Whenever the subject of The Conche—or its now-closed D.C. predecessor, Co Co. Sala—comes up in serious food circles, a familiar question surfaces: Are chef-owner Santosh Tiptur’s chocolate-infused savories nothing but a forced gimmick, or do they actually taste good?
It turns out, the chef’s liberal use of chocolate isn’t the issue—but consistency might be. One Saturday night, when Tiptur was in the kitchen, we arrived skeptical and left thrilled. On a follow-up dinner on a Sunday night a week later, when the chef was absent and the menu had undergone a seasonal overhaul, two dishes listed weren’t available and the cooking was uneven.
Among the starters, the highlights include a stack of well-seasoned fried calamari, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The addition of chocolate beer to the batter likely has a beneficial effect on the crunch factor but doesn’t add much to the flavor—a good thing if you’re wondering whether chocolate and calamari ever needed to appear in the same dish. Other successful appetizers include the sweet and sour cauliflower with a wonderfully crackly exterior and slightly spicy, slightly sweet garlic-ginger sauce served over fried spinach, as well as an excellent version of the Hawaiian dish du jour: ahi tuna poke.
An appetizer to steer clear of is the tempura-fried Brussels sprouts, since its pickled mustard seeds, cotija cheese and citrus vinaigrette don’t make up for the fact that they came to the table soggy. Plus, you only get seven Brussels sprouts for $8. (It would have been nice if our server had mentioned that they also come with the scallop entree that someone at our table ordered.)
Like Co Co. Sala, The Conche remains dedicated to serving sliders, despite the trend being long over. Passé or not, the beef sliders are excellent thanks to moist, flavorful patties made from ground sirloin stuffed with braised short ribs, buttery sesame-seed buns, great sauces and a fried cheese fritter. The Buffalo chicken sliders, however, were nice and spicy but both the meat and bun were dry. While tasty, a seasonal risotto also missed the mark since its texture was more like leftover oatmeal than a traditional risotto.
The lamb flatbread was definitely (and thankfully) not the trendy pseudo-pizza we were expecting—in fact, it’s quite elegant. The base was more like a pressed puff pastry, and the wonderful chermoula-spiced shredded lamb on top is accented with feta, kalamata olives, labneh and shaved fennel. Two other entrees that didn’t disappoint were the cocoa-nib-crusted scallops atop a cocoa-infused black bean puree, which is truly more delicious than it sounds, and a cocoa-rubbed New York strip accompanied by a ton of ingredients that don’t sound like they should go together—tomato, raisins, kale, raspberry vinaigrette—but actually do.
And now to the part you’ve all been waiting for: dessert, an area where this chocolate-obsessed chef truly shines. The passion fruit and chocolate confection dubbed the Jivara was the far-and-away favorite, with layerings of chocolate cake and milk chocolate ganache over a pool of passion fruit caramel and garnishes of passion fruit gelée and sorbet.
Another knockout was the homey monkey bread sundae, which was quite unlike the fancier Jivara but no less craveable. A cluster of slightly salty monkey bread nuggets anchored by an awesomely decadent caramel rest beside a dish of outstanding vanilla gelato, whipped cream, almond slivers and chocolate shavings. While no longer on the menu, fingers are crossed that it makes a return.
In the name of research, we couldn’t resist ordering a $48 dessert called The Conche Entremet. Once you get over the sticker shock and do some quick math, you realize that a table of four can share it for $12 per person. This showstopper starts as a large orb of chocolate that arrives at the table on a golden cart, then is doused in liqueur and set afire. The chocolate sphere melts to reveal a hodgepodge of preciously crafted sweets, including layers of sour cream chocolate cake, whipped “blonde” chocolate, chocolate crémeux and three types of ice cream that are all then drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauces.
Is it worth it? Well, that depends on how much you love chocolate and how many people share it. But it’s the Jivara that I’d return for over and over.
Notes:
The Conche
1605 Village Market Blvd. SE, Unit J108, Leesburg
Open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner and for brunch on Sundays
Appetizers: $8-$18
Entrees: $16-$68
