Tapas at Bodega
February 22, 2009 § Leave a comment
Julia and Ameya were in town, and instead of getting dimsum at China Garden like we usually do, we tried the tapas at Bodega. They did have a Restaurant Week menu for lunch and dinner, but we decided to just order 3 tapas dishes each since we didn’t really like the appetizers or desserts. And what a smart decision on our part. Usually with tapas places, I expect some hits and misses. Even with Jaleo, there were some tapas that I didn’t really like. Bodega is another story, and even though I definitely liked some dishes more than others, each one had something to give.
Bodega Spanish Tapas and Lounge
Paolo’s and Restaurant Week Part I
February 20, 2009 § 1 Comment
Winter in DC usually means I’m holed up in my dorm room on weekends watching crappy chick flicks or catching up on LOST. A couple weeks ago, Jia and I had had enough, and we decided to organize a girls’ night out at Paolo’s Ristorante on Wisconsin. We’d walked past a dozen times before, and with a sudden craving for some decent Italian food, we caved.
I went with two appetizers, the duck gnocchi and eggplant fritters, while my friends chose between the pizzas and specials. The duck gnocchi was a bit disappointing. I was really excited after reading the delicious sounding description, but the duck confit was tough and dry, and even though the gnocchi was pillowy, the arugula and biscotti crumbs had no business being in the dish. If the duck had been cooked better, the two alone would have been heavenly enough. The eggplant, on the other hand, was satisfactory. The cheese was molten hot and the sauce had a really nice tang, so I didn’t complain too much.
Everyone else said their food was fine, but I was too busy eating my food to care. Though I did choose not to order dessert, Jia and Tracy split the largest slice of tiramisu that I have ever seen in my life, and Melissa’s mandarin orange creme brulee was huge as well. We walked out of Paolo’s considerably stuffed and had to walk around M street before finally heading back to campus.
We didn’t have to walk too far. At Hook, there weren’t any individual tables available, but we sat at the end of a long table near the bar where there was full service. Hook is a restaurant very well known for its sustainable seafood, so it only made sense to order as much fish as we could. Appetizers were tuna tartare and an amped up clam chowder, but the entrees were the star of the show. My arctic char was no short of amazing – grilled so the skin was deliciously salty and crispy with the creamy celeriac puree to balance it – and Amy’s sablefish was light and airy but packed with the flavor of the ocean.
Desserts were amazing as well, and at this point, while I was taking photos, a chic woman came up to our end of the table and asked why I had a camera. Her name was Bethany Umbel, owner of Hook, and at that moment, she had been talking with Heather Chittum, the pastry chef who’d actually been named one of the “Top 5 Pastry Chefs in the Nation” and worked with Michel Richard at the famous Citronelle. I think they were both a bit on edge about me taking photos of the pastries (maybe they thought I was stealing presentation ideas?), but when they realized I was just an innocent food blogger, they eased up and sincerely said that they hoped we’d enjoyed the meal.It was a truly lovely dinner, and when I came back to the room to see how much the dishes originally would’ve cost me, I was shocked that the price tag would’ve been $61 without tax and tip. A serious bargain considering we only paid 35. Usually I’d say eating seafood exclusively isn’t my thing, but this was definitely a dinner to remember and I can’t wait until I go to Hook again.
Hook
http://www.hookdc.com
3241 M Street, Washington DC 20007
202.625.4488
Dimsum at A-K (formerly known as 1-9) Seafood
January 8, 2009 § Leave a comment
I’m back on the Hilltop and already missing home. In my first class on Keats and Shelley, our professor (who by the way had a posh British accent) handed out Keats’ “On first reading Chapman’s Homer” and asked us to write about one rhetorical device that “contributed to the poem’s overall meaning.” EH? I’m definitely not in study mode yet, so that was quite the rude awakening.
They offer your typical dimsum dishes, and that’s what makes it so great, in my opinion. Hardly ever does my family order something new. We go to A-K because we have certain expectations and we know they’re going to deliver. For example, their honeycomb tripe with radishes is spicy and tender and every fried dish they serve is surprisingly light and wonderfully seasoned. I also suggest any of their delicate shrimp dumplings as well as the egg tarts. YUM.
Christmas dinner
December 30, 2008 § Leave a comment
Last year, winter break was fairly mellow and unchaotic. It mainly consisted of hanging out with high school friends and then spending time with family at home, but all of a sudden this year, I feel like we’ve been going to family friend gathering after family friend gathering. I’m never really too enthusiastic about these huge reunions where the parents spend hours reminiscing and chatting while the offspring has to watch movies, but the food is always pretty good. And if there’s good food, I’m content.
