The perfect date night menu
EMDM recently received an invite to review the Blind Tiger menu at Mie n Yu in Georgetown. Turns out Blind Tiger was the name of a speakeasy during the prohibition era and therefore they are keeping it “underground” and only offer it to those who have discovered it. While the premise is fairly ridiculous (sneaky, sneaky Mie n Yu inviting bloggers out to dinner) I love a good back story when it comes to food so I decided to give it a chance.
I had never been to Mie n Yu so I was really impressed with the decor. Each room is themed to represent part of the Silk Road. We ended up eating in the Turkish Tent room with lots of pillows and space to lounge at each table. Although next time I go I want to sit at the chef’s table with is in birdcage that is suspended over the restaurant!
The one thing I had heard was that it was pretty expensive. So in an attempt to appeal to a wider range of diners they introduced their new Blind Tiger menu, which comes in at $25 per person for a three course menu. With several choices for each course, it is perfect for a date night dinner allowing you to sample your dining partners dishes. It should also be noted that they source all locally raised chicken, duck, beef and lamb for the Shenandoah Valley. This is a really nice touch and always scores big points in my book.
The birdcage chef's table
We started off with drinks. They have an extensive cocktail menu with a range of prices and a very large, and for the most part very pricey, wine list. My husband ordered one of their gin cocktails that was delicious even for a non gin drinker like me. With dinner we shared a half bottle of Malbec.
For our first course we ordered the blue crab salad and the zataar hummus. Both of these dishes were delicious and probably my favorites of the night. The hummus dish was huge and had a really earthy taste. Our waitress, Karina, who was really fantastic, explained that the flavor came from the use of oregano. The blue crab salad was served over shelled edamame and soba noodles with pickled egg and rice wine vinegar dressing. It was such an interesting combination of flavors and textures. I wish I could eat this salad everyday!
For the second course we had ground lamb kabobs and Beijing duck with hoisin sauce and mandarin pancakes. The lamb kabobs were really spicy and cooked perfectly but I thought they could have had slightly more flavor. While I did not care for the duck dish at all, my husband loved it and was practically licking the hoisin sauce off the plate. I guess you can’t please everyone!
For our third course we choose the ginger striped bass and Moroccan beef. The bass was cooked in a yogurt casserole with bok choy and tamarind rice. I really liked this dish and the varied flavors plus the yogurt added a creaminess without making it heavy. The braised beef had great flavor and was fork tender. My main complaint was that it ended up being mostly fat. We knew it was a fattier marbled cut but I expected to have more beef. To be fair my husband did say if he was ever going to eat fat, it would be this kind since it was so good.
We ended up skipping dessert since we were totally stuffed so I’ll have to wait for next time. Overall I think this menu is perfect for sharing and would make a really reasonable date night by DC standards. The menu is offered during the week and on late nights on the weekends.
Mie n Yu
3125 M Street, NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: 202.333.6122
