KMango

Have you tried using a different browser (ie, Mozilla Firefox) or downloaded the latest version of your current browser, as a potential fix? Or is it still being wonk-a-doo (to use the technical term)?

A fun and intrigue-inducing post, thanks for sharing this.

Did you have any tasty beverages?

Tiki Tuesday! That'd be worth $20...

Roasted chicken (Jehovah Jireh farm), plated over cucumber (Bull Run CSA), garnished with star fruit (Eden Center). Crisp, cool, fresh, and well savored.

A symphony of summer flavors greeted me at Food Matters last night. With their focus on local, seasonal ingredients, now is a prime time to enjoy this casual, friendly, community-conscious venue where the menu bursts with freshness. One of the most rewarding items on the menu might be the build your own side plate, four items for $14.95. Wednesday nights feature all-you-can-eat for three varieties of pasta. The menu changes the first of every month, and daily specials further amplify the local agricultural prosperity. A few things to note if you’ve never been before: the interior is spartan, think warehouse-meets-Ikea. Sit by the large, glass window walls if you can, they face the lake in Brenman Park. The bar area offers an austere but comfortable option, and sunny outdoor patio seating is a boon during nice weather. An ideal time to visit is on Sunday morning when you can hit the West End Farmer’s market starting at 9AM. (Make sure you bring your cooler with you to store purchases in the car.) Follow your market venture by walking down to Food Matters for the richly rewarding brunch menu. Partake in exceptional pancakes with seasonal fruit, house made granola, worth-every-lipitor quiche, or other specials of the day. As with the menu during the rest of the week, it’s not inexpensive, but exceptional quality, mindful preparation, and supporting local farmers rewards your investment. But back to last night. After a long day of hiking and other travels, I sought lighter fare. A soup of the day, chilled cucumber dill, swept my palate with silken texture, bracing coolness, and lingering, sweet herb. A masterful zucchini cake appetizer followed, topped with a light cilantro cream sauce and sparse crumbles of feta. The added salt kick from the feta elevated this dish to complete sensory satisfaction. When local farms are bursting with abundance, Food Matters offers a respectful enclave to honor the bounty and beauty of summer.

Dragon Fruit (thanks, Eden Center)

Cauliflower and purple kohlrabi roasted with olive oil, fennel pollen, chili/cocoa spice rub, ground coriander, kosher salt, black pepper with lavender, and a touch of red chili flakes. Inspired by (but significantly deviated from) Monica Binde's Roasted Cauliflower recipe in Modern Spice, a delicious, satisfying, and uniquely addictive concoction.

If only bird spackle were the sole threat to our health. E. Coli, Salmonella, and runoff, oh my.... Rather than jump on my soapbox here, I think I'll trek over to Shirlington to catch another showing of Food, Inc.

I think I just used all of my parking karma in the Charrito lot. At 12:30 on a Thursday, several spaces remained, making it uncharacteristically easy to access the tiny shop during prime time. I left with a couple of combinado tacos and yuca con chicharron for less than six bucks. Heaven in a takeout bag, courtesy of the Zelaya family.

Damn. That photo is the absolute wrong thing to see at 11PM when feeling peckish. Thanks for the tip for later, but for now... *cry*

