A Foodie Trip to DC

Holy mackerel, it's been a while. Well, a few weeks ago I went up to DC with my sister for a mini-vacation. We lived up there for a few years and I was back up there for a stint as a congressional intern after college. It was fun revisiting our old haunts and discovering some fabulous eateries.

Some highlights...

Our first night we had dinner at Michel Richard's Citronelle. This was an amazing dining experience. You have the option of ordering a 10 course or 3 course menu, or ala carte. We opted for the 4 course, which actually was more like 6. It came with an amuse bouche and pre-dessert, plus we added a cheese course. The food was creative in design and scrumptious to taste. For instance, my first course was a mosaic of tartar, which meant each of the thinly sliced meats were arranged on the plate to form a mosaic design. The artistry in these dishes went far beyond taste... truly one of the best dining experiences I've ever had.

One other amazing item to note, Chef Richard was in the kitchen when we were there. The kitchen is completely open to the dining room (and there is a chef table as well that some lucky souls were dining at) so we could see in. So many 'celebrity' chefs have restaurants that they never seem to actually be at, not here.
Chef Richard was expediting food throughout the night, it was such a treat to look in and watch the magic happen. If you're in DC, make sure this spot is on your hit list.


Another spot on our food tour was Old Ebbit Grill, one of the oldest restaurants in the city. If there was such a thing as an operational restaurant museum, this would be it. Maybe it's because we had spent the day museum hopping, but you could really feel the history here. The mural's on the walls are favorites of many of our Presidents, the dark wood gives the place a special feel, and the food.... The crabcakes were amazing!! Having spent some of my formative years in Maryland, I am picky about my crabcakes. It pisses me off when I order them and I am served a fried blob of cornmeal or stuffing with some meat mixed in. At Old Ebbits you get a patty of lump crab meat that is so fresh, you'd think it had just been cracked.

Save room for dessert because the butterscotch blondie sundae will knock your socks off. Definitely it is one to share, my sister and I couldn't finish it. It was total butterscotch heaven.

For lunch on our museum hopping day we went to the Mitsitam Cafe in the National Museum of the American Indian. This is not your average museum cafeteria. There are 4 or 5 different menus all offering items from the native peoples of the different regions of the US. It's a 'small plates' kind of place, but prices add up quickly. I had 3 different items, that plus a drink was over $20. The food was really good though, I particularly liked the cucumber soup from the South American menu and the squash and bean tamale pie from the Meso America menu. There is plenty for meat eaters to choose from, but vegetarians will really enjoy all the different options.

My last DC shout out is going to the Lincoln's Waffle Shop. It's just across the street from Ford's theater, right on the corner of 10th and E. They are a few spots down from their old location, so some people might think they are closed. They are very much open, 7 days a week serving breakfast (on the cheap!) all day. Of course I had the waffle, and it was good. Pretty standard stuff really, but they are freshly made and the batter is tasty. The true standout for me was the salmon cake. My boyfriend makes them for brunch every so often, and these were as good as his, but bigger and flatter. It could easily be a side instead of sausage, which is what I was going for. Again, it's mostly meat, not alot of filler which I dig. I didn't try it, but something worth mentioning... Scrapple is on the menu here. I was not brave enough to try it, but I wish I had been.

As soon as my computer is back from the shop, I'll edit this post and add some pics.

The Purple Olive by Annette

I had the pleasure of dining at the Purple Olive of St. Augustine this past weekend. There are plenty of eateries to choose from, but this one caught my attention from the positive reviews on both Urban Spoon and Yelp.

Florida has to be the strip mall capitol of the world. Like many hidden gems, don't let the location put you off. Yes, it's in a strip mall. When you open the menu, you forget all about the location.


When we first sat down, we were treated to a small bowl of some deliciously marinated olives. I tasted a little fennel and mint in the olive oil, being an olive lover I was very happy to see these little gems right away. We were so impressed with them in fact, we started with an Olive and Cheese plate from the appetizers. This was a huge plate, easily enough for 4-6 people. Unfortunately the olives from the first sitting didn't make it on to the appetizer plate. We did have some black olives stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, and what I would call nicoise olives those were the highlight. There were some Spanish olives on the plate that seemed to be extra salty. I wish those had been marinated or in a different brine.

