Category Archives: Dining Out

Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, 8 September 2012

Last night I tried Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, one of Jeff and Barbara Black’s DC-area restaurants.  Pearl Dive has been open for almost a year now, and I wanted to check them out before their big anniversary bash.

Naturally, I started off with a plate of twelve raw oysters.  I got a good variety – two each of six – including Hammersley (Washington), Chefs Creek (British Columbia), Broadwater (Virginia), Battle Creek (Virginia), Wild Goose (Rhode Island), and Fire Lake (New Brunswick).  The oysters came out with the usual cocktail sauce and mignonette, but also included was their Dive Juice and Yuzu-Mirin options, which were both great…I especially liked the yuzu with the oysters.

You can’t show up to Pearl Dive and not start out with a few oysters-on-the-half-shell. That would be wrong. Top right sauce was the Dive Juice, bottom right is the yuzu.

My second oyster dish of the evening was the Mariscos de Campechana.  A sundae glass filled with Virginica oysters, blue crab, shrimp, tomato-serrano salsa, and avocado, served with tortilla chips.  It was a little bit bigger than I was anticipating, but that was okay as it was delicious.

Another great oyster dish…bigger than I was anticipating.

Pearl Dive has quite a number of oyster preparations, including some hot ones.  My server, Blake, recommended the Tchoupitoulas plate – oyster confit, blue crab, tasso ham, and roasted corn – which was probably my favorite dish of the night.  The other options sounded good, but there is only so much I can try in one sitting.

My favorite from the evening…the Tchoupitoulas oyster plate.

I closed off the meal with an order of the Braised Pork Cheeks, served with chipotle-ham-hock broth and stone grits.  The tender pork cheeks went really well with the grits, which had a slight sweetness possibly imparted by the broth.

Nice and tender pork cheeks.

Good cocktails as well.  I got a Sazerac to start off….

Good Sazeracs here.

…and finished up with a recommendation – Pearl Dive’s cross between a Pimm’s Cup and a Mule – the Pearl Cup (Pimms, Plymouth Gin, cucumber, lime, mint, house ginger beer).  This one was excellent…I’ll be adding this to my list to reproduce at home.

Great take on a Pimm’s Cup. Recommend.

As a warning, Pearl Dive is first-come, first-served, so try to get there early.  I went on a Saturday at about 7 PM and they were mobbed…I got a seat at the oyster bar (four or five seats) which was not.  Pearl Dive has a frontage  bar which opens onto the street, and would be nice when it’s not as humid as this evening happened to be (here’s some photos of the establishment from the folks that built it).

Also, check out Tom Sietsema’s reviewat the Washington Post here…he recommends the catfish po’ boy, which I will be trying next time I stop by.

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Pearl Dive Oyster Palace
1612 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 319-1612
www.pearldivedc.com
Pearl Dive seats on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Sweet Ginger, 21 August 2012

I just had some excellent sushi take out from Sweet Ginger in Vienna, VA.

I got five orders, all of which were fantastic.

  • Volcano Roll – “california roll topped with seafood and spicy creamy sauce”
  • Angry Dragon Roll – “california roll topped with whole eel tobiko & special spicy sauce”
  • Japanese Bagel Roll – “lightly batter fried fresh salmon cream cheese, roe with spicy mayo”
  • Beauty & The Beast Roll – “tuna avocado roe rolled with eel outside”
  • Spicy Tuna Roll

I’ve been to three sushi joints on or near Maple Ave…this one is the best.  I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that either…TripAdvisor shows Sweet Ginger as the #5 restaurant in Vienna based on user ratings.

See here for their menu.

The Volcano Roll…

…and the rest of the rolls. Even the pickled ginger was really good.

The interior of the restaurant was nice as well, and there are a few seats at the sushi bar.  Looks like it could be a nice date place.  I went to pick up around 9:00 PM tonight (Tuesday) and only two tables were taken…granted, it was a little late, but they should’ve had more of those tables filled with how good the sushi was.  Check them out.

