includes some unusual varietals (great for my Wine Century Club!) and offers three different sizes: half-glass, full glass, and quartino, all at reasonable prices. During my two visits, I tried a Furmint from Hungary and a Zierflander from Austria, both of which were crisp, delicious, and food-friendly.

Furmint

Zierflander

Ah, the food. Unlike at a lot of wine bars, the food here isn't an afterthought; there's a full menu, with lots of space devoted to charcouterie and cheeses, yes, but also an ample selection of salads, appetizers, and entrees.

On both my visits, I started with the olives. These are meaty, salty, substantial orbs in a delicious brine flecked with citrus zest and a touch of crushed red pepper. Since the olives are so large, one order is actually a decently-filling appetizer.

Very carefully plated

There's also a bread course of sorts, which is admittedly not Proof's strong point. While the dip-- Greek yogurt with mint, chives, and olive oil-- is addictive and spoon-worthy, the bread is flat, hard, unsalted, and largely flavorless. I understand why this might make a logical bland cracker for a pungent cheese course, but as a stand-alone bread it just doesn't quite work.

Quantity, not quality

But back to the good stuff. I tried two salads during my visit. First: maple-roasted delicata squash with arugula, pecorino, pumpkin seeds, and cider vinaigrette. This was a tasty and pretty hearty salad, with tender squash and some good crunch from the pumpkin seeds. I wished the pecorino had been portioned a bit thicker; as it was, it was so paper-thin it almost melted into the squash and didn't quite get a chance to assert its salty flavor. But overall, this was a good expression of fall on a plate.

Not too sweet

The second night I chose the roasted beets with pea shoots, kaleidoscope carrots, aged goat cheese, toasted hazelnuts, and sherry mustard vinaigrette (which I'd gotten before). This salad was a really ample portion-- I was unable to finish both this and a full order of olives. The beets were sweet rubies, contrasting nicely with the peppery bite of the pea shoots. I had only two half-carrots in this salad, which was fine with me, since despite being "kaleidoscope" they tasted like normal carrots. The healthy scattering of hazelnuts lent welcome crunch to the mix, and the three small hemispheres of aged goat cheese provided a surprisingly pungent cheesy funk to the mixture. This is a good salad, but it's strong-- the flavors are all assertive, so if you're looking for a mild start to your meal, consider yourself warned.

Buried beets

One of the two evenings, I stayed for dessert. They have some interesting dessert options, including a sticky toffee pudding (which you don't see all that often), but I was looking for something light. One special request later (kindly obliged by both my waiter and the kitchen), and I had a trio of their specialty ice creams. A scoop of gianduja gelato was smooth and hazelnutty; a boule of creme fraiche ice cream was surprisingly tangy and bold; and the orb of coconut sorbet had the appealing shatter-y texture of good sorbet, along with a tantalizing tropical flavor. And the nut cookie providing the garnish added some welcome heft to the dish.

Smooth, creamy, and neutral

I love Proof. It's the kind of place that makes me want to own a wine bar someday, someplace that is cozy and welcoming (even to a solo diner), takes pride in its food, and offers a diverse selection of wines that allow people to try something different without laying out too much cash. Last year, Proof earned four Offset Spatulas from me, and this year it effortlessly retains that rating. You can bet that next time I'm in the area, I'll be back.

Proof
775 G Street NW
202-737-7663

D.C. proves itself with Proof

Sunday evening was our last night in D.C. (as well as being my birthday eve), so the time was ripe for celebrating. We headed across the city to one of the few places in D.C. that I knew about in advance (and one of the very few that were in our price range): Proof.

It was a Sunday night, so we were able to get a table no problem. We were led into the cool, hip-ly decorated restaurant to an enormous cushy booth, all to ourselves. The vibe was simultaneously upbeat and chill, with loud but not overbearing music and cool touches like boudoir-themed bathrooms with black toilets. Nice.

Anyway, back to the food and drink. I started with a glass of sparkling "Punkt" gruner veltliner, an interesting selection I'd never had before. It was crisp and tasty, served in a beautiful glass, and a great start to the meal. AV chose a Fruli strawberry Belgian white beer, which our server described as with a "touch of strawberry" but was positively bursting with the fruit. It was so strawberry-packed even I liked it. We also sipped water from their cool, tulip-shaped glasses. Very nice all around.

The magic flute

Bursting with berries

Such a graceful vessel

While other tables around us started out with yummy-looking flatbread, our table was still sadly breadless as our first dish arrived. We had decided to start with the olives, which was an extremely generous portion of the little bites. This was a good selection, refreshingly un-oily, and a perfect way to begin the meal.

Like little pebbles

For the rest of our meal, we had ordered a selection of apps. AV went with the "spicy little meatballs" with goat cheese agnolotti and tomato fondue. These were heartily approved, although they would have been better with bread.

Speecy-spicy meatball

My main selection was a "Roasted baby beets and kaleidoscope carrots with aged goat cheese" salad. This was quite a creative salad, offering an interesting twist on the traditional beets-and-goat cheese pairing. The beets were tender and sweet, artfully offset by the funky aged goat cheese (although I tend to prefer fresh goat cheese, but that's just me). The carrots were the long and thin mini kind, which I love. And the bed of well-dressed arugula was studded with crushed hazelnuts. A rich and very delicious salad.

Beautifully packed with flavors

Finally, we split the salad of local asparagus and sunflower shoots. This salad, draped with a covering of parmesan, was also creative, with halved peeled asparagus spears in a bed of tasty greens. I liked it, although AV pointed out he prefers his asparagus warm. Good to know.

Lots of artful draping

About halfway through our final salad, we realized the bread was not forthcoming, so we flagged down our waiter and asked him for some, in addition to placing an order for a second glass of wine for me (a two-ounce taste of Greco di Tufo, an interesting white he had recommended. Extra kudos to Proof for offering all wines by the glass in three different sizes, which lets you try lots of different kinds). While the glass of wine did arrive, no bread did. So finally we flagged down a different waiter, who finally brought over a container of salt-sprinkled thick flatbread with an accompanying dish of greek yogurt for dipping. While it was tasty, especially with the oil-drizzled yogurt, it wasn't really worth the wait. We both would have preferred "real" (i.e., non-flat) bread, which I think would have gone better with the wine and food selections Proof offered.

Like sails blowing in the wind

We debated their dessert menu, particularly an enticing sticky toffee pudding, but we were both a bit too full for a full-fledged dessert, so we paid the check and skipped out to the nearby outpost of Gifford's for an ice cream extravaganza. Mmmm. But bread issues aside, we were both very happy with Proof-- the food was both thoughtful and well-executed, creative without straying from comfortable flavors. And our waiter was reassuringly knowledgeable about wine, something I really like seeing from staff at wine-centric establishments. If I lived in D.C., I know Proof could well be one of my favorite places. It's an easy-going, friendly and comfortable four-Offset Spatula destination.

Proof
775 G Street
202-737-7663