Town House

Town House in Chilhowie got plenty of buzz from the New York Times and Washington Post. But who in their mind would schlep more than 5 hours (I'm talking past Roanoke) to eat what the proprietors call "destination dining."  Us!

What we ate is similar to what others have had.

The course selections at Town House varied between 1-3, 4, and ten, but we were told we could get pretty much however many we want.  We ended up going with 10 just to say hey, we're on vacation, let's celebrate.  Why not?

It was a really interesting meal that was an adventure, but I can't say that the majority of dishes made me crave more.  I was more like hmm, what an interesting flavor/combination/texture.  In two cases I really didn't dig what I ate--both involved a little too much "essence of the sea" for me.  Part of it is that I don't have the most sophisticated palate (why must I be so self-depracating?).  I'm just looking for good eats.

I appreciate what the chefs are doing at Town House--there is no doubt that they are on the cutting edge of culinary creativity.  They are bravely playing with flavors (and nitrogen) in a way that would scare a lot of people, but it's cool.  The service was amazing, another group at the restaurant was super-friendly and chatty (even gave us some Asheville recommendations), and we did indeed see the chefs' faces (ahem, where are you Jose Andres???).  Maybe if we're ever driving to North Carolina again we'll go back.  We'll definitely recommend the exciting adventure to friends (at least those who are up to it).  I'll label the dishes below and note the favorites. 

No food in this picture, just an action shot of downtown Chilhowie, population 1,746, right across from the restaurant.

I don't have a photo of the amuse, but it was the black olive cookie sandwich with a lemony olive oil inside, and grated parm-reg on top. It was wonderful.

 Chilled vegetable "minestrone."  We liked this light broth with fresh, thinly rolled vegetables.  And it was beautiful

Brulee of Smoked Salmon Roe.  The description says "coconut, mustard, avocado and banana, celery, cilantro confit, and let me tell you, I was not looking forward to this.  But the surprise was that I really liked this dish--it might have been my favorite.  It was sweet and salty, the crunchy glass-like top contrasted with the soft squishier inside, and it was just fun.  Party in the mouth.  Not fishy at all.

The Orange from Valencia.  OK.  This I don't know about--there were cold mussels and other items inside this orangey orange-shaped hollow shell.  It was interesting, but not for me.

Foie Gras Butter.  Watermelon radish, hazelnut, dark ale, lovage, rye.  Not as exciting as it sounds.

 OMG.  These piping hot black pepper potato rolls were AMAZING.  Seriously, they appeared mid-meal and our server was all, "would you like more?" and we were like, "do birds have wings?"  I would love the recipe for these and then I'd just keep trying it until it worked.

I don't have a photo of the Scrambled Egg Mousse with birch syrup & sweet spices, but I rather liked it.  It was like a foamy pureed omelet, but not in a gross way, and it was kind of sweet, served in a martini-ish glass if my memory serves me right.  I definitely liked it, but didn't need quite so much.  One or two spoonfuls would have sufficed.

 Chorizo Boillon ("with various Spanish influences").  This dish (described here) confused me.  The broth was good, and then there were all these little bits--cheese, chorizo oil, cuttlefish, ink (!).  Let's just say I found out the hard way that ink is NOT for me. J liked this dish.  I get parts of it--the cuttlefish melts in your mouth--for a second you think, was that fish or cheese?

Ah, the sea.  Cured Hamachi & Bev Eggleston's Pig Tail.  This is the dish that scared me the most just from the name.  But so did the brulee of smoked salmon roe, and that turned out fine!  So I'm glad I didn't cross both off the list by judging on the names, but I ended up splitting the difference--liked the roe, but didn't care for this one.

Thorntree Farms Lamb.  Why not?  I bet I would have loved this lamb if I hadn't already been stuffed to the gills.  After eating so much I almost felt sick (I don't remember feeling this way at Citronelle, but maybe the portions were smaller and spaced out further??? Anyone?)

Foggy Ridge's Pomme Gris.  Similar technique to the hollowed "Valencia Orange" but this time it was actually dessert--phew.  A spicy but creamy chocolateyness was on the inside ("aerated milk chocolate, yellow curry, roasted peanut, cumin") but the frozen shell just didn't do it for me.  I didn't want something so cold.

I don't have a photo of my favorite dessert (and favorite dish??), Purple Mountains: latte, anise seed, black sesame oil, yogurt, poached fig.  It was rustic looking and richly delicious.  A perfect note to end on.

Chefs love their nitrogen.


Town House
Town House Blog (Just because you won't be back for a while doesn't mean you want to miss out on the new creations--they are like art.)
132 E. Main Street
Chilhowie, VA (Note to the city slickers: if you think Ballston is far, you ain't seen nothing yet.)

Straits of Malaya

Wow, we had way too much fun at Straits of Malaya.  We were joined by J&J, and after getting a private tour of their new abode we headed into the neighborhood to find some good eats.  First: the weather.  That day was AMAZING.  I know you may not be able to recreate that for your first visit (the season is basically over), but keep in mind that Straits has lovely rooftop seating.  Second: the service!  Our problem was typical: we wanted everything on the menu and didn't know where to start or what to choose.  Our server was so helpful--we basically gave her the list of things we wanted and she told us which dishes were similar or had similar sauces so we could have more variety.  Yay!

We enjoyed (and correct me if we're not remembering right--it was a while ago and I didn't take notes because it tends to embarrass my friends) the following:  the curry puffs (less puffy than you might imagine, still delicious), five spice roll,  chicken with basil, curry Chinese eggplant with chicken, and cha kway teow, a noodle dish billed as the chef's favorite.

We had a lot of flavors and textures going on, and I'd recommend everything we tried, which leads me to think a lot of the other items are worth trying on our next trip to the Straits. The place had a reliable, neighborhood feel where you know you'll get a good meal, you won't be rushed, and you also won't need to wait for hours to experience some mediocrity. Would I drive to Vienna Metro, head into the city on a Saturday evening, and hit Straits up as a date night destination?  Probably not.  But if me and my guy were strolling around the city on a temperate evening, wondering where we could have a quiet, yummy dinner that wouldn't break the bank, and by the way can it be outside?  And we don't want to wait?  Straits is that.  We'll be back, but not before we explore the rest of our pals' new neighborhood.

Straits of Malaya
1836 18th Street NW
Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle

Postcard from Denver

A while back we hit up Denver and were pretty surprised about how young and hip that town can be.  Every which way you look you'll see a converted warehouse that's now a funky loft, and compared to D.C. prices it's a steal.  Below are some things to eat on your next trip to the Mile High City--we stayed in LoDo, and that's where all these places are!

Lime is a local chain that looked pretty fun, so on our first night we figured it would be a good quick bite.  The freshly made chips were pretty addictive, so be careful not to fill up.  The Southwest Eggrolls were lightly fried and filled with beans, corn, etc.  My salad with shredded beef was good but relatively uneventful, and J had the margarita chicken with beans and rice.  The portions were pretty huge, as was that bowl of chips.  Yikes!

For J's birthday we had reservations at Rioja. Named after a region in Spain, this place doesn't actually specialize in Spanish food--surprise! We enjoyed a half pasta with peas and morels--it was perfect for the season. Peas scream springtime, and we'd been enjoying their presence in our pasta dishes lately. Next, the chorizo flatbread and pickled melon with fresh basil--great flavors and textures, and not too bready (a legitimate fear). Lamb medallions w/tricolored lentils--AMAZING. My exact notes are "Unbelievable. Best ever. Crust/crunch outside, perfectly cooked middle. So tender. So smoky." OK, so now I'm sort of hungry. I loved the pan-roasted halibut with Romesco sauce--it was sitting on asparagus and artichokes, all things green and happy. The chilled smores pot de creme with graham cracker sticks was like a childhood camping trip gone chic. For his birthday, J enjoyed free dessert with a candle and a card signed by the staff. Maybe the real joy was perusing the tea list. The after dinner mints were homemade sugar-coated mint leaves.

Coors Field has a lot to offer you--beers like Blue Moon round out the typical ballfield choices, and "Infield Greens" serves up salads to go with your Rockie Dog (all-beef foot long). And if you want hot chocolate with whipped cream, just ask one of the wandering vendors. YUM.

Last but CERTAINLY not least, we waited a very very very long time to enjoy brunch at Snooze.  I read that it was a must, and besides the fact that it was Mother's Day, it was still a shock to see moms and kids and babies and elderly folks OUTSIDE on this drizzle morning in a huge line.  Where I come from we make reservations for Mother's Day to avoid this kind of mess.  Or make her breakfast in bed.  Something like that! 

The 3-egg omelet with spinach, salsa (which they forgot), and chicken sausage was really tasty--the sausage wasn't chunky, it was almost ground up.  The toast seemed grilled, not toasted, which was a huge plus.  Even though I'm a fan of a fruit-filled, chunky jam/preserve/spread, the strawberry jam here was thin but delicious.  Even J dipped his bread in it, and he's not so jammy.  His corned beef hash was AMAZING--super thin and fresh, more shredded than chunky/piecey.  It was almost sweet, and according to him, it tops Good Enough To Eat--CRAZINESS.   On the drink side, the hot chocolate at Snooze isn't too rich--instead, it has a pleasing cinnamon thing going on. 

