strawberry basil

Sushi Taro

Okay! I’m going to start posting some of my restaurant pics from 2010 that I never got around to, so do bear with me as I bumble through with my faded memories. A few months ago, I finally got around to trying Sushi Taro in Dupont Circle. I know it’s been a while since they changed over their interior design and menu concept, but I hadn’t actually dined there since the switch. I was really curious to see how they would fare, since I’d heard quite a few mixed reviews. I personally loved the former Sushi Taro, so I was a bit sad that they’d changed, but still hopeful that their new menu would delight.

I walked in and the interior was remarkably different from before. The former homey look with the tatami mats was gone, replaced by a very natural, wooden design with a fresh and modern feel. I liked it, actually! And it was well lit, which isn’t something you can say for a lot of restaurants in DC. (And this is one of my pet peeves…why so dark, DC restaurants? I’d like to see my food too!)

You can order from the menu or ask for the omakase kaiseki-style tasting menu for $80. (You can get it with the wine (sake?) pairing $138). Kaiseki is traditionally a seasonal meal, so this particular menu – from October – reflected what was fresh from the market at the time. If they’re doing it right, you won’t see the same menu now if you stop in for their kaiseki. By the way, if you get the tasting menu on a Tuesday, you get a free bottle of Sushi Taro sake (normally $30), which is what we did!

Pictured above is actually the second course – the “signature dish” of goma (sesame) tofu with uni (sea urchin). I love fresh tofu. I’m used to the grocery store kind, but a homemade tofu is creamy and delicious in ways that you could never imagine tofu could taste like. Apparently my mom used to make tofu fresh, back when I was a kid and you couldn’t just go to the supermarket for a ready-made block of this stuff.

The rest of the meal under the cut!

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Ren’s Ramen

Aaah, ramen! Nothing like a hot and tasty bowl of the good stuff when you have a salt craving. I finally got to try Ren’s Ramen a little while ago, after hearing that it reopened in Wheaton. The place is located in a tiny strip mall on a side street. (The parking lot is pretty small, so it’s better to park on the street).

The ramen comes in one size, ranging from $10~11. Slightly pricy for ramen if you ask me, but it’s not like there’s a plethora of ramen shops to choose from in this area, so I guess it’s a markup for the novelty of it. They have the classic choices of miso, shoyu (soy sauce), and shio (salt) in addition to things like tonshio (I’m guessing it’s a mix of tonkotsu – pork bone stock – and salt), and a spicy variety.

I got the tonshio, which came with bean sprouts, pork, bamboo shoots, and scallions. I ordered corn for an extra 75 cents. In all, I think it was really tasty, though for this price point, I’m not sure about how often I’d come. I actually felt a bit ill afterward too, but perhaps it was just that I haven’t too much oily foods in a while.

Ren’s is cash only, and no reservations, so you might have to wait a few minutes to be seated!

Jackie’s

Woot, an update! I’ve decided to just start with a more recent meal, since slogging through the folders of old food pics is getting a little daunting… And by recent I mean last night’s dinner! This must be some kind of record for me. (^__~)v

I admit I haven’t really dined much in the Silver Spring area, which by my own cursory observation, is mostly filled with chain restaurants that don’t warrant a special visit or blog posting. I’m not so confident that this is actually the case. There are probably a number of nice little places in the city that I’ve never heard of, and I was recently introduced to two such places within the course of a few weeks. One was 8407 Kitchen Bar across the street from the Metro station. I unfortunately didn’t take any pictures of that meal so there won’t be a post about it, but it was very good (and I hope to make another visit soon). The other place was Jackie’s Restaurant, which is the one I went to last night.

I think Jackie’s has been around for a while, because I’ve been seeing it for a long time from my train window as it pulls into Silver Spring station. I’d never actually been inside it until yesterday though! The interior is pretty cute, and very pink, with kind of retro looking chairs and comfortable booths stuffed with throw pillows. The lighting was pink as well, which was an interesting contrast to the rustic stone walls and almost warehouse like windows. I liked the open kitchen, but hated the ceiling. It’s one of those ceilings that are open, so you can see all the wires and pipes that should normally be covered up. I know people leave it there as a design element but I have always despised this look, as it feels very unfinished and I frankly think it’s very ugly.

