WP's @tomsietsema @AtlasRoom (1015 H St) is "a chic addition to H St"

Tomorrow's Washington Post will have this favorable initial review from Food Critic Tom Sietsema.  Congratulations to the Atlas Room of which we are big fans too!  Some higlights of the First Bite review are below:

The dining possibilities on H Street NE now run to German, Ethiopian and Japanese plus gimmicks as offbeat as indoor miniature golf (on the second floor of H Street Country Club, which serves tacos, black bean soup and tres leches cake). Until recently, however, a diner looking for a sophisticated plate of food and serious cocktails under the same roof was more or less obliged to head to another neighborhood.

Then the Atlas Room crept on the scene last month, tempting customers with an intimate 30-seat dining room, a Sazerac that summons New Orleans and not one, but two chefs whose resumes add up to a pocketful of stars.

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The Atlas Room is dressed with shimmering green curtains, handsome maps and a gently lit bar with a slate-stone veneer. The start of the fancification of bohemian H Street? "We're not trying to change the neighborhood, just give it another option," says Beard.

The chefs' menu is novel. Instead of grouping dishes by course, it lists food types. Under the heading "Pork," for instance, you'll find a flatbread arranged with shredded pork, another plate featuring pork loin, and a stew made with the meat. The dishes are priced at $9, $13 and $19, respectively (think snack, appetizer and entree).

The early hits include a meatless pot au feu chockablock with chickpeas, lentils and other beans, enlivened with a pesto made with the herb savory and crushed walnuts; juicy pan-roasted chicken with herbed gnocchi; and beef loin served with a fine mush of eggplant and yogurt and a rim dusted with toasted cumin and other zingers. That flatbread was underbaked yet nicely chewy, and it gained more flavor with a slather of butternut squash puree and glossy parsley. In all, the food makes me eager to return.