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eatruneat

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  1. eatruneat
    A word of caution on Amazon Prime Now. @MichaelBDC and I ordered Panda Gourmet via Amazon again on Thursday and it took nearly 90 minutes to get to us. There was a disclaimer when we were ordering citing that the items we wanted would take a long time to prepare. However, following the tracker, it was clear that the kitchen prepared our order in a reasonable amount of time but the driver was making multiple deliveries (we are unsure if it was from one or multiple restaurants). Saw the driver drive past us (in Chinatown) to do one or more deliveries in the Palisades/Georgetown. The result was that much of our order needed a bit of reheating. Still a pretty good meal, but something to take into account when putting in an order.
  2. eatruneat
    The storm was a bust but our storm related dinner was not! @MichaelBDC and I went with bison chili from the New York Times app that is labeled as a Texas Chili followed by several comments on how Texas chili would never contain beans (which this one did). Despite the naming mistake, we like the chili a lot with the use of brown sugar, cocoa, and coffee as well as jalapeno, cayenne, and Crystal hot sauce for the spice, and of course kidney and cannellini beans which may not be authentic to Texas chili but provides a bit of nutrition and a good carbohydrate. We put the ingredients on the stove to simmer and headed to Sixth Engine for a few drinks, which is the best part of this recipe on a snow day.
  3. eatruneat
    Shouk's veggie burger is legit too, though it is hard to pick a favorite on the menu. The only miss I have had here is a rice and lentil bowl with black bean and sweet potato. It was too starchy and dry and the harissa didn't provide any relief from that. Definitely go with the pita on this one.
  4. eatruneat
    You can bring food as long as it is wrapped or in a container. https://consumerist.com/2016/06/27/heres-a-big-updated-list-of-the-foods-you-can-bring-through-airport-security/
  5. eatruneat
    Inspired by Corduroy's peppered rare big eye tuna over sushi rice, I tried to make something similar Thursday evening. Ended up going with albacore tuna since it was significantly less expensive than blue fin tuna at Whole Foods. Seared the tuna for two minutes on each side, placed on top of sushi rice (made by following Mark Bittman's instructions), and topped with a spicy citrus soy sauce. Sauteed some bok choy (vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce) for a vegetable side. Meal was great and with enough leftovers of everything except the tuna, I sprang for the more expensive tuna the next day to re-do the meal again Friday evening.
  6. eatruneat
    I haven't been back to La Mesa in a few years but high school friends have been reporting that the dining scene in La Mesa has really improved recently. Bo Beau is still a good bet as the restaurant group behind it is well regarded in San Diego and is pretty steady. The same restaurant group also opened a bar-cade called CoinHaus if you are in the mood for something really really laid back (and some arcade games). I haven't been, but friends also like Farmer's Table in La Mesa. Unfortunately, 24 hour breakfast is hard to come by in La Mesa. If you can wait until 7am, Sheldon's Service Station will be a better option than Denny's as well as a pre-airport option. The aforementioned Farmer's Table starts serving breakfast at 8am. Not sure about your timing, but my favorite thing to do when taking food on the plane is grabbing a banh mi or three at A Chau (or even Cali Baguette which has a drive through) and taking it on the plane.
  7. eatruneat
    Last night was the Israeli couscous/swiss chard/harissa recipe that was in the Washington Post recently. Picked up some chicken legs at Glen's and roasted them for a quick dinner. Saturday was soup night and @MichaelBDC was eager to make a soup he had made earlier this winter. Italian sausage, elbow macaroni, kidney beans with a can of diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, and broth.
  8. eatruneat
    Panda Gourmet is available for delivery on Amazon Prime Now so @MichaelBDC and I put in an order and grabbed a couple of drinks after our evening run. We ended up ordering the dan dan noodles, rouga mo chinese burger, cold steamed noodles with sesame sauce, hot and spicy chicken, and sauteed string beans. Highlights were the two noodle dishes, especially the dan dan noodles, and the sauteed string beans. Probably should have ordered the cold xi'an noodles mentioned above but got confused and ordered the one with sesame sauce. Still good. The green beans were nothing super special (sauteed with garlic and ginger) but still nice to have alongside the other dishes. The rouga mo chinese burger was good, but not great. I preferred the noodles to the burger, but I am a noodle fiend. The chicken was really dry and was good if we picked at it but didn't work with the steamed rice. Overall a great experience. Cost was $45 included tax and tip (which was automatic) and we had a coupon for $10 off. Order took about 50 minutes, which we expected.
