Vapiano - NYC

A lot of times, my friends and I just want to meet up for a quick affordable meal to catch up, something low key. Yet, we always run in to the problem of finding a restaurant for our weekly catch up sessions - it seems like most restaurants in NYC are either too high maintenance or too casual, with more of a "fast food" feel. Even the restaurants that try to pass off as casual neighborhood spots have surprisingly high menu prices.

Some of my college friends had an event at a sports bar near Union Square one night, while I had another event to go to in the same area so we decided to go to Spice for relatively affordable Thai food. I had only been for lunch before and was surprised that the dinner scene was much more high maintenance (think over done mood lighting and house music). There was also much more of a wait than I expected. After waiting for around 30 minutes, and running late for our respective events, my friends and I opted to go across the street to Vapiano, and were rewarded with a much more serene and elegant (yet affordable and low key) atmosphere where we could actually hear each other talk. They have an interesting system where they give you a card, you go to the respective meal station where you order and get your food, they swipe your card at that station, and upon leaving, you give the card to the cashier who then charges you for the amount reflected on your card.

I loved the simple decor at Vapiano, they even had an olive tree growing in the restaurant (picture above is from their website). Their options of Italian and Mediterranean food also all sounded good. I only opted for a shrimp salad, but it was delicious! This is definitely at the top of my list now as a go-to for catch up sessions with friends.

Testaccio - Long Island City

I've been meaning to try out Testaccio since it opened last year and I read about it in this New York Times article: In New York Restaurants, the Rise of Rome. I hadn't gotten around to it though because when I looked at the menu prices, their pastas and second courses were all around $15-25. I just can't bring myself to pay those prices when I'm looking for a casual bite in my neighborhood. I have a mental barrier that, for $20+, it should be for a nice meal in Manhattan. However, I had a friend come visit me in LIC for lunch one day. I was craving Thai food at Tuk Tuk, but he wanted Italian, especially after I told him that the restaurant had been written up in the NYT. Testaccio it was!

When we walked into the restaurant, I was absolutely blown away by how gorgeous the interior was! They have a gorgeous wine wall/display that separates the main dining area from the seating on the second floor, and really nice chandeliers as well. You would definitely not expect to walk into a restaurant like this off of Vernon Blvd in Long Island City. It would seem more suited for Soho or Meatpacking.

The food also did not disappoint. The prices at brunch were a lot more reasonable than their prices at dinner. The bread basket alone made me happy - breadsticks, focaccia and regular rolls. The focaccia was warm and fresh (I hate when restaurants give cold bread baskets!) and I had to stop myself from filling up on that before our food came. I ordered the bucatini all'amatriciana (hollow spaghetti with guanciale, spicy tomato sauce & pecorino, $11), a nostalgic favorite from my study abroad days in Italy. It tasted exactly like I remembered from Florence.

We also got the "Pizza con i funghi" with tomato, mozzarella, cremini, shitake & porcini mushrooms ($12). The crust was very thin and crispy. I'm not a super huge fan of pizzas, but I enjoyed it.

I was already stuffed from the bread, pasta, and pizza, however my friend insisted that I order my favorite dessert, tiramisu...and really, he has the best ideas because this was definitely the star of the meal. When the dessert came out like this, we were extremely confused. The waiter chuckled at our expressions as he explained that it was a "do it yourself" dessert - you take the ladyfingers and dip it in the mascarpone sauce with bitter cocoa & the cup of espresso coffee next to it. I love interactive stuff and playing with food - so my friend and I loved this. Each component was also extremely well made.

I didn't notice it at the time, but the menu actually lists this dessert as "tiramisu fai da te," so it tells you that it is DIY.

The service at Testaccio was also really nice. About halfway through our meal, we were the only table at the restaurant and it was really nice having the restaurant to ourselves! This is a new neighborhood favorite of mine!

An afternoon in Northern Virginia

DF (dear fiance) was visiting for the week, so I took some time off Friday afternoon to take him around to do some touristy activities. I loved Mount Vernon when I went with my parents, so I wanted to show him around the place. I highly recommend Mount Vernon for a side trip to any DC vacation.  Unlike many DC attractions, entrance to the estate of Mount Vernon is not free because it is not funded by the government. The mansion and its grounds have been preserved by the Mount Vernon's Ladies Association since the civil war! Tickets start at $15 for basic admission to the grounds and tour of the mansion. You can select a boat cruise, or a tour of the nearby Grist mill (Washington's whiskey distillery) for about an additional $5 each. Both times I visited, I was tired after just touring the main estate, and did not get a chance to do the other two activities. There is also a "National Treasure" tour four times a day that you need to book in advance. It basically is a guided tour that takes you to the locations where the movie National Treasure was filmed. 

