Poste Brasserie

We recently had a delightful brunch with good friends and he who must be our youngest friend. I'll get his meal out of the way first--the 3 year old had a bagel and cream cheese.

On to the old folks.

First, please do yourself a favor and GIVE IN to your inner self. You know, the inner self that is saying "get the house made doughnuts, you fool!" Let yourself go. There is a fine assortment (usually more than one chocolate, so less fighting than expected) and each one makes you wish it was a never-ending bowl/Mary Poppins/Olive Garden situation.

I had the ridiculous Brioche French Toast. I usually go for something omelette-y and healthy, but I was craving some ridiculosity, so there it went. The pieces were super thick, crunchy on the outside, and all around delightful. I don't have a picture of it, and for that I apologize.

BUT, two at our table got the Eggs Hussarde. Apparently invented in New Orleans, this combination of slightly scooped-out baked potato (swoon), merchand de vin sauce (hearty and flavorful), and poached egg (go, yolk! Infest everything, in a good way, with your deliciousness!) was simply magical. It's topped with bacon strips, which definitely are not necessary for the flavor explosion if you're not a fan/keep kosher/watching your sodium intake.



Service was attentive and charming, the patio was lovely, and I can't wait to do it again. P.S., brunch is Saturday AND Sunday. niiiice.


Poste Brasserie
555 8th Street, NW
Metro: Red, Yellow, and Green Lines to Gallery Place/Chinatown

Cafe Atlantico

Wow. Was it the amazing company we had? The beautiful weather? The creamy vanilla syrup-laden iced coffee? All I know is that when I look at the pictures from Cafe Atlantico and think about our meal, I actually start salivating all over again.

Cafe Atlantico is part of Jose Andres' plan to make all of the delicious restaurants in the D.C. area have his name on them, muahahahaha. Jaleo, Zaytinya (I love those places), Oyamel, and Minibar are all his. You may remember him from the PBS special Made in Spain or No Reservations: D.C. Or maybe you've never heard of him, in which case--you're welcome, reader.

Why don't we do this old style, huh? A hit list. As F says, "SMALL PLATES! SMALL PLATES! SMALL PLATES!"

Tableside guacamole: Delicious. M doesn't like avocado (K, he's your 'cado-hating soulmate) so the rest of us pitched in extra oomph and finished it without his help. Cilantro, some hotness (we got "medium" and it was perfect for me--the weak one), tomatoes, onion, and lime. Perfect.



Sopa del dia: The tomato bisque with chipotle peppers was good, but not amazing. If I were J I would've downed most of the shot glass in one...shot? But he didn't. And then it got kind of cold, which was sad.

Coconut rice, crispy rice, and ginger: I liked this dish, but not everyone did. It was almost like a funky rice pudding with a floraly-vanilla scent. This dish is on the bigger side of the ones we had, so keep that in mind if you order it.

Fried egg w/mashed black beans and pork: Awesome. We also took the liberty of adding the leftover beans from this dish to bites from other plates--delightful.

Mushrooms w/egg 63 degrees (celsius, folks): Pretty good.



Conch fritters: These were really interesting. The inside was liquid-y and hot, the flavor earthy and somewhat indescribable beyond that. Not seafood-y tasting. Intriguing. I'd like to go back and get them again.



Fried egg with Veracruz sauce: Not our favorite. Not special.



Carne asada: Good, but plain. And too safe. F says too much sauce!



Jicama-avacado ravioli: Almost like a summer roll outside, very thin (not crispy): We liked this fresh and crispy dish, but J wished it was more like a traditional ravioli. Fellas and their pastas...



Scallops: Scallopy. Nothing incredible here.

Pan dulce w/cinnamon syrup: (Run-on sentence about to commence): Hiii, it's like the silkiest most decadent while still being small totally soaked French toast you've ever had. Mmmmm wanting more. Now.

Seared crabcake: What's not to like?

Huitlacoche & wild mushroom quesadilla: Huitlacoche was described by F to the rest of us as "diseased corn." Sounds delicious, right? This was SO YUMMY. I LOVE DISEASED CORN TUMORS.

Pineapple unagi w/avocado sauce: Eel! So good!

Porkbelly confit: A+ from the crowd

I'd love to go back to Cafe Atlantico, especially for brunch. It was awesome. Sure, you can get the tasting menu, but we sort of did our own version, choosing the particular items that we wanted. Customized. Perfected. Picky, some would say. And DELICIOUS. Our company was unbeatable. Even our drinks were yummy. I had an iced coffee that I thought would send me straight to heaven.

Cafe Atlantico
405 8th St NW
Metro: Green/Yellow to Archives, or G/Y/Red to Gallery Place/Chinatown. Or Fed Tri. Or Metro Center. You know, it's just sort of near everything.

Rasika

Remember the foodies? They were PSYCHED about Rasika. Our recent visit was very much like the first. Lots of oohs and ahhs, and classic one-liners that attempted to describe what it was we were tasting.

First, we all LOVED the wine J picked, a supersmooth Australian Shiraz. And we appreciate the diversity of the wine list (geographically and dolla-billz-wise).


