Category Archives: Events

What I’ve Been Eating, 12 Nov 2013

Sorry for the long hiatus.  I’ve been vacationing in southern Afghanistan, and now that I