Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak is well known in DC for its excellent butter poached steaks and high quality beef.

I have to agree, having enjoyed my steak tremendously at lunch recently.  The dining room was full to the brim, which is always an encouraging sign and we were seated at a very nice table booth with comfortable bench style seats, making it a little more private.

Although the cuisine is contemporary American, steaks and burgers are very much their speciality.  The steaks are placed on a wood burning grill that seal in the juices and bring out the full flavour of the meat. The menu changes with the seasons and they try to use natural and organic hormone free cuts of beef and only sustainable line caught fish.

I liked the straightforward menu with its choice of 6 Appetizers and chose the delicious Ahi Tuna Tartare with Ancho chile, Asian pear, mint and toasted sesame oil.  I was also tempted with the spice-poached shrimp with horseradish and Belvedere cocktail sauce. My colleague had the White Corn and young coconut soup with poached shrimp.

Entrées included a choice of 3 steaks from the wood-burning grill: a Wagyu Flat Iron, Skirt and Filet Mignon, the fish was a Mahi Mahi.  There were 5 choices of burgers: a Prime Steak, Lamb, Veggie, Turkey and Korean Barbeque Salmon.  They also had swordfish and an Amish chicken salad.  We both had the excellent Filet Mignon which was cooked to perfection and of course some naughty but nice French Fries!  I also recommend asking for some of their amazing buttered truffle rolls which are made in-house by their very own pastry chef.

The wine list is very comprehensive as you would expect. We had a light 2008 New Zealand Cupid’s Arrow Pinot Noir to start with followed by an excellent 2008 Chehalam Pinot Noir form Oregon.  I am impressed with just how good the Oregon Pinot Noirs are.

When it comes to the desserts you are simply spoilt for choice.  You can either go for one of the four more traditional choices such as a warm Peach Cobbler or Raspberry Tart or do what we did and have a selection of their Small Batch Artisanal Cheeses which are made by the chef in-house.  We had the “Polarbert”, which is aged between 6 to 12 weeks, the Bulleit Bath, aged 1 to 3 months and the Gorgonzola “Indeciso” aged 3 to 6 months.  You can then finish off with one of their classic or organic whole leaf teas.

I like this restaurant for its excellent steaks, first rate attentive service and wonderful atmosphere and will certainly stop by next time I am in DC.

Open for lunch from 11:30am to 2:30pm. Dinner Sunday to Thursday from 6pm to 10pm; Friday and Saturday from 5:30pm to 10:30pm.