Raisin Pie
I love flaky desserts, and this Raisin Pie is just the sort that I want to have for a light snack with a cup of tea. Though now that I’m staring at the name of this thing, it’s making me crave my childhood favorite Little Debbie snack, the raisin creme pies. (*___*)
This raisin pie is much more airy and not too sweet. I think it goes perfectly with a hot cup of sweetened milk tea.
Close up under the cut:
Captain White’s Seafood
Captain White’s Seafood City is located on the Southwest Waterfront, right on the water. It’s pretty chaotic getting in there, and trying to find parking is pretty tricky business. However, it’s worth the effort if you’re a seafood lover! My friends and I checked it out last Saturday afternoon, and the place was swamped with people. We waited for seemed like forever to get our food. (O____o);;
I got the clams and fries box, pictured above. It’s a lot of food for a good price! I should have gotten some packets of cocktail sauce, but I was too lazy to walk back there from the seating area to fetch any. XD;;
Chocolate Crush Pocky
Now this was eye-catching. Look at this box! It’s huge! And it’s called “Chocolate CRUSH” (or “Cocoa Cookie Crunch”), which amuses me to no end. Now, because I’m such a nice person, I actually shared the box with my friend and her husband and brothers. Obviously the contents promptly disappeared, and everyone agreed that it was some fabulously chocolaty goodness that had to be procured again, preferably soon.
Sushi Oishii
Sushi Oishii is a bit out of the way, near the northern border of Rockville, but it’s pretty good sushi at a reasonable price. ♥ The name means “delicious sushi,” which is kind of funny sounding, but cute. (Though perhaps not as cute as “I Love Mr. Sushi” in St. Louis). I popped in last week with my mom for a nice weekend lunch. The sushi places around here tend to close up by 2 for lunch, but Sushi Oishii stays open until 3, which is convenient for late starters.
Pictured about is their ootoro, or ultra fatty tuna, sashimi style. I’d initially asked for the chuutoro (medium fatty tuna), but they were out of it at the time. Obviously the fattier the tuna, the more expensive. This little number set us back about $14. I *think* the sushi version was the same price, and if that’s the case, why would anyone get the sushi version, when you can get so much more tuna for the same price in the sashimi? XD Anyway, you can see the lovely pale pink color and lines of fat that gives it that rich and gorgeous flavor. I wished they’d served their sashimi with shiso leaf instead, though.
Mont Blanc Pocky
It’s been a while since I’ve done a Pocky post. X) I’ve got so many to try here, too! The latest flavor I’ve tried is the Mont Black Dessert Pocky. The first thing I think of when I hear Mont Blanc is of course, the pen. It is also however, the name of a dessert, namely a chestnut cream cake. I don’t usually find mont blanc cakes at local bakeries, but it’s a staple in most Japanese patisseries.
Like all the other dessert Pockys, this one had four packs of 3 inside. Each stick was generously coated in chocolate and then drizzled over with a chestnut flavored cream. It was nice! The chocolate didn’t overpower the chestnut, which was subtle and almost coffee-esque in aroma. I think it would make a great dessert when paired with a scoop of ice cream. ♥
A close up:
sâuçá
Out of all the Twittering food trucks of late, I’ve been most impressed by the branding and marketing of sâuçá. Take a look at their awesome website and you’ll see what I mean! I was very excited about the launch of this truck o’ food, as their menu looked so diverse and intriguing. Their dishes are inspired by cuisines from several continents, with a minor twist in that they’re served as “sâuçá” – their term for a flatbread sandwich. Their multi-colored logo is a reflection of that global concept, with each color representing a different region of the world.
They’ve been coming by the Chinatown area for a while now, and last week I finally got the opportunity to check them out. And it was great timing too! Not only was the weather sunny and fabulous, but it also happened to be the same day that NPR (I think it was NPR, anyway) was out by the truck interviewing folks on their sâuçá experience. I got to chat with the owner of sâuçá, who was very enthusiastic and pleasant. I asked him how they came up with the name, and he explained that their concept was based around sauces and having a great variety thereof. Originally, they wanted to call themselves “Sauce,” but they were told that they couldn’t trademark a real word. Thus, they changed it to sâuçá, adding a few accent marks here and there for added flair. Their abundant sauces are incorporated into their dishes, but you can also add extra if you want (they have a small fixings area next to the pick up window).
Crepes on the Walk
Crepes on the Walk is a cute little crepes stand by the Verizon Center (which I still call the MCI Center sometimes), and it’s part of the Crepes a Go Go family of creperies. Their website has mysteriously disappeared, so I can’t link you, but hopefully they’re still around?
I imagine that this stand gets a lot of business because of its prime location, and also because crepes are the ideal sort of streetfood. Sweet or savory, whatever suits your fancy, they’ve got it. It comes folded up and tucked neatly inside a paper cone for easy handling. X) They have a nice menu of items, but of course, you can select your own combination of ingredients as you like, which is nice…if a little daunting. (You can check out their menu over on The Thrillist).
I popped over to pick up a crepe (or two) during my lunch hour a little while ago:
Kushi
There’s been a lot of chatter about the new ‘izakaya’ Kushi, a Japanese style pub that’s opened up in Mount Vernon Square just this month. Naturally, my foodie friends and I had to take an early peek to check them out. ;D
Though their website is kind of non-existent at the moment (they’re only on Tumblr and Twitter), I was able to find a full menu on Thrillist, which proved to be very helpful. I went through the menu several times, ticking off all the items I wanted to try, well in advance of my 7 o’clock reservation. (By the way, the guy said they only take reservations for parties of 6 or more. I’m not sure if they have hence changed this policy…)
My first impression of the place when I stepped inside was: HUGE! On one end of the restaurant was a sushi bar. The mid section housed a bar, a raw bar, and an open kitchen with a wrap around seating counter so you can watch them grill your food if you wanted. Further on was the dining area, which felt very open and airy, like everywhere else. They had some great music playing, and I have to say the whole atmosphere was very cool and casual. It can get a little loud in there, but I didn’t mind that so much as the exposed pipes in the ceiling, a design feature that I kind of hate.
