Reviews - - Page 10

by gansie

Just Me and My Kadhai

**Girlfriend Guilt Trip Alert**

80P just finished his first year of grad school and, like a good girlfriend, I planned to take him out to celebrate. Well, Monday night in the District was cold and rainy so I found inspiration from my kitchen for our meal. While I was at my sister’s college graduation this weekend I persuaded 80 to leave the apartment for the first time in 72 hours (papers, papers, papers) to pick me up some asparagus and arugula from the opening weekend of the Mt. Pleasant farmers’ market.

I imagined a luscious spring dinner of risotto piled high on stalks of asparagus. Mine would be topped with a poached egg; 80P would get bacon strips. But, alas, the twenty two year olds texted.

80 goes to school with some straight-from-college dudes and they were down for some serious Adams Morgan (re: shit show, for out of towners) boozing. So he left before I even finished formulating (thought of subbing havarti for parm) my meal.

So there I was with my friends: asparagus, butter, garlic, egg. And you know what, I managed just fine without 80. Thanks, in part, to my Kadhai.

Fettuccine In a Sea of Injera

Over Inauguration weekend, 80P and I crashed a dinner for Liza’s out of town guests. Her friend was in from, um, Nebraska or Iowa or North Dakota, no wait, Montana. And Liza wanted to show off DC’s Ethiopian food. Unfortunately, everyone else in the city thought the same.

We finally found a place that wouldn’t be over an hour wait. But that was only after we spotted an Italian restaurant, La Carbonara, in Little Ethiopia. I scanned the outside menu and pledged to come back: there was fettuccine alfredo to be had.

And so I’ve returned. Actually a few times. I’ve gotten to know Chu Chu, the owner and sometimes chef. I’ve also gotten to slurp down plenty of creamy noodles.

I love Chu Chu’s story: He grew up in Ethiopia, then worked in an Italian restaurant in Italy, then opened up an Ethiopian restaurant in Italy and now lives in the United States and owns an Italian restaurant in Little Ethiopia.

Confused? Read on.

Hidden Pleasure: Italian Restaurant La Carbonara [Express]

Photo: Express

in Uncategorized 4 comments

by gansie

But The Chef Told Me To

I’m not normally this spontaneous. Well, except for that blazing yellow nail polish I borrowed from my friend Alice. As soon as she showed it to me I had to cover my nails in its shocking beauty.

On a slightly brisk, yet sunny lunch hour, while eating a chicken ceasar wrap from Au Bon Pain (my fav ceasar wrap!), I caught up on the WaPo food section and read David Hagedorn’s advice for a Valentine meal. I’ve dined with David. He’s funny as shit. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t pisted off by this sentence, disclaimer or not:

Call me sexist if you will, but there are plenty of guys out there who somehow don’t think a meal is complete, let alone special, unless there’s meat in it somewhere.

Anyway, I got over that and finished reading his article plus the accompanying recipes. And there it was. A direct product recommendation from a former restaurant chef.

Now, did I really need a Progressive International Multi-Slicer. No. But could I find use for its french fry slicer function? Yes.

A+ for Avocado Usage

As if you couldn’t already tell, I seriously love cooking. It’s my favorite part of the day. Unfortunately, I have to go to work and am not able to cook all of my meals. That doesn’t mean, however, I won’t spend 15 minutes in the kitchen composing a salad, including a dressing, while in the office kitchen. But sometimes I just can’t get my act together and bring something to work.

In which case, I’ve found a new lunch spot: Pret A Manger. It’s a transplant, mostly to-go chain, from the UK. The sandwiches, salads and wraps are pre-made, but that doesn’t mean they should be disrespected. Plus, there is avocado in, like, everything.

Healthful Eats on the Move: Pret a Manger in D.C. [Express]

Photo: Pret

in Sandwich 1 comments

by gansie

Green Eggs And

Okay, not ham.

But, the *Rustica Omelet* from Mezzogiorno in the Central Market in York, PA turned green from pesto. I totally forget why Dr. Seuss’ eggs are green. Too much salsa verde? Anyway, this egg dish is filled with roasted red peppers, portobello mushrooms, onions, walnuts (kinda threw me off to have nuts in an egg dish, but I soon got into the surprise crunch every few bites), and swiss cheese. Served with pre-buttered (!) toast and deliciously crunchy, yet tender potatoes. Yes, I did apply extra butter to my toast. I have schmear issues.

in Breakfast / Cheese / Eggs / Veggie 6 comments

by tvff

Dunkin’ Donuts Waffle Sandwich: Syrup on the Inside

I like me a good breakfast sandwich.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take a great sandwich any time of day. I go to work in the city best known for cheesesteaks and roast pork sandwiches, so I probably wouldn’t get too far if I didn’t appreciate a well-constructed sub.

But I have a soft spot for the kinds you get for breakfast, especially those that effectively combine egg, cheese and pork (I’m not picky when it comes to what form the meat comes in). And so, it’s only natural that I’ve come to rely on Dunkin’ Donuts for an on-the-go option for breakfast sandwiches. You get to mix and match both the bread and the meat. My only complaint is that I have been unsuccessful in my attempt to add scrapple as a meat option. Some day, DD, some day… I usually go with poppy bagel and either sausage or bacon. In other words, I have my routine.

That’s not to say I’m not flexible, so when we heard that Dunkin’ Donuts was introducing a limited-time sandwich that features a maple-infused waffle surrounding the usual filling, I knew I was going to have to give it a try.

The folks at DD were nice enough to offer me a complimentary sandwich and coffee. I picked one up with bacon and headed to the office.

Egg Foo What the Fuck

One of my favorite scenes in Sleepless in Seattle is right after Tom Hanks (Sam) and son (Jonah) drop off Hanks’ new-ish girlfriend at the airport. Jonah is, idonknow, 8, and his mom just died and he of course isn’t all that into the girlfriend.

After the drop off, Sam tries to explain dating to Jonah. Sam wonders why girlfriend twirls her hair, wonders why she laughs in a certain way, wonders why she…well, whatever weird girl things she does. And Sam tells Jonah that he’s willing to get to the bottom of it. Understand her. She’s like a glove and he’s trying to see if they fit. If they’d make a pair. Or something like that. You know, just go watch the movie.

Well, I feel this way about egg foo young. I’ve always been curious about the dish, you know, there being egg in the title and all. But I’ve never ordered it. So when 80P and I ordered-in Chinese the other night, I went for it: vegetable egg foo young. (We ordered from Great Wall Szechuan House, a top pick from the WaPo food critic. And holy crap – best Chinese ever. The eggplant with garlic sauce. Wow. Silky, soft purple nuggets. Do it.)

I pretty much hated the egg foo young. Greasy. Just greasy. And I love grease. But it appeared as a mangled mess of batter and grease and batter-stained broccoli and weird fried parts and slabs of omelet-style eggs and diced carrots. And I really just don’t know what else. Accompanying this concoction – gravy. What? Yes, totally not anything special brown gravy.

But you know what. I’m intrigued. I’m willing to investigate. I will follow this egg fascination around the globe. I will get to the bottom of egg foo young.

in Eggs / Veggie 14 comments