Absolutely no where with waitstaff, bartenders, or really anyone else. As a former waitress and bartender, finger snapping was the quickest way to be ignored. It is the lowest form of human interaction.
I was in a nice restaurant in DC and happened to see someone do this to a waitstaff. What makes you think that this is a good way to get their attention?
Trust me, “excuse me” or a “pardon me” works much better. And you’re much less likely to have anything “added” to your meal when it arrives.
To know me is to know I love few things more than Visakha Puja Day (or as I affectionately call it, “Thai Fest Day”). This year, it’ll be on May 17-18th. It’s a two-day Thai food festival! Who wouldn’t love it?
The food is amazing and your eyes (or at least mine) are always bigger than my stomach. They offer all the staples — Pad Thai, mango with sticky rice, various Thai chilies/spices and at incredibly reasonable (dare I say cheap?) prices.
While I’m sure there are other Thai Festivals in the DC-metro area, this is the one that I happened to stumble upon one year and will always be one of my favorites.
The festivities are held at 13440 Layhill Road, Silver Spring, MD. They also have buses from the Silver Spring metro to take you to the festival.
And in case you’re wanting more information on Visakha Puja Day, here you go.
Readers know how much I loved the Burrito Cart Man who lived in front of the CVS on K and 15th Street.
So I was walking around one day trying to figure out what to eat for lunch and found a burrito cart man on the corner of K and 17th Street (by Farragut North Metro, Dress Barn, and Starbucks). He’s the green cart. Now I know he’s been there for years, but I had never tried his cart.
Here’s the deal. He offers:
Tomato, spinach, or plain tortillas for $4.50
Rice, beans (black or refried), and hot sauce
For $0.50 more, you can get guacamole (not homemade) or cheese. For $0.25 you can get sour cream.
So while he has only 7-9 hot sauces that are either medium or hot, his burritos are the closest I’ve had to the original burrito cart. But his are definitely not the same.
He has no salsa on the burrito so that means no big chunks of onions, tomatoes, or cilantro.
He does put the tortilla into the steam heat so it’s hot, but he doesn’t throw the cheese on until the end (but it does still melt).
While they’re not the same, it was a decent burrito for $5.
This guy from Japan makes musical instruments from fruits and vegetables. And I watched three of his videos. Seriously? I can tell you his carrot flute and apple ocarina sounds pretty good. His cucumber trumpet, not so good. After watching three videos, I was embarrassed to watch any more. If you want to learn how to make these, watch this video.
One of my all-time favorite restaurants in DC is Hook. Is it the fact that it’s an organic and sustainable restaurant in DC? Is it the fact that the pastry chef is so widely respected? Or is it because Barton Seaver is such a cutie? Yeah…
Food:To start off the meal, I ordered the calamari salad which had a great grilled, simple flavor. So fresh and so good. For my main course, I ordered the seared Steel Head Trout. The flavor of the fish was simple and was a bit like salmon (but less oily!). My dining companions ordered the Artic Char which had a great grilled taste and the Sablefish (my least favorite of the table). For dessert, we ordered the Apple Tart (with almond frangipane, caramel sauce, and bourbon ice cream), donuts and coffee, and Bittersweet Chocolate Torte (with caramel ice cream, salted cashews). My favorite dessert was the donuts and coffee — although they were much smaller than Buddakan, they were equally delicious.
Service: Their servers are put through an intense one week course on fish so they are able to talk to diners about what the fish tastes like (and what it’s similar to). They’re also always polite and really good. They know when to stop by to see how the food is and also when to leave the table alone. I get a sense that most are professional servers.
Atmosphere: At the end of the meal with the bill, they give everyone a fish handout to take with you on what fish is OK to eat and what isn’t (as far as being sustainable.
Attire: Business casual
Price: $$$
Overall: This is one of my favorite restaurants in DC because the food is cooked simply but amazing. The sides that accompany the main entree compliment perfectly. The appetizers are amazing. Desserts are ridiculously good. The servers are fantastic. There’s nothing else you can say — all good. If you haven’t been, you must!
Details:
Reservations are strongly recommended.
