ktmoomau

To echo what Eric said- the mapo tofu dish had butternut squash in it and mushrooms, the squash really sweetened the dish, and the mushrooms while good, imparted a taste on the overall dish that then dulled the overall flavor. The only bite of Sichuan peppercorns I had imparted a very bitter taste to me, which I learned after being in Sichuan meant they weren’t very fresh, but didn’t help that it was also one bite in an otherwise oddly sweet dish. The fish was ok steamed fish, I had a couple really spicy bites and then some very bland bites, and just didn’t really feel the dish. Also the serving plates made it difficult to eat with broth. Small bowls would have helped, but as we had to ask for clean plates between courses I didn’t think this would really happen. I would have really liked the eel had it not been so fishy. But the quality obviously has issues. I wanted to like this meal and just wasn’t impressed.

So... I have been to Metier, Rose's Luxury, Kinship (but would go back), Komi. We both have been to IALW, minibar, Fiola. He has been to the Dabney, Pineapple and Pearls. What are thoughts on the other Michelin starred, or equivalent restaurants in DC right now? I want to take him somewhere for his birthday. I had a great take away dinner from Cranes, and that was high on my consideration. We both eat and enjoy all food types.

Don't know how this makes me feel about my age... I have to say, when it was good, it was good.

https://www.oaksteakhouserestaurant.com/alexandria-menus/ Hubby and I went to Oak Steakhouse the other night. Surprisingly it was our first time there. We thought about getting fancy steak, but Hubby felt like steak frites, and there was a halibut with curry sauce that sounded great. So we went off script. Glasses of wine, as we didn't really want to go all out. But we were celebrating a good day of work for me with a nice dinner. Hubby's steak frites was likely 6 oz steak and a huge pile of fries. The fries were good, I stole many. The steak had good flavor, I just had a bite. I am interested in getting a good steak next time around, looked good. BUT... my halibut was great. It was crispy on the outside but tender and flaky inside. It was served with forbidden rice, red curry sauce, green papaya and nam prik. It was really delicious. Honestly, it will be hard not to order it again. Hubby thought it was spicy, I didn't really think it was spicy, but the rice was cooked well, I dipped lots of fries in the curry sauce too. I loved it. We also were given a side of brussels with apple cider soy caramel sauce with crispy shallots, and man they were great. REALLY sauced and carmelized, but I liked them a lot. Hubby also was a huge fan. I am sure these are not low calorie Brussel sprouts, but man, delicious umami, sweet with a hint of salty. Loved them! Anyway, not cheap, but very good, and very nice service. Halibut was def worth it.

Tuesday: Individual meatloafs, green beans and parsley potatoes Monday: Leftover pork tenderloin, on top of caesar salad Sunday: Lentil soup with leftovers and jalapeno, cheddar sausage Saturday: Pork tenderloin on the grill, lentils green beans roasted with cherry tomatoes braised with stock, zaatar carrots. I have been on a major diet. I have been really trying to reduce my dairy intake and eat smaller portions of meat and more vegetables and complex grains overall.

Chincoteaque We ate at only places we could eat outdoors. We stayed at the Days Inn- I don't recommend it, but they had a waffle machine and a pool and rooms at the last minute. 1) CJ's this was a place with an outdoor screened in porch. They oyster rockefeller were very good, I had seafood pasta that had almost ramen like noodles and lots of broth (a cross between pasta dish and bouillibasse), Mom's stuffed flounder also looked excellent. 2) Salty Pony Donuts- eh, same style as duck doughnuts, not really my thing. 3) Salt Seafood- very good oysters and shrimp, but they were out of clams and crabs every day we tried to order those. If the brewery next door is open you can eat there, it wasn't the day we went. 4) Don's Seafood- we ate outdoors and there were a few issues with what you could get outdoors vs indoors and not, BUT the food was the best we had on the island- seriously great oysters, good soft shells, the green bean side was actually fresh, hush puppies were good, Hubby loved his fresh fish of the day (I think it was rockfish), everyone really liked their food. There was a band at waterfront park as we were eating that was fun. 5) Pico Taqueria- the corn tortillas were thick and needed griddled a lot more, but all the fillings were great. So get flour tortillas. 6) Woody's Serious BBQ- Ribs were falling off the bone, saucy, good, not the best, but not bad at all, better than what you find in the DC area. The pulled pork was good. Baked beans aren't my thing, but they were well liked. The other sides we got were cornbread and apple sauce. Was a weird side selection, not that it was bad, just odd, but the meat was good.

Grilled bratwurst and half smokes with pesto pasta salad with: zucchini, corn, tomatoes, wax pepper, green beans. Aka all the stuff from the garden. Roast beef sandwiches with pepper mustard, swiss, tomato on really good rye bread. 72 hour sous vide short ribs, leftover pesto pasta salad.

Well I traveled to Sarasota, Hilton Head x2, Charleston and other places locally (within 2-3 hour range) since May. We are still evaluating were to take a big trip. Friends who were going to get married in Austria have once again postponed the reception (they got legally married). My work schedule has really picked up so major travel likely won't happen for a few months. I would have loved to have hit Europe this summer with so few tourists, but alas that is what it is.

Wish I would have known this! But luckily there was street parking in the back street. Hubby and I went to Boru Sunday, we were going to go to Gaijin, mainly because I like some of the other appetizers there, but they are take-out only right now. And I wanted fresh ramen and didn't feel like leaving Alex/Arl area. I got the Tantan Ramen and Hubby got to Tonkotsu. He thought his was fine enough, but mine was very good. The bowl I had was better than Gaijin by a long shot. I thought it had good spice without being overly spicy, had a very good amount of pork, and the noodles were good.

We had a really nice meal at Metier. I will voice one slight complaint... you go down in their basement and then they have a QR code for the drink menu. There was no guest wifi provided, and no cell phone service on our phones. We had to borrow our friends phone to see the wine list and wine pairings. I found this frustrating, AND you have to go back and forth between multiple pages for wine list, wine pairing list, glass list, bottle list, one a phone in a dimly lit space which wasn't conducive to actually being able to see anything or have service. I get that it's covid, but then they handed us regular menus with the dinner menu for the evening. Honestly, just provide regular wine menus. There were like 3 tables there when we were there, if you need to have one for each table that gets wiped down, it doesn't have to be the prettiest wine list, it can have plastic pages to be wiped down, I would far prefer that than a QR code that I then have to navigate like 5 different tiny screens. Other than that small glitch, the evening was really lovely, we got the wine pairings. The highlights for me were an uni dish, a really fantastic halibut with lentils that were just perfect, mini little parker house rolls that I would honestly go back in the kitchen find a couple pans of and pour in my purse and run out like a banshee for, a really good white chocolate and caramel dessert, and then of course the little cart of desserts. The wine pairings were really nice, as well. I thought they were all nicely planned out. It was lovely to have an evening of white tablecloths and incredible service. It was a really nice place to have special dinner with people we really enjoy the company of, where we could talk and enjoy the evening.

I just got Dessert Person, which I am excited about, but looking through it, some recipes are fairly seasonal- kumquats, persimmon, figs, etc , but it isn't a huge amount of recipes, and I like that I can go watch her make some of the recipes on youtube. And some items are just fairly different than what are in my normal dessert cookbooks. I have actually been using an old Martha Stewart cookbook a lot actually, I opened it to get a muffin recipe I like in it, and forgot how many other things it had. I have Indian-ish out on my counter and was going to spend a little time cooking through some things in it.

Closed.

I ended up cooking the shiso down with some ginger and garlic, and I used it in some sichuanese cold noodles with chili oil, carrots, green onion, peppers. Red beans and rice with some nice Stachowski andouille. Lamb burgers with a side of melon. Chicken, green lentils, eggplant and cherry tomatoes to use up some of my cherry tomatoes.