  9. eatruneat
    Last night's dinner featured Asian-Spiced short ribs from a Jean-Georges recipe in Food and Wine. The "Asian-spice" part of the recipe consisted of ketchup, red wine, red wine vinegar, unsulfured molasses, dried onion flakes, dried garlic powder, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chipotle chile. Served with polenta and roasted brussels sprouts.
  10. eatruneat
    Tried a new recipe from Andrew Carmellini's Urban Italian cookbook, a surprising go-to of mine. Went with the black sea bass with Sicilian-style pesto, but used halibut instead of sea bass. I am not usually a big fan of pesto but this one used sundried tomatoes and slivered almonds rather than the traditional basil and pine nut. Stirred in half cup each of parsley, basil, and celery leaf at the end. Halibut and pesto turned out great. Served with cuttlefish ink pasta that @MichaelBDC picked up at Glen's Market and sautéed broccolini. Really enjoyed this meal.
  11. eatruneat
    Made a second trip to Smoked & Stacked last week for lunch and really enjoyed the daily special of burnt ends on the milk bread. I am not a bbq aficionado by any means but really enjoyed the burnt ends. They were moist and not particularly saucy. I was too hungry to pay much more attention to the meat but I liked it a lot. I am still unsure about the milk bread but I liked it more with this sandwich than with pastrami on the stacked I tried earlier. I also ordered a side of coleslaw which was average and not really worth getting unless you don't think a sandwich is sufficient. Good news is that they have extended their hours and are open until 9pm Thursday - Saturday. They also deliver via grubhub and caviar and if you are at Lost and Found across the street, they'll walk over your order for you.
  12. eatruneat
    My brother introduced @MichaelBDC and I to Little Sheep Hot Pot when we were in San Diego last summer. We had already eaten a lot that day but needed to get dinner so this was a good spot for something that would not sit heavy in our stomachs. We knew it was a chain but didn't know it was affiliated with culinary icons such as Taco Bell until reading Don's review. Regardless, we had a good time and enjoyed our food. We ordered a whole bowl of spicy both, which was definitely overkill as Don mentioned. Loved the vegetables and the egg noodles. The meat and seafood we ordered were fine but I think we subconsciously stayed away from the "heavier" items given we weren't particularly hungry. Wonder how it compares to Mala Tang given our preference for dining at local establishments rather than national or international chains. I love hot pot but we don't usually go out for it here in DC.
  13. eatruneat
    I don't post on this thread much but recent unemployment has given me the opportunity to cook much more frequently during the week. And given the time to go to the grocery store daily, I have beena lot more fish. Recently @MichaelBDC and I have made: Braised Fish, Pot-Roast Style, salmon and lentils, and orzo risotto with artichoke hearts and sausage. For last night's Valentine's Day dinner I made veal osso buco with polenta and sauteed swiss chard.
  14. eatruneat
    New York press and food fiends have been raving about Pasquale Jones, a tiny restaurant in NoLita serving pizza and other goods from a wood burning oven. Not wanting to deal with the crowds or a wait, we headed there for lunch on Sunday. Despite suggestions from my cousins to get the clam pizza, @MichaelBDC and I decided to split an order of radicchio salad, a margherita pizza, and a half bottle of red wine. @MichaelBDC and I love a well thought out and dressed salad and the radicchio salad was great and a nice start to the meal. The pizza was...fine. Given everything I had read and heard about the pizza at Pasquale Jones, I was really expecting something transformative or at least a pizza that made me rethink all other pizzas but I was disappointed. The ingredients were very good and high quality but the execution was lacking. I generally don't mind or even notice less than perfect pizza, but was surprised to find a noticeably soupy middle. At $21, I wanted a do over but we forged on. The wine was a dry red, likely a chianti, that was definitely overpriced. But then again, we were in Manhattan. Sadly, this meal was a disappointment, our sole lackluster food excursion during our long weekend in NYC. If I lived in lower Manhattan, I would be willing to give Pasquale Jones another chance, especially to try some of the pastas and entrees at dinner. However, since my trips to NYC are annual or semi-annual at most, I would much rather return to old favorites and explore some new-to-me places.N
  15. eatruneat
    Sat at the counter this past Friday and went for the $100 omakase option to celebrate my birthday. @MichaelBDC and I had an amazing time thanks to Chef Ogawa, Can, and the team. Really enjoyed everything that was presented to us. Highlights included the sea bream, amberjack, uni, and toro. I have never had to turn away sushi before, but had to stop with two pieces remaining because I was too full. Three days later, my mind still wanders back to the variety of sushi we had. Can brought out a delicious sparkling sake for us to enjoy with desert. I would definitely order the sparkling sake at the beginning of the meal the next time we are there. It was a delicious and fun night, a perfect way to celebrate turning a year older.
