Author Archives: B

Zaytinya, May-June 2012

I can’t get enough of Zaytinya, José Andrés’ Mediterranean restaurant near Chinatown.  I’ve been there four times in the last couple months…great food and drinks.  It works well as a date place, or for a quick, light dinner at the bar.  Zaytinya is almost always busy – I’d recommend reservations if you can get them.  They do however allow for walk-ins, and there is usually a little bit of space available for this at the bar earlier/later in the evening from what I’ve seen.

“Zaytinya” means “olive oil” in Turkish, according to Zaytinya’s website. The bread pictured can be used to pick up most of the mezze. The “Z” in the oil is pomegranate molasses, adding a sweet tanginess to the oil.

The dishes are mezze (small plates).  I’d recommend four per couple and work from there.  Here’s my recommendations:

  • Kibbeh Nayeh – “Lebanese style beef tartare ground to order, bulgur wheat, radish, mint, pita chips.”  This is my favorite, and every time I finish it, I want to order a second helping.  This is very rare (read: raw), so be prepared for that.  If you like sushi, you’d probably like this…texture-wise it’s pretty similar.
  • Octopus Santorini – “Grilled Mediterranean octopus, marinated onions, capers, yellow split pea puree.”  The best octopus I’ve had anywhere.  Not chewy like you’d expect…extremely tender.  The yellow split pea puree and capers adds a nice tanginess to the dish.
  • Lamb Kleftico – Shredded lamb in phyllo on a dill yogurt sauce with feta.  This dish has been on Zaytinya’s special menu for awhile…I’m hoping they’ll just move it over to the regular one so that it doesn’t disappear.
  • Snail Kibbeh – “Crispy potato crusted snails, baharat spiced labne, heirloom lettuces.”  I’m a fan of snails wherever I can find them.  This dish is excellent.

I haven’t gotten anything at Zaytinya that I wouldn’t get again, so these recommendations are not a complete list (for some more examples, check out this review…he’s got some great shots).

The former executive chef at Zaytinya was Mike Isabella (as seen on season 6 of Top Chef), who has since moved on to open Graffiato (one of the next stops on my list), and last week he opened his new Mexican restaurant, Bandolero.  The current chef (since 2010) is Michael Costa, and he is clearly doing great things there.

Kibbeh Nayeh…

…Lamb Kleftico…

…Octopus Santorini…

…Snail Kibbeh…

…Baba Ghannouge.

Zaytinya also has a creative cocktail menu with Mediterranean flair.  A couple I’ve had recently:

  • Clean Monday – “Cucumber & mint infused Plymouth Gin, St. Germain, Cava.”  Nice and light…good compliment for the mezze.
  • Corfu Buck – “Rittenhouse Rye, house-made kumquat liqueur, fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, ginger beer.”  Fruity but not overly sweet…another good pairing.

They have a pretty extensive liqueur collection (noticed crème de violette and allspice dram) so they’ll more than likely be able to make you your favorites.  They also have a number of different house-made mixers and infusions to spice up their drinks (besides the ones in the above drinks, they’ve also got apricot-infused Metaxa Brandy, lemon verbena-infused vodka, and orange-thyme syrup, to name a few).

Clean Monday…

…Corfu Buck.

Zaytinya is definitely a place to hit over and over again.  If you haven’t yet been to this restaurant, remedy that.  You’ll probably see me there.

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Zaytinya
701 9th St NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 638-0800
http://www.zaytinya.com
Book on OpenTable

Bacon Cocktail?

This was so good that I have to repost it here…just came across the photo on my phone and was reminded of it.

Founding Farmers in DC has a cocktail called “Bone”, made with Knob Creek Bourbon, fresh lime juice, Tabasco, and a Bacon Lolli garnish.  This garnish makes the drink.  Bacon Lollis, also on FF’s appetizer menu, are cinnamon-brown sugar glazed thick-cut slices of bacon.  So good.  I show it to you here, in all its glory.  Enjoy.

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Founding Farmers
1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 822-8783
http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com
Book on OpenTable
 

Food Truck Tour, 1 Jun 2012

Today I stopped by the food trucks just outside of the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station.  These were located at the 7th and Maryland entrance…did not see any trucks at the other side.