Recent trip to Charleston and we ate at a number of really good places: The Ordinary- we had oysters, wahoo and Carolina rice pudding. We just sat at the bar and had cocktails, and food. I loved all the sauces that came with the oysters and they were very good. The fish was excellent. I liked the pudding too (although it was consumed more to soak up the many cocktails I had). We then wandered next door to the Felix for more cocktails, this was a very good and bad idea... Brunch at Eli's Table- a very nice bartender nursed us back to life with coffee, iced tea and diet coke, burgers the size of your head, fried green tomatoes, etc, while entertaining us with funny stories. It was a rough morning, and the walking tour in scorching heat didn't help. We then went back to the pool for a bit and cooled down and people watched at the pool. The next evening, we went to Indaco and I thought the pasta dishes were really creative and well executed, I would have eaten about one of everything on the menu. The pizza was very good, but not really special in any way, but the pastas definitely were. Brunch at Tempest-the food was a bit fru fru for me, especially for breakfast, and there was drama while we were there in terms of staff unrest, apparently they had just started kitchen tipping, and it was taking away from waiter tipping, whom were already short staffed, so it was a bit of a mess. BUT the food was good. Very rich. I think dinner here would likely be good, once they figure out how to get their staff appropriately accomodated. The final day we had drinks at the champage bar in the Bennet hotel, which was super girly and cute, then we went to Uptown Social for more cocktails, this place had a nice cocktail program. We then had dinner at Leon's. It is the 2nd time I have been, and it remains very good. While the menu isn't crazy creative, everything was very good- char grilled oysters, chicken, pea salad and another side. The oysters and chicken just really are good, and I like the vibe here. We stayed at the Ryder hotel, which had a super cute cocktail bar attached the pool, which was a constant scene. The rooms were nice, and location was good. The hotel staff was super young, (except the bar) but very nice.

I would love to go if I am available (3rd weekend would not be available, but otherwise I think likely).

https://rosemarydc.com/ https://woodleyparkmainstreet.org/f/community-member-spotlight-fred-darricarrere?blogcategory=Community+Member+Spotlight Formerly chef at Petit Plats opened this bistro in summer 2020. My brother and his kids are regulars here, the kids love the chocolate mousse. I have gone with them for brunch and dinner and had really nice experiences. The menu is Japanese/French in a way that is clean, modern and creative. I really like the salmon tartare, and mushroom starter with poached egg. I had their fish special last time I was there and the sole the time before and was very happy each time. Hubby got the chicken on the menu and I had a bite of that and it is very good. The beef bourguignon is amazing on a cold day. The Chef is really nice and very involved in the restaurant. This isn't a cross state lines for type of place, but it is a venture out of your neighborhood type of place. It's not super fancy inside, it's more of a neighborhood gem.

Thanks for the pictures, I was trying to decide between a couple nice restaurants for my birthday. I just really wanted somewhere that felt like a fancy experience at this point, this sealed the deal.

Good to be back!

So... I have cooked so many things since my last post. BUT this past weekend, I made this salad, I added some pickled onion, a couple wee cherry tomatoes from my garden and green goddess dressing drizzle, it looked as pretty as the picture, I was very proud. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/451556300147029985/ I also made this salmon topping recipe (I rubbed the salmon with something different before grilling on cedar planks). https://www.pinterest.com/pin/451556300147029982/ I also would highly recommend it, I subbed out the cilantro (I am that person) for some oregano and Thai basil. Last night was instant pot carnitas. The night before was rice bowls with leftover salmon, corn, tomatoes, green goddess. For lots of basil, what about a modified green goddess dressing with basil and parsley? Or blending with other herbs and maybe broccoli, garlic and olive oil to make a green sauce for pasta (not pesto although similar)? You can always dry it/freeze in oil and use it later too. I have been doing that with my oregano. I also have just been tossing lots of fresh herbs in my salads. I accidentally grew shiso (I thought the tag said Shishito, and then it started looking weird and I just didn't have the energy to bother until it was huge) and have a huge amount. No idea what one does with the amount I have. It's a very specific taste, might be good to flavor a liquor?

Ate in a few months ago on the patio, and just got delivery the other day (but I think from the Arlington location, the menu was really limited). Eat in was very good- I got lettuce wraps which were great. For take out last week I got papaya salad (a little disappointing not a ton of flavor), rice vermicelli with roast pork, extra roast pork (delicious I could eat this stuff like candy) and cha gio which made the delivery very nicely, was impressed with the amount of crunch left. I would say definitely still solid.

