Last Day of July

[Today's photo: storms knock down trees, and it's not only scary looking, it's really dangerous.]

Let's do a little roundup of my favorite late-July links as we ring in the new month.  I love new months.  Sure, rent is due, but this August my cousin is getting married on the first day of the month!  And as the last month of the Jewish year, yiiiikes the High Holy Days are right around the corner. 

State Dinner's Taste of Northern Michigan has a spectacular burger that we thankfully heard more about. I don't know when I'll go to Michigan...ever...but if I do, I need to make a sort of pilgrimage for that burger.

Love this map with descriptions of NoVa neighborhoods and the restaurants that live there, from DCLovesfood. 

You want hot curry?  Well, read about someone eating it over at I Flip For Food, and then check out this picture of someone MAKING it with a gas mask on, from the WSJ Photo Journal.  Love that photo.  Speaking of photos, check out the burgermobile on the Kansas City stretch of Scout NY's road trip.

Another NJ strip mall gem from eNJoyNJ!

I'm also happy to report that Google Analytics is back up and running, providing the following fodder--these are some keywords people used to find iEatDC via search engine:

*  i basically made love to that duck, to be honest witchu
*  pistachio and funion pizza
*  where can i get pickles in a barral [sic] in vineland
*  injera kosher for passover [STILL?!?!?!]
*  patrick o'connell plaid jacket
*AND no fewer than FORTY-EIGHT different searches leading to the blog related to the Pea Puree Debacle.  One person actually just typed "pea puree debacle."  Others were genuinely and earnestly seeking answers. "did alex on top chef really steal ed's pea puree?"  "did the other chefs on top chef know that alex stole the pea puree for hi winning dish?"

Hope you had a wonderful July but have an even better August!  And what in the world is the August shake of the month at BGR???

Top Chef DC Episode 7 Recap

[In today's photo, let's celebrate the fact that I did NOT have to take the bar exam today, and that my friends who did are done...or at least, almost done.]


The Quickfire:
Republican Aaron Schock from the 18th District of Illinois 'splains the Toothpick Rule to the cheftestants. He's young, but he's smart.  He graduated college in two years. Create a whole dish packed into that toothpick bite in 30 minutes. J wants Andrea's fried chicken and waffle on a stick.
Alex, Ed, and Kelly were at the bottom.  Kevin, Angelo, and Stephen were at the top, and Angelo (and his cucumber cup) took it.  It was "like fireworks" in Rep. Schock's mouth.  Padma's braid is way too long, and she's wearing baggy cargo capris...eek.

Elimination Challenge: The Power Lunch.  They are going to take over The Palm.  They draw knives for the protein.  I think Kelly is right that Amanda will be slammed for breaking down the Porterhouses into filets and NY strips.  I'm not shocked at all that Angelo isn't familiar with the power lunch.  Anyone else digging the amped up music as the time ticked down?

Exec VP of The Palm lets them know that the winning dish is going on the menu in DC and their smiling face will go on the wall with the other famous photos.  There was a pea puree debacle.  The diners were Mark Warner, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, John Podesta, and Bruce Bozzi (Exec VP).  Kelly O'Donnell, Luke Russert, Savannah Guthrie, and Art Smith (of the local Art & Soul and Obama Chicago favorite Table Fifty-Two).

Kelly and Amanda on the steaks, and Kelly's was a bit salty.  Andrea and Tiffany with swordfish; Andrea's is maybe too sweet and Tiffany's is great but overcooked.  Mark Warner's tie is zesty, and he thinks Tiffany's fish is, too!  Alex's salmon is well-received, and Stephen's is not in symphony like Alex's was.  It has a "heaviness to it."  Lobster from Angelo was chewy, and the foam was "strange."  Ed's lobster was better, but the peas were unnecessary.  Neither Kenny nor Kevin aced the lamb.

Alex, Tiffany, and Ed were on the top.  Chef Smith loved that pea puree, the one that everyone thinks Alex stole from Ed.  Alex's salmon and pea puree wins gold!  Awkward.

Kevin, Andrea, and Kelly were at the bottom.  Kevin's lamb was overcooked and tooo spicy.  Kelly was salty mcsalterson.  And Andrea cooked food that she's done before--if they wanted that food, they would have come to your restaurant (says the judges). Kelly cries--this is me not caring that you weren't sure about the lines between bland, zazzy, and totally overpowering.  Andrea goes home--bummer, she's a nice gal.  I think she never got over being slammed by Michelle Bernstein, her alleged Miami nemesis. 

