Proof
Crisps with Yogurt
Whipped Pipe Dreams Farm Goat Cheese with clover honey, thyme, fried rosemary, maldon sea salt, black pepper, flatbread
Sweet potato Gnocchi with Roasted Squash – Brussels sprouts, wild mushrooms, sage, brown butter, parmesan
Sauteed Veal Sweetbreads – Chanterelles, corn, cherry tomato, bacon, Yukon golds, foie gras
Pan Roasted Hudson Valley Foie Gras – Sweet Cherry shortcake, pistachio, cocoa nibs, bing cherry jus
Warm Duck Confit with Scallion Hush Puppies – Pickled Beech Mushrooms, Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Honeycrisp Apple Cobbler – walnuts, bourbon vanilla ice cream
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake – vanilla ice cream, almonds, toffee
Grilled Banana – Banana Bread, Peanut Brittle, Coconut Sorbet
Somewhat limited on dinner options due to a standing 7:00pm reservation with Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals at Verizon Center an early dinner at small-plates wine bar Proof was decided on and packing the space almost as soon as the doors opened it appeared our plan was not uncommon, the room buzzing with men in suits and those in jerseys talking hockey while sipping wine and snacking on charcuterie. A clean, energetic space with high arched ceilings plus lots of wood and brick that gets loud rather quickly it would not take long after seating before we were greeted by a young server named Sam and understanding our time constraints a better job could not have been done in terms of taking our order, coursing out plates, and providing a great experience in just under ninety minutes. Featuring a diverse menu with a number of options both common and esoteric ranging from $12-20 it was with a bit of negotiating that we agreed upon five savories plus three sweets and with the selections delivered in three courses every single plate proved not only well prepared but also impressively portioned considering the prices. Starting first with tender gnocchi lightly dressed in brown butter alongside a creamy cheese plate before progressing into smooth sweetbreads impeccably balanced by flavors both sweet and earthy alongside a medallion of caramelized foie gras atop a golden pancake and a plate of crispy confit finding levity in acid each of the savories showed a great degree of balance and textural complexity, the latter a quality shared by the desserts whose flavors tended towards the toward the *very* sweet by choice, particularly the uniquely crispy toffee pudding.
