Marcel's

We've been wanting to go to Washington's top Zagat-rated restaurant for some time and finally made it to celebrate a birthday. We like Chef Robert Wiedmaier's Brasserie Beck very much and were eager to see what his top-of-the-line restaurant had to offer.

We weren't disappointed. Marcel's offers a classy, classic fine-dining experience with exquisite food. The tasting menu format meant we could indulge in four courses and not leave stuffed; portions are designed to give you a satisfying eating experience but not to constitute a classic entree course.

I started with a lobster papardelle where everything was tender and buttery. Andrea had Carolina shrimp in a beurre blanc sauce -- in fact, the classic beurre blanc was a feature of many of Wiedmaier's dishes here. Since beurre blanc is one of her favorite things in the world, it went over well.

I followed with the restaurant's signature dish, a boudin blanc made of chicken and pheasant breast with foie gras, served with a truffle and chanterelle sauce. It was truly exquisite. Andrea had Norwegian salmon poached in olive oil -- a method that marvelously preserve the fresh salmon flavor.

From the fifth course selection (where portions are "slightly larger," we were told), I chose the duck breast with duck confit and turned honey crisp apples. The duck had a crispy, salty skin and melt-in-your-mouth tender medium-rare interior. Andrea had pork tenderloin, which also was incredibly tender and tasty.

The bread, by the way, was truly fresh baked and served with garlic butter. For once, given the modest size of the portions, there were no worries about overeating on the bread.

For dessert, I had the flourless chocolate cake, which was a very good version of that dish, and Andrea had the special chocolate souffle, which has a rich, warm chocolatey taste, though perhaps too much cocoa powder on top. What sent it over the top was the warm dark chocolate dipping sauce served with it.

A nice feature of the restaurant is that you can bring your own wine to have with the meal for the relatively modest corkage fee of $25. We brought a bottle of 2000 Chateau Figeac St. Emilion 1ere grand cru that was a gift and it was a superb accompaniment to the entire menu.

Overall, it was a lovely experience. Marcel's is tied with Komi at 29 for food (it gets the edge to be top-rated because of a higher decor rating). Our conclusion, based on our two not-so-recent dinners at Komi, was that it has the more original dishes, though the quality is the same at both. Service at Marcel's, while clearly miles ahead of most restaurants, was not the flawless performance you expect from a 28 rating. The total cost, given that we avoided both aperitif and wine charges, was absolutely in line with the value.

Unlike Komi, Marcel's is not that hard to get into, so we will definitely go back. There are selections outside the tasting menu, or individual courses can be ordered as full entrees, so there are different ways to enjoy the exceptionally high-quality cuisine it offers. There is also a three-course option in the tasting menu or a pre-theater option.