"I guess that's what happens when you don't share.  She deserves to be on the bottom."  Amanda on Kelly, who apparently hoarded the salt (really? There wasn't enough salt in a friggin' steakhouse?).  Winner of Best Quote today.  Tom's been all about the semi-working lines leading to the elimination--this week it was "instead of a power lunch, we got a power nap!" or something like that.  

The most interesting thing about this week's episode was my daydream about eating the macaroni and cheese from Art & Soul.  Bubbbbbling over the side of the mini crock pot-like bowl.  WANT.  Eventually I'll stop going to the pool, knitting baby hats, and actually tell you about Pizzeria Orso, Jersey Shore Part II, Bibiana (swoon), etc. Small hats, as proof of my busy-ness [pattern for hat here and logos here.].

Top Chef Episodes 6, Better Late Than Never

[Today's photo was taken at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens]

Between the show, the beach, and the cable outage (from the storm), we are just today (Wednesday July 28) watching Ep6.  So I'll give you the abridged version, and later we'll move on to the new episode.

The Quickfire: Michelle Bernstein (with some saucy photos on her page) is guest judge for the Nasty Proteins innovation challenge.  Snake, wild boar, crocodile, emu eggs, duck testicles, etc.  Knives are drawn to see who picks ingredients first.  45 minutes to cook.  Amanda saws at the emu egg.  We laugh at Alex with the foie gras--is that exotic anymore?  And then, they switch proteins after 15 mins.  I'm unclear about whether they are using part of their original stuff or just switched stations completely.

Heeyo I've had rattlesnake cake!  Stephen's frog legs, Alex's ostrich, and and Andrea's wild boar lost.  Kelly's omelet, Tamesha's duck tongue, and Amanda's llama were on top.  Kelly won and has immunity.

Elimination Challenge: Cold War.  Each making a dish that's best served cold.  Groups A and B will serve the other group + judges, and then each group nominates the best dish from the other team.  Kelly dines with both groups because she has immunity.  They ride the USS Sequoia while doing menu planning.  Angelo is telling everyone what to do, Ed & Tiffany are still bff.  Andrea is fighting the everywoman's battle.  Angelo's gentlespeak sort of reminds me of Michael Jackson.

The first group basically complained about every dish they tried.  They liked Kevin's dish the best, despite the lack of acid (which Tom refuted).  Obviously they all want Kenny gone, even though they should have chosen Amanda.  Gameplay! 

Apparently Ed was The Other Man with Angelo and his former gf.  Not cool.

Tiffany was the second group's favorite, and Tamesha was the thumbs down.  

Aaaaand in the stew room they are telling about who they picked as the worst and why.  Yikesasaurus.  Awkward!

Kevin wins, even after doubting himself!  He's off to the Hilton Hawaiian Village as a prize.  Tamesha's long pepper usage was outta control, apparently.  Kenny had too much going on and it wasn't cohesive.  Tamesha is going home, and now she regrets being part of Angelo's minion.

Best Quote winner this week is Stephen for his comment: "I went from crocodile to frog.  Not really a big leap, no pun intended."  -Stephen

Obviously we caught up on Mad Men before watching TCDC6.  There was never really any question...

Postcard from Pittsburgh

 Here we are in Pittsburgh.  It's beautiful, even though it's cloudy at the pictured moment.  Home of racing pierogies and the most bridges ever.  But first, Monroeville.  We had to stop at the famous Primanti Brothers chain before we even hit city limits.  Maybe it's because we left the apartment at 6:40am (!) on a Saturday to make our 10:30am (amazing) tour of Fallingwater.  Mmm, sandwiches.  We had steak and roast beef (and the requisite fries and slaw inside), and enjoyed it very much.  I've heard complaints about the bread (white Italian bread), but I liked it and it was very fresh.  The service could not have been friendlier--really, Pittsburgh was full of friendly people just itching to tell us where we should go/eat/play next, us young folks.  J felt like it was missing something in the sauce & salt department, but faults his own ordering.  Dirt cheap and filling, we had a great time here.  Even Peter Smith from PS7's is a fan--check out his Primanti-style sandwich-making skills on this video from Washingtonian.

