Dinner at Lyon Hall
We had another nearly flawless dinner at @LyonHall Friday evening. We got there just in the knick of time to catch happy hour prices (1/2 off wine & beer) and sunny blue skies, which actually turned into dark and menacing clouds rather quickly (causing us to rush through the end of our meal to take cover.)
The bread & butter at Lyon Hall is absolutely delicious, and is not to be ignored or pushed aside. The pumpernickel was my particular favorite. It was as soft, fluffy, and moist as bread can be. The butter was sprinkled in sea salt, which gets you salivating pretty quickly.
Rather than go with 2 entrees, we actually decided to split an entrée and 3 sides (with plenty of leftovers to take home). We went with the Pork Schnitzel, which came with 2 large golden medallions of thinly sliced breaded pork, served over a warm, house-made smoked potato salad, and drizzled with a lingonberry sauce. Breaded meat might not be everyone’s first choice when paying nearly $20 for an entrée, but if you do enjoy schnitzel, I don’t think you can go wrong with this dish. We cleaned our plates - this was the only part of the meal where we didn’t have leftovers to take home.
In addition to the schnitzel, we also split a side of spaetzle, a side of sauerkraut, and an order of duck fat fries. As soon as our eyes met the spaetzle, it was love at first sight. The spaetzle is cooked in a creamy blend of gruyere cheese and herbs. Oh, it’s wonderful. I can’t believe that it’s been across the street from us for at least a year, and we only just discovered it. This dish will likely remain in our permanent collection of Lyon Hall selections.
Sauerkraut is one of those things that my husband got me into after we got married. He has a particular enjoyment of sweet/sour flavor combinations, and has helped me appreciate the art of it. The sauerkraut at Lyon Hall is a perfect example of why sweet & sour flavors form a perfect marriage together. Like everything at Lyon Hall, the sauerkraut is house-made, and it complimented both the schnitzel and the spaetzle so well. I highly recommend ordering it, to experience the way it will bring more flavors out of your other dishes, the same way a good wine does.
The duck fat fries were good, but they were so incredibly piping hot and thick that we didn’t really get to enjoy them until the very tail end of our meal. Advice: cut them in half as soon as you start your meal so that some of the heat can escape. Overall, I think I prefer Lyon Hall’s “pommes frites” over their duck fat fries. (although, it’s not a bad thing that my only complaint was that these were too fresh.)
We had enough spaetzle and sauerkraut leftover to serve atop an English muffin for breakfast on Saturday morning and yes, it was delicious. Lyon Hall easily remains our favorite restaurant in Clarendon. If you’re worried about the price tag of eating there too frequently, do what we did: split an entrée and a couple sides. I see Lyon Hall as one of Clarendon’s greatest gifts. Even DC residents would agree.
