Siroc

So it's been a while since I've been to a new restaurant. I will admit freely admit that I have been eating at the Cheesecake Factory more often then naught with my insane training schedule since I either smell of sweat or chlorine most of the days. So for Christmas, my roommate made it a point that I actually dress
and smell nice for once and go to a nice restaurant.

We ended up going to Siroc - it seemed close to the White House to be able to check out the Christmas Tree and then have dinner.

The decor is nothing to write home about - though 2 of the paintings were crooked. And the service wasn't as sharp as it could be. But the food was pretty amazing. The whole place had a very much neighborhood restaurant vibe to it.

The Duck Confit & Potato Hash was amazing. It was salty with the poached egg's yolk mellowing it out. It was a very well balanced started.

The House Smoked Salmon was also very tastey but different then expected. Instead of the the typical thin cuts of smoked salmon - it was cut like sashsimi. But I really enjoyed the fact that it wasn't salt cured then smoked - so it retained more of that salmon taste and really melted in your mouth. I would come back and eat my weight in this salmon.

The Burrata Mozzarella was amazing. It tasted like they made this in house in how the center was barely set and oh so creamy.

The Spinach Pappardelle was prefect. The pasta was the perfect texture. The shrimp was cooked beautifully. And it was very well balanced. The American in me wanted the option of more cheese. But honestly this dish didn't need it.

I got a side of House-made Spicy Lamb Sausages and this was the only dud of the meal. The sausage was way over salted. And on top of that the Black Olive Sauce was also overpoweringly salty. The only thing that wasn't salty on this dish was the rapini, but sandwiched between the 2 over salted dishes, it didn't stand a chance. While the waitress acknowledged that this was a very salty dish - but even with only 2 bites taken and it being untouched - the wait staff and manager didn't do anything about it.

Roommate got Veal Ossobuco. The meat was wonderful - but it was the oddest polenta we've every seen. Instead of being a baked solid form, it was more of the consistency and tasted of mashed turnips. It was tastey, just not expected.

And while the Warm Almond Cake was good, the Bosc Pear Poached in Red Wine and Ginger really stole the dessert spotlight. I was worried that the ginger would have over powered everything else - but it gave it a little bite but no sting.

With a glass of wine and a diet coke the whole meal came out to about $125 +tip. So it was pretty affordable. I would definately come here again - though not when I was in a rush or felt like I needed to impress someone. More of if I wanted some good home cooked Italian food.


Siroc

915 15th St NW
(between N I St & N K St)
Washington, DC 20005

(202) 628-2220

www.sirocrestaurant.com

Resturants and places that I want to try out

What can i say, I can't help but jump on a food list bandwagon. Express published thier list of best resturants on various catagories. So this is a list for my efforts to keep track of what resturants that I still need to check out in DC. I always want to try out new places but haven't been really inspired to be adventourous lately.

Rasika (Indian)
633 D Street, NW 202-637-1222

Hook (Seafood)
3241 M St NW 202-625-4488

Kaz Sushi Birstro (Sushi)
1915 I street NW 202-530-5500

China Garden (dim Sum)
1100 Wilson Blvd, Arlington 703-525-5317

A&J (Dim Sum)
1319-C Rockville Pike, Rockville 301-251-7878

Casa Oaxaca (South/Centeral American)
2106 18th Street NW 202-387-2272

Graffiato (New Resaurant)
707 6th St NW 202-289-3600

Estadio (New resturant)
1520 14th Street NW 202-319-1404

Brasserie Beck (Fries)
1101 K Street NW 202-408-1717

Pizzeria Paradiso (Pizza)

Red Rocks (Pizza)
1036 Park Road NW 202-506-1402
904 King Street, Alexandria 703-717-9873

Komi
1509 17h Street NW 202-32-9200

Resturant Eve
110 S. Pitt Sr Alexandria 703-706-0450

Mini Bar
405 8th Stre NW 202-393-0812

Eatonville (Mac and Cheese)
2121 14th St NW 202-332-9672

Volt
228 N Market Street 301-696-8653

Yes this blog is dead

poor bloggy. you tried so hard to keep my attention. But alas you could not keep up with the pace I ate through DC and then me switching hobbies from eating yummy amazing food to working out and living off of hamburgers. :\ It okay bloggy. One day I will come back to you. But until November, you are officially on hiatus.

So new experiment

My co-worker and I are going to try to eat very limited processed food from Monday, April 25 to Friday, April 29.


