Gallery Restaurant
A palette of Latin flavors for the discriminating palate

By Patricia B. Grossman
Photos by Julie Wiatt

Chef Ward Deal

Montreal lost a giant of a chef when the Gallery Restaurant in the arts district of Silver Spring hired Ward Deal to create his masterpieces of contemporary Latin cuisine. Trained in Spain and Mexico, and drawing from Caribbean, Central, and South American cuisines, Chef Deal produces not only stunning entrees, but desserts with such flair you’d think you were dining in a chic Buenos Aires hot-spot.

The Gallery’s “post-industrial” interior design is hip and modern, spare but elegant, with luminous pink and orange bars, and the blue glow of their signature g” logo. The main entrance of the two-level space is on East-West Highway just west of Georgia Avenue. The lower level is off the new Blair Mill Arts Alley.

The competition was fierce on opening night, Saturday, January 14:Redskins parties abounded throughout the metropolitan DC area. My dining companion and I had made an early reservation; but by the time we left there was quite a respectable crowd.

Our attentive waiter, Joe, suggested several Argentinean red and white wine selections, but I opted for a virgin mojito. Having become a fan of this drink, I decided to compare it with others I’d had recently. This mojito was the best. Mint and lime flavor sprang from the glass and I realized sugar had only been added to cut the bitterness of the lime. Past mojitos were like sugary lime pop drinks compared to this. The glass was smaller, I must admit, but the flavor, superb. Cocktails at the Gallery are served from 4:00 p.m. until closing, which on the weekends can go on past 2:00 a.m. “There’s no last call,” claims one of the hosts.

Intriguing ingredients grace the menu, from quinoa, the ancient grain of the Incan empire to boniato, a white Caribbean sweet potato, to skate, a member of the ray family of cartilaginous fishes popular in Asia and Europe. My companion and I began our meal with two starters (pictured at left): Anticuchos ($8), quinoa-crusted chicken brochettes served with a tamarind sauce; and Ceviche ($9), lime juice-marinated fish, with red onion, jalapeno, cilantro and avocado. The anticuchos looked like large breaded chicken nuggets skewered on thin wooden sticks. The portion was generous and satisfying, the sauce tangy and the crust light and crunchy.

The Ceviche, which featured Mahi-Mahi on the night we had ordered it, was a bargain at $9. Instead of the usual smaller bits of fish, the Mahi-Mahi pieces were large and again, the portion was generous. I felt like I was eating sushi, Peruvian style.

Other starters, which I plan to return for, include the mixed green salad with a pumpkinseed vinaigrette, crab picaditas (masa boats, lump crab, cream, avocado and cilantro) and the grilled chorizo (highly seasoned pork sausage, grilled onions, boniato ginger mash and chimichurri).

Unique and even eclectic are the entrée combinations, thoughtfully designed, beautifully plated and full of flavor: Plantain-crusted salmon (salmon filet, orange mojo with achiote-scented quinoa, $18), Chicken al Mani (roasted chicken breast in a toasted peanut-panca chile sauce, $16), Mussels and Fries (Chilean mussels, pisco, tomato, lime, garlic, shallots and yuca fries, $14) and Braised Lamb Shank (chili marinated lamb served with boniato ginger mash, $19) to name a few.

My dining partner and I decided on one fish entrée and a mixed grill selection. Skate al Ajillo (pan fried skate filet in garlic with lime topped with slices of New Mexico chile served with greens, $18) was worth every cent. Having tried skate once before in a French restaurant in downtown DC I was skeptical—it had been dry and tasteless. But on this Saturday night I found out what all the commotion regarding this interesting fish was all about. A large portion of a white fish, flat like flounder, with thin strips of a dark red sweet and spicy chile laid atop, was brought to the table. Mild in taste, comparable to Dover sole, with a robust texture almost like lobster, that flaked like crab—this fish called skate competes with the ever-popular Chilean Sea bass. Though described as pan-fried I would say it must have been sautéed ever so slightly in a butter and/or oil with just enough garlic and lime to give it an essence. It was served with greens and slender asparagus.

The mixed grill (skirt steak, chorizo, half a cornish hen, chimichurri and tostones served with a boniato ginger mash, $24) was fun because of the variety but it didn’t compare to the exquisiteness of the Skate dish. For $19 the Churrasco (grilled skirt steak and yuca fries) will more than delight any meat lover. Skirt steak, tender and delicious, had once been a secret of butchers, but is now becoming more available.

The Cornish hen was moist, the sauce subtle. The chorizo tasted like it came straight from Spain, but chewier because it was grilled.

The chimichurri sauce, made from olive oil, garlic, parsley and oregano, was meant for the skirt steak, but could provide a pleasing flavor to most anything in sight; my dining partner found it so delicious she was spreading it on her asparagus. I was so impressed with the grilled flavor of the skirt steak I didn’t even slather any on the meat.

Tostones and boniato ginger mash also accompanied the mixed grill. (Yes, there was a lot of food, unusual in the more upscale restaurants.) Tostones are plantain coins, banana-like chips, fried in oil and, once soft, mashed and refried again. They are soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, quite savory. The boniato ginger mash was definitely unique, taking a Caribbean white sweet potato, cooking then mashing it with ginger, somewhat like garlic mashed potatoes, but boniatos are silky and smoother than potatoes. Ginger gave this mashed mixture a zing.

We were both satiated but our waiter Joe whispered, “Guava Cheesecake” (his favorite from the previous day’s tasting event for staff) and we were hooked. I ordered an herbal tea—African Amber—that came in a whole leaf pouch reminding me of white silk stockings, from an exclusive selection of Mighty Leaf Teas. My partner ordered espresso.

The cheesecake came on a long glass plate and it was a good thing we ordered just one for the two of us because the slice was huge. The cheesecake itself was light and delicate; the topping, a thin layer of guava-flavored sweetness, seemed to have been torched, as would créme Brulée. A tangy caramel guava sauce and a sweet creamy sauce artistically swirled around the cheesecake, sending us into a dessert heaven.

The Gallery Restaurant 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring 301-589-2555 Tues — Sun 4 - 10 pm Lunch, coming soon. www.gallerysilverspring.com