Food trucks location, in red…the L’Enfant Metro entrance is at the bottom left corner of the highlighted area.

Since I hadn’t gotten any shawarma last time I hit the food trucks, I wanted this time.  I got a recommendation for Halal Grill (@WhereHalal), so I went with them.  My friend went with Tops Trucks (@TopTrucks), which highlights their handmade sausage.

This time around, I tried the offerings from Tops Trucks (in red, with the “Handmade Sausages” sign), and Halal Grill (green truck to the right of Tops).

From Halal Grill, I ordered the Combo Platter ($7.99), which consists of chicken, gyro, rice, salad, sauce (it appeared to be both tzatziki sauce and a spicier one), and chickpeas.  The chicken and gyro meat were both really tasty.  I’ve been told that many of the shawarma/halal trucks get their gyro meat from the same place, so they are likely going to taste pretty similar whichever truck you get it from (although the sauce might be different).  However, the chicken is from different vendors and cooked by the individual truck, so there should be more variation between those dishes.  Regardless, both meats in my platter were great.  The rice was good…there was plenty of sauce to flavor it well without making it a soupy mess.  The chickpeas weren’t bad either, although they could use a little more oomph.  The salad contained lettuce, tomato, onions, cabbage, and was topped with tzatziki (I believe)…went well with the rest of the food.

Really good combo platter…I’d get this again.

My friend ordered the bratwurst ($7) from Tops Trucks.  Topped with cherry tomatoes, onions, and their house “ju-ju sauce” (sp?) and served on a toasted bun with a side of fries.  The sausage was really tasty, and the toppings (especially the sauce) really made it better than the average sausage.  The fries were good too.  While a sausage would not normally be the thing I’d order for lunch, after trying this one, I’d hit these guys again.  They also have a picture on Twitter of an apple maple, fried egg, cheddar, and maple syrup sub that I want in my mouth immediately.

What a brat…

This location had a few areas to sit…I went to the steps on the south side of the Department of Education building adjacent to the food trucks.  I was there around 11:45…it was sunny out at the time, and wasn’t packed, although it started to get busier.  There is also some seating on the opposite side of the street at USDA Graduate School.

My only regret…?

…Why didn’t I come out to the food trucks for lunch during the rest of the week?!

New Additions…

The latest additions.  I’ll try a couple recipes for each over the next week.

The latest additions to the collection…

Allspice (Pimento) Dram – Makes me think “Christmas”.  Goes into one of my favorites – the Lion’s Tail.

Cynar – Italian artichoke liqueur with other plants and herbs.  Has a sweet start, bitter finish.  Less bitter than Campari (and interestingly is manufactured and distributed by the same company).

Fernet-Branca – another bitter liqueur with a medicinal taste (and from the 1840’s to at least the 1960’s it was used as a medicine).  This has seen a rise in popularity…I’ve noticed it in a number of cocktails at the more creative bars in town.

Creme de Violette – A sweet liqueur made from alpine violets.  A main ingredient of the Aviation cocktail and a few other classics.

Yellow Chartreuse Cocktails, 31 May 2012

“Chartreuse, the only liqueur so good they named a color after it.” – Warren the bar owner, Death Proof

Yellow Chartreuse is a 40% liqueur which contains 130 herbal extracts (like a more complex version of Jägermeister?).  The 55% variety, Green Chartreuse, is used in the classic cocktail The Last Word.

I mixed up two cocktail recipes from The Passenger which utilize Chartreuse – “Monk’s Mule” and “Walk of Shame-Rock” – using Yellow Chartreuse.

My ingredients for the Monk’s Mule…

Here’s the Monk’s Mule:

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Gin

Green Chartreuse

Lime

Ginger Beer

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I changed out the Green Chartreuse in the recipe with the yellow variety.  Since I didn’t know the proportions involved, I went with 1 oz Hendrick’s gin, 1 oz Yellow Chartreuse, and juice from 1/2 a lime.  Shook these ingredients together, strained into a rocks glass over ice, then topped it off with Fever-Tree ginger beer.  This came out as a nice, light cocktail…good with these steamy DC evenings.

The finished Monk’s Mule…

Next up was a variation on the Walk of Shame-Rock.