OK, and you cannot and will not (promise?) go to Snooze without getting a pancake.  If you think pancakes are dessert (hi!) and would rather have eggs, then make a friend split ONE with you--you can order single pancakes (they are still huge btw) on the "Ahh...la carte" menu.  We had the caramel cinnamon swirl pancake.  It was thick yet fluffy and light, almost spongy, but in a good way.  It had a little bounce!  This things was the thickest pancake I've ever seen.  It had pecans, cinnamon butter, white chocolate chips...it was insane, and also majorly delicious.  The decor was funky, with round tables and benches, cool lights, and bright colors.  And have I asked you yet, how freakin' cute is that coffee mug?  Seriously???

Fojol Bros. of Merlindia - Insights from Guest Blogger LB!

[Note: I know, more food from trucks?  Even though I don't work downtown, I don't want to keep you all from being informed about your options on wheels here in the District.  Below, the fabulous and generous LB guest blogged her recent food truck experience. Thanks, LB!!!! And thanks to Fojol Bros. Twitter Page for the picture.]

If you're anything like me, then deciding what to eat for lunch is the most difficult decision of your day.  No later than 12:01 p.m., M-F, the emails start filling up your Outlook inbox, asking about your lunch thoughts, or, if the time is getting late, offering up a hunger-themed haiku (or does that just happen at my office?).

Then the negotiations commence: "Not again--we just ate there last week!"; "The weather isn't cold enough yet for soup"; "I am so sick of sandwiches." ; "That place is too far to walk in this rain." "I am not paying 9 dollars for another crappy salad!"

Today's decision was made remarkably easy by the arrival of the Fojol Bros. of Merlindia, a self-described "Traveling Culinary Carnival."  That description is fairly accurate, if your impression of a carnival involves being served curry from costumed, mustached men in a food truck while your body involuntarily moves to the catchy music blaring from the speakers.

They have three size options: a "dingo" (one pick--$2), a "meal" (two picks--$6) or a "feast" (three picks--$9).  You make your picks from a rotating selection of offerings, and each includes basmati rice.  Today's meat options were curry chicken and chicken masala, and the vegetarian options were lentils and chickpeas.  I opted for an all-veggie meal of lentils and chickpeas, and one of the Fojol brothers said my mother would be proud.  

I'm no expert on Indian food, but I did spend three months in London, which makes me sufficiently credentialed.  The chickpeas were my favorite--great texture and flavor.  The lentils were a little mushy, but once I mixed them into the rice, I didn't notice the mushiness anymore.  However, I do like my Indian food spicy, and this meal was on the mild side--it could have used more heat. I also missed naan, but I guess that's too hard to prepare from a truck. Overall, though, it was a solid meal--one option I'll definitely suggest again, when next Tuesday's lunch negotiations begin.

Fojol Bros.

Location: changes daily

http://twitter.com/fojolbros

Man v. Food

I got an email from a PR person asking me to tell all 14 of my readers about this Wednesday's Man v. Food episode in Washington, where crazypants Adam will try to eat way too much way too fast (Travel Channel, 10pm).

But that just REMINDED me that I wanted to tell you (yes you!) that in December Man v. Food will be going where Guy Fieri has never been (much to my dismay), but where every good, scarlet-blooded American has felt outrageously full at 3am.

Obviously I'm talking about the Grease Trucks at Rutgers University. We all have our Trucks stories, a few summarized below.

1. Overnighting a Truck sandwich to a friend/boyfriend for birthday/just to say hi
2. Wee hours post-party sandwich
3. The time you thought you wanted a second sandwich
4. Post-rehearsal dinner snack with out-of-town guests
5. Pre-8:10 class on Voorhees Mall breakfast of egg & cheese on a bagel and a $1 (delicious) hot chocolate.

Do you have a good Trucks story? Leave it in the comments.

Confused? Click the links, read up. Basically, at the Trucks you can get a sandwich with your sides on it. So you're not sure if you want mozzarella sticks, fries, or chicken fingers. Why not put them all on a bun? No really, why not? There's no good reason why not. As they say in the parking lot where the trucks permanently reside: Just do it.

Other facts:

-That sandwich I mentioned is the Fat Darrell, and it was voted Best Sandwich by Maxim magazine. Wonder if the Travel Channel is gonna tell you THAT! 

-You can read about them on "This Is Why You're Fat."

- Vegetarians are welcome (a falafel sandwich is available). 

- I know Barry of the Fat Barry.

- This one time, there was drama.

