Parents Weekend

I nearly forgot why I love Parents Weekend so much (besides seeing my mom of course...(obligatory in case she ever reads this)). Surprise, surprise, I love Parents Weekend because of the food. Parents come around once a year and all of a sudden you have an excuse to go to the totally over the top restaurants you otherwise wouldn't be able to justify to them when the credit card bill comes around at the end of the month. I've accumulated a few go-tos over the years for this exact weekend - Zaytinya, Rasika, andCentral to name a few.

Wanting to show my mom a few new places this time (and a bit of a different experience for one in particular) I made reservations a couple weeks ago to guarantee we would be properly stuffed.

The first reservation I made was for Casa Nonna in Dupont Circle. Now DC has A LOT of italian food so sometimes it's a little difficult to sort through which ones are worth a visit, but I really like Casa Nonna because of their homemade pastas. There is one dish in particular, a spiced pumpkin gnocchi with creamy sauce, fried pancetta, and sprinkled with amaretto cookies on top that I love. It reminds me of a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks -- fall in a dish/cup. Plus, full disclosure, I am a server at this restaurant so I just thought it might be nice for my mom if I could serve her for a change.

The next meal we had was at Logan's Tavern for a Saturday brunch. The food was pretty standard for brunch, and definitely yummy. But I was mostly impressed by the craft your own bloody mary menu that had tons of options to make your own potent start to the day. But I ended up choosing La Maria Caliente - chili pepper tequila, bloody mix, lime juice, and hot sauce. Perfect.

A mere 4 hours after that meal we were off to Estadio, one of my new favorite restaurants in DC. To be fair, that's because it has too many unfair advantages. 1) I love eating tapas-style. Bite here, sip there. I get to try more things on the menu without getting unbuckle-my-belt full. 2) I love Spain, Spanish culture, and the like so it's only fitting that I love the restaurant that has a picture of Penelope Cruz on the door for the ladies room and a picture of Javier Bardem on the door of the mens. Also, how cute is that? 3) This food is straight up awesome. I haven't tried a thing there I don't like...besides the price tag. But hey, for Parents Weekend, it was a success.

You might think I'm done right? Not even. I saved the best for last - brunch at Blue Duck Tavern. This is hands down my favorite place to eat in DC. First of all the restaurant is beautiful, with wood furniture and paneling and floor to ceiling windows, I just always feel at ease. But really the food speaks for itself, particularly the short rib hash that comes with an olive oil poached egg, horseradish sauce, and a flakey, buttery-goodness biscuit. There has not been more comforting comfort food.

So what's reason for this post? Because I just love to talk about the fabulous things I get to eat. What other reason do I need? :)

Hello fellow eaters,

This week has been a hectic one including an emergency room visit....so stay tuned on the next food update. I have more Hemingway themed eating experiences oddly enough because I was in the Keys! Until then salivate over this picture plez. Key lime pie allll I had this weekend.

Outstanding in the Field

Outstanding is right. This past week I had one of the most amazing eating experiences of my life. Outstanding in the Field is (as they put it) a "roving culinary adventure" that travels across the country, and even across seas, with the mission of re-connecting diners to the origins of their food. Basically this is the fancy way for saying that people pack up a bus full of stuff, choose gorgeous locations across the country, set up a huge table for about a hundred people, and then invite a chef from the area to create a five course masterpiece.

The dinner I went to was in Alexandria, Virginia at the Arcadia sustainable farm at Woodlawn with the team from Birch & Barley leading the way with food. On top of that, Birch & Barley is known for its extensive beer list so it was fitting that each course was paired with a unique beer.

