Eating Around: Terrell Danley's Chef Monopoly

Map It:  U Street-Cardozo 

TERRELL DANLEY, chef and owner of Creme Cafe, has more than just dinner cookin'. He has a plate full of plans to open a collection of small neighborhood restaurants between U Street and Bloomingdale showcasing good food that's close to his heart, be it down-home breakfast eats or fancy steakhouse fare.

Mentored by a pair of D.C.'s first-string chefs — Bob Kinkead (Kinkead's, Colvin Run Tavern) and Jeff Buben (Bistro Bis, Vidalia) — and groomed by Sam and Harry's, the River Club and Georgia Brown's, Danley incubated these ideas for restaurants years ago and now, he said, they're gaining momentum. Yet in his outline, he hadn't intended to incorporate a post office-turned-dining room into his repertoire, particularly one slated to open this summer. Business partners Samir Tazi and Aymeric Saha, owners of Station 9, persuaded him otherwise.

Danley first met the partners who also own Silver Spring's Gallery Restaurant and Lounge as customers at Creme, where they hashed out details for Station 9 over dinner. "They really liked my food and asked for pointers on their menu," said Danley. He signed on to consult, though the partners hoped Danley would accept the executive chef position early on.

Eventually, Tazi and Saha's experience, enthusiasm and location brought him around. "Everyone benefits from good food in the neighborhood," he said. "And I'd like to help make U Street one of the city's dining destinations."

What's the difference between the menus at Creme and Station 9? While Creme Cafe displays Danley's urbane take on comfort food, Station 9 features New American fare that reflects the diversity of the staff and the neighborhood. Danley especially likes the mo'rockin (pronounced Moroccan) beef rolls with minted wheat and yogurt cucumbers ($8), introduced to him by Tazi's family, as well as Mama's salmon cakes ($9), which are his rendition of the dish his mother cooked when he was a kid.

Though his menu includes choices for many appetites, vegetarians included, it's the big beef entrees that'll appeal to hungry carnivores: barbecued chicken or ribs ($15, $19) or lamb two ways ($21). In a nod to Kinkead, he also includes Big Bob's bass, a whole crispy fish served with mustard sauce, corn and tomatoes ($21). Danley also riffs on Asian inspirations in his peanut chicken with chili garlic greens and jasmine rice ($16), as well as his incorporation of rice noodles, shitake, ginger, lemongrass and cilantro as ingredients. The plating is a little more structured and stylish than dishes out of the kitchen at Creme, a reinforcement of the swanky dining room designed by David Rosenberg, who has worked with numerous restaurants and hotels.

» Creme Cafe, 1322 U St. NW; 202-234-1884. (U St.-Cardozo)

Photo by Sora Devore