(Also, here’s my plug for what I drink with my take out sushi – Kinsen Plum Wine…great stuff when served chilled with sushi.)

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Sweet Ginger
120 Branch Rd SE
Vienna, VA 22180
(703) 319-3922

Sweet Ginger on MenuPages

Brunch at AGORA, 19 August 2012

I need to get out to brunch more often.  Today I made it to AGORA, which is a couple of blocks from Dupont Circle.

AGORA has a prix fixe brunch menu for $29.95 with bottomless drinks.  They’re also nice enough to call out what menu options are gluten, dairy, or nut free for those that need to know.

There was pretty much no way I wasn’t going to order this option right here.

Being that it was 1130, I felt Mimosas were the best option, and out came a carafe (one of a few).  The server also brought out some pita bread and apricot jam to start things off.  The bread was piping hot, and was used to eat a lot of the other dishes.

Essentially, as many of these as you want (in a two-hour span).

I started off with Patlıcan Közleme (Charcoal smoked eggplant, green and red peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, dill) and Labneh (Strained yogurt, diced apples, walnuts, savory and endive).  Both tasty starters.

Eggplant spread with peppers. Good cold mezze starter.

Another good starter…tangy labneh topped with diced apples.

Next up, I picked the Manchego, Basil, and Tomato Omelette (three farm fresh eggs with manchego, basil and tomato, served with a side of potatoes that went well with the rest of the omelette) and Cilbir (two farm fresh poached eggs topped with yogurt, sumac and spicy oil).  I first tried Cilbir at Zaytinya a few weeks ago, and this was just as good…before, I’m not sure I would’ve thought eggs and yogurt mixed together would be a good call.

Manchego, basil, and tomato omelette.

Cilbir…eggs with yogurt, sumac, and oil, with a side of tasty potatoes.

I closed out brunch with two dishes that were brunchy, but not as Mediterranean…the Pastirma Eggs Benedict (two farm fresh poached eggs with cured loin of beef topped with traditional Hollandaise sauce on English muffins) and French Toast (Challah bread dipped with egg-batter, dusted with powdered sugar. Served with maple syrup.)

The Pastirma Eggs Benedict was really tasty…hard to go wrong with Eggs Benedict at brunch.

French toast…not much different from the norm here.

This was a good bottomless brunch for a good price…I’d encourage you to check it out.

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AGORA
1527 17th St NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 332-6767
http://agoradc.net/

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Filomena, 12 August 2012

I’ve had Filomena on my list for a bit.  I’d heard great things about this particular Italian restaurant, so on Sunday I went to Georgetown to check them out.

Upon entering the restaurant, take a look to the right before you go downstairs into the dining room.  You’ll see a small room that looks like the kitchen of a home, where the restaurant’s homemade pasta is created.  You can see some pictures of it here.

I started with three appetizers to get a taste of what Filomena had to offer:

  • La Torre di Melanzane – “Stacked Slices of Eggplant breaded and Pan fried when ordered. Layered with fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato Sauce and Fresh Basil.”
  • Arancini – “Rice Balls– All time favorite of Little Italy’s Street Feast of San Gennaro and in scenes from “The Godfather”. Italian Arborio Rice rolled and stuffed with Mozzarella and Bolognese Meat, dusted with Bread Crumbs and quick fried. Served with Tomato Sauce.”
  • Burrata Mozzarella di Caprese – “Burrata—A ball of Buffalo Mozzarella with a Ricotta Cheese center. Served with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil Leaves and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.”

All three were great…our server, Nenad, recommended the Arancini and Burrata (and my entree below), so kudos to him for that.  If you have to choose just one starter, I’d go with the Arancini (although why just have one??)

La Torre Di Melanzane – a delicious tower of eggplant.

Arancini – fried balls of rice stuffed with meat and cheese.

Burrata Mozzarella di Caprese – can never go wrong with cheese, amirite?