Ingredients for this variation on the Walk of Shame-Rock…

Here’s the ingredients for this one from The Passenger:

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Jim Beam Rye

Green Chartreuse

Lemon

Cream

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I changed out Jim Beam for Bulleit, swapped in the Yellow Chartreuse, and used coconut milk instead of cream.  1 oz of the rye, Chartreuse, and coconut milk, and the juice from 1/2 a lemon, all shaken with ice.  Tangy and different.  I’ll try the original at a later point to compare/contrast.

Here’s what this version of the Walk of Shame-Rock looked like…

The switch from Green to Yellow Chartreuse makes these drinks a little more sweet and less spicy than they would otherwise be (yellow has honey added, has citrus notes, and other accents, while the green is more floral/herbal).  I’ll try making these drinks again with the green variety after I pick up a bottle.

Beer Cocktails, 30 May 2012

Tonight I put together a couple of beer cocktails from recipes I’ve obtained.

The first of these was a version of Black-White & Tiki, which I got hold of at a LivingSocial 918 F Street mixology course put on by Gina Chersevani (formerly of PS 7’s and now with Hank’s Oyster Bar, DC).

The ingredients for this version of the Black-White & Tiki…

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1 oz Chairman’s Reserve Rum

1 oz coconut milk

1 oz sugarcane syrup

3-4 oz Maui CoCoNut Porter

1 pinch of cinnamon

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Combine the rum, coconut milk, and sugarcane syrup, shake with ice until frothy.  Pour over crushed ice into a collins glass and top with the CoCoNut Porter.  Garnish with a pinch of cinnamon and serve with a straw.

I used Sugar in the Raw syrup and Pyrat rum for this rendition.  The cocktail comes out nice and chocolatey thanks to the beer…it’s like a beery mudslide, and quite tasty.

Tasty and chocolatey (sans chocolate?)

Next up was a drink I had at Mie & Yu in Georgetown called the “Gaarden of Babylon”.  The name comes from the use of Hoegaarden in the recipe.

My ingredients for the Gaarden of Babylon…

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St. Germain elderflower liqueur

Blackstrap syrup

Lemon

Hoegaarden

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I wasn’t sure of the measurements for each of the ingredients, so I went with 1 oz St. Germain, 3/4 oz molasses (replacing blackstrap syrup), and juice from 1/2 a lemon.  Shook those ingredients vigorously with ice – especially important with molasses as it takes a bit for it to mix in.  Top off with the Hoegaarden.  Comes out as a nice, tangy beer cocktail.

If anyone is tracking on a beer cocktail that utilizes Duchesse de Bourgogne, let me know.

Cocktail Night, 28 May 2012

Made an evening out of trying some cocktail recipes.  Here’s two of the ones that stood out:

The Sour Hass cocktail is based on the recipe from Las Canteras Peruvian restaurant in Adams Morgan.

Replaced plain simple syrup with homemade habanero-ginger syrup

Having enjoyed this drink a couple times at Las Canteras, I went searching for the recipe.  I located this recipe for it over at the Connect to Peru blog, courtesy of Las Canteras:

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4 tsp ripe avocado

8 mint leaves

2.5 oz Pisco

2 oz pineapple juice

2 tsp simple syrup

Muddle the mint and avocado together, then add the pisco, pineapple juice, and simple syrup.  Shake with ice and strain into a glass.  Garnish with a mint sprig.

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I changed up the recipe slightly by adding my homemade habanero-ginger syrup instead of plain simple syrup.  Came out smooth and spicy.  Goes great with Peruvian food.

It even looks smooth…

Next up is the Gunshop Fizz, created by some folks at Cure New Orleans, and posted at the Shake & Strain blog.  I learned about this one while researching the recipe for the Trinidad Sour (my current favorite).  Both drinks use bitters as a base (2 oz Peychaud’s and 1.5 oz Angostura, respectively), making them unique in the mixology world.

This one is a little complex…

This cocktail is complex:

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2 oz Peychaud’s bitters

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz simple syrup

2 strawberries

3 cucumber slices

3 swaths of grapefruit

3 swaths of orange

San Pellegrino Sanbittèr apéritif

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Muddle everything but the Sanbittèr.  Set aside for two minutes, then add ice, shake, and strain (recommended to double strain through a cocktail strainer and a tea strainer – liquid should be thin).  Top with Sanbittèr.  Garnish with a slice of cucumber.