We shared the palak chaat and ragda patties as appetizers--even though we'd had the palak chaat before, it was too good and funky to not share with these foodies.

We also tried the tawa baingan, a stacked eggplant/potato creation with peanut sauce. SO GOOD. We didn't realize it would be stacked up like blocks, and were imagining something mushier, more along the lines of baingan bartha.


For dinner we shared tandoori chicken tikka that was falling apart with tender goodness. Our vegetarian dish (and you should get one) was with butternut squash--it's not on the online menu right now, but it was awesome. It had a little bit of heat (not too much for my mild-loving buds), and F described it (to M's dismay) as "if butternut squash went on an African safari and contracted an exotic disease--in a good way." What she means is this: when you look at it, you think sweet mash of squash. You get something more interesting. Hence, "exotic disease."



Our lamb dish (the lamb rizala, with the funky gold leaf) was my favorite. The texture of the lamb was awesome--it wasn't a mush, but it wasn't tough or gamey. And the color contrast between the lamb and the sauce (when you cut it open) was as it should be, but often isn't elsewhere (as in, other restaurants, not other Rasika dishes). The sauce was so good that I consistently drowned my rice in it and savored each soaked bite like it was a decadent dessert.



Besides that, we shared a bread basket and some basmati rice. My overall impression this time around was GO WITH FRIENDS. You get to try more stuff. I know this is pretty much always true, but with a sharey or small-plate situation my enthusiasm for additional guests heightens.

I do have one complaint: the Rasika web site induces nausea. They should have a visible text-only option for customers to choose.

Scratch that, second complaint: more naan per order. I think naan (and probably) rice should be a default side situation, served family style. None of this separate ordering nonsense. Maybe someone has had a little too much takeout.

Rasika
633 D Street NW
Metro: Red/Green/Yellow Lines to Gallery Place/Chinatown

The Cupcake Situation

Update: I've been advised about an ENTIRE BLOG devoted to DC area cupcakeries. It's here: http://delleicious.blogspot.com/

Back to your normally scheduled programming:
It's my understanding that the Cupcake Situation (as I call it) is a trend, like sushi on every block, Frappuccinos, burgers, and tangy yogurt. And while I like fattening coffee-blended drinks and frozen topping-heavy items as much as the next girl, I do not want the cupcake trend to end. Ever.

Georgetown Cupcake
1209 Potomac St NW

[*Update, 1 year later.  I am in love with GC. I love how the cakes, while tiny, are the perfect balance of moist, buttery cake and frosting.  I love how every day there are 100 free cupcakes at each location, announced via Twitter.  I love how no flavor has disappointed me, at least not yet.]

Uh oh. I haven't been. And isn't this the original? Not that it was the first place to sell cupcakes in DC, but it symbolizes the beginning of the DC strain of cupcakemania. I think that's why I haven't been. There's always a line. I'm not so into lines. I do notice from the web site (if it's truthful) that GC seems to have the most interesting looking cupcakes; other shops are pretty standard cake + frosting/icing, not so much with the various sprinklings/flowers on top. What do you think about GC?

I do have some info--the extremely talented bakestress over at Inkpad Chocolate likes GC so much that she recreated their signature dish, as seen on Martha Stewart.

Baked & Wired
1052 Thomas Jefferson St NW


Baked & Wired is a cozy little establishment. You can get coffee and a wrap from its adjoining little non-cupcake area, and take a seat at one of the few tables hanging around the back. The cake part of the cupcake is LARGE, perhaps the largest of the choices we discuss today. Many cupcakes are tiny little cakes that are stacked with an equally-sized helping of icing. B&W has a more manageable ratio, and I'm happy about the size of the cupcake considering the $3-4 all these (GC, B&W, HC, RV) will set you back. I really like B&W, but it's somewhat inconsistent. Some flavors are really good, like the pumpkin with cream cheese frosting, and others are eh. And the cake differs a lot based on the flavor--not necessarily that one is GREAT and one is BAD, but one will be soft, fluffy and buttery, and the next more dense. If you are a strictly dense-cake person, I can't accurately recommend B&W for you because the consistency of the cake varies greatly by flavor (although if I remember correctly, coconut had dense cake). But I'm generally a fan.


Red Velvet Cupcakery*
675 E St NW

"When I walk around with a cupcake I feel the opposite of important."

"This cupcake tastes like my childhood."

E was obviously a huge fan of the red velvet (Southern Belle) cupcake she got from Red Velvet (those quotes are from her). My cupcake (on the right) was a crazy chocolate chocolate chocolate situation, with a little gold leaf on top. The "icing" was more thick and fudge-y than icing-like, which was AMAZING.



RVC wins most convenient not only for its downtown location (anything near Metro Center and Gallery Place is a stone's throw from the city's best restaurants), but for best hours. 11am to 11pm every day. Elsewhere, there maybe be one or two nights a week open until 9 but generally they close at 6 or 7. Bummaroo, but not for RVC!!!

RVC doesn't put up a front with you--they know my deal. They take one look at me and say, "would you like that on a napkin?" YOU BET I WOULD! I DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' BOX! This cupcake won't last 5 minutes. K thx bye.

