Food Wine & Co Bistro: Divine! 06.13.2012

Bistro Burger with cheddar -- shhhh!  

How do you get a group of working moms together for an adult beverage and a wickedly delicious hamburger?  It takes months of planning.  Really.

This week I was so happy to break bread with a group of women I met almost five years ago in a mom's group shortly after we had all given birth to our respective first-born.  Every now and then we get together for a meal, a few drinks, and fabulous conversation.

We ate at Food Wine & Co Bistro in Bethesda.  I've dined at the bar before with Eric -- great appetizers and delicious wine -- so I was happy to make my way back to the restaurant.

Before I get to the food, I have to rave about the service:  everyone is nice.  So nice.  From front door to bus boy.  Excellent service.  And this is how it should be -- at every restaurant.  If any of the staff was undergoing an IRS audit or had a crazy mother-in-law sleeping in their house or a boyfriend slowly turning into Charlie Sheen -- it did not seep through in the service.

Yellow Tail Tuna Ceviche with Coconut Lime Sauce

To start, I had the Yellow Tail Tuna Ceviche with Coconut Lime Sauce.  With the exception of the "with", there is not one word in that description that doesn't make my mouth water.  If there is ceviche on a menu, I will order it.  And the Yellow Tail Tuna was fantastic.  So well prepared and flavored, with a little heat thrown in for good measure.  To drink with the ceviche, I had the Fire Road Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand).

The wine was drinkable, but uneven.  Sauvignon Blanc is my wine of choice these days and I've been wowed:  Fire Road did not wow me.

For my main course, I had the Bistro Burger with cheddar.  (Although I'm off dairy right now.)  (Don't tell anyone.)  (Please.)  I was going to be one of those people who didn't eat the bun (because bread is bad -- right?) but it was so fluffy and so perfect I could not resist.  And I will now die a happy woman.  Good God that burger was good!  I always ask for my beef to be well done but not burned, and they delivered it just right.  Delicious.  And to drink with my burger, I had the Zucardi Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina).  Perfect, like an 80 degree day with a slight breeze.

And I dare not forget the chips served with the burger:  hand-cut rosemary-parmesan chips.  I was absolutely certain when I saw them that I would not -- under any circumstance -- eat one single chip.  But I did.  And then, 40 chips later...

If you find yourself in Bethesda and want good food and wine, go to Food Wine & Co Bistro.  Also, there is free parking after 5 p.m. in the lot next door.  If you frequent Bethesda for any purpose under the sun, you know parking -- especially free parking -- is hard to find.

Happy eating, all!

Food Wine & Co Bistro

7272 Wisconsin Avenue

Bethesda, Maryland 20814

301-652-8008