The Economics of Eating in DC: Arbitrage at the H St Corridor

By Sophie Lu

For those who delight in taking advantage of the little price-quality arbitrages in life, I highly recommend exploring the various quality restaurants and music venues sprouting up around the H Street corridor. One such restaurant is 1905, located at 1905 9th St. Surrounded by grungy basement jazz and reggae lounges; its dark non-descript awning is easily overlooked. Inside, however, on top a narrow set of stairs, lays a DC take on a French bistro—complete with dark wood panels, antique chandeliers, and populated by ever so slightly trendy scenesters.

The restaurant recently obtained Executive Chef Anthony Marini who specializes in taking Southern Comfort food and turning it up a few notches. The menu, which changes every few weeks, features classic dishes, prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients, designed with the fine dining experience in mind. Start with a first course.  The perennial favorite is a good choice: $100 potatoes, fried in duck fat with crème fraiche, apple wood smoked bacon, scallion-truffle pesto, and American caviar. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try the potatoes since they ran out (insert platitude about American over consumption here). I ordered the spicy tuna tartar with whipped wasabi lime crème instead. The delicate pieces of high-grade tuna, marinated in soy sauce and laced with chilies, packed great flavor and left a pleasant after-burn.

For the second course, I hands-down recommend the 1905 Burger, a blend of prime beef and tender braised short ribs stacked on a foie gras buttered brioche bun topped with Amish cheddar cheese and marinated red onions. The burger was generous in proportion (no mini-burgers here), and perfectly cooked to a slight medium rare that allowed the flavor of the high quality beef to speak for itself. The Amish cheddar had a great nutty, sharp flavor that was balanced by the sweat and soft brioche bun. My only complaint is that marinating actually dulled the taste of the onions instead of bringing out their flavor, so they did not contribute much to the burger. Another divine dish was the Kentucky fried quail that came accompanied by chanterelle mushroom succotash, whipped sweet potatoes, and red wine roasted chicken gravy. The fried quail was surprisingly light on batter, which was good since the result was still crispy but did not mask the flavor of the meat. The succotash is beyond description—the best combination of earthy summer vegetables I have ever tasted. Wash all this rich food down with a couple glasses of wine and hello, foodie heaven.

The best part of this whole deal is that despite the quality of execution and liberal use of expensive ingredients, a complete meal will likely cost you less than $30. There aren’t many places in DC where you can get a first course AND second course that both involve some mad expensive French import (like foie gras or truffle oil) for that cheap. So while a meal at 1905 will cost more than a happy hour special, it’s still a great deal when you’re looking to impress a date that is just a little too cultured for you.

Be warned however, 1905 occupies only one floor of a town house sized building. If you go without reservations, expect to wait at least a couple hours for a seat. The space problem will likely go away in a few months since the restaurant is planning to buy the downstairs. The downside of that of course is that once the restaurant expands, it’s been officially “discovered” and those $100 potatoes are going to come a lot closer to their name. So hitch a $5 cab ride over to the H St corridor and try the place out before the market catches up with you.

Sophie Liu is a first year M.A. candidate in China Studies.