Met a colleague for lunch this week at Harar Mesob (HM), at 23rd street in Crystal City. Note to newcomers of this area: There are two Ethiopian restaurants on 23rd street. This posting is for Harar Mesob, across the street from the Deluxe Diner, not Enjera, adjacent to Deluxe Diner. Since my last visit, I was pleased to discover HM has expanded their outdoor seating area. Diners now have the option of sitting at either the sidewalk level or the up-one-flight patio level, adjacent to the restaurant entrance. We chose the sidewalk. While well-shaded via umbrellas, this did translate into more invasive noise of passing traffic. But the glory of dining outside on such a pristine day trumped the occasional service truck or wayward muffler. Another change since my last visit was the uniquely flavored iced tea. Fruity, yet subtly spicy with absolutely no bitterness, I almost fell out of my chair at first taste. The server noted that HM uses “chai spices” and “other flavors” to brew this juicy, refreshing, exquisite beverage. I could certainly taste cardamom and cinnamon, with a subtle splash of peach or other stone fruit (could be artificial). One of my new goals in life is to drink gallons of this stuff. Perhaps one of the “other flavors” was crack because I am still coveting it several days later. On to the foodstuffs…my colleague ordered the meat combo platter. For just over $10, it included three varieties-two beef (both spicy), one chicken on the bone alongside a boiled egg. One beef dish featured ground beef, the other cubed, both in distinctively flavored sauces. My colleague reported much enjoyment of both, and found the ground beef to be his favorite with a delightfully spicy kick. He was also a huge fan of the chicken. After tasting the egg part of that dish, he left most of it alone. He noted that the egg’s flavor was delicious, but the hard-cooked texture was displeasingly different than that to which he was accustomed. I ordered the special veggie combo #2. For $9.99, it included yellow lentils, cabbage, collard greens, and a tomato salad. The tomato salad was the only flat note of the meal, conspicuously tough and flavorless like any picked-before-ripe nightshade. The collards were the most addictive, evenly seasoned and savory. The injera bread appeared to be half teff and half wheat, demonstrating a perfectly textured, spongy-yet-firm consistency with a just a slightly sour tang. Service was exceptionally friendly, but erratic. It was an early lunch, and we were the only table seated outside. We had to track down our server a few times by stepping inside. With the exception of the non-seasonal tomatoes, all ingredients seemed carefully selected and mindfully prepared. Harar Mesob offers a bargain-priced meal and the promise of something different for your weekday lunch. It’s a bit of a hike from the Crystal City metro, but plenty of metered spaces were available on 23rd and adjacent streets. Drag a co-worker out and enjoy. But leave some iced tea for me, y0.

I love, love, love the Locavore app. It checks your location then tells you what produce is in season, or will soon be in season. Plus, it lists all the farmer's markets near your location, including addresses, hours, days, etc. In a word, it wins. Post made via my 3GS,

One of my favorite lunchtime dishes at Cafe Atlantico may/may not fit the bill here. Exact ingredients seem to vary, but it's a small plate that generally includes squid, squid ink, coconut cream, puffed rice, and often times a perfectly cooked scallop. Not sure if that is what you are seeking, as the ink may be separately prepared then added just before assembly. Damn. It's 8AM and now I'm craving squid ink.

An enchanting evening on all fronts! Monica, your stories and perspectives are more of an inspiration than you know. Chef Sudhir, hats off to your kitchen and the rest of the gracious and skilled staff. This was my first visit to Spice Xing, and I’ll be back for certain. Daniel K., thanks again for organizing, the thoughtful gestures like your heads up about the adjacent ATM were a boon for convenience. And to all DR attendees, your conversations and company are always filling on many levels. I had a lot of fun diving into the savory-sauced shells. If anyone happens to be filming a horror movie, you'll want to get a copy of the “before” and “after” photos of my table napkin.

This is not helpful info at all, but the subject of this thread reminded me of a certain SNL song with Justin Timberlake... And that's the way you do it.

I just saw "Food, Inc" last night and have new appreciation for the scope of these outbreaks. Wowza.

A thoughtful review, thanks for posting this.

Alas, if not for existing lunch plans, I'd be there with bells on. And mini-finis (Jill's mini Finocchiona are the best!). Say hi to the cod for me.

I do know why, but this thread has always made me hungry. Kudos for posting, and a picture next time would be even more keen. Why I am suggesting that and inviting more hunger pangs, I don't know...

Special thanks for tonight's experience! So many stellar dishes, a slow-motion flavor wheel of delectability. High five and thanks again for organizing this delightful time.

