Xiquet Opens Tuesday in Glover Park
After seven months, chef Danny Lledó is ready to open his fine dining concept, Xiquet (pronounced “chee-KETT”), 2404 Wisconsin Ave. NW, for dinner tonight showcasing recipes and products from Spain.
Paella de la duquessa de Denía with lobster, red prawn, cuttlefish and sénia rice. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
Located in Glover Park, the 1,800-square-foot Xiquet takes over the top two floors of Slate Wine Bar, which closed last June for the remodel and reopened last Thursday with a pared down menu. The second-floor mezzanine is now Xiquet’s bar, where diners will begin and end their meals. The third-floor, 30-seat dining room replaces offices and features a glass-enclosed kitchen with a Green Egg smoker, plancha and rotisserie.
Xiquet’s glass-enclosed kitchen features a wood-fired Green Egg smoker, plancha and rotisserie. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
Lledó told DC on Heels the two-level experience, which will take 1 ½ to 3 hours, will create a “balanced experience” like dining in someone’s home. Meals will start in the mezzanine “living room” where diners will chat with their dinner guests and warm up, then eat in the dining room and return to the “living room” to chat and enjoy after-dinner drinks.
The meal will begin and end in the mezzanine lounge. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
Designed by Studio 3877, the 16-seat mezzanine lounge, where diners will place their orders and start with complimentary nibbles then settle their checks while having after dinner drinks, features gray walls, light wood floors and dark wood shelves and banquettes with cushions and pillows covered in beiges and peach. Leather ottomans provide additional seating. Additional design elements include a glass window into the wine bar below, recessed lighting and framed art on the walls.
Xiquet’s minimalist dining room is bright with natural light from a wall of windows overlooking the Guy Mason Recreation Center. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
The minimalist dining room is bright with natural light from a wall of windows overlooking the Guy Mason Recreation Center and large skylights. The walls are white with pops of collar added by framed prints. The floors are light wood with dark wood and white ceramic tables and dark chairs with white upholstered seats.
Diners can watch as the food is cooked the traditional way over open, wood-burning fire or in a smoker. Lledó uses applewood for char-boiled, plancha and rotisserie-prepared dishes, and orangewood for paellas.
Chef Danny Lledó cooks paella in Xiquet’s glass-enclosed kitchen. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
The menu is inspired by food from Lledó’s hometown of Denía, Spain, which is south of Valencia – the birthplace of paella. Xiquet will offer five and eight-course tasting menus priced at $90 and $130, respectively, and an a la carte menu featuring Lledó’s signature paella and other traditional Valencian cuisine that will rotate monthly. The tasting menus, which both include paella, are $140 and $210, respectively, with wine pairings. A la carte dishes are priced from $16 to $55.
The opening menu includes coques, Valencian vegetarian flatbreads; tuna tartare, slightly seared with coconut milk, mustard and jalapeño; foie gras ravioli with oxtail; daurada Mediterrano, Mediterranean sea bream seared with runner and lima beans; llom d’alimentació d’herba, grass-fed strip loin with potatoes and seared artichokes; and a variety of paellas including paella del camp with cauliflower, romano and lima beans, red bell pepper and sénia rice; paella de la duquessa de Dénia with lobster, red prawn, cuttlefish and sénia rice; and paella del caçador with roasted duck, venison, foie, asparagus, black truffle and sénia rice.
Xiquet’s coques caseres with tomacat sauce, green peas and caramelized onions on flatbread. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
Lledó worked with Mayte Martinez, a pastry chef at The Fat Duck, Quique Dacosta, el Bulli and Paco Torreblanca, to develop Xiquet’s desserts, which include taronja del segle XXI, orange done seven ways, and biscuit de garrofa, carob cake with matcha tea ice cream.
Xiquet offers more than 100 wines by the bottle, with most coming from the Mediterranean along with some domestic offerings. Prices range from $55 to $2,500 by the bottle. Ten wines will also be available by the glass, with prices ranging from $12 to $30. A selection of vintage ports and madeiras will also be available, along with an extensive array of scotches, whiskies and fine spirits.
Renovated Slate Wine Bar reopens with small plates and bites
A slimmed-down 800-square-foot Slate Wine Bar reopened Feb. 28 sans bistro with a new menu of small plates and snacks.
The new four-part menu. “From the Bar” include $5 servings of cheeses, such as Firefly goat chesse and Cowgirl Creamy and Mahon cow cheeses, and charcuterie, such as fennel salami, cured sobrassada sausage and Serrano ham, along with white anchovies ($6) or Osetra sturgeon caviar ($50) served with chips. Other snacks include roasted almonds ($5), olives ($6), tabbouleh ($6), American sturgeon caviar ($30), tuna tartare ($9), foie and black truffle pate ($16) and port-cured foie terrine ($10).
Slate’s foie and black truffle pate. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)
“Small Bites” include Mediterranean endive salad, a cod fritter or meat pie for $5 and a shrimp-stufed pepper, Serrano ham and tomato slide or BLT slider for $6. “Small Plates” include a grilled romaine salad ($6), cauliflower and broccoli or chicken lollipops with hot sauce (both $8), cuttlefish in green sauce ($9) and cod, sobrassada and honey or oxtail stew with potatoes (both $12).
Daily market-priced entrees that feed one to two people include stew on Tuesday, fish on Wednesday, a fisherman’s platter on Thursday, a “big steak dinner” for Fridays and mixed barbeque grill on Saturdays. The wine bar will have a dozen options by the glass ($9-$18) and a list of 70 bottles ($40-$200).
Xiquet is open for from 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Slate Wine Bar is open from 4-10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday. Both are closed Sunday and Monday.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.
