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!
The rest:
Corduroy
I’ve wanted to try Corduroy for a while now, and a few weeks ago, I finally did! (^__^)v Located near the convention center by Mt. Vernon Square metro station, it’s pretty nondescript from the outside and easy to miss unless you’re looking for it. Actually, I think their website is pretty nondescript as well. It’s plain but easy to navigate, without frilly Flash effects, streaming music, or that infuriating script that forces your browser window to maximize (Rasika, I’m looking at YOU!!).
The inside of the restaurant is very elegant and spare, and my brother and I both agreed that the design must have been Japanese inspired in part.
I guess “spare” is a theme here, because that’s what the menu was. I don’t mind short menus, as I’d rather have very few fabulous selections to choose from, rather than a whole slew of mediocrity. I did get an appetizer, but since I chose the main course as my header pic, I’ll start there. Pictured above is the roast and confit of Guinea hen, with leeks and shitake mushrooms. Mmmm…Guinea hen brings back good memories. I had my first ever Guinea hen at Tom Colicchio’s “Craft” in New York City, and it was fab! This one was equally lovely, with a golden crispy skin and tenderly cooked meat that fell off the bone. Loved it!
The rest after the jump:
bakeries beverage brunch cafes: bethesda coffee juice pastries salad sandwiches
by Lindsey
leave a comment
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:
dessert dinner restaurants: bistro comfort food d.c. pastries
by Lindsey
leave a comment
1905: Part II
Whoa, long time no update. (^__^);; I should’ve put this post up a while ago…my friend’s birthday dinner at 1905! I’d been there once before, and enjoyed the food and atmosphere, so was really looking forward to dining there again. ♥
Since I already covered the basics in my previous post, I’m gonna just dive right in to the food! Pictured above is my main course, which was the special of the day: Chesapeake crab cake with vegetable slaw and black eyed peas. Delicious! It had lots of crab meat and wasn’t overwhelmed by fillers. I got a few tiny sharp bits in it though, which made it somewhat uncomfortable to eat.
As for the rest:
Raisin Pie
I love flaky desserts, and this Raisin Pie is just the sort that I want to have for a light snack with a cup of tea. Though now that I’m staring at the name of this thing, it’s making me crave my childhood favorite Little Debbie snack, the raisin creme pies. (*___*)
This raisin pie is much more airy and not too sweet. I think it goes perfectly with a hot cup of sweetened milk tea.
Close up under the cut:
Crepes on the Walk
Crepes on the Walk is a cute little crepes stand by the Verizon Center (which I still call the MCI Center sometimes), and it’s part of the Crepes a Go Go family of creperies. Their website has mysteriously disappeared, so I can’t link you, but hopefully they’re still around?
I imagine that this stand gets a lot of business because of its prime location, and also because crepes are the ideal sort of streetfood. Sweet or savory, whatever suits your fancy, they’ve got it. It comes folded up and tucked neatly inside a paper cone for easy handling. X) They have a nice menu of items, but of course, you can select your own combination of ingredients as you like, which is nice…if a little daunting. (You can check out their menu over on The Thrillist).
I popped over to pick up a crepe (or two) during my lunch hour a little while ago:
Zola Wine & Kitchen
Just around the corner from the Spy Museum is Zola Wine & Kitchen, a swanky wine shop / lunch counter with open kitchen. It can get a little busy during lunch time, but I think it’s worth the wait! (You can put in your order ahead of time through their website, which might cut down on your time, but I’ve never tried it before). Their menu is varied and interesting, with $10 specials that change daily.
Pictured above is the housemade fusilli with “winter vegetables, parmesan and a touch of chili.” I loved this dish. There was a lot of flavor going on, and the cheese and chili worked so well together! My only concern was that it was quite oily. By the time I got to the bottom of the bowl, I could see it swimming in the oil. I would get it again, though. XD
The rest under the cut. (And these pics are from two different lunch trips):
afternoon tea cafes: pastries sandwiches tea vancouver
by Lindsey
leave a comment
The Secret Garden
I know the Olympics are over, but I still wanted to finish out the last of my Vancouver posts! My friend and I really wanted to do an afternoon tea, so after hunting around for a suitable place, we finally settled on The Secret Garden Tea Company, a quaint and lovely little tea shop and cafe. I really loved this place. A tea doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive to be enjoyable, and this was certainly an affordable yet high quality option that I would go back for in a heartbeat.
They offer a number of different kinds of tea courses: high tea, sharing high tea, demi high tea, and mini high tea. I believe the full-on high tea was only served during certain hours, and since we came after those hours, we opted for the “demi” high tea. This course was like a scaled down version of the high tea, featuring all three of the traditional tea courses: scones, sandwiches, and dessert, in addition to a pot of tea per person.
Pictured above is one of the desserts, a flaky pastry of some kind. It’s been a while, so I don’t recall the specifics, but it was very good, whatever it was. XD;
A few more pics:
Granville Island
Granville Island was one of my favorite places in Vancouver! So much so that in the short few days I was in the city, we went there twice…even though it took a couple bus transfers and a hike to get there. It’s a marketplace that has everything you could possibly want (almost), from fresh produce and seafood to fancy baked items and chocolates. If I lived in Vancouver, I would try to make my way out there every week. (*___*)♥ Love!
