Mandoos for Everyone

Chez Shea (Seattle)

2008-11-08T15:48:00.000-08:00

Mr. BW and I are in Seattle, vacationing. Last night, we dined at Chez Shea.

Mr. BW and I both started with the wild mushroom, carmelized onion & gruyere tart. The flavors and textures were amazing. I could have eaten two more!

I then had the roasted golden beets and bosc pear salad. It was light and refreshing, exactly what I wanted.

Mr. BW had the pate campagne with black mission figs. As you can see, the figs were part of the pate, not a side, which was an interesting and pleasant surprise.

I had the house made ricotta gnocci. The chanterelle mushrooms were delightful and the gnocci was lip smacking good.

Mr. BW loved his confit of muscovy duck leg. And when I say he loved it, I mean he didn't offer me a single taste.
His carrot yam puree was delicious, though.

We were so stuffed by the time dessert rolled around that we just opted for coffees. Everything was exquisitely prepared and the service was amazing. The hostess quadrupled as our waitress, server, and sommelier and never let our water glasses get below half full. A great experience -- you can't go wrong!

Harry's Restaurant

2008-11-06T04:44:00.001-08:00

Harry's Restaurant / Saloon is a disgusting dive at the corner of 11th and F. Although the place looks far from clean, it's always jammed packed with people and the food isn't too bad.

I've enjoyed the burgers, sandwiches and salads before, but my personal Harry's special is the chili cheese fries!

I picked up an order of these bad boys the other day for lunch and I was in heaven! The food is cheap, the service is fat and good, and it's convenient to work. Harry's gets a thumbs up -- just don't look too closely at the floors or your surroundings!

Mia's Pizza

2008-11-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

Mr. BW and I happened upon Mia's Pizza the other day, completely by surprise. We were out and about in Bethesda right around lunch time and thought, hey, what do we have to lose? We've tried both Pizza Paradiso and Two Amy's and while we love both, the endless wait time and the always crowded nature of both restaurants prevents both of us from ever wanting to go when it's just the two of us. Instead, we typically save our Pizza Paradiso and Two Amy's outings to dinners with friends from out of town.

The restaurant features a large dining room, with tables that are actually spread out far enough that you don't feel like you're eating with the group next to you. They also have a large patio (where we sat). By all appearances, the restaurant was extremely kid-friendly, tons of families, little kids, and an ample supply of booster seats.

Mr. BW started with the soup, which he said was delightful.

I ordered the chopped salad with beets, eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and blue cheese. The salad was refreshing, perfectly dressed (not too heavy), and ample enough for me to share with Mr. BW.

Because we're oinkers, we also ordered an appetizer's portion of meatballs and foccacia to share.
Both of us agreed that the meatballs were quite tasty - perfectly seasoned and textured. The foccacia wasn't bad either.

Because we ordered so many starters, we decided to share a pizza.

Our pizza was amply sized and featured pesto, onions, and olives. The crust was great -- must better than Two Amy's, which I found to be slightly undercooked, and the option of having pesto on top of regular sauce, as opposed to as a replacement sauce, was something I appreciated. While I do love pesto, I'm a pizza purist -- I demand tomato sauce and usually, lots of it.

We heartily enjoyed our lunch and will definitely be going back. The lack of the oppressive wait time and the overcrowdedness that plagues Pizza Paradiso and Two Amy's definitely makes driving up to Bethesda worthwhile.

I can't find a website for Mia's Pizza, but it's located at 4926 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. (301) 718-6427

The Capital Grille

2008-10-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

Last night, Mr. BW and I had dinner at The Capital Grille. A cross-country chain steakhouse is not really our sort of thing as they usually tend to be overpriced and mediocre (for what you're paying!), but we had received a $50 gift certificate mailer from American Express a few weeks ago and thought -- "hey, what do we have to lose."

Our reservation was for 8:15pm, but we weren't seated until almost 8:45. Service was initially dodgy -- it took quite a while for our server to come, get our drink orders, and give us the specials.

I wasn't particularly hungry and opted for a light meal of soup and salad. My onion soup came in a crock and was pretty tasty; though it could've had a better coating of melted and slightly burnt cheese on the top.
Mr. BW ordered the spinach salad as a starter and, well, it never appeared. We mentioned it to the server when he came with our entrees and our waiter was so apologetic, he offered us dessert -- on the house.

I ordered the spinach salad as my entree and it was fine. Nothing spectacular, but it had all the necessary components: spinach, cheese, nuts, and bacon dressing. The only key was that my dressing was supposed to be warm and warm it was not. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, though, as I ordered my dressing "on the side."

Mr. BW ordered the tenderloin ontop a bed of lobster. I had a tasty taste and it was pretty good. His entree was $42. While it was good, it wasn't blow your mind spectacular, which is what I expect for $42.

Our side of onion rings, however, were blow your mind amazing. I could've eaten a whole bucket of these.
Our complimentary dessert (and coffees) were amazing. The cake was incredibly dense and I loved the vanilla/raspbery coilis sauce on the side.

Our total bill ended up being around $81, so our final bill was a mere $31. Because the waiter was so apologetic about forgetting Mr. BW's salad and because we didn't want to screw the waiter based on my decision not to order a real entree, we left a $30 tip for good measure.

I'm happy we went -- what a deal! -- but wouldn't go back without another $50 gift certificate or on someone else's dime.

