Pineapple and Pearls

Indulgence and extravagance that breaks the fine dining mold.

I found out about Chef Aaron Silverman’s one Michelin star DC restaurant Rose’s Luxury some years ago and was immediately obsessed with the idea of it. It embraces a playful and indulgent ethos that is very much up my alley when it comes to restaurants: at various points, their menu has included pasta with strawberries (two of my favorite foods improbably combined), two foot long colonne pompeii pasta, and “ice cream, caviar, and happiness”. I finally had the pleasure of dining there in late 2021 with my sister. It lived up to every expectation, immediately becoming my favorite DC restaurant, and I knew I wanted to try its two-star fine dining big sister, Pineapple and Pearls, as soon as I had a special occasion to celebrate. That occasion came around when my fiancé and I got engaged this spring. On a trip to Maryland to visit my sister, we decided we’d take the plunge.

Pineapple and Pearls is like Rose’s Luxury but taken to the next level. Located right next door, it’s not just a meal but a top notch hospitality experience. Like pineapples and pearls, the restaurant’s style is rare, whimsical, and luxurious. Everything is over-the-top, in the best way. You’re greeted with a make-your-own absinthe cocktail; there’s Loewe hand soap in the bathrooms; a staff member takes a Polaroid of you in front of a velvet curtain before you dine; the website describes the experience as “a party, every night” and the dress code as “fancy… or your best New Year’s Eve outfit” (I wore a black sequin dress and black patent Louboutins). The vibes are stylish and extravagant. I knew I loved this restaurant before I even took my first bite.

And oh, the bites. The menu is supposedly three savory courses plus dessert, but that simply means that you have three choices to make, to say nothing of the parade of food that is actually involved.

The meal began with an amuse bouche of “beggar’s purses,” a crepe pouch filled with crème fraiche and caviar. What’s not to like? The catch: they were perched on colorful glass columns, and we were instructed to eat them without using our hands. Fun!

The first course choice, between raw tuna with watermelon and a lamb dish, was a no-brainer for me as a raw tuna lover. And the idea of a fresh, succulent fish with refreshing, juicy watermelon and ponzu sounded like a perfect combination. Unfortunately, this missed the mark for me; the tuna had a stronger fishy flavor than I liked. It was a reminder that, in a rare instance of me not having expensive taste, I actually prefer lean tuna to fatty tuna. The latter is fishier than I enjoy. But not to worry — in an instance of the restaurant’s above-and-beyond hospitality, they brought us a complimentary lamb dish (they said they didn’t want us to miss out on trying both the options since we both had ordered the same thing). It was playfully named “even if you don’t like lamb.” I do like—but don’t love—lamb, and this was easily the best lamb I’ve ever tasted. Savory, tender, and not at all gamey, I’m glad we got the chance to try it. It was served “Black Forest” style, with cherries and even a little piece of chocolate cake. An odd combination to be sure, but the rich, dark flavors in the cake rhymed with the flavors of the lamb in a clever and unexpected way.

The next course was the one I was, predictably, most excited about: pastas. I was disappointed that they had just changed over their menu and were no longer offering the “cheez-it ravioli” I had seen on their Instagram, a playful twist on mac and cheese (always a favorite of mine) that I was very much here for. I opted for the bacalao ravioli with caviar and my fiancé ordered the truffle butter gnocchi. I enjoyed mine, which were alternatingly boiled and fried and had the familiar and comforting taste of salt cod and potato mixed with the luxurious flavors of champagne and caviar, but the bite I took of his gnocchi blew the ravioli out of the water and turned out to be my favorite savory bite of the entire evening. The butter sauce it was doused in was rich and indulgent without being overly greasy or heavy, and the finely grated black truffle added the perfect savory element without overpowering the gnocchi, which were the ideal texture.

We both chose the wagyu for our third course, and rather than the steak I was expecting, it turned out to be a brisket, which was a lovely surprise. Served with heart of palm, frizzled collard greens, and a bowl of cornbread takoyaki (basically hush puppies), this was a delightful tribute to low country cuisine. When’s the last time you had BBQ brisket and hush puppies at a fine dining restaurant? Watch out, Sean Brock.

One word about drinks before we get to the sweets. After the welcome cocktail, which was Hemingway’s signature Death in the Afternoon and was accompanied by a story about him (an easy way to this literature nerd’s heart), I chose a delightful Indian-inspired drink that arrived with a bowl of dried mango: a drink with a snack! A vegetal “salad” cocktail was also brought to me as an extra treat. These were creative and delicious and, as is my preference, barely tasted like alcohol. (There was a cocktail pairing option, and while I would have liked to try more from this excellent bartender, I would have been under the table had I opted for that.)

Following the savory courses was a truly insane number of desserts. The official ones listed on the menu included a pear and dulce de leche crème brûlée, which was absolutely delectable, and a rainbow of different berry sorbets, which were excellent. But because we had noted on our booking that we were celebrating our engagement, we were also given the restaurant’s signature “celebration” dessert: a stack of funfetti flapjacks. These were fun and tasty, but by this point in the meal we were full from our other two full-size desserts. At some point during this dessert fever dream, some colorful, photogenic Jell-O shots from the hip supplier Solid Wiggles appeared. Then there were white Japanese strawberries stuffed with mild and creamy La Tur cheese — another unexpected combination of two of my favorite things, and this one hit it out of the park, melding fresh and sweet flavors with unctuous and savory ones and soaring to the top of my list of favorite bites. Right when we were sure we couldn’t eat any more, we were given cups of buttered popcorn soft serve (!) which was similarly amazing.

We neglected to spend an extra $250 on an add-on: caviar and gummy bears. Yes, you read that right. Next time, I might have to do it… come on, for the gram?

Oh, and if all that wasn’t enough? They gave us each a full size wagyu cheeseburger to take home. In case we needed a midnight snack after that meal. Yes, I’m serious. (We saved them for lunch the next day. They were good, but surely would have been better fresh rather than reheated. Unfortunately, there was no way we could eat a single bite of anything after that feast.)

This cheeseburger put me in mind of the excellent 2022 film “The Menu,” a horror satire of fine dining in which Anya Taylor-Joy earns the respect of a fed-up star chef played by Ralph Fiennes when she rejects his Noma- and Alinea-like gimmicks and demands a good cheeseburger. Like the chef in that film, Silverman seems to have had it with mainstream fine dining culture. He wants to break the mold, and he does so spectacularly (but without, you know, a dramatic mass murder).

It’s rare to find cooking that is as simultaneously playful, creative, elegant, and technically accomplished as Silverman’s. I might be his biggest fan. I guess I’ll have to try Little Pearl to round out the trio.

Gimmicky? Yes. Extra? Absolutely. Delicious? Of course.

TL;DR: WHAT WE ATE

Loved: truffle butter gnocchi; Japanese white strawberries stuffed with La Tur cheese; pear and dulce de leche crème brûlée; buttered popcorn soft serve; cocktails

Liked: wagyu brisket; bacalao pasta; “even if you don’t like lamb”; funfetti celebration pancakes; berry sorbets; wagyu cheeseburger to go; Jell-O shots

Could have skipped: raw tuna and watermelon