Also, RVC is related to Tangysweet, so if one cupcake just won't do it for you or your party, head next door for some yogurt. I like to top mine with honey, nuts, and cereal.

*It's not your imagination. Both the RVC and Tangysweet web sites take a while to load, and at first it seems like the link is broken.


Hello Cupcake
1351 Connecticut Ave NW

HC is pretty good. I've liked all the cupcakes I've tried, as have my companions, but the lack of choices is discouraging. I gather the flavors change every day. I really loved a peanut butter/chocolate cupcake I had there--it was topped with a Hershey kiss! Yum! Also, the cakes are a touch tiny for my liking. Itty bitty.

Homemade


My friend made these happy chocolate and vanilla with vanilla frosting and red sparkles cupcakes for a party recently, and they were delightful. Thanks, C!



What's your favorite cupcake place around here? Please leave your comments and be as detailed as possible (place AND flavor!!!). Thank you!

Poste Moderne Brasserie

I apologize in advance that I forgot my camera and only have phone photos for you. It is my submission that a not-perfect picture is better than no picture at all in most instances, so that's why I'm sharing.

I'd been eying Poste for a long time, and we finally made our appearance there before A Chorus Line. I didn't realize they had a pre-theater menu (it wasn't originally offered to us, despite our 6:00pm reservation), but when our server realized we were on our way to ordering a three-course meal she suggested that option. We never actually saw the pre-theater menu, but she told us what was on it. Both of our appetizer option were on it, but J ended up with not-his-first-choice (but still yummy) entree, and I gathered that all of the desserts were available. Let's do a hit list.

French onion soup: Yum. Hot. Cheesy.

Arugula salad: It says "mint, figs, basil, parmesan, aged sherry vinaigrette," but I saw and tasted a pile of arugula dressed with the sherry vinaigrette with approximately 5 pieces of fig underneath, topped with a single 3 inch shred of parmesan. Gathered on one side of the plate, the clump of arugula resembled a pile of leaves. It was fine, but it wasn't that good, and the presentation was underwhelming.

Beef bourguignon: J enjoyed the ribs and cheeks served in a little pot with soft roasted vegetables (including fingerling potatoes). The meat was so tender that we barely had to chew, which was relaxing.

Goat cheese ravioli: I looooved this, with its crispy shallots, organic beets, and pine nuts. The goat cheese was creamy and sweet, and the salty/sweet contrast in the dish was exactly what I love and what I was looking for. The portion was dainty, so I'm glad we were on a three-course track. Next time I'd like to try the poussin (baby chicken, essentially)--the words apple and cider appear in the description, so that's an obvious pick for me.


The gingerbread cake with roasted pears was the night's biggest disappointment. The cake was dry and generally not good; I honestly prefer J's homemade spice cake (and the man is no pastry chef) to what was on our plate. The pears were kind of dry, too. They could have used a little bath in something gooey, maybe.

The red velvet cake was GREAT! It was like having two chocolate brownie-like cakes, one covered in delicious raspberry sauce, and one naked. Our server recommended the tasting of salted caramel and the red velvet, but how was I to know that what she possibly meant was "these are the only good desserts"? I felt confident that those were just her favorites, and that I'd like most of the desserts on the list. Not true. Then again, at Central D was assured by our server that the Kit-Kat Bar is better than the chocolate lava whatnot, and that's probably not true.

Wine: I asked our knowledgeable server for a recommendation for a glass under the "Eclectic Reds" list and got a really really good Malbec. The list had a range of options, including very reasonably-priced bottles and half bottles.

The restaurant is in an old building, and somehow that translates into the closest bathroom being out the door, through the hotel lobby, and up one floor. Don't drink too much and limit your visit to one. Also, somewhat amusingly, the elevator has a typo--it lists floor 2 as the one with "Post Restaurant."

I'll definitely go back to Poste--not only for the main meals, but also for the delightful afterthoughts (like white chocolate-covered gooseberries).


Poste Moderne Brasserie
555 8th St NW
Metro: Red, Yellow, and Green Lines to Gallery Place-Chinatown

Zola

Zola has bathrooms hiding behind a swinging piece of "wall." Shadows of PIs in fedoras and identical rooms that make you double-check whether or not you're actually looking into a mirror are the norm here.

Yup. It's next to the Spy Museum.

B and I agonized over where we'd do Restaurant Week lunch--she's a veg, so we wanted to make sure the vegetarian options would actually be worth the $20.09 lunch, and she didn't feel like having fish necessarily (like at Hook). We wanted a place that would be new to both of us, and exciting enough for our sophisticated guest from the Big Apple, L.

Zola offered their entire menu for RW. NICE.

First L and I had the soup of the day: roasted eggplant, tomato, and basil. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was silky smooth and just a touch smoky. Really delish, and not too rich/creamy (a common offense with some tom/bas soup).


B noshed on the Butter Lettuce Salad, which was topped with gouda, almonds, oranges, and a flat, chip-like crouton.



