Portland, Maine

I am just back from my not-long-enough trip to Maine. Of course, food was a central part of my trip. I started out by planning my itinerary and looking for recommended restaurants in my trusty Fodor's Maine Coast travel guide. One thing I have to say about Fodors is that by and large, the restaurants that get the best reviews are usually the expensive ones. So for all of you traveling food lovers out there, it pays to look at blogs or ask locals for recommendations. Our flight was delayed several hours (boo!), so we didn't arrive in Portland until about 10. I did a quick search for late-night dining in Portland, and saw that Vignola, located in the Old Port, was open until midnight. The only reason we went there was because we were in a pinch, but I'm glad we went! I love restaurants like Vignola, which specialized in cheese and charcuterie. Sadly, both unpasteurized cheese and charcuterie are off limits for me right now, so I had to pick two pasteurized cheeses, one of which was a Cabot clothbound. It wasn't that special (almost like a standard cheddar). However, the other cheese, whose name now escapes me was great. The menu had a choice of several different accompaniments for the cheese. We chose fig bread and truffle honey, which was nice and raw with a detectable truffle flavor. The cheese came with greens topped with what appeared to be stewed cinnamon apples. I thought at first blush that the apples were weird, but they ended up being fabulous! We also ordered a simple pasta dish with red meat sauce, which had a great texture -- not watery, and was flavorful because of the ample amount of meat. We stayed at the Inn at St. John, which for the most part only offered pre-packaged food for breakfast. We forewent the free breakfast and went to the Porthole for breakfast, which got really good reviews. I was sorely disappointed. Don't order the creme brulee french toast. It's sour tasting and boring and can only be saved by a generous portion of syrup. The other standard breakfast items were blah, and the balls of sausage were dry and tough. The decaf was watery and weak. The standouts, though, were the whole wheat toast, which tasted homemade, and the fact that breakfast was served outside by the water. Before leaving town, we went to the Standard Baking Company, because of all of the hype. I am happy to report that it lived up to the hype. We bought molasses cookies, a brownie, and a brioche roll. All were excellent, and kept exceptionally well. The molasses cookies were nice and chewy with a perfect balance of molasses and spices and a thoughtful dusting of granulated sugar. They were just as chewy and moist almost a week later, even though I had been carrying them in my purse in a plastic sleeve closed with a twisty ties. The brioche roll had nice pieces of big, opaque sugar on top and a light texture and buttery flavor, and the brownie, was well, your good standard brownie. I'm glad we stopped here to get our road snacks!

New in the Hood: Changes in the Crofton Asian Food Landscape

So, Kwong's Hunan in Crofton Center unfortunately changed ownership and is now "Fusia." As you can probably guess from its name, Fusia is a pan-Asian restaurant. Generally, I'm not into pan-Asian restaurants because they lack authenticity. It's all about breadth instead of depth, and the food is usually ok, but nothing special. Sadly, Fusia is no different. Wasn't impressed and was depressed that my favorite Chinese restaurant has been taken over by the misguided fusion craze. Of note, there is a new Vietnamese restaurant in the Gambrills/Crofton area -- VN Noodle House, located at 2299 Johns Hopkins Road in Gambrills. Much better than Saigon Noodle House. We ordered spring rolls, fresh rolls, pho, and beef clay pot rice. The pho can actually compete with the pho from Viet-Thai Paradise in Annapolis, which has amazing broth; I still say that the spring rolls are better at Viet-Thai, though. My only beef with VN Noodle was the beef in the clay pot beef. It just tasted a little bit off -- like the beef wasn't high quality or something. It might have just been a little off that night, though. I'd definitely go back, and would love not having to go to Annapolis to get decent Vietnamese food. I'll keep you posted!

Fried Rice

I have been fighting a battle with fried rice for at least 10 years. I have tried numerous recipes and messed with numerous ingredients but have never been able to achieve the flavor of fried rice that is served up in Chinese restaurants. I think that I am finally coming close! I know that the big secret is having a super-hot wok, but I have a crappy electric range. This time, I preheated the wok and then added oil to the hot wok and let it heat up for awhile. The rice didn't stick and the flavor was almost right. The only thing missing was that the rice was a little too fresh and clumped.

