DC Resturant Week is coming! And Art and Soul.

DC Restaurant Week is August 16-22, 2010.

If you have never been to DC Restaurant Week - it's interesting. It's really a mixed bag on service and, to a lesser degree, quality of food. If there is a restaurant that you've been dying to try but your wallet can't handle it, by all means this would be the time to go and eat. In most other cities, Restaurant Week is seen as a time for restaurants to woo new regular patrons. In DC, it seems like the restaurants treat it as a marketing gimmick and the servers give up on any possibility on getting a good tip.

So the good and the bad ... a case study on Art and Soul.

A little background on Art and Soul for those that have been living under a rock or just don't care about food. It’s run by Art Smith - Oprah’s former personal chef, but more importantly, he was also one of the competitors in season 1 of Top Chef Masters and one of the judges on Iron Chef America. He is very well known for his southern cuisine. And because of Paula Dean - southern cuisine now congers up images of mounds and pounds of butter. And their bread pretty much just a mode of transportation for butter. It’s a pull apart bread that’s basically baked/fried in a cast iron pan. Just thinking about it is making me drool.

They have shrimp and grits (nothing amazing), Chesapeake Bay fry basket (comes highly recommend by many - but it‘s just another assorted fried seafood basket), mussel (good but once again nothing special) were the appetizers that I’ve had there. The Capital Hill salad was tastey, but it’s just a classic salad with fruit, cheese, and nuts.

But outside of the starter bread, the hoecakes there are just amazing. I’ve had them all and they are all good. The oyster po’ is one of the more popular ones, but salmon and caviar was my favorite. Seriously skip the appetizers and just order another hoecake. I was disappointed that during Restaurant Week in Feb, the hoecakes were not an option.

The main dishes that I’ve had there were very tastey - but not amazing, once again. And during Restaurant Week, the choices made me feel like I was at a wedding - with a choice of chicken, fish (salmon), or pork. The gumbo there was deemed amazing by one of my dinner partner that is a southern.

The side dishes of fried green tomatoes and macaroni casserole (aka baked mac and cheese) were amazing as well, and classic southern food. The pecan pie, chocolate terrine, and strawberry cheesecake - were amazingly executed.

But on the service side of things, going during Restaurant Week and non-Restaurant Week was like night and day. I went in December as an early Christmas gift from a lovely couple and we had a funny waiter that made sure that our drinks and water never goes empty. He brought out extra bread with a smile when he saw us inhale it. And he just paced the meal well. During restaurant week, we were seated right next to a service station and kitchen entrance, even though the restaurant was filled to 50% of capacity when we left. We had to flag down the bus boys to get more water, got sneered at for asking for more bread, and then a search party was sent out when the coffee didn’t come out with the dessert after it not showing up for the 10 mins after reminding the waiter as the desserts came out. I think that if I didn’t go during Restaurant Week, the rating for this place would be higher. But when I saw our server doting on another table while arguing with me that my cocktail choice is wrong. I find that annoying.

So just on the food side of things, I would go back in a heart beat for the bread, hoecakes, and dessert. But also for their cocktails. Whoever came up with their drink menu is an alcohol god. And during the summer they have snocone cocktails to help deal with the heat as well. I would go back to eat at the bar and fest on hoecakes and bread. But I don’t think that


DC Restaurant Week
Lunch: $20.10 for a three-course fixed-price meal
Dinner: $35.10 for a three-course fixed-price meal
Beverages, gratuity and tax are not included.
http://washington.org/restaurantwk/

Art and Soul
http://www.artandsouldc.com/
415 New Jersey Ave., NW
Washington DC 20001
202-393-7777
Food: B+
Service: C
Value: B
Price: $40 to $60 a person
Overall: B

Now a recpie from my hero ... Alton Brown

I don't care what all the haters say about him - he's an amazing guy with some awesome ideas that either he or his team of writers come up with.


This fine Sunday afternoon, I was digging around my fridge when I stumbled upon some really old cheese that I got from Cowgirl Creamery. If you say that you are a cheese lover that lives in DC or, where all amazing food comes from, California, you need to find your local Cowgirl Creamery and sample their cheeses. Their Mt. Tam is a classic, Red Hawk is amazing, well I can continue on about their award winning cheese. The first time I went into their store in DC on a Friday – I think I spend around $100 on cheese and ate it all by the end of the weekend. It was one of the most amazing 5 pounds I ever gained.

So when I stumbled upon the moldy treasures, I was trying to figure out a way to salvage it. After I cut off the mold on the assortment, I wasn’t left with enough to do much with. Then I remembered the cheese episode of Good Eats and saying, “Wow, that sounds like amazing cheese spread, I should make that some day.” Well some day turned out to be Sunday!

