Citronelle, M Street, Washington, DC

Yesterday was the Lavatory Lady's 37th birthday! Yeah, I put it out there like that because as a child I promised myself I would never lie about my age. I also said I was going to move to California, become a Soul Train dancer and marry either Michael Jackson or Todd Bridges. Thank God, I've learned to make better promises to myself. At any rate, I’ve wanted to go Citronelle for about 3 years, but it is not one of those places that's friendly to everyone; meaning if you just want steak and potatoes this is not your spot. The evening started with a Grey Goose Martini. It was excellent. Not too much vermouth, very cold and strong. There a few ice crystals and the olives were not huge, but overall a very good drink. The menu changes constantly and is either 3 courses or 9 courses. We went with the 3 course for our table and a bottle of Champagne. The 4 of us were very happy with our entree choices which were salmon, cod, halibut and duck. The presentation of each was amazing! I won't go into details, but this restaurant was a wonderful experience and I would suggest it to anyone with open minded taste in food. They were aware that it was my birthday they provided an additional dessert plate with various choices for the table. The best dessert at the table was Chocolate 3 Ways, pictured below. I love this place and I will be back again, but it won't be because of the bathroom. The best or most important thing is that it was clean. There were floor to ceiling doors and a choice of cloth and paper towels. There was a pretty bouquet of fresh flowers on the basin, but the light fixture over the mirror was cracked. The worst part was the mysterious door leading to what could only be described as Freddy Krueger’s basement. It was too dark to take a picture, but that door should be locked during normal business hours. OK, I have bone to pick with my fellow patrons; while I think it is important for a restaurant to have an open trashcan by the door, I do not think it is appropriate to use a paper towel to open a door and leave the paper towel on the floor. I understand not wanting to touch a handle in the event that one of the more slovenly patrons did not wash their hands, but at least take the paper towel with you and hide it in your purse or something. At any rate, I really did enjoy my experience at Citronelle and I will not hesitate to go back for special occasions.