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:

Kin Shop - NYC

I'm a big fan of Top Chef, so Perilla (Top Chef Harold Dieterle) has always been on the top of my restaurants that I would like to try in NYC. It's one of the favorite restaurants of some of my friends in the city and it's gotten really good Yelp reviews. ...I still haven't been there yet, BUT I did get to go to his newer restaurant Kin Shop which is Thai fusion. One of my friends always insists on Asian food whenever we go out to eat, so I chose Kin Shop for her birthday dinner!

I really liked the understated decor of Kin Shop - it feels relaxed and doesn't try too hard. There is a green motif throughout and the marble-top bar area has gilted gold accents that gives the restaurant a bit of understated glamour.

I loved that the menu had a mini "glossary" explaining many of the menu items on the back page:

The food definitely did not disappoint either. The noodles were good, but paled in comparison to the red snapper in green curry. The red snapper was perfectly tender and the sauce was so good that both my friend and I used our roti (which we ordered as a side) to soak up all the leftover sauce. This was definitely one of the more memorable and unique fish dishes that I've had in a while.

Fresh Egg Noodle & Maitake Mushroom Broth poached duck egg, green onions & spinach ($14)

Green Steamed Red Snapper cashews, bok choy & kabocha squash ($27)

The restaurant's dessert menu was extremely limited but we decided to go with the passionfruit pudding with buttermilk sherbet, topped with candied cashews. My friend thought the pudding was a little too tart for her taste - which was perfect for me because I prefer tart desserts nowadays and I actually thought the buttermilk sherbet was too sweet for me.

For those that live in the West Village/NYU area, this is the perfect neighborhood restaurant. Amazing food and it doesn't feel like it's trying too hard. (Lately, I've been feeling like a lot of restaurants in NYC are just too high maintenance!) Perfect for when you can't think of a restaurant to go to (although given its popularity and rave reviews, you might end up with a long wait...).

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!

Alpha Fusion - NYC

So it's been a while since our last post, keeping up with a blog is a lot harder than we thought it would be! Today's errands took me to the Penn Station area and lunch was at Alpha Fusion. I had heard that their Chelsea location was really good and they had really unique and inventive sushi rolls - like the kind from California that I always miss. Then Alpha Fusion came out with a Living Social coupon offer - $25 for a $50 gift certificate, which I quickly grabbed up. The 34th Street location is in kind of a random location between 8th and 9th - it's actually next to a small parking lot, and the inside wasn't too great either. Actually the inside was fine by itself, it had a modern decor, but they opened the restaurant to the outside that day so I couldn't really get past the random location. I don't know how to explain it...it seemed a little strip mall-ish to me. I guess it would be an okay place if you are already in the area but based on the atmosphere and out-of-reach location alone, I don't know if I would come back here.

The food didn't make up for the location either. First off, we got the "Spicy Tuna on Pringles with Black Tobiko." Yes...that's raw tuna on a Pringle. I really liked the novelty factor, and their spicy tuna is pretty good, but I don't think it was particularly enhanced by the potato chip at all. I actually didn't really notice it.

For sushi rolls, we got: the Volcano (chicken tempura roll topped with spicy tuna and chili pepper), Red Hot Dragon (shrimp tempura roll topped with spicy tuna and crunchy), and the Spicy Alpha (crunchy spicy salmon roll topped with tuna, salmon, and avocado) - each around $14. None of these rolls really stood out to me - I don't think their sushi rice was made that well. It seemed like regular white rice to me and didn't hold together well on some of the rolls (there was also just too much rice in my opinion). My favorite of the three would be the Red Hot Dragon, if I had to choose. They give a fair amount of spicy tuna on top of the Red Hot Dragon - the spicy tuna was probably my favorite part. As for the Volcano roll, it was my first time having chicken in a sushi roll...and I just don't think it's meant to be. If it was just chicken and rice - sure. But adding spicy tuna to fried chicken didn't do it for me.

The service at the restaurant was really nice though. They were attentive and I think the bartender was trying out different drink recipes at the time - the manager came around with free shots for us to try. However, my dining partner was dreadfully hungover from the night before, so we politely declined.

Alpha Fusion was definitely a good value with our gift certificate, but it probably won't be a repeat for me. The Chelsea location might be better? I also didn't think these rolls compared to the sushi I had in California!

I'm back! with tons of FOOD!

In this day and age, living without internet is extremely inconvenient! But I was determined to not fall into the trap of Comcast, so I chose to live in the stone age for awhile. Thus, I was not able to blog about my gluttonous activities for quite a while. But now I'm back to civilization. However, it's been so long since I took these pictures, I have very vague memories of the meals. So I'm just going to post it all in one giant brunch edition post.

44 & X - 622 10th Ave, New York, NY 10036


My opinion:

This place is definitely my go to brunch spot. Ambiance is very bright and pretty, with a fresh rose on every table. (The bathroom is magnificently decorated with candles and roses!) The cute waiters wear tight t-shirts that say "Heaven in Hell" (lol, get it?), food is solid, AND instead of bread, you get muffins and jam.

