strawberry basil

Le Pain Quotidien

My first encounter with Le Pain Quotidien was in Bryant Park, New York, a couple years ago. I loved it! Even the pesto sauce in my sandwich, which was unusual for me, since I had an inexplicable aversion to pesto. I was pretty excited when the chain finally made its way to the D.C. area, and I believe the first of their local branches was the Bethesda store. I’ve popped over there several times since it opened, but this would be my first time blogging them. (^__^)v This post combines a couple visits that I made there in the last few weeks.

The decor: I like the interior quite a bit. There are high ceilings throughout and a shiny counter filled with delicious looking pastries in the front. And of course, there has to be the signature communal table, a colossal slab of reclaimed wood that dominates the center of the room. The Bethesda store has two dining areas, each one with its own communal table. I like sitting at the communal table, as it’s more spacious and comfortable.

And now for the food: Pictured above is the grilled chicken and smoked mozzarella tartine “with arugula and basil pesto.” I’m not sure that I got any arugula, and I would know because I love arugula. There was definitely some kind of green leaf, but it might have been something else. Very tasty indeed, even the pesto. XD Although, I do feel like it’s a bit pricey for what you get.

More after the jump:

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Cork

Cork is a little wine bar located near Logan Circle. I’ve wanted to try it for a while now, and last week, I finally had the occasion to go! I took my friend there for a birthday dinner, and it was quite lovely.

I ordered a drink at the bar while I waited for my friend, and by the bartender’s recommendation, I got a white sparkling wine – Domaine des Terrisses, “Cuvée Saint Laurent”, Méthode Gaillacoise. It was described as having a “caramel and apple nose” and “lightly sweet with flavors of apple and whipped cream.” It was definitely a sweeter variety, and you could really truly taste the apple! It was excellent!

Before I go into the food, a little bit about the interior: it’s definitely a cozy fit, and the lighting is fairly dark. We were sitting right by the bar, and by the time we got our meal, the dinner hour was in full swing, and it was LOUD. However, there are other tables in the back that might fare better in terms of noise level.

The food here is meant to be shared, which works just perfectly for me! My friend and I picked out 2 cold plates and 3 hot plates, all of which were tasty and fabulous.

First up is pictured above – roasted leeks with burrata, braised celery, bacon, and almonds. I loved this presentation! It looked gorgeous and tasted wonderful too, with the sweetness of the roasted leeks going perfectly with the salty burrata. The almonds added a nice crunchy texture.

The rest after the jump:

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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).

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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:

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Azuki Pepsi

Japan gets all the funky “limited edition” Pepsi flavors. Cucumber! Shiso! (this review is pretty funny). Azuki Pepsi was released last October, and I was intrigued enough to give it a try. (Azuki is of course, sweet red bean – ubiquitous in Japanese confections).

…ugh. SO SWEET. It tasted like syrupy cherry coke. I never would have guessed it was azuki in a blind taste test. But since I knew to expect the azuki, I might have imagined a vague hint of it somewhere in the aftertaste.

Verdict: never again.

Not that I drink much Pepsi anyway.

However: I do think cucumber soda or shiso soda is a brilliant idea, if you subtracted the “Pepsi” part of it. I had a fabulously refreshing cucumber soda at SEI last year that I think ought to be bottled for the masses.

Royal Milk Tea

Hey everyone! Hope all you Washingtonians are staying warm and safe. The winter double whammy is underway at this very moment, just outside my frosted window. Happily, the power is on, so I can actually blog this from the warmth of my home. Let’s hope it stays that way. (My whole weekend was shot from electricity outage!)

Ah, but to combat the winter, there is this: Royal Milk Tea. A fabulously sweet milky concoction that tastes like Japan. It was the first thing I had when I vacationed there almost 10 years ago, and its flavor still takes me back to the chilly streets of Tokyo, where ubiquitous vending machines sold HOT cans of coffee and tea, right alongside the chilled variety. I was amazed and confused by this marvel of a concept. A hot can! It was genius! And the perfect thing to warm me up on a blustery day in early spring.

This particular variety is the powdered version, which is super easy to make. Just mix with hot water, and done! My brother discovered Royal Milk Tea on HIS maiden voyage to Japan last year, and couldn’t get enough of this stuff. After coming back to the states, I scoured the local Asian markets and online to find a vendor who sold it here, but came up empty handed. In the end, I had to get it shipped from Japan – at great expense – but it was well worth the efforts.

It’s just got that very unique sweetness that I can’t seem to fix up in my own cup of tea.

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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:

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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!

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Ginger & Hibiscus Cider

One of the best things about grocery shopping is of course, nibbling on free samples. XD A few weeks ago, on my almost-weekly trip out to the local Whole Foods, I happened upon a drink stand, where they were giving out cider. Five Star Foodies, as they call themselves, had two different ciders to sample that day: hibiscus and ginger.

The ginger is definitely not for the faint of heart, as it has a spicy flavor that might not be to everyone’ liking. I of course, love ginger, so this was my kind of drink! Though I think even I could only take a small portion at a time. Made from just the basic ingredients of apple, ginger and lime juice, it tastes simple and lovely.

Their hibiscus “cider with a twist” includes apples, hibiscus, water, herbs, and orange extract. It actually tasted like a mild non-alcoholic fruit punch, not too sweet.

Loved them both, but alas, I couldn’t find them again when I went back to the store the following week. (;___;)