Moving on to the food! I was kind of intrigued by the menu, which offered things that aren’t all that commonly seen in area restaurants, like wild boar and pheasant. I was curious about the pheasant, so I was glad when my friend ordered it. Pictured above: Pheasant ragout with black trumpet mushrooms over trofie pasta and pecorino toscano. I had a bite of it, and it was as the waitress described – like a hardy stew. It’s definitely a gamey bird, probably a good choice for a stew to bring out its rich flavors. I thought the pasta was interesting, as it had a dense texture to it. There were actually a few bones it this dish though, which I’m guessing was a mistake.

The rest:

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Dickson

Dickson Wine Bar on U Street is a bit tricky to find…I walked right past it, even though I was specifically looking for it! But it’s worth the trouble all the way. I stopped in there for dinner and a glass of wine (a lovely Muscadet domaine de la Foliette 2008) and enjoyed every moment. The restaurant itself is small and narrow, with a few floors (3, I believe). My friend and I took a table on the middle floor by the bar. The place was dark and cozy, and on the night we went, it wasn’t very crowded. It was a nice change from the rowdy places I’ve been to in the vicinity. The service was attentive and nice.

Pictured above is the braised leek and goat cheese flatbread, my favorite dish of the evening. The leeks were absolutely delicious, sweet and simple. It came with a nice fresh green salad with a light vinaigrette.

The rest after the jump:

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Dirty Martini

Dirty Martini, located a few blocks up from Farragut North, describes itself as “a unique, upscale, sophisticated and casual place to enjoy great food and drinks, do business and more importantly have a good time!” I suppose a place can be “upscale” and “casual” too, but it does seem like they’re trying to be a whole bunch of things at once. On the day that I went, they were trying to be a night club in addition to restaurant. They had a live band playing near the back, which was anything but fun times. It was so loud I could barely hear a thing over the din, even though I was sitting in a nice rounded booth so it wasn’t as though I had to yell across the table or anything. The fact that the bar area was right next to the dining tables didn’t help the noise level either. Service was just okay, ranging from a little absent to overly eager. I guess this contrasting service is a reflection of their own confused identity. We would ask for extra plates for sharing, get them, and then some other waiter would walk by and sweep them away! (Perfectly clean plates, mind you. Why would they do that?? Clearly those plates were sitting there for a reason!) I was a bit flabbergasted after the second time that happened…

The food, however, was actually quite good. Pictured above is the chipotle honey glazed Cornish hen with grilled papaya salsa, sauteed vegetable medley and orange zest infused yellow rice. It was absolutely delicious. The glaze did amazing things for that Cornish hen, leaving the skin crispy and golden while keeping the meat tender on the inside.

The rest:

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Tabard Inn

There are plenty of places in DC that offer brunch on the weekends, but I’d heard especially good things about the Tabard Inn. According to their website, it is recommended that you make brunch reservations two to three weeks in advance. I think I’d ended up making them only one week out, so my reservation was on the tail end of the brunch hours. Metro being…Metro, I was terribly delayed and was afraid I wouldn’t get there in time! Thankfully, they were nice enough to seat my friend, who got there on time, and she went ahead and put in our orders so the kitchen wouldn’t be closed by the time I arrived. The staff there was really nice about everything, and didn’t rush us through our meal or anything. (^__^)

I loved the decor, with the quaint black and white tiles and cozy atmosphere. It was so welcoming and warm. When I arrived, the housemade doughnuts were already on the table. ♥ My friend was so good about this and didn’t start in on them until I had a chance to take my pictures. XD I actually felt kind of bad about this, because as a result of the wait, the doughnuts didn’t taste as freshly fried as they could have, had we eaten them when they first came out. Still, they weren’t bad!

The rest of the brunch under the cut:

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El Centro D.F.