A Shout-out to San Diego:

I recently went to San Diego, so thought I would share my stand-out eating experiences: Burned into my memory was Swadee Thai, in Coronado. So often, I have gone to restaurants where extra spicy disappointingly turns out to be mildly spicy. I want my food to make me cry, and Swadee Thai did that. The servers ask about the level of spice you prefer on a scale of 1 to 10. Based on my past experience, I requested a 10, but was warned off of it. And I am glad that I was. We ordered a papaya salad, which was an 8 and it had some real fire that required me to take a break while eating and made me gulp a lot of water. For my entree, I ordered a whole fried fish with fabulous chili sauce. A definite winner. I also visited the Mission for breakfast. It had a nice vibe, delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a decaf capuccino that was so good that it made me wonder whether it was decaf at all. Finally, I wish I could have spent more time in Kearny Mesa. We found our way out there because we were trolling for a late night meal, and consulted an awesome late night dining guide, available here. There was a ramen shop open until 2 am, so we went. We jumped at the chance because of the dearth of noodle houses in the DC area. Surrounding the noodle shop, we noticed a lot of other promising looking Asian restaurants, including a tea house that I'd like to hit up if I'm ever back in the area.

Weary O'Leary's

My husband and I were cheese-olicious this Valentine's Day and decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out. We went to O'Leary's Seafood Restaurant in Annapolis (Eastport). I can't say that this was an inspired pick. It had V-Day reservations available the evening before the big day, and didn't have an outrageously expensive "special" Valentine's Day menu. I have no idea why restaurants think that people think that it is romantic to pay more money for less menu selection, but whatever. In keeping with the winter Olympic season, I would have to say that O'Leary's would not win a medal for best restaurant; if it were competing in a discipline where it would have to qualify to make the finals, it would be one of the bottom qualifying competitors, if it qualified at all. It simply made too many mistakes. I could have overlooked the fact that we had to wait at least 10 minutes to be seated despite having a reservation if the rest of the dining experience had turned out well. It wasn't terrible; it just wasn't good. It started out well, but like many athletes, couldn't sustain, and got tired toward the end of the meal. I liked the fresh lemonade, and the black bean soup with crab had a really nice flavor without being too heavy like some black bean soups can be. It needed a trifle more salt, though. My husband ordered the crab and lobster cake, which had a nice fresh flavor that let the crab and lobster meat stand out. On one hand, the server gets props for noticing (even though we didn't) that the cake was a lot smaller than it should have been; on the other hand, she said that she would bring a basket of bread, which never came. Main courses were disappointing. They took a long time to arrive after the appetizers. I ordered mahi-mahi, served with a Thai bbq glaze, rice, a pineapple salsa, and three jumbo cornmeal battered shrimp. The highlight of the entree were the shrimp, which weren't really anything to write home about. The fish, while fresh, was bland, and not even the salsa and the glaze could save it. The rice was inappropriate. It should have been stickier and of a finer grain to match the rest of the entree theme. It also tasted like the rice in rice pilaf that you would get at, say, Denny's. My husband said that the tuna was good, but that the soy-based sauce was too salty. His fish also came with shrimp, which appeared to be tempura battered. They were really good -- better than the cornmeal battered shrimp. O'Leary's dessert menu is uninsipred. Bread pudding, creme brulee, cheesecake, carrot cake, mousse, and coconut cake. Sometimes I wonder if there is a secret restaurant code of conduct that requires that there be creme brulee and cheesecake on every menu. It just gets old after awhile. I picked the coconut cake because the menu said that it came with blackberries, which I love. I was looking forward to the blackberry-coconut combo. Sadly, the cake came sans blackberries, and while good, was again, nothing special -- your standard coconut cake. Would I go back? No, but it's not a terrible place and has a nice atmosphere, so don't be dissuaded from checking it out. I think that our dining experience suffered somewhat from the fact that the restaurant was overwhelmed on Valentine's Day, and because we had a reservation on the later side. But, any gold medal restaurant would be at its best for any time that it accepted reservations.

