Merry Christmas!
WOW. Okay, so I’m an utter blog failure. After being away for so long, it gets harder and harder to come back, haha. However, I do have a whole lot of stuff on my computer that I can post, if only I remember the meals themselves. And with the year coming to an end and all, it seems as good a time as any to start again. Hopefully I’ll be posting more regularly for 2012…or at least that’s the plan. ♥
Meanwhile, I hope everyone has been having a great holiday and Christmas! It always feels a bit anti-climatic when Christmas falls on a weekend. It’s a day off ANYWAY so it doesn’t feel special at all. And tomorrow is back to the grind, which is no fun at all. The week between Christmas and New Year is kind of a drag, too. I didn’t really do anything too special this year. Being Japanese means Christmas is just about presents, more or less. (We’re more New Year’s people, and even that has been more and more low-key in my family in recent years). But I always try to get a log cake since it’s any excuse for seasonal sweets is a good one.
I got it from Les Delices bakery again this year. Last year’s Bûche de Noël was from there as well, and I had been a bit disappointed by the mildness of the praline cake. I decided to go with the classic chocolate this year, and it was definitely much better! The vanilla cake was very moist and soft, and the chocolate mousse icing whipped and wonderful. Not too sweet, which seems to be a pretty consistent trait with the bakery items at Les Delices.
More pics under the cut, including a poached pear tart, also from the same bakery:
dinner restaurants: american d.c. pastries salad seafood
by Lindsey
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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:
brunch restaurants: american comfort food d.c. pastries
by Lindsey
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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:
Red Hook Lobster Pound
The Red Hook lobster truck has been around for a while by now, but I did have occasion to try them a few months back. I took an hour out of my lunch break to wait in line on a cold winter’s day in a queue that went down the length of a city block. What was I thinking? But I suppose that the blogger part of me felt somewhat obligated to give it a go! By the time I got to the front of the line, I ordered practically everything on the menu, just because I doubted I’d be back again very soon. I got one Maine style lobster roll ($15), New England clam chowder ($7), apple cider ($3) and a whoopie pie ($3.50). The service was really nice, and I think they appreciated that you’d waited in line for so long.
I think I made a mistake when I ordered the Maine style. Actually, I didn’t even know there were two different kinds of lobster rolls, which was an oversight on my part. I don’t remember if they asked me what kind I wanted, because I would’ve asked them what the difference was and would probably have ordered the other kind had I known. Anyway, the Maine style is served cold, with mayo. The Connecticut style is warm, with butter. Clearly the Connecticut style sounds superior! I was expecting it to be warm, so was very disappointed when I bit into the cold lobster meat. I think the flavors are more robust when they’re warmed up. The bread was nice and buttery though, so that was good.
afternoon tea restaurants: chocolate hawaii oahu pastries sandwiches tea
by Lindsey
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Tea at Hawaii Prince Hotel
After a long day’s shopping at Ala Moana mall, my friend and I stopped in at Hawaii Prince Hotel in Waikiki for afternoon tea. This hotel is right by the water, and its afternoon tea is served in its airy foyer overlooking the yacht harbor. The foyer has an elevated seating area, and the waiter brings out the food from one of the restaurants that flank the atrium. The service was on the slow side (maybe because of its location), and I thought the furniture looked a bit retro (in a dated way, not in a hip way). It was a nice and sunny area though, and I did enjoy getting a breather.
The afternoon tea itself was just…okay. Nothing spectacular or unique about it. When a tea is done with little flair and no originality, I scrutinize it even more. If there’s nothing standout about the menu, then they should at least attempt to do a good version of the traditional tea. Not so here. I think they need to go back to the drawing board and study a real tea.
Pictured above is my Darjeeling, which was actually quite nice. Loved the china pattern. The rest:
dessert dinner holiday: cake cheese comfort food ham pastries
by Lindsey
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Easter
Happy May Day everybody! I’m veering off my slowly trickling Hawaii posts to write about last week’s tour de force of culinary mastery known as the Easter Pot-luck Dinner of Epicness. Hosted by my friends who also brought you their Christmas Dinner (where, if you recall, we couldn’t congratulate ourselves enough for a job well done), the event was filled to the brim with so much food and fabulosity that the guests hardly knew what to do with it all. And to make matters even more intense, we had a rowdy game of Taboo afterward that I don’t think I’ve recovered from yet. (Ever notice that when you’re playing this game, your voice keeps rising and rising until you realize you’re screaming at the top of your lungs? I think somehow this contributes to the effectiveness of your strategy, because everyone gets so crazed that they shout back anything, everything that comes to mind, and ONE of those things has to be the right answer!!)
Pictured above is the ham, which our lovely hostess made using Alton Brown’s City Ham recipe. Alton is always a good bet, and it certainly was the case here. The ham actually came out quite late in the evening, but I still scarfed down a few succulent slices despite the fact that I’d already eaten enough food for 3 people. The crust was wondrous and crispy, and the meat perfectly cooked.
The rest:
Panya
After dinner, we headed into Waikiki to meet up with my friend B, who – quite coincidentally – happened to be vacationing in Honolulu at the same time as myself! o(^__^)o We met up at the Panya in the Royal Hawaiian Center. This Panya is a relatively new branch and is small – it’s just bakery items and coffee. The Panya branch in Ala Moana is more like a restaurant. (I had lunch there on my last day, which I’ll be posting about later).
[I have to say, it makes me LOL a little that some websites are even worse than I am re: updating. The Panya website's monthly feature is catering for Thanksgiving! Ahahaha. XD]
I got the bread pudding (pictured above). It wasn’t so bad, but it was a bit dense and a little cold to boot, which made it difficult to enjoy. It came with a lovely creamy sauce, which I made the mistake of pouring all over the pudding. The sauce flooded over the tiny container and onto the table, making a big mess of things. I ended up taking most of it home. I warmed it up the next day, and it was much, much better. Bread pudding should always be served warm, in my view! It had soaked up all the sweet sauce from the night before, and the heating managed to soften up the pudding and bring out its flavors.
There was also tiramisu:
Tea at Morrison Clark
My friend hosts a Christmas Tea every December, and this year she had it at the historic Morrison Clark Hotel. Our party of about 18 people had a room all to ourselves near the back of the restaurant, and we had a lovely buffet set out for us in the main room, filled with tiers of sandwiches and pastries. Pots of hot water were brought to us at the table, alongside baskets filled with nice teabags from Harney & Sons. I had several different kinds of teas, from Earl Gray to Dragon Pearl Jasmine. My favorite was the Pomegranate Oolong, which had a wonderfully floral flavor to it.
Now without much ado, the spread:
Holiday Cakes
What’s any holiday without a tasty cake to celebrate it? Every Christmas for the last few years, I’ve gotten a Bûche de Noël – Christmas log cake – and each year I try to get them from different bakeries.
This year I decided to try one from the aforementioned Les Delices bakery in Rockville. They had a choice of praline or chocolate, and I went with the former (pictured above). I thought it was okay…maybe a little subdued in flavor? At least the icing wasn’t too oily or thick, but it left me feeling like it could’ve been a little sweeter. Perhaps the chocolate was the way I should’ve gone.
More after the jump:
afternoon tea restaurants: d.c. pastries sandwiches tea
by Lindsey
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Afternoon Tea at Teaism
I still have a bit of a backlog to slog through, but I thought I’d post about something while it was still fresh in my mind for change. XD;; I got out of work early yesterday, so after swinging by the Downtown Holiday Market (where I got a lovely handmade wool hat), I stopped in at the Teaism in Penn Quarter for their daily Afternoon Tea. Their tea is served everyday between the hours of 2:30 and 5:30 at $20 per person. I was curious about how this teashop would handle an afternoon tea service. I went with the “traditional” tea, though they also have an “Asian” one featuring rice balls and green tea ice cream.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that they served it in the classic tiered presentation. I had to make two trips to carry everything downstairs, where I chose a nice table by the water fountain to take my tea.
I had a piping hot pot of Darjeeling tea, which was aromatic and just the right thing on a cold winter’s day. I sort of wished they could serve it to me in a real tea cup, but that’s just a minor complaint. As for the food:
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.
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.
The rest:
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.
More after the jump:
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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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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