Ray's Hell Burger

2008-10-31T16:48:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Mr. BW and I decided to check out the hoopla that is Ray's Hell Burger.
I ordered the special (burger with choice of two cheeses, side or bag of chips, and a drink). For a few extra bucks, I upgraded to the root beer float, which was totally worth it.
I ordered my burger with a hearty slice of cheddar, dressed with lettuce, tomato, and sauteed onions. The bun was hearty, but the burger was way too messy. Messy as in it started to fall apart as I was eating it.

Mr. BW had even more trouble with his burger (medium), when, as he was eating, chunks of burger started falling out and onto his plate. While the burger was good, our tab ended up being $28 -- which is, frankly, too much for two people to eat at a burger joint. Mr. BW's final word: "it's just a giant burger, with expensive cheese."

I'd recommend this place if you're a burger fanatic or just want to give it a go. But, we've certainly made better burgers on our grill at home.

Present Restaurant

2008-10-31T15:31:00.000-07:00

The other day, Mr. BW and I went to Present Restaurant out in Falls Church. They don't have a website yet, but Tyler Cowen's review is a fairly good description of the dining experience.

First, unlike many/most vietnamese restaurants, Present's decor is actually nice. You will not be embarrassed to take a client, or first date, here.
We ordered a number of appetizers, which were light and tasty.

For our first entree, we ordered the whole crispy fish, which was *!@&#$!@&!@&( unbelievable. Highly recommended.
The orange duck was also good, but slightly too gelatinous for my tastes.

We had a very enjoyable time there and highly recommend it. I wouldn't order the orange duck again, but I can still salivate a little thinking of the fish. Also, per Tyler, the menu is rather limited, so don't go expecting 1,001 different phos and variations thereof.

Mandoo Bar

2008-10-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

While in NYC, we also ate at Mandoo Bar. I need to preface this post by saying that I love mandoos, as you can probably gather from my blog name! I love mandoos and dumplings of all shapes and sizes. They are one of my most favorite things in the world!

So, of course, when our first choice for dinner was all booked up (Lupa), we decided to go to Mandoo Bar instead for a casual, homey meal.

My incredible sense of happiness at being presented with plate after plate of mandoos prevented me from taking any photos, but I can highly recommend both the boiled pork dumplings as well as the fried. I hear the kimchee ones are also good and we declined to order the seafood ones, choosing to get an order of bimbimbap instead. My friend, who is Korean, had been concerned that the popularity of the restaurant would have affected its tastiness, but we were quickly assured -- "still good," she said.

Just 24 hours later, I am craving more mandoos!

Aburiya Kinnosuke

2008-10-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

During our romp in NYC, Mr. BW and I had occasion to meet up with a good friend of mine for lunch and dinner! We had no prior plans and decided, on the fly, to try Aburiya Kinnosuke, which my friend had heard of but not yet had occasion to try and which we noticed had good Zagat ratings.

Mr. BW ordered the weekly special. As you can see, it was a whole, fried fish with miso, rice, and some other accompaniments.
I ordered the washu beef curry, which really hit home. Just like my grandmother used to make, but you know, better ingredients and not a giant, endless vat of goodness. It was delicious and I enjoyed every bite.

My friend ordered the weekly special fish, which you can see in the upper left hand corner. You'll also get a better glimpse of the accompaniments that came with the meal.

On the right, assorted seaweeds, pickled plums, and dried flakes for eating with the rice. In the center is the bowl of miso and the middle bottom two bowls contain 1) some sort of dressed root (left) and 2) tofu (right).
The food was good, service was friendly, and the best part of it all? Each meal was only $15. If I had a place like this near my office, I'd eat there every day!

Gramercy Tavern

2008-10-22T18:44:00.001-07:00

Mr. BW and I had lunch at Gramercy Tavern in NYC after he got done with work and it was delicious!

We both started with the Jerusalem Artichoke Soup -- Butternut Squash and Aji Dulce Peppers. Absolutely delicious.I opted for the Braised Lamb Shoulder with broccoli and bok choy it was perfectly done. Absolutely melt in your mouth awesomeness.

Mr. BW had the roasted sirloin with celery puree and cabbage. Mr. BW likes his meat rare and he enjoyed every bite of his meal!
We finished off our dining experience with the best latte ever. I wanted to take my clothes off and swim in my latte.
Mr. BW ordered the Peanut Butter Semifreddo and Chocolate Macaroon and he said it was out of this world.
My Concord Grape Clafoutis with Praline Ice Cream was also one of the most amazing desserts I have ever had.
The complimentary treats were also enjoyable, though Mr. BW ate most of mine.We loved our experience dining at Gramercy Tavern and highly recommend it. You'll notice from the menu that the ingredients are simple and the kind of stuff you'd find in Grandma's kitchen, but everything is wonderfully prepared with just enough of an oomph to make it something special. We can't wait to go back.

Mark's Duck House (Falls Church)

2008-09-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Mark's Duck House in Falls Church gets a 24 from Zagats. I've been interested in trying more Chinese restaurants in Virginia as my favorite ones are all located in Rockville, MD which is just slightly less convenient than Virginia.

Lucky for me, Mr. BW's a big fan of making me happy and so we went to Mark's Duck House on Friday night.

We started with the obligatory order of pan fried dumplings.

Photo quality is bad, but as you can see, it's appearance suggests that it's not pan fried, but deep fried. Although Mr. BW enjoyed it, I was not a fan and would not recommend these.

In contrast to the dumplings, the bbq pork is delicious. According to Mr. BW - the best he's had! That's pretty high praise, seeing as how he's had it from Sam Woo's in Monterey Park!
The whole peking duck that we ordered was heavenly. The skin was perfectly crisped and the ample portion made for some pretty happy chinese duck taco making.
Here's a view of the beef fried noodles and the stir-fry green beans. Both highly recommended.
Finally, we ordered a whole tilapia:
Delicious flavoring, but a bit too much by way of small bones for my liking.

All in all, a hearty delicious meal. I would highly recommend Mark's Duck House to anyone searching for authentic chinese food.

Crystal Thai Restaurant (Arlington)

2008-09-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, Mr. BW and I made an impromptu decision to stop in at Crystal Thai while we were out in Virginia, running errands.

Mr. BW's boss has heartily recommended Crystal Thai and it gets good zagat ratings (24 for food).

Mr. BW started with a Long Island. It was very festive.

My fresh spring rolls were very different. First, there was no shrimp, just thin chicken. Second, the rolls use mint, instead of the more traditional cilantro. Also, as you can see, they're fatter than the usual "fresh spring roll" that you get at Thai/Vietnamese restaurants. Interesting to see something different, but I prefer the mainstay.
Mr. BW ordered the num tok appetizer - grilled flank steak with lime juice, chili, red onion, cucumber, and mint leaves. Very tasty and in many ways much much better than a similar dish that we order frequently from our favorite thai restaurant - Thai Noy.

For his meal, Mr. BW ordered a special that they had going that night. Pork chops! As you can see, the portion was huge. The taste was very different, reminscent of a lot of hawaiian flavored food that I've sampled in the past.
I ordered the chicken curry as I was interested in something simple that could really help me evaluate the flavors of the restaurant. The chicken chunks were too big, as were the potato (potato?) chunks. The flavor of the curry was excellent, but because the chunks were so large, much of the chicken was tasteless (and getting close to dry) by the time you start eating the individual bits and pieces.
Overall the food was good, but Thai Noy is still probably better.

No Fun

2008-09-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

I had great and wonderful plans to go to Tosca today for lunch. Better yet, I was taking an interviewee out, so lunch was going to be free!

Unfortunately, I was stuck on a conference call and couldn't shake free. I hate missing new dining adventures!

Teaism

2008-09-23T18:31:00.001-07:00

Today, I met up with a friend of a friend at Teaism downtown.

I ordered the chicken bento box and she had the salmon bento box. The food was causal, cheap, and good for what it was. If Teaism wasn't 0.9 walking miles away from my office, I'd definitely go more often!

Hank's Oyster Bar

2008-09-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Mr. BW and I met up with some friends at Hank's Oyster Bar.

Mr. BW started with the sardines and ordered the Lobster Roll for dinner. I started with the scallops and had the fish tacos for dinner. Our friends both ordered the Monday/Tuesday special: molasses braised short ribs.

Service was great and the food was lovely. The final bill seemed a bit high, but I suppose $171 for four appetizers, four entrees, one beer, and a bottle of wine is perfectly reasonable.

Also, since the restaurant does not serve dessert, your check comes with a little dish of coarsely chopped dark chocolate - yum!

TenPenh

2008-09-21T19:56:00.001-07:00

Last week, I went to TenPenh for lunch with a co-worker. Since this was my first time dining with said co-worker, I didn't want to turn him off from future dining adventures by busting out my camera.

We are currently enjoying some lovely weather here in the good old District of Columbia. And so, we elected to be seated outside. We started with an order of the filipino lumpia style pork and shrimp spring rolls ($11) which were delicious. There were four in our order and the trio of sauces were delicious. Highly recommended.

My co-worker went with the braised Korean short-rib that was on special that day and I opted for the Chow Foon Noodles ($14). The food was good enough, but not fantastic. While I enjoyed our spring rolls immensely and while there are numerous other appetizer options on the menu that I find intriguing, I can't say I'd go back again, unless someone else was picking up the tab. Luckily for me, it's close to work and opportunities for comp'd lunches spring up occasionally. Next time, however, I'll be sure to order 2-3 different appetizers and skip the entrees altogether.

radio silence

2008-09-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting these past few weeks for a number of reasons:
1) week long vacation in a far away land;
2) lack of new dining experiences for quite some time; and
3) intermittently too busy at work or too much free time and busy worrying about the ever increasing number of "apocalypse now" news headlines

But, Mr. BW and I went to Crystal Thai in Falls Church last night and I have a few new dining adventures for you coming up (although some may not be accompanied by photos).

End Commercial

2008-09-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

Mr. BW and I just returned from a week long vacation out west -- Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Park to be exact. I was very much looking forward to a few hectic and busy work weeks to come, but based on events beyond my control (no, as far as I can tell, I haven't been fired) I'm finding myself with a lot of time of my hands. And so, I'm waiting for the appliance guy to show up to fix our dishwasher that has been broken for four months before heading off to work and twiddling my thumbs for a few hours. Shaping up to be a relaxing "welcome back" week.

Dogfish Head Alehouse

2008-08-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

With the impending start of football season, I've had a hunkering for some good bar food lately. It doesn't help that we've been having so many awesome meals lately (see, e.g., Rasika, Bezu, and Cafe Atlantico) made with fresh, local ingredients, that I really needed some fatty greasy goodness to cancel some of it out.

So we headed out to Dogfish Head Alehouse in Falls Church, VA. And you know what? It did the trick.

Spicy buffalo wings, hearty alehouse chili nachoes, and some fried calamari.

I downed it with a glass of festina peche, which was fruity and refreshing.

On monday nights, they have a $5 half-pound burger and fries special. Me thinks Mr. BW and I will be going back, soon.

Poste Brasserie

2008-08-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

A belated post for Poste. Get it? Okay, not that funny.

Before our fabulous dining experience at Rasika with Brother BW and SIL BW, Mr. BW and I met up at Poste Brasserie to check out the scene. Mr. BW had been before, but I had not.

I ordered a ruby red: stoli razberi, hangar one kaffir lime, cranberry juice, and finished with sparkling wine. Tasty.Mr. BW ordered a whiskey.

The bar was nice and I enjoyed the pre-dinner drinks. Will definitely have to go back and check out the reportedly delicious fries and check out the outside lounge. Not usually my scene, but I can do mainstream every once in a while.

Cafe Atlantico

2008-08-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Mr. BW and I treated ourselves to dinner at Cafe Atlantico. And by treated ourselves, I mean we decided we needed to take one last run at the Restaurant Week specials. Luckily, Cafe Atlantico had openings and we've been wanting to go for some time.

We started with some obligatory cocktails: a caipirinha for each of us. Good, but not entirely sure it's worth the $11 price tag. Then again, I'm cheap when it comes to alcohol -- I would much rather pour my own drinks with ample alcohol and little to no filler and not have to deal with driving home at the end of the tunnel.
We each ordered the salad to start. Mr. BW was skeptical when I reported that numerous online commentators had mentioned that the spring salad was surprisingly tasty and highly recommended. Nonetheless, we both agreed ~ toasted rice on salad is scrumdiddlyicious.

For our main course, I ordered a daiquiri. Again, I should've gone with a glass of red wine, which was Mr. BW's wise course of action. I, however, wanted to see what the online buzz was and try these so called amazing daiquiris. Unfortunately for me, there was just a wee bit too much sugar in this daiquiri (again, I like mine to be heavy on the alcohol, skimpy on the filler) and for $10, I should've gone with a glass of red instead.For my main course, I ordered the feijao tropeiro. Grilled pork chop with black beans with pork, rice, farofa, oranges, and sauteed collard greens with garlic. I'm not sure I cared for the farofa* (the mealy yellow stuff which was largely tasteless), but everything else was heavenly. And this from a girl who doesn't really like collard greens. The meal also came with some heavenly and wickedly hot hot sauce *not pictured, which was delicious. I need me a tub of that, post haste.
Mr. BW ordered the striped bass veracruz. Presentation was wonderful and it was good, but my meal was better.
Mr. BW's dessert outshone mine by a mile: warm chocolate cake with banana espuma and fresh banana lime salad. So friggin good. I managed to stealthily sneak about 1/2 of it.
I ordered the sorbet of the day - passion fruit. Mr. BW said it was darned tasty, but just a bit too sweet for me. Should've gone with the chocolate cake.
BTW: service was outstanding. I've had a few disappointing experiences dining downtown with shoddy (ie slow and ambivalent) service, especially at the more trendy places, but Cafe Atlantico was amazing. Service was fast and friendly. Loved it.

*To be fair, I had no idea what the strange mealy yellowness was and didn't bother to ask our server what it was and how to eat it. After poking at it suspiciously and trying bits of it on the tip of my fork, I decided that it just wasn't for me and moved on. As we were leaving, I heard our server explain it to the table next to us. Evidently, it is not supposed to be eaten plain, but rather, should be mixed with the other goodies on the plate to add texture. Go figure.

Mondays!

2008-08-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Mr. BW and I went to Costco and picked up a bag of frozen scallops on the fly.

Tonight, we decided to cook some up! For dinner, we had three scallops pan-fried in butter and olive oil after a light smattering of salt and pepper.

We also had some whole wheat penne with Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese and finally, some peas with chopped up bacon! It was a delicious and easy meal. And not that bad for us, right?

My plate:

Mr. BW's plate.

Bezu - Potomac

2008-08-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Mr. BW and I ventured out to Potomac, to dine at Bezu. Mr. BW read about Bezu online somewhere and asked that I make reservations during Restaurant Week so that we could try it out, without spending beau coup bucks to do so. It was work every penny and both of us agreed that we will definitely be going back.

Do not be turned off by its bland strip mall location.Fried beggar's purse with kobe beef, compliments of the chef. Served with a very tasty aioli sauce. Both of us gobbled it up. Unfortunately, the tray full of beggar's purses that I was secretly hoping for never arrived.
For Restaurant Week, Bezu was offering a three choices for each course. Mr. BW selected the calamari, which he said was delicious.
I went went the seasonal salad, which was also quite tasty. The warm goat cheese and poached pears were a refreshing start to the meal to come.
I couldn't resist -- I ordered the Fuzu rice noodles course. An interesting twist on traditional asian rice noodle dishes -- this one included shrimp, chicken, and scallops with snow peas, carrots, bean sprouts and onions! And black sesame seeds on top! A distinctly asian taste, but also just different enough to be unlike anything I had ever tasted before.
Mr. BW ordered the ginger crusted skate, which he enjoyed immensely.

After our server complimented us on our incredibly clean plates, he brought us our dessert selections. Mr. BW ordered the rice pudding.
I ordered the mango beignet, which was also delicious.
To accompany our meal, we ordered the 2006 Cambria Viogner. The last time Mr. BW and I were wine tasting in Santa Barbara, we tried to go to Cambria but could not find it. A series of very confusing signs, dead ends, and other available and readily marked vineyards thwarted our attempts to visit the winery, which is one of the few more widely distributed Santa Barbara wineries. Luckily for us, Bezu's wine mark up was not that bad, particularly if ordering off-the-beaten path wines (which is to say that the price for the oft-ordered and well-known veuve clicquot was a hearty 3x what you'd pay at the store). Anyhow, our wine was reasonably priced and next time we visit Bezu, we'll be sure to go on a Monday, where all bottles of wine are 1/2 off. Yes, you heard me. Go. Visit. Order wine.

See the Post's review dated February 22, 2007, auspicious, sayeth Mr. BW whose birthday happens to fall on the 22nd.

Zola

2008-08-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, after two days of eating steamed veggies and brown rice for lunch, Mr. BW and I met up at Zola for lunch! I was particularly excited because it was Restaurant Week and Zola was offering their full menu. Thus, we could try anything on the menu and only pay $20.08/person. My kind of adventure.

We were seated in the first room to the right of the entrance and this was the display in the middle of the room. Not something I'd seen before and not entirely sure how I feel about it as a decor.

Our bread was delicious. And the brown sea salt on the butter? Fab.

I started with the sunchoke tortelloni with grilled ramps, lemon-spring garlic jus, and sunchoke chips. It was okay, not great. A little too heavy for lunch and the individual flavors did not seem to stand out.
Mr. BW started with the scallop cress salad with watermelon carpaccio and dressed with ramp-pink peppercorn vinaigrette. He gave me a tasty taste and it was delicious. Wish I'd gone with my first instinct and ordered it.
Mr. BW ordered the blue crab omelette with a salad of baby lettuce, tomato vinaigrette and topped with crispy shallots. I didn't get much out of him except that it was "okay." My guess is he wasn't blown away.
I went with the grilled lamb sandwich with goat cheese aioli, sweet pepper and asparagus slaw and a side salad of arugula to finish the meal. My lamb was tasty enough, but I always forget that lamb is a hard meat to have in a sandwich -- just a little too chewy and messy for when you're dressed up and have to go back to work. The breading was delicious and I heartily enjoyed it.
For dessert, I selected the passionate tart -- passion fruit, meringue and brandy soaked blueberries. As you can see, I had to get my dessert to go because the service was so exceeding slow. Our reservation was for 1pm, and we did not receive our entree until well past 2pm. I understand that it was Restaurant Week and that they were over capacity as a result, but I don't believe restaurants (or any business for that matter) should sign up to participate in an event of any kind when they do not have the necessary manpower to do it well.
Anyhow, my dessert was not great, and had I paid the $7 sticker price for it, I would've been sorely disappointed. Mr. BW got the bombe...chocolate bombe and they packed it with a scoop of ice cream. Not the smartest thing to do when it's take-away!

All in all, I don't regret having gone to Zola, given that including the exorbitant dc restaurant tax of 10+%, the final bill was just $44.08. However, I definitely would've regret having gone if we had paid full price for the meal. Would not recommend it unless you happen to find yourself near the spy museum or even better, on an expense account.

A Homecooked Mr. BW Meal

2008-08-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight, after getting home from the gym, Mr. BW whipped up the following.
Pasta in spicy vodka cause and breaded pan fried chicken with fresh grated parm. There were any number of great things about this meal. First, we had all the ingredients already and were even able to finish up both the bread crumbs and the pasta sauce so less clutter in our cupboards and fridge! Second, the entire meal, from start to finish, took approximately 30 minutes. Third, I whipped up the following salad which was a perfect accompaniment to our main course:
Fresh tomatoes from our small urban garden, walnuts, artichoke hearts, and cheese smuggled in from Switzerland by our neighbor! (Just kidding all you wanna be ICE agents out there ~ he DID declare it on customs). Our salads always wear homemade dressing and tonight's outfit was my standard salt + vinegar + evoo + vinegar with a twist! For vinegar, I used sauvignon vinegar that we purchased last November after tasting it at Pasolivo.

Dinner was quick, satisfying, and inexpensive. We also cleaned up immediately after finishing dinner, instead of prolonging the pain, which means we're now finishing up our bottle of Italian pinot noir while watching the Olympics!

Aria Trattoria

2008-08-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was one of those gorgeous summer days where the thought of sitting couped up in an enclosed air conditioned building was just too much to bear. And so, my coworkers and myself decided to head over to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to enjoy Aria Trattoria's patio. Because I'm still relatively new to the office, I didn't want to scare everyone by taking pictures right off the bat. And so, our started of "fresh" bread was not photographed. The bread was served in a cone shaped vessel and it was cold. Yes, cold. Did not bode well for our food.

Two of my coworkers ordered panini's. This is one of them.

For about $9, she seemed to enjoy her food well enough.

I ordered the pulled chicken salad which arrived in the following fashion.
The presentation was certainly interesting and the chicken salad itself was quite tasty. However, the puff of very thin bread it was served in was stale.

Nevertheless, a good time was had by all as we were in and out in less than 90 minutes and the final tab was reasonable, given the princely location. Not sure I would ever recommend that someone go to Aria for the food, but maybe the patio.

