Industry Night at Lemaire

Last Sunday I was invited to an Industry Night reception/kick-off at the new bar at Lemaire. I was surprised to have received the invite - I'm an amateur blogger with no industry in sight and about a year ago my hubby and I had visited Lemaire with disastrous results (that were posted on my blog). But, I RSVP'd and was encouraged to attend. It's hard to turn down free food and drink and I was curious about the new space, so we went.


I have to say that I liked the centralized bar area with the sleek yet understated contemporary styling. And I liked how the dining rooms were located in the east and west wings - away from the bar and noise (and the carpets were oh-so-plush).

At the reception we tried a Farmhand with Jack Daniels, tea, and lemonade, good at first, but the melting ice really gave the drink a watered down taste by the end. We switched to red wine, that happened to be an Enotria Barbera from California and one of my favorites. It was also on the regular wine list for $38 a bottle.

To nibble we were offered a variety of free sample items that are featured on the Industry Night menu:

pimiento cheese / 5
white cheddar / olives / toasted sourdough

dave and dee’s oyster mushroom toasts / 8
goats "r" us goat cheese / local micro lettuces / billy bread

cornmeal-crusted chesapeake bay oysters / 11
upland cress / jicama-jalapeno slaw / green goddess

fresh gulf shrimp cocktail / 10
old bay / tomato / horseradish

pineapple curry-glazed chicken skewers / 5
honey / vanilla / brown sugar

spicy vine ripe hanover tomato gazpacho / 7
watermelon / blue crab / basil oil

All were very good. I really liked the shrimp and hubby really liked the gazpacho. Jennifer Crisp, the Public Relations manager chatted with us a while and confirmed that we were deliberately invited. We thanked her, praised the remodeling and the food, and made sure she was aware of the not-so-great-time we had last year. We also discussed the farm to table concept and the small urban garden that Chef Bundy grows for kitchen use. We picked up both a regular and an Industry Night/Bar menu. I think we will have to give the dining room a whirl in the future as well as the bar. Once again, it will come down to the quality of the service received.

For any of you in the restaurant industry, SHOW YOUR PAYSTUB AND GET THREE DISHES FOR $20 AND ENJOY HALF PRICE BOTTLED BEERS ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY EVENINGS.

It sounds like a great deal to me based on the quality of nibbles at the reception.