But I’m starting a new and very positive chapter in my life and have decided to spend more time focused on that.  This meant that something in my life needed to go and this was the easiest piece that I could remove.

Thank you for reading this blog and for providing such interesting comments.   I really appreciate your support!

• Food: What makes this one of the best pho places? The broth was incredibly aromatic and flavorful.  The beef was super lean and razor thin.  They gave me lots of Asian cilantro, basil, etc.  The only complaint was that there wasn’t as much beef as most restaurants provide, but there were enough noodles that it was still filling.

• Service: They’re very polite.  You pay up front and I *think* it’s cash-only.  I can’t remember!
• Atmosphere:Like most pho restaurants, there’s not much.  The interior is small with only 10-12 tables.  Over the main door, you’ll see a flat screen airing, what I assume to be, Vietnamese TV shows. 

• Attire: Casual
• Price: $
• Overall:You won’t go wrong when you try this pho restaurant.  It’s just so darn delicious!

Details:

• Hours: Monday-Sunday 8AM–8 PM
• Address: 6795-1B Wilson Blvd; Falls Church, VA 22044
• Ph: 703-677-0523

Restaurants:

• Pret a Manger – If you’re a reader of this blog, you know I hate pre-made sandwiches.  But don’t be afraid of their pre-made sandwiches.  I’ve been several times now and it’s always fresh and delicious!  I really love their St. Tropez Tuna mayo-less sandwich.  Their roast beef sandwich is OK, but it needs more roast beef. 

• Swarma King — It reminds me a lot of Amsterdam Falafel.  You pick the meat and bread which they then serve you.  Then you go over to the help yourself toppings bar.  Once you’re done with your toppings, you hand it back to them so they can grill it in a panini-style grill.  They cut it in half and you get to eat your creation.  It’s good and cheap!

• The Source – Good food but definitely expensive.  Three scallops were $40-something.  And they’re a little too attentive. 
• Oya - Great place to go for a date or with a client.  Calamari and tuna tempura are delicious! I think they do best with fish more than their beef or other dishes. 
• BLT Steakhouse – Love all the “free” food they give you when you sit down to eat.  The popovers are to die for.  Definitely expensive, but a perfect place to go when you’re on a company expense account.
• On the Fly (Chinatown) — Skip the tacos, they’re horrible.  Go for the empanada, much better option.

• Julia’s Empanada — Ridiculously cheap and a decent meal.  Flaky empanada crust.   I put my Blackberry there so you could see how big the Empanada was.

Recipes:

• Martha Stewart’s Walnut and Brown Sugar Rugelach – It was OK and as you can obviously tell, I didn’t shape the dough into a circle.  Instead, I just rolled it out and cut into strips.   The cream cheese gave it a bit of a bite, but I don’t think this dough was worth the extra work.

• Sour Cream Herb Foccacia Bread – I used my bread machine and mixed everything (except melted butter, 1 tsp of thyme, and cheese) on the dough cycle.  I put in 3 1/2 cups fo bread flour and had to add more water, but as always, pay attention to your bread machine when it’s first mixing to make sure everything is combining.  Meh…I didn’t love it and will next time stick to my other foccacia bread.

• Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits – Good and easy.  Tasty?  No idea… 

• Betty Crocker Thumbprint Jam Cookies – Best. Recipe. Ever. Awesome. 

• Cooking Light Autumn Apple Cake — It really was delicious, although I think I’d add another cup of apples to give it an even better apple taste.
  • Cooking Light recipe has 10.6 g of fat; 304 g calories; and 48.9 g carbs.
    • 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 3/4 c granulated sugar
    • 5 TBSP butter, softened
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 large egg
    • 1/2 c 2% reduced-fat milk
    • 1 c chopped and peeled apple (I used Braeburn, they recommend Pink Lady or Sundowner)
    • 1/2 c golden raisins
    • 1/4 c chopped walnuts (opt)
    • 1 tsp powdered sugar

  • Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for about 40-60 minutes.  Sprinkle powdered sugar on top

Since I couldn’t find it posted online somewhere, here the recipe:

• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 c milk, room temperature
• 2 1/2 c cake flour

Preheat oven to 325.  Butter  10×5 loaf pan and line the bottom with strips of parchment paper that extend 2″ past the short ends of the pan.  I didn’t do the parchment paper strips, but I did make sure to that I sprayed my pan well with non-stick spray (I know, I didn’t do the butter either).