The facade of the mansion

The main house is full of history, from rooms where important meetings during the Revolutionary War were held to a prison key from Bastille, the stories the tour guide tell are like pages from a history textbook come to life.  It was eerily creepy to be standing in the same place where so much of the history we have studied took place, imagining General Washington standing on the same location that I was.

My favorite portion of the property is definitely the back porch:

View of the Potomac River

It has an amazing view of the Potomac! There's actually a path you can take that leads you to the banks of the Potomac river. Absolutely amazing view. Washington and his men (slaves) sold the fish caught from this river to support the plantation and its expenses. 

Cattle

The plantation is kept as a working farm to give visitors a real sense of what it was like during Washington's residency. So there are many farm animals roaming around. This is a view of the grazing cattle taken from the back porch of the mansion. The two white lines you see are the columns of the mansion. 

Pioneer Farm

They have even preserved a plot of farm land on the property. The focus of the picture above is a 16 sided barn, invented by Washington as a efficient way to de-seed wheat. In fact, one thing that really was apparent on this tour was how much Washington loved innovation, often experimenting with ideas to increase cost efficiency around the farm. I guess even rich plantation owners needs to try to reduce their bottom lines.

Turkeys at Pioneer Farm

We saw some turkeys running around the property. If you look closely between the wooden fence on the left, you can see a black and white sheep. The farm actually raises the sheep and sheers off their wool to use in demonstration of colonial fabric dyeing techniques. 

Aside from the farm, there is also a fruit and vegetables garden (which is a bit pathetic- perhaps due to the unprecedented summer heat), and George and Martha Washington's tomb, a replica of an actual slave house, and some great museum exhibits dedicated to Washington's life (be sure to watch all the movies, and take a look at his dentures). 

Anyways, I don't want to give too much away and spoil the experience of discovering the history of Mount Vernon for yourself. All I can say is that it is a highly recommended trip, and I find it more enjoyable than viewing artifacts behind the glass in a museum. Definitely worth the $15!

Since we were already in Virginia, we decided to have dinner in Old Town Alexandria and take advantage of the DC Restaurant Week happening in the metro area from Aug 16-22.  We chose Geranios on King St because it had the best Yelp! reviews of all the restaurants participating in the promotion. 

Geranios, Alexandria, VA

The exterior of the restaurant is so subtle it is easy to miss, but I do love the minimalist look, it looks clean and unassuming, like the appeal is in the quality of the food and the restaurant does not need to rely on a gimmicky look to draw in customers.

The interior is very cozy and light. The sunflower on the table really brightens the place and makes anyone instantly happier. However, I did notice it smelled OLD in the place. Maybe its due to the long colonial history of the town, but this musk of this restaurant made me feel like I was eating dinner in George and Martha Washington's attic. 

We opted for the restaurant week prix fixe here, which was actually four courses instead of the usual three course prix fixe. 

Our appetizers:

Potato Leek Soup with White Truffle Oil

Fried Calamari with Lemon Caper Sauce

I love soup, so naturally I had to order the soup item. The soup was pretty good, it tasted a bit like the base of clam chowder, but nothing to write home about. The calamari was not crispy as fried calamari usually is. It actually tasted a bit soggy. What's the point of breading if you are not going to fry it to make it crispy? Fried calamari seems like a difficult dish to mess up, but I could not eat this without the sauce. The lemon flavor of the dip was really strong, which I enjoyed. 

1st Entree:

Penne with seared tuna, olives, tomatoes, and capers

Wild Mushroom Risotto with Pancetta, Peas, Parmesan, and White Truffle Oil

The penne was drowning in sauce. DF thought it looked like store bought pasta sauce instead of freshly made. The use of marinated olives in this dish was a bad idea because it made it too salty. The seared tuna was edible but not flavorful or  memorable. DF and I both really enjoyed his risotto. It was warm and creamy, but chewy at the same time. The mushroom helped balance the richness of the white truffle oil, and the parmesan cheese went perfectly with the flavor of the risotto. They did pretty well with this dish. The one negative point is towards the end when I tasted an uncooked pea. 

