Friday Fly-day

Or, almost.  I'm coming back from La La Land tomorrow night and hoping my chauffeur will pause for breakfast on the way home. 

See that photo?  That's my phone standing next to an ENORMOUS ICED COFFEE from Georgetown Bagelry in Bethesda with an incredible handsome shoulder peeking from behind.  A few firsts here: first time I've seen iced coffee in a paper Coke cup, and also first enormous IC I've had that's not from Dunkin Donuts. 

Via LB, Weezermonkey's post about The Bazaar by Jose Andres.  The place looks absolutely spectacular, and a few notes remind me of bites I enjoyed at Cafe Atlantico and Oyamel (in particular, jicama avocado ravioli from Cafe Atlantico and Greek yogurt panna cotta at Oyamel).  Next time I'm in Vegas I am definitely going to The Bazaar.  I discovered that I'm not the LV type, but dammmmn we still talk about our pasta tasting experience at B&B. 

Like it or not, Passover is coming, and Cara's Cravings and The Shiksa are both blogging recipes galore in preparation, including PIE!  I love pie, and it turns out that it's scientifically better than cake.  This is me, not surprised. 

Banner photo NSFW for this next linkm, so scroll down a few inches fast--The Passionfruits talk one of my favorite topics...ROAST CHICKEN.  You know I love a good roast chicken, particularly if I accessorize it with fried lemon slices. 

Mango & Tomato's Roasted Eggplant Dip with an Indian Twist.  I love scooping out a roasted eggplant with a fork; it's so simple, and you can add whatever you have around (garlic & salt alone!) to make it delicious.  This recipe shows how easily you can zazz it up for the benefit of your tastebuds or maybe some guests.  Now you just need an adorable copper serving bowl.

I'll leave you to your weekend with another photo:  Remember the papri chaat I was obsessed with at Indique Heights?  Turns out that when you get it takeout it's deconstructed.  That way it doesn't get too soggy.  We were a little confused, and J was disappointed that I didn't make beautiful swirls with the sauces.  Too bad so sad.

Zorba's Cafe

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!  And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to M!  [Announcements over.]

Hmmm where to go with an enormous group of girls?  Ever split a check 26 or so ways?  I'm guessing your answers is NO AND I NEVER WANT TO THX.

Recently a bunch (a whole big bunch) of us went out to Zorba's for our first of hopefully many future food outings.  We took up the entire space upstairs and to the right.  Zorba's has pretty decent Greek food--it's not amazing, but it's good, cheap, and really conveniently located.  It's nice to have a bargain meal that isn't from an obvious source (a burger place, chain sandwich shop).  One of the best parts about Zorba's is that it can be quick--you order and pay separately at the counter then wait for your number to be called.  But it can also be long--the place is big enough that if you want to sit and hang out for a while, you can.  People waiting for a table might hover, of course.  And I'm not saying that a crazy talking probably homeless man didn't hang out on the stairs for a few minutes and shout things at us, because he did.  But it wasn't so bad, and after a good 10 minutes the staff convinced him to leave.

Above is Zorba's yero, or maybe you know it as a gyro.  This link is an example of how gyro/yero has the pho/fuh dilemma going on.  Balancing proper with pretentious, being correct with being understood.  WHAT STRIFE! 

Anyway, marinated & sliced beef and lamp, tzatziki, feta, and some greenery on a pita.  $7.95.  Not the most filling dinner for a big eater like me, but if you pick at the food of the people around you it's fine.  Next time I'll order fries.

That's the spanakopita I was snacking on, even though it's ER's.  It was very far from my favorite spanakopita--there was way too much crust, and it seemed a little stale.  I want a thin outside and a warm gooey inside.  This guy reminded me more of a previously frozen situation popped in the toaster oven. 

And some baklava.  Again, I wouldn't write home about the pastry part, but the filling was yummy, even though it was very very sweet.  You need a few napkins for this sucker between the stickiness and some general greasiness.

Zorba's Cafe
1612 20th St NW
Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle

Ris

Brunch is my favorite meal.  We had a brunch wedding for crying out loud.  Happiness is a post-nuptials omelet station.

J&J are great dining companions because they are up for anything and have pointed me in the right direction more than a few times.  So recently we made a last minute rez at Ris early on a Saturday morning--add it to your list of places open for Saturday brunch.  And BTW for all things brunch-related, check out brunch and the city.

I won't lie--the inside of Ris is a little nicer than I expected.  Not that I thought it was going to be gross, it's just that it's a little more grown-up nice and less downtown funky than I imagined.  The namesake, Chef Ris Lacoste, is the woman behind the great eats in some of the city's best restaurants.  And that's not all--her dog is ADORABLE.  Check out the slideshow in this WaPo article.

Our drinks kicked off our amazement.  A tiny creamer cup came with our iced tea.  Lemon juice?  No.  SIMPLE SYRUP!  I can honestly say that this is amazing because we have ordered iced tea pretty much everywhere we've ever eaten, and we have never seen this presentation.  If sugar falling to the bottom of your iced tea without dissolving bums you out, then RIS is right up your alley.