Hours: Dinner: Sunday - Tuesday 5pm to 10pm, Wednesday - Saturday 5pm to 11pm; Lunch: Tuesday - Friday 11:30am to 2:30pm; Brunch: Saturday & Sunday 10:30am to 2:30 pm
With the heat, I thought a light meal of catfish would be really yummy. And while I love fried catfish (really fried anything) as much as the next person, I wanted to keep it healthy.
So here’s my broiled lemon catfish recipe:
1 lb of catfish
3-4 tsp of Old Bay Seasoning (enough to cover both sides of the catfish)
4 TBSP of panko crumbs (enough to cover both sides of the catfish)
2 tsp of lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Directions: Pat the catfish dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the catfish with Old Bay Seasonings and salt & pepper. Then sprinkle the lemon juice over both sides. Put the finely chopped garlic on both sides. Then lightly pour some Extra Virgin Olive Oil on both sides. Next put the panko crumbs on both sides. Then finish with a light drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Broil on each side for 6-7 minutes.
Quite possibly one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen in a long time is this one called, I Like Killing Flies.
For an hour and a half, you can listen to Kenny Shopsin (owner) of Shopsin’s Restaurant, wax poetically about food, life, and everything in between. He is a bit like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld with his quick temper and seemingly abrasive front. From the movie though, I think you can tell he has a good heart and a quick wit. And of course, I bet he is a great cook.
Be warned — this movie is not for those who are easily offended or people who are easily nauseous. For example, you’ll see Kenny, throughout the movie, killing flies (natch).
If you’re interested in visiting Shopsins, they’re located at the Essex Street Market in stall #16. And for Pete’s sake, do not bring more than 5 people with you!
As I mentioned, I’m in a poached egg mood and order it where ever I go. But I felt like trying my hand at making them so I did and they turned out really well.
I went to Thai X-ing with a friend who had a car because otherwise, I don’t think I would have ever had a chance to try it. Their menu can be found here.
Food: We ordered spring rolls which I didn’t love because I thought they were a bit bland. But everything else we ordered was so good! We also ordered Veggie Pad Thai which was sweeter than the normal pad thai you’d get at other restaurants, but then had a slight heat kick at the end. It was fantastic! Then we ordered Chicken Vigsittaboot with watercress and spicy peanut sauce which was also amazing.
Service: There’s one guy who cooks everything so his overhead has to be pretty low. But it also means that you’re frequently waiting — even if you call in advance. I called and placed our order and was told it’d take 40 minutes yet when we arrived about an hour later, he hadn’t even cooked it yet. So if you have plans that require you to be somewhere at a certain time, this is not the restaurant for you. I’d only go when you have no plans except dinner…just in case!
Atmosphere: While he has a table and chairs, it’s definitely a grab-and-go place. There are lots of chairs and items on the wall to entertain you while you’re waiting for your food.
Attire: It’s to-go so it doesn’t matter.
Price: $
Overall: The Chicken Vigsittaboot was really good. The pad thai was unique. I’m looking forward to the next time I get to go back and try some of his curry dishes that I’ve heard so much about. Definitely a hidden gem in DC!
Details:
Hours: Tues-Sun 4-10 PM (delivery only happens on Friday and Saturday nights)
I love fried chicken. It’s right up there with chocolate for me. But there’s no one who makes fried chicken like my grandmother used to make — tender and crispy, even without skin!
Alright, so skin does make it even better, but I try to not use any. So while it’s not quite as crispy as she used to make it, it’s still really good.
Here’s the deal –
Skinless chicken breast (In the photo, you’ll see I cut them in half so they’d cook faster)
Flour
Salt & Pepper
Canola oil
Heat the canola oil in a cast iron pan. Then put the chicken, flour, and salt & pepper into a Ziplock baggie and cover. Take a small piece of the chicken (snip it) and put it into the oil to see if it’s hot enough. Once it starts frying around the edges, put the chicken into the pan and cook on medium-high to seal in the juices and make that nice crispy texture. Once both sides are crispy, then turn down the heat to low-medium and cover with a lid. This will take about 20-35 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken breasts are). Then turn back on high and finish the crisping.
