Recent DC Events

Seeking Perfection at Imperfecto

by Bill Babash, Vice Chargé de Presse

The Bailliage of Greater Washington, DC, welcomed spring with a spectacular five course dinner, paired with wines from the bailliage’s cellar, at Maître Rôtisseur Chef Enrique Limardo’s acclaimed restaurant, Imperfecto, on March 15, 2023.

The bailliage had originally met Chef Limardo at his first restaurant in the area, Alma Cucina Latina, in Baltimore. At a joint event with the Bailliage of Baltimore in 2017, the chef introduced diners to his elevated interpretation of classic flavors from his native Venezuela, infused with culinary influences from his travels around the globe.

In 2018, our bailliage enjoyed a fun and educational afternoon exploring whiskey at Chef Limardo’s Chicken+Whiskey in Washington’s vibrant 14^th Street corridor. Entering the small counter-service restaurant one finds some of the best rotisserie chicken and South American sides in the city. But the adventure truly begins by stepping through the walk-in refrigerator door at the back of the restaurant, which leads not to a food storage area, but to a speakeasy boasting 99 varieties of whiskey. An afternoon tasting whiskey and whiskey cocktails, accompanied by delicious bar bites from the kitchen, created one of the bailliage’s most memorable Société Mondiale du Vin events.

Chef Limardo’s next venture was his elegant Seven Reasons restaurant in Washington. In early 2020, the bailliage was in the final stages of planning an event there when the pandemic shut down in-person gatherings. Undeterred, Chef Limardo and Bailli Judy Mazza reimaged the event as a delivered, at-home dinner. In May 2020, staff from Seven Reasons delivered dinner – complete with an opening cocktail and wine – to members’ homes throughout the capital region. That evening, Chef Limardo joined participants in a Zoom video conference. He discussed each of the five courses and coached diners through finishing the preparation of each. The result was a truly restaurant-quality dining experience in the safety of members’ own homes.

In early 2021, Chef Limardo’s opened Imperfecto in downtown Washington’s West End to rave reviews. Imperfecto is inspired by the intersection of Mediterranean and Latin American cultures, interpreted in Chef Limardo’s bold culinary style. Given its past encounters with the chef, the bailliage was particularly eager to dine there. The anticipation grew when Imperfecto’s Chef’s Table experience earned a Michelin star. The restaurant’s name reflects the philosophy of the chef and his team – always striving to ever higher levels of creativity, flavors, and service – continuously seeking perfection but never achieving it.

At last, the wait was over. Members and guests gathered in Imperfecto’s airy dining room where a glass of Gonet-Médeville Champagne Grand Cru Champ d’Alouette Extra Brut 2006 awaited. This extraordinary Champagne is 100% grand cru chardonnay from the renowned Champ d’Alouette vineyard, which is just ½ acre in size, in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The tiny crop of grapes is fermented and aged in oak barrels for six months. It is then bottled, without malolactic fermentation, and ages on its lees for 12 years. With a deep straw-yellow color, the wine reveals layers ranging from pear and lemon to brioche and hazelnut. Servers passed delectable canapés–caviar with blini, parmesan and saffron arancini, and foie gras profiteroles–each confirming that diners were about to experience something special.

Once seated, dinner began with an amuse bouche of fragrant and earthy mushroom soup garnished with infused olive oil and chives and served in a glass demitasse. With appetites whetted, the evening’s first course was pumpkin risotto and scallop. Kabocha squash (also known as Japanese pumpkin) added a subtle sweetness to the al dente bomba rice, echoing the natural sweetness of the seared scallop. Paper-thin slices of green and yellow squash, Mascarpone, seed vinaigrette, and black trumpet mole added further vibrant flavor, color, and texture to the dish. Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 2013 was a great pairing. The chardonnay grapes for this luscious wine come from 30+ year old vines, all organically farmed in Chablis’ famed Kimmeridgian terroir. Fermentation is in stainless steel with indigenous yeast, and after malolactic fermentation, the wine is aged on its lees for 14 months in wooden vats. Ample minerality combined with notes of green apple and citrus enabled this wine to shine with the risotto.

Next was a moussaka cigar – a phyllo “cigar” filled with smoked eggplant, ground lamb, and pine nuts, served with goat-Manchego cream cheese. Crispy and flavorful, this course deliciously reflected the Mediterranean influences in the chef’s cuisine. Laurent Martray Côte de Brouilly “Les Feuillées” 2018 nicely complemented the dish. With vines averaging 60 years old, this 100% gamay from the steep and rocky terrain of the “Les Feuillées” parcel was notable for its elegant old-vine character.

Steak tartare followed. This outstanding dish featured hand-cut Angus beef, sheep’s milk ricotta, spicy Ras el Hanout honey, and egg yolk. The presentation was visually gorgeous, and the flavors were expertly balanced, with the accompaniments adding layers of flavor while keeping the beef the star of the dish. Viña Cono Sur Pinot Noir Ocio 2007 from Chile was an inspired match. The Cono Sur name translates to “southern cone” and refers to the winery’s location in South America. The winery incorporates the oldest pinot noir vines in Chile (planted in the 1960s). The winemaker Matãas Rãosker produces several expressions of his flagship varietal, including this iconic Ocio from the Casablanca Valley. The wine is aged for 14 months, 70% in barrels and 30% in French oak foudres, then for one month in stainless steel tanks. The result is lively, intensely aromatic wine with notes of red fruit, herbs, and wood that wonderfully elevated the chef’s superb rendition of steak tartare.

The savory courses culminated with lamb terrine, Robuchon’s pomme purée, red cabbage confit, lamb jus, and truffle. The generous slices of truffle lent extravagant earthy notes to the meltingly tender and richly flavored lamb while decadent amounts of butter and exacting technique transformed humble potatoes into the indulgent pommes purée made famous by Chef Joel Robuchon. Red cabbage and jus added finishing touches of flavor. A dish this luxurious deserved an equally sophisticated wine and Domaine Berthet-Rayne Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 was exactly the right choice. The estate boasts vines averaging forty years old, with some up to 70. A blend of 65% grenache, 20% mourvèdre, 10% cinsault, and 5% syrah, this intense wine revealed its complexity with layers ranging from dark plum and cherry to leather and earth. The domaine notes that this wine reaches its full maturity and complexity after 7 years, making the evening’s 2016 vintage a perfectly timed and memorable highlight of the dinner.

A scoop of refreshing raspberry sorbet followed, preparing palates for dessert: The “golden pear” was Bosque pear poached in Sauternes presented with thyme-vanilla ice cream, tonka beat bean crème anglaise, Sicilian lemon gel, and tuile, and garnished with gold leaf. The flavors and textures of the composition melded into a delightful finale to a spectacular meal. A glass of Braida Brachetto d’Acqui 2019 accompanied the pear. The Braida winery in the Piedmont region of Italy has been making this distinctive wine since 1967. From 100% Brachetto grapes, this gently sweet red wine is lightly effervescent, making it a festive culmination of the dinner.

Bailli Judy Mazza introduced Maître Rôtisseur Chef Limardo and presented him with a Chaîne plate to thank him for the fantastic dinner and memorable evening. Members and guests lingered to chat with the chef, already looking forward to their next visit to Imperfecto.