I don’t really know the measurements I used but it was incredibly easy. I diced one onion, quartered a couple giant handfuls of pepperoni and then quartered one of those tubs of brussel sprouts from the grocery store. Dunk the sprouts in boiling water until they become bright green and take them out immediately and put them in an ice bath. I think boiled brussel sprouts taste absolutely awful.
Birthday at Bangkok Joe’s
December 10, 2008 § Leave a comment
This year, I celebrated my birthday with dinner at Bangkok Joe’s. Even though it was down on K Street and snowing by the time we left campus [we opted for a cab], once we got to the waterfront it was extremely easy to find.
Bangkok Joe’s is nowhere near your casual Thai restaurant – the decor inside was extremely classy and dimly lit – but the food comes out amazingly quickly. Erin and Lee had to leave at around 8:00 and ordered their food while we waited for friends from University of Maryland to arrive, and they got their food in about 15 minutes. They definitely could have ordered with the rest of us and still made their party afterwards.
The food was delicious. Joe’s is more of a dumpling bar than entree-oriented, so we orderd appetizers for the table as a sampling. Pork and crab shumai, fried calamari [because I can never resist anything dipped in batter and submerged in boiling oil], giant chicken dumplings, and others. I really liked the calamari here but the shumai wasn’t that amazing. I think I still prefer the dimsum ones at China Garden.
The entrees were served in these beautiful white noodle bowls that were rather deceiving when it came to serving size. I was full before I even finished half of my drunken noodles but ate them anyway. I don’t know why I love them so much, but the balance between spicy and sweet is always an excellent combination. And for some reason, the chicken tasted really good too. The only gripe we had [mostly Ameya] was that due to the asymmetricity [?] of the bowls, we couldn’t reach over and steal some noodles from the person sitting across the table as stealthily.
The highlight of the dinner was definitely dessert. My favorite was the fried roti dough with taro paste inside and ice cream on top. It was so simple yet everything came together so well and I loved the subtle sweetness of the dough itself. The other desserts were a flourless chocolate cake with berries and rum chocolate sauce and mango sticky rice, a classic.
We will definitely be returning to Bangkok Joe’s in the future but with a focus on the dumplings. I saw peking duck dumplings, a variety of different rolls, and other items that sounded delicious but I couldn’t fit everything in my stomach at the time.
An irrational but spending-savvy lunch
November 12, 2008 § 1 Comment
It’s currently 45 degrees outside in DC, and what did Erin and I decide to eat today for lunch? SweetGreen. Every Wednesday now, they’re handing out free small sweetflows with a salad, and since I only had three meals left at the dining hall this week, I thought it’d be wise to take advantage of the situation, even if it did result in a frozen tongue and numb fingers.
I went with the usual trio of toppings – strawberries, blueberries, and mangos – though I was seriously leaning towards the candied walnuts. Ah…decisions, decisions. Even though it was cold outside, I realized that I missed the tartiness of SweetGreen’s frozen yogurt as opposed to the fake Country Vanilla variety that’s served in our dining hall. A sweet treat that still made me feel healthy.
It was my first time trying a SweetGreen salad, and I inevitably opted for the Guacamole greens, mainly because it has a huge helping of avocado and I’m an avocado fiend.
Verdict: too much mesclun and not enough grilled chicken (I like my meat!), but the cilantro-lime-jalapeno vinaigrette was nice and tangy without being too overwhelming. I could have done without the tortilla chips though; they got really mushy and soggy after sitting with the avocado and vinaigrette as I made my to the bottom of the bowl. Have to say that SweetGreen trumps Chop’t, the Rosslyn version, in the salad-on-the-spot department though. Mainly because the server at Chop’t takes your chicken or choice of meat and minces it along with everything else using a mezzaluna, leaving you with…chicken string. Bleck
Some cooking and Leopold’s with next year’s roomies!
November 9, 2008 § Leave a comment
I did eventually get to using up the squash, mushrooms, and shallots by melting a little butter, throwing all of them into a saute pan, and adding salt and pepper. Quick, easy, comforting, and healthy (kinda? yes?) I would write out a recipe but it was incredibly simple and I don’t recall the measurements now. Just use however much looks good to you. Also cooked the potato gnocchi and ricotta tortellini that I had on hand from Dean and Deluca and doused it with some house vodka sauce. Erin, Lee, and I just grabbed a bunch of forks and ate off this one communal plate. No time for cute dinnerware when our stomachs were grumbling.
In other news, housing selection is complete and I’m living in a rooftop apartment next year with three other great girls! Rooftops at Georgetown are third or fourth level apartments that have a huge balcony that overlooks the Potomac River. And because it’s through the university, we don’t have to worry about utilities, long commutes, etc. Pretty sweet.
