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From the monthly archives:
October 2010
It is sort of shocking to walk into P.J. Clarke’s on the corner of 16th and K and come to the realization that it is the newest restaurant on the D.C. scene. Is it just me, or does this place scream old school Washington? The dark paneled walls, red and white checkered tablecloths, and the masculine steakhouse vibe is a throwback to the traditional spots around town that once fed the city’s most important power players (and in many cases still do). The place has only been open a few short weeks but my experience today proved it to already be a staple lunch destination as it was bustling with important Washingtonians.
The menu is robust and is filled with hearty American favorites such as braised short ribs, french onion soup, crabcakes, burgers, and today’s special which was the lobster macaroni and cheese. There is also a nice list of a la carte sides to choose from that include mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and onion strings. Today I ordered the rotisserie chicken with spinach which was juicy and nicely sauced with some butter and seasonings. The chicken had a lot of flavor and it was as healthy as it gets when ordering at a place like this. My client ordered the short ribs with glazed root vegetables and horeradish served over pasta. It looked delicious– and exactly the right thing to order at an establishment such as P.J. Clarke’s.
The downstairs is the part of the restaurant they refer to as Sidecar which provides a more upscale dining experience. However, it is the upstairs that will continue to be a mob scene during lunch on the weekdays because of its downtown location and the traditionally satisying food that they deliver. I guess I should be saying “welcome to the neighborhood” to P.J. Clarke’s… but it sort of feels like it’s been here for years already. Or at least it should have been since it fits in so well.
P.J. Clarke’s
1600 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
www.pjclarkes.com
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In honor of the Day of the Dead, Oyamel is presenting a special menu from now until November 2. The menu focuses on traditional Oaxacan moles refined on Chef Joe Raffa’s recent trip to Oaxaca. Little did I know that the history of mole and it’s seemingly endless list of unmatched ingredients is actually considered a funerary dish. According to stories, nuns would prepare a funeral feast with all the items they had in their pantry and mole was born. During our dinner we tasted 5 of the 7 moles the new menu features. It was a delight to hear Chef Raffa recount the stories of his visit to Oxaca, in particular, when he discovered that the key to a black mole is to nearly incinerate each chile. While the entire meal was fantastic, here are a few of my favorites.
Codorniz con Pipian Rojo: Grilled anchiote marinated quail with ancho and mulato chile sauce and pomegranate seeds
Mole Verde Oaxaqueno con Costilla de Puerco: Roasted in a green tomatillo mole, these braised spare ribs were incredible. The meat was tender and fell right of the bone. They are a must have have on the menu.
Mole Negro Oaxaqueno con Tamal de Guajolote: This turkey tamale with Oaxacan black mole took three days to create from the gathering of the long list of ingredients to the preparation and charring of the chiles and their seeds.
Sagrado Corazon: Herradura Blanco Tequila, cilantro and toasted coriander Gimlet over hibiscus ice. This cocktail was not only one of the most delicious I’ve ever tasted, it was also one of the most beautiful. The addition of cilantro put it over the top.
Oyamel
401 7th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20004
202-628-1005
www.oyamel.com
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Earlier this week, one of our most loyal readers, Laura, emailed us in need of advice:
“Hey EatMore DrinkMore -
It’s my birthday!!! I need a bar recommendation to host a bunch of my friends for happy hour near Dupont Circle. Where we should we go?
Much Love, Laura”
Do you know how many bars there are in Dupont Circle? Well, according to Google, 118,754! Not sure if the Google Machine is correct on that one, but needless to say there are a lot of bars to sort through in Dupont. We settled on Urbana at the Hotel Palomar. It is a great wine bar (and you know how much we love wine bars), with a huge selection and is large enough to comfortably accomodate a crowd.
We followed up with Laura after her birthday to see how it went…
“Once again Eat More Drink More came through in the clutch. Urbana was a great choice for after work drinks. The bar had my favorite type of set up – plenty of seats! Their happy hour specials only lasted until 7 but that was plenty of time to get half-off wine specials. A friend and I each had the Soave, Ilyssa had the Cabernet and Lindsay had the red (I believe it was a merlot). The guys opted to be too cool for wine but were perfectly happy with the selection of beer and vodka.
