The Dish: Cervelle de veau au beurre noir ($14.50/$17.75)
What It Is: Sautéed calf’s brain with brown butter, lemon, and capers, served with mashed potatoes, carrots, and baby bok choy.
What It Tastes Like: “Beefy silken tofu” comes to mind. The two lobes have a velvety texture and subtle beef flavor.
The Story: Chef Patrick Orange claims
to be one of the last French chefs in D.C. who still uses the old-school French cooking methods of Auguste Escoffier. And that means preparing calf’s brains, a very classic French dish that’s been mostly abandoned in the U.S. Now that head-to-tail cooking is cool, maybe it’ll see a resurgence?
Brain Tease: La Chaumière serves 10 pounds of calf brains a week. read more
La Chaumière
2813 M Street NW
Washington, DC
(202) 338-1784
Mary was born and raised in New York City where her family owned restaurants. Instead of eating dirt on the playground, she ate duck blood, beef tripe and pork belly. She cut her teeth at The Mandarin Oriental and The Ritz-Carlton hotels, working with Barbra Streisand, Vanessa Williams, Michael Stipe, LeVar Burton, Jane Krakowski and others. Mary founded Girl Meets Food in 2009 as a cover for her debilitating addiction to fried chicken and was named Washington Post’s “Favorite Local Foodie.” After 13 years in hospitality, she started freelance writing for USA Today, The Washington Post, Eater, Washington City Paper, and more. Today, she provides digital marketing for hospitality clients as a content creator who’s contently creating content.