For one of the versions I made, plain simple syrup got itself replaced by that of the habanero-ginger variety, and Sanbittèr apéritif got replaced with Campari and club soda (essentially the same thing, just with alcohol).

I tried this four ways with another guinea pig tester.  The first used the Campari and soda…very complex flavors between the bitterness of the Campari, the sweetness of the strawberries, the citrus of the orange and grapefruit rinds, and the freshness of the cucumber.  The second just used club soda…this wasn’t bad either, and if you are not a bitter fan it might be the way to go.  Third method replaced the Campari and soda with Schweppes tonic water with quinine…this was the favorite.  The quinine bitterness is lighter than Campari and goes very well with the citrus notes of the drink.  Fourth method was with nothing added after straining.  This was a little sweeter than I’d prefer, but I can see some people liking it.  I could also see this being good blended with ice, and that would lighten up the sweetness.

A tasty and complex drink. You put in some work for this one, but it’s worth it.

James Beard Foundation Cocktail Roundup

On 24 May 2012, the James Beard Foundation put out a cocktail recipe roundup that featured four unique cocktails, including:

Donaji (Julian Cox of Rivera Los Angeles) – this cocktail includes chapulines, or grasshoppers.  Those who have been to José Andrés’ Oyamel in DC may have encountered these buggers in taco form, and apparently they’re popular in some parts of South America.  Besides including bugs (okay, the bugs are just on the rim mixed with the salt), it’s a fruity mezcal cocktail.

Paddington (David Slape of PDT NYC) – a citrus rum cocktail with white rum, Lillet Blanc, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, orange marmalade, all shaken together and poured into an absinthe-coated class, garnished with a grapefruit twist.  I made this one tonight, with the modification of Bacardi Gold for the recommended Banks 5 Island white rum (and sadly no grapefruit twist).  Tasted great…I’ll attempt it again soon when I have the full recommended ingredient list.

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My version of the Paddington, sans some recommended ingredients.

Turf (Thad Vogler of Bar Agricole San Francisco) – Gin cocktail with dry vermouth, Maraschino, absinthe, and orange bitters, garnished with a lemon peel.  Sadly, while I wanted to pick up some Maraschino liqueur this afternoon, the Virginia ABC does not currently stock it (one of the very unfortunate parts of living in VA versus DC or MD is the lack of some types of alcohol due to the nature of state-run liquor stores).  I’ll make this cocktail as soon as I can get my hands on a Maraschino bottle.

Hush and Wonder (Toby Maloney of The Violet Hour Chicago) – Rum-based cocktail that includes Crème de Violette and grapefruit bitters (which are two more bottles on my list that VA ABC won’t stock – as far as bitters goes, it’s Peychaud’s or bust there), lime juice, and simple syrup.  This cocktail is also on my production list once I have the requisite ingredients…it sounds fantastic.

JBF is great…make sure to check them out if you’re a mixologist or gastronomist.  There are some excellent recipes stored in their database.

Flavored Simple Syrups (Ginger-Habanero)

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One habanero (I used a red one this time – it’s all I could find that was of good quality), and about 2-3 ounces of ginger, depending on how gingery you want the mixture to be.

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Color is a little darker (orange/tan) than the straight habanero syrup was.

I used the same recipe as in the previous post on flavored simple syrups, but changed the flavoring inputs.  I used one large red habanero and about three ounces of ginger.  I peeled most of the ginger root and cut it into slices to maximize the surface area, then added both the peppers and the ginger once the sugar was fully absorbed into the water mixture, and brought it to a boil.

I tasted a few drops of the final mixture.  Great ginger taste with a nice burn.  This is going to go great in some cocktails.

I’m going to try reproducing a favorite of mine from SEI in DC called Liquid Wasabi.  This one uses unfiltered sake, vodka, lime juice, and today’s syrup.  It’s one of my go-to drinks at that establishment, besides the daily rotating cocktail (Evening Truth) and the Silver Samurai (shōchū, cucumber, plain simple syrup, crushed pink peppercorn).

New Additions…

Here’s the latest additions to the mixology collection.  Have some cocktails to make this weekend with these right here.

New Additions to the Mixology Collection

Looks like I have some homework this weekend…