The market itself is indoors, housed in a very large building that holds dozens of vendors. I could spend hours browsing the aisles! There was a tiny booth specializing in tea, complete with a mini counter where you could drink your freshly brewed cuppa. Counters upon counters of delicate and delicious looking pastries that made my mouth water. A large shiny display of fresh caught salmon – pricey but well worth it (we took home a few to cook for dinner). There were soup counters, spice sellers, coffee vendors and candy makers. Even a shop that specialized in pies – both sweet and savory.
You could also shop for non-food items, like handmade crafts, fine art, photographs and the like. The second market building next door had more of those crafty shops too, though it seemed that those stores were more established ones, compared to the more casual market vendor feel in the main building.
Pictured above is one of the colorful and delectable pastry counters. I wanted to order everything in there!
More under after the jump:
dessert dinner restaurants: d.c. italian pastries restaurant week
by Lindsey
4 comments
Bibiana: Part II
The first Restaurant Week for 2010 was a real quiet one on this front. Maybe it’s because it was so soon after the holidays (Jan 11~17), or perhaps it was because I was so burnt out after the last one. I ended up going to only one place for lunch and one place for dinner. Lunch was at SEI – which I decided not to blog – and dinner at Bibiana Osteria Enoteca, still a little newish. I wrote about Bibiana a while ago, so this is yet another “Part II” post, Restaurant Week version!
From what I hear, this place gets some mixed reviews, but I personally love it. They certainly did not disappoint for RW, and I think part of the reason why they impressed me so much was because the served only from the RW menu. At least, that’s what we were told the night we went for dinner (Friday). I suppose when they limit the menu in such a way, they can be sure to do a good job on the few dishes that they *do* serve.
Pictured above is the Venetian fried pastry dessert, which was crispy on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside. It was fabulous. I think Nevin described it as a “deep fried Twinkie” (I promised to credit him for coming up with that, so there you go! XD).
The rest after the jump:
Cacao
There’s a lovely pastry and chocolate shop in Bethesda called Cacao, which I discovered a few winters ago during the Christmas season. I usually get pastries when I stop in there, so this would mark the first time I’d tried their truffles and macaroons.
Aren’t the macaroons cute? X) I could’ve selected the flavors myself, but they had such a variety of them, I just asked them to mix them all up for me. I liked them! Very nice and light on the outside, and creamy and smooth on the inside. There was one particular one I enjoyed, which had a slightly floral taste.
Chocolates & pastries under the cut:
beverage dessert restaurants: chocolate d.c. ice cream pastries
by Lindsey
4 comments
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:
afternoon tea restaurants: chinese d.c. pastries sandwiches
by Lindsey
2 comments
Tea at Willard InterContinental
For the holidays this winter, the Willard InterContinental revamped their Peacock Alley afternoon tea into a “Tea Chinois,” complete with Chinese inspired decor and cuisine. I ventured out just before Christmas for a pre-holiday treat. ♥ (Btw, there’s a clip on YouTube on the Tea Chinois).
I’ve never actually eaten at any of the Willard’s establishments before, so this was a first. The hotel of course, is gorgeous. The nice thing about Peacock Alley is that it’s actually a corridor, so you can do much people watching while you have your tea. The day I was there, there were actually some dignitaries in town for Obama’s state dinner with the Prime Minister of India. A few of the guests must have been staying at the Willard, because I could see many people walking back and forth in the Alley in traditional Indian garments, followed by serious looking dudes in black suits and ear pieces.
So as for the tea itself: The tea selection was pretty good, predictably with several choices of Chinese teas. I figured since this was a “Tea Chinois” I should get a Chinese tea to get into the spirit of it. I’d never had a white tea before, so I went with the Rose Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen), described as a “prized silver needle white tea from China’s Northern Fujian province, scented with pink rose petals.” Sounded fabulous! But it was far from it. Actually, I found it bitter and disgusting. *sad* It was really unfortunate, since the bitter flavor overpowered much of the food. I had to add a lot of sugar to make it palatable.
The food was thankfully a little better:
Beard Papa’s
Later in the afternoon on Sunday, I met up with another friend for tea and dessert at the Beard Papa. They specialize in chou à la crème…cream puffs! In Japanese, it’s pronounced “shoo cream,” which always puzzled me when I was growing up. (Shoe polish??)
Beard Papa has locations in Hawaii, California and New York (among others). I first visited the one New York a few years ago, upon the recommendation of a friend who grew up in Hawaii. I loved the green tea flavored one, so was hoping to have the same one in San Francisco…
Unfortunately, they weren’t offering that flavor on that Sunday, so I ended up getting the coffee flavor instead. I paired it with a piping hot cup of green tea. It was very light and creamy, not too sweet. ♥ I think it could be a little smaller, though I could fault my enormous brunch for my inability to finish my mid afternoon cream puff. =)
Tartine
The first of my San Francisco posts! Tartine is a lovely bakery/cafe that is every bit worth the 1.6 miles I plodded to get there. (Long story). After foolishly forgoing the bus and hauling myself a good distance on foot – something that I recommend for everyone to do first thing in the morning =D – I treated myself to yummy pastries and a hot cup of cappuccino.
It’s a lovely little shop, very quaint, though bustling. My only complaint is that that cappuccino was tiny!
Pictured above is the fabulous morning bun, sugary with a hint of citrus. I took one home, and it kept for a few days. X)
More under the cut:
