America del Sur en Adams Morgan - a Trip To Ceibo

Recently I visited Ceibo, a new contemporary restaurant and cocktail / wine bar just adjacent to Marie Reed Elementary School in the southern terminus of the Adams Morgan neighborhood. 

Ceibo is the product of brothers Manuel and Chef Juan Olivera, and named after the coral flowers of the South American ceibo tree.  As you may recall, I did a piece on Mercy Me in the West End a few years ago, and the fun flavors and unique appraches of South American cuisines are of interest to me, so I was happy to visit Ceibo. The brothers have also been involved in several DC restaurant ventures, including one of my favorites, Lupo Verde. 

The restaurant occupies an old townhouse and is quite sparse inside, with clean walls, low lights, and dark furniture. I like it - not distracting, cool, reserved. These places feel like oases from the street. In fact, the main dining room is half a floor above street level, and the bar is half a floor below. 

I got started with an amuse bouche, a buñelo, made of rice flour, Swiss chard, and spinach. True to the French name of the dish, it did in fact amuse my mouth, and was a nice little start. 

Their cocktail menu is limited, as it their food menu. This is on purpose, I'm told, as the food and beverage team here wants to focus on a core set of pan-South American flavors. "We want to exeucte [the South American vision] properly" said Manuel. They don't focus too much on fancy additions or garnishes. "There's beauty in simplicity," said Manuel. 

This may be true for some of their stuff, but some of their cocktails are quite complex, including flavors like lemon verbena, yerba mate, sweet potato, and using tipples like grappa and Uruguayan vermouth. Interesting ingredients!

The thing that really piqued my interest about Ceibo, and got me out here, was a cocktail featuring grappa. Grappa is a kind of grape brandy, often made with the pomace (stems and skins and stuff leftover from winemaking). This was done to use up what would be refuse from the winemaking process. Grappa is most common in Italy, but after World War II, there was a lot of immigration from Europe to South America and that's how grappa really got introduced to the region. Now it's made all over, and the Uruguayan stuff is well done. 

If you take grappa neat, which is totally fine, it'll be quite earthy, almost like a soju, with a strong mushroom notes. It's often consumed as a digestif, meant to stimulate the gut. It's an acquired taste, so it's often mixed - usually with a sweetening agent like honey. Such a concoction is called "grappa miel" in Spanish and is a popular bar shot in South America. 

The grappa cocktail at Ceibo is called "Cedrón", a mix of Italian grappa, house-made lemon verbena syrup, lemon, and honey over ice.  

The nose is refreshing and a little pulpy, kinda like lemon oil. Taste-wise, it's quite refreshing and the house-made lemon verbena syrup really balances out the earthiness of the grappa. The cocktail itself is remarkably well balanced and not too sweet...a perennial fear of mine, fortunately not happening here. I'd highly recommend the Cedrón, and in fact would suggest having an ounce of grappa, neat, beforehand just to see the contrast.

"The idea [behind] the Cedrón is to show grappa at it's lightest, and to introduce the [drinking public] to it," said Manuel. To note, there are plenty of other grappas (grappae?) that are much stronger and more bracing. Some are even barrel aged, although I don't think they have any at Ceibo. 

Manuel also had some neat Uruguayan vermouths, which I got to try. The Vermut Flores is super tasty with an interesting root beer / cola flavor; sort of like a black Spanish vermut but a little lighter. It appears in two of their cocktails, "Boniato" and "Sifón."

Ceibo is definitely worth a visit. I would say it definitely trends a little more towards the fancy side, both in terms of presentation and quality of cuisine. They've got seasonal menus and brunch in the works, with more information at www.ceibodc.com. 

Not to miss is the cold-served veal tongue with quail eggs, parsley, capers, onions, and olive oil. Very tender, a bit gamey, and savory. The veggies taste a little smoked, and the capers are nice and crispy. Don't miss it when you go!