  16. eatruneat
    My cousin and his wife took @MichaelBDC and I to Batard during our recent trip to NYC. We chose to have four courses ($82) and ended up drinking two bottles of wine. I don't remember many details from that evening, but the lasting impression of just how wonderful the evening was, from the ambience of the restaurant, to the service, and especially the food. The highlight was @MichaelBDC's celeriac tortellini with black truffles. I also enjoyed the duck breast for my main course. Have to agree with Keithstg's assessment from over two years ago that this restaurant give you a lot of bang for your buck. $82 for four courses at a highly rated fine dining restaurant (if Michelin guide and New York Times stars mean anything to you) is a great deal for NYC and even compared to DC prices.
  17. eatruneat
    @MichaelBDC and I met up with an old roommate of mine for dinner at Mission Chinese while we were in NYC. We got there right on time for our 6pm reservation but my friend ended up being 30 minutes late. The hostess was surprisingly cool about it all and sat us as soon as my friend arrived. The restaurant was too busy but was packed by the time we left. We ordered the Lumpia Shanghai Eggroll, Black Kale with umeboshi and lotus root, Malaysian beef jerky fried rice, and the thrice cooked bacon and rice cakes. All the food was great, my favorites being the thrice cooked bacon and the black kale. I had had the thrice cooked bacon before and didn't think much of it then but loved it this time around. The Sichuan peppercorns provided a nice heat and tingly feeling. The cool black kale offset the heat of bacon. The Malaysian fried rice was also tasty, a heaping portion for $15. Unfortunately, we were pretty full by the time this had arrived and ended up packing about half of it to go. The only dish I wouldn't order again (and I will be back) is the eggroll. It wasn't bad, but compared to the other dishes which we all loved, it just wasn't that special. This is a really fun restaurant. Food and atmosphere were great and service was friendly. Next time, I will go here with a larger group so we can order more food. My cousin, who goes here regularly, really likes the beef and broccoli made with brisket which I wish we could have ordered. I also really liked the celery on a previous visit but we ran out room in our stomachs.
  18. eatruneat
    @MichaelBDC and I stopped here for lunch on a recent trip to NYC. We split an order of the American burrata, with black truffles, sunflower toast and a small side salad and the hot fried chicken with honey butter biscuits and slaw. Loved the burrata with black truffles, which was an indulgent dish for sure. @MichaelBDC especially enjoyed the small salad on the side (frisee, greens, and a dry herb dressing) which cut the richness of the cheese and truffles. This was one of the best dishes we had on our trip. The hot fried chicken was indeed hot (temperature wise) if not spicy. The skin was very crisp yet the mean remained moist. A few dashes of the house hot sauce improved the chicken. The honey biscuits (with a few dashes of the hot sauce) and slaw were also very good. As mentioned above, service was great. We sat at the bar and Raymond was friendly in chatting with us and also leaving us alone when we wanted to enjoy our food. A bit pricy for lunch, but that is dining in SoHo these days.
  19. eatruneat
    Another fan of Kingfisher. Love going there before going to dinner at Baan Thai. Kingfisher has a tavern license, which means that while they don't have to serve food, they have to allow customers to bring in food.
