maplewood grill.

last night my roomie, n, & i went to her boyfriend's restaurant, maplewood grill, in vienna, va. maplewood grill is owned & operated by the kuchlers; it ran as le canard for several years until it's last day of buisness, january 1, 2009. this march, it reopened as maplewood grill, with a less "gourmet french," and a more "new american" feel. occassionally, there are trays of "tested" dishes at our apartment, but i had yet to go to the restuarant, so we made a date to go last night. with my traveling and n working the night shift (not to mention our needy boyfriends), we rarely get to see each other...

it wasn't incredibly busy at 6 pm (although as we were leaving it was getting busier), so paul made us up some appetizers to start- warm baked brie with pesto and seared scallops and mushrooms in a mushroom sauce. both delicious. i've noticed the entrees and dishes, although more modern than traditional french cuisine, still have that little french touch. the dishes are more saucy than creamy, and a little bit salty (but not too much). i had lobster ravioli (in a very light tomato sauce with crab and asparagus), and n had the mahi mahi special, served spanish style, with black beans and pinapple sauce. they were both wonderful. the portions weren't overbearing, although they weren't plain at all. n got apple crisp for dessert which was blazing hot, but smelled amazing! after a few beers (they have a few crazy beer selections, which is always fun) and a lot of chit chat, we went to visit the boys in kitchen. we HAD to find out how they got that apple crisp so hot!

it was really interesting to see how it all works in the kitchen. i never would have imagined how incredibly small the kitchen is!!! i have no idea how it all gets done!



maplewood grill is located in a strip mall shopping center at the corner of branch & maple (rt 123) in downtown vienna, virginia.