I wound up making it to the Flavors dinner last night at Zola Wine & Kitchen. Special thanks to Don for bringing Terry to the board to discuss the event, lest it would have never hit my culinary radar screen (radar plate?). The Short Story: The event delivered, exactly as promised, a rare opportunity to expand one’s understanding of the interplay between wine and food. No cheat sheets. No single answer. No “under ripe melon with graphite” or other self-fulfilling flavor prophecies. Just a well-designed event to widen one’s repertoire of palate sensation and thereby evolve appreciation. For this dinner, Terry chose the wines, and knew generally which meats would appear on the menu. However, he did not prescribe the flavor profile of the dishes. The whole point was to play with what came out of the inspired chef’s creations, mixing and matching to discover how different bites with different wines evoked certain aspects of the palate. Nine distinct dishes, nine wines, nine guests, and one exceptional host, this was culinary tic-tac-toe with infinite ways to win. At the close of the evening, Elli mentioned that she may plan another event like this closer to the holidays. If you are seeking to expand your understanding of wine interplaying with food, and deepen the appreciation of your own palate, this would be one not to miss. The Long Story: Course #1, Scallops: with truffle cauliflower puree; with foie gras emulsion; with balsamic glaze, watermelon, and arugula microgreens Course #2, Rabbit: with butter-poached baby carrots and celery leaf salad; with sweet tar-braised mushrooms and sherry vinegar glaze; with charred onion glaze Course #3, Veal: with blood orange carmelized endive and thyme reduction; with epoisse grits, charred frisee, and shallot vinaigrette; with garlic spinach and jalapeno steak sauce Trio of house-made sorbets Nine wines in all, including two sparkling and four Rieslings. A wide representation from the bone dry to bursting with rich fruit to sweeter and heavier. Terry indicated that he chose these wines from his catalogue based on their food-friendly characteristics. After the meal, a listing of the wines demonstrated per-bottle prices ranging from $21 to $79, with over half the selections under $26. The chefs plated each course simply yet beautifully. All three items appeared together on a square rectangular dish, an ideal size to keep juices from intermingling. Without exception, all meats were cooked to perfection. Seasonings were well-defined for each dish, with just a couple of flat notes. Triumphant standouts for me included the scallop with truffle essence paired with one of the champagnes, and the rabbit with mushrooms accompanied by one of the reislings. For those two especially, the transformative power of the wine to radically alter the palate between and in preparation for the next bite stunned me into fulfilling silence. As Terry denotes, the goal is to always hit the target rather than the bullseye, but my palate registered these pairings as a personalized, unmistakable, 50-point victory. Insert Moment of Zen Terry emphasized throughout the evening that any given wine/dish epiphany offers a transcendent, one-time-only experience. A chef could prepare the exact same dish to pair with the exact same wine a few days later, but differences in the quality and proportion of the ingredients, nuances in the wine, and simple daily adjustment to the taster’s palate ensure that a given sensation may never be repeated again. Especially after this event, I have renewed appreciation for the gratitude-enhancing ritual of embracing the present moment through transformative wine/food experiences. End Moment of Zen The rabbit with carrot and celery leaf salad helped showcase how a different wine worked depending on whether or not one included the sweet root vegetable or the herbaceous greens. The watermelon scallop dish positively burst with deeper fruit when paired with one of the wines. However, excluding the watermelon in the next bite caused for me what Terry would label an “agree-to-disagree” pairing sensation. These types of revelations were exactly the insights the event was designed to induce. So I, like, felt successful and stuff. Based on my tasting, one minor downside to the experience was the slowly rising temperature of the wines. Every few minutes in the glass, the warmer the wine became, changing the profile. Probably not an avoidable situation, but it did impact the flavor possibilities. On the other hand, the wait staff demonstrated exceptional skill, unobtrusively keeping all of the glasses half-full. This, in effect, chilled each glass with subsequent fresh pours. So perhaps this is “shame on me” for not drinking quickly enough to take advantage of that auto-correction mechanism. The acoustics of the spartan space were good—sounds from the kitchen never overtook the environment. As this was an unprecedented event in this venue, there were a couple of logistical improvement opportunities. For instance, the tags kept flipping over when I picked up the wine glasses, easily remedied with a different labeling technique. Between Terry’s expertise and the flavor-showcasing skills of the kitchen staff, the design of this event offered a much wider range of palate sensations than most other culinary events. One diner suggested that perhaps the best way to carry this into our futures would be to start a new trend of ordering seven bottles of wine at every evening meal. The table heartily agreed with the benefits of that strategy, if we could only figure out how to bypass the expense! There is something to that idea, though, something beyond the typical flight approach of coupling one wine with each course. Perhaps the best we can do in the interim is to sign up for more events like these, and continue hosting our own tasting events in our own homes with a variety of food-friendly wines. Eventually, instinct kicks in and pairings become effortless. In the interim, forums like this event provide an exceptional crash course in palate awareness and the freedom to discover.

This is a good tip, especially for the goat. I've already got something else planned for the fall picnic, though: What I Hope Will Become The "Rick Roll" of DR.com (special thanks to Al Dente)

Man that sounds like secret code. "...there are three flowers in a vase. The third flower is green."

Been trying to call to sign up (dialing 202-639-9463), but no answer. I wonder if the phone system is conspiring against my potential for discovering culinary epiphanies. I'll try again later. In case I forget to call, think they'll be room for a walk-in or two?