The rules are:
- The condiment aisle is free game (so no need to make mayonnaise from scratch) expect salad dressing (needs to be made from scratch).
- Nothing that has preservatives. i.e. homemade items from the farmer’s market is okay. Items from the supermarket that has items that you can’t pronounce is bad.)
- Organic products are preferable – but not necessary.

So for the rest of the week will be devoted to cleaning out my cupboards, baking loaves of bread, and shopping at the local farmers market to get the necessary items.

I’m hoping to get into the science of why organic, grassfed, and all that is actually worth it. And what’s not. I also want to track how much I spend on this shit and see if that’s actually worth it or not.

We’ll see what happens.

Food! Food! Food!

Diet be damned, there is too much good food to eat and not enough days to fit it all. Though in an effort to keep the glorious calories from going straight to my thighs, a new rule has been implemented – I can only go out to eat if I have worked out that day. So Saturday has turned into a designated food day – mostly because I go rock climbing with friends for a few hours. So I totally earn my butter smeared food. But enough of that rate – here is a recap of some of the places that I’ve been eating at.

Ted’s Bulletin 505 8th Street Southeast, Washington, DC 20003-2835 tel: (202) 544-8337 http://tedsbulletin.com/  
So when I left my house on Sunday morning, I wanted properly made Belgium Waffles. Glorious fluffy waffles with real fruit. Not that canned fruit/pie filling shit. So it was a trek out of Belga Café. But without reservations, it wasn’t meant to be, so we walked across the street to Ted’s, because of the rumors of the amazing homemade poptarts and twinkies. The wait was an hour and half – but the breakfast gods had pity on my growling stomach and seats at the bar opened up in 15 minutes. My friend started off with some amazing coffee and then moved onto an “adult” milkshake – which was a perfect balance of ice cream and liquor. I had Jon’s Omelet; she had T.U.B.S (Ted’s Ultimate Breakfast Sammy); we shared a side of biscuits and gravy; and we started with a cherry poptart to calm our growling stomachs. Everything was very well done, no complaints on the quality or quantity of food. I wished that the hasbrowns were a bit more fried, but that’s my only “meh”. But I can see why people bought the poptarts by the dozen. They were perfect. We also got a snowball and twinkie to take home. I wasn’t a fan of the snowball, but that might be because it wasn’t pink and to be honest, I’m not a big fan of mergenie – and it was a very nice Italian Mergaine that was used instead of marshmallow fluff. But the twinkie – I could have eaten a dozen of those as well. The bill came out to about $25 a person. I would totally go back to this place again, if only to have twinkies, poptarts, and milkshakes.


Metro 29 Diner 4711 Lee Highway Arlington, VA 22207 tel:(703) 528-2464 http://metro29.com/  
Okay – so this is hands down my favorite find this weekend. It was so good that I had to go twice. Though, I have to admit that the breakfast here is better than the dinner. For dinner I had prime rib, baked potato, corn, side salad, and soup – for a listed price of $20.95! Seriously, the only better deal would be in Vegas! The duck someone had as a bit over cooked, the new york strip steak was perfectly done, but the dessert so far is nothing special. For breakfast, I finally had my waffles, which were perfectly made and had fresh strawberries! Steak and eggs, were an amazing deal as well. The Omelets were nothing super special but still tastey. It was solid food, decent service, and exactly what a diner should be like. This is one of my staple places to go eat at now! It was about $15 to $25 a person, depending on what you got.

Le Madeline 3000 M Street NW, Suite 205, Washington DC, 20007 tel:202-337-6975 http://www.lamadeleine.com/  
It’s what Le Madeline always is – just a place to run in and grab a bite to eat and run back out. It’s not bad. I tried something off their smart choice menu, broiled tilapia – it was okay. Not very filling. It would have been better with a side of veggies of any sort. My friend had the Tomato Basil Pasta – which of course is super tastey with all the fat and carby goodness. I’ve never been blown away by it, outside of the prices. But if there is one nearby and I don’t feel like Chipotle, I will continue to pop in. It is about $10 to $20 a person.