Updating this thread, I have been to HHI twice this summer and highlights were: Ela's on the Water- we were seated inside, but up in a section that was really private. All of our meal was very good. We ordered a bottle of wine. I had a beet salad to start- there are very few beet salads I dislike, so no real surprise that I liked this. For an entree I had seafood bucatini with what tasted like homemade noodles that was really delicious in a garlic, butter, white wine sauce. I also had bites of a few friends dishes, and really liked a lot of what was on the menu. I thought the preparation was pretty upscale for HHI. The strawberry cake for dessert and key lime pie were good. Service was very good here. Nunzio- I was here twice, and both time I thought the food was very good, again a little on the fancier side of HHI. I had the tuna carpaccio (with golden beets notice a theme?) one visit, and their tomato salad another time (the tomato salad was really good, very, very ripe tomatoes). For entrees I think I had specials, branzino one time and grouper another. Both were good, no complaints here on the food. I would rate it up with Ombre. Again, service was good here both times we went. Scull Creek Boathouse- we were here for the 4th, the pitchers of cocktails were good, nice view of fireworks on the opposite island, the food was perfectly acceptable. We mostly did friend shrimp baskets, nothing too fancy. This isn't amazing food, but it isn't bad, and they have tons of outdoor seating for anyone only doing outside. Tio's- We REALLY like Tio's for eat in, their take out is another story- we found that sloppy and not packaged well which made for a really disappointing meal. The 48 hour braised pork is delicious, that is what I would come here for, I also really liked the latin tuna poke, we got empanadas and thought those were good. The more Mexican dishes looked good, but more standard, the nacho menu is tempting. This is much more low key than the above restaurants. Crazy Crab near the bridge- We went here with a babe, and he really enjoyed the fish tank and how quickly our food came. We sat out on the back deck with fans, which was nice in May. Again, the food was acceptable. I would stay away from crab crakes, go more in on shrimp, fish. I had blackened fish of some sort which was quite good. Hubby's crab cake was not to our level of acceptable. Hush puppies good as always. The bar here gets pretty hoppin, even during the pandemic. CQ's- cocktails were good, I was not impressed by the food. Sea Grass Grille- we sat outside in awkward tables that the seats were too low for the table. I needed a phone book. I can't remember the food, but would suggest going next door to Santa Fe instead. Note that a lot of the restaurants and bars are a lot more limited on hours, and very short staffed, we waited a lot, with patience because I get it.

I stopped doing the WW App during covid, but I still try to follow a lot of the eating habits. I lost 10 lbs during covid, but my thyroid has been just going crazy suddenly dropping and etc so it's been hard to keep the 10 off let alone lose more. But hopefully the increased dose of medicine will help. We got an echelon bike, and I make myself exercise 4 times a week, sometimes more. The increased working out has helped so that I could worry just a little less what I was eating during covid. I haven't gone crazy by any means though. Good on everyone for the above!!! Going back to the office more regularly, I really have a lot fewer steps during the day (and I don't have to go up or down 3 flights of stairs anytime I want something) so I need to remain diligent about the workouts.

The Hinata Sushi location in Old Town has been really good since they opened. I think it is one of the higher quality sushi restaurants right now. I also got a Katsu box the other day for lunch and that was a really nice box with a huge pork cutlet (it wasn't bad, but it wasn't Tokyo either). I think this is better than Zento, Momo, etc. I haven't been to the Handover yet, but honestly right now I feel like they are on the top of their game, so I am happy they aren't far from my office.

Evening Star continues to just have one of the best outdoor spaces to eat in Alexandria. I went Saturday night with friends. While the menu is fairly sandwich heavy right now, the sandwiches all looked good, and the one I had a Rueben was very good. We also got the cauliflower and it was fairly spicy this time (the spice level can be up and down) I thought it was excellent. I miss some of their more creative dishes, but things are hard right now, and am just really happy to have such a nice spot to dine out with people.

Delivery from Kabob Palace was quick and all the meat was prepared perfectly, even for delivery. I got the combo lamb and chicken kabobs. While it isn't cheap, the portions are really quite large, it has made a couple meals for me. I like Arlington Kabob better for sides, but Kabob Palace does meats really well.