Cacao
There’s a lovely pastry and chocolate shop in Bethesda called Cacao, which I discovered a few winters ago during the Christmas season. I usually get pastries when I stop in there, so this would mark the first time I’d tried their truffles and macaroons.
Aren’t the macaroons cute? X) I could’ve selected the flavors myself, but they had such a variety of them, I just asked them to mix them all up for me. I liked them! Very nice and light on the outside, and creamy and smooth on the inside. There was one particular one I enjoyed, which had a slightly floral taste.
Chocolates & pastries under the cut:
beverage dessert restaurants: chocolate d.c. ice cream pastries
by Lindsey
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Co Co Sala
After taking my friend to dinner at Central, we headed over to Co Co Sala [warning: annoying music plugin] for dessert. ♥ I first tried out this chocolate bar / lounge when it opened a few years ago. It was for a “dinner,” but hardly fit the bill on that account. We’d ordered several appetizers and three different dessert courses and I still went away hungry! However – though the portions were tiny, the quality was excellent. (I still think the crab cake I’d had there was the best I’d tasted in my life, despite fact that it was the size of a golf ball).
This place is definitely more ideal for dessert, after you’ve had a full dinner. We started out with the hot chocolate, of course:
Central: Part II
I took a good friend of mine out for a birthday dinner at Central last month. I love this place so much! I’m blogging it again because it’s all new stuff this time around. ♥ By the way, if you ever see that they’re completely booked up on OpenTable on a night you want to reserve, be sure to call the restaurant to make sure they have no openings. On the night I went, OpenTable had no reservations available, but I was able to book a table easily through a phone call. (In fact, the restaurant was pretty empty at the hour I’d chosen).
One thing that I like about the menu at Central is its stark simplicity. They cut out all the flowery language and just tell it like it is…such as the above pictured dish, which is described as “braised rabbit with spaetzle and carrots.” Nothing is “glazed” or “gently tossed” or such nonsense. I suppose my guilty feeling that comes with ordering rabbit is effectively overwhelmed by how tasty it is, for this was the second time I’d gotten this dish here and I’ve no regrets. The meat was tender and delicate, and oh! Those spaetzle! They may not look like much, but they were excellent. (*___*)
beverage lunch restaurants: asian fusion d.c. latin fusion sushi
by Lindsey
1 comment
Zengo: Part II
Second post for Zengo of Latin-Asian flava in D.C.’s Chinatown. This time, some friends and I popped over for a lunch special. The management got a little testy when we tried to figure out how to apply two coupons for one party…but ultimately they accommodated us, and everything went smoothly.
The wait service, as before, was excellent (barring one moment where the guy taking the plates away spilled an entire glass of mojito on the table…)
Pictured above is the Zengo fried rice bowl. At first, I wondered whether the menu offered a choice of topping: “duck / shrimp / pork.” It turned out that it actually came with all of the above! One of my friends thought that there was too much going on, but I rather liked it. (^__^) It’s definitely a very hardy fried rice dish!
afternoon tea restaurants: chinese d.c. pastries sandwiches
by Lindsey
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Tea at Willard InterContinental
For the holidays this winter, the Willard InterContinental revamped their Peacock Alley afternoon tea into a “Tea Chinois,” complete with Chinese inspired decor and cuisine. I ventured out just before Christmas for a pre-holiday treat. ♥ (Btw, there’s a clip on YouTube on the Tea Chinois).
I’ve never actually eaten at any of the Willard’s establishments before, so this was a first. The hotel of course, is gorgeous. The nice thing about Peacock Alley is that it’s actually a corridor, so you can do much people watching while you have your tea. The day I was there, there were actually some dignitaries in town for Obama’s state dinner with the Prime Minister of India. A few of the guests must have been staying at the Willard, because I could see many people walking back and forth in the Alley in traditional Indian garments, followed by serious looking dudes in black suits and ear pieces.
So as for the tea itself: The tea selection was pretty good, predictably with several choices of Chinese teas. I figured since this was a “Tea Chinois” I should get a Chinese tea to get into the spirit of it. I’d never had a white tea before, so I went with the Rose Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen), described as a “prized silver needle white tea from China’s Northern Fujian province, scented with pink rose petals.” Sounded fabulous! But it was far from it. Actually, I found it bitter and disgusting. *sad* It was really unfortunate, since the bitter flavor overpowered much of the food. I had to add a lot of sugar to make it palatable.
