Point Chaud
I dropped in to Point Chaud Café & Crêpes (website under construction) on 14th Street a few weeks ago. Places like this make me wonder why there aren’t more crêperies in this area! The crêpe is the perfect café food. It’s fast, it’s sweet, it’s savory…and it can be eaten on the go or savored slowly over a hot cup of your favorite beverage.
The menu at Point Chaud is just a long list of suggested combinations. Customers are welcome to pick and choose whatever ingredients they want. I would take forever if left to my devices, so on my visit here, I went ahead and picked something straight off the menu – the honey and almond powder crêpe.
It was absolutely lovely. The crêpe was airy and light, the honey was just sweet enough, and bits of crushed almonds added a nice bite. I had a frothy cup of cappuccino with it. My only wish is that there was more, but the “to stay” portion of cappuccino only came in one size.
Masa 14
I’d heard a lot about the Latin/Asian fusion restaurant Masa 14, a collaboration between Richard Sandoval (Zengo) and Kaz Okochi (Kaz Sushi Bistro). I stopped in there for a Sunday brunch a few weeks ago, and I left feeling a little underwhelmed. Granted, the place was having a number of problems that day, including a broken oven (so flatbreads and quiches were off the menu), and busted espresso machine. The waitress was very eager to please though, perhaps due to the many glitches in the kitchen machinery.
I ordered the pan dolce with ancho whipped cream and roasted pineapple syrup, pictured above. This was my favorite of the dishes that I tasted at the brunch. I thought the bread had a nice texture and I loved the chunky pineapple syrup with it.
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Estadio
Estadio is the newish sister restaurant to Proof, one of my favorite wine bars in the city. I finally had occasion to try it out a while ago with a friend of mine who has the kind of job I envy – he travels to places around the world and writes about them. X)
The interior of the place is very charming and warm, with lots of character. I was a little surprised, however, when they led me to a very small table by the wall with tall bar chairs, instead of a real table. I didn’t mind it very much, but the table was a little cramped, and it felt like I was there for happy hour more than dinner. (I did have a reservation).
The food, for the most part, was very enjoyable! We ordered up quite a number of tapas to share, and they were served one after the other in a happy parade of good eats.
Pictured above is the duck breast with baby chard, quince, and ginger sauce. The skin was crispy, the meat was tender, and flavors spot on. This was quite possibly some of the best duck I’ve ever had. The baby chard provided a nice, slightly bitter contrast to the duck.
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dessert dinner restaurants: bistro d.c. french pastries salad seafood
by Lindsey
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Napoleon Bistro
I don’t think I dine in Adams Morgan half as much as I should. A little while ago, my friends and I dined at a charming little bistro there called Napoleon, sister establishment to Cafe Bonaparte in Georgetown. And although they didn’t have a few items we wanted to order from the menu (namely the squab), what we did end up getting was full of fabulous.
The decor was dark and cozy, and didn’t feel too closed up because of the tall windows throughout the room. We got a great table near the back by the window.
Pictured above is one of the entrees we got: the John Dory, the special of the day. It was served with lump crab meat, corn, potatoes and fava beans. (Does anyone else think of Hannibal Lecter when they hear “fava bean”?) The fish was wonderfully seared and cooked to a buttery perfection! I really loved this dish.
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Sticky Rice
I’ve wanted to try the sushi at Sticky Rice for a long time, as I’d heard so many good things about it. So of course, I was thrilled when a few friends of mine treated me to a fabulous birthday dinner there a few days ago. Thanks so much, Awesome Friends! (^____^)/
Sticky Rice is in NE, a part of town I’ve never really been to. It’s rough going at the moment, since they’re tearing up H Street for the new trolley system, but the area will probably be building up after all the infrastructure is put in place. In the meantime, for those who don’t drive, there’s either Metro bus or the free shuttle that stops in Chinatown.
The restaurant is pretty narrow and dark on the inside. When we got there, they told us we would be seated outside – a prospect that we weren’t so sure about at first – but we decided to go ahead with it anyway. They led us upstairs, past the bustling dining room and onto a covered patio deck in the back of the restaurant. The weather was pleasant that day, and the seating was perfect! In retrospect, it was much better out there than inside, where the music was blaring full-blast and you could barely hear a thing over the din.
I actually hadn’t studied the menu ahead of time, oddly enough, so it took me a while to decide what to get. Everyone else *had* done some research though, so we started ordering up a storm after getting settled in. (By the way, they have a pretty decent sake menu, if that’s your sort of thing. I thought a few of them looked interesting, but I just went ahead with green tea, since I can’t imagine having sushi without it. It came lukewarm with a Bigelow teabag in a mug with a handle, so definitely not your usual sushi bar tea).