I actually have a whole bunch of posts that come before this one chronologically, but I promised to move this up my queue, so here it is! A couple months ago, I got an email from my friend Junk Food Guy asking me to help him set up his new blog. As a bribe, he would take me to a free dinner that he won via Urban Daddy at El Centro D.F., a new taqueria near U Street NW. I’m actually not a big fan of Mexican food, but I have a feeling that has something to do with the fact that I haven’t had very good Mexican food in my life. I remember thinking during Top Chef Masters Season 1 that I would like to try Rick Bayless’s Mexican cooking, because it looked so good! Maybe I was missing out on something really amazing, here. So I headed off to El Centro with “open heart and empty stomach.”

For the dinner special, we were taken down to a stony, almost dungeon looking room downstairs that serves as their “tequileria” – where they stock a huge number of tequilas at the bar. We had some time beforehand, so the bartender told us about the various tequilas they have there, and that you can order a “tequila flight” if you wanted to try a bunch of them. (He even showed us the shot glass tree thing they serve it in).

After waiting around for a while, we finally got around to ordering food. The dinner was in three courses. For the appetizer and dessert courses, they gave us a sampling of three items each. The entree course was the only one where we got to choose from a selection of things. I’ll begin with the appetizers, pictured above. There was a sampling of chicken flautas, chicken tamale, and steak huaraches. They were all very good! I think my favorite was the steak, though it’s a bit hard to see in this photo (it’s near the back). It was like a mini steak flatbread pizza. I actually don’t think I’ve ever had a tamale before, but I really enjoyed this one.

The rest after the jump:

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Bistro D’OC

Bistro D’OC is a little southern French restaurant near the Ford’s Theater in downton DC. They have a nice and relatively affordable menu of items that were all very thoughtfully done and tasted comforting and warm, like bistro food ought. Pictured above is my main course – squab roasted with chanterelle mushrooms and fingerling potato with a gratin of turnips. It was decent, though I was a bit disappointed by how little meat was actually on the bones (though I do realize it’s a small bird..). And it didn’t quite hold up to the squab dish I had at Citronelle, which made me a squab fan to begin with!

The rest of the meal:

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Amalfi

Ah, finally back to posting about home! These first few posts are going to be kind of vague, since I didn’t really takes notes and it’s been a few months little while since I’ve had these meals. (^___^);;;

I’ll start with a lunch I had at Amalfi, a family owned Italian restaurant located in the back roads of Rockville. It’s apparently been there for a while, probably even back when I was taking my dogs to the veterinary hospital right next door, but I never knew about it! Funny enough, it also happens to be next to a bakery I discovered recently – St. Michel (cash only).

The decor is pretty dated but it’s cozy enough. Pictured above is the clams in garlic broth, which were simple and delicious.

The rest after the jump:

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Panya Bistro

My last Hawaii post takes me to Ala Moana shopping center, where I had lunch at Panya Bistro. Unlike the Panya I covered in a previous post, which was just a small bakery outpost, this one is a full on restaurant with savories as well as sweets on the menu. The food was not bad, though nothing to really call home about. Pictured above is the coconut chicken curry with fried rice. The curry was on the mild side, and creamy. I liked how the chicken was on the bone – it gave the dish a very hardy feeling to it.

And the rest!

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Hiroshi

All right, I’m finally at my penultimate Hawaii post! I can’t believe it’s taken me 6 MONTHS to get through these posts. I’m ashamed to say I still have DC posts from November that I haven’t blogged yet. I’m a failure! (;___;) Will have to console self by remembering the fabulous meal that was my last dinner in Honolulu.

My friend has fabulous taste in food, so I was expecting nothing less than spectacular when she took me to Hiroshi, one of her favorite restaurants in Hawaii. Hiroshi serves Eurasion [sic] tapas, which I guess is Euro/Asian fusion food? Whatever it was, it was delicious. The fish was fresh and perfectly prepared, and everything that came out was beautiful to look at and bursting with flavor. I would definitely go back there again the next time I’m in Honolulu!

I couldn’t get a nice shot of my drink (lychee soda), but it was absolutely amazing – refreshing and sweet, but not too much so.

