The other week, I went to the Evening Star in Del Ray. This was my first experience with this particular restaurant. The Evening Star is owned by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group which also owns Vermillion, Tallula, Eat Bar, Buzz Bakery, and my favorite, Rustico.
It was Friday night and the place was packed. As there were no tables in the dining room, we took a spot in the upstairs bar and lounge area. I was there to catch up with friends and did not intend to order any food until I had a look at the menu. The menu included Beef Carpaccio with grilled watermelon, Grilled Asparagus Salad, and Oyster Sliders.
I ordered the Smoked Duck Salad which had a grilled peach stuffed with Camembert and pickled Cipollini onions. I had been begging my husband to grill peaches all summer and the one attempt was disappointing as they were not free stone peaches. And this grilled peach was another disappointment. The peach was hard and tasteless. It being peach season, I had assumed I would be served a wonderful ripe peach. A local peach would have won brownie points. I was expecting a tender, juicy peach that taste of wood and smoke.
The Camembert was bitter and did not pair well with the peach. The smoked duck was sliced thin like bacon and laid out in strips on the bottom of the plate. For $11, I was hoping for more duck or at least more greens. The small ball of greens seemed to be a garnish, not a salad. The dressing left no lasting memory.
The space seemed nice but I cannot comment on the service as we did not have table service. It was rather loud and hard to enjoy conversation. I had big expectations as I love Rustico and enjoyed Vermillion but this was a big let down. It only takes one bad peach to spoil my salad. Next time, I’ll just go to Rustico.
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