Seriously, this is really good. But it takes a couple of tries before you master this recipe. I’m still trying to make it perfect, but I’m getting closer!
I made these biscuits since I was running to use up milk before it went bad. But these were really good. Incredibly buttery and flaky — mile high? Not so much.
If you’re wondering why I cut them into these ugly squares, it’s because I didn’t want to over-handle them. So while they may be ugly, it was more important to me that they were tender and flaky.
I’ve walked by House of Kebob a million (literally) times and only recently went in to try it out. Their menu can be found here and here.
Food:I ordered a lamb shish kebob which was served on home-baked pita with lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers. The photo, if I may say so myself, makes it look amazing. In reality, there were only 4 medium chunks of overcooked lamb. It was dry and tough. But the redeeming quality in my mind was the vegetables — lightly cooked, they were fresh, crispy, and oh so good. There was a very thin yogurt sauce which too watery and dripped everywhere making a huge mess. The bread was really good, but towards the end, soggy.
Service: It took them a couple of minutes to come out of the back kitchen, even though the door clearly shut. Once they did, they were polite.
Atmosphere: There are about 6-8 tables and chairs and a bar with a few stools, but the restaurant is definitely small. The atmosphere is not one that will impress anyone and is a bit bleak. They also have a lot of pungent incense burning which was disappointing since to me, the best smell is that of food cooking in a kitchen.
Attire: Casual
Price: $
Overall:I’d skip the lamb and instead, perhaps try to the chicken or the veggie kebob. They also offer an all-you-can-eat buffet for $8.49 or carry-out buffet for $4.95/lb. And they deliver (minimum order must be $15), but not at lunch (bummer)!
Trader Joe’s - I love that place. I wish I lived closer to one, but when I go, I have a tendency to go and buy everything and anything.
So I went and bought this soy ice cream, figuring I’d try it. Probably hate it, but why not?
Umm, it’s the best (soy) ice cream I’ve ever had — Double Rainbow Soy Cream Mango Vanilla. It was creamy and didn’t have a funny aftertaste. It didn’t taste like soy at all. The mango had a great strong mango flavor and the vanilla was outstanding.
It’s all natural, vegan, lactose and gluten free soy ice cream. In the quart of ice cream, each serving is only 2.5 g of fat. There are all natural ingredients except there is some corn syrup in the ice cream (not a fan of that).
Since it’s almost summer, thought this was a good time to share my new find!
After hearing so many great things about Blue Duck Tavern, I finally went. Why did it take me so long to go?
Food:I went with a client and thankfully, a cool client that’s into sharing! So we ordered their braised barbecue beef “long rib”, crab cakes, triple fried fries, and glazed baby carrots. The fries were more like logs (like when you cut tofu into eighths). But they were still insanely crispy! And readers, you know I don’t like thick fries but damn, these were so yummy! The crab cakes were definitely some of the best in town - full of crab with a little breadcrumbs to hold it all together. You know, the way crab cakes are supposed to be made. Plus, there was a remoulade sauce on the side that didn’t overwhelm. The beef was insanely tender and fell off the bone so easily. The barbecue sauce tasted like good, homemade sauce. Now on to my favorite course, dessert. We ordered the chocolate cake with a side of vanilla ice cream (had to order this separately). Our waiter made the vanilla ice cream sound like it was mind blowing good - but it wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong - the ice cream was good - rich, creamy vanilla, but it wasn’t earth shaking. The chocolate cake wasn’t overly sweet and had a fantastic dark chocolate with a light rum flavor. Yum.
Service: Our server was nice, but a little pushy.
Atmosphere: It has a wide open feel and hundreds of people could easily be in the restaurant and you’d never know. While they have a very open kitchen, the chefs/cooks are very quiet! The interior has dark wood tables and chairs (and accent pieces on the walls), but the floor is very light and balances out nicely. It’s comfortable and beautiful — definitely an impressive place to dine!
Attire: Business casual
Price: $$$
Overall: Here’s another restaurant that would easily impress even the toughest critics. The food was cooked simply but so wonderfully! Oh and don’t be surprised when you pull up to the Park Hyatt — this amazing restaurant is on the first floor of the hotel.