Present

Present is such a fitting name for the Vietnamese restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia, that we went to on Saturday evening. The food was a present to my mouth, and it paid for us to be present at the restaurant when we were. Let me explain. We were meeting up with friends who recently moved to Fairfax for dinner. We had tried to get reservations at several restaurants, but ended up not being able to, since we didn't try to settle on a place to eat until 6 on Saturday. Not a good idea. I had heard about Present through the Washingtonian's list of the areas top restaurants, and thought we should give it a try. Just so you know, you definitely need a reservation here. However, we arrived at about 6:45, and there were a few big tables in the back being held for an 8 pm reservation. We were told that we could be seated at one of the tables if we could be done by 8. By virtue of being present at the right time, we were seated without a wait on a Saturday night. This is perhaps one of the best Vietnamese restaurants I have tried. And yes, I have been to Four Sisters. The menu seemed a lot more varied and creative, and I was much more impressed with the food, even though Four Sisters was good. For appetizers, we ordered the Green Parasdise spring roll, a cold roll with shrimp and vermicelli and pork in rice paper, which is actually called a summer roll at other restaurants. I feel like these are generally all created more or less equal. We also ordered the Silken Shawl Imperial Autumn Roll. FYI - you can order half orders of these puppies. It was a fried roll wrapped in a lacy rice noodle paper, which comes with lettuce to wrap it in. I wonder if the lettuce or the lacy rice paper is the "shawl." I loved the idea of wrapping the roll in lettuce; it was something different than what's offered at other restaurants, and it was a nice contrast to the crispy roll. It may be one of the best fried rolls I've had at a Vietnamese restaurant. The main courses were excellent as well, and truly memorable. I ordered the No. 61, aka the Open Field in the Sunset, which the menu describes as a sweet and sour soup with pineapple and green vegetables. It can be ordered with either fish or shrimp. The server recommended the fish, so I went with that. The soup was awesome. I wish that I could do it justice with words, but I can't. It came with two decent size non-fishy white fish fillets and was chock full of veggies. The broth was sublime. The only other dish I tried was the spicy beef soup, which my husband ordered. It had a nice kick, and the noodles were thick and round; they looked like thick white spaghetti noodles; not the thinner vermicelli. I can't wait to go back. I am dying to try the whole fried fish, but need to go with someone who is into the whole fish thing. Just a few parting random parting thoughts. If you're looking for traditional pho, don't go here because they don't have it. They have a lot of other great soups, but no pho. Also, the prices are imminently reasonable; presentation is beautiful, and they're nice to kids there.

Different Uses for Kitchen Gadgets

Although I love to cook, I can't say that I'm a big kitchen gadget person. I like nice kitchen stuff, but get annoyed at kitchen tools that have just one use. Kitchen gadgets should have to earn the space they take up. I feel like it's a waste of space to buy say, a strawberry huller, when it's just as easy to use a knife and is only used for strawberries. Recently, I learned of new ways to use the melon baller and the vegetable peeler, which in my mind, already earn their keep in the kitchen. There are lots of different types of melons to be balled and lots of different types of vegetables to be peeled! I made an apple pie the other day, and used the melon baller to core the apples. I found that idea somewhere on the Food Network website. It worked really well, and left more of the apple intact than doing it the old-fashioned way. I learned from my sister-in-law that the vegetable peeler is a great way to shave cheese. I hope these tips help!

HomeGoods? Home Great!

I was in the market for enameled cast iron cookware. I went to Williams-Sonoma and looked at Le Creuset, but just couldn't spring for it so close to Christmas. I decided to go to the Waugh Chapel HomeGoods to check out what it had since I had seen enameled cookware there before. It had a good selection -- several different brands, including Le Creuset at discounted prices; the Le Creuset cookware were "seconds," which to me, meant that there may have been something substandard about it. I decided not to get it since it was still three times more expensive than the Oster pot that I bought. But the real highlight was the cooking oil! I really like walnut oil. It's great for salad dressing. I bought a 33 oz. bottle by La Tourangelle (the same brand sold in Williams-Sonoma and grocery stores) for $9.99, which is a steal since a bottle half the size costs about the same if not more in some grocery and specialty stores. I also found some Mexican vanilla, which was pretty reasonably priced, and saw a big selection of balsamic vinegars. From now on, I'm going to get that sort of thing at HomeGoods and save myself a few bucks.