Filomena has some large portions when it comes to their entrees.  I went with Bill Clinton’s favorite Filomena dish, the Linguini Cardinale (lobster meat in cardinale lobster sauce over pasta).  Loved it.  Apparently Filomena sees a lot of other celebs (see here and here).

My dinner companion got a special (the picture of which didn’t come out too well).  The Risotto alla Vitello consisted of two giant veal chops over a bed of mushroom-prosciutto risotto.  If I see this on the menu next time I go back, I’m getting it…delicious (and HUGE portions).

Along with dinner, we had a Falesco Umbria Merlot.  Worked well.  There’s plenty of other options as well.

Bill Clinton’s favorite, the Linguini Cardinale.

Although I was feeling pretty full at this point (I even had to get the rest of my food to go – never happens!), I had to try the desserts.  All of the cakes and tortes are on display opposite of the dining room, and the dessert menu displays pictures that will definitely sell you on that last course.  The Hazelnut Daquois was awesome.

Filomena’s Hazelnut Daquoise was excellent. All the other desserts looked great too (especially the Cookies ‘N Cream cake, which looks like a big Oreo). See more on their desserts page.

I thought I was finally done gorging after the dessert, but there was more.  Deposited on the table along with the bill were two decanters – amaretto and sambuca.  Was great post-dessert.

Amaretto and sambuca to finish things off. Served with coffee beans for the sambuca.

Apologies for the photos…the restaurant is dark and romantic…definite date night quality.  Great food as well, so you can go alone if you have to…worth it!

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Filomena
1063 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 338-8800
www.filomena.com (and an entry on Wikipedia)

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Dinner at Fujimar, 1 August 2012

I’ve been seeing a lot of recent e-mail traffic about Fujimar, the restaurant upstairs from Lima (formerly just known as Lima).  I wasn’t sure what to expect, being that I had always heard Lima talked of as a nightclub rather than a restaurant.  After reading Tom Sietsema’s April review of the restaurant in The Washington Post, I decided to give it a shot.

The restaurant interior is über trendy.  Around the wall is a line of monitors showing images of fish, giving the place an aquatic look.  On a few of the monitors is a top-down view of the sushi chefs doing their craft, which I found to be a nice touch.

Trendy styling inside. This is the back room.

A view of the monitors, including the fish (left) and the sushi chefs (right).

Longest. Fork. Ever. Fujimar was going for the chopsticks look with their utensils. A little awkward to use, but you’ll get over it.

To get as much of a sample of the restaurant’s offerings as I could, I started with a Ceviche Sampler – four ceviches, including the Ahi Tuna and Ginger (my waiter’s favorite) and the Red Pepper Barramundi (my pick out of the four – although all were excellent).

The Ceviche Sampler…

I also got two orders of sushi, including the Volcano Roll (hot king crab salad on top of a shrimp tempura and avocado roll), and the Lime Garden Roll (avocado, garden vegetables, and lime-cilantro oil).  The Lime Garden Roll was surprisingly good for a vegetarian roll…I wouldn’t overlook it for the lack of fish.

Volcano Roll…

The Lime Garden…

The mixology program at Fujimar is quite creative, and continues the asian-fusion theme of the restaurant.  For my first cocktail, I picked up an Eastern Promise, with U’Luvka vodka, Yellow Chartreuse, yuzu, tamarind nectar, Sauternes foam (Sauternes, rose syrup, egg white), and violet salt.  My second one, The Yamazaki Cobbler had Suntory Yamazaki 12 year Scotch (because for relaxing times, make it Suntory time), apricot liqueur, lemon juice, and apricot-mint nectar.  Both went well with the food.  The other options were also unique recipes that sounded excellent as well.

The Eastern Promise…

The Yamazaki Cobbler…

Don’t be turned off by Lima’s nightclub vibe.  They have a solid dining and mixology option upstairs in Fujimar which I’d encourage you to check out.