  20. eatruneat
    I hadn't been to Seki in a while but glad I was able to go here with my brothers and @MichaelBDC earlier this month. Enjoyed everything we ordered, especially the mackerel (we also asked and got the kitchen to deep fry the bones for us to munch on), the octopus karage, and the chicken meatballs. My brothers loved the mushrooms so much we ordered a second round. Brothers also loved the beef tongue in curry sauce. As a side note, we had dinner at Daikaya Izakaya the night before and ramen earlier that day. I was surprised they wanted to go to Izakaya Seki the following evening, but they were very enthusiastic about trying out more izakaya style dishes. Can't blame them as both places are great. My brothers consider themselves food enthusiasts and like going to similar restaurants in San Diego, where they are from. But given their raves about both Daikaya Izakaya and Izakaya Seki, I take it that the places they go to pale in comparison to what we have here in DC. We are lucky to have two very good and fun places to choose from.
  21. eatruneat
    My brothers were in town early this month and we spent 3.5 days eating and drinking our way around town. The highlight of the weekend was the Ducked Up! dinner at Hazel on a very cold Thursday night. We had several drinks before making our way to the restaurant as well as two bottles of wine during dinner so my memory is a little fuzzy. My favorite dishes were the crispy drumsticks (wings on the menu), the kimchi confit fried rice, and the roasted cauliflower that we ordered to get our veggies in. My older brother really liked the dumplings and kept talking about them all weekend. The duck breast was served Peking Duck style. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I wasn't so full by that point. Well worth the $50 per person as we had leftovers to take home. Look forward to going back and ordering dishes off the regular menu.
  22. eatruneat
    I would argue that both Vietnamese and Thai food are expected to be cheap. This discussion on Pan-Asian and Asian Fusion has been interesting as it has me questioning my changing opinions on the issue. I used to be against anything that was not "authentic" but realized that my mindset did not leave room for cuisines to evolve as they often do. Why did Vietnamese food have to be stuck/frozen in 1975, the year my family immigrated to the United States? Why couldn't Vietnamese food change a bit over the 31 years since? While pho will always be pho, why couldn't some aspects of the cuisine change? Isn't there something inherently wrong with that mindset? And then my grandparents and other family members came back from their travels in Vietnam saying that some of the Vietnamese food in the United States is better because the ingredients and produce in the U.S. is superior to the raw products in Vietnam. Well shit. I'm not arguing for watered down Asian food, especially in the name of fusion or pan-Asian. In fact, I think we should call it out when we see it. But I don't think we should be writing off all these efforts and labeling them bastardizations either. If something isn't authentic or is a bastardization of a dish, we should be able to articulate why rather than say it is just watered down pan-Asian white man's version of a dish.
  23. eatruneat
    Carving Room has become the go to brunch spot for @MichaelBDC and me over the last several months. It's in the neighborhood, the food is up our alley, and the price is right. Both of us want our brunches to be on the savory and eggy side rather than the sweet side and are surprised at how limited some options are, especially since @MichaelBDC does not like hollandaise which often leaves him with even more limited options. My stand by is the shakshuka with rye bread and a side of their house made hot sauce called souk. It's an extra 75 cents but worth it for the kick. While, I can make a pretty mean shakshuka myself, but it's so much easier to go to Carving Room. @MichaelBDC used to like the fontina omelette with crispy pastrami but now goes for the three cheese melt and dips it into my shakshuka for his own version of grilled cheese and tomato soup.
  24. eatruneat
    @MichaelBDC and I went here for a post-run brunch several weeks ago. I had the chicken and waffles while @MichaelBDC had an omelette and a side of bacon. I usually go for eggs at breakfast/brunch but ordered the chicken and waffles. I really enjoyed them even though they were a touch on the sweet side. Waffles and chicken were done perfectly. @MichaelBDC seemed to enjoy his omelette but the bacon was too crisp and he didn't finish it. We are not often on that side of town, but would go back for another meal if we are on that end of town.
  25. eatruneat
    @MichaelBDC had the Foie Gras Smorgasbord as well on Thursday night. It was the highlight of a very good meal at Boundary Road. Definitely glad we split this. The foie gras liverwurst was our favorite too. Glad others are enjoying this as well. Will write up our meal soon.
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