Hell Point Seafood: Not hell, but not heaven either

I went to Hell Point Seafood downtown Annapolis for dinner the other day. It occupies the space down by the Harbor where Phillip's used to be. I had been dying to go, because it is owned by Bob Kinkead, of Kinkead's in DC, but the food is supposedly one-third the price. It's about one-third as good, too. Don't get me wrong. I'm not being too critical; Kinkead's is pretty good. I actually have a quasi-mathematical justification for the one-third figure. I had three courses, so one might think that only one of three were good. However, one would be wrong. The soup and dessert were both good, but the main course was eh. I think that the main course should be weighted more heavily especially at a restaurant that specializes in seafood, so it should count for two-thirds. The highlight of dinner was the tomatillo soup. It had nice large chunks of tuna in it and a really nice spice, which was surprising. I don't remember the soup being described on the menu as spicy, but it was; not truly spicy, but spicy in comparison to what passes for spicy at most restaurants. The runner-up course was dessert, an apple tart tatin. It was good, but not the most imaginative thing in the world; certainly no tastier than a good homemade apple pie. I had flounder for my main course. The crabcakes were over $30, so I didn't want to spring for them. I didn't get tuna; although I like it a lot, it's so commonplace, and like scallops, it's one of those things that's usually good as long as its fresh. The flounder was disappointing. It was encrusted in cornmeal, I think (can't remember). It wasn't particularly flavorful or moist without the sauce (which I'm having trouble remembering now). Everyone else seemed pleased with their entrees (tuna and scallops), but I was expecting better given the Hell Point's relationship to Kinkead's, especially because seafood restaurants in Annapolis need to bring their "A" game, since Annapolis is a coastal town. Lest I forget that part of this blog is about coffee, I will note in parting that the coffee was almost bad. It was extremely strong, which I like, but tasted like it had been burnt or sitting for awhile. I probably won't go back because the food didn't impress me enough to justify the expense.

DC Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show

How much you would appreciate the DC Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show depends in part on your eating habits. If you like using mixes or pre-made foods rather than toiling from scratch, you would love the show. It was replete with vendors selling all sorts of pre-packaged products, like pasta and barbeque sauces, pesto, and appetizer dips to name a few. That was the disappointing part of the show for me. I don't like using processed foods, especially those not commonly available in grocery stores, which comprised many of the products at the show. I have a fear that I may find something I really like, but then run out and not be able to find it again.

The highlight of the show was the knife skills class. It wasn't just a demonstration. The class provided cutting boards, knives, and vegetables to cut. I was shocked that the cooking show provided 25 unscreened people with honed chef's knives. It all ended well. No knife-wielding maniacs. I learned that I had been using my knives all wrong and have gotten a lot faster at chopping! Still not as good as my in-laws who frighten me with the speed and sharpness of their knives. The lowlight of the show was Paula Deen. For an extra fee, attendees could go to a demonstration by a celebrity chef. The seating was horrible and only a select few had a good up-close view of Paula. Also, her demonstration was like a big advertisement for Smithfield pork products, chefs that she promotes on the Food Network, and her products, like her new seafood dip. She barely did any cooking and didn't use hardly any butter, which was my reason for going to the show because her "butter is the answer to everything" approach cracks me up. I'm glad that I got discount tickets through Groupon and only paid a total of $25 for the show and the demo.

Original Pancake House

After running the Army 10-miler, I treated myself to brunch at the Original Pancake House in Falls Church, Virginia. It's a chain that I'd return to. It has locations spread across the country. It wasn't out-of-this world, but there are so many creative pancake varieties on the menu, that I want to go back and try them. Most importantly, it has really decent coffee. Courtesy of my friends sharing, I tried three different types of pancakes. Gingerbread, pumpkin, and wheat germ with pecan. My friends preferred the wheat germ pancakes, which were packed with pecans. I thought that they were fine, but liked the gingerbread ones the most even if they were a bit tricky. How can a pancake be tricky, you ask? Well, I thought that a gingerbread pancake would be dark and molasses-y, but these pancakes were more just ginger-flavored pancakes. Really tasty, but not like any gingerbread I've ever had. The pumpkin pancakes were "fine." Other observations. The bacon is nice and thick and crispy, but the eggs were a bit weird. I ordered them fried over hard and they came in this unnatural looking omelet form; they reminded me of Waffle House eggs. Don't get me wrong; Waffle House has a special place in my heart, but there's something about the cooking spray it uses that makes the eggs taste a little off. I want to try the apple pancakes and the Dutch Baby pancakes and the crepes!