I was excited when I realized Food Network was re-airing some of Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour. But when I caught the Brazil episode, I realized I had seen this before. It had been aired on No Reservations!
I recognized the opening scene when he’s in the Confeitaria Colombo (coffee shop with the pastries and there’s no one there) and then when he meets his carioca who is going to teach him how to live the carioca lifestyle.
Alright, so it’s no like I solved the JFK murder mystery, but it was an interesting observation.
I recently went to Bohemian Caverns on their improve Big Band night and was pleasantly surprised by the talent on the stage.
You have to go through a separate door from their restaurant, I think it’s green and on the corner of the building (if you’re at the main restaurant door, you go to the right).
Once you enter that door, you’ll go down a flight of stairs. Immediately when you walk in, there are around 7 tables with chairs on the left, then on the right there’s the stage, beyond that there’s 3-4 big sofas, and then the bar with stools in the back. And the interior? It’s honestly like a cave with stalactites.
While their bar isn’t impressive — there’s not a tremendously wide selection of liquor, beer, or wine — the music is pretty good. The Washington Post has a nice write-up of the history of the place.
For anyone who likes jazz, you should check out this place. Their schedule can be found here.
**Update 5/8 — Bummer, rumor has it that the Dove ads aren’t as “natural” as originally thought. Apparently, they’ve been Photoshopped.**
Wow ladies, according to this story, 65% of women are disorder eaters. Apparently, if you’re a carb-avoider, skipping meals, etc — you’re included in the bunch.
I think our culture is “too” into carbs so I get the carb-avoiding syndrome. Think about a typical sub where there’s all this extra bread. But something tells me they’re not talking about that kind of carb-avoidance attitude.
I have to admit that I’ve seen women in DC and sometimes, they do seem incredibly small — almost as if they’ve never gone through puberity. I don’t think a size “00″ is healthy. And when I see women that small, I want to take them to lunch and make them eat a huge bowl of pasta.
While I know some women are naturally small, I do not believe “00″ is natural. Am I wrong? Do you disagree?
After dog sitting for P3, she was quite generous with her “thank you” gift and gave me a gift certificate for Cashion’s. I was excited because I’d never been before — and so I finally had the opportunity the other week.
Food:To put it mildly, some of the best appetizers ever! I ordered the grilled octupus which had a great, simple grilled flavor. My friend ordered the fried oysters in grits. I’m not a grits fan (I don’t get why people like it, I really don’t. It’s just about putting a lot of butter on it and if I put that much butter on anything I ate, I’d love it too). But these were really good (probably a lot of butter). And the oysters were super crispy with a bit of corn meal. For the main, I ordered the seared tuna with black beans, mango, and cilantro. While the tuna was perfectly cooked, I thought it lacked uniqueness. And I think they forgot the cilantro because I didn’t taste it in my dish. My friend ordered the shad roe. Now I don’t know why she did, but she did. If you don’t know shad roe, here’s a photo and an explanation. And because she didn’t like it, I only got half of my seared tuna. Oh well. I ended up eating a lot of the bread since I was still hungry.
Service: Our server was a bit too eager throughout the meal. She kept asking if we understood the menu, which is nice the first time and annoying the second and third. Perhaps we looked confused?
Atmosphere:From the exterior, it seems like it’ll be a small restaurant. But the looks are deceiving because it’s long. Straight back on the left is a bit of an elevated bar. Then there are tables throughout. We were fortunate to get a table by the floor-to-ceiling windows so it didn’t feel claustophobic, but I could see how that could happen when those windows are closed!
Attire: Business casual/casual
Price: $$$
Overall: I’ll definitely go back to try out other main courses and I hope they’ll offer those fried oysters again! That’s the trouble with changing menus — you never know if your favorite is going to be available. At the same time, you get to have new favorites! So P3, thanks for the gift certificate! Another good recommendation!
Details:
Reservations strongly recommended.