Another shiny delight was the sesame cilantro marinade on the house salad. WOW. I would have walked out with a bottle of that stuff if it were possible. It was lightly gingered, just enough to give flavor and a little bit of heat. The sesame and cilantro worked so nicely together, it was just delicious.

For dinner I ordered locally caught Triggerfish that was served blackened with wok-fried veggies and I opted for a side of kale with golden raisins and pine nuts over the cashew pesto linguine. It was topped with a lump crab slaw that was siracha spicy and simply divine. I really couldn't get enough of this, but also couldn't finish (damn those tasty olives!)



Steven opted for a classic dish from the menu, lamb shank over mashed potatoes. The meat was prepped skillfully and just fell off the bone. Sometimes lamb can be fatty, but this was cooked perfectly and the gravy was very tasty.

This is certainly a place I would teleport to Orlando if possible, in lieu of that, I'll definitely return when traveling to St. Augustine.

Blood Into Wine

Alright all you Tool and A Perfect Circle wine fans out there! There will be one showing of the new documentary, "Blood Into Wine", at Enzian on Wednesday, March 24th at 6:30pm.

"Blood Into Wine" is a documentary about the struggles of making wine. It tells the story of Caduceus, the winery in Arizona owned by frontman Maynard Keenan.

I won't be able to make it to the showing....but will definitely catch it on DVD.

Altos de la Hoya

Well, it turns out you can't go wrongo with the Monastrell in general.

I first tasted this grape years ago, after I read a description that compared it to chocolate milk. (At the time I was in a low carb phase. I hadn't had chocolate or milk for quite some time. Hence why I tried the wine.) I was so impressed by the subtleties that I bought a case and gave many bottles out to friends for the holidays. And at usually under $10 retail, you really can't beat that.

The grape itself originates in the Rhone Valley of France where it is called the Mouvedre. Like I tell my students all the time: Same grape, different country, different name. You might have already tried it and not realized it as the Mouvedre is one of the 13 varietals that are permitted in Chateauneuf du Pape.

We ordered the Altos de la Hoya at OLV the other night with dinner. I do have one (or two) gripes with my new favorite restaurant. Remember OLV, all of your customers are not idiots. This wine was listed as a "Spanish Red" with no further information about the grape. However, the region Jumilla was listed on the menu so I was able to deduce that it was a Monastrell. Our server, however, was unable to answer our questions, even though the grape was listed on the front label.

Regardless, I loved this wine! Easy to drink with not too many tanins, it was a perfect match with our Beef Skewers. The wine had hints of black pepper and a fantastic grape flavor. I know what you're thinking. Grape flavor? But it was more of a rich jam-iness with some plums thrown in. I give it two thumbs up.

Food Fight Online Challenge

This was kinda fun. An online Food Fight bracket challenge to find the most popular food in America. My final round was Hamburger vs. Bacon. Guess what I put down for America's favorite food!

http://www.tourneytopia.com/WhereTheLocalsEat/food/default.aspx
The overall champ gets an Apple Ipad!

You Can't Go Wrongo with the Dongo

A friend of ours coined that phrase when trying the 2007 Monastrell from Wrongo Dongo. It's a flavorful yet inexpensive red wine from Spain that is light enough to compliment just about any dinner, but strong enough to enjoy on its own. Fruity, a little smokey, not real sweet.

Last night we sampled the 2008 with a fancy new label and much higher price point (when ordering at Dexter's, that is). For me, the first taste was more tart than I expected, but as the wine sat, the subtle fruit flavors I remembered developed and was a nice addition to the meal. Retail seems to be under $10\bottle, so like we said, you can't go wrongo!

Baldwin Park Food and Wine Fest

So...I'm seriously considering attend the event this year. Anyone interested? I had fun the last time that I went. At least from what I remember I had fun. It is all you can eat and drink after all.