Located right in the center of Rosslyn, the Hyatt Centric hotel serves as a great destination for those visiting out of town who need to be close to DC, but have meetings or events in Northern VA. For those of you who aren’t aware, Rosslyn itself is becoming the urban hotspot in Arlington, VA. Not only does it sit just minutes away from the nation’s capitol, but also it is becoming the spot for businesses and companies to settle down. That being said, Hyatt Centric could not be placed in a better location. However, I’m not here to promote Hyatt Centric to tourists. Instead, I’m writing to tell locals about how Hyatt Centric has a hidden gem that you need to put on your bucket list or visit as soon as possible. What’s that called? cityhouse.
Upon walking into cityhouse, guests are greeted with a beautiful view of downtown Rosslyn with wall-to-wall windows, and a modern, upscale ambience. The menu is inspired by Chef George Fassiadis, who enjoys creating classic dishes, with a modern twist. His main goal? To keep the food simple and let the flavors speak for themselves. cityhouse is not only sophisticated, but also offers an array of locally sourced ingredients on its menu. Chef George has been in the DMV area for over 30 years and is currently in the process of reviving the cityhouse menu to put a new twist on it for this upcoming season. We had the pleasure of tasting their new Fall Menu, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.
We kicked things off with a starter of Warm Crab Dip which was a simple blend of Maryland crab, cheddar & cream cheese, and a hint of Dijon mustard served with warm naan. Blake grew up with picking crabs and it’s one of his favorite foods so this was by far his favorite dish we had. You could absolutely taste the fresh Maryland blue crab that Chef George mentioned is locally sourced. The huge lumps of crab meat in this dish were simply the best!
We then tasted a large bowl of Steamed Drunken Mussels. Now, I never eat mussels, oysters, clams, etc., but these mussels were i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e. Chef George whips up a mouthwatering buttery sauce (garlic, butter + white wine) and lets the mussels and toasted bread sit in this sauce. It was unbelievable. The toasted bread had red pepper flakes crumbled onto it, making for the perfect kick of spice + flavor to dip into this sauce. While indulging in the appetizers, we were served one of their specialty cocktails- a French 1325 – which is a blend of fords gin, prosecco, st. germain elderflower liqueur, simple syrup and lemon juice. It was too strong for us, but if you’re a gin fan, then this is a must-try!
The waiter then served us a dish of Maple Pecan Atlantic Salmon with fresh maple syrup from a local farm in Garret County, Maryland. To make things better, not only did you taste the syrup, but there were also pecans served on top of a bed of roasted sweet potato puree with broccoli. You could easily smell + taste how fresh the maple syrup was upon just putting the fork up to your mouth. It paired perfectly with the crispy exterior of the salmon and the crunchy pecans. It makes for the ultimate fall dish. Upon eating my first bite, I asked Blake why can’t we cook salmon like this? Amazing.
At this point, we could barely move, so they served us a second entrée of New York Strip with the most incredibly seasoned fingerling potatoes along with asparagus. The steak was cooked perfectly medium well, just the right amount of my preferred “well done” and Blake’s “medium” preference. Both entrees paired perfectly with a bottle of Pinot Noir (Nielson by Byron, Monterey County, California).
To end on a sweet note, our waiter served us a small plate of Apple Strudel with Fresh Fruit + a scoop of Ice Cream, and then Bread Pudding with Fresh Fruit + Ice Cream as well! Both were delicious, but I favored the Bread Pudding more. We both walked out of this meal feeling full + ready for Autumn. This menu is absolutely delicious and the perfect atmosphere for a date night on a Thursday or Friday.
To learn more about cityhouse and Hyatt Centric, visit their website or check them out in person in Rosslyn at 1325 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA!