Sunday, May 1, 2011

Spring in DC

We took advantage of an unexpectedly sunny day and went to visit the US Botanical Gardens:


It's a rather small garden (duh! in the middle of the city!) but you can definitely spend a good hour or so looking at the beautiful flowers. They have an especially beautiful room of orchids.

The museums close rather early here, 5:30pm, so we of course went looking for something yummy for our tummies.

We found Pitango about a 15 minute walk away in Penn Quarter. Pitango serves gelato and sorbets made with all natural and organic ingredients. It's rather pricey, ~$5 for a small cup, but eating well is worth it!

Pitango Gelato - 413 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20004

We had pomegranate and white grape fruit. The pomegranate did not taste as tart as I imagined, but the grapefruit is quite sour and tasty - just like biting into a fresh grapefruit, minus the peeling.

For dinner we went next door to...

Oyamel, 401 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20004
Instead of bread, they serve complimentary chips and salsa.
I decided to eat here because I saw them make fresh guacamole tableside through the window. One of the rare times I go to a restaurant without first consulting Yelp. So, guess what was our first dish?
This fresh guac course was around $14, and is definitely meant for a party of 4. I was stuffed to the brim after finishing the salsa and guac.

We had the drink special Maximillian Affair
and Oyamel's classic Ponche.
Neither were really memorable or tasty

Oyamel serves tapas style dishes (Antotijos) and some menu choices were quite unique and exotic:

- Coctel de camaron y jaiba: Shrimp and crab served with tomato sauce, avocado, red onions, and tortilla chips -Tinga Poblana: stew of shredded chicken with potatoes, chorizo, and chipotle , topped with white onion.
-Chapulines: sauteed grasshoppers, shallots, tequila, guacamole
-Huachinango a la Veracruzana: seared red snapper Veracruz-style, with tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, chiles, olives and capers
- Nopal asado con salsa molcajete: Grilled fresh cactus paddles served wtih a salsa molcajete of grilled tomatoes, tomatillos, green onions, chilantro and green chiles.
Review:
My favorite dish is by far the shrimp and crab ceviche. I could eat this 24/7! Actually, my goal will be to reproduce this dish so I could actually have anytime anywhere. Imagine lounging by the pool and snacking on some fresh shrimp and crab meat served cold with the perfect hint of citrus.
The chicken taco is decent. Chipotle level for me. Which is not bad, since I love Chipotle.
The grasshopper taco = gross! We got this to be adventurous, because honestly, how many restaurants out there serve grasshopper? BUT...at the end we played rock paper scissors to see who will finish it. When it first comes out, it doesn't look like grasshopper, more like carne asada. But the sauce was too intense and not anywhere close to tasty (too much tequila?). To me it tasted a bit smoky/burnt. And although the sauce was strong, it wasn't strong enough to make you forget you are eating tiny grasshopper legs. Basically, it was two awful things at ones. Your taste buds are unhappy, and your brain is trying to make you puke by painting a vivid picture of dead grasshoppers as you feel their legs crunching between your teeth. Try it to be adventurous! and never touch it again!
The red snapper and cactus paddle are both good, but the sauce on top tastes very similar for both. The cactus paddle was another adventurous choice. I believe we had the prickly pear cactus. Apparently, cactus is very citrusy! as in super sour! This dish would have probably been better as a baby appetizer, because there is only so much sour one can take in one meal.

Overall, this restaurant would be a good place for a date or brunch. The ambiance is very bright and festive, the restaurant itself is rooming and welcoming. But I feel like its the best enjoyed when the weather's nice and sun is bright. I wouldn't make a point to go downtown just to eat here, but if I'm in the area, I'd definitely drop by for some fresh guac and ceviche.

My fav decor item: an orange flower "roof"
and the mexican infused decor:

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