Florida Ave Grill 1100 Florida Avenue Northwest, Washington D.C., DC 20009 tel:(202) 265-1586 http://floridaavenuegrill.com/  
This is a staple of tourist fooding at its best. There are a few places that I take out of towners for food – Ben’s Chili Bowl, Old Ebbits Grill, and Florida Ave Grill. It’s good, but if it wasn’t to showcase the “local vibe”, go somewhere Obama has eaten at, or emcompasses DC history – it would be passed over. They do make a mean bowl of grits, but it’s nothing amazing. You get the feeling of either being out of place because clearly everyone knows everyone or you feel included in the scene – it all depends on who is flinging food at you. But if you are looking for a greasy spoon in DC where the staff will remember you, this is your place. It's about $10 a person

Mandu 453 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001 tel: (202) 289-6899 http://www.mandudc.com/
If you love bastardized Korean food, this is your place. I’m not the best person to come to when critiquing Korean food, because everything is compared to food that my family makes. But my non-Korean friends seem to like it and think it’s tasty. I would rather get something at Safeway and keep my friends company while they eat here. But I think that this place is worst then their location near Dupont. The ambience is nicer. But seriously - $6 for 6 dumplings that I can’t taste the shrimp in is just wrong. And their kimchee is unripened. Urg. This place is meant for hipsters that want to seem cool eating food that isn’t completely mainstream on this coast. I will be avoiding it like the plague. It's totally craptastic in my book. It's about $30 to $50 a person

Againn 1099 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001 tel: 202.639.9830 http://www.againndc.com/  
So I had really high hopes for this place. Apparently it’s award winning for concept, scotch selection, food, and service. The whole nine yards of a new up and coming restaurant. Well, the service wasn’t the best because we had a newbie waiter. Understandable but annoying. And for the type of food – British pub food. I guess if I was a British ex-pat and I wanted food just like home – maybe I wouldn’t mind spending $18 on Bangers and Mash – but as a non british connoisseur, I don’t want to spend that much on sausage and potatoes that would take me 10 minutes to make. The Pork belly and crackling was pretty tastey and very fatty, as it should be, but it wasn’t something that I wanted a whole plate of. It was all too rich. We also started with something off the charcuterie section … I think it was some sort of tripe dish that was just okay. I don’t think that I would be going there again unless I had a hard core single malt scotch drinker with me, because it was an impressive selection.

Bar Pilar 1833 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009. tel: 202-265-1751 http://www.barpilar.com/
I went here in January and I have been trying to figure out a reason why I need to go back. I loved the chill atmosphere of young professionals that are there just the hang out, grab a bite to eat, and relax. There was no pretense of being hip, trendy, or anything else. It’s just a nice place with medium noise levels, decent service, and good solid food. An upscale diner if you will. I don’t really remember what I had to eat, expect for the Beet Salad, which was amazing, and the potatoes – which I could have eaten 12 plates of. If it was off the red line instead of the green/yellow, I would come to eat here every week. Total sad panda face for it being so far from me and for me being a metro snob. It's about $40 a person

The Majestic 911 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 tel: (703) 837-9117 http://www.majesticcafe.com/  
This is my first real adventure into the food world of Alexandria. I heard about rumours that Old Town has some amazing resturants – but that whole being a metro snob keeps me from really eating in this part of town. And oh boy that have I missed out on! So hands down, everything here was amazing. The bread was amazing. The butter with the bread was amazing. The cocktails were amazing. I had a shirely temple that was amazing. The mac and cheese was amazing. The meatloaf was huge and amazing. The salmon was freash, flaky, moist, crispy, and amazing. The chicken “hunter style” was a very filling catchatorie style dish that was simple and amazing. Have I mentioned that everything here was amazing? Including the dessert. All amazing! I can’t wait to come here in the spring when the menu changes and everything is once again, amazing! It's about $50 a person.

Et Voila! 5120 MacArthur Blvd NW, Washington DC 20016 Tel: (202) 237- 2300 http://www.etvoiladc.com/  
Apparently DC is not in wanting for little beligum cafes. But Et Voila is the best of Belga Café, with none of it’s faults. The service is perfect, it’s not to crowd, this not pretentious, and the patrons are very comfortable with their own skins.

The balance between loving to go out to eat and trying to lose weight.

I think I’ve made it very clear that I love food. I love the smell, the taste, the ritual, the actual cooking, kitchens, gadgets, basically everything to do it with food. So how in god’s name is one supposed to eat all the glorious foods out in the world and lose or even maintain his weight? Do you just treat it like an addiction and avoid all tasty foods all together? There’s always moderation – eat the pork belly and cracklings only once a month and the rest of the month live off of celery?