Foodwise, first came the house made donuts.  My only complaint is that there weren't twice as many, but I know that's more gluttonous than an actual valid gripe.  YUM.

Obviously I had a delicious fluffy omelet filled with veggies and cheese.  It's my trademark.

Chicken fried skirt steak with poached eggs and collard greens for the Dude.  That plate got CLEANED, ya'll.  The steak was cooked at a true medium to medium-rare, which can be tricky with the "chicken-fried" element.  Big portion, too.

Deconstructed lox and cream cheese bagel!  White pile?  Egg whites.  Yellow pile? Egg yolks.  Capers, tomatoes, and onion round out this DIY delight.  The Philadelphian was happy.

Chorizo, fried egg, and sheep's milk cheese on a Portuguese roll.  Talk about a good looking breakfast sandwich, this thing is adorable.  And I hear it tasted great.

Looking back, I could have used a wee bit more food.  The portions were the right size for regular people, but I pretty much always wake up starving.  Next time I'll get the French toast and make everyone have a few bites.  Side of extra entree, anyone?   : )    Although if I go that route I probably won't have room for a Z Burger shake on the way home.  Ohhhh decisions.

I'll definitely go back to Ris--brunch, dinner, whatevs.  Maybe one day I can make it for happy hour, aka Rush Hour. 

Ris
2275 L St NW
Metro: Blue and Orange Lines to Foggy Bottom

Finally Friday

Ya'll it is FINALLY Friday.  I don't know about you, but let me guess--this week slogged on for what seemed like an eternity?  And it was warm and sometimes sunny but now it's set to rain all weekend and you're sad about it?  Me too!

And no, the picture from GTC on the left of your screen has nothing to do with anything.  I'm just trying to make you want a cupcake.  ::reaches for Clif bar in cabinet, aka closest thing to cupcake::

Anyway, back to this week in most important somewhat food-related stories:

Un-DC related, I watched Sandwich Paradise on the Food Network---it made me really hungry but also was a good way to keep track of my future travels.  Primanti Brothers, I'm coming to get you! (After breakfast at Pamela's of course, WCP!)  And when my Google Reader says that Smitten Kitchen is new it really bums me out because I know I'm about to get super hungry, no matter the time of day.  Look at this breakfast pizza.  SERIOUSLY. 

Top Chef in DC?  For real?  Metrocurean brings us the story from the NY Post.  I'd like to think that this decision has something to do with the Capital Spice contest a while back--commenters tried to win stuff by shouting out ideas for DCTC in an effort to convince Bravo to bring it to the District.  For archiving sake, here were my thoughts (which did not win, for the record):

-Outdoor catering function at Mount Vernon or Monticello (or even Montpelier). -Michel Richard as guest judge/Chief Intimidator of the challenge.
-Involve the Kennedy Center.
-Chili quickfire whipped up in the kitchen at Ben’s.
-VA winetasting/pairing quickfire.
-Hill visits to talk about sustainable eating/cooking/growing with offices from contestants’ states/districts, followed by reception in the new Capitol visitor’s center.
-I’d like to see them in a dining hall with the director of dining/food services as a judge–GW doesn’t have one, so maybe Georgetown?


Aaaand after that sunny conversation, onto the gross.  Health inspection issues aren't pretty--The Examiner got the these reports from the Bureau of Community Hygiene.  Of course, even DiFara has been closed for health code violations, and it won't stop me from returning.  And if you don't want to worry about health codes and rules and compliance, just go to an underground dining establishment! The Post's mysterious article on exclusive invite-only supper clubs has been buzzing all week long.  Sounds fun.  I'm not upset about not being invited.  Honest...   sniff      sniff

In other news, I'm going to San Diego SOON!  I'll be carless, so I ask you: what is downtown and can't be missed?  I noted your recs from here.

Have a great weekend!  Don't let the rain bring you down.  In like a lion, out like a lamb.

P.S.  This is my 200th post.  A little slim for more than 2.5 years according to some people's rules, but I was..ahem...a serious student!  And poor!  And just doing this for fun.  Anyway, thanks for reading.  I'm having fun, and I hope you are too.

Comet Ping Pong

Waiting for a table when a place is packed can be tricky.  If there's a big bar area then GREAT, but if not you can end up standing outside (not good in cold or rain) or awkwardly hovering inside.

What if I told you there was a place where so long as it wasn't freezing or precipitating you could play table tennis while waiting for your table?  Would you believe me?  I know, it's awesome sauce.

The booths at Comet are huge and comfy--we easily sat 8 on a recent night.  Our server Will was the bomb, attending to our $2.50 PBR needs (of which there were plenty) and making us laugh.  We enjoyed the Smoky (bacon, gouda, mushrooms, onions, garlic), the Steel Wills (greens, fresh ricotta, garlic, olives), and the Jimmy (MEATBALLS!!).  There may have been another pie somewhere, but those are the ones I remember.

I liked the pizza at Comet.  Is it my favorite "sit down" pizza?  Probably not.  Do I prefer it to NY's DiFara or even Delizia?  I don't think so.  But it's good!  And it's nearby.