Hours: Mondays closed; Tues 5:30-10 PM; Wed-Sat 5:30-11 PM; Sun 5:30-10 PM; Sunday Brunch 11:30 AM-2:30 PM; Late Night Menu 12 AM-2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays
Address: 1819 Columbia Road NW, Washington DC 20009
Yet another free snack was given when I was walking down the street (story here).
The Nutter Butter Granola Bar is the same size as the Oreo Bar which is about 3″ long (but smaller in length than the Krzr phone… maybe more the Razr).
I thought it had a very peanut buttery flavor, again — like a cereal bar with oats and chewy bits. It was good, but a little too sweet for me. And there were an awful lot of ingredients for such a small snack. And it also has palm oil.
While it only has 1.5 g of fat and 100 calories, I think I’ll pass. I’m still trying to stick to my healthy foods that aren’t overly processed.
I know I said I’d only blog about the really good restaurants, but sometimes there are good concepts that don’t go quite as I think the chefs meant. I think that’s what happened with Left Bank breakfasts.
Before I get to the food, I wanted to bring up that the chairs (not the booths) are just slightly too high for the tables. So it makes eating just slightly awkward.
Anyway, I went with a friend for breakfast one morning and ordered the Eggs Norwegian. I chose the poached eggs (am into that style right now) and it was sitting on top of a toasted English muffin, smoked salmon, spinach, and chive hollandaise. Sounds really yummy right? All really tasty components and healthy (minus the hollandaise)! Good concept!
Now I’m not much of a hollandaise fan but my friend that I went with, she knows hollandaise. So I ordered it on the side so she could tell me how it rated.
Apparently, it was just so-so. And that’s how I’d explain my breakfast. There was perhaps 3 TBSP of potatoes on the side — it was a bit of a sad looking plate. Plus, one of the eggs was not poached, but hard (the yolk never broke). Everything was also cold.
Interior is fun though and would be a great spot to grab drinks with friends, just not breakfast (especially since there are so many other great places in the area!). It’s a wide open bar/restaurant and would be a spectacular spot on a beautiful weather day when their floor-to-ceiling windows are open.
BTW, they also have some good happy hour offerings. Daily happy hours until 7 PM with $4 beers and $5 rails. Mondays are half-priced red and white wines; Tues & Wed are Smirnoff & Flavors night with mixed drinks going for $5 and martinis for $6; Thursdays are martini madness with half-priced Left Bank specialty drinks until 8 PM. Sat and Sun starting at 10 are $9 Moet Chandon Mimosas.
Blah blah blah, free snacks when I was walking down the street (story here). So I got a free package of these 100 calorie Chips Ahoy Candy Bites.
I thought these were really good and I liked them. They were kinda like a malted milk ball with a Chips Ahoy cookie crunch.
While only 100 calories (duh), there were 4 g of fat in the cookie bites. A little too much fat in too few pieces.
But I really thought you’d get a kick out of this. There was a sticker on the back of the package and if you can’t see it, it says, “Choking/Warning: Eat one at a time and chew thoroughly. May not be appropriate for children under 6. www.kraftkidssafe.com”
Seriously? Now is it just me or does that seem a little extreme? I mean, do they put them on the back of Raisinets? Or Skittles? Or Milk Duds?
And do I need to remind you about Bush and the pretzel? Watch this 35 second video to see his response.
Or for those of you who want to see a re-enactment, watch this video (until 2:54).
With the warm weather, comes a reminder to me that my baking days are numbered. But while I can, I thought I’d try to make these chewy chocolate chip cookies.
These were really good — very moist and soft but not overly chewy. I used a medium scoop and they turned out to be perfect cookies!
Yes, I know. Me at a buffet. It’s a rare sight and occasion. My friends are still in shock.
Anyway, I went to two buffets. The first night was at the Bellagio ($30) and the second night was at the Wynn ($34). Apparently, the Wynn buffet is the up-and-comer in the buffet category while Bellagio is considered the best.
I would say Bellagio was much better than the Wynn. Here’s what I remember about the two buffets.
Bellagio sushi, while they had only limited options (salmon nigiri, tuna nigiri, salmon handroll, and veggie roll), was fresh and good. At Wynn, there were only three rolls available. I think they were salmon, tuna, and California (no nigiri).
