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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Rosa Mexicano: Eh....

You know, it might be better if people told you that a restaurant sucked before you went there, because if it were only halfway decent, you'd probably be okay with your experience there. Of course, the problem with that is that you might never go if you heard that it sucked. How does this relate to Rosa Mexicano (http://www.rosamexicano.info/ -- D.C. location at 575 7th Street)? Well, I had been wanting to try it for the longest time, because I had heard great things about it. As a result, my expectations were rather high. RM was fine, but I don't think that it lived up to the hype. I was with a big group and we first ordered the guacamole, which was made tableside, always a fun touch. It was of course nice and fresh, but a bit on the bland side; maybe it could have used some salt or something... I ordered the chicken tortilla pie. I once had a discussion with a fellow cheese-loving friend about whether something could be over-cheesed, and we concluded that it could be. I think that the tortilla pie was a tad overcheesed, which detracted from the overall presentation of the dish. We ordered churros, which were okay and could have tasted a little less greasy and a little fresher. The coffee was fine. Nothing to write home about, but not bad at all. Would I go back? Sure, if other people were going, I wouldn't pitch a fit, but I wouldn't go out of my way. If I went back, I would order the mole because it looked really really good. Oh, and the black beans served with the entrees are to die for. Hands down the best part of the meal.

Proof: The Battle of Charcuterie

I went to lunch at Proof (http://www.proofdc.com/) where "food is the focus. wine is the passion." Unfortunately, I didn't get to partake in the passion because I went there during working hours. While some can handle drinking during the day, I'm not one of those people. I liked it. It offers cheese and charcuterie boards, which I love. I usually go to Sonoma (http://www.sonomadc.com/) on Capitol Hill (SE) for that sort of thing, but it's inconvenient from my office location. So, I was excited to find a restaurant that offered it that was closer by. The meat and cheese selection was good. We ordered speck (pork) and bresaola (beef), gruyere and pipe dreams (goat cheese). It was tasty and came with raw honey, apple puree, and wine-soaked raisins, all of which complemented the cheeses and meats well. I must say, though that I prefer the presentation at Sonoma. It comes out on a nice butcher block and is accompanied by a heartier amount of yummy grilled bread and more interesting accompaniments -- like red and white wine jellies, nuts, truffled baby peaches, and delicious mustard. I also like the atmosphere at Sonoma better. It's less corporate than Proof, although that's to be expected given its location. Enough about Sonoma... I chose the shrimp burger for my main course, and was not disappointed. It irks me when I go to a restaurant and order a chicken burger only to discover that it's not a burger at all, but a chicken breast on a roll. It was like a big burger-sized lump of shrimp toast (fried minced shrimp), which was pleasantly crispy on the outside. It was topped with jalapenos, cucumber, and cilantro -- remniscent of bahn mi, the Vietnamese sandwiches that I love so much. For dessert, I ordered the mini chocolate bundt cake. Not too adventurous, but nice nonetheless. I liked it because it was real cake. I hate ordering cake at shi-shi restaurants and getting a piece of cold, flourless crap. It was a real cake and was served warm with ice cream. Parting notes: (1) I liked the "bread" basket. The bread wasn't bread. It was more like long, crispy crackers served with a refreshing yogurt dip, which is probably a lot healthier than butter; and (2) The coffee was decent. French press and typical for an upscale restaurant. The verdict? I would go back for lunch during the workweek, but probably wouldn't go out of my way to go back for dinner. Sonoma on the other hand....