Good Enough To Eat - 483 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024



Review: The highlight of this meal was the strawberry butter! I could eat that stuff all day every day. Other than that, this place is pretty ordinary in my opinion. The restaurant is pretty small and for some reason it's very popular. So prepare to wait in line to be seated.

Thanksgiving Dinner - Home, NYC, cooked by roomie

Ever seen how brussel sprouts grow naturally?
$1.99 per STALK at the grocery store in Chelsea Market. It's a Thanksgiving miracle! Picture shown half "de-sprouted." Roasted in the oven with oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Addictingly delish!
Lobster Thermidor. Lobster purchased from Fresh Direct. So fresh that after being in the fridge for 3 nights and 2 days it was still alive! Poor lobster, thank you for providing us sustenance.

Cornish Hen stuffed with apple stuffing? Raw hen and mashed potatoes in background both from Fresh Direct. Apple stuffing - randomly made up.
A view of our humble but fulfilling thanksgiving feast.

Cafe Henri - 1010 50th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11109



Review:
Lol, as you can see, I was too busy eating that I forgot to take a pic of the escargot until there was only 1 left! I love that there is a good brunch spot right in LIC. So those days when I'm too lazy to commute into the city, I can enjoy a relaxing meal just a few steps away from home. The food here is pretty typical of what you'd think of when you say brunch. I thought the savory crepes were quite special and not something you can find in ever NYC brunch spot. We went during a cold winter morning, so the hot chocolate was especially inviting. They present it in such a large cup! The one I got has Grand Marnier mixed in. It actually became a bit too bitter for me to handle, I would have preferred something lighter and sweeter. But I have the commend their service. I asked for my left over hot chocolate to go and they gave me a piping hot cup of it. So they must have either heated it up again, or gave me a brand new cup! It was very thoughtful.

Uncle Ben's Chili Bowl- 1213 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009Review:
Uncle Ben's Chili Bowl is a DC food institution. It's beloved by everyone from Bill Cosby to Barack Obama, who are the only people allowed to receive free food from this chili joint. The restaurant is right next to the metro exit and very easy to find as it has a patchwork multi colored bear randomly sitting outside. Due to its popularity, its almost always crowded and being inside can be a bit claustrophobic. We ordered a half smoke and some chili fries. To be honest, the chili was tasty but I did not think it was extraordinary. The half smoke hot dog with chili is definitely a better choice than the chili fries which just weighed you down.

M. Wells - 21-17 49th Ave, Queens, NY 11101

Review:
This place was quite a shocking contrast for me. It's located in a pretty isolated area in the industrial section of Long Island City. It's basically an old fashion diner cart plopped on the side walk of an everlasting construction area. There is very little seating due to the size limits of the restaurant and nearly no space to wait your turn. The plus is that in such a small area, there is nowhere to hid the kitchen, so you can basically watch your food being made. The menu itself is quite different than expected. It includes upscale restaurant faves such as bone marrow and foie gras. I ordered the Biscuit and Jam and was surprised at what I received. Visually, it looked like a mess. But the apple sauce like raspberry "jam" was quite delish and refreshing. We were served our order of steamed eggs with bonito flakes in a cute little cauldron. I especially enjoyed this dish since it reminded me of the steamed eggs my mom made for me when I was still living at home. I have to say, I've only seen this dish in Chinese and Korean restaurants, so it was pretty unexpected for me to find it at M. Wells. That bone marrow you see? Hides a couple of escargots underneath all that marrow! From our entrees, the one that stood out the most was the lobster roll. It was decently sized and you can taste each bite of the fresh lobster meat. The one I enjoyed least was my breakfast sausage. I really just picked it for the "pickled jalapenos" that was on it, bad idea. It was too heavy for breakfast. Overall, I felt this place was a bit overrated. True it has a creative menu, but the taste was just not there for me to make that trek out to this part of town again.

My Favorite & Most Important Meal of the Day

I am obsessed with breakfast and brunch foods. I could eat breakfast foods any time in the day. This morning, I made myself french toast for breakfast, and for lunch, I made scrambled eggs with chiptole salsa and just buttered toast (plain butter on white toast is such a simple comfort). I felt like the scrambled eggs deserved a special post because of my newly discovered trick of putting MAYONNAISE in EGGS. I have neverrr heard about this idea, but this morning, I couldn't think of what I wanted to eat for breakfast so I googled "easy breakfast recipes" and found suggestions on adding a little bit of mayonnaise (1 tsp. per 2 eggs) to eggs (I then opted to make the eggs for lunch, not breakfast). They came out delicious! The eggs had a much springy-er texture. I actually haven't made scrambled eggs in a while - I usually eat sunny side up eggs, but after discovering this trick, I might be making it for breakfast more often!