Apparently, the big thing at the buffets are the crab legs. I kept seeing people with these huge mounds of crab legs. I did try a couple of the pre-opened crab legs and they were good at both places.
The salads at Bellagio had much better flavor than the Wynn. My squid salad at Wynn didn’t have any squid (perhaps people had picked it all out?).
Desserts were hands down better at Bellagio than Wynn. I loved Bellagio’s chocolate pie, chocolate raspberry cake, and their chocolate hazelnut torte (or maybe it was flourless cake). The Wynn’s Key Lime Pie was tart and perfect as was their carrot cake with the cream cheese frosting.
I liked that the Wynn’s buffet was more spread out so it never felt busy (even though the dining room areas were). Both places kept things pretty clean and well maintained.
But neither one made me love buffets. Regardless, I went and thought I’d share my experiences.
Oh and folks, don’t forget to tip the waitstaff at the buffets! They are the ones who clean your tables, get you more free ice tea, coffee, water, and soda. Don’t they deserve a few bucks?
So I’ve seen the commercials, read the stories, and have only now tried these 100 calorie snack packs.
I was walking in downtown DC and happened to run into the people who were giving away free 100 calorie snacks such as the Oreo Granola bar, Ritz Crackers, Nutter Butter Bar, etc. I’m slowly starting to try them so future posts to come on those.
Anyway, I tried the bar and I think it doesn’t taste too bad. It’s about 2.5 inches long and about 1 inch high. The usual Oreo filing is now on the top. Mixed with the chocolate cookie is Rice Krispies-type cereal and marshmallow.
The flavor does remind me of an Oreo, but it does have a slight strange aftertaste. It reminds me of the cereal bars that are popular.
If you’re looking for an Oreo, this probably won’t really cut it. I mean, I don’t see anyone really dunking the bar into a cold glass of milk.
This might be the first post EVER that I’m really excited to write. I’ve got a really fun announcement to make.
I know I’ve made comments/postings about how if we can, we should donate money to non-profits. Since my blog is about food, I’ve focused on food banks, etc. Perhaps you’ve wondered, “WhereInDC, what are you doing? Are you donating any money?”
I’m now putting my money where my mouth is –I’ll donate $500 to a food focused non-profit.
But here’s the catch – I need you to tell me where to donate.
From now until April 30th, I’ll take suggestions on organizations. You can email me (whereindc @ gmail DOT com) or post comments here.
Requirements are few - they must be food-related, have a Web site (or have something so I can confirm it exists), and be a federally recognized 501c3. It does not have to be DC-focused. If you want, you can even post a few words about the organization.
Starting May 1st, I’ll have a poll where you can vote (as often as you’d like).
The winning organization will be announced on May 31st and the check will be sent on June 1st.
I finally figured a good fried tofu recipe. No, it’s not quite like what you get in a restaurant. Yes, I know you’re supposed to be able to make this with just corn starch.
But to me, it never quite worked and I couldn’t figure out why. So I started to think about why it wasn’t working and what I wanted to have as my end product.
That’s when it dawned on me to use panko crumbs with the corn starch.
I’m not kidding when I tell you that I love this insanely easy and quick recipe — and that I’ll now make it all the time!
Ingredients:
2 TBSP of corn starch
1/4 cup of panko crumbs
1/4 cup of veggie oil
1 container of extra firm tofu, drained and with as much moisture as possible squeezed out
Directions:
Cut the tofu into 8 long logs (I like this because you can easily grab it when you’re putting it into the fryer and take them out)
Put the corn starch on a plate
Put the panko crumbs on a plate
Heat the veggie oil until hot in a sauce pan
Dip the tofu into the corn starch being careful to not put too much corn starch on the tofu log
Then dip the tofu into the panko crumbs
Once the oil is hot, carefully put the tofu log into the hot grease and let fry on each side until brown
Then remove and let drain on a paper towel
I didn’t put any salt or pepper on the tofu, but you certainly could. This was so yummy and crispy. It was exactly what I wanted.