The food was thankfully a little better:
VOLT
Last month, some friends and I made our way up to Frederick, Maryland to dine at VOLT – which is of course, Top Chef season 6 runner up Bryan Voltaggio’s fabulous restaurant. Word has it that since his appearance on the show, the restaurant’s business has picked up so much that you have to reserve months in advance…and if you want a seat at the famed “Table 21″ (their 21 course tasting menu) on a Saturday, you’ll have to wait until next year! (Even if you happen to be Tom Colicchio…they run a very democratic system, lol).
Our reservation fell on an extremely timely week – it was on the Saturday following the Top Chef finale! Unfortunately, the chef himself was out of town that weekend, so we didn’t get a chance to say hello, but members of his staff were extremely gracious and made up for it by regaling stories of Bryan’s – and the restaurant’s – Top Chef related experiences. ♥
We had a reservation at the Chef’s Table, which is 5 courses plus amuse bouche and petit fours. You can either choose the Kitchen Menu or the Market Vegetable (vegetarian) Menu. Obviously our entire party went with the former. From the Kitchen Menu, everything is preselected with the exception of the second course. You can either get the ravioli, or, for $12 extra, opt for the duck liver (pictured above).
The decor in the small room designated for the Chef’s Table was sparse and white. We could see the kitchen from where we sat, and also the small nook where they seat Table 21. It was very cozy and intimate…I liked it very much. When each course arrived, they would have wait staff poised behind each diner, so they could set down each person’s dish in one coordinated swoop. Then the waiter would explain each dish very helpfully.
Delfina
Finally!! The last of the San Francisco posts! (What, that took only…a month and a half?) The last meal in sunny San Fran was at an Italian restaurant called Delfina. We actually thought they’d have pizza, which they’re famous for, but the portion of the restaurant that takes reservations doesn’t serve pizza. (The pizza is served next door, on a first-come first-served basis). We were on a tight schedule, so had to go for the reservation only section.
We arrived with all our luggage, which they were nice enough to put in the back for us while we had dinner. (^___^)
Pictured above is my main course – mint tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms and wild nettles. It was the mint and wild nettles that got my attention, as it sounded really unique for a pasta dish. The only time I’ve had nettles is in Finland, when my friend picked them from her garden and incorporated them into a savory pancake. You have to wear gloves when handling them because they can be quite prickly.
My mistake was that I didn’t ask what sort of sauce it came in, as I’m not able to eat huge amounts of creamy pastas in one sitting. I didn’t want to get sick from all the rich dairy, so only had a few bites. (;___;) It was really delicious, though. I would’ve taken it home, if I weren’t about to board a redeye.
The rest of the meal under the cut:
Fran’s Chocolates
I love the taste of caramel, but I find most of them too hard to chew! (;___;) Not so in this case though, I’m happy to say. I’d never heard of Fran’s chocolates before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I ended up being pleasantly surprised by their caramels, which I found extremely soft, delicious and addicting.
Photo under the cut:
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, everyone! \(^O^)/ Hope you had a great start to 2010, and a lovely winter holiday. I apologize for neglecting this blog for the past few weeks. I kept meaning to update, but it’s been a bit of a lazy Christmas season for me. I’m resolving to be more active hereon for the new year, and to catch up on my backlog of posts I’ve been meaning to get to for a while.
New Year happens to be the biggest holiday of the year for Japanese people, and like most celebrations, it centers around the food. Wiki has an article about the traditional “osechi” food here, which is served on New Year’s Day. My mom prepares it every year, though this year’s spread was much more scaled back than usual.
But first, we must have the “toshi-koshi” noodles on New Year’s eve:
Merry Christmas!
I know…am very late with this post. But I figured I might as well put it up, since I had the photo on hand, and because it looks so cute. XD;
This Bûche de Noël cake is from Whole Foods. I’ve gotten log cakes from different places in the last several years, and this is certainly one of the more festive looking ones. Unfortunately, it looked a lot better than it tasted! The outer frosting was made from a very oily butter cream, and had the consistency of Crisco. Ugh. The chocolate frosting on the inside was a little lighter, though not too much better. The flavor of the cake itself wasn’t bad though, and had good texture.
I’ll be looking elsewhere for a Bûche de Noël next year, though.