Pictured above is the Crispy Skin Thai snapper (they weren’t serving moi that night). It was served with “Mrs Cheng’s tofu,” edamame, Kahuku corn and Hau’ula dried tomato-hijiki broth. An amazing dish altogether. Loved the crispy fish that paired wonderfully with the smooth tofu. The broth had a lot of flavor and I just wanted to drink it all up!

The rest:

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Hanalei Dolphin

A foodie friend of mine highly recommended the Hanalei Dolphin restaurant on the north shore of Kaua’i, so of course I had to go check them out! The drive up was scenic and lovely, though riddled with quite a few narrow roads and some one-way bridges that made me a little nervous at first. We spent most of the morning driving and stopping at various lookouts, and then stopped at the Hanalei for lunch. …And not a moment too soon! Half-way through the meal, it began pouring outside! Rain was coming down in sheets. Apparently this is pretty typical Kaua’i. (So, apparently, are the roosters that kept me up the night before with their infuriating cockadoodle doos!) The drive back to the airport after our lunch was pretty harrowing, but we made it back in one piece. Thankfully, we were able to make it back before some of those aforementioned one-way bridges were closed off from the flooding.

Pictured above is the poke – ahi with sesame. This was just okay. I don’t know, maybe I had heard too much hype about the poke, but it wasn’t as memorable as I expected.

The rest:

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Caffe Coco

After our day-long boat ride to the Na Pali Coast, we headed to the hotel to get washed up and ready for dinner. (Actually, we had gone on the “sunset dinner” cruise, which sounds much more luxurious than it was. The “cruise” aspect of it was quite bumpy going and it took a long time to get to the coastline. The views were fabulous though, and on the way back we were joined by a pod of playful bottle nose dolphins! But I don’t have much in terms of “sea legs” and ended up feeling quite queasy near the end. Couldn’t even look at the food they prepared, which I think was kind of typical buffet style fare).

I felt so rejuvenated after washing up, but by then it was getting pretty late in the evening – by Kaua’i standards, anyway. All the restaurants close up around 9pm there, even on the weekends! The nice restaurant we’d made reservations at was a 40 minute drive away, and it was already well past 8. In the end, we decided to check out a quaint local restaurant (Caffe Coco) about 5 minutes up the street from the hotel.

Caffe Coco is one of those authentically Kauaiian local joints, kind of hippy and rustic, and run by the kind of proprietor who makes her liliquoi sauce from the trees she has on the premises. The dining area was outside under a tent, and there was a stage area where they had a live band and hula dancers. We ordered our food at the counter near the back, then found an open table where we sat down to enjoy the music and dancing. I loved the laid back atmosphere and outdoorsy feeling of the place!

Pictured above is the tofu potstickers, with gauva grilling sauce. I was surprised by how flavorful they were, considering they had no meat in them!

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Toi’s Thai Kitchen

During my stay in Honolulu, my friend and I popped over to Kauai for a weekend trip. It’s just a quickie plane ride from Oahu. We arrived early and spent a good portion of the morning driving up the long and winding road to Waimea Canyon. The roads were very narrow and somewhat harrowing for an urban ninja like myself, but I managed to get us to the top in one piece! Unfortunately, many of the views were foggy, so we could barely see anything at all. (^__^);; But what we could see peeking through the mist was absolutely gorgeous!

After a morning of hard driving, we made our way down to the pier near Hanapepe for a quick bite before our boat tour to the Na Pali Coast. Our guidebook recommended a little place called Toi’s Thai Kitchen right near the docks. We ordered a pork pad thai to share (pictured above), and it was fabulous! The portion was enough to share, and the flavors were spot on.

They gave us a side of papaya salad as well:

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Sushi Bistro Shun

Can’t go to Hawaii without checking out a sushi joint, and so we headed to Sushi Bistro Shun in the Moilili neighborhood after it came highly recommended by a friend. We sat at the bar (another recommendation) and I ordered up a bunch of things from the sushi menu a la carte. Of course, I had to try to the chutoro (pictured above), buttery and fresh as it should be.

The rest:

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