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and sugar at medium speed until fluffy (3 minutes).  Add eggs, 2 at a time, beating after each time.  Beat in milk.  Sift the cake flour and whisk until smooth.  Then pour into the pan.

Bake for 1.5 hours, until it’s golden on the top and cracked down the center.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then unmold the cake.  It can be kept at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days.

Now that I’ve given you the recipe, I can tell you that this pound cake is CRAZY delicious.  It’s heavy, rich, moist, and seriously awesome.

I think I could have lived without the cream cheese top and saved myself some more calories.  But I know that’s just me. 

I also don’t like frosting.  Take a moment.  I know.

I didn’t have any wheat germ and I ommitted garlic since it is toxic for dogs.  Instead of regular milk, I used 1/4 cup of whipped cream.  Also, I substituted unbleached all-purpose flour for the whole wheat flour.  When I was mixing, it wasn’t coming together like it should so I added 1 additional egg.

The dough is super stiff but I rolled it out anyway and used my dog biscuit cutout.   Then baked them as directed.  To ensure they were totally dry, I turned off the oven and left teh biscuits in there to dry out overnight.

As with any biscuit recipe, don’t over-mix!  With the cinnamon/sugar mixture, I’d put in 3/4 of the mix and keep out only 1/4 of it for the top.  When I did a 50/50, I found I had too much cinnamon/sugar leftover.

I thought these were really good biscuits and since there’s less butter than normal biscuits, they’re somewhat lower-in-fat than normal.  They were still moist and full of flavor, but not quite as buttery as a typical biscuit.

I sent them to my dad and he said that out of the 50lbs of baked items I sent him (yeah, that shipping charge was pretty hefty), this was his favorite. 

Makes me wonder what he thought of the other 48 lbs…

I hate yogurt.  I love the frozen stuff, but it’s the other one that I hate.  I can eat it if I have to, but I rarely do.  I don’t know why exactly, but I think it has to do with the texture.  So when I buy yogurt, it’s only for baking.

Phew, that felt good to reveal.  Ha. 

Anyway, I thought the Irish Soda Bread, while I molded it into a bread loaf, was actually quite delicious.  It was a little sweeter than I would have wanted, but it had a nice crunchy and hearty texture.  Great with soup!

• Food:  I can’t lie.  Lauriol Plaza is a good place to go when you have a large group of people.  Their chips are always hot, thin, and fresh out of the fryer.  Plus, when you add the fact they’re free — who doesn’t appreciate it?  They offer two sides of salsa — one pico de gallo and the other is a hotter mixture.  Their guacamole is decent with good flavors and chunks of avocado.  I ordered their steak fajitas, which when you think about it, you can’t really mess up.  good.  But make no mistake, they really serve Tex-Mex food.
• Service: Once you get a table, they are good about getting your order, serving your food, and cleaning up quickly. 
• Atmosphere: There’s actually three levels and outside seating.  It’s a huge restaurant and can be super loud when it’s packed.  The bar is usually jammed as well. 
• Attire: Casual
• Price: $$
• Overall:  Is it worth the long lines at night and on the weekends?  I’m not a wait in line kind of person so I say no.  If you’ve never been to DC, I’d say to pass this place.  But after living here for five years, it makes sense that you’d try it at least once. 

Details:

• Reservations are not accepted, but at night and on weekends, be prepared for a super long wait! 
• Hours: Mon-Thu,Sun 11:30am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-12am
• Address: 1835 18th St NW; Washington, DC 20009
• Ph: (202) 387-0035

They smelled awesome baking and the taste?  Moist, spicy, sweet, and perfect!