Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader received an e-mail asking how his weekend away with Mrs. Villain went. It went very well thank you. We stayed at the Willard Hotel, had dinner Saturday at Galileo, and had brunch Sunday at Georgia Browns.

Dedicated readers of this space will remember that this was not the first time your Maximum Leader and Mrs. Villain have visited these two fine (indeed among the finest) Washington area eateries.

At Galileo your Maximum Leader decided to go with a chef’s tasting menu. But rather than getting celebrity chef Roberto Donna’s tasting menu he went with Executive Chef Amy Brandwein’s tasting menu.

Here is the breakdown of your Maximum Leader’s meal:

Marinated and Grilled Baby Octopus served with Grilled Baby White Eggplant and Tomato.
Fettucine tossed with Chiodinni Mushrooms and Fava Beans.
Handmade Cappellacci filled wtih Crabmeat served with Yello Tomato Sauce and Peas.
Risotto with Red Beets and Scallop.
Sauteed Filet of Black Sea Bass served with Braised Belgian Endive and Garlic Sauce.
Roasted Rack of Lamb served with Potato Puree. Hen of the Woods Mushrooms and an Orange Anise Sauce.

He did finish off the meal with a canoli.

Mrs. Villain got a “do-it-yourself” tasting menu. Her courses were:

Sauteed Scallops wrapped in bacon and served with a Ragu of Cherry Tomatoes, Pattypany Squash, Chiceri Beans and Asparagus in White Wine Clam Broth.
Half-moon shaped pasta stuffed with Mozzarella and Tomato served with Basil Cream sauce.
Gilled Filet of Austrailian Free-range Beef served with Tomato puree, Sauteed Chantrelle Mushrooms and Black Truffle Sauce.

She finished things off with a Sorbet sampler.

Of all the dishes consumed, the best one - by far - was the Red Beet and Scallop Risotto. Your Maximum Leader could have eaten so much more of it. He is salivating just thinking of it…

So while his dinner (and brunch the next morning) were excellent, he does have one bad food thought to share…

In the area where your Maximum Leader grew up there is a bakery. It has been there for as long as he can remember. One of the baked delicacies from this bakery is their chocolate eclair. Your Maximum Leader could (and has) bought and subsequently consumed many dozens of these eclairs over his lifetime. They had the perfect pastry crust. Firm enough to keep in the rich egg custard filling, yet light enough not to feel like you were eating crusty pastry. They were topped with a generous swath of milk chocolate. These eclairs were the greatest. Your Maximum Leader has been known to drive miles out of his way to get eclairs - since he doesn’t live in the area any more.

On the way back home from his weekend getaway, your Maximum Leader and Mrs. Villain stopped at the bakery to get 6 eclairs to take back to the Villainschloss…

Later that evening, after dinner, your Maximum Leader opened (with great anticipation and glee) the box containing the eclairs.

And they had changed…

They were covered with dark chocolate frosting and white icing; not the luscious milk chocolate as they had for the past 20 odd years. He bit into one. The pastry was thick, somewhat brittle, and very very dry. It almost crunched as he ate it.

Then the last dagger into your Maximum Leader’s heart was the custard. It was no longer the thick egg-y custard that he craved. It was a thin vanilla creme.

The eclair was ruined. Your Maximum Leader nearly wept of a broken heart. His favourite pastries in the world had changed. Changed after 20 years. He is still getting choked up thinking about it.

So… While he will give the Willard, Galileo, and Georgia Browns an A+ for his weekend getaway, the weekend ended on a sad note. The eclairs of youth are passed. Long live the eclair!

Carry on.