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Fujimar (formerly known as Lima)
1401 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 789-2800
www.fujimarrestaurant.com

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Dinner at KAZ Sushi Bistro, 1 August 2012

What do you get when you combine culinary mastery with a fine art degree?  Kaz Okochi, of KAZ Sushi Bistro, makes some delicious and gorgeous looking dishes.

I started off with the Sake Tasting #1 (Taisetsu, Wakatake Nigori, and Yatagarasu Taru) and the Bird’s Nest special.  The Bird’s Nest was a bed of thin slices of baby calamari and uni in a truffle-soy sauce, with thin strands of seaweed and a quail egg on top.  This was a really tasty starter.

Sake Tasting #1.

The Bird’s Nest special…

Uni, or sea urchin, was actually the first sushi I ever had, and it almost turned me off to the genre.  Thankfully, it was followed with a spicy tuna roll, which forever cemented my love for raw fish.  This uni, however, was high quality stuff with a great creamy, earthy taste.

For this meal, I wanted a guided tour of the best that KAZ had to offer.  I went with the Omakase Ultimate Sushi tasting menu, which is only available at the sushi bar.  One of the chefs makes two pieces at a time for the diner utilizing the freshest ingredients.  Each serving was simple, yet unique, offering interesting flavors.  Between scallop with pineapple, ebi with yuzu tapioca, Japanese horse mackerel with ginger-scallions, walu with wasabi leaf, seared salmon, and bigeye tuna, I was very impressed with the quality of the food, the tastes, and the presentation.

Scallop with pineapple…

Ebi with yuzu tapioca…

Japanese horse mackerel with ginger-scallion mixture…

Seared salmon.

Being that my usual favorite roll is that of the Spicy Tuna variety, I also put in for an order of that.  Simple, yet well done, and not overly heavy.

Spicy Tuna Roll.

From what I have heard, KAZ Sushi Bistro is also one of the only places in the DC-area willing to serve the infamous fugu (which features itself on my bucket list).  Read more about it here on a (dated) Chowhound review, or at this more recent article from Washingtonian.

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KAZ Sushi Bistro
1915 Eye (I) Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 530-5500
http://www.kazsushibistro.com/

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Blue Ginger, 3 July 2012

While I was visiting New England, I made a stop at Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA.  Ming Tsai, once on The Next Iron Chef and other Food Network shows, opened this spot in 1998.  My friends had been raving about this place for awhile, so it was on our to-do list while I was out there.

The Blue Ginger kitchen working hard.

We started out with a couple of drinks from Blue Ginger’s creative cocktail menu.  I got the Thai Coconut Martini, which consisted of cilantro- and chili-infused vodka, Coco Lopez coconut milk, and lime…great flavor combination.

Thai Coconut Martini. “Creamy, spicy, delicious,” per the menu…I concur.

This was my first opportunity to obtain foie gras since the California ban on the delicacy went into effect, so I went a little overboard and both of the options.  Blue Ginger has two starters with foie gras, including a Foie Gras-Shiitake Shumai in Sauternes-Shallot Broth, and the Blue Ginger Charcuterie Plate.  The latter consisted of duck prosciutto, foie gras torchon, and country pâté.  Both were good…I especially liked the sweetness of the Sauternes broth with the shumai dish.

The Foie Gras Shumai. The shumai themselves came out in a dim sum bamboo container, and then were moved into the broth.

Charcuterie with delicious foie gras torchon (bottom right).

Seeing the need for another cocktail at this point, I chose the Gosling’s Gold Iced Chai Latte – chai-infused rum with Bailey’s and honey syrup.  Again, really tasty.

Gosling’s Gold Iced Chai Latte.

Moving onto the entrees…I went with the Grilled New Zealand Rack of Lamb, and my friends went with Szechwan Chicken and the Sake-Miso Marinated Alaskan Butterfish (two of the house specialties).  All of these were excellent.  The lamb was exceptionally prepared – juicy and tender – and was served with a crispy taro-corn cake, asian chimichurri, and adobo cream.  The butterfish was incredible.  I was a little jealous I didn’t get that myself, and if I go again that’s what I’ll be getting.