Fromage Fort

Ingredients
• 1 pound left-over cheese*, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
• 1 small clove garlic

Directions
Remove any rinds from hard cheeses. Grate hard cheeses and cut others into 1/2-inch cubes. Place cheese, wine, butter, herbs, and garlic in a food processor and blend until smooth, approximately 2 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate for at least 1 hour for a firmer consistency. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/fromage-fort-recipe/index.html  

I halved the recipe. I used mostly soft cheeses and used some low fat cheddar cheese to make up the weight difference. My spread turned out very very blue-y because there was a very blue cheese block that was thrown in, as well as a Humboldt Fog. I also used oregano instead of parsley. And It turned out fine. I think I should have put in a little extra wine because my mix after being refridgaged turned out to be crazy hard. And no, I don’t have the patience to wait the 30 minutes for the cheese spread to get to room temperature when I just want to snack on a cracker. But super tastey! It's easy and fast and a little different from the normal cheese plate that you might bring to a party.


Cowgirl Creamery
www.cowgirlcreamery.com/
919 F Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 393-6880
M-F 7:30am-7pm; Sat 11am-7pm

The Burger Joint

Last night after my first yoga class in years – my friend, Sarah, and I went to the Burger Joint in Dupont Circle for dinner. Yes, after downwards facing dog and all that, we should have gone next door to Sweet Green. For lunch I was suppose to go to Ray’s Hell Burger but the stars weren’t aligned for that to happen. So after daydreaming about those juicy burgers that Obama has made famous (bastard for exposing this local burger joint to the touristing masses) and being denied, I couldn’t imagine having anything but a burger for dinner.

She had a classic cheese burger, I had their burger of the month “In Guac we rock,” and we split an order of their onion rings.

I am one of the most easy going picky eaters that you will ever meet. If there is something that I don’t like, I will just eat around it. My hatred of all things onion is pretty legendary, but I love the flavor of onion brings to everything. So how does a hater of onions eat a onion ring? One bites into the ring and then slide out the onion. And BGR Vidalia onion rings are perfect for that. It’s cut and battered like you would get in a steakhouse, not like Burger King. They were quite tasty and I do like them a lot.

I love they fact that they ask how you would like your burger done, but it would be nice if my medium rare didn’t come out as medium done though. Sarah’s medium was actually medium. The “In Guac we Rock” burger is basically a burger with guacamole, tortilla strips, tomato, and a “hint of lime.” I asked them to add lettuce to it. It was just okay though. The meat was a bit over cooked so the guca balanced out the lack of juiciness. I couldn’t taste the lime. And the tortilla strips were just in the way. I think for the price tag of $9.99 – vs the hamburger $6.99 – there wasn’t enough guac to make it worth it. I’ve eaten at the Bethesda location before – their famous “The Greek” burger – and I kinda felt the same way there as well. Good but not worth the price tag.

Though a common snack that I have at this join is their roasted corn. But then again, I have an unnatural love of corn. And it just kills me that in DC 6 ears for $1 is considered a good deal. But it’s just a simple snack of an ear of corn that’s roasted with a brush of oil and sprinkle of salt. Nothing fancy but I love eating it while waiting for the Georgetown University shuttle.

I would go again, mostly because of the convenient location and the decent food. Good burgers, but I’ve had more amazing ones.



The Burger Joint
http://www.bgrtheburgerjoint.com/
locations in Bethesda, Dupont Circle, Alexandria, and Arlington

Food: B
Service: B
Value: C
Price: $10 - $25
Overall: B-

My Opinions on Good Food.

Good food is very much different from a fantastic restaurant, though they aren't mutually exclusive. Good food just means that it's food that makes your mouth happy. It might not be the best on your wallet or waist line, or it might be. Most of the restaurants on the Washingtonian list are fantastic restaurants that combine good food, great ambiance, and even better service. But good food is the basic compotent of a good resturant.

Honestly one of my favorite places to eat in DC is The Greek Deli. They have leigons of fans on yelp and a very devout lunch crowd. Why? Because they are the optiome of good food. Their customer service is just a few notches better then the Soup Nazi during the lunch rush (the line is looong, grab a menu and decide on what you want before you get to the counter) and they only have 3 tables outside to eat at. But for $12 - you get enough food to eat for the rest of the day and lunch the next day in the Greek Combo. They make almost every ingredient every morning - including thier bread, that delious melt in your mouth, slighty oily bread. A friend that use to work at the Peace Corp swears by thier lamb gyros. I'm just getting hungry thinking about it. I might just need to sneak out during my lunch hour and brave the heat to go get me some of thier amazing orzo with feta. If you get there around 11am - they have everything out and you bet the rush. If you get there past 1:30 - it's slim picking on the protien end of things.


The Greek Deli
http://www.greekdelidc.com/
1120 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 296-2111
M to F: 7am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday, closed
Red Line: Farragurt North or Orange/Blue: Farrgaurt West


Food: A+
Service: C (I thought attitude like this could only be found in NYC - both the clientle and the servers during the lunch rush)
Price: A
Overall: A
I love them.

Washingtonian's Best Dessert List

Yes, I am very big on lists. Maybe it's the baker in me. I like the structure of it. If it makes it on a list it means that someone out there thought that brownie was the orgasm inducing. I tend to be a purveyor of cupcakes - mostly because unlike NYC, there are no dessert bars here. But I found this list - so I want to eat all of these as well as the other restaurants.


I am going to be soo fat in 2 years.

Best Desserts

Hazelnut soufflé with orange granité and orange-ginger sorbet at Adour
Deconstructed carrot cake at Tosca
Chocolate tart with caramelized banana at Corduroy
Cider doughnuts at 1789
Chocolate-coconut candy bar at Bourbon Steak
Chocolate cream with hazelnut sherbet and cocoa nibs at Trummer’s on Main
Greek yogurt with apricots at Zaytinya
Zeppole with zabaglione at Assaggi
Salted profiteroles at Vermilion
Warm chocolate cake at J&G Steakhouse
Trio of crèmes brûlées at Charlie Palmer Steak
Crepe soufflé at BLT Steak
Lemon chess pie at Vidalia
Blueberry crumble at the Source
Key-lime pie at Ray’s the Classics
Vanilla ice cream at 2 Amys
Apple tarte Tatin at Restaurant Eve
Lingonberry linzertorte at Hook
Napoleon at Citronelle
http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/restaurants/14613.html

Old blog

I just found that I started this blog a few years back. And apparently I grew bored of it faster then I orginally thought that I did. But I'm trying to bring it back to life again ... I still eat out a lot and have a new goal to eat at all 100 best resturants by the Washingtonian in the next 2 years. We are going to go with the 2010 list because I can get a digital copy of it.


Below is the list ... Wish me luck!

Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants

(in alphabetic order)