2nd Entree:

Free Range Chicken Breast with Risotto, Pea Shoots, Mushrooms, and Sage

Atlantic Salmon with Mashed Potatoes, Pancetta, and Roasted Garlic and Shallots

I actually got the free range chicken as my second entree, but ended up switching with DF because I did not like the risotto. We thought the chicken was too tough, perhaps because it was free range, and the clumps of sage did not taste too great. Edible but not memorable. I enjoyed the salmon more because it was more agreeable to my palate. However, this does not mean this was a good dish. This is salmon cooked with a red wine sauce. The texture of the salmon felt like it was just cooked, not cooked well, but cooked just to get the job done, and perhaps overcooked. The meat was sticky to my teeth when I chewed on it and did not come off in pieces. Again, I really felt like the dish itself wasn't bad, but it is something I could get anywhere, even a food court. 

Dessert:

Pear and Almond Tart with Hazelnut Anglaise

Tiramisu with homemade Marscapone

First off, not too many things to say about the Tiramisu, it tastes as Tiramisu should. My one problem was the presentation. Doesn't it look like someone cut an edge piece off a large round piece of Tiramisu? And not much was done with the presentation besides drawing a sauce moat around it. A nice fruit piece, like raspberry, would make it look a lot prettier. 

The pear in the tart tasted like boiled pear, which could be how it was meant to taste. Its not necessarily bad, but it was light in flavor. The almond tart however was VERY dry. It was hard for me to eat this and I really considered asking for a glass of milk to dunk it in. 

As you can see, I did not enjoy my dining experience here. Although the price was good for a 4 course meal, when the check came, I felt it was overpriced for the quality of food we got. If this is their level of culinary skill, I am not sure why their Yelp review is so good. I will say that it was quite a popular restaurant and there was a line of patrons waiting to be seated. So I guess there are people who like this type of food. Here's my breakdown for Geranios

Pluses:

Good service (the waiters here will pull out your chairs for you when you return to the table)

Good location (there's a lot of stores to explore before and after dinner)

Mushroom Risotto

Quick food service

Discount for orders outside of prime time (before 7pm and after 9pm)

Cheap wine list

Minuses:

Food quality

very small selection of non-alcoholic beverages (the usual soda selection, and cranberry juice)

For good Italian food, I would try Il Pizzico in Rockville. The exterior looks shady but the food is delicious! Maybe one day I will do a review of them as a comparison. 

Night in Old Town

After dinner we walked along King St to get to the waterfront. Old Town has many many cute unique shops to look around. A passerby said that Old Town is like the SoHo of Virginia, which I think is a fitting description. I found a shop named Treat that claimed to offer designer clothing at sample sale prices. Unfortunately it was closed so I could not check their merchandise out, but they are in the process of setting up an online store www.shoptreat.com 

I did visit a great home design store called Decorium

Decorium, Alexandria, VA

I was attracted to the store by its fantastic decor. It was like a chandelier factory crashed into a botanical garden.

Entrance of Decorium

Interior of Decorium

The interior of Decorium reminds me of the first floor of ABC Carpet and Home in NYC (which I LOVE) because its like a bazaar type of layout. There are a lot of fun and pretty goodies to look at in the store, but the prices are ASTRONOMICAL! So if you're not rich, I'd recommend just doing some window shopping. 

Another good store to browse through is P.C. Art, which showcases and sells products created by local artisans. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures, but some of these items are truly innovative and everything looks very well made. Its a good place to browse or pick up a unique gift. 

Old Town Alexandria also offers some very interesting street performers. The one's we saw on our visit were mostly performing music. This man above was performing on "glass harps." He was incredible! I was worried someone would tip over the table and all his glasses would break. 

We finished the night off at the Marina.

Marina at night

Having been to many waterfronts over the years, I don't think the Marina at Alexandria can compare to Fisherman's Wharf, Navy Pier, or even the South Seaport in NYC. There were only a few restaurants and nothing much to do.

Overall, I think Old Town Alexandria is good to visit if you will be in the area. Not really a place to drive out of the way for. The ambiance of the neighborhood is very romantic, but you can probably find better food in the city, and the shopping is pretty pricey.