Lavandou Restaurant Provencal

Lavandou is a classic French restaurant, slightly Americanized in its service (quicker than in France), but with all the herbs, slow-cooking and butter that necessitates true French cuisine. Located away from the downtown hype in an unlikely part of town, in quieter Cleveland Park in far Northwest D.C., Lavandou is a real treasure trove of moules and pate and rillettes de canard. If you're a real francophile, or really enjoy French cooking, an evening at Lavandou will whisk you away to Provence, the restaurant's regional focus.

Lavandou's overall menu echoes Provencal tastes and smells, including farm-fresh heirloom tomatoes, roasted peppers and eggplant, and olives seasoned with garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Its food is prepared slowly and thoughtfully (though quick enough before Washingtonians become impatient), and with enough care to allow flavors to marinate and meld together into a truly appreciative meal, each time.

To start, there's the obligatory bowl of French onion soup with gruyere melted across and croutons, or you can skip ahead to the pate de campagne (country-style pate) or the escargots. The tarte meridionnale is an onion, roasted red pepper and goat cheese tart served on a bed of mescluns.

The main courses can range from a large portion of mussels with three broths from which to choose. There's a selection of viandes including a rack of lamb, Provence-herb chicken or classic steak frites. The seafood section offers salmon and rockfish, among others, and there's an offering from vegetable platters in the Provencal style, including ratatouille and sauteed haricot verts.

In the true French style, dinner must be completed with a plate of cheese and bread.

HelloMetro Tip: Lavandou also offers a pre-theatre meal of appetizer and entree for $21.50 between 5:00-6:45pm. During various holidays from Christmas to Valentine's Day, and French holidays like Bastille Day and the introduction of the new Beaujolais, there are specials and events occurring at the restaurant. Monday nights you can bring your own wine and there's no corkage fee. Tuesdays is all-you-can-eat mussels, and Wednesdays is a three-course special for $25.50.

- by Rin-rin Yu, Washington Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Rin-rin Yu

Rin-rin is an award-winning writer and journalist based in the Baltimore-Washington area. Her work has appeared in China Daily, DAYSPA magazine, Luxury Home Design, Aquatics International, Not For Tourists and other publications. Rin-rin has also worked for ABC News, WHDH-TV (NBC) in Boston and Hanley Wood Business Media. She has a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is an avid world traveler and maintains a travel blog, www.mytravelhats.com.