Darlington House: A Restoration of Faith

A bit dramatic for a restaurant, yes? Not really. Here's some background. I was reviewing my previous restaurant postings and was beginning to think that I was becoming one of those food snobs who is never pleased with anything. I realized that a lot of what I had to say about restaurants was negative. Heck! The whole reason I started the blog was that I was ticked about bad food and thought, "Hey, I should write about it." The trend as of late in my take on different dining experiences was that the food I was eating was ok, but nothing outstanding. It made me wonder if I had unrealistic expectations for food and if I was taking good food for granted. Eating at Darlington House (http://www.darlingtonhousedc.com/) erased those concerns. It was one of the best meals that I have ever had in DC. I went to DH for the five-course Tasting Journal dinner, which was paired with wine. The first course was a tasty arugula salad with a lemon vinaigrette. The next course was a large pan-seared scallop that was expertly cooked. I bit into it and was wowed. The outside had the perfect level of peppery crustiness, and the scallop was a perfect, hot temperature. The accompanying sauce complimented it wonderfully. The main course was roasted Alaskan halibut. It was to die for. Like the scallop, it was cooked perfectly, and the flavor was wonderful. It was accompanied by cauliflower and fried shallots. I have never had cauliflower cooked so tastily. It was cooked, but still firm and lightly roasty (if that's a word). That, in combination with the breaded and fried shallots was amazing. My only gripes (which are small) are about the soup, dessert, and service. The soup course was a creamless butternut squash soup with amaretto cookie crumbles. The soup itself was yummy, but the cookie crumbles made it look a like barf. The amaretto was a bit too strong for the soup. For dessert, I ordered a banana whoopie pie (rum raisin ice cream sandwiched by banana cookies -- sounds weird, but believe me, the flavors compliment each other perfectly); it was so hard that I couldn't break it apart with silverware. It came with a shot glass of milk, and LP, my dining companion suggested that I pour the milk on the pie. It helped a lot, but I feel like it was counterintuitive and still am not sure if I should have poured the milk on. I feel like the server should explain... The service was very slow at times. It took the server forever to get to our table, and he didn't bring the wine pairing for the main course until we were halfway through it. A food runner from kitchen brought dessert, and our server never stopped by to ask if we wanted coffee. Alas. On a parting and out of order note, we each got a glass of prosecco (sparkling white), which was tasty, and the atmosphere was warm and laid back.

PS 7's

I went to PS 7's (http://www.ps7restaurant.com/, 777 I Street NW) for lunch the other day. I liked the sleek and modern atmosphere. I was also a big fan of the bathroom. Its walls are embedded with glass spheres containing live fish, and the sinks are made of a clear matte material and lit underneath so that they look like they are glowing. While the atmosphere was a little cooler than the food, in my opinion, lunch was a nice dining experience. It was priced very reasonably for a DC finer dining establishment. PS 7's offers a prix fixe menu (3 course) for a low $20. I selected the pumpkin soup, the hot brown, and mini doughnuts for dessert. The pumpkin soup was warm and comforting and garnished with pumpkin seeds. It was good, standard pumpkin soup. Nothing too inventive, but serviceable. The same goes for the hot brown -- turkey on bread with bacon, tomatoes, and mornay. It was tasty, but I would have liked the bread to be a bit thicker. It was about a quarter-inch thick and blended in with the turkey, especially soaked in the sauce. Dessert for me was disappointing. Since I've tasted the beignets from Cafe du Monde, I've had really high standards for doughnuts. They shouldn't be that hard to do. However, the doughnuts weren't really hot and were doughy and tough -- perhaps undercooked, in the middle. I only ate part of one. Let's not forget the coffee. PS 7's serves it in a French press, as a lot of restaurants are starting to do. I have some reservations about the French press. For one, when I make it at home, the coffee is never hot enough for my liking. PS 7's didn't have that problem. The coffee was scalding (in a good way). A tad bitter with some grounds that made it through, but otherwise ok. Would I go back? Probably yes for the prix fixe menu that doesn't depend on restaurant week.

Good-bye Cupcake

So, JV and I trekked out to Dupont to visit Hello Cupcake!, a cupcake joint that recently opened. We decided to buy 6 cupcakes and were shocked when it cost $18 and some change. We should have known better since cupcakes have become super trendy and all the rage. From what I have been told, that price isn't as outrageous as it could be. Even so, we were still a bit outraged (because we're cheap and not that rich) and determined that the cupcakes had better be like an orgasm for the tastebuds. Excuse the crass analogy, but it's just so apropos. We bought two chocolate cupcakes with peanutbutter frosting topped with hersheys kisses, a lemon cupcake with raspberry frosting, a dulce delece cupcake, a vegan cupcake, and I think a pumpkin one. They all failed to live up to our expectations with one major exception. The chocolate/peanutbutter cupcake was super tasty, and despite the initial outrage, I would pay $3 or more for that one. That's not to say that the cupcakes weren't good. They were. Just not that good (except the chocolate one).