When we were deciding on the kind of housing we wanted to choose, we headed to Leopold’s. This time, I got the grilled chicken salad with field greens. It was a pretty standard dish and the chicken was a bit overcooked in my opinion, but everyone else seemed to enjoy their dishes. Jia got the roast chicken I had last time, Melissa had the mussels and frites, and Jenny got a salmon dish that looked huge and amazing. The fennel and basil oil combination got rave reviews.
We were all most looking forward to dessert though. Leopold’s has a huge pastry case filled with delectable treats – savory and sweet – and we spent about 15 minutes just ooing and aahing at all the choices. There were fruit tarts, giant brownies, MACARONS! [which I will try the next time I go] and breakfast items like croissants, danishes, etc. I purposely ordered the tea and cookies because I wanted something light, and even though I don’t know what they were – butter shortbreads, brittles, and some other things – each one was delicious and special, especially since I got to wash it down with some Citron tea. My friends were too busy sighing and eating to really say anything so…I’m going to assume their desserts tasted as good as they looked.
Mission for next time: macaron taste tasting. I only saw five flavors – raspberry, pistachio, chocolate, coffee, and either a lemon or coconut, but if they’re up to expectations, it doesn’t matter in the end. I just need to find somewhere that can give me that wonderful meringue-filling satisfaction.
Parent’s Weekend, Baked and Wired, Leopold’s Kafe
October 19, 2008 § Leave a comment
I was so happy when my dad and sister Laura came down for Parents’ Weekend yesterday. After experiencing midterm-hell for the past week, I needed to see them…and the goodies that they would inevitably bring with them. Mooncake, red bean paste, dried nori, etcetcetc. I will be satisfied in the Asian snack department for quite some time.
They were only here for the day so we had to sort our time wisely and efficiently. So we walked down to Rosslyn metro (the weather was absolutely beautiful outside, if a tiny bit chilly) and took the train to the Smithsonian where we got in touch with our inner child and oohed and aahed at the mammal dummies and Hope Diamond. We also got to see the new Ocean Hall that opened up.
Afterwards, my dad decided to take a catnap at the Shops at Georgetown Park, a wise choice since Laura and I used that time to stop by the lovely Baked and Wired (which is officially better than Georgetown Cupcake to me now that I’ve gone there twice) to get a Obama-yo-mama brownie (espresso and chocolate in the fudgiest fudgy texture) and Carrot cupcake with a heavenly creamcheese frosting. Speaking of creamcheese, I found the nicest vintage black tuxedo jacket with satin piping at Annie Creamcheese which I fell in love with. That and there was another spoon ring but I didn’t get it this time.
For dinner, the three of us walked down Cady’s Alley to Leopold’s, which I have been meaning to try for a while. It’s a very European-chic Austrian cafe that sells wonderfully hearty entrees, like the bratwurst with kraut that Laura got, delicately delicious pastries (there’s a giant case of them near the bar), or strong coffee for those visiting early in the morning.
My dad has a weakness for mussels so he got them in garlic and white wine broth paired with these extremely crispy frites and I got the roast chicken with chard, fingerling potatoes, and mustard sauce. To be honest, we weren’t really paying attention to the food, we were too busy talking. But that’s a good thing! I did manage to snap a couple appetizing-looking pictures so enjoy!
1/2 Off Sushi
August 21, 2008 § 1 Comment
Where I live is just your average suburb. Average + countless places for ethnic cuisine. There was even an article about Edison’s ethnic restaurants in the New York Times a while back. Iselin, also known as Little India by many (even people from out of state know this town) has a slew of different eateries particularly along Oak Tree Road. And there’s also a bunch of Korean and Chinese restaurants scattered all over Westfield, North and South Edison that keep the strong Asian population here very very VERY happy.
But, by the far the best perk of living in this area is the 1/2 off sushi. No, that was not a typo. I guess it’s because there’s so many established sushi places in Woodbridge, Westfield, and Edison, that to stay competitive, many had to adopt this plan to keep the customers coming in the door. Example: At Westfield’s Fujiyama Mama, my favorite 1/2 off sushi place, lunch is 1/2 off on certain rolls Monday through Saturday and dinner is 1/2 off on Mondays and Tuesdays. So…where three rolls would normally cost you about 20 dollars, you’re only spending 10 on those specific days. It’s a wonderful thing.
So as a going-back-to-school get-together, a bunch of close friends trekked to Westfield for lunch and ordered a bunch of rolls including: funky monkey (eel and banana), volcano (fried calamari with spicy mayo sauce and cucumber), dragon, crunchy spicy salmon (spicy salmon with tempura flakes), and others.