1. Acadiana, 901 New York Ave., NW; 202-408-8848
2. Addie’s, 11120 Rockville Pike, Rockville; 301-881-0081
3. Adour, St. Regis, 923 16th St., NW; 202-509-8000
4. Art and Soul, Liaison Capitol Hill, 415 New Jersey Ave., NW; 202-393-7777
5. Assaggi, 4838 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda; 301-951-1988
6. Bibiana, 1100 New York Ave., NW; 202-216-9550
7. Bistro Bis, Hotel George, 15 E St., NW; 202-661-2700
8. Black Market Bistro, 4600 Waverly Ave., Garrett Park; 301-933-3000
9. BlackSalt, 4883 MacArthur Blvd., NW; 202-342-9101
10. Black’s Bar and Kitchen, 7750 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda; 301-652-5525
11. BLT Steak, 1625 I St., NW; 202-689-8999
12. Blue Duck Tavern, Park Hyatt, 1201 24th St., NW; 202-419-6755
13. Bourbon Steak, Four Seasons Hotel, 2800 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-944-2026
14. Brasserie Beck, 1101 K St., NW; 202-408-1717
15. Café du Parc, 1401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-942-7000
16. Cashion’s Eat Place, 1819 Columbia Rd., NW; 202-797-1819
17. Cava, 527 Eighth St., SE, 202-543-9090; 9713 Traville Gateway Dr., Rockville, 301-309-9090
18. Cedar, 822 E St., NW; 202-637-0012
19. Central Michel Richard, 1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-626-0015
20. Charlie Palmer Steak, 101 Constitution Ave., NW; 202-547-8100
21. Circle Bistro, 1 Washington Cir., NW; 202-293-5390
22. Citronelle, Latham Hotel, 3000 M St., NW; 202-625-2150
23. CityZen, Mandarin Oriental, 1330 Maryland Ave., SW; 202-787-6006
24. Corduroy, 1122 Ninth St., NW; 202-589-0699
25. Cork, 1720 14th St., NW; 202-265-2675
26. Eola, 2020 P St., NW; 202-466-4441
27. Equinox, 818 Connecticut Ave., NW; 202-331-8118
28. Etete, 1942 Ninth St., NW; 202-232-7600
29. Et Voila!, 5120 MacArthur Blvd., NW; 202-237-2300
30. Eventide, 3165 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 703-276-3165
31. Faryab, 4917 Cordell Ave., Bethesda; 301-951-3484
32. Four Sisters, 8190 Strawberry La., Suite 1, Falls Church; 703-539-8566
33. General Store, 6 Post Office Rd., Silver Spring; 301-562-8787
34. Grapeseed, 4865 Cordell Ave., Bethesda; 301-986-9592
35. Hell Point Seafood, 12 Dock St., Annapolis; 410-990-9888
36. Heritage India, 2400 Wisconsin Ave., NW; 202-333-3120
37. Hook, 3241 M St., NW; 202-625-4488
38. Indique Heights, 2 Wisconsin Cir., Chevy Chase; 301-656-4822
39. Inn at Little Washington, 309 Middle St., Washington, Va.; 540-675-3800
40. Inox, 1800 Tysons Blvd., McLean; 703-790-4669
41. J&G Steakhouse, W Hotel, 515 15th St., NW; 202-661-2440
42. Jackie’s, 8081 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring; 301-565-9700
43. Jaleo, Penn Quarter, 202-628-7949; Bethesda, 301-913-0003; Crystal City, 703-413-8181
44. Johnny’s Half Shell, 400 N. Capitol St., NW; 202-737-0400
45. Kinkead’s, 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-296-7700
46. Komi, 1509 17th St., NW; 202-332-9200
47. Kotobuki, 4822 MacArthur Blvd., NW, Second Floor; 202-281-6679
48. L’Auberge Chez François, 332 Springvale Rd., Great Falls; 703-759-3800
49. Liberty Tavern, 3195 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 703-465-9360
50. The Majestic, 911 King St., Alexandria; 703-837-9117
51. Makoto, 4822 MacArthur Blvd., NW; 202-298-6866
52. Marcel’s, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-296-1166
53. Marvin, 2007 14th St., NW; 202-797-7171
54. Minh’s, 2500 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 703-525-2828
55. Minibar, 405 Eighth St., NW (inside Café Atlántico); 202-393-0812
56. Montmartre, 327 Seventh St., SE; 202-544-1244
57. Mourayo, 1732 Connecticut Ave., NW; 202-667-2100
58. Nava Thai Noodle and Grill, 11301 Fern St., Wheaton; 240-430-0495
59. Obelisk, 2029 P St., NW; 202-872-1180
60. Oval Room, 800 Connecticut Ave., NW; 202-463-8700
61. Palena and Palena Café, 3529 Connecticut Ave., NW; 202-537-9250
62. Passage to India, 4931 Cordell Ave., Bethesda; 301-656-3373
63. PassionFish, 11960 Democracy Dr., Reston; 703-230-3474
64. Patowmack Farm, 42461 Lovettsville Rd., Lovettsville, Va.; 540-822-9017
65. Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza, 1400 Irving St., NW; 202-332-7383
66. Poste, Hotel Monaco, 555 Eighth St., NW; 202-783-6060
67. Potenza, 1430 H St., NW; 202-638-4444
68. Present, 6678 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church; 703-531-1881
69. The Prime Rib, 2020 K St., NW; 202-466-8811
70. Proof, 775 G St., NW; 202-737-7663
71. PS 7’s, 777 I St., NW; 202-742-8550
72. Rasika, 633 D St., NW; 202-637-1222
73. Ray’s the Classics, 8606 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring; 301-588-7297
74. Ray’s the Steaks, 2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 703-841-7297
75. Restaurant Eve, 110 S. Pitt St., Alexandria; 703-706-0450
76. Sei, 444 Seventh St., NW; 202-783-7007
77. 701, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-393-0701
78. 1789, 1226 36th St., NW; 202-965-1789
79. Siroc, 915 15th St., NW; 202-628-2220
80. The Source, 575 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-637-6100
81. Sou’Wester, Mandarin Oriental, 1330 Maryland Ave., SW; 202-787-6868
82. Spice Xing, 100-B Gibbs St., Rockville; 301-610-0303
83. Sushi-Ko, 2309 Wisconsin Ave., NW, 202-333-4187; 5455 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, 301-961-1644
84. Sushi Sono, 10215 Wincopin Cir., Columbia; 410-997-6131
85. Sushi Taro, 1503 17th St., NW; 202-462-8999
86. Tallula, 2761 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 703-778-5051
87. Teatro Goldoni, 1909 K St., NW; 202-955-9494
88. 3 Bar & Grill, 2950 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington; 703-524-4440
89. Tosca, 1112 F St., NW; 202-367-1990
90. Trummer’s on Main, 7134 Main St., Clifton; 703-266-1623
91. 2941, 2941 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church; 703-270-1500
92. 2 Amys, 3715 Macomb St., NW; 202-885-5700
93. Vermilion, 1120 King St., Alexandria; 703-684-9669
94. Vidalia, 1990 M St., NW; 202-659-1990
95. Villa Mozart, 4009 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax; 703-691-4747
96. Volt, 228 N. Market St., Frederick; 301-696-8658
97. Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert, Ritz-Carlton, 1190 22nd St., NW; 202-974-4900
98. Willow, 4301 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington; 703-465-8800
99. Zaytinya, 701 Ninth St., NW; 202-638-0800
100. Zentan, Donovan House, 1155 14th St., NW; 202-379-4366
http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/restaurants/14614.html