It’s always nice to feel included.

This time being included means weighing in on the new late night bar menu at Michel Richard’s Central in Penn Quarter.  Pretend you’re Dutch and say it with me, Centraal.  Good.

Central is haute American cuisine, lobster burgers, hanger steak au poivre, and the heavenly redone Kit Kat bar from the amazing dessert menu.  Still pricey, Central is much more affordable than Richard’s other DC mainstay, Citronelle, constantly rated one of the best restaurants in the city.

The crowdsourcing idea is very now–give out one trial item per night and base the each item’s future on its popularity.  Some higly-rated items have been fried oysters, chicken marsala meatballs, chickpea fritters, and salmon sliders.

During last night’s 9:30 tasting, I sampled the buffalo chicken croquettes, saucy chunks of fried white meat served up with a sprig of parsley.  I rated the dish based on taste, presentation, marketability, and price.

As a result of this experiment in popularity from Chef de Cuisine Arthur Cavaliere, Central will have its first ever bar menu, running from 9pm to closing.  The new items should show up a few weeks into the new year.

If you would like to go make your gastronomical voice heard, Central serves a different sample every night at 9:30 until Tuesday the 21st.  Make sure to order something to drink–the staff are getting a little tired of us freeloaders.