For lunch, I enjoyed the grilled romaine salad with roasted chicken. It was good, but not out-of-this-world. To be honest, I went with a salad entree to ensure some room in the belly for dessert. Still, not the best grilled romaine I've ever had. B had the lobster mac and cheese, which I gather was delicious but veeery rich. And L had this unbelievably moist and flavorful lamb burger. It was so juicy and so well-seasoned, it was aaaamazing. L was also a huge fan of the tzatziki-esque sauce on the side.



Dessert was lovely. Pumpkin pecan roll (with brown sugar sour cream ice cream), key lime cheesecake (with tequila anglaise), and warm apple-quince pie (with gingersnap ice cream. My favorite was the pumpkin pecan roll.







My overall impressions: good service, restaurant is bigger than I thought, not too loud, full of ladies lunching, food was overall delicious--some things more than others, but still a very strong showing.

Zola
800 F St NW
Metro: Green, Yellow or Red Lines to Chinatown/Gallery Place. Or take a short walk from Archives/Navy Memorial or Metro Center.

PS7's RW

OK, so it was Restaurant MONTH practically over at PS7's (that's chef Peter Smith and 777 I St NW), after a somewhat lackluster RW experience there last year, J was itching to go back after reading various positive reviews.

To start, J had the mussels and I had the spicy tuna tartare sliders on Parkerhouse rolls. They were absolute wonders in one teensy bite. Delicious and beautiful. I want them again. Right now.

J had the beef short rib and tenderloin - the short rib was falling apart (in a good way, not like "this friendship is falling apart!"), it was super soft (but not mealy). It was like the best brisket I'd ever had in my entire life. I was boring (and trying to be healthy), so I had fish with vegetables and it was fine, but I wasn't jumping out of my chair.

The beignets with the two sauces (one fruit and one chocolate) were divine, so do yourself a favor and save room for dessert.

Lately I've been sort of into trying cocktails, so I had a delicious drink with rum, lemonade, and ginger ale--not too sweet (so appropriate with dinner) but a nice change from beer or wine. I need to become better versed in cocktails--it'll only happen if I order them!

PS7's
777 Eye Street NW
Metro: Gallery Place, Chinatown

Reliable Source

A reliable source informed me that she and a friend felt sick after eating at Zengo recently. She did some digging, and a handful of other friends reported similar occurrences--first they ate at Zengo, where they enjoyed delicious food, and then they went home and had a bellyache. I wonder how good the food was--was it worth it?

Zengo
781 7th St NW
Metro: Yellow/Red/Green Lines to Gallery Place/Chinatown

Proof

I always yak about how I want to go to Poste, and I want to go to Proof, and I want to go to Cork, when Poof! Yesterday, my best friend took me to Proof. And I'll definitely be returning.

First of all, I was able to make a reservation for 2 on OpenTable just 24 hours in advance. Good luck going to Central or Zaytinya on that timeframe--ain't gonna happen, folks. With 2.5 Stars from Our Hero, it's an obvious choice for a post-work meet-up. And with AVAILABLE SEATS, you can't really go wrong. I've degressed. Enough.

T started with a cocktail called the Heretic--I believe it contained at least strawberries, basil, and jalapenos. I know, who would drink that? T would. I had the Rosé du Jour. I don't know what it was, but it was great--T hit the nail on the head when she said the following pearl of wisdom: "Some rosés taste like whites with a little bit of red--this tastes like red with a little bit of white." So true, and that's what made it yummy. It didn't taste watery or washed out, it was just right the way it was. Glasses of wine at Proof come in 2 oz tastes, 6 oz, or 8.5 oz for a regular "glass." They are priced accordingly. Go ahead, and try a bit of 6 different wines! You can't be stopped! You're an animal!

The cheese options looked great, but ladies watching their figures will save the calories for a shared dessert. To start, T and I split the sautéed veal sweetbreads. I'm personally not afraid of sweetbreads, and tried them for the first time at Citronelle (generally not a bad place for a "first taste"). These had a much different texture, reminding me more of a seared scallop than a soft cheese. The combination of black pepper, spinach, dates, and bacon with the sweetbreads was a sweet/salty/smoky fiesta on my tongue, complete with party favors and those little pointy hats. According to Tom's review, the flatbreads are tasty. T and I just couldn't justify playing it safe (Mediterranean flatbread anyone?) when we had the opportunity to try something new. Our server said the braised little meatballs are also delicious, but not as interesting as what we ordered.

Dinner brought the roasted Alaskan halibut with caramelized sunchokes, glazed rainbow carrots, and almond mint pesto for T, and let me tell you for her, it sounds a lot more exciting than it really is. It's not that it didn't taste good, it was acceptable. But the fish was naked. If she wasn't getting that dish, I was sure to order it because the phrase "almond mint pesto" is like music to my ears. I LOVE pesto. I LOVE mint. But alas, the veggies were sort of dull and brown-looking, sitting under the naked fish while a few swipes of the yummy-sounding sauce tracked the plate. A bit bland for an otherwise funky place!

My dinner was delish. I had the crispy panko chicken breast with lemongrass jasmine rice, napa slaw, roasted peanuts, and Thai salsa verde. To me, the rice didn't really have a place on that plate. I would have preferred a crunchy or otherwise green vegetable to go along with that chicken. The chicken was sliced but then reassembled so I didn't even realize it was already cut for me. How thoughtful, Proof! It was moist, with a bit of a crunchy outside, but not at all greasy like typical fried chicken. I really enjoyed the salda verde, but there wasn't enough! Again with the stripes of sauce! I definitely don't want my dish to get soggy with sauce, don't get me wrong, but it was a lot of chicken and just two skinny lines of the very interesting salsa verde!