Grease Trucks
Parking lot across from Voorhees Mall, corner of Hamilton & College Ave
New Brunswick, NJ

Image is probably the copyrighted R of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Dining Guide - My thoughts

Here you can find Tom Sietsema's 10th Dining Guide, for 2009.

My quick thoughts (because you care, really):

YAY!!!
- Poste. Love it.
- Corduroy. Obvi.
- Rasika
- 2 Amys
- I've never been to Volt, but I <3<3<3 Bryan Voltaggio on Top Chef. And that's enough for me!

HMMM...
- I don't love Jaleo. Maybe I've picked the wrong dishes, maybe it's inconsistent, or maybe it's just not the kind of food I like (I doubt the last one because I love love love most kinds of food).
- Eventide. Yep, I just can't really agree with you there, Mr. S.
- The service at Zaytinya can be spotty, and S confirmed that I'm not crazy when I say that sometimes dishes are CRAZY salty! And other times they aren't (I've made 7+ trips). So it's been weird, I actually stopped recommending it to people. But maybe I'd still rec for brunch, when it's quiet. It used to be one of my favorites, but it's turned love/hate. Not sure if Mike I. has anything to do with it sort of subconsciously.

ADDITIONS
A few amazing restaurants that would be on MY dining guide list but aren't on Tom's: Vermilion, Brasserie Beck.

And if Inn at Little Washington gets on, where is Town House in Chilhowie? Not worth it? Too far? How far is too far? Ethical questions, people. We're going to Town House next week, and I can't WAIT to tell you what we think about it!

COOL PLACES: I WANT TO GO TO THERE(S) (on the sooner side)
The Inn, Komi, Minibar, and Present. Prob Present is the one we'll go to soon--we drove by it the other day and did a forehead smack, "Ohh that's where it is!"

Stribling Farm & Chateau O'Brien Winery

When we went to Stribling Orchard for some last-minute apple picking, we had NO IDEA that Travel + Leisure had rated it one of America's Best Apple Picking Farms! Wowzers. Talk about impressive.

This place is great for kids and adults alike--and it doesn't hurt if the weather happens to be a perfect 75 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Just about an hour from the stressful, hustle-bustle city life is a place where your biggest problem is picking more apples than you can comfortably carry. Thirty acres of apples to roam around, marked by a color-coding system so you know what's in season and what's for baking v. eating.

Other things: Bring a picnic! And if you arrive in the early afternoon, please get in line for a pie BEFORE you pick--we waited more than a half hour on line in the store (which had treats like jams, preserves, honeys, bbq sauce (!!) not to mention the pies, breads, and turnovers) only to watch the last pie get sold. One mom pre-paid for 2 pies, and she was prepared to make her family wait 45 minutes until they were cooked and cooled. I KNOW that earlier the line wasn't nearly as long and they were not out of pies.

The only baked item left when we got to the front was this apple raisin bread. Darn.


I'm kidding about the darn, of course. This "bread" was like an enormous fluffy pastry. If you squeeze the loaf, it squished for you, then slowly rose back up. It was filled with fresh apples--not apple "flavor."

And did I mention they let you use adult tools?!

Stribling Orchard
Markham, VA
Getting there: You take 66, and then just hop off. Directions on the web site.

NEXT! Just like our previous U-Pick experience (Bluemont Vineyard after strawberry-picking at Great Country Farms ), tired out from our farmwork, we headed to the closest vineyard. About 2, maybe 3 minutes away is Chateau O'Brien.

The tasting room was CRAZY--there are two, one for the regular $5 tasting, and one for the $10 cellar tasting. We had enough standing around after the major line for our apple bread, and we were in need of a snack. A crusty baguette and cheese plate later, with a glass of apple wine (the owner said it's too sweet for him--on this beautiful day, especially after picking, I thought it was just right) and a glass of the Northpoint Red, and we were set up juuuust fine on the amazing patio.

What views! Also, we usually only go to wineries in the summer--an exception for the mulled wine at Swedenburg. So this is one of the few times we've really seen the grapes hanging on the vines.

They are pretty into Tannat--I'd like to try it on my next visit. Is it the grape that will make Virginia wines great, as the CO proprietors claim? Maybe. But it's not native, like Norton.

The inside space at Chateau O'Brien is also really nice--a lot of places in the NoVa wine trail are all about their outdoor space, with plenty of room for picnicking, etc, but very little indoor seating. Understandable, because mostly people come for a tasting. But I can see curling up in the coziness of Chateau O'Brien on a winter weekend afternoon, sipping a deep red wine in a big comfy sweater. Almost makes me look forward to winter...almost.


Chateau O'Brien
Markham, VA
Getting there: We just followed the signs after the exit for Markham.