Okay I’m totally exaggerating. But let’s take a simple example. Last night I was watching Lie to Me. And they were talking about poisoned muffins. That just triggered me to just want to eat a muffin all night last night. I tried to substitute it with something else – I had a piece of See’s Candy, some chips, and a mint. I ended up having to walk away and pre-cooked some breakfast burritos to take to work. I also just kept busy with packing my healthy breakfast and lunch to make sure that I have lots of healthy snacks and meals.

In fact let me tell you what I packed –

2 boiled eggs
Breakfast Burrito made with egg beaters and a low calorie tortilla
Broccoli
Carrots
Cucumbers
Hummus
Low Fat greek yogurt
Half a Turkey Sandwich
Apple
Rice
Shrimp Wanton Soup
Cooked Steel cut oats
Pudding Snack
Nalgene of hot tea

You would think with all this food I could resist the muffin. But no, I could resist the siren call of the deli near the metro and their freshly made muffins. I bought it, brought to my desk, closed my cube door, and scarfed the muffin down. I didn’t savor it. I didn’t enjoy it. It was all about getting it into my food as quickly as possible before someone took it away from me, or, more threatening, someone saw me eat it. I think that’s a sign that I may have a food problem. :\

Anyway, out of guilt, I think that I will scratch Restaurant Night tonight to make up for my muffin mishap and try to make it to the gym. Maybe that’s the balance act that needs to happen. If I screw up, then my consequence is I can’t go out to eat. And when I do go out to eat – I’m just going to eat with hedonistic abandonment and enjoy the meal.

A walk down memory lane.

So I am from California, and over the holidays, I did the faithful trek back home to the land where family is. But honestly if you asked me where to eat in California or even where I grew up, I would just look at you blankly and give you trite answers of places that I’ve only read about. While I went to school in driving distance of Napa Valley (CIA test kitchen, French Laundry, and just amazing food) and San Francisco (the city that has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the US), I didn’t really venture out of my little collegiate town.

Why? Mostly because my food awaking didn’t happen until college. My idea of good Italian food was Olive Garden. I had very limited exposure to foods that weren’t Korean or American diner food. And in a college town, I ate more Indian, Japanese, Nepalese, Mediterranean, and Czech food in 4 years then I did in my whole life before combined. It was amazing enough for me. And when I traveled for speech and debate conferences, my friends would introduce me to more amazing food.

I remember when I was a sophomore, we traveled to Philadelphia for a conference. And we did the normal things of eating at Pat’s and Gino’s. But they convinced me to part with my hard earned cash to go to Le Bec-Fin in the fall of 2002. I also remember that the pre fixed meal was $210 a person - the same amount I would make in 2 weeks working at the school cafeteria at that time. So it was scary to think about the life of ramen I was committing myself to.

So why am I taking this stroll down memory lane – mostly because I read recently that the once beacon of fine French cooking fell on hard times and will be closing this spring. This was my first taste of fine dining. Le Bec-Fin was where I really learned about what a charger was, what silver service entailed, and just the sheer elegance that a dinner could be. And most importantly – what cheese should taste like. I don’t really remember much about the food outside of being really confused on what to do with the rabbit bones in my mouth (I actually just ate the bones until someone noticed that there were no bones on my plate and to this day I am ribbed about it).

But I do remember the cheese cart. In high school, I knew that I loved cheese. When getting together with friends for lunch, we would go to our local supermarket and grab grapes, roasted chicken, a loaf of French bread, and some cheese from the deli. And I thought that was the be all and end all of amazing food. But Le Bec-Fin introduced me to camembert, humboldt fog, what parmesan that doesn’t come out of a green paper can tastes like, and just soo much more. Okay, I am now just drooling thinking about that cheese cart. And the servers there were soo nice about letting this table of young’uns try everything and explaining what we were eating.

I also remember the dessert cart as well. The amazing 3 level dessert cart of heaven. When we walked in, we passed by the dessert cart that was being served to those that were there for the earlier seating. And when we were seated in the upstairs small loft area – we were all a bit dejected thinking that we were not going to be able to see the dessert cart. But of course with service this people provide, they somehow timed for all 3 tables in the loft to get to the dessert at the same time. And they lugged the tray up. It was seriously the most amazing things I’ve seen in my life. And I remember asking if we were allowed try more than one item in a soft hushed tone, and the waiter telling us that we were allowed to ask for anything we wanted on the cart. Then he proceeded in fixing all of us our own plate of amazing sugary goodness.