Indian Delight

2008-08-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

Last week, I wandered over to the Old Post Office Pavilion to grab a quick bite to eat. Mr. BW's former boss always spoke highly of the Indian Delight, which offers a variety of vegetarian Indian cuisine. For less than $7, I got the following:

I don't remember precisely what it is, but as you can see, I got an Indian soup, which I didn't much care for, some naan, some spicy five-lentil type curry, and a healthy heaping of rice. The food was good, but not great. Then again, I was pretty happy given the close proximity to my office and reasonable price tag. With Greek Taverna only steps away, I'm not sure I'll be back.

Rasika

2008-08-05T06:28:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, Brother and SIL BW depart to return to sunny Southern California. To celebrate their visit, we went to Rasika last night to enjoy the six course chef's table. O.M.F.G. It was amazing.

The first course (Palak Chaat) was crispy baby spinach, sweet yogurt, tamarind, and date chutney. Each piece of spinach was crispy (duh) and the entire dish was oh-so-delicious. Mr. BW ate every single bite, and he's not a cooked spinach man.

The second course (Fish Chutneywala) was tilapia, mint, cilantro, coconut. It came with a cute little cucumber/tomato salad on the side. The first was perfectly seasoned and the combination of mint/cilantro/coconut/tilapia was amazing.

About this time, our naan arrived. Clockwise from top: plain naan, mint naan, and onion/vegetable naan. Yum.
The third course (spicy reshmi kebab) was minched chicken, mint, coriander, green chili and a side salad. This dish was not amazing, as the other dishes were, but by no means was it difficult to enjoy.
The best course of the night was the fourth course (black cod) seasoned with fresh dill, honey, star anise and red wine vinegar. The best fish course up until last night was the ginger crusted onaga that Mr. BW and I had enjoyed at Alan Wong's in Honolulu. We spent some time debating whether this was a suitable rival, but ultimately decided both were unique, different, and absolutely amazing.
The fifth course (bhindi amchoor) was sliced okra seasoned with dry mango powed and basmati rice...
Served with andhra lamb curry and chicken makhani. The chicken curry was hands down the best curry I have had in a very very long time. We were so full by this time, but I nonetheless still swept up as much curry goodness as I could with the naan and basmati rice.
By the time the final course (apple jalebi) rolled around, we were all uncomfortably full. But how could we resist the delightful apple ring beignet (yes, there was an apple slice baked in there) and orange cardamom ice cream topped with pistachio bits? The ice cream was amazing and just the right way to finish off the mean. I was too full to enjoy the apple ring beignet to the fullest, but I did turn to find Mr. BW sopping up his melted ice cream with the edible orchid.
Dinner was not cheap, but it was amazing and worth every penny. We also ordered two wine pairings to go with our chef's table tasting menu and the wines were wonderfully selected to accompany our entrees. If you have not been to Rasika, Go. Now. Eat. Enjoy.

Viet Bistro

2008-08-03T20:10:00.001-07:00

Tonight, for dinner, we went to Viet Bistro at Eden Center. Eden Center is a huge Vietnamese complex out in 'burbs and where Mr. BW and I go for Vietnamese!

We started with the vietnamese spring rolls and also an order of fresh spring rolls.

Mr. BW and I decided to go simple tonight and get our old standby, the grilled pork vermicelli.
SIL BW had the grilled pork + shrimp + fresh egg roll vermicelli. SIL BW had a bad vietnamese experiences when she was in college and has not been a fan since. She heartily enjoyed her meal tonight and hopefully this signifies a turning point in her Vietnamese food enjoyment!
Brother BW ordered the lemongrass beef, which, strangely enough, he did not offer to share. It must've been delicious, because he slurped it right up!
We also ordered the Carmel Fish to share. Mr. BW has ordered it before and we enjoyed it greatly, but none of us were willing to commit to it for our entree. It was so tasty, I ended up eating most of the Carmel Fish and saving my vermicelli to bring to work for lunch tomorrow.

Majestic Cafe (Alexandria)

2008-08-03T17:04:00.001-07:00

After church this morning, the crew headed over to Alexandria to do some window shopping and to just enjoy our leisurely Sunday afternoon. After a few hours of moseying around, we headed over to the Majestic Cafe, where we had reservations for lunch. Mr. BW's co-worker, who lives in Annapolis, had recommended that we go for Nana's Sunday Dinner. This month, Nana's special was: buttermilk fried chicken, cole slaw, mac and cheese, and peach cobbler. Mr. BW loves buttermilk fried chicken, so we quickly made reservations. The food is served family style at $78 / 4 people. Additional persons are $25 / each.

We started with an order of fried green tomatoes (not pictured), which I had to order in addition to Nana's menu because they came with goat cheese and a corn/salsa dressing. So delicious. Would definitely go back and order again.

Mr. BW was concerned when the chicken came out so dark, that's usually a sign that the oil should be and hasn't been changed. Nonetheless it was tasty ~ very juicy and well done.

Mr. BW's plated meal (before the mac and cheese).

The glorious mac and cheese. I only ate one piece of chicken so that I could pick at the mac and cheese, which was heaven.on.earth.
I am not a huge cobbler fan and this didn't really do it for me. Accordingly to Mr. BW, it's like no cobbler that he's ever had before. It's baked in an aluminim pie pan and there's a very pie like crust on the bottom ~ not biscuity like he's had it before. Nonetheless, the streusel and the peaches were very good, so all parties we happy.
The best part about The Majestic Cafe is that everything but the butter is made in their kitchen. Including the bread. Everything is fresh, they encourage local, and the menu prices are very very reasonable. Nana's Sunday Dinner is also a great concept, and one that we'll definitely be going back for, as the menus change every month. Reservations fill up quickly, so call early and go.