After a trip up an incline we saw a sign that no joke said something like "100 feet until ice cream."  Good warning, people.  Much enjoyed.

After the game that night we needed to have a little makeshift late dinner.  We got pretzels, pierogies, and some other app-type dishes at Eleven.  It was ok--the pretzels were not crispy on theoutside and chewy on the inside.  They were spongy/doughy throughout.  Unexpected!  Everything else was fine but unmemorable.  Apparently J read about the tasting menu there that was supposed to be delish but this wasn't the time for that kind of experience.  We should have just grabbed a quick bite elsewhere, but we weren't quite sure what to do.  We were trying to head to the Strip District for the first time, but the stretch between the park and the Strip got a little dark and empty, and we were weary of forging on. 

Now for the shining star of the trip.  A must-have, said W&CP, Lovely Friend, and others.  Delectable corned beef hash, but the real stars are the hotcakes.  At Pamela's they are crepe style, thin and light while impossibly crispy along the edges.  Filled with whatever or nothing--on this particular occasion, blueberries.  Crunch crispy juicy fluffy creamy.  All good things.  I could do that again and again.  The wait was 20 mins-ish, not epic. 

Salty & Sweet Weekly Roundup

Mmmm salty and sweet.  Just delicious.

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the gorgeous, the wonderful, the sweetest, Inkpad Chocolate.  The "sweetest" part was a pun.  Attempt, anyway.  ANYWAY, this week I noted the following:

Guacamole & salsa may kill you (jk, it'll just give you food poisoning, maybe).

Are menu items masculine and feminine?

NY Mag brings you the 25 Best Food Trucks in NYC, along with an adorable picture of what each one looks like.  My trustworthy Seester likes to send me photos from her adventures, including the ones above from The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.

Are we in a cupcake bubble?  [My answer: YES! Burgers, too.] (h/t MM).

The Most Beautifully Fun Birthday Cake Ever (via brunch and the city).

My Baking Addiction brings us an interview with Adam Gertler about Kid in a Candy Store (h/t LB).

D.C. Named Most Veg-Friendly City via DCist.  Hmmm, disagree.

Have a great week guys!

Top Chef DC Episode 5 Recap

 [Today's photos are from our 2008 July 4th trip to Washington, VA...we stayed near the Inn, not in it, and it rained almost the whole time, making hiking less than desirable/safe.]

Or...Let's Talk About Feelings.  Ep 5 starts with who is friends with whom (Angelo->Tamesha; Ed->Tiffany). 

The Quickfire:  Patrick O'Connell from The Inn at Little Washington (you know, Washington, VA) challenges the chefs to cook some crabs!  We're calling it that Kenny is doing too much--tasting plate?  Obviously the Marylander Timothy Dean didn't fret about cleaning those pinchers.  The bottom = Andrea (too heavy with the potatoes), Amanda (out of balance), and Kevin (confusion, crab was lost).  The top = Ed (Thai-inspired simplicity), Kenny (trio), and Angelo (delicate).  ED wins and gets immunity.  Haha, he says he's "coming out of his shell."  Like that crab.

The Elimination:  Prepare a family-style meal in one giant team at a totally organic and humane farm in Virginia in one giant team.  The farm is just a bit past Middleburg.  No ingredients or cooking equipment will be known until they arrive.  They have a tough time figuring out who will do what and how--it's boring and annoying. 

They arrive at the farm and see grills, tons of produce, and of course the Toyota mobile pantry.  Cauliflower hits the farmground, Andrea reconciles the size of her pork loin with the cool air and the crappy grill, and Eric Ripert is wearing a scarf. Chef O'Connell is wearing an amazing outfit--lavender button-down and red and tan plaid blazer.  Everyone is layered. 

The interlude is everyone describing Kenny with various (sometimes moderately ethnically insensitive) nicknames. 

It seems like the judges enjoyed dishes from Kenny & Kevin's, Kelly & Andrea, Tamesha & Angela.  Kelly's last-minute dessert was a good move, a strawberry rhubarb crisp with lemongrass-basil whipped cream.

Judge's Table: Kevin (broccoli couscous) & Kenny (curry eggplant), Andrea (pork loin) & Kelly (beet thing and the dessert) had the best dishes.  Kenny takes the prize.

