Poste Moderne Brasserie

We went last night to a special Poste Roast in the wonderful courtyard of Chef Robert Weland's restaurant. We had a spit-roasted suckling pig for a group of 12 organized by a Facebook group, DCFoodies. It's a great concept and was well executed.

Dinner is at a chef's table on one side of the courtyard, next to the fabulous vegetables growing in rows of pots there. (Chef's table is only a name, because the chef was nowhere to be seen.)

The pig was roasted over hickory wood in the center of the courtyard (prior to our arrival). The little thing (smaller than you might think) was presented to us before carving and served family style with plentiful helpings of homemade sauerkraut, macaroni and cheese, and grilled stone fruit.

The price for the roast -- just the main course of suckling pig and sides -- was $35, including tax and tip. Drinks, starters, and desserts were additional.

The bar has several very nice special cocktails. I had a Nor'easter with Flor de cana 7-year rum, Laird’s applejack, and Fentiman’s ginger beer, which was big and refreshing and satisfied my craving for a rum drink. I also tasted the Awakening, made with Tanqueray 10 gin, key lime, cardamon, pineapple juice, and mint, which I found pleasingly tart and great on a cool summer evening.

Following the bar's recommendation, we ordered a glass of 2007 Big Fire Pinot Gris from Oregon to go with the suckling pig, and it was an excellent pairing.

For a starter, we split the tomato salad of heirloom tomatoes like those growing in the pots next to us, burrata cheese and a very nice tomato basil sorbet. It was an excellent dish, but a bit pricey at $16.

The delays first in presenting our suckling pig, and then in carving it, were unconscionably long, one suspects to encourage us to keep ordering drinks and starters. By the time the main course arrived, it was quite dark in the courtyard and surrounding lanterns were not lit to provide us with much-needed illumination.

The suckling pig was quite good, still moist, with that delicate flavor of young pig. Suckling pig is popular in Europe, particularly in Germany, and I've had it often. It's a specialty in Duesseldorf's Altstadt, where numerous sidewalk kiosks sell you a tasty portion for much less than we paid to enjoy this pig in downtown DC.

The sauerkraut was very nice (again a food I'm familiar with after 11 years in Germany), mild but with that tangy sourness you want in the dish. The mac and cheese arrived hot from the oven and spread a lovely aroma around the table.

A special treat was the serving of the pig's head on a separate platter, so that the more venturesome in our party could taste the brain, cheeks and other parts you normally would not get in a restaurant. Unfortunately, because it was so dark you could not make, well, heads or tails out of that platter and you didn't want to explore with your fingers when sharing with 11 other people.

All in all, it was a very nice meal and our waiter, Javier, with the assistance of other staff as needed, provided great service.

I don't know whether this all holds true for the a la carte experience. The comments on Zagat indicate an uneven performance at best. All in, it was not cheap, but it is downtown DC and the setting is glorious. We would go back again in warm weather just for that courtyard, to see if our very positive food experience could be repeated.