Brunch at Four Seasons

A while ago I received an invitation from the lovely Liliana for brunch at Seasons to celebrate 1 year anniversary of Washington DC's Four Seasons on Twitter (@fswashington).

Prior to this brunch, I've been to Four Seasons hotel on two occasions: lunch at Bourbon Steak (1, 2). I was excited to try the new menu at Season's restaurant, catch up with Liliana, and share the table with other fabulous DC bloggers, including my +1, K. And just for the full disclosure: the tab was picked up by the restaurant. {Otherwise, the brunch would cost you $80 including juice, champagne, and coffee.}

At first I decided that in no way will I consume any alcohol during brunch: I still had to do grocery shopping, cooking and photograph several recipes for Robyn Webb. However, when I saw the festive table and Sylvie's glass of mimosa, I could not resist. Check out the cute name cards with our twitter names on them!

Before filling up my plate with food, I decided to do a quick walk around the various stations, snap a few photographs and decide what looked the best.

Here's Barbeque Shack: pulled pork sliders, smoked brisket, dry rubbed ribs, slaw, red potato salad, deviled eggs and red peas with collard greens.



Next up, Social Salads and Cold vegetables: there are too many to list, but here is a sample of the offering: feta/olives/watermelon, Heirloom tomatoes/basil/olive oil, roasted bell peppers, capers/kalamata olives, grilled local peaches/saba dressing.

Meat, salads, all good things, but I was most excited about seafood!  Just some of the offerings you see: tomato gazpacho, poached shrimp, oysters, mini crab & vegetable salad, seared scallops, Maine lobster rolls, and smoked salmon. {I'm getting hungry just writing this.}



mini crab & vegetable salad with avocado  puree



variety of toppings for fresh oysters



tomato gazpacho shot glasses



crab claws



dill cured salmon

There was also a station with variety of cured meats and cheeses.



And now, time to eat! I decided to take a photo of each one of my plates in order to try and keep my intake in check...but it was really hard to do with so many appetizing options!

Plate #1: gazpacho, crab salad, scallops, lobster roll, raw tuna, shrimp, and dill salmon.

My thoughts: my favorites were the gazpacho (smooth, acidic, bright and cold), dill salmon (would be perfect on a bagel, but I didn't want to fill up on carbs), crab & vegetable salad (loved the presentation, the sweetness of the crab and the creaminess of the avocado), and the scallops. The shrimp, I thought, lacked flavor and was rather forgettable.



Plate #2: more crab/vegetable salad, oysters, cured meat, a piece of brie, a few oysters and some salads (vegetables are good for you, right?)

My thoughts: loved the tomato/mozzarella salad and the grilled peaches.



Plate #3 Meat and seafood: crabcake, grilled shrimp, dry rubbed ribs, smoked brisket with apple bourbon glaze, red skin potato salad with bacon, and a piece of meat (I know...I'm sorry, I can't remember the cut).

My thoughts: unlike the shrimp from my earlier plate, this one was flavorful! Definite points. The crabcake had very little filler ingredients: all you could taste was crab: a definite plus. I was not crazy about the piece of meat: it was on a dry side and chewy, but loved both the brisket and the ribs (even though the ribs were a bit messy to eat).



And then...........there was an entire room for dessert!!!

the next two photos are courtesy of Mary from Arugula Files. Check me out all dressed up and wearing Cindy's mom's gorgeous pearls and looking forward to enjoying some chocolate!





Plate #4: creme brule, fresh cherries, cheesecake and a few pieces of fruit dipped in chocolate. Needless to say I loved it all.



And just when I thought we were done, the pastry chef brought a birthday cake to our table! I only had one bite, but it was delicious.



Are you feeling stuffed just from reading this post? Surprisingly, I could still breath after leaving the table.

This is definitely a splurge of a brunch and not something you'd ever do on a weekly basis. Leave Seasons for very special occasions and for when you have several hours to linger over the food. The service was impeccable and I really enjoyed most of the food options.

The beauty of this buffet, is that you can take a little sample of many dishes: if you like them, take more, if you don't, the waiter will take your plate with unfinished food back.

Thanks Four Seasons and Liliana for great food memories!

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