Stephen (turns out his salad sucked), Amanda (grandmotherly, unpolished, amateur minestrone), and Tim (lame-o) are at the bottom.  Tim was told to pack his knives and go.  Don't get too excited, Stephen.  It should have been you, and you're probably next.

"I basically made love to that duck, to be honest witchu."  Angelo wins Best Quote and Most Entertaining.

Not a bad ep.  I like RoVa.

Back to my Patagonia catalog...

The Most Gorgeous Day Ever?

[

 [pictured: giant pitcher of Pimm's Cup, giant pickles from the Jersey Shore]

Sunday, not Saturday, of course.  Although the rain on Saturday left a pleasant temperature that was sort of a relief for us while playing host/guide to my folks.

Top Chef fans were all a buzzin' about Bryan Voltaggio Bobblehead Night--I want to see one!  Anyone planning on going to the game for this collectible??

Kojo's piece on Transforming Urban Deserts - areas without a grocery store, without access to fresh produce, etc.  

Best wine books for beginners from Serious Eats. (h/t KT).

This article in the LA Times about the First Family's dining outings made my lips curl back a little--it makes it as though before Barack Obama stopped in for a burger, Michael Landrum just had a little burger shack, as opposed to a nicely formed Ray's empire including The Steaks, The Classic/The Bar, and Hellburger (with other plans as well!).  And Komi may be hidden inasmuch as it's unpretentious in a slightly-lit townhouse, but a place that books up before 3pm 30 days in advance and is Washingtonian's #1 restaurant several years running isn't really an up-and-coming hideout.  It already came, and believe me, Komi is up.  In fact, one of my favorite things about the President's visits to our local eateries is that he's chosen places that already draw lines and crowds.  So, LA Times, thanks for the rundown of where President Obama has been, but no thanks for making it seem like those places didn't exist before he stepped inside.  OK, end of diatribe.

Recipe-wise, it was totally Cocktail Week.  Not one, but two Boozy Arnold Palmers--one at Jersey Cook and one at Corcoran Street Kitchen.  Then there's the Pimm's Cup sort of situation at Smitten Kitchen.  And of course, with these drinks, play the WMATA Drinking Game from Washingtina.  Just not on the Metro--it's not allowed, as you know.

ALSO: The grilled haloumi and tomato skewers with honey-tahini sauce looks delectable at Cara's Cravings.

Well, another week.  At the end of which will come another weekend.  Thaaaaank goodness.  Have a great one!

Top Chef DC Episode 4 Recap

 Or, none of us was really good but none of us were really bad, either.  Can we get a cookie for that?

The Quickfire:  Create a dish that satisfies Tom & Padma and their babies--8 and 2 months, respectively.  Yummy "normal" and pureed.  Good luck!  Immunity is off the table, and they have 45 minutes to cook.  I was surprised by how many chefs have kids - sooo m/paternal!

Within the first 5 minutes, Alex wants to win Creepiest Cheftestant (sorry KT!).  Babymaking talk, mentioning hookers...sorry.  Tamesha sounds like she's all clogged up--feel better, girl!  Stephen's daughters look just like him...sorry, girls.

Disappointing dishes were from Timothy (overcooked lamb), Alex (too herbacious and watery), Kevin (pool of blood under the duck), and Kelly (bland!).

Favorites: Lynne (hasn't won yet, CIA instructor); Tamesha (nice touch with the licorice oil); Angelo (baby food looked elegant and special); Kenny (great flavors, a little spice).  Tamesha is Tom's pick an Padma goes with Kenny - $10,000 each, but again, no immunity. 

Elimination Challenge:  Create a signature menu dish for Hilton Hotels, easily executed, portable, and delicious.  The chefs will make breakfast, lunch & dinner courses.  After each meal, two teams get saved, and the others move on--the opposite of Chopped. Mike I, Bryan Voltaggio, and Spike are all in the house--some of DC areas finest, along with someone from Hilton who I already forgot (but she looks nice).  Bryan was my favorite contestant of the three--handsome, humble, charming (at least via Bravo's editing).  ::blush::  Plus, I dig his food. 

Highlights from breakfast: Ed was kvetching about Alex's dish, and then he forgot to put the potato cake on one of the plates.  Um, ok.  Three teams in, and no one hits it out of the park.  Tim and Tiffany had the best looking dish (Louisiana-style eggs Benedict that "didn't need the potato hash"), and along with Amanda and Stephen (bacon-filled something or other) they had the best breakfasts.  Who said you can't taste with your eyes?