My rack of lamb.

Szechwan Chicken with Lapchang Sticky Rice and Sautéed Mustard Greens. Served with Garlic-ginger-soy syrup and sweet chile sauce.

The incredible butterfish, served with wasabi oil, soy-lime syrup, and vegetarian soba noodle sushi.

If rhubarb is ever on the dessert menu, I get it.  Blue Ginger has a Crème Fraiche Cheesecake with Rosé Sobet topped with gingered rhubarb, strawberries, and candied pistachios.  Also good was the Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with cardamom ice cream and chocolate ganache.  Great end to the meal.

Ming Tsai has some of his recipes (including a few of the ones featured at Blue Ginger) on his PBS show “Simply Ming“.  A few of the episodes are online on his website, which I’d encourage you to check out.

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Blue Ginger
583 Washington Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
(781) 283-5790
http://www.ming.com/blue-ginger.htm

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Bacon and Beer Tasting at LivingSocial, 22 July 2012

Bacon and beer (and shots of rye whiskey) go so well together.

I went to yet another great event at LivingSocial‘s 918 F Street – Bacon and Beer Tasting with Flying Dog Brewery and Founding Farmers.  For $19, we were treated to four small bacon dishes created by Chef Joe Goetze of Founding Farmers, four beers from Flying Dog, and a shot of rye.  Over the hour-long tasting, we were presented with various information on the beers and bacon dishes.

Here’s what we had:

Snake Dog IPA and Double Dog Double IPA.

We started off with the Snake Dog IPA (7.1%) and Turkey Bacon with Apple-Onion Confit with four-year Vermont Cheddar, followed by the Double Dog Double Pale Ale (11.5%) with BBQ Spiced Artisan Grilled Hickory Bacon.

I especially liked the Apple-Onion Confit that went with the turkey bacon…it was made with caraway, yellow onion, Granny Smith apple, jalapenos, bay leaf, celery salt, and other ingredients. Really tasty.

After a short break, and a shot of rye, we started on the second course.  Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout (5.5%) washed down Black Pepper Maple Glaze Apple Wood Smoked Bacon with Danish Blue Cheese, while Horn Dog Barley Wine paired well with the Bacon-Wrapped Blue Cheese-Stuffed Dates (my favorite – these were delicious).

The dates were awesome…I may reproduce them for my next gathering.

Another great event at an excellent price.  This tasting appeared to be extremely popular…I think LivingSocial was having a couple of tastings a day.  As of the writing of this post, the deal is still available.  You can sign up for it here.

America Eats Tavern, 26 June 2012

I made it a point to try out America Eats Tavern, José Andrés’ American history restaurant, before it was set to close after a final dinner on 4 July.  America Eats was opened as a concept restaurant partnership between  Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup and the Foundation for the National Archives.  The restaurant broke out dishes that were based on accounts of food and drink consumed throughout America’s history.  I loved the concept, as well as the stories of each dish posted on the menu.  I’m really disappointed that I only just got to try the restaurant since it’s now closed, as everything I tasted was excellent.  I’m hoping that Andrés will continue to have some of the popular dishes at some of his other venues.

I started off with a cocktail, Franklin’s Milk Punch.  It was based on a recipe contained in correspondence from Benjamin Franklin to James Bowdoin (I found the letter and some additional information here – also included is a modern recipe for the drink).  It sounds a little odd – you put milk and lemon together with brandy and a few other ingredients before removing the  resulting curds – but it came out tasty.  One of these days I’ll try making it myself.

Benjamin Franklin’s Milk Punch. Nice lemony taste.

My first appetizer was a half dozen oysters-on-the-half-shell.  America Eats provided two house-made fruit vinegars (watermelon and raspberry – I liked these), lemon juice, and pepper for garnishing.

Oysters…

…and garnishes.

My server, Lavon, had some fantastic recommendations for my orders.  Next up was one of these – the Shrimp ‘N’ Anson Mills Grits.  Nice buttery grits with bits of bacon and fresh shrimp.  Delicious.

