Dinamo's Hearts of Palm and Chickpeas With Flatbread (Photo by Stephen Clatterbuck)
1. Special Rice Vermicelli, $12 at Viet Huong
Slippery tangles of cool noodles fanned with cucumber, carrot and sprouts hit maximum satisfaction once grilled beef, meatballs and crispy spring rolls pile on board. Icy, sweet and tangy dipping ensues, enabled by a pool of special sauce.
2. Hearts of Palm and Chickpeas With Flatbread, $12 at Dinamo
This platter’s bottom line isn’t that it’s a heart-healthy meat alternative, but rather an herb- and olive oil-dressed pylon of zippy hearts of palm, legumes, Kalamata olives and red onions with a side of yeasty, fluffy pizza.
3. Ceviche, $12 at Super Rico
The plate of citrus-spiked white fish comes out weighty but heat-fighting, with onion-y chilblains that knock out August’s humidity. Accompanied by ginormous kernels of soft Peruvian corn on the cob and corn nuts, with pliant disks of sweet potato, this isn't a diminutive starter but a meal.
4. Vitel-l'o Tonnato, $13 at L’Opossum
L’Opossum’s version of a classic antipasto places frosty veal loin blanketed in tuna sauce atop chopped anchovies and caper berries, staving off notions of calorie privation while leaving some room for a late-night roll in the grass.
5. White Mulberry and Cocoa Nib Chia Pudding, $11 at Nettie’s Naturally
(Editor's note: Nettie's Naturally will close Aug. 24, 2017.)
This nearly-16-ounce serving of blueberries, dried Virginia mulberries and bittersweet, bourbon-scented cocoa nibs perched atop vanilla-spiked, small-batch coconut-milk pudding has the texture of tapioca with a feel-good, breakfast-ready sweetness.