Lunch is next:  No one bombed flavor-wise, but some things didn't seem like they'd travel well or be easy to make.  The best lunches were Angelo & Tamesha (thin-sliced beef with kimchi vinaigrette), and Ed & Stephen (scallops, rabe, etc).

Dinner: 60 minutes to cook dinner, and they're cooking for their lives.   Two out of three teams make short ribs.  And someone "accidentally" turned down Lynne's oven.  Kenny & Kevin's has crispy horseradish and is well-liked by the judges.  Andrea & Kelly have better short ribs.  Pineapple red curry mussels with squid ink pasta from Arnold & Lynne, and the pasta isn't cooked enough.  That's funny, because Lynne was barking about how it would be overcooked. 

The winning team is Kelly & Andrea--getting to the dinner stage actually helped them, because the short ribs were shining.  Those saved at breakfast were unlikely to win Dish of the Day, let's be honest.  They win all kinds of traveling swag.  And it's Kelly's second win--remember when she was a bossypants?

Kenny & Kevin underglazed their short rib, and Lynne & Arnold cooked complicated food, except for the pasta, which they didn't fully cook.    Neither dish was a flop, and Arnold & Lynne get the axe.  I was sick of them both anyway. 

"I don't know what people might say, but they might think I'm more than a Louis Vuitton bag."  -Arnold gets Best Quote, and what does that even mean?

Favorite #topchefdc tweet on my feed was from ElyssaK: What the hell is Padma wearing? I looks like the vest you wear when getting x-rayed. #topchef
 
And Amanda?  Still annoying.  Why she was messing with Kevin in the stew room when he's got a head on the chopping block, THAT I do not know.  Leave those people alone to...stew. 

Performance of the day hands-down goes to Mark Renshaw. Oh wait, he's from the Tour de France.  Regardless, today Mark delivered Cav, the Manx Missile from the Isle of Man, with near perfection.  Follow Mark on Twitter.  Check him out at 8:45.

So no big WOWS this week (in Top Chef, that is), and no big fails either.  I'm still not in love with anyone.  Be more interesting; the angerball routine is old, and the overconfidence (Andrea: I was named best new chef at yada yada; Angelo's very existence) are just irritating.  Maybe that's what makes a great chef?  If so, I don't want any chefs as friends.  Ever.

Southern Jersey Shore

I don't want you guys to feel devoid of my creativity/gluttony just because of a DVR malfunction. Therefore, a few days ahead of schedule, I bring you The Jersey Shore.

I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with a lot of people and say that there are plenty of delicious dining options in my home state--just ask my buddy eNJoy!  Yeah we have phenomenal sub shops and diners coming out the wazoo, but we also have fancy pants places with unbelievable cuisine worthy of any big city stage.  In this particular version we're in the South, but sometimes we're not. 

The first stop, while delicious, was least impressive.  We left early Saturday morning to avoid traffic, so as it neared lunch time I Yelped from the car to find Vinnie's Italian Deli in Minotola, NJ (near Vineland for the Jersey Geographers, also known as Near Nothing).  The place is obsessed with broccoli rabe.  We didn't think to share one sandwich, and instead I got the chicken breast with red peppers and J got the hot roast beef and provolone.  The roast beef was more like a brisket, falling apart in a totally delicious, greasy way.  And it was absolutely bursting with sauteed broccoli rabe.  This sandwich was huge and filling.



On to dinner--when I need to go out in NJ I ask eNJoy where I should go.  She knows everything there is about fine dining, cheap dining, weird and exotic dining...you name it.  She wrote about Los Amigos and I took that as my cue.  I was happy to make an OpenTable reservation from my spot on the hot beach.  This place is downright cute.  It's long, narrow, and tall, although we sat downstairs and I wasn't sure what the deal was with the upstairs.

Only complaint: the guac app was TINY! Donde esta the enormous molcajete from all the other restaurants I go to??  I liked the salsa.

M and T got the fish tacos--they were salmon and tuna.  H tried them and declared them to be tastier than her softshell crab tacos.  Imagine that!  I crown them prettiest dish of the day.

E went with the chicken enchiladas with salsa verde and a creamy cilantro inside.  These had some kick, but it didn't last long enough to be uncomfortable.  Very tasty.  If you're not a refried beans person, be sure to specify that you want black beans--no one asked us!

