Oya

Dear Andrew,

I know you'll be very impressed with me writing my thoughts on Oya. Especially since you keep walking in and out of my room, only to see me doing absolutely nothing on the computer. Plus I figure I should probably blog something before my memory fades (or gets packed full with information for tests).

As you can see, Oya is shooting for the image of a trendy and hip place. This is where you go for drinks after work, dinner with the girlfriends before a night on the town, to take a business partner out to see the city. This is not the place if you're looking for a cozy, homestyle meal. It is however, good for all those things I listed above, complete with pillows and tables made out of cow skins.

Onto the actual food!

Given that we were there for restaurant week, my options were limited by what they were offering for the lunch special, but there was still a good amount of dishes to choose from. I started with the shrimp and crab quiche. I'd show you a photo of it, but unfortunately it came out kind of fuzzy. While I have gotten over the embarrassment of suddenly whipping out a camera to take a photo of my meal, I haven't managed to work up the nerve to actually use my flash. And in places like Oya, where the lighting is somewhat muted, that makes for some bad photos. But the shrimp and crab quiche! It would not be an exaggeration for me to say that I'd come back to Oya simply for this quiche. The quiche was unbelievably light and flaky. Many times, quiches turn out tasting too egg-y or too rich due to an overuse of cream. Not this quiche. This quiche was perfect with large chunks of crab and shrimp throughout every bite. On taking a quick look at Oya's regular menu though, I didn't see this quiche on it! How can this be?! I would totally be up for doing Restaurant Week at Oya's again just to get another taste of this dish before they stop making it.

Andrew had the spicy tuna rolls. How were those? I'm always been a bit hesitant to order Japanese sushi/sashimi in a restaurant that is not specifically dedicated to Japanese food. For me, the difference between a good sushi roll and a great one is distinct. If someone's making me rolls, I want it to be a sushi chef and not the guy who also cooks steaks.

Moving on though! Here is my Atlantic Salmon! That's a rather large cut isn't it? My friends and I were puzzled initially over it. The salmon was...well, it was nothing special to write home about. Or better put, nothing special to write about in this blog. It's my opinion that it's fairly difficult to ruin salmon as it's the go-to-fish for many college students who are just starting to cook for themselves. When salmon is really good though, it's spectacular. This dish wasn't it. While not overcooked exactly, the salmon was not particularly moist, and after a few bites, started to taste a lot like the very first salmon I had ever cooked.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about the salad that accompanied the salmon. Andrew will have to be in charge of informing you guys on all vegetable/fruit items.

I love dessert. Meals never seem complete to me without something sweet at the end of them. And with a chocolate mousse, a chocolate hazelnut biscuit on the bottom, and chocolate strawberries (Ok, so Andrew ate all of mine), how can one go wrong? The answer is that of course you can't! Oh this was good! Sometimes chocolate mousse is a bit like pudding (light and fluffy). This is not how I like my chocolate mousse. At Oya, the mousse is more akin to an Italian tartufo. If you can imagine the richness of a chocolate gelato, slightly thawed, and then covered with a thin layer of chocolate, then there you go. Despite its richness, I didn't find the mousse overly sweet. In fact, it was just right. As you can see, the dessert came with carmel sauce on the plate. After a quick taste of the sauce though, I decided that would have been overkill on the sweet. The mousse is good as it is.

Would I go back to Oya? The quiche and the dessert alone make me say yes. Service was extremely quick and attentive. Our waiter kept an eye on our water glasses, stopped by to ask how we were doing, and even refolded a friend's dirty napkin when he left for the bathroom. Overall,, I was pleased with the atmosphere of the place and my meal. The lunch deal for $20 there during Restaurant Week Month is definitely worth it. I'd like to try some of their other entrees as there's no way I'd order the salmon again. We were there fairly late for lunch (1:30PM) and the place was still crowded. All in all, not a bad introduction to the DC eating out scene!

Oya
Penn Quarters
777 9th Street nw
Washington DC 20001
202-393-1400