I try to visit a new “splurge” restaurant about once a season. It’s a great way to connect with the changes in local ingredients and celebrate the year in food and drink. But now, having been to Gravitas, a modern American restaurant in Ivy City, I think I might have to change my routine and go only here. Helmed by Matt Baker, Gravitas’s exceptional team consistently creates new, inspiring, and refined menus that have me eagerly awaiting my next meal.
The cuisine at Gravitas focuses on ingredients from the Chesapeake watershed. This means a lot of seafood, like tuna and oysters, but also locally raised meat and vegetables. Recently, I’ve been wowed by their oxtail porridge with black truffles and parsnips, perfect for early fall. The oxtail is served with its braising liquid, and it’s incredibly juicy and pulls apart easily. The oat porridge is arranged around the oxtail centerpiece and the parsnips are on top and have a touch of earthy sweetness.