Cakelove

2008-08-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

On our way back from Annapolis, Mr. BW had the brilliant idea to stop at Cakelove and pick up a cake for dessert. Brother BW zeroed in on the Strawberries and Cream layered cake.
Absolutely stunning. Go. Order. Eat. It's $40, but it's divine and might just be the best cake that I've had since our wedding cake.

Middleton Tavern (Annapolis)

2008-08-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to Annapolis with Brother and SIL BW. Mr. BW had been to Annapolis before with his brother, and had eaten at Middleton Tavern, which he insisted, has the best crab cakes around. We spent a few hours walking around and window shopping, slowly making our way to the restaurant. On the way there, we saw a very stylish dog.
When we reached Middleton Tavern, I knew our crab cakes were going to be good. The building is a historic tavern/boarding home.
The food was so good, that I, unfortunately, forgot to take any pictures once it arrived. Because we had had a large breakfast, Mr. BW and I ordered the cold seafood martini, an order of crab balls, and the warmed goat cheese to share. Everything was amazing. Brother and SIL BW ordered the crab cake sandwich and an order of crab balls to share. The crab balls and crab cakes are the same recipe, but the balls are simply 1oz balls, as opposed to 4oz cakes. They come either fried or broiled, and the broiled is definitely the way to go. Just enough filler to keep the cake together and perfectly seasoned. Mr. BW and I will definitely be returning.

2Amys

2008-08-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night, Mr. BW and I went to 2Amys with Brother and SIL BW, who are visiting from California!

I started with a glass of Grotto del Sole, which was fizzy! Fizzy! An interesting red to try, but I don't think I would do it again.

For starters, we ordered some oven roasted olives and the supli a telefono to start. The supli a telefono is deep fried risotto croquette, stuffed with bufala mozarella! It was delicious!
For our main courses, Brother BW had the margharita extra.
I had the Santa Brigida + Sausage topping.
I can't remember what SIL BW got, but here it is:
Because Mr. BW is a daredevil, he had the Two Amys + sardines.

All in all, our food was delicious. We've heard so much hype about 2Amys and how great it is, and while the pizza is delicious, I'm not sure it's the best pizza I've ever had. And I've eaten my fair share of pizza. That being said, it is definitely authentic Italian style pizza that, if you are in the DC area and love pizza, should give it a shot. Prices are reasonable, but since it's not metro accessible, those who rely on public transit may have issues getting too and fro. Nonetheless, it's too much of a Washington institution to pass on. We went on a busy night and were seated in less than 3o minutes.

weekend revival

2008-07-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

Mr. BW and I rarely go out on the weekends to try a new restaurant because weekends are the perfect opportunity for us to enjoy some home time. We also like to grill out during the summer and on weekends, we don't have to worry about rushing home after work, preparing the food, and waiting for the grill to light up ~ we can get ready at our leisure and actually eat before 9pm! And yes, we regularly eat at 9pm on the weekdays, sometimes even later.

On Saturday night, we decided to grill up some fresh veggies tossed in olive oil, garlic salt, and herbs. I ordered these fancy skewers after Mr. BW saw similar ones on Good Eats and they work much much better than the cheap, disposable wooden ones we used previously. Mr. BW is always the king of the meats, so he marinated the sirloin in some soy sauce, oil, salt, pepper, and some worcestershire sauce.

We stood around the grill enjoyed our pre-dinner margaritas, which we make using fresh squeezed lime (no mixes for us). The wine Mr. BW had picked out at our local wine shop and was very good on Saturday night. We finished it up last night (Sunday) and sadly enough, it tasted a bit more vinegary than I would've liked. So, definitely drink it all the first night! On the right, you'll see my bottle of homemade salad dressing. Almost 2 years ago, Mr. BW decided we should switch to homemade salad dressing because it was healthier, cheaper, and would lead to less clutter in the fridge! I was reluctant at first (for no good reason), but now I love our homemade dressings and love coming up with new ideas and thoughts for making it interesting.
I tossed a quick salad with artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes, walnuts and cheese.

Our plated meal. Tasty, quick, and good for us! Since the sirloin was huge, we have plenty left over for sandwiches today!
Sunday night we grilled shrimp kebabs in a lime-cilantro glaze, with jalapeno peppers and plums. Mr. BW loves grilled summer corn, so we threw some on the grill. Tasty, simple, and healthy.

Mourayo

2008-07-28T04:21:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, Mr. BW and I went out to dinner with my brother who is in town for a conference. Earlier that afternoon, Mr. BW sent me a list of recommended places to eat that he's quickly compiled using our nifty Zagat.com membership. I quickly zeroed in on Mourayo because of its central location (Dupont Circle), interesting cuisine (Greek), and my recent hunkering for seafood.

The pita-esque bread for dipping in olive oil was divine.
Mr. BW ordered the Ouzo Meze - an assortment of seafood appetizers (see remnants above). I'm not a fan of octopi and other assorted sea creatures, so I had only a piece of shrimp, but Mr. BW and my brother are great fans!