Viet-Thai Paradise: The Good and the Not So Good

My husband and I have been going to Viet-Thai Paradise on Riva Road in Annapolis ever since it opened. I've never gotten around to writing about it. For the Annapolis food scene, which is sorely lacking in good ethnic food, Viet-Thai is pretty good. It does some things really really well, and other things, not so well. Before delving into the good and the bad, I thought I should say that the restaurant is Vietnamese-owned. Thus, if the conventional wisdom is true, then the Vietnamese (rather than Thai) side of the menu is probably better. My experience with Viet-Thai's pad-thai did not disabuse me of that notion. The Good The pho is excellent. The broth is complex, and the different flavors and spices shine through. It comes in several different meat varieties along with fresh sprouts, basil, green onions, white onions, and a hearty amount of noodles. It's as good, if not better as any I've tasted anywhere else. Also try the springrolls. I don't know how to put it. They are supremely tasty, and again, as good, if not better as any I've tased anywhere else. The restaurant uses a wrapper more akin to a lumpia wrapper, rather than the bubbly, less delicate, and chewier eggroll skin. Service and atmosphere are also nice. The restaurant features modern decor, friendly and efficient service, and warm washcloths for the hands, and fresh post-meal orange slices. Other good things to try are lemongrass beef with noodles and the summer rolls. The Not So Good I like to try new things on menus, but most of my attempts to branch out from the pho have resulted in mediocre meals. As one of my Vietnamese friends said, Vietnames restaurants usually get a few dishes right; it is rare that they can hit all of the high notes. I think that this is probably the case with a lot of restaurants. I've had the bun (noodle salad), caramelized pork, and the Viet-Thai special fried rice. Not good and verging on the border of a little bad. There's just something a little off about the flavor of these dishes. However, I'll go back for pho and springrolls anytime!

The Komi Experience

It's been about eight months since I last posted. My lengthy silence did not result from a lack of eating out. I've just been in a funk. Over the past eight months, I would try new restaurants, and then quickly lose inspiration to write about my experience because the meals, even if tasty, were just forgettable. That all changed with Komi, which is now heralded by a fever-pitched hype since being rated el numero uno by the Washingtonian in its annual restaurant review. And let me tell you; the hype is worth it. Not necessarily because it's the best food that you will ever eat; in fact, some of the dishes, while extraordinarily fresh, were a trifle bland. However, Komi offers one of the most memorable dining experiences available in the DC area without being gimmicky. First impressions first. I loved the atmosphere. The restaurant is located in a DuPont rowhouse (conveniently adjacent to Mr. Yogato). The dining room is small, un-fussy, and almost doesn't seem like a restaurant at all. It has plain dark wood floors and yellow walls and a big decorative wooden table toward the front of the dining room. Patrons seated facing the back of the restaurant can see directly into the kitchen through an open doorway and watch as the chefs prepare the food. In keeping with the atmosphere, the service was unfussy but impeccable. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and felt like you were being judged because you didn't look as shi-shi as the rest of the clientele or maybe because you didn't know as much about food or wine and the ritual of fine dining as the other guests? (Maybe you haven't, and I just have a complex, which is not outside the realm of possibility). Happily, that vibe is non-existent at Komi. The staff was laid back and communicated a true appreciation for the food and wine being served, unlike any I have encountered before. Some things to know about ordering. You can either order Dinner, in which case you receive a sampling of Mezzethakia (small plates), a pasta dish, and a main course and dessert. You can also choose to go the more elaborate route and select the Degustazione (chef's tasting menu), and allow the kitchen to determine what you will eat. The Degustazione comes with more small plates than the dinner, a selection of pastas, a main course, a cheese course, palate cleanser, and a selection desserts. I, being who I am, went for the whole hog, and really enjoyed not having to decide what to order and not knowing what to expect. It exposed me to food that I would not have regularly ordered, but ended up loving. For instance, before eating at Komi, I wasn't a huge fan of fish roe, sea urchin, salmon, or octopus, having only eaten those ingredients in sushi. Komi changed that by creatively pairing these foods with other ingredients (i.e., fish roe and creme fraiche), using the freshest seafood available, and really understanding how to manipulate food texture to make it appealing. Small Plates. We had several rounds of small plates, including, but not limited to (if you're a lawyer, and really hurting for humor in your life, you might think that's funny): hamachi loin sashimi, hamachi belly sashimi, divers scallops prepared two ways -- pureed and in a thinly-sliced tartare, a mini BLT served with a strawberry gazpacho, roasted cheese (mascarpone?) stuffed dates topped with salt, Kumamoto oysters, salmon tartare, grilled octopus, roe served atop a creme fraiche-injected brioche puff, deep-fried cubes of caesar salad (a bit bland and weird), and other things that I am surely leaving out having stupidly neglected to write everything down. One of the funnest things about the small plate experience was the way the food was presented. For example, the scallops were served on scallop shells; the salmon tartare came in a martini glass, and the gazpacho came in a pretty shot glass. Such presentation led me to believe that the restaurant has an insane amount of small, knick-knacky serving ware. Also, it seemed that new silverware was provided after each small plate, which makes me cringe to think of how much dishwashing my meal alone necessitated. Pasta. The small plates were followed by two pasta dishes: A tomato-corn pasta (can't remember if there was meat involved), that was a bit bland, yet fresh, and a spaghetti with crabmeat and sea urchin packed with pungent, but non-fishy seafood flavor. Main Courses. We were served roasted goat and roasted suckling pig. The suckling pig was the piggiest tasting pig I have ever eaten, and this is a high compliment (much like Julia Child's description of French chicken as chickeny). It was tender, and the chef relied on the natural flavoring of the meat rather than mucking it up with a bunch of seasoning. The suckling pig not only included the meat, but squares of skin and fat, which while nice and crispy, did not hold a candle flavor-wise to the meat itself. The goat, like the pig, seemed to be only lightly seasoned, and was deliciously crispy on the outside parts. Accompanying the main dishes were five different condiments and gorgeous pita. The condiments included an avocado salt, a "spicey" red paste (the quotes mean, not really spicey for people who can handle the heat), an eggplant dip (think baba ganoush), lightly pickled cabbage, and a nice tzatziki containing nice chunks of cucumber. Cheese. The cheese course was delicious. It was a soft burrata mozzarella with pesto and a grilled peach. Palate Cleanser. I can't remember if this came before cheese or after cheese and before dessert. It was a lot of fun. Instead of boring sorbet, we got a sangria snow cone, which was really syrupy and tasty. Dessert. We received two selections: a peanutbutter/chocolate crunchy gooey thing and a mint ice cream bonbon covered in chocolate. The bonbon was my favorite and was accented with just the right amount of salt to bring out the flavors. And of course, we got homemade lollipops at the end (which I have yet to eat). Amazingly, at the end of this approximately three-hour gustatory experience, we still had room in our stomachs. I'm not sure if it was because we're chronic over-eaters with hugely expanded stomachs, or if it was because the restaurant does a good job of portion control so that people can actually get through the meal and try everything given to them. I'll assume that it was the latter. At any rate, when dinner was over, we headed to Mr. Yogato for some frozen yogurt, which was a nice cap to a truly distinctive meal.