The crust is nice and chewy, the toppings are good even if a little lopsidedly distributed (meatball, I'm lookin' at you).  But grabbing friends for some rounds of ping pong, eating pizza, and drinking beer---this is what we were meant to do.  This is America, and I'm a patriot.

And sometimes there's live music at Comet--you can be hipster-y artsy and eat pizza at the same time.  NICE.

Comet Ping Pong
5037 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Metro:  Schlep from Friendship Heights or Tenley (about a mile) or take one of many bus lines that travel along Connecticut Ave.

Holiday Cookie Recap: Purim

I'm a big fan of holiday cookies--all holidays, I don't discriminate.  The most recent holiday cookies baked and consumed were hamantaschen (great history from The Shiksa Blog).  These triangular tastebud tantalizers often look so...what's the word...symmetrical in stores, yet they continue to cause trouble when baked at home.  If you've made them, you know I'm talking about how these bad boys flower open and look like pancakes with a jam belly button. 

I'm not married to any particular recipe (no long-standing family tradition exists that I know of) so this year I tried Smitten Kitchen's from a post a few years ago.  The comments were all "You didn't fold them enough!" and "You overfilled them!" judgey mcjudgersons, so I decided I'd make several batches and try different folding methods to end up with some acceptable hammies. 

Above is the first batch, raw--almost all of them popped open during the baking process, even though I pinched them shut supertight (or so I thought).  They still tasted good, but I was bummed about the result.  So naturally I made them again the following night.

Take 2 was more successful.  Above were some fine examples of the results, where only ONE half-opened and the rest remained in good form!  Are they stunning?  No.  But are they distinctly triangular and delicious?  Yes.  Mordecai would be proud.

After Take 1 bummed me out I decided to try this pocket method described in the Post, the rolling from the Shiksa blog (roll the edges up to form a triangle instead of folding), and some suggestions in the comments from the Smitten recipe page.  Roll it out thinner!  Don't overfill!  It turned out that the folding didn't make a difference--almost all of them stayed in shape.  So that means it was the a) do not overfill and b) roll out thinner advice that made the difference.  After all, the cookie puffs up during cooking, and if the "walls" are too thick that puffing will cause it to give up its standing position.



BTW, the chocolatey-looking one above is the filling from the Shiksa Blog, and in the past I've made a filling with a brownie-type mixture.  If you just use chocolate chips it's too dry, and that's upsetting.  DO NOT USE CHOCOLATE SYRUP.  College mistake.  It exploded everywhere.  My favorite flavor is apricot, so use your favorite preserves.  Yummers.

Above you see T's grandma's hamantaschen, in a world where nothing is measured with tools that we have and everything is by sight and feel.  And I believe there's alcohol in the dough.  But I have the filling recipe for you!  It makes a LOT of filling (recipe called for nearly 2 lbs of flour) so divide it based on how many hams you're making.  If you have naked dough circles and you're out of nutty filler just take out your jam!

3 heaping tbs honey

1 tbs water

1 tbs sugar

A couple drops of lemon juice

About 1.5 cups (ish?) of chopped walnuts (mine were finely chopped by a hand mixer)

1 tsp vanilla

As for the cookies, the cream cheese in the dough makes it creamy and delicious, the ingredients are simple (I subbed lemon zest for orange zest because I always have lemons), and we all agree that the dough part of the cookie was better than other hamantaschen I've made in the past, especially super weird whole wheat ones I made in college.  I was raised by a fitness instructor, I can't help it!



What are your favorite holiday cookies? 

First Friday! (of March)

Wow, March.  This week had some sunny days, but I wouldn't call it warm--we have a few more weeks to go until it's officially spring (yes, that link tells you that you get free Rita's on 3/20/2010. You're welcome).

This week in radio there was talk of wild game.  Caught my eye (ear, really) because I heart bison, etc, and it's just so very now with talks of Michael Landrum's Ray's the Game.

 The Times took on rabbit slaughter. J says "They are soooo cute.  But so delicious.  These bunnies are particularly cute, they don't all look like that!"  Whatever you need to say to sleep at night, dude.  The outtakes are precious, too.

I like to knit, in a hip, young, totally not grandmotherly sort of way.  LOOK AT THESE CUPCAKES! It would be cruel to put these in an empty Georgetown Cupcake box.  But also adorable.

If you're having an Oscar Party, you're the host(ess) with the most(est), and you have plenty o' time, then these are for you. 

Sometimes I miss New Brunswick and its surroundings (via eNJoy), and my word, look at those fried globes of goat cheese. Of course other times I don't miss it at all.

In the local blogosphere:

•  I've been lusting over the desserts at Zola, thanks to Modern Domestic.  
• And yes, this IHOP commercial did indeed melt my brain, thanks LMNOP.  
• I went to Volt, which was amazing, but just a few days later was reminded of the heavy hitters I haven't visited closer to home--check out DC Wrapped Dates on minibar.  
• And Virginians, don't let The Man close your Cooperative Extension Services (via The Dirty Radish). 

And if you're wondering: Yes, I took all of the above wildlife photos.  There are more, that's just the tip of the iceberg...