I ordered one of the special appetizers, the crab meat in phyllo dough. It was so delicious, I didn't think to take a photo until we'd already gobbled it up.
My brother went with the salted cod - "Bakaliaros Skordalia" - which was by far my favorite of all the entrees on the table. I love dining with family, because we always sample and share.
I'm a glutton for scallops and the "Htenia me Menta" did not disappoint. Mr. BW thinks this was the best entree on the table because there are few more simple joys in life than a perfectly done scallop.
Mr. BW ordered the monkfish on recommendation of our waiter. It was a tie between this and the John Dory fish. We all enjoyed his entree which was good, but unlike the other two, was not great.
The photo is bad, but the restaurant is tastefully done in a nautical theme. The waiters are even wearing cute uniforms!
Dessert was walnut cake. Okay to eat, but not wonderful.
Mr. BW ordered the greek yogurt, honey, and walnuts, which was delicious! But then again, I regularly have greek yogurt, honey, and some kind of nut (usually slivered almonds) for breakfast.

Our meal was delightful and Mr. BW and I will definitely be going back. It's an older crowd so there's not so much of the Dupont Circle hubbub, even on a Friday night, and the food is excellent.

Greek Taverna (Old Post Office)

2008-07-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sometime around noon, my stomach started grumbling and I decided to jump across the street to the Old Post Office and visit the food court.

The Old Post Office from across the street.
As you can see, it's a beautiful old building. They just don't make them like this anymore. Above, a statute of Ben Franklin, printer, philosopher, founding father (I'm not being a corn ball, this is what the statute actually says around the base).

As an aside, when you search on the US Post Office website for the nearest post office to my building (which is catty corner from the Old Post Office building), the nearest post office is called Ben Franklin Station. Now, you would be a very silly ridiculous little Asian girl to assume that the Ben Franklin Station Post Office is in the building called the Old Post Office building, with the statute of Ben Franklin outside. No, the Ben Franklin Station Post Office is actually across the street, in a nondescript building. Silly me.

Anyhow, back to the food. Mr. BW had kindly agreed to meet me for lunch and we decided to visit my favorite stop, Greek Taverna. We ordered two original gyros, one order of fries, a diet coke.

All this for less than $14! What a steal! A fancy place it is not:
But it sure is delicious.

Dino Restaurant

2008-07-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night after my facial, Mr. BW and our neighbor met me at Dino. Unfortunately for us, the heavens decided to open up right as we had reached the Cleveland Park metro area and so all three of us were drenched by the time we finally were settled in our seats.

After a quick browse at the menu, we decided to start with the "wine wednesday" special ~ 3 wines and an appetizer trio for $25.

They served, not surprisingly, three tasty italian wines. The first was poured into our glasses for us, with the other two to await patiently for their turn. I did not take a picture of the menu and it's not listed online, so I have no idea what the wines were (although the website does say they were from Montalcino). They were yummie though!

The appetizer trio was slightly disappointing. Starting from the top center: some sort of frittata with egg and mushroom, which was not delightful, but that may be because we were already cold and wet, so we desperately wanted something warm. Then, chicken pate on toast (delicious), some raw veggies for dipping in the balsamic reduction (center), and finally, three cheeses. By the time we'd shivered our way through the appetizers and most of our wine, so we decided against ordering entrees and to just head home instead. We got home and enjoyed two more bottles of wine (hey, the power went out temporarily, what else were we to do?) between the three of us. Needless to say, it was a bit too much wine for Mr. BW and myself especially in light of the minimal amount of food consumed. So, we had a few glasses of water and went to bed.

I would definitely try Dino again, especially during their special prix fix menu deals. It's a small, quaint little restaurant that definitely has a "family run" feel. And I love me that hearty italian dining. The "Wine Wednesday" special is definitely a deal to be had. The $25 price tag is imminently reasonable, basically, they're charging for the cost of the wine and giving out the appetizers for free. Had we ordered entrees (~ $20~$30/each), we could have continued to enjoy our wine and the total bill would have been around $50~$60/person, which is not terrible for a nice hearty italian meal with three wines to boot.

Tackle Box (Georgetown)

2008-07-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

Last night, we went to the Tackle Box at 32nd and M.

The ambiance: Designed to make you think you're in New England, but not quite there. First off, the restaurant is located in the heart of Georgetown, so it's very hard to go from bustling chic urban shopping area, to rustic and New England. Also, the air conditioning was either broken, not on, or not powerful enough. While the authentic buoys (purchased off ebay, I hear) hanging in the corners helped some, the contrast between inside and out was too much for this former New Englander.

The food: abundant and plentiful. I had the lobster roll with came with a healthy helping of tasty french fries ($19). Mr. BW had the fried scallops which came with grilled corn and a side salad ($13). We also got an order of calamari + spicy marinara to start. I had no qualms with the food, but my two dining companions were non-plussed. And by non-plussed, I mean, would not go again. Also, what piqued my interest initially was the promise of delicious pie, from former pasty chef at Citronelle.Mr. BW is a huge fan of pie and well, hands down his mom makes the best pie known to earth. He took one look at the purportedly fresh blueberry pie and decided to pass. So, no verdict this time, but he's eaten his fair share of delicious pie in his lifetime so that's sure to mean something.

The seating: casual seating on picnic tables. I like this in theory, but poorly executed given the location. See "The Ambiance"

Suggestions for improvement: crank up the a/c and rush the liquor license. Nothing screams "I need beer" more than fried seafood.

Final grade: B