It was a great atmosphere where we were able to talk without having to scream over obnoxious music. The waitress didn’t check back as often as I would have liked but overall the service was good. We were more focused on drinking and talking than food so I don’t have much to report other than the Margherita pizza was delicious. Everyone else around us seemed to be taking advantage of the Oysters for $1 each and they all looked happy. You can check out the full lounge menu here.
It was a great night with great friends. Thanks EMDM for the suggestion!”
Are you in need of our assistance? Need a dinner recommendation for a special occassion? Help with a difficult recipe? A delicious low-carb recipe? Shoot us an email at EatDrinkMore (at) Gmail.com or you can tweet us @EatDrinkMore
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Last week we shared our second installment of Wine Stores We Love featuring the Potenza Wine Shop. This week Missy traveled to Old Town, Alexandria to visit Grape & Bean. We are excited to be collaborating with Metrocurean and we look forward to the continued partnership.
Do you have a wine store that you love? Let us know and it may be featured in our next Wine Stores We Love column!
If this is your first time visiting us, welcome to EatMore DrinkMore! We hope you like our site which contains great recipes, restaurant reviews (Trummer’s on Main & Casa Nonna to name a few), restaurant news, and a bunch of other great stuff. You can follow us on twitter @EatDrinkMore. Check back often, and look out for our future columns on Metrocurean!
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B.L.D. in DC is your chance to find out where local Washington chefs eat Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner in town. If these places are good enough for a chef, they are probably good enough for you too. This week we spoke to Chris Clime of PassionFish in Reston. We have included his picks for B.L.D. in DC below.
Breakfast: Eggs Acadiana at Acadiana’s Sunday Jazz Brunch (two poached eggs, Louisiana crawfish crabcakes, Tasso ham hollandaise sauce)
Lunch: Fresh Chinatown “Chow Foon” noodles, extra spicy at TenPenh
Dinner: Happy Hour at Ceiba for Shrimp and Crab Nachos and a margarita, then dinner in the dining room for the Cowboy Ribeye with Chimichurri.
About this weeks Chef: Chris Clime of PassionFish
A native of northern Virginia and a graduate of Johnson & Wales, Chris Clime is a Passion Food Hospitality veteran. After his early training in Charleston, South Carolina as chef de partie at the exclusive five-diamond Woodlands Resort, he came home to the Washington area, joining Chef Jeff Tunks first at DC Coast, and then at TenPenh. In 2003, when Tunks and his partners were planning to open Ceiba, their Latin-inspired restaurant, they tapped Clime to be chef de cuisine. Two years later, they asked him to be opening chef de cuisine at Acadiana. With his daily leadership in the kitchen, both restaurants garnered critical and popular acclaim.
When PassionFish opened in 2008, Clime crossed the Potomac for his new role as Executive Chef. “This is as fresh as fresh gets,” explains Clime, “we are a market-to-table restaurant, bringing in and preparing immediately what is fresh and in season. We change the menu weekly, or daily in some cases, to incorporate the best fish available any given day.” Clime supports Smart Markets Local Farmers, ensuring that his produce at PassionFish is at the height of freshness, too, and his experience in the kitchens of each of the sister restaurants has given him a strong background in international cuisines, bringing refreshing global influences to his menu at PassionFish. Keeping things all in the family, Chris’ brother Scott is Passion Food’s Wine and Beverage Director.
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Last night Chad and I were lucky enough to score tickets to the Star Chef’s Rising Stars Gala and Tasting event. The venue could not have been more picturesque as it was held on the rooftop of Charlie Palmer Restaurant at 101 Constitution Avenue NW. Luckily the rain held off to allow for a beautiful night with an amazing view of the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
Each Rising Star had their own table set up that allowed them to share a signature dish with the crowd along with a pairing. Chad and I were sure to make our way around the roof in order to get a taste for all of the amazing offerings. In the end we agreed on three favorites, all of which were incredibly delicious and unique and really proved how deserving these chefs truly are. Our first favorite was from Keswick Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia where Dean Maupin shared duck confit and ricotta gnocchi with butternut squash, arugula, cracklin’s, and grated Wisconsin SarVecchio Parmesan. This small plate was rich in flavor and incredibly savory as the duck confit and the butternut squash provided a delicious base sauce for the light and airy ricotta gnocchis that melted in your mouth upon each bite. I was wowed by this dish and it made me want to take a trip down to Monticello to taste more of what Keswick Hall has to offer.