Pictured above is the Sticky Balls, which apparently had rave reviews at Yelp. It must be pretty popular, because all the tables around us were ordering it too. It’s described on the site as “tuna, crab, siracha rice in an inari packet deep fried, topped with scallions, wasabi dressing and eel sauce.” Inari wrapping is just a tofu wrap that’s used to make (surprise surprise) inari-zushi. This was pretty tasty, even though it seemed to have a whole lot going on in there. I’m not sure what they mean by “eel sauce.” Perhaps they mean the marinade that’s typically used for kabayaki style eel?
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Current Sushi
I’m still backed up on some restaurant posts, but I’m jumping ahead just to cover a couple places I went to last week, for my birthday. (^___^)v
My friend treated me to a lovely Happy Hour dinner at Current Sushi, which is located between Farragut North and Dupont Circle. The decor is sleek and modern, with a very cool vibe and glowy blue lights. We sat at the bar, and it was surprisingly not too loud or busy that night. They seem to have pretty good happy hour deals (check out their menu here). They also apparently have a more clubby area upstairs that opens up later in the night.
Pictured above is the salmon and avocado roll and yellow tail nigiri sushi. Both were very tasty! I thought the fish was fresh and cut in generous portions.
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TenPenh
Asian fusion restaurant TenPenh has been around since I first started working in D.C. straight out of college, and I’ve always had fond memories of the place. ♥ I popped in for a happy hour a little while ago (actually, it was the food blogger HH a few months ago) and had a lovely time!
Pictured above is the grilled beef and chicken satay with peanut sauce. I liked the beef better than chicken (as I usually do in such skewer type dishes), as it wasn’t as dry and tough. Peanut sauce was decent, though nothing particularly memorable.
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Yellow Bulgogi Truck
A few weeks ago, I was walking back from lunch when I spotted a yellow truck parked at the corner of 12th and G that I had never seen before. Naturally, I had to get a closer look, and it turned out to be a bulgogi truck! They seem to keep a low profile both on the street and online. I found their Yelp page and rather sparse Twitter account, which isn’t very helpful in pinning down where they’ll be everyday.
They have a short and sweet menu, bulgogi, bibimbap, or chicken teriyaki. You can also choose between medium or spicy on the spiciness scale. I got the medium beef bulgogi, pictured above, which came with sticky rice and sides of kimchi and iceberg lettuce with citrus vinaigrette. I thought the portions were pretty good for the money. The kimchi’s spiciness was a nice addition to the relatively muted flavor of the beef. Apparently the bibimbap is a better deal because you’ll get more veggies with your meal.
They don’t tweet their location on a daily basis, but it seems like they try to hit the same spot on the street everyday…at least, for a month. Their last tweet seemed to indicate they’d be on 12th street for a few weeks. The last I saw them, they were at 12th and F, by the metro entrance.
dessert dinner restaurants: american d.c. ice cream pastries seafood seasonal soups
by Lindsey
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CityZen
CityZen at the Mandarin Oriental has always been on my “must try” lists, and several weeks ago I finally went! Their menu is seasonal and ever-changing, so my friend and I definitely wanted to check them out when the selection looked especially appealing.
We tried their three course option ($80), and though their actual menu differed a little bit from the one they had online, we found plenty to keep us happy.
Pictured above is from the entree course: Atlantic halibut with tarragon panade, served with applewood smoked bacon risotto, fava beans, beer battered spring onion and spring onion coulis. The fish was perfectly cooked and buttery. Loved the risotto with it, and the coulis added a wonderful light layer of flavor to the dish. Definitely one of my favorites of the night.
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sweetbites
I was pretty excited when I heard that there was going to be another sweets truck coming to DC, especially since this one served more than just cupcakes! Unfortunately, the Sweetbites Truck never came around to my part of the city. (-___-) Finally, I just had to seek it out myself! I took an extended lunch a few weeks ago and metro’d over to Farragut Square to snag myself some sweetness. X)
I ended up getting only cupcakes after all, since the non-cupcake items I had wanted to try had already been sold out. Pictured above is the cookies and cream cupcake, described as having “creamy Oreo-infused frosting swirled atop a rich Belgian chocolate cupcake.” It’s topped off with a half-Oreo. It looked so good I had to scarf it down right there in the park! The icing was oozing from the sweltering heat but still tasted fabulous.
I had to set the cupcake down on a flat surface to photograph, so I grabbed the only thing I had on me at the time. (Any guesses as to what book that is? Lol).
I got one more cupcake:
ChurchKey
A little over a month ago, I headed over to a friend’s birthday get together at ChurchKey, the Logan Circle bar that opened up last fall to great anticipation. It’s got an amazing selection of beer, and though I’m not usually big on beer, I did get a smallish serving of one they had on tap just to try. X)
The bar is located on the second floor (the first floor being occupied by its sister establishment, Birch & Barley), and it’s a mildly chaotic free-for-all for seating. There are no reservations or maitre’d. If it’s crowded – which it really was on the night I went – you’ll have to stay vigilant and nab a table when one frees up. I didn’t like this system, as it made me feel kind of stalkerish and rude as I hovered around people that looked like they might leave soon. The place was kind of dark and noisy, but it did have an energy about it like a typical happy hour hot spot.
Though the service was equally chaotic and spotty, the food was pretty decent and I enjoyed almost everything I tried. =)
Pictured above is the truffled grilled cheese with tomato soup dip. I had a bite, and it was good, though not very “truffled” in my opinion. It was clever to pair it with a soup “dip,” though I would’ve preferred a real soup in its place, had it been my dish.
The rest after the jump:
Kellari Taverna
A whole month and a half ago, I had the opportunity to meet up with fellow food blogger Angela of I Flip for Food for dinner at the newish Greek restaurant in Farragut Square – Kellari Taverna. I am ashamed that it’s taken me so many weeks to blog this, but even though it’s been this long, I remember it vividly and fondly! Angela is even more awesome in person than she is online, and I really enjoyed every minute.
Much of our conversation was spent geeking out over the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, which I was in the midst of reading at the time. I have since finished the 4th installment, and am eagerly waiting for the 5th, if / when it will ever come to be. The HBO mini-series of the work is currently in production, so that’s something to look forward to as well. (^O^)v
Now, as for the food: You must check out Angela’s post of the dinner here, which is thoughtfully written and photographed beautifully. I agreed with everything she said, so I really have nothing particularly intriguing to add, lol.
We ended up getting a bunch of tapas to share, which was quite enough to be filling for two. Pictured above is the tuna tartare with caviar mousse. The saltiness of the caviar mousse helped balance out the tuna, which was only slightly seasoned.
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Zaytinya
I’m browsing through my food photos folder and realizing how horribly behind I am with my posts. (o____o);; I’m just getting lazier and lazier as the hot summer heat continues to simmer outside. You’d think that it would be conducive to a nice indoor activity like blogging, but I think the heat just drains all energy from you. I’m gonna try harder, really!
So, on to the post!
Some co-workers and I headed over to Zaytinya a little while ago to take advantage of their lunch specials. For about $12 or $13, you can get a tasty sandwich and a choice of sides – fries with yogurt or maroulosalata, a Greek style green salad. The portions are pretty generous, and I usually end up saving half of my sandwich for lunch the next day, so I get two lunches for the price of one. (^O^)v
Pictured above is the “cerkez on toasted olive bread with “shredded chicken, walnut cilantro sauce, roasted red peppers, feta, mache, caramelized onions.” I didn’t have any of this, but it was well received. Looked like a lighter fare than the other sandwiches at the table.
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dessert dinner restaurants: bistro d.c. fries pasta seafood
by Lindsey
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Marvin
I had actually never heard of Marvin when my friend suggested we go there for dinner a few weeks ago. I discovered that it’s a nice little Belgian bistro on U Street “featuring home-cooked classics that combine the tastes of Belgium with the American south.” The staff was really friendly and helpful in their suggestions, and each dish was really thoughtful and well balanced.
We started off with a selection from the Moules Frites – mussels and fries. I thought the coconut curry sounded interesting, but we ended up going with the white wine with garlic. Although I’m not a big fan of large slices of garlic in sauces (or any dish, really), they were easy enough to avoid. I thought the flavors were pretty good in this, though the garlic might have been on the strong side.
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The Source
I found this out after dining here, but apparently The Source is ranked #3 in Washingtonian’s 100 Best Restaurants (2010) behind Komi and Minibar! I don’t always agree with the rankings, but I do read their reviews often, especially when looking for a new place I haven’t tried before.
The Source is one of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants of the Asian fusion variety located next to the Newseum, which explains where it gets its name. Though I’d heard some negative reviews from friends before, I was still curious to check it out. Anyway, I’m rather fond of Wolfgang and his occasional Top Chef guest appearances. (He’s always so amusing XD)
I liked the decor of the place, which had a glassy, modern feel similar to Zaytinya. My only gripe would be that the ladies room on the upper dining room was a single, and the only other ladies room in the restaurant was two floors down.
The food was pretty fabulous for the most part, and between the three of us, the two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts were totally filling. Pictured above is the “Tiny Dumplings” with pork belly, black vinegar, chili oil, ginger, and cilantro leaves. These were as good as they sound. (*____*) I’d definitely order them again!
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