Diners who scan a copy of the menu at Gravitas, the new tasting menu-centric restaurant in Ivy City, won’t find any dishes labeled “v” for vegetarian. But that doesn’t mean customers avoiding plants are lacking in options at the fine dining establishment — according to chef Matt Baker, more than half of the dishes on the menu eschew meat.
“We wanted to make sure those dishes were on equal footing,” he said. And as diners look at the artful care with which Baker presents menu items like summer vegetable salads and gruyere-spiked pasta covered in a leek ash cage, they’ll see how much care the chef puts into his vegetable-focused menu items.
Gravitas opened in Ivy City back in late June after more than two years of construction delays. On its face, it was a bit of a gamble. Though chef Nick Stefanelli has found success luring diners to his tasting menu-centric Masseria, also in Northeast D.C. and not far from Gravitas, it’s hardly guaranteed that D.C. diners would travel to the further reaches of the city and drop a minimum of $78 for four courses, even though the neighborhood is seeing more and more restaurant development in recent years. And while Baker’s resume has featured fine dining gigs, such as a brief stint at Minibar and time at the upscale Occidental, many of his previous employers have leaned more casual.
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