Punk's: Good Food and Weird Aspirations

How do I characterize Punk's Backyard Grill? Is it a chain restaurant? A fast food restaurant? Does it have good food? The first three questions don't have clear answers, but the last one does. For the first question, Annapolis has the distinction of being home to the first-ever Punk's, which pleases me, because all of the other new restaurants at the mall and the Annapolis Towne Center are chains. However, according to its website, the founders of Punk's want to take the concept of backyard grilled food nationwide. I can understand the founders' desire to have their concept take off nationwide, but even so, it's funny in a roundabout way to aspire to become a chain restaurant. For the second question, I wouldn't call Punk's a fast food restaurant because there is a wait of around 10 or so minutes between the time that food is ordered at the counter and the time that it comes to the table. The answer to the third question, whether the food is good, is a resounding yes. The Punk's concept is fresh and natural food, and it tasted like it! I ordered a burger with pepperjack cheese and bacon. The roll was nice and fluffy -- not the standard spongy roll that one would buy factory-made and pre-packaged at the grocery store. The burger had a wonderful, savory flavor, and the applewood-smoked bacon had a little something extra. It came with a few leaves of arugula and two cherry tomatoes. Eugene ordered a grilled sausage, which was also tasty. Since we were trying the restaurant out for the first time, we decided to go all out, so we ordered two sides -- macaroni & cheese and potato salad, both of which were excellent. Even though mac and cheese and potato salad are rather standard fare, it takes effort to make them really really good. The mac & cheese had a great consistency and flavor and the potato salad avoided being overly mayonnaise-y and was nicely seasoned with pepper. We also ordered two desserts -- a key lime pie and a cookie ice cream sandwich. I am super picky when it comes to desserts, and I had no complaints. The key lime pie tasted like I made it at home, in a good way; perfectly tart and tangy with a nice graham cracker crust. The cookies for the ice cream sandwich were outstanding. They were nice and chewy with a good chocolate flavor and dusted with sugar. Other things I liked... the natural sodas! Instead of the standard Coke or Pepsi products, Punk's offers Boylan's sodas, and I had the sugar-cane cola, which was really nice. Also, the kids menu is healthy. For example, instead of chicken nuggets, it offers grilled chicken bites, and all kids meals come with milk and veggie sticks. At first, I was annoyed by the lack of fries, but then realized that fries don't really mesh with the concept of backyard grill cooking. The only drawback? The prices. They aren't exorbitant or unreasonable, but this isn't a place where you would go to get a lot of food cheap. The burger was a perfect portion for me (a 5'1" woman), but a really really hungry person might find it a bit lacking; some people may balk at paying $6.95 for a burger of that size, especially since cheese and bacon are extra and the sides are a la carte. It was about $30 for both of us to eat, which is a bit much for backyard fare. But, the food is good and imaginative, so I would go back once in awhile, just not all the time.

