La Ferme Restaurant

Review by ddruker on December 21, 2007

Even though the number adventurous eateries in the DC area is growing at what would have seemed a blistering pace when I moved here over thirty years ago, there are some places my wife and I keep going back to year after year. La Ferme, in Chevy Chase, is one of those places. The cuisine is traditional without being antedeluvian, the cooking is absolutely first-rate, and the ambience (which includes not only the lovely setting, the dining rooms, and the air of a French country inn, but also the way you're treated from the moment you make a reservation to the moment you head out the door) is memorable.

The stucco building that houses the restaurant dates back to the 1920s, and has gone through a variety of incarnations since then. It's been an actual restaurant, under pretty much the same management, since the eighties. Although I don't live within walking distance of La Ferme, it sometimes appears as if the majority of the diners do. The restaurant provides ample space for self-parking, a definite plus.

There's live music and a signature souffl�, and a menu that generally includes standards like grilled Dover sole; grilled salmon filet served over curried Israeli couscous with baby vegetables; sea scallops served over wilted Arugula; and peppercorn crusted loin of lamb served with rosemary potato cake and braised endive and roasted garlic jus. I�m still thinking fondly about the calf�s sweetbread, saut�ed and served crispy with caper and lemon butter, that I had during my most recent dinner at La Ferme.

It�s not a trendy place and probably won�t show up on this week's must-visit list. Neither the decor nor the presentation is in any way designed to push the envelope. But it�s a superb place for the kind of -- dare I say it -- romantic dining experience you'd have trouble seeking out these days in reconstituted Bethesda or Adams Morgan.