Two of us got fajitas, me and D--she had the chicken, I had STEAK!  MEAT!  My dish was just delicious.  Simple, clean, flavorful.  I was really really happy.  I couldn't even finish it, which is very unlike me.

OK so then it's Sunday.  In the morning I had a big old DD iced coffee to ensure a wonderful day.  And off we went to the magical land of Brigantine, (summer) home of one of my best friends and a place that stores lots and lots of old memories.  Just a few short miles from Atlantic City, Brig is a residential area with cleaner, quieter beaches and the best sandwich you'll ever have.  Granted, it might just be the best sandwich because you walked the 4 blocks to Ernest's from the beautiful white sandy beaches.  But let's all decide on our own, huh?

Notice: "Go Phils!"  We're not in North Jersey anymore, folks.  And by the way, get an unbelievable milkshake next door, maybe as an appetizer while you order and wait for your sandwich.

Check it how that sign says "Expert Deer Butcher."  Yes. Now do you want to see some hardworking bread?  Bread that's really earning it's paycheck, if grains were to do that?  Okay, here we go.

You can get whatever you want at Ernest's--you want turkey, lettuce, and mustard on a Kaiser?  No problem.  More than a dozen iterations of cheesesteaks and grilled chicken sandwiches?  You got it.  But what about the honest to goodness Italian deli part of this deal, the kind that makes me wish we never moved away from Italian Store.

The first picture above is the Ernie Special, $6.69, prosciutto, salami, sharp provolone, roasted peppers, tomato, oil, oregano.  They are not messing around.

The second is the Stormin Gorman, $6.69, turkey breast, prosciutto, provolone, hot peppers, mayo.  We heard about half a dozen Stormin Gorman's ordered in maybe 5 minutes standing close to the counter. Seriously, I tried to take a bite and get the top AND the bottom, and my jaw could barely handle it. 

Share with a friend, if you're generous--these babies are enormous.  And try to avoid the urge to go bobbing for pickles in the big barrel o' brine.  Take a few home to slice up among friends.



The rest is a blur of shining lights and screaming fans.  Hope you had a great 4th, I know I did!

My Top Chef Recap Will Be Late...

...thanks to my DVR deciding that it wants to tape the midnight version, not the 9pm first showing.  I'm not sure why, and every other week so far (and every other thing we've ever set to record) started recording at the first-run regular time.

I'm going to avoid Twitter spoilers and earlier recaps, and hopefully some of you will watch late enough so that my post won't be horribly outdated and unnecessary.

If you can't trust your DVR, who CAN you trust??? At least my avocado will be nice and ripe tomorrow.

On the upside, I'm coming from Pete's Apizza, and it was delicious.  More on that later, though.

The Holiday Weekend Is Over Roundup

That monument shot is from 2004 (my first DC July 4), but the Atlantic City boardwalk is from yesterday.

Beach, fireworks, Gaga, and who knows what else happened?  But now we're going back to work.  You have time for just a little bit more fun, and that'll have to come from reading this post.  Sorryguys.

We're light on news this week--actually, zero.  The only news items I read over the holiday weekend were one-liners from @nytimes and even that was kept to a minimum.  Let's blog it up, mostly local: 

Roundup within a roundup?  Yes. The Iced Coffee Roundup from Serious Eats.  My favorite is still Dunkin' Donuts, and I may have to comment on that post to address my disappointment (UNDERSTATEMENT) with the iced coffee at 7-11.  The sign was beckoning to me every day, 99 cents, 99 cents.  FOR CRAP.  (h/t Never Turn Down a Cupcake).

Loving the recipe suggestions from the MCPL blog (yes, they have one, and yes, I read it).

Greener, Healthier, Wiser brings us the Dirty Dozen (as in, conventional fruits and veggies that are most chemical-laden).

Metrocurean tells us about Pleasant Pops debuting at the Mount Pleasant Farmer's Market, which I take as an excuse to tell you (and her) about my coconut sesame ginger paleta from Whole Foods Friendship Heights. 

Arugula Files at the farmer's market in Falls Church---looks amazing, I can almost smell those peaches.

I need to get to The Dirty Radish household for some Southeast Asian BBQ.

Presidents holding hams (via LMNOP).

Have a great week!  Stay hydrated--it's going to be a scorcher!!!