Pacific Place Tea Garden
After shopping around the numerous shops at the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu, my friend and I stopped at the Pacific Place Tea Garden kiosk for a drink.
I got the matcha (green tea) latte, pictured above. I’m not sure why I got the hot version – it was pretty warm that day, and Ala Moana is an outdoor mall. Still, it was tasty enough, and I always enjoy the calming flavor of matcha. It wasn’t overly sweetened, which was nice.
My friend got something called a pink bamboo float:
Black Market Bistro
Well, July was a total wash. (^___^);;; Sorry for the big hiatus! It is now August 1, and I’m going to try to do better this month, really. I actually haven’t gone out to eat very much these past few weeks, so there’s the other excuse (aside from sheer laziness). I do have a backlog of some stuff though, and I’m going to start with a Sunday brunch I had with a friend of mine at the Black Market Bistro in Garrett Park, Maryland.
The restaurant is located in the midst of residential neighborhood – one that I’ve driven past many times on my way to Japanese school back in the day. (The school met on Saturdays in rented classrooms at Georgetown Prep). All those years of driving through that neighborhood, and I never knew it was back there. It’s really lovely and quaint, and for those who are in the city it feels like a nice little getaway.
They didn’t take reservations for brunch, but they were able to seat us in twenty minutes or so, in a sweet location just by the window. They had seating on the porch too, but it was much too warm that day to sit outside.
I ordered the orange and vanilla bean French toast served with fresh fruit, chantilly cream and maple orange syrup, pictured above. The French toast was airy and fabulous, with a nice creamy flavor. Loved it!
The rest:
bakeries beverage brunch cafes: bethesda coffee juice pastries salad sandwiches
by Lindsey
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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:
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).