Brunch at Chef Geoff's

So, it's been a long, long while. So much eating out, so little posting. I went to brunch with a group after the Army 10 Miler. No, I didn't run. I was just there for the food! We went to Chef Geoff's downtown. It's a good choice if you forgot to make a reservation. When we got there at 11 on Sunday, the restaurant was only one-third full, if that. There was a jazz band playing. I've been to CGs for lunch a bunch of times, and it's usually decent. Brunch costs $25. It includes coffee, tea, juice, mimosas, and/or bloody Mary's. The first course is fruit and "sweetbreads." For a moment, the horrible thought crossed our minds that sweetbreads could mean things like unsavory animal parts. Sweetbreads, according to Wikipedia (so it must be true) are defined as thymus glands of lamb, beef, or pork. I won't lie to you; I've never had real sweetbreads. They might be really tasty.... At any rate, we were relieved to discover that the sweetbread was a piece of coffe cake, which was actually quite tasty. The fruit was a mix of berries and melon. It was ok. I'm not really a fan of honeydew or canteloupe, especially as flavorless as the stuff that we were served. The second course was a choice of a bunch of different things. Half of us ordered steak and eggs and the other half of us ordered this crab/egg benedict dish. They were fine, but nothing great. The steak was ok, but honestly, something I could have made at home. The crab was like a smooshed up crab cake that wasn't very fresh. Again, the food was decent, but nothing to get excited about. However, the potatoes that came with the main courses were awesome! They were thick, yet crunchy. Wow, that sounds cheesey. The best part of the meal, though? The coffee! It was strong and well-brewed. I heartily approve! Not sure I'd go back again for brunch. In total, with gratuity and tax, it cost us about $70 for brunch (for two of us). Yeah, the food was decent, but is it really worth it to pay $70 for only decent brunch?

The Inspiration of Agraria

Agraria (3000 K Street NW, Washington DC 20007 on the Georgetown waterfront) is the inspiration for this blog but not because of its fantastic food. I visited Agraria during restaurant week and I was thoroughly underwhelmed. Granted, $30 is a good deal for a three-course dinner, but as I'm not exactly rollng in dough, I wanted good food and service for my money. Other preemptive responses to people who think that I'm too harsh . . . yes, it was restaurant week and you never get the best of the best during restaurant week. Maybe you can't get the most expensive thing on the menu, but the food should still be decent. Restaurant week can't be an invitation to pay $30 for a subpar dinner. At any rate, I was so unimpressed by my dining experience that I decided to start this blog to warn others off of food that is simply not worth the money. Thus the inspiration of Agraria. The food wasn't actually that bad. However, things got off on the wrong foot. Despite having a reservation, we had to wait awhile for a table. I'm patient and a former waitress, so I don't usually get annoyed at substandard service. I ordered the charcuterie plate as my appetizer. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the exact meats I was eating because it wasn't on the menu, and a bartender who knew nothing about the food waited on us. The presentation was lacking to say the least. The meat was pressed onto a plate. It didn't come with bread or any exciting accents. It was honestly like eating a plate of lunchmeat. My husband ordered the chicken soup. Good, but nothing to write home about. My friend ordered a spinach salad, which was okay, but again, nothing exciting. Luckily, the main course redeemed things a bit. I ordered fried chicken, which came with mashed potatoes and a vegetable that I can't remember because it was so long ago. It was excellent. My friend ordered the steak, which was cooked to order with a great flavor. I really wanted to take my leftover chicken home, but unfortunately, it was thrown away in the kitchen. I got an extra dessert to take home, which was a nice gesture, but based on how dessert was, I would have rather taken the chicken home. I ordered chocolate cake for dessert and the others ordered the pumpkin cheesecake. The pumpkin cheesecake was good, but not better than other renditions that I've had. The chocolate cake had fantastic frosting. It was deliciously fudgy. Too bad the cake was dry. We also ordered coffee, which ended up being pretty decent. There were good points to the meal, but I don't think that I would go back again.