Tonight I’m going to Citronelle. And I’m hoping that the food and expereince will be equally amazing and elegant as Le Bec-Fin was. My only regret about going to Le Bec-Fin was that my palate was not refined enough to really enjoy what I was eating. So let’s see how tonight goes.

The word Foodie.

I don’t know why, but I don’t really consider myself a Foodie. I do love food. But I feel like the current use of foodies is interchangeable with gourmets. And lord knows that I am not a gourmet. I am not refined nor do I have a discriminating palette. I love going to McDonalds as much as I love going to Palena. Give me food that makes me happy and I will be happy. In the Washingtonian’s current (January 2011) issue – the one that lists the “100 Very Best Restaurants” – they have a line in the introduction to list on how they picked the restaurants that sums up my view on a good meal as well. So because imitation is the best flattery – I’m just going to quote it.

“Some […] restaurants didn’t strike us as good values. Not that we were hunting for bargains – a $300 meal that seduces from start to finish can be as good a value as a delicious from a low-key restaurant down the street” – Todd Kliman

Tuesday Resturant Group

To spice up my life I am putting together a tuesday night dinner group. Every Tuesday night I am going to hit up a different resturant in the DC area. Anyone that want to join is welcomed to. :)

But this is my list of some of the resturants that I want to hit up. Let me know if there are more that I should be visiting. :)

Adam Express - 3211 Mt. Pleasant St NW

Againn - 1099 New York Ave. NW
Bar Pilar - 1833 14th Street Northwest

Bastille – 1201 N. Royal Street, Alexandria
Bradbo Tasting Room – 1600 King Street, Alexandra
Cava – 527 Eight Street SE
Cork – 1720 14th St NW
Estadio – 1520 14th St NW
Ethiopic – 401 H St NE
Et Voila! – 5120 MacArthur Blvd NW
Figs Fine Food - 4828 MacArthur Boulevard NW
Indique Heights - 2 Wisconsin Cir, Chevy Chase
Jetties - 1609 Foxhall Rd NW
La Caraquena - 300 W Broad Street, Falls Church
Levi's Port Café - 1102 8th St. SE
Liberty Tavern – 3195 Wilson Blvd, Arlington
The Majestic – 911 King St, Alexandria
Maine Avenue Fish Market - 1100 Maine Ave SW
Masala Art – 4441-B Wisconsin Ave NW
Metro 29 Diner - 4711 Lee Highway, Arlington
Minh – 2500 Wilson Blvd, Arlington
Mitsitam Café - 4th St & Independence Ave SW
Montmartre – 327 Seventh St SE
Oohhs & Aahhs Gourmet Deli - 1005 U St NW
Palena Café – 3529 Connecticut Ave NW
Passage to India – 4931 Cordell Ave, Bethesda
Rays’ the Steaks at East River – 3905 Dix St NE
Seventh Hill Pizza - 327 7th St. SE
So's Your Mom - 1831 Columbia Rd NW
Sou’Wester – 1330 Maryland Ave SW
The General Store - 6 Post Office Road, Silver Spring
The Majestic - 911 King St., Alexandria
Toki Underground - 1234 H Street, NE
Tune Inn Restaurant & Bar - 331 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast
Vermilion - 1120 King St., Alexandria

Adour – 923 16th St NW
Bistro Bis – 15 E St NW
Bourdon Steak - 2800 Pennsylvania Ave NW
CityZen – 1330 Maryland Ave
Citronelle - 3000 M St NW
Corduroy – 1122 Ninth St NW
Komi – 1509 17th NW
Kushi – 465 K St NW
Minibar - 405 Eighth St NW
Marcel’s – 2401 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Rasika – 633 D St NW

For those that don't already know ...

DC Resturant Week is almost here! January Restaurant Week in 2011 will be from January 17th through January 23rd

Make your Reservations ASAP to enjoy them!

Here is a site with the menus http://www.dcfoodies.com/

How do they do it?!?

Seriously – there are some amazing cooking and baking blogs out there. And then there are some that are just food porn – I just drool over the pictures of the process these people take while working. But seriously – how in god’s name do these people do it?!?!?! When I am baking or prepping a meal – I’m on a strict timeline. And because I live in a city apartment, my kitchen is the size of some people’s third guest bathrooms – so there is the need to continuously clean my measuring cups, cutting boards, knives, etc as I move along. There is no way that I am able to bake and remember what my next 2 steps are suppose to be and frame a shot at the same time with the background tidy. I’M ONLY HUMAN WITH ONLY 2 HANDS AND A SEMI-FUNCTIONING BRIAN … BRAIN!!!! See I can’t even post correctly!