Oya Oya Oya

Oya (777 9th Street NW in DC) reminds me of the word "oyez," of the well-known phrase "oyez, oyez, oyez," which means "hear ye, hear ye, hear ye." I have fond memories from my days as a law clerk when the clerk of the court would proclaim, "oyez, oyez, oyez," when the judges took the bench. It's apropos for a discussion of Oya because it's a phrase designed to grab attention, similar to Oya's decor. It's definitely flashy a la the red alligator bar, super-modern fireplace, wall of chains, and cascading water. It's almost as if the atmosphere is designed to compensate for the food, which is by no means bad, but not special either. This wasn't my first visit to Oya. I've been there a few times. I went there for sushi a few years ago. Before Jack Abramoff got shipped off to jail for his various mideeds, he owned a restaurant called Signatures, which was somewhat involved in the political scandal surrounding him. Signatures had fun sushi -- not what you would call authentic , but fun, yuppie sushi. After Signatures got shut down, I believe that its sushi chef moved to Oya. Just an interesting bit of background if you were curious. So, why did I go back? My fellow food-loving friend, Laura, had a gift certificate that was about to expire. While I wouldn't have otherwise planned to return, I thought that given the gift certificate, it would be fine value, which it was. We both ordered from the prix-fixe menu -- $20 for three courses, and with the gift certificate, we only ended up paying $14 each. The portions were generous. We shared everything because we like to maximize our dining experiences. For first courses, we ordered a shrimp tempura roll and a curried sea bass eggroll. The shrimp tempura roll was a standard shrimp tempura roll that one could get at any sushi establishment, which I should have expected. (I was going to order the shrimp and crab cupcake, but the server kept subtly telling us not to order it). The eggroll was a bit underwhelming. I liked the uniqueness of the concept of a fish egroll, but sadly, the curry was barely detectable. It was again, just your standard eggroll, but with fish. For main courses, I ordered scallops with pad thai noodles and my friend selected steak (can't remember which kind). The scallops were delicious, but the pad thai noodles and sauce left a bit to be desired. They were just "there" and didn't really add anything to the meal. The steak was again, not bad, but nothing to write home about, and something that could probably be achieved at home. The star of the meal was dessert. Being chocolate lovers, we both ordered the molten chocolate cake. Despite the large portions and that I already had eaten two courses, I continued to shovel it into my mouth because it was that good!

Great Groceries!

So, grocery store free samples work! I was taking a gander through Giant the other day. Unwisely, I always go to the grocery when I'm hungry. So, when I saw the free salsa samples with multigrain chips, I decided to try it out. The salsa was not the jarred variety, but fresh! It was excellent, and it goes really nicely in salad. It has enough spice that the salad can be lightly dressed. My second is example is a bit attenuated. I was at Whole Foods the other day and was looking for good snacks. Sometimes my parents come over to help with our house renovations, and they always complain that I have no snacks. Whole Foods was giving out samples of kettle corn. I couldn't find the brand that was being given away as samples, so bought the store brand instead. It was delicious! Sweet and salty and lowfat. Finally, on a random parting note, Welch's has a new juice 100% juice out. It's Black Cherry Concord Grape. Totally yummy!

Spezie

I went to Spezie (1736 L Street NW) the other night for some light fare. Spezie has a cool menu of small plates with wine pairings. I opted to forego the wine since I was feeling sleepy and had to commute home. I ordered the salted cod and potatoes. It disappointed me. The dish almost had a crab cake consistency and was mixed in with potatoes. It was bland and a bit on the dry side. The aroncini, which are fried balls of rice, was excellent! This is a short review, but hey, the meal was short, too. I'll go back to get a better feel for the food since I only ate from the small plate menu. I ate there once before, but it was so long ago, I can't remember the meal.

Where's the Pizza?