I probably ate about 20 different items that night but just to highlight a few favorites:
- pumpkin flatbread, cardoons, pecorino & pine nuts
- salad of arugula, roasted peppers, grilled watermelon, grilled bok choy, white balsamic vinaigrette & lardons
- ricotta cavatelli w/ braised pork shoulder, lima beans & fresh herbs
- grilled pork loin, sauteed sweet potato greens & jalapeno corn bread
- and last but not least: apple pie with cinnamon chantilly, caramel & granola

The Woodlawn manor that sat beside the lawn where beer and appetizers were passed out


Speaking of which, here we all are drinking and standing around


Pumpkin flatbread (YUM)


RhinoFest, Lost Rhino Brewing Company beer


Table peaking out from behind the farm


Mismatched plates Outstanding in the Field has collected over the years that make the table look adorable


The long communal table


Me and the boyfriend, Zack


And then it got a little dark... but fear not!


The team from Birch & Barley



Um, so yeah. Basically, take my word on it, if you ever have the opportunity to go to one of these, do it.

Encounter with oysters at Pearl Dive

A few posts down I included a quote from Ernest Hemingway describing his experience eating oysters and drinking wine. I shared this partially because of my fascination with the once journalist but also because the quote perfectly captures the way I feel about food. A dining experience speaks to all of our senses. Our eyes are pleased by carefully decorated interiors, our ears perk up to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and waves of conversation from surrounding tables, our fingers carefully hold cristal wine glasses, our mouths and noses...well that's obvious, they have the greatest treat of all. Working all together, these aspects create such a full, satisfied feeling --the nearest real life definition of "contentment" that I have ever encountered.

Anyway, it's obvious that this quote spoke to me in a way that it felt like it could have been my own. So when I finally tried oysters for the first time this weekend, I was totally surprised that I HATED them. Hate is a strong word and I hesitate to run completely against Hemingway on this one, but I didn't find the appeal of eating animals resembling sea-flavored jello. I could see how people might like the experience though -- like drinking wine, I could see eating oysters as being hobby-like. You get to know oysters from different regions and how that might affect their flavor profile. To each her own.

But here's the silver lining. When one of the five senses fail you can always count on the others. And because of that I totally enjoyed myself at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace in Logan Circle. Fun atmosphere, great bar, cool decorations, and lots of oysters...if you're into that sort of thing.

Eating In

When I moved into my apartment two years ago, I made a vow to myself that I would cook. I live above Trader Joe's and I have a Viking range -- I figured I would have no choice. But of course, my lazy, less-than-Susie-homemaker self finds every reason in the world not to cook. And really the only thing that gets made on a consistent basis is pasta...

But this past week, my wanting to check out the new Foggy Bottom Whole Foods forced me to actually pick some stuff up and (GASP) make dinner for me AND two friends. And kidding aside, fud wuz good.

Here is what I made: a wild rice blend (no effort, picked up a bag and threw it in water), orange-scented broccoli and cauliflower, and filet mignon with blackberries. And while the photo above does not do the meal justice, I've got to say, this is some of the best cooking I've done. Check out the recipes that I've linked here, they are simple and totally flavorful.

Shout out to the series finale of Entourage

DRAMA [WHILE SNIFFING WINE]: I GET TOFFEE, MOCHA AND A HINT OF TERRA FIRMA.
ERIC: TERRA FIRMA IS DIRT, DRAMA.
DRAMA: YEAH, WELL, WINE COMES FROM DIRT, E

Wino for the Day

Sunday morning - one of my favorite times of the week. Also known as the morning I attempt to charm my boyfriend into having brunch with me at a new restaurant in the city. But this morning no deals were brokered and no brunch to be munched. Why? Because I joined in on my very first wine tasting. (My friend said that must be like 10 times as good as taking communion.)

I’ve always been into food, however there’s always been a void in the wine department. Partly because I’ve been age-challenged, but mostly because when I think about wine knowledge I think about this. Pretension alert!

But wine knowledge doesn’t have to be stuffy or stuck-up, it can be expressive and open for interpretation. And if you’re with the right people, they won’t even care if you like to drink Merlot.

My favorite wine of the day was Dolcetto D'Alba Tre Vigne 2009. This is a wine that you can drink like water, medium bodied and low on tannins. I love its mineral quality and sweet berry smell.