Spork and Knife

No butter, no cream, no sugar, oh my!

A few weeks ago I posted about a new restaurant up in Friendship Heights called Rock Creek.  The concept behind the restaurant, as pulled from their website, is “an alternative to high-fat, high calorie meals”.  They are trying to serve lunches and dinners containing approximately 600 calories or less without using cream, butter or refined sugar. 

If you ask me this is a refreshing concept because I abhor those times when you finish a meal and feel like you need to be rolled out of the restaurant.  This is when I usually break out the chimpmunk face…just in case those dining with me didn’t know I was stuffed to the gills.  Mature, I know. 

Needless to say, I was ready and eager to try a restaurant that would not produce such a result.  D and I met in front of Mazza Gallerie at 7pm to head up to the 3rd floor dining room just off of the movie theater lobby.  Strange location, but as you’ll hear…it works.

Even the atmosphere inside makes you relax and think healthy.  I would equate it to walking into a spa.  The lighting is dim and there is a big tree in the middle of the dining room surrounded by little white lights.  The hosts at the front desk seemed genuinely happy that we had come to their restaurant, in fact I think they mentioned this in their initial greeting.  We were asked if we wanted a window or booth table and we chose to enjoy our meal overlooking the happy little shoppers on Wisconsin Ave.  I must say, being asked our preference was a nice touch that I haven’t experienced in a while.    

We sat down and were brought a little bowl of marinated cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and olives to nosh on.  Yum.  As there are always compromises in a relationship, I let D enjoy the mushrooms and olives while I stuck to tomatoes.  D has a strange aversion to whole tomatoes that I have yet to fully accept.  Our waitress then asked if we wanted a bread basket filled with both sunflower seed and whole wheat bread with a side of eggplant spread.  I’m glad we said yes because the bread was soft and flavorful, and the eggplant dip was an excellent spread.  The 4 pieces (notice the portion control) were gone in an instant.  For me, quality bread in the beginning is a sign of good things to come.

For entrees I ordered the Pan Seared Sea Bass ($23…high, I know) and D ordered the Grilled Diver Scallops, shrimp and mussels ($23).

Both plates were full of color and served in a beautiful presentation.  (My mother always said, the more color on the plate, the better it is for you!)  The sea bass was delicately placed over a bed of spinach, fennel and red pepper coulis and it’s skin was crisped to perfection.  It was flaky, cooked just the right amount and melted in my mouth.  Earlier D & I had agreed to split our meals and after tasting the sea bass I began to regret that decision.  (Sorry D)  D’s scallops, shrimp and mussels were served over a bed of long beans, thai basil and coconut curry giving the dish an Asian twist.  Another pleasing dish, though I would pick the sea bass as the winner of the night. 

Our wallets being empty from the pricier (but worth it) entrees, neither of us chose to order dessert.  I would have picked the small bites ($3.50) portion of the peach almond upside-down cake, which sounded delicious.  I’m a sucker for anything almond. 

Side Note: The waitress told us that regular sized dessert are kept to under 300 calories.   

In the end we left Rock Creek wanting to come back and try the rest of the menu.  The atmosphere was relaxing, the food delicious and I didn’t need to unbutton my pants after the last bite.  In fact, D & I were feeling pretty healthy, so we enjoyed a nice long walk home.  Just goes to show, you don’t always need cream and butter to make a satisfying meal.  

Rock Creek-Mazza

5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Washington, D.C. 20015 

202-966-ROCK

Rock Creek-Bethesda

4917 Elm Street

Bethesda, MD 20814

301-907-ROCK

Another fun fact.  They have take out.