Anyway to prove that I too can take those artistic food shots – here is some food porn from when I am not in the kitchen and just stuffing my face or touristing.

Perfection is over rated … right?

One problem with being an OCD-equse perfectionist is the fact that my baked goods aren’t coming out perfect. I made this amazing pumpkin cheesecake for an office potluck – but one problem that I have with cheesecake is the simple fact that I’ve never had one not crack on me. I studied my Joy of Cooking closer than any regulation or textbook on various styles of cheesecakes and various tricks to keep a cheesecake from cracking.

So this time I was aware and armed with what I needed to do. I had my spring form pan to make sure when I took the cake out of the pan that I would have minimal issued. I had 2 loaf pans in the oven to keep the oven a bit humid to keep it from drying out. I also made sure not to over beat my mixture prior to pouring to make sure that it doesn’t get too much air beaten into it. And when I took it out I cooled it overnight in the pan, on a rack, and a pot over it to slow the cooling process down to prevent it from cracking from a rapid decrease in temperature.

But with all these precaution the cheesecake cracked in transport to the office.

Sigh. While everyone raved about how fabulous the cheesecake was, and even I will admit that it was amazing, all I could obese over was that damn crack.

But here is the amazing recipe. Hope that your cheesecake is crackless.

PS – My baking time was much longer to achieve the right consistency. So use the baking time as reference.

The finished product looks like this ... I was too crushed about the crack that no pictures of the cheesecake were taken.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/images/newlarge/pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe.jpg

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Serves 10 to 12
1 graham cracker crust (recipe follows)
2/3 cup packed light of dark brown sugar + 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1 lb cream cheese
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

1. Firmly press the graham cracker crust into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

2. Combine 2/3 of brown sugar, and all of the spices in a bowl. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth, about 30 to 60 seconds. Gradually add the sugar mixture until smooth and creamy, about 1 or 2 minutes.

4. Beat in eggs one at a time until well-blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go.

5. Add pumpkin puree and beat until just blended.

6. Scrape the batter over the crust and smooth the top.

7. Place a cake pan or loaf pan of water in the oven to moisten the air. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325ºF and bake for 10 minutes longer or until the edges of the cheesecake are puffed but the center still looks moist and jiggles when the pan is tapped, about 10 minutes more.

8. Meanwhile, whisk together the sour cream, remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar and vanilla until well-blended. Pour on top of hot cake and tilt the pan to spread the topping evenly. Return to the oven for 7 minutes.

9. Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack and cover the pan and rack with a large inverted bowl or post so that the cake cools slowly. Let cool completely before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably 24 hours before serving.

Graham Cracker Crumb Crust
1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp butter, melted, warm or cool
1/4 cup sugar

1. With a fork or a food processor, mix the ingredients well.

From The Joy of Cooking by Marion Rombauer Becker et. al. (1997, Scribner)

Amazing or Craptastic?

Hello my poor neglected food blog. I’ve been going to eat at some amazing places lately and taking some amazing pictures. But I have been just too lazy lately to post them up. I also tend to forget what I want to post about so.

But right now a recap of places that I’ve eaten at that were amazing or craptastic.

Ray’s Steaks – OMG, Amazing! And their desserts are also amazing! If you go there, their chocolate mousse is a must. And if you are a fan of coconut – their coconut cream pie is the best I’ve ever had. A recap is coming.

Red Velvet – I’m sad to say that their Halloween Cupcake of the Day, Candy Bar Cake, was craptastic. I thought baking bits of kit kats, M&M’s, and snicker’s bars would be good. But it was dry and not tasty as well. And for my second favorite cupcake shop in DC, it was very disappointing.

Red Hook – AMAZING! The lobster rolls were super tasty and I didn’t feel like I was getting jibbed in the amount of lobster or anything. The fact that they had both the mayo based and butter drawn is also a very big plus. The shrimp rolls were okay, not a show stopper but something I won’t get again on purpose. Also the whoopee pies that they carry is also amazing – not too sweet and not dry for something that was stored in the freezer.

Larry’s Ice Cream – Mix. The Baklava was craptastic. I like it lighter and crisper. It was too soggy and dense. But the one ice cream that I had a bite of was almost amazing. It was a flavor that I would never pick, Cinnamon Raisin, but it did taste like an oatmeal raisin in an ice cream form. I will go back to explore this Dupont Circle ice cream shop better.