When we first sat down, it was relatively empty in the dining area. But the place quickly filled up, and the wait staff clearly was not able to keep up with the influx. They were trying very hard, and I do understand that they’d only been open a week and were probably still working out some kinks. I have to be honest, though…service was utter chaos. Certainly at a restaurant of this nature, where their menu consists of smaller items in large variety – they need to be prepared for very long and complicated orders. The waiter kept mixing up our order, sending out things we never requested, or sending out multiple items of the same thing. There were also some items that we’d ordered but never received. Fortunately, they were pretty accommodating about it when we were sorting out the bill at the end.
I was feeling pretty frazzled myself, trying to keep up with all the dishes that kept coming and coming. “What’s that?? Wait!! I need to take a picture of it!!” After this and Ping Pong, I need to take a break from the “lots o’ lil plates” kind of establishments for a while! XD;;
Alright, on with the meal!
Uh, despite the very extensive sake list, no one actually ended up getting any! No one ordered any sushi either, which was a strange oversight. (In retrospect, I should have at least gotten one order, just to test it out).
Pictured above are three different kinds of chicken kushiyaki (grilled skewers): plum sauce & shiso, wasabi, and scallion. Except, we were pretty sure that was asparagus, not scallion! My friend swore up and down that it was definitely asparagus! Strange… Whatever it was, it was mediocre, as was the plum sauce/shiso that I had. I don’t think the wasabi was well received either. I thought mine was really dry and bland. It didn’t bode well that Kushi – specializing in kushiyaki – could not produce an excellent yakitori. But the rest of the meal wasn’t so bad:
Zola Wine & Kitchen
Just around the corner from the Spy Museum is Zola Wine & Kitchen, a swanky wine shop / lunch counter with open kitchen. It can get a little busy during lunch time, but I think it’s worth the wait! (You can put in your order ahead of time through their website, which might cut down on your time, but I’ve never tried it before). Their menu is varied and interesting, with $10 specials that change daily.
Pictured above is the housemade fusilli with “winter vegetables, parmesan and a touch of chili.” I loved this dish. There was a lot of flavor going on, and the cheese and chili worked so well together! My only concern was that it was quite oily. By the time I got to the bottom of the bowl, I could see it swimming in the oil. I would get it again, though. XD
The rest under the cut. (And these pics are from two different lunch trips):
beverage dessert dinner restaurants: chinese cocktails d.c. dim sum
by Lindsey
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Ping Pong Dim Sum
I’ve been very curious about Ping Pong Dim Sum since it was first announced that the UK chain would open a branch in D.C., and last week I finally had the chance to check it out. I’d glanced through a few reviews, and of course there were the naysayers who poopoo’d the place for being inauthentic and expensive. But you know, I could care less if a restaurant is a chain or not, so long as the food is fab and the prices decent. The menu did seem to reflect a higher price point than most dim sum places, but I think location and overhead has to be calculated into the price, in addition to the food. Sometimes what you’re looking for isn’t just great food, but the whole package that includes coolness factor and atmosphere!
In all, I was quite impressed by Ping Pong, and I found the price very reasonable! In fact, it was much cheaper than Yank Sing (in San Francisco, which I posted about before), and comparatively, we got a lot more food…plus drinks.
I think the only negative point was the fact that they don’t allow you to take advantage of any of the happy hour prices if you’re dining in…you have to stay in the bar area. This is rather odd, since most restaurants allow you to buy a drink at the bar before your dinner reservation, and then take it with you to your table when you’re seated.
Since we’re on the subject of drinks, I’ll start there:
Cupcakes by Heather & Lori
I was walking through the high end shopping district of Robson Street in downtown Vancouver when I saw a pretty pink awning and a sign that was sure to catch my eye: Cupcakes by Heather and Lori. Of course, I had to go inside and see what they had. The store was adorable, and so were the cupcakes! Loved that they came in three different sizes for all your cupcake needs. I wanted to try a whole variety of flavors, so I opted to get a package of the mini size. (^O^)v
There was lemon with a sliver of jellied lemon candy… Chocolate cake with mocha butter cream topped with an espresso bean… Chocolate cake with raspberry butter cream and red sprinkles… Coconut cake with cream cheese frosting and coconut shavings…just to name a few. I wish I remembered what the blue frosting was! XD
I also wish that more cupcakeries in my area would do the mini size. That way, you could try more flavors without the guilt of having scarfed down a whole full-sized cupcake!
afternoon tea cafes: pastries sandwiches tea vancouver
by Lindsey
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The Secret Garden
I know the Olympics are over, but I still wanted to finish out the last of my Vancouver posts! My friend and I really wanted to do an afternoon tea, so after hunting around for a suitable place, we finally settled on The Secret Garden Tea Company, a quaint and lovely little tea shop and cafe. I really loved this place. A tea doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive to be enjoyable, and this was certainly an affordable yet high quality option that I would go back for in a heartbeat.
They offer a number of different kinds of tea courses: high tea, sharing high tea, demi high tea, and mini high tea. I believe the full-on high tea was only served during certain hours, and since we came after those hours, we opted for the “demi” high tea. This course was like a scaled down version of the high tea, featuring all three of the traditional tea courses: scones, sandwiches, and dessert, in addition to a pot of tea per person.
Pictured above is one of the desserts, a flaky pastry of some kind. It’s been a while, so I don’t recall the specifics, but it was very good, whatever it was. XD;
A few more pics:
