West End Bistro

1190 22nd St NW

Washington, DC

Not often I am going to bring you a coffee perspective from the finer end of Washington DC dining.  I have to admit, typically restaurants don’t do it for me coffee wise, so I generally enjoy my meal and move on.  I’m sure many of you find that it’s often rare to find a restaurant that places as much emphasis on specialty coffee as they do on crafting a delicious meal, which is a shame, because that final impression of taste is often the one that lingers the longest on the palate (and in the mind).

West End Bistro is located in the ground floor of the Ritz Carlton in Washington DC, the product of renowned chef Eric Ripert (Don’t feel bad, I had no idea who he was either), however my lunch was a fairly amazing (get ready for the eye-roll)…..fish burger.  Possibly one of the tastiest lunches I can recall eating in recent times.  Naturally a fine feast of this sort requires a good caffeine kick to really polish off the experience and serve as some sort of safety net to the inevitable lunch-coma that is bound to follow.

I asked for a ristretto and following the obligatory; “I’m sorry, a what Sir?” changed my order to an espresso which arrived shortly thereafter in a very fancy Illy cup. For those of you who frequent Illy cafes, you have probably spied some of the cup designs that are a bit of a phenomenon in the US right now.  The coffee presented with a slightly-sweet aroma and a well-blonded-with-a-hint-of-gold looking crema on top. Even more importantly, it hit the palate smoothly with a dash of berries and minimal acidity. Not a bad effort at all, good enough for a bean and a solid way to polish off a very fine, um, fish burger.

Beans: Illy