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From the monthly archives:
June 2010
Last Friday morning, when it was already over 80 degrees outside, I knew there should be a Pimm’s Cup in my future. Enjoying a summer Friday off, my husband agreed and went to the grocery store to get the garnishes. We decided to use Sangria as an influence and, while I was at work, he soaked chopped strawberries, peaches, and of course cucumbers in Pimm’s No. 1 for a few hours. When I got home, we added 7-up, and had a fantastic refreshing drink. Unfortunately, the soaked fruit was not as successful. The cucumber fared well against the gin-based potable, but the strawberries and peaches were flat out awful. I find it necessary to note that the strawberries were not very good on their own (and bought at our big chain grocery store, not our wonderful CSA). Luckily, the drink itself satisfied my craving and we learned a lesson: add peaches and strawberries at the end and save the fruit soaking for sangria.
Ogle the newest breakfast creation: Krispy Kreme’s Cheerwine Doughnut. Go Tar Heels!
Grill 101 recipes fast on the fourth of July with Mark Bttman at The Minimalist.
Scoff at the heir of McDonald’s who is probably not really the heir of McDonalds at all.
Wake up with on some waffles on a stick. Finally, popsicles that won’t melt!
And finally, the scene is dead. So go Busch a Ho instead.
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So, as you could probably tell, we’re blowing up. We’re huge. We have millions, thousands, (ok…hundreds) of twitter followers. We will be featured on TBD.com starting this summer. This is what TBD.com says about us
“What’s better than eating and drinking? MORE eating and drinking! That’s what Chad and his team at EatMore DrinkMore are hoping to help you do. They’ve got the latest scoop on restaurants, bars and all things related to food and drinks in the DC metropolitan area.”
Well this is what we have to say about them..If you have not been to TBD.com yet, I assure you, it will be your go to place for DC news soon after their launch. Ever heard of Politico? Who in DC doesn’t love Politico? Well, they are behind it and we’re excited. They have assembled an impressive team of local bloggers to provide you with all of the hyper-local news you desire.
We have a lot of great content lined up for you this summer, TopChef Interviews, demonstrations with local chefs, travel guides, and more. Stay tuned, because like I said, we’re blowing up.
As you may have noticed, we have added some new team members to our site. Jenna, is an old friend who is always out and about in the DC restaurant scene . I would like to formally introduce and welcome our newest team member at EatMore DrinkMore, Jenna!
About your Blogmasters: Jenna
I love food. I have never understood people who don’t get excited about their meals and trying new places and things. I often peruse menus weeks before I try new places and start to plan exactly what I am going to eat (sad, but true)! Although many people believe that Washington’s food scene is subpar I argue that things have dramatically changed in the last few years and we have many gems that can hold their own against some of the best restaurants out there.
I love exploring the DC food scene and normally make it to new restaurants within the first week of their opening. I also love to travel so I hope to infuse some recommendations from other locations every once in awhile. I am really passionate about good food experiences so I am excited to share my raves with a broader audience.
Favorite Things: All things Italian (I’m Jewish but I swear I was meant to be born to a large Sicilian family), Prosecco, Falanghina, pappa al pomodoro, pasta.
Favorite DC Neighborhood Restaurant: Posto. It is about four steps away from my apartment and I could not be luckier to have it as a neighbor. I really cannot get enough of this place. The spaghetti with shrimp and scallops, the caprina pizza, and the chocolate cheesecake parfait are some of my faves. It reminds me of an Osteria in Italy—casual, delicious and comforting. http://www.postodc.com/
The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Melanzane alla Parmigiana from Mamma Gina’s in Florence. Melts in your mouth. Borgo San Jacopo (right over the Ponte Vecchio). Do it. http://www.mammagina.it/
Favorite non-D.C. dining experience in 2010: Fresh tuna tostadas from Contramar in Mexico City. http://contramar.com.mx/
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I recently had the chance to dine at the new Acqua Al Due in Eastern Market in its second week that it was open. I had incredibly high hopes as I had lived on Via Ghibellina in Florence in 2004 for six months which is one street over from Via della Vigna Vecchia (where the original Acqua Al Due is located). I ate there about three times per week when living in Florence and still dream about the rich pasta sampler and the blueberry steak which they are well known for. As soon as I heard that this restaurant was opening in DC I was excited and anxious to test out the food and see just how close it was to the original.
When I first arrived I was incredibly pleased to see it had the same simple and quaint feel as many of the restaurants in Italy; wood tables and chairs, no major frills… but just a completely authentic and non-fussy atmosphere. They even have the personalized plates on the walls as they do in Florence which is a really nice touch. I sat at a communal table which I enjoy as you can always stare at the food the other people ordered to judge whether it’s something you want for yourself.
My friend and I started with the Insalata Finochio (shaved fennel with pine nuts, radicchio, parmesan and olive oil). The salad was light and refreshing and a really nice start to the meal. I insisted on ordering the pasta sampler as I have such fond memories of this assortment. What I like best is that you never know what you will get, and you might even get a different sampling from the table next to you. All you know is that the chef will select five of the 15+ vegetarian pasta options and serve them in small portions for the table to share. It creates a fun guessing game as you wait for each plate of deliciousness. While I was disappointed that two of our five were risottos, each dish had a complexity to it—and the sauces have an intense depth that keep you guessing as to how they are made. My favorite was the pasta in a vegetarian ragu. I scratched my head with each bite wondering how the chef made this sauce with no meat. It has the consistency and bite of a light Bolognese; however the sauce is completely vegetarian with zucchini and other ingredients creating the texture of a meat sauce. Absolutely delicious. I also really enjoyed the fusilli in a light spinach sauce as it had a healthy taste to it, but still did not lack in richness or flavor.
My friend and I were still hungry and considered ordering another round of the pasta sampler, but instead we went for a full pasta dish—my favorite one that I still dream about six years later: the Rigatoni alle Melanzane (rigatoni with eggplant sauce). At first bite I was totally in love again. This dish is perfection and probably my favorite on the menu. It’s smooth and melts in your mouth. Finally, we decided to skip the meat course this time and to proceed directly to the dessert sampler. The tiramisu is worth ordering on its own and the cheesecake was light and delicious. It has been years since I have dined at Acqua Al Due in Firenze, but I must say that even if it was only for a few minutes, I absolutely felt like I was back in Italy again and I cannot wait to transport myself there again soon.
Acqua Al Due
212 7th Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
http://www.acquaal2dc.com
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I say we just mop up the Gulf of Mexico with eggplants, those insatiable oil-sponges of the night-shade family.
I’m obsessed with eggplant, but I’m not so crazy about how much oil one often must use to cook the vegetable properly.
It’s difficult, really, to find aubergine recipes that transform the purple bulbs into the veritable butter of the vegetable kingdom (hey leave me alone, avocados are fruits) without at least a quart of oil per square-inch-cube of eggplant.
Grilling, sure, but it’s so crass; delicious maybe, but there’s no transcendence in eating charred vegetables. (email me at angelatchou@gmail.com to prove me wrong.)
(more photos and recipe after the jump!)
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I’m always looking for a good side dish to bring to summer parties. The past few times I have made this orzo salad, it’s been a hit and I’m starting to like it more and more. It’s easy to make, can be served room temperature, looks impressive, and when you make too much (as I always do), the leftovers are even better. The fresh dill is a must.
Orzo Salad with Chickpeas & Artichoke Hearts
adapted from Eatingwell.com
12 oz Orzo (I just make the whole box and put a little aside)
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed
4 oz crumbled feta
4 tbsp fresh dill
1 large tomato, chopped (or cherry tomatoes)
approx 4 tbsp lemon juice (about two lemons)
olive oil
salt
pepper
1. Cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain and toss with olive oil.
2. Add artichokes, chickpeas, and dill and toss with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.
3. Add feta and tomato, toss again.
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I love beets. In fact I don’t just love eating them I also love talking about them and their many fine qualities. People find this odd for a number a reasons but the strangest part is that just a year ago I wouldn’t even get near one. Well, things have changed and now I simply cannot get enough of them. As a result of my beet gospel, a lot of people have been asking me about how to properly them so I figured it deserved a quick post. Once you’ve roasted fresh beets you will never want the store bought kind again!
Check out the recipe after the jump
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So, I didn’t bother writing a Top Chef episode 2 recap, mainly because a. I was busy, b. Everyone and their mother writes episode recaps of Top Chef, including Carol Blymire, who is a far more accomplished cook and writer than I am, so I will leave the episode recaps to the professionals.
That being said, I have a few thoughts/rants, I want to share about episode 2. But first a little story. A good friend of mine, had a few pounds that he wanted to lose. Which is certainly not uncommon, what was uncommon was the means he took to lose this weight. He went on every diet imaginable, well imaginable to him, because these were not nutritionist sanctioned diets, they were, diets of his own imagination. They included
- The Fat Free Hot Dog Diet. He only ate fat free hot dogs. Often times with no bun, and even more often microwaved. Ugh, microwaved, fat free hot dogs without a bun sounds absolutely disgusting.
- The Lipton Sides Diet. You know these sides, you can buy at the grocery store? Well they only have 500 calories per bag, so he would eat two a day and that was eat. Unfortunately his sodium intake went through the roof.
- The 2 Liter Diet Cola Diet – He would drink an entire 2 liter of Diet Cola every day to fill him up so he wouldn’t eat too much.
- All Meat Diet, no explanation necessary
- Chicken and Stir Fry Veggies diet – This was by far, his most sensible diet.
- The Ex-Girlfriend/New Girlfriend Diet – Definitely the most successful. Why does a break-up/new relationship always lead to the best weight loss?
Anyway, we were talking the other day about other crazy diets, and we discussed going on a “Little Kid Diet” where we only ate Go-gurts, Pop Tarts, and Eggo’s for Breakfast, PB&J, Snackables, Easy Mac, Chicken Nuggets, Pizza, and Fries for Lunch/Dinner. Oh and don’t forget the little goldfish and juice boxes for snacks. Then it hit me, no wonder our kids are so obese. Then when I watched Top Chef at Alice Deal middle school, it made much more sense, we’re feeding our kids crap. (See how I did that? I came full circle, you didn’t know where I was going with all those diets did you?) I thought this episode brought much deserved attention to this issue, and chef’s have a great opportunity through Michelle Obama’s new program to improve school lunches.
Overall, I thought the message of the episode was great, but the actual episode itself was pretty underwhelming. Seriously, a bi-partisandwich? That was ridiculous. Is this a company picnic challenge?
Onto the school lunch challenge. Amanda seriously, Chicken with Sherry jus? Are you f-ing kidding me? You should have absolutely been sent home for serving that to children in a school lunch. How about a Rum cake for dessert? Perhaps, you could have made English Pudding, topped it with brandy and set it on fire for the students? What the hell? Also, Jacqueline, you need to stand up for yourself. If there can only be one winner on Top Chef, why would you allow yourself to be put in a situation where you had the least amount of money for your dish? You should have wrestled that sherry out of Amanda’s hands. A girl fight on Top Chef would certainly make this season more entertaining.
Angelo Hottie McTopChef you made peanut butter mouse on celery? A third grader could make that. Way to take it easy with your immunity.
Kelly, my apologies, I had pegged you as going home early and you won. I guess you showed me.
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Do you hear that? Someone in Napa is crying.
So, I recently heard there’s a Weight Watchers brand wine in the UK. Points value = 1. Hmm? I can do diet soda, low calorie cheese (maybe), but diet wine? That hurts my feelings. Do you think it’s just colored water? Flavors include: zinfandel rose, refreshing rose, purely pink, smooth red, and fruity white.
I love a good British import–Cadbury, David Beckham–but you will not catch me drinking 1 point wine. God forbid it ever appears on menus. Can you imagine asking the sommelier to go fetch a bottle of their finest “purely pink?” Mmmm…the bouquet smells like something familiar…..Crystal Light?
What are your thoughts? Anyone tried it? ~Your friendly wine snob, Missy
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According to the press pool, after President Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday, he treated President Medvedev to lunch at…Ray’s Hell Burger!
Obama had a cheddar-cheeseburger with onions, lettuce, tomato, and pickles, and drank an iced tea. Medvedev had a cheddar-cheeseburger but spiced it up with onions, jalapeños, and mushrooms, and drank a Coke.
Most importantly, they shared french fries.
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