Great recommendation from my server, Lavon.

As I’ve written in earlier posts, I’m a huge fan of foie gras.  I’ll almost always get it when I see it on the menu.  At America Eats, they had an interesting combination dish – Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches with Foie Gras.  It sounded so unique that it was not going to get passed by.  It was amazing…the tastes worked so well together.  It came with Saratoga Chips (more on that here) and a bottle of milk…great pairing.

So, so good.

Great sides for the PBJFG.

My second cocktail was the Switchel.  Billed as a drink from colonial times, the Switchel was a mixture of rum, cider vinegar, molasses, and ginger.  The cider vinegar was the predominent taste, but it was still refreshing.  It went well with the Americana theme of the restaurant and the rest of my dishes.

The Switchel.

My last starter (is it really a starter since it was my fourth?) was the Vermicelli Prepared Like Pudding (see here for Lewis Fresnaye’s original recipe from 1802).  I was a little worried that this would be too heavy for me to continue on with the meal, but it wasn’t, regardless of the pasta and cheese involved.  This was some of the best mac and cheese I’ve had.  The mushrooms (morels I think) went great with the dish.

Way better than regular mac and cheese.

Okay – on to the entree.  Based on another recommendation from Lavon, I went with the BBQ Beef Short Ribs with Hoppin’ John…tender beef with black-eyed peas and rice in a spicy sauce.  Great stuff.

Short Ribs…Excellent.

Even after all this, I just could not pass up dessert.  Based on my server’s final recommendation, I ordered the Pecan Pie.  Andrés’ take on the pecan pie included candied pecans and some molecular gastronomy – bourbon foam.  I washed it down with a glass of Bulleit bourbon neat.  Great end to the meal.

What a great ending.

Great meal all around.  I liked the closing touch too.  Everyone’s bill comes out in a vintage American book.

Mother Mason, by Bess Streeter Aldrich.

I’m going to miss America Eats Tavern – wish that I had experienced them earlier – but I expect that whatever Andrés does in that space will be excellent as well.

For a little more on America Eats, check out this timeline from Eater DC, or follow the Twitter feed…I’d expect that the updates on the new restaurant will be posted there.

District of Pi, 10 July 2012

I go to a lot of these LivingSocial 918 F Street events, and when I do, I end up passing by a few restaurants.  District of Pi was one of those places.  After going to the course on Tiki Mixology with Jon Arroyo on Tuesday, I stopped in with a couple of people I met at the class.

Immediately our olfactory senses were bombarded with the mouth-watering smells of Pi’s main dish – pizza.  We jumped right in with an order of the Pi Bites (prosciutto and cheese sticks).  Cheese sticks are a guilty pleasure of mine, and these ones were tasty with the addition of the prosciutto (plus it was a small starter so I felt less bad about ordering them).

Pi Bites

What I really wasn’t expecting was District of Pi’s creative cocktail menu.  As an example, I ordered the Papyrus, which consisted of lavender-infused tequila, Drambuie, orange, and Allagash Belgian-Style White…really tasty and complex beer cocktail.

Papyrus cocktail…a unique recipe.

The pizza was really good.  I ordered a small 9″ (large is 12″) deep-dish pizza called the Kirkwood, which included mozzarella, italian pork and beef meatballs, red peppers, and basil.  District of Pi’s deep-dish pizzas are made with the cheese on the bottom, the rest of the ingredients, then the chunky tomato sauce on the top.  Our server, Stephen, said the Kirkwood was his favorite, and it did not disappoint.

My Kirkwood pizza. Thanks Stephen! There is a thin-crust pizza above and to the left for comparison.

District of Pi also has a ton of other ingredients you can add to your pizza, which you can find here.

I’ve also seen a District of Pi food truck driving around for the lunch crowds.  You can find the food truck menu here.

I’ve been negligent in hitting District pizza places, and I’ve heard great things about several of them (see here, here, and here for a few “best of” lists).  I’ll post about other ones as I hit them.