Dairy Godmother - Sweet Chair

OK, but what if I want to sit where Sasha sat?!?!


Dairy Godmother
2310 Mount Vernon Avenue
Del Ray
No, you can't take the Metro there (but you can take the motorcade)

PSA: Free Cone Day

It's that time again...time for Free Cone Day at most Ben & Jerry's! Search HERE for your local scoop shop. TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009! So today (Tuesday), or tomorrow, if you're reading this late on Monday. Which means you aren't watching 24, like some people.

Last year I crankily linked you to nutrition facts. Whatevs, it's free cone day. It's a small scoop anyway.

Last warning: Lines get long on FCD. Be patient!

*I in no way specifically promote Ben & Jerry's as the official ice cream of my blog, but when something is free, I usually eat it. It's not a very discriminating policy. If you were giving away ice cream, I'd probably publicize your event, too.

Sushi Taro and Mr. Yogato

We had the great pleasure of dining recently with J & J. Wow that's so cute it's almost wrong. Anyway, being city slickers and all, J-squared reeled in these suburban couch potatoes for a Dupont Circle evening. You might remember that we only recently started understanding about good sushi and better sushi. Well, Sushi Taro is DELICIOUS sushi. First there was miso soup all around, and delightful vegetable tempura. I will say that the veggie pieces were quite large, so at times you had to look to your neighbor and say, "Listen, I really want the eggplant, and it's awkward to share such enormous pieces of lightly fried vegetable with you without knives."

For dinner, the four of us shared two spicy tuna rolls, one yellowtail, one Alaska (salmon and avocado), one eel with cucumber, one plum with shiso leaves, a rainbow roll (spicy tuna with more fish and avocado wrapped around outside--see the visual), and the baby snapper nigiri from the "special" list. Everything tasted as it should--fresh and flavorful. The service was attentive and understanding (we asked a handful of questions). I'd definitely recommend Sushi Taro.

Afterward, we were full but not stuffed--at least not too stuffed for frozen dessert. We went around the corner to Mr. Yogato, one in a smattering of recent yogurt joint openings that still doesn't rival the burger explosion of 2008. You can get original soft, original tangy, or a rotation of yogurt flavors at Mr. Yogato, and then there are a zillion toppings. Including olive oil. I had original tangy with bananas, mini Eggo wafflse, and honey. It was AWESOME. Standard chocolate toppings abound, for the traditional folks. The best part about MY of course are the games. Besides the standards, including answering a trivia question (like "Name 7 countries that start and end with the same letter"--Jeff's question!), the night we were there your yogurt was 100% free if you could stand on one foot on your tippy toes (not quite ballet style, but raised up) for 15 seconds with YOUR EYES CLOSED. The eyes closed part is the kicker, people. Try it. Right now. As J said, you go to Mr. Yogato when you're with friends but Tangysweet when you're alone.

Sushi Taro
1503 17th St NW
Mr. Yogato
1515 17th Street NW
Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle (South Exit)

Kabob Bazaar and Boccato

Kebob. Kebab. Kabob.

It's a beautiful thing, however you spell it.

You could throw a rock at this place from the Clarendon Metro, but don't--throwing rocks is mean. How about this: you could give a friendly wave to a colleague sitting at KB from the Clarendon Metro escalator.

From the outside, it doesn't look like much. No flashy lights or fancy awning. But no summer passersby can overlook the plethora of outdoor seating. When all the bastions of mediocrity (Whitlow's, Boulevard Woodgrill) are stuffed to the gills, do your party a favor and lead them to Kabob Bazaar.

If you're at a place called "Kabob Bazaar," I recommend you get a kabob, even though the menu is rather extensive. Combination kabobs are your best bet, so the indecisive (Hi!) can try more than one meat. I loved the Chicken Soltani, one skewer of chicken and one of kubideh, which is a kabob made of ground beef or lamb (sometimes a mixture of both) mixed with onion and spices. The 'bobs were laid atop a big flatbread that was good for wrapping around the kabob or just noshing on plain. I find ground meat very comforting, and the whole feel of the combo platter made me feel as if I was eating in someone's home. The dish was well-seasoned and very filling. The portions are very large, so if you control yourself you can have ample leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. Splitting an appetizer will further that goal, so try the grape leaves or hummus.

