{"id":1460,"date":"2015-05-20T04:27:26","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T04:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diningtraveler.com\/?p=1460"},"modified":"2023-03-15T15:43:06","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T19:43:06","slug":"jardenea-at-the-melrose-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diningtraveler.com\/2015\/05\/jardenea-at-the-melrose-hotel.html","title":{"rendered":"Power Lunch: Jardenea at the Melrose Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0culinary offerings of hotels have recently become an obsession of mine. \u00a0Years ago, hotel restaurants were an afterthought or a safe place for a business traveler to dine solo. Now, the menus are more creative, the chefs more talented, traveling diners more sophisticated, and locals step out to their local hotels to sample the menus. \u00a0Recently, I had the opportunity to lunch at Jardenea at the Melrose Hotel <\/a>near Georgetown and the experience reiterated my theory. \u00a0Given the experience, I decided to start a series called Power Lunch, where I meet up with a fellow blogger friends to discuss life and business. \u00a0Jardenea offered the perfect setting for lunch with Mariella of\u00a0Splendor Styling<\/a>. \u00a0All about our experience:<\/p>\n The decor:<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0It was the perfect place to take Mariella for lunch as she has an interior design company and blog. \u00a0We were taken by the shades of grey in the hotel, giving it a very cool and welcoming vibe. \u00a0As you enter, you see plush couches, pillows, and bookcases which make you think you’re in a very hip home. \u00a0Jardenea at the Melrose Hotel has a few tables facing the window and a more intimate seating area. \u00a0I preferred the\u00a0informal seating area as it had tons of natural light (natural light = food blogger best friend for foodie photos<\/em>).<\/p>\n The Food:<\/strong> <\/em>We started with roasted oysters from southern Virginia. \u00a0Chef Nate Lindsay focuses on using as much local products as possible. He shared with us how he tries to reach out to local farmers and vendors to create menu that reflects the area and seasons. \u00a0We continued our meal with a delicious white asparagus bisque with a touch of truffle. \u00a0Although it is getting warmer in DC, the soup still felt light enough to accompany the spring weather.<\/p>\n A power lunch is not complete without salads. \u00a0The star was the kale salad with juicy cherry tomatoes, fragrant marcona almonds, and parmesan cheese. \u00a0The key of the greatness of this dish was the bacon vinaigrette, which gives it a savory touch. We were transported to more tropical lands with the ahi tuna with grilled pineapple and candied macadamia nuts. It’s a combination I would have never thought of, but it worked surprisingly well.\u00a0Was not a big fan of the romaine lettuce on thetuna dish but everything else worked perfectly.<\/p>\n Dessert:<\/strong> <\/em>\u00a0a requirement of lunch with friends is sharing dessert. \u00a0We couldn’t resist digging into the cream puff, they were light and airy with just enough cream to fill but not overwhelm. \u00a0We also shared a s’more inspired pastry with toasted marshmallow top. \u00a0Enjoyed that the desserts were not overly sweet and the portions were just right for sharing. \u00a0Tip: Definitely save room for dessert at Jardenea at the Melrose Hotel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The Verdict:<\/strong><\/em> Jardenea at the Melrose Hotel has all the checks: great service, beautiful setting, delicious and modestly priced dishes, and convenient location. \u00a0One of the things I enjoyed about this hidden gem was that it was as noisy as other lunch spots in the city. Is the perfect place to have a lunch among friends or a business meeting. \u00a0The Dining Traveler recommends!<\/p>\n I dined at Jardenea at the invitation of the Melrose Hotel. As always, opinions are my own. The\u00a0culinary offerings of hotels have recently become an obsession of mine. \u00a0Years ago, hotel restaurants were an afterthought or a safe place for a business traveler to dine solo. Now, the menus are more creative, the chefs more talented, traveling diners more sophisticated, and locals step out to their local hotels to sample the menus. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":1509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,39,7,270,56],"tags":[243,273,271,272,274],"class_list":{"0":"post-1460","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dc","8":"category-dc-life","9":"category-food","10":"category-power-lunch","11":"category-travel-tip","12":"tag-dc-restaurants","13":"tag-hotel-restaurant","14":"tag-jardenea","15":"tag-melrose-hotel","16":"tag-washington"},"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>
Power Lunch at Jardenea at the Melrose Hotel<\/h2>\n
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