Our other favorite dish of the night was from Ruben Garcia of minibar by Jose Andres and ThinkFoodGroup. Ruben served a cotton candy eel that was wrapped into a small leaf, smothered in a delicious Asian flavored sauce, and topped with a dollop of cotton candy. Ruben instructed us to eat it in two bites and each bite delivered a pop of sweetness that was incredibly enjoyable.
Finally, it was time for dessert and boy were we impressed. Chris Ford, the pastry chef from Trummer’s on Main delivered a plate of perfection with his chocolate soup, cocoa nib sherbert, cinnamon marshmallow and devil’s food cake. (Sidenote: You should check out his amazing blog: Butter Love & Hardwork) It was a wonderful dish as it combined textures and temperatures all with chocolate flavors at the center. What a wonderful way to end the night!
The Star Chef’s gala was a great event that EatMore DrinkMore was proud to be able to attend. It was a great night that allowed us to celebrate the talent of our local Washington chefs and also to recognize the continued growth of the already impressive D.C. food scene. Congratulations to all the award winners!
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The DC Supper Club Experience
by Jenna on October 28, 2010
The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser
Last night I had the pleasure of attending the “Across the Ages” Supper Club held at the Long View Art Gallery in Shaw which centered around recipes from The Essential New York Times Cook Book. Author Amanda Hesser joined our group to walk us through her process in creating the masterpiece, and also to share small anecdotes and experiences that helped to make the cookbook come to life. Chef Bryon Brown chose 12 recipes from the book and put his modern spin on each course delivering an amazing evening of delicious and adventurous food, great company, and wonderful wine pairings from A.M. Wine Shoppe in Dupont Circle.
The evening started with a bordeaux jelly amuse bouche and with Bryon’s twist, he added pop rocks to the bite-sized course which added a fun jolt as well as a great preview for what was in store for the rest of the night.
First Course: Bordeaux Jelly with Pop Rocks
While there was very little that I did not enjoy at the Supper Club, I want to share just a few of my favorites as they highlight the range of foods that were served as well as the different techniques that were used in order to create the 12 courses. My favorite of the night was the second course which was the corsetti pasta with rabbit ragu. The corsetti shape was one I had never seen before– a flat medallion shaped pasta which was topped with a wonderfully rich and savory dollop of rabbit ragu and pecorino cheese. It was a unique bite and something that I would gladly eat again.
Second Course: Corsetti Pasta with Rabbit Ragu
Another favorite from the Supper Club was the fifth course which was a cream of carrot soup with ginger and honey topped with a carrot mousse foam. I enjoyed the texture of the soup and also found this course to be quite substantial and hearty and one of the more filling courses we had throughout the night. The soup was sweet and creamy and provided a rustic homestyle flavor that I hope to replicate this Winter.
Fifth Course: Cream of Carrot Soup
Finally, I absolutely loved the sixth course which was a deconstructed pork belly tea sandwich with Asian flavors. Bryon mentioned his use of black garlic and double black soy sauce while making this dish and those ingredients came through in the small splash of sauce on the plate. Other shout outs go to the oxtail with tomato and celery and the meat and spinach loaf which were enjoyable savory bites with character.
Sixth Course: Deconstructed Pork Belly Tea Sandwich
And what would a Supper Club be without a little liquid nitrogen? Bryon made the grapefruit ice cream in front of the group at -340 degrees Fahrenheit and explained that a good ice cream comes from three components: fat, air, and ice.
Chef Bryon Brown Creating Grapefruit Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
The evening was special– the food was unique and well executed, the atmosphere was modern yet comfortable, and the fellow attendees were sophisticated and true lovers of culinary experiences. However, what really made the evening stand out was the personality and the excitement that came from both Bryon Brown and Amanda Hesser. They both were welcoming and passionate about their exploits, and made the “Across the Ages” Supper Club a night to remember. And lucky for me, I brought home a copy of The New York Times Essential Cookbook with a lovely note signed by Amanda Hesser.
To check out the upcoming DC Supper Clubs, visit Artisa Kitchen’s website.
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