When you leave, if somehow you have room for dessert, stop by the new gelato place, Boccato. I had to look it up to find out the name, because to me and J it's just "the gelato place that is attached to the Latin market and looked like it was half-open for a few weeks," and that's just a nickname. The flavors are homemade and they rotate, and you can even write on the list of suggestions. The place is like a sauna, so get your gelato and head back outside. So far I've enjoyed oreo biscotti and pomegranate. We were achin' for frozen desserts in Arlington after Lazy Sundae left and even Ben & Jerry's (ugh) closed shop.

Kabob Bazaar
3133 Wilson Boulevard
Metro: Orange Line to Clarendon

Boccato
Wilson Blvd, near the Latin Market, across from Whole Foods

Euro Market

K said, "We love the coffee at Euro Market." Months went by before I decided to have breakfast at EM--a turkey and egg sandwich on whole wheat and fresh squeezed orange juice. As in, I watch the person cut 4 peeled oranges in half and put them into a machine, then BAM! Juice. It's amazing. When I take the first sip I feel transported to a warmer, more exotic place, the sort of locale where gleeful children dive into abundant mountains of fresh produce. The last sip can be a little tart, a heads up for those who want to crinkle your noses in advance.

But don't stop visiting after breakfast.

All wraps come with lettuce, tomato (cut up, not shoved in there), lettuce (shredded), sprouts (!), cucumbers, pesto, special sauce, and a swipe of cream cheese spread used to stick the wrap closed. J noticed that the starch was minimal in my meal, as opposed to the typical wrap these days where I accidentally fill up on the wrapper that's wound around 1/2 inch thick. More turkey for me, please! EM has tons of sandwiches, every which way different types and flavors of breads and wraps, interesting spreads, and overall happiness. They also sell wine and beer (singularly by the bottle, too) and funky imported European candies and chocolates. Looks are deceiving for this tiny gem!

Wow, how could I almost sign off without telling you that they have BREYER'S ICE CREAM! The saddest part of Euro Market is that it's at the base of an apartment building that is not mine.

FYI, Pesach/finals time will bring fewer posts temporarily, but maybe a recipe or two. My Euro Market experience is a pre- (and will be a post-) Passover indulgence.

Euro Market
2201 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA
Metro: Orange Line to Court House

Evening Star Cafe - an evening in Del Ray

Because we once were huge fans of Tallula for brunch and Buzz bakery, it was only natural to head over to Del Ray to try out Evening Star (they are all part of the same group). Of course, it also came highly recommended by a friend who has impeccable taste.

As per usual, I had scoped out the menu online and hoped that it had been updated recently. I was very happy to see that it had, and the Grilled Watermelon salad was my first course. The listed ingredients are tatosi, mizuna, herbed goat cheese, and pine-nut brittle. I believe the first two were the greens. The salad was fantastic, with balanced flavors, sweetness and saltiness. I wish I could have a brick of the pine nut brittle! It was also nice to have some watermelon this summer--back home the summer meant cousins running around and a giant watermelon getting sliced up. For two people, a giant watermelon doesn't exactly make sense.

For J's first course, he ordered a special scallop appetizer (I now forget the contents) but actually received the bay scallops over gazpacho. The mistake was realized by us, but because he's a fan of tomatoes and it was a beautiful summer evening, he ate it anyway. The scallops were tasty but after a few bites of gazpacho he was done. It wasn't bad or anything, but it was a lot of gazpacho!

Dinner brought me the seared scallops and mashed potatoes. The scallops were delicious, great texture, nice and lightly seasoned, all good. The mashed potatoes were okay, nothing special. My new thing is if it's not that good, I stop eating it (may seem obvious to you, but a few months ago I would have eaten all of those mediocre mashed spuds!), so I barely touched them. J had the peach and apple cider glazed pork chop, which he said was deliciously fabulous.

The real treat is dessert. From what I'd heard, Evening Star's desserts were a little inconsistent. Rather than risk it, we walked over to Dairy Godmother for some delicious frozen custard. The flavor of the day was banana pudding! If I hadn't liked the flavor of the day, I may have gotten The Turtle (caramel and hot fudge) with vanilla ice cream.

The inside was pretty cute, but we sat outside so I already forgot what it looked like. Outdoor seating was comfortable, but the table furthest from the door felt neglected--they brought their check and credit card to the hostess table in an effort to get out of there quicker. I sensed they'd been waiting long, which is tough with antsy kids. Our server(s?) were cool and chatty, which I like.

We'll be back there (to BOTH places) very soon.

Evening Star Cafe
Dairy Godmother
Metro: Nope, it's in Del Ray, Alexandria