Anne Arundel County and Bowie are desperately in need of some good pizza. Last night, at around 9, I decided that I wanted to go out for pizza. The options were slim. The only games in town were chain restaurants. Sure, there are some places like 3 Brothers and Italian Market or Squisito that are open during the day, but Anne Arundel County is seriously lacking in good, local pizza places. We ended up at Bertucci's, which was fine, but the lack of options was just sad. If I'm missing anything, please tell me!!!

Cupcakes Again

I've previously discussed how the cupcake rage annoys me. It's crazy that people can charge over $3 for a cupcake. Nonetheless, I love cupcakes, so I've become part of the problem -- one of those people who on occasion, will pay that much for a cupcake. I ventured out to the newly opened Red Velvet Cupcakery in Penn Quarter (7th & E) on Thursday because it was giving out free cupcakes to the first 500 customers. I stood in line in the freezing cold with crazy windchill (at least for the DC area) to get a free cupcake. By the time I got out of the freezing cold and into the store, I was thinking, as were several other people in line, that the cupcakes had better be damn good. Were they? Yes and no. I wanted to try a bunch of different flavors, of course for the sake of the blog :) I picked the Morning Call -- chocolate/coffee cake with a mocha frosting, the Southern Belle -- red velvet with cream cheese frosting, and the Peanut Butter Cup -- chocolate chip cake with peanutbutter frosting. Here are my rankings: 1) Southern Belle; 2) Peanut Butter Cup; and 3) Morning Call. Put another way, it's a good thing that Red Velvet named itself Red Velvet instead of Morning Call. Morning Call was my least favorite because I didn't like the frosting. It was almost like eating whipped butter in texture and was lacking in flavor. Also, the coffee/chocolate cake didn't taste that different from the chocolate chip cake. The frosting on the Peanut Butter Cup was better, but it was a bit too much like eating straight peanutbutter; the peanut butter frosting at Hello Cupcake definitely wins that battle. The Southern had a nice, light, and tangy cream cheese frosting, and the cake flavor was just what red velvet should taste like. As for the cake itself, it was fine, but the texture was subtly gummy and had too many air bubbles for my liking. But maybe I'm being hypercritical because of my long wait in the cold, or maybe because I still feel like cupcakes are generally overpriced. If someone would have baked these cupcakes at home and brought them to a party, I would have thought that they were better. On the plus side, the owner was enthusiastic and friendly and was giving the cold people standing in line little cups of cocoa. I appreciated the giveaway. It was a great marketing technique! The verdict? I'd rank it the same as Hello Cupcake. Both had one cupcake that I thought was great. Next, on to Georgetown Cupcake.

Otani: Round Two

So, Eugene and I returned to Otani Sushi. The first time we went, we didn't have sushi, because I thought that seeing as how the sushi won't be as good as Joss, what's the point? Eugene persuaded me to go back because Otani is primarily a sushi restaurant and it wouldn't be fair to write it off without trying the sushi. The brief synopsis? Would I go back? Maybe if Joss weren't in the picture. The sushi is fresh enough and creative, but a bit on the non-traditional side with a tad too much going on at times. The most important thing is that the sushi was fresh, though. One cool thing is that our server remembered us from the last time we were in even though it was a really long time ago. We started out with a seaweed salad and fried calamari. The seaweed salad was good, but a bit on the tiny side, especially since it came in a really large bowl. There were good things and bad things about the calamari. On the up side, it was surprisingly tender and non-rubbery. On the downside, it was really bland. Luckily, it came with a spicy sauce that gave it some flavor. Portions were really small. First, a note on the sushi menu. I love tuna, but it's good to have variety. I wanted to check out the spicy tuna, but order another non-tuna non-shellfish roll. Most of the special rolls contain tuna. It was hard to find something without it. We ended up ordering yellowtail, spicy tuna, and a special twister roll. The yellowtail was fine; fresh enough. The spicy tuna was a bit weird. Instead of tuna seasoned with spicy oil, it was tuna that had been ground up and mixed with a spicy mayonnaise or something similar. I didn't care for it. It's never good to get ground up mushy stuff when you're not expecting it. The twister roll was good. It had lobster tempura and a bunch of other stuff, including yes, tuna. A lot going on! It was tasty, but I just got the feeling like less would have been more. On a parting note, the waitstaff are really friendly and the presentation of food is artful. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere. Don't be deterred by the darkened, unwelcoming windows, which make the restaurant look closed or sketchy. It's not!