Maybe it was because I’d had a craving for Fujiyama all summer yet never got around to it or maybe it was the company, but that was damn good sushi, better even than the stuff I had in New York while working. I guess whatever’s most familiar sometimes tastes the best to us.
The fish is fresh and the presentation is much better than a Benihana or competitor U-Yee’s in Woodbridge plus the service is usually pretty efficient and patient. And…the thing I just found out today, you can draw on the tables using soy sauce! If you dip your chopstick in soy sauce and then write your name or initials on the table and leave it there, after a couple minutes, when you dab it off, your name is left in a bright pink! I probably shouldn’t be telling you all this, but if you get the corner table in the first room on your left, you’ll see my name! I always like to leave a mark. =)
Fujiyama Mama
341 South Avenue East
Westfield, NJ 07090
908.232.6598
U-Yee Sushi
675 US Highway 1 South near Gill Road
Woodbridge, NJ 08830
(732) 283-7888
Union Square Cafe with Lorenzo
August 8, 2008 § Leave a comment
Nora, my supervisor (Best boss ever! Wait ’til you hear what she gave me as a goodbye gift), and I originally planned to go toUnion Square Cafe during Restaurant Week, but plans fell through last minute and we never went through with our reservation. It was still the one place I wanted to eat at before the summer was over and I had to go back to Georgetown, so when an old high school friend, Lorenzo, offered to treat me to anywhere I wanted Tuesday…the choice was pretty damn easy.
Let me just say one thing about my friend before I move onto the food. I bumped into Lorenzo again in mid July, when I got onto a PATH train and he shoved his hand in my face as a way of saying hi. Turned out that our internships were located only a couple blocks apart. And even though he makes fun of me all the time and constantly causes my face to look like this -__- , he’s a good person, but that should already be obvious since he paid for lunch.
Anyway, we got to USC at 12 when it was still relatively quiet and were led up these narrow stairs to a small balcony, second floor area where there were only a couple tables. Our waiter was particularly friendly and leapt into service by raving about the day’s specials, but for appetizers, we stuck with the popular and safe fried calamari and spicy anchovy mayonnaise. I think it’s a problem I have, the tendency for me to order whatever deep fried foods there are on an appetizer menu.
First, ambience. Lorenzo had an issue with the nudes on the wall opposite us (What is it with men and bare breasts!? It’s just art!) but when the bread and butter came out, our attention fell on the food. All I can say is USC passed my simple test when the butter was smooth and creamy enough to smear all over that carb-y deliciousness.
The calamari was so LIGHT considering it’s deep fried in batter and then dipped in mayonnaise. It was one of the top, if not the best fried dishes I’ve had. I didn’t really care much for the mayo, it was too thick and didn’t stick well enough to the squid for my taste, but the fritters were seasoned well enough that the lack of sauce didn’t matter.
Our entrees were a refined tuna salad sandwich with garlic potato chips and housemade pappardelle with braised rabbit ragu. I loved my pasta dish. It may not sound like anything particularly spectacular (except maybe the rabbit part), but the simplicity of this dish caused all the elements to stand out. The pasta had a wonderful smooth texture with a slight bite that I loved and the sauce of braised rabbit featured beautifully tender meat and tanginess from the tomato that just made my stomach sigh. =)
I didn’t try the sandwich, but honestly, all I could focus on was the huge mound of garlic potato chips. I snagged a bite and CRRUUUUNCH. More fried, salted goodness. Plus garlic! Ah…all was right with the world.
Our perky waiter saved dessert from becoming a disappointment. Originally, I was leaning towards the Venetian fritelle, but he said, “Um…the customers who order it usually are let down.” But when I asked about the flourless chocolate cake, he unrestrainedly said, “OHMYGOSH MILLION TIMES BETTER!” So what could I do? Plus…chocolate was involved. Oh, and Lorenzo ordered a banana tart with ice cream and brittle.
The chocolate cake was the moistest, richest concoction ever. I was gushing about it the entire time; the coffee zabaglione served next to it helped to cut a bit of the richness. I don’t know how, but it did for me. Bitter vs. sweet, light and airy vs. rich and creamy. GAH. Lorenzo’s tart was a bit too caramelly and sweet for me, but the honey-vanilla ice cream was wonderful. I have a thing for honey ice cream lately. Whenever I go to Haagen Dazs now I order the Honey Vanilla. Long live the Honey Bees!
It was a wonderful way for the beginning of the end. After twelve weeks, my internship in New York was ending (well, it ended yesterday) and I was getting ready to go back to school. Time for goodbyes and email exchanges.
Union Square Cafe
21 East 16th St.
212.243.4020
Notes on Food 