Ben’s Chili Bowl – As always amazing. It might seem like screwing up a chili cheese fries might seem hard, but it’s possible my friend. And for going there for dinner after the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, the line was quick. 

My attempt at making cheese pop-overs – CRAPTASTIC! All I could think about were the amazing cheese pop-overs that Fogo de Chao gives their patrons for a while. So one morning I attempted to make them. And they were not poppy, cheesy, nor overy. L But I have an idea of where I went wrong and another attempt is in the future.

My attempt at making Apple Pie – AMAZING! It was the first time I’ve made a pie crust with my standing mixer. And this joy of cooking recipe is going to be making rotations in apple seasons.

And on this note – I’m going to bed. Tomorrow, I’m hoping to make it home in time to bake loaves of honey wheat bread. Hmmmmm …

Politics of Food?

So this DC'ite traveled to Hot-lanta this weekend to catch the Giants vs. Braves play-off games. While I am a Nationals fans in my heart - we all know that they are never ever going to a play off game. So I've adopted my roommate's team for the play-offs ... Go GIANTS! And Atlanta is the home of southern cooking and apparently has one of my favorite road restaurants, Cracker Barrel, at every exit on the way there. While some people swear that the Waffle House is the best road food in the South, I am a hard core Cracker Barrel fan. No road trip starting in DC is ever complete without this half-Country Store half-restaurant with over cooked grits. Hmmmm ... I am drooling a little bit and my arteries are starting to clog up thinking about it.

So my little innocent guilty road side pleasure apparently is also mired with all sorts of political-y mess. First, it's very well known that C&B had some major issues with racism in the early 2000's. Though one of my friends puts it - It's the side of racism that makes the food taste soo good. They are also consistently ranked one of the worst places for anyone in the LGBT community to work in. In fact until the early millennium - they were very upfront on their preferred hiring practices of heterosexuals.

I am a total free market-ist, even after the recent financial tumbles. Everyone is an adult - act like it and be personally responsible for your actions. If you don't like something the company does - don't buy it. Vote with your dollars. One thing that my roommate and I actively did on this trip was buy gas from BP. While they did screw up royally with that oil well, compared to what past oil companies have done BP is at least attempting to show some corporate responsibility. So we voted with our dollars and drove a little further to buy gas from BP and not those evil commies from CITGO.

But how far am I willing to vote with my dollars ... am I willing to give up that clean restrooms, random candies from my childhood, and country fried steaks for something that C&B are sorta working on? That's something that I am going to chew on.

Not Dead and Give me Yummy Food lists!!!

So we have been on a unscheduled siesta due to life. But I finally have time to post again! I know my legions of readers have missed me. But I assure you that I have still been eating ... too much.


I've also invited some of my bestest foodie friends that I've known since high school and from different cities to also write about their food experiences. E is from Seattle and is also very adventurous in the kitchen. And A is from NYC and is one of the most camera happy diner out there. Hopefully they will be willing to share their experiences and I might add other friends to share



Now to today's rant ...



I have knocked off more restaurants off the 2010 Best Restaurants of DC list thanks to Restaurant Week and great friends and I realized that I really like the 2009 list much better. I mean there are the DC staple restaurants - Citronelle, Obelisk, City Zen, blah blah blah that are always going to be on these lists because they have an world famous executive chef or are just a DC institution. But that's not a good enough reason for me to patronize these restaurants. I want to know that whatever list is out there is going to blow my mind if it's on this list and I have to shell out boocoo bucks for it. Or it's that fantastic hole in the wall that serves dishes that make me want to lick the plate clean.

But the 2010 list is filled with disappointments or mediocrity. They are the restaurants that one goes with an expense account and low expectations. There are soo many amazing places in the DC area that serve up amazing dishes that make you feel like you are eating a fantasy, a warm family meal, or like royalty. Surfside was on the 2009 list and they have carnita tacos that remind me of eating at an oceanside taqueria in California. It may be a chain but Devon and Blakely has killer sandwiches and soups. Same with Potbelly's, it's consistency rated high by the users of Yelp, Urban Soup, and the everyday lunch crowd. And what about the burgoeing food cart/truck markets.

I guess my point today is I want these lists to actually be a showcase of the best in DC - the ones with the best food and service - and not the most popular.

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