Twice a year, life in the nation’s capitol slows to a crawl. As winter drags on, the tourists shrink away from the cold, heading for Florida and year-round strawberry daiquiris. In late summer, equally foul heat reminds residents that D.C. indeed was built on a swamp. Congress goes on vacation, leaving the lobbyists with no one to buy lunch for. For these two reasons, area restaurants need to work harder at enticing locals to leave their temperature-regulated environments for a meal.

The above is hearsay, of course, but it is true that Washington restaurants offer a unique opportunity to sample their fare at reduced costs twice a year. The event is called Restaurant Week, when 170 of D.C.’s finest eateries offer three-course lunches for about 20 dollars and three-course dinners for about 30 dollars.

Restaurant week is over for the season - it ran from January 14 to January 20 - but it doesn’t mean that the featured restaurants are any less enticing.

One is a French restaurant run by a brother and sister team of chefs called Petit Plats. Located in Adams Morgan, directly across the street from the metro station, the restaurant is inside an old row house and maintains an appropriate level of comfortable charm.

The setting feels casual as far as being able to have quiet conversation, but the dress is business to business causal. There are at least two floors of regular dining areas, all in the original rooms of the house. Each is complete with a wood-burning fireplace and on such a cold night, everyone was fully aflame. The low lighting complemented the warm, yellow walls, white trim and creaky wood floors.

The set menu featured three to four choices in each category of appetizer, main dish and dessert. I chose a salad, beef burgundy and chocolate crunch cake. I passed on wine thanks to a head cold, but the list had a decent variety. However, very few wines could be ordered by the glass.

Petit Plats literally means “small plates,” and the proportions were indeed un-American, but each course was just right. Warm, French bread kept coming, so no one should ever leave the restaurant hungry.

The salad was nondescript, but pleasing. It featured radicchio, sweet tomatoes and a light, tangy dressing. A friend of mine ordered the seafood appetizer and delivered nothing but rave reviews.

Beef burgundy was a staple during my short stay in Paris, so I had to try it stateside. It was less of a stew than I was used to and lacked vegetables, but the large pieces of beef were appropriately tender and highly seasoned. In the middle of the bowl was a small pile of creamy fettuccini with fresh, chopped tomatoes. It seemed like a strange addition, and the flavor combination was a bit awkward, but the pasta was tasty nonetheless.

During the meal, one of the chefs would occasionally wander about the restaurant and ask everyone about their food. Some patrons were practicing their French with the head waiter, and others seemed to feel comfortable enough to discuss their meals in great detail with him.

Dessert was by far the highlight. The chocolate crunch cake was a small, rectangular sliver of thick, chocolate mousse resting atop a crunchy base of chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. The mousse was topped with a few slices of fresh strawberry and a sprig of mint. Offered on the side was a small cup of light cream that failed to add to the dessert, mostly because the “cake” could not absorb it and it was otherwise too runny if poured on the plate. Still, every bite was an explosion of rich tastes. I would highly recommend Petit Plats as a great place to get a nice dessert after a day in Adams Morgan.

Petit Plats is located at 2653 Connecticut Avenue.

Their dinner hours are 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm (Mon - Thu & Sun)
5:30 pm to 11:00 pm (Fri & Sat)
Lunch is served from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm (Mon - Fri)
Brunch is 11:30 am to 4:30 pm (Sat - Sun)