Awards

Monroe's was awarded "Best New Restaurant" in 1996 Washingtonian Readers' Choice and has been sustained by the neighborhood ever since. The restaurant has been awarded Wine Spectator magazine's Award of Excellence every year since 1998, offering a large selection by the glass and bottle.

The Washington Post

Mark Abraham knew that the restaurant business was in his blood. As a teenager, he spent summers working at the Vienna Inn, which his parents made famous for its chili dogs and beer. But Abraham wanted a different life, one not ruled by managerial headaches and daily specials.

So he became a lawyer, specializing in banking and commercial real estate.

It was an opportunity a decade ago to lease space in Del Ray, at Commonwealth and Monroe avenues, that drew him back into the family web, convincing him that it was time to take the entrepreneurial plunge and see what he could do with his own restaurant. Like the epiphany his daughter Mary would have a decade later, he felt the signs were right.

"When I was 5 years old, I would literally ride my bike to that corner" where the restaurant is, recalled Abraham, 53. "It was a drugstore then, and I would go in and buy comic books and Orange Nehi. This was my back yard growing up."

Today Monroe's attracts customers from elsewhere, but Mark Abraham is clear when he says, "It's the neighborhood that sustains us."

In fact, neighbors pack the oak bar on Friday nights, ordering thin-crust margherita pizzas and the crab pasta, many placing orders to go to feed their families waiting at home.

Although the clientele has changed over the years, patrons often know one another, sharing tidbits on the latest marriage and ugliest divorce. Some customers say they have eaten more meals inside Monroe's mural-painted walls -- doodling with crayons on the paper that overlays the tablecloths -- than they have in their own homes.

"It's a family atmosphere," said legal assistant Tara Day, 30, who lives down the block and eats at Monroe's several nights a week. "I'd never thought I'd be a person who'd eat alone at a bar before I came to Monroe's, but it's the kind of place where I know I can always go in and know at least one other person."

Restaurant Wine Lists Worth a look
Mari Stull, June 15, 2006

In my past few columns, I’ve profiled some local wine shops and recommended unique wines that represent outstanding values on the shelves at each of those shops. Following this theme in searching out excellent wine values, I am directing my hunt to the local restaurant scene. In the next few columns, I’ll reveal to you some of the most interesting and well-priced wine lists in the Northern Virginia restaurant scene. A few you may expect, but I guarantee you’ll see some unexpected surprises as well.

This neighborhood restaurant enjoys near cult status with Del Ray residents. Most diners come for the comfortable family atmosphere coupled with the Cheers-type feeling of everyone knowing your name. Owned and run by husband and wife team Laura and Mark Abraham, most guests are personally greeted like old friends – because they likely are. Look beyond the casual friendliness of this seemingly low-key Trattoria and concentrate on their wine list for a moment.

This list is a four-star, deadly serious collection of amazing Italian wines that are rare, unique (often only to Monroe’s), hand-selected, and very well-priced. The food and service is the ultimate draw at this restaurant, but as good as those are, the often overlooked wine list is the star of this show. You would be hard-pressed to find some of vintages featured on this list at any wine store at a more reasonable price. Let me emphasize the well-priced point, because you know how giddy I get about wine values. Abraham has a simple wine pricing philosophy that is a thrilling benefit to any wine lover. Abraham calculates a fairly standard profit margin across the board on every bottle of wine on his list. Meaning, he may take a $10 profit on bottle that costs him $12, but is also content to take that same $10 profit on a bottle that costs him $60. Now remember, his prices are wholesale so many of his wines end up costing you about the same as you would pay in a wine shop. This pricing strategy is not typical in most restaurants. Generally the profit is a direct ratio to the bottle cost.

Examples:
Argiano Toscana Solengo 2000 - $89
A rich blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and a touch of Petit Verdot, with a stunning perfume of crème de cassis, espresso, licorice and a long finish.

While I realize this bottle is much pricier than the wines I typically recommend, it is a great value and rare treat. New Jersey was the closest store in which I found this vintage – selling for $83 (at a wine shop known for its very good prices). Essentially, Monroe’s is selling this gorgeous bottle of wine at cost. To be sure, it is a special occasion wine. However, while many diners don’t hesitate plunking down $90 for a bottle of $35 Veuve Cliquot Champagne, this Super Tuscan offers a much more memorable wine in scarce supply.

By no means is it necessary to mortgage your house to enjoy a good bottle at Monroe’s. Plenty of astonishing wines can be had in the under $30 range. Some I particularly recommend are:
Vignabaldo Sagrantino Di Montefalco 2001 - $29

“A lusty dry red wine with an assertive, if hard to restrain, personality.” A rare cult wine from Umbria. Again, this is a wine priced about as well as in your local wine shop (if you can find it). Least expensive price I saw this was $24.

Although not Italian, another wine buy I need to mention, is:
Rosenblum Vintneres Cuvee XXVIII California - $6.00/glass; $24/bottle
Rosenblum is unique in that it finds very small producers and then bottles their wine under the Rosenblum label, identifying each in its own cuvee, or blend. Rosenblum excels in choosing the very best of the best and have bottled, arguably, the best Zinfandels in the world. It’s wonderful that Monroe’s sells this one by the glass, too.