For dessert, T and I shared the goat's milk cheesecake. No, this was not a commercialized cheesecake of yore, conforming to a triangular wedge of tasty yet boring redundancy. It was in a mid-height round glass, and had the thinnest lacing of tartness on top (was it raspberry?), just beneath a soft top layer of what tasted like softer and unsweetened graham cracker crumbs. To appreciate the tiny tart layer, we dug in deep with our spoons. By the way, we used our baby spoons that came with our espressos, because if even one of us used the enormous spoons they gave us (think "big spoon," not proper dessert spoon) we would have finished in a bite and a half. Totally obscene spoon size.

Decor at Proof is interesting. The red bathroom walls are patterned with black boustiers and fishnet-clad gams. The toilets are the tiny metal ones you'd find on an airplane. And the heart-shaped mirror made me laugh.

Although our server was top notch, the two hostesses were chatting with each other and neither bid us adieu...
Proof
775 G St NW
Washington, DC
Metro: Red, Green, or Yellow Line to Gallery Place/Chinatown or Red, Orange, or Blue Line to Metro Center

Jaleo

Jaleo is a local tapas place, partly put together by Jose Andres, the man behind many James Beard awards and nominations AND some of the most fantastic and innovative restaurants in the area. You (collectively, or at least E, who is reading) know I cherish the opportunity to try a bunch of things instead of being limited to one dish. I'll tell you what T and I had on a recent visit, whether the dish stood out, and if I'd order it again.

Manzanas con hinojo y queso Manchego: Sliced apples and fennel with Manchego
cheese, walnuts and sherry dressing
This was fresh and crunchy; if it had a little more apple and a touch less fennel I'd order it again.

Coles de Bruselas: A warm salad of Brussels sprouts, apples, apricots, grapes and Serrano ham
Despite my attempt to avoid the ham in this dish, the smell of it was overwhelming. Sadly, the aroma transported to me to when I'm in my mother's pantry and open a cookie jar full of Sophie's dog treats--I suppose they are made of the same material. I didn't really catch anything but sprouts and ham, the fruits were lost to me. I wouldn't order it again.

Coliflor con olivas y frutos secos: Sautéed cauliflower with green and black olives and dried dates
This was yummy--the cauliflower florets were tiny and not soft enough for my liking, but the sweet sauce derived from the dates was REALLY good, especially when sopped up with bread. Order on!

Rape con puré de berenjenas: Seared monkfish over an eggplant purée and finished with black olive oil
The monkfish was tasteless, but the eggplant puree beneath was AWESOME--I wanted just a bowl of that and some bread! Don't order again as long as the monkfish is still the main to-do.

Salmón a la plancha: Seared salmon with a relish of green olives and capers
This was good, but tiny and not super memorable.

Seared scallops with a traditional sauce from the Canary Islands
This sauce was yum. Order it!

Pastel Vasco con helado de leche merengada: Basque cake with semolina cream, cinnamon-vanilla sauce & ice milk
THIS WAS MY FAVORITE THING THE ENTIRE NIGHT! I love dessert, but it's not usually my favorite part of a meal at a restaurant, because many restaurants have scrumptious dishes and "OK" sweets...it's not their specialty, and I have high standards. This cake was divine. We were hesitant about the cream because we didn't want anything to heavy, but Spanish desserts are customarily very light. The sauce, the ice milk (as opposed to ice cream), it all came together beautifully. It was such a perfect ending to a meal that was otherwise interesting, but not to-die-for.

I think I want to go to back with a group of friends and order all of the desserts--I wanted the hazelnut chocolate torte, too! Who's in?

Jaleo
Arlington, Bethesda, DC
Metro: Blue/Yellow Line to Crystal City, Green/Red/Yellow Line to Gallery Place/Chinatown, Red Line to Bethesda

Zaytinya

Yumyumyumyumyum. I'm a tapas/mezze lover. Small plates allow me to try a lot of different things without (a) wasting food, (b) emptying my wallet, (c) eating entirely too much. I loved Zaytinya.

No matter what you get, it's likely to be good. For dinner, I loved the arayes (pita filled with lamb), kibbeh (crisp and golden-brown bulb-shaped fritters filled with meat and spices), the falafel (old favorite, but seriously, it's a must) and the grape leaves. I would eat everything that I had again, but it's necessary to mix it up so eventually you hit everything on the menu. I already forgot how good the spanikopita (feta and spinach in phyllo dough) was--it comes out last and it is worth the wait.

The creamy hint-of-a-tangy-note labneh transported me back to the breakfast table in Israel, a place where the produce has a sharper, brighter taste and the cheeses cause the word "portion" to disappear from my vocabulary. The staff thankfully keeps refilling the basket of their pita, a 3-D diamond-shaped pocket-like bread, which entertains me on the table as the steam pours out of a small hole at the top. Dip it in every sauce, cheese, and yogurt. You know, just to make sure it's still good.

A note about the wine: Though $9 for the cheapest glass made me do a double-take, this "glass" was more like 1.5--the large pour was pleasing.

Brunch is equally delightful at Zaytinya. The patata harra, a stated favorite of our server, was a tasty treat--a fried egg placed prettily on top of a hashy potato mixture. The omelet with vegetables was very vegetable-y tasting--not my favorite, but still good. My FAVORITE were the poached eggs (cilbir) with Greek yogurt, paprika butter, and sumac. After the initial puncture, the running egg yolks and deliciously creamy sauce were subjected to my incessant dipping with my pita. I also think this dish offers the most bang for your buck, because it's a lot of food (especially with the abundant opportunity to dip) for $6.95. The traditional Lebanese French toast (with honey-marinated bananas) was so moist that my father refused to believe it was actually made of bread--he likened it to flan, the Spanish custard dessert. It tasted like a grand finale for me, too!

Servers recommend 2-3 dishes per person, and for brunch we ordered 2 per person plus 3 more for the table of 6 total guests. We had plenty and all left full.

Service is friendly--our hummus was forgotten but we received two orders of fried eggplant, which we promptly ate. We were only charged for what we ate.

I'm totally obsessed...I think Zaytinya is my new favorite restaurant in DC.
1. Not super-expensive
2. Ridiculously delicious
3. Many options
4. Lots of sharing
5. Lots of cheese

Updated note: Forgot to tell ya'll how it's superdeeduper loud at dinnertime because da bar iz hoppin. If you are bringing old folks, try brunch! It's quiet and reservations don't need to be made 3 weeks in advance, harumph.

Zaytinya
701 9th St NW
Metro: Green, Red, or Yellow line to Gallery Place, or Blue, Orange, or Red Line to Metro Center. It's situated pretty much in between, and they are close together.

Rasika

Do you love Indian food? Are you hungry right now? Stop reading, go to Chinatown, eat at Rasika, and then come back and read the rest of my nonsense later.

...

Welcome back! Isn't it gorgeous inside? At our recent trip to this modern twist on the never-boring (to me) Indian restaurant, J and I started with the Asparagus Uttapam. Uttapam has a pancake shape and texture, and usually the ingredients (like asparagus) are cooked right into the batter. It was fun to try, but next time I'd probably get something different with more flavor. Next was the Palak Chaat. Don't worry if you forget to write it down, I think the servers are trained to recommend it. It's basically flash fried spinach mixed with tamarind, sweet date chutney, and yogurt. It tastes similar to but better than french fries, and spinach definitely counts more as a "vegetable" than potatoes.

It turns out I wasn't man enough to take the spice on the Chicken Green Masala--without the heat it would have had a real cool, fresh taste from the mint that I would have enjoyed. That doesn't usually happen, but neither does the next part. My FAVORITE entree was the Lamb Dhansak, made with Dhansak masala, pumpkin, dill, and lentils. Dhansak masala is made with every spice and herb under the sun, along with ginger, garlic, and lentils--it just tasted like super good sauce, to me. The dishes were complemented by a white rice and long grain brown rice, respectively.

There were so many delicious-sounding (and looking) sides to choose from, but we went with the Palak Aloo Kofta (spinach, potato, fenugreek, and cumin). We were both pretty psyched that the potato mixture was sort of in a low mound hiding in the spinach, as opposed to being dispersed throughout the bowl. It was very flavorful, but next time I'd like to try something more daring--overall the vegetables are pretty tame, though. Maybe something with coconut next time. I love anything with eggplant (look for a "baigan" dish) but I had eaten too much of it during the week--effectively eggtplant-ed out.

Next time I may request that our naan come out with our main dishes--we ate it all with our appetizers and didn't have any left to soak up the delicious sauce from the lamb. We could have gotten more, I know, but how much naan must we eat?

Get dessert. If I hadn't stuffed myself at dinner I would have chosen the date and toffee pudding. I love dates. Still, I don't regret sharing the Chocolate Samosa, which was like a flaky pastry version of the savory favorite, filled with warm thick chocolate (sweet, not bitter at all). A little tricky to eat with a fork, but otherwise fantastic.

Dinner at Rasika lasted just over 2 hours for us speed-eaters, and was a perfect prelude to our movie at E Street Cinemas.

Rasika
633 D Street NW
Metro: Red, Green, or Yellow line to Gallery Place/Chinatown

PS7's

The only reason I went to PS7’s in the first place was because when I heard it was named after the chef Peter Smith, I was tickled that I had a very brilliant, serious professor with the same name. I looked at the web site to make sure he wasn’t leading a double life as a fabulous chef, and thought the menu looked interesting—okay fine, I wanted the hot dogs. The following describes my experiences at the restaurant—one during Restaurant Week, and one a few months before. Enjoy the discrepancies.

Part 1--PS7’s On Any Old Regular Kinda Day
We may have been the only people in the restaurant, and we weren’t even inside. On a gorgeous not-too-hot summer afternoon, we sat outside and enjoyed some quality people-watching in Chinatown.

J went for the steak and potatoes, a little heavy for my lunch tastes but perfect for him. According to him, his steak was better than the one he’d had earlier in the week at the District Chophouse. I went for the 4 little half-smokes, each sitting in a delicious homemade bun, arranged in an orderly fashion beside small containers of ketchup and mustard. My side of pomme frites was a perfect complement, and I felt that PS7’s had successfully reinvented the hot dog and fries of the picnics and barbecues we once knew. The half-smokes were juicy and flavorful, which was almost surprising—their small size could easily lead to overcooking.

Also, everything was piping hot! I LOVE my food either hot hot hot or cold, and lukewarm is NOT going to do it for me. Perhaps that’s why I eat so quickly…I truly heed the advice to “get it while it’s hot.”

Our service was impeccable—you never know when it’s empty if you’ll be smothered or ignored, but our server was friendly, funny, honest in his suggestions, and best of all he made sure our glasses of iced tea were full. After all, we were sitting outside. In DC. During the summer.

We didn't have appetizers or desserts because hey, it's lunch, and what do you think this is? Restaurant Week?!?! That's later.

PART 2, JUST AS IMPORTANT AS PART 1--PS7’s on Restaurant Week:
The restaurant was bustling. I was so excited to share with a friend the wonder I had discovered that is PS7’s, which I felt (at that moment) was underrated! I started with Sarah’s Salad, which the menu describes as containing strawberries, pine nuts, gouda, and pearl onions. The plate I received was embarrassingly large for the serving of salad that sat on it. Too much dressing, too little of what was touted by the menu. Some scrawny shaved gouda was on top of the salad, but I wish it was cubed. The salad lacked texture, which is funny because there were supposed to be pine nuts in it—crunchy, no? More like pine nut. Singular. Salad can be so delicious when it’s done right—all the ingredients were there (in theory), but the ratios were off, along with the temperature (not quite cold enough) and the amount of dressing. There's a different salad with the same initials I would have rather had, and it comes from a place that starts with a C and ends with an -osi.

M started with the risotto with chorizo, or something like that. It tasted all right to me, but to her (much more) sophisticated palate, it seemed undercooked. She said that in theory it seemed like a good idea on paper, but the execution was lacking something. I liked the smoky flavor, but otherwise didn’t think it was that special.

Next I got my seared scallops, asparagus, seared (and finely diced) tomato with plum vinaigrette. The golden color on top of the scallops was perfect, and the plating was pleasant to my eye. I LOVED the flavors introduced by the plum vinaigrette, sweetness really does it for me.

M wasn’t thrilled with her particular cut of lamb. It was okay, very peppery, but still good. It may not have been as disastrous if two things hadn’t gone wrong at this moment. One, her side order of potatoes never arrived, even when we’d been told they were “on their way.” Two, the supposed “rustic bread” that was to be served with her lamb was mysteriously missing from the plate. Neither of us would have realized #2 save for the fact that we still had our menus so we could contemplate dessert. Our waiter sort of looked at us like we were crazy when I inquired about the “rustic bread.” The potatoes, it turned out, had gone to the wrong table, and they were taken off the bill. Our iced teas never actually appeared on the bill…okay with us.

Dessert! Lemon cheesecake for M, the beignets for me. Beignets were definitely better, I thought. They were tasty either dry or with the strawberry sauce, but I didn’t care for the aftertaste from the chocolate sauce. It wasn’t creamy or thick enough to deserve to be paired with those little perfectly crisp doughnuts. The cheesecake was good, I really enjoyed the crispy little pieces of something—maybe shortbread?—and candied lemon rind (I think?) that sat on top of it, and the blueberry compote was good too. Nothing wrong with the cheesecake, I just liked the beignets better. Simple girl.

Our server was apologetic about the potatoes, and like I said, they were taken off the bill, but mistakes and annoyances like that can't help but put a damper on the meal. At one point, two women were leaving the restaurant, walking slowly, and 6 servers stared at them from the server station a few feet from our table. Was she famous? What was she doing? Who cares? All I know is, I don’t want 6 servers standing two feet from me all staring at someone. It’s awkward and makes diners uncomfortable. Didn’t their mothers collectively teach them not to stare? Also, it didn't seem like the servers knew what to do with themselves--I felt like saying, "Take me to your leader" but was sure there would be no leader. They lacked direction and seemed confused. It wasn't that crowded, and even if it was, you want to at least put forward the appearance of order.

Anyway, the food can be interesting and tasty, but while I entered thinking PS7’s should be The Next Big Thing, I left weirded out.

Being disappointed on Restaurant Week is like raaaaain on your wedding day, it's that freee riiiide when you already paid...

PS7’s
www.ps7restaurant.com
777 I Street NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown

Matchbox

This post is divided into the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

THE GOOD: This Chinatown hot-spot has a prime location. Everyone likes pizza, beer, and burgers, which fares well for a place that is known for the 3.6.9 logo (that's the number of mini burgers you want).
1. The burgers themselves are delicious, from your cheese choices (gorgonzola, cheddar, and !SMOKED GOUDA!) down to the silver dollar-sized pickles that line the bottom. The buns are a comforting consistency and temperature.

2. Pizza is another safe bet at Matchbox, although I'd almost rather have a burger. If you go with friends, get both and mix it up. The salads are okay, but the last time I ordered one to start with it came AFTER my burger, and being a Strict American I prefer to eat my salad before my hot food.

3. The mozzi carozzi is a comforting heart-attack-on-a-plate appetizer, basically like a deep-fried eggplant parm sans eggplant. Cheese, basil, tomato.

4. The girly cocktails are fun, especially the Slingblade and Berry Blast.

I wish I could remember the desserts, but they aren't on the site and we ordered 4 different things...I should revisit before I post about them.

THE BAD:
1. I know (I do know) that I'm nitpicky, but your mini burgers come with little ramekins of ketchup and mustard, and no tiny spreader. So you have the teensy top of a bun, a small plate, a little ramekin of your chosen condiment, and a HUGE CLUNKY BUTTER KNIFE. I'm sure I'm not the only one with bun fatalities, and my heart goes out to other sufferers. If you won't allow us to squeeze out our ketchup, then at least provide us a decent way to apply it. Tools are everything.

2. The Ginger Snap (girly) drink just isn't Gingery enough to warrant its name.

3. You can't get seated if your party is not complete, which sucks if you want to do appetizers and then wait for others to join you later. Not everyone gets out of work at the same time!

4. Expanding your restaurant is GREAT, FABULOUS, even WONDERFUL. Having a zillion stairs and like half a bathroom is ridiculous. Why must I walk down a few flights for a restroom? The expansion is funny, because when you say you are "upstairs" at Matchbox, there are TWO different upstairses. Once we got moved from one upstairs to the other, and literally went across the room, down the stairs, around the corner, up the stairs, across the room, and sat down again. Why is there not a hallway connecting these? What is the deal?

THE UGLY: Last time I was there we saw a rat. Upstairs (right). Yuck.

Matchbox
www.matchboxdc.com
713 H Street NW
Metro: Red/Green/Yellow line to Gallery Place/Chinatown

La Tasca

A return visit to La Tasca (but my first to the Chinatown branch) with a fab friend brought some interest to what otherwise would have been a dull Tuesday. Interesting bit about La Tasca, it's actually a UK chain that is alll over the place across the pond with just five US locations, all in the Balt/Wash metro area.

Tapas are my cup of tea. In fact, I'd like to have tapas-style meals with all kinds of food, not just Spanish. I'd like small plates of Italian, American, Thai, etc etc. That's why I love going out for Indian and Ethiopian food with groups--you get to try tons of stuff. Go out for Indonesian, same deal!

We had the following:

1. Champinones al ajillo (pardon my lack of tilde)- Sauteed mushrooms - You know, mushrooms. Good. Not particularly flavorfully seasoned.

2. Berenjenas gratinadas - I wanted this to be better than it was. It was ok, but I prefer my eggplant peeled, and the cheese had melted and hardened a little, gathering in the middle. So if you wanted to eat some cheese you had to literally cut it with a knife and take a piece, rather than have it smothering your eggplant. It was less "baked with cheese" as described, and rather, topped with baked cheese.

3. Mejillones a la marinara - I really enjoyed these mussels! The sauce was delicious, I wanted to drink it but instead politely dipped my olive and tomato bread in it.

4. Pulpitos a la gallega - baby octopus - I have put out many disclaimers about my lack of adventurousness, but I tried it. It was hard to look at it up close (I'm glad it was kind of dark in there) because ewww gross, but the crunchy legs (tentacles? Whatever they were) were pretty good and had a little kick to them. They could have been potato straws for all I knew.

5. Albondigas a la jardinera - MEATBALLS. Can you ever go wrong? There were peas in the sauce, and they were welcomed.

The service was ok. While our server was friendly and mildly amused at my attempt to order in Spanish (I've been learning via podcast), our service wasn't attentive. We were starving and ordered some appetizer bread (pan de tomate and pan de aceitunas--tomato and olive), which came along with a basket of regular bread WITH OUR FOOD. I'm sure the bread could have been ready earlier, and maybe it's Spanish custom to serve it with the food, but I needed something to nibble on in a serious way. Also, a few times I wished I wasn't staring at an empty glass of water. We were seated in the back left corner of the restaurant, and I faced my friend and a door that was THANK G-D NOT THE BATHROOM, because then I would have been annoyed. Besides the general bathroom smell (even if it's an air-fresheny one), I don't like the people shuffling in and out and around. Very distracting.

Sidenote, my other area of seating pickiness is with "floating tables." I prefer to be anchored to a wall, particularly when it's only me and another person, that way I can't be surrounded on all sides by people (sitting, talking, walking by...). I don't mind a small space, just let mine be against the wall.

Also, La Tasca, your pillows are a little bit awkward sometimes for sitting. Too big maybe? Too many?

Coming up: Why Old Ebbitt Express is the best bang for your lunch buck, and my Happy Hour picks...

Bon appetit and b'teavon.

La Tasca
www.latascausa.com
2900 Wilson Blvd...772 7th St NW
Metro: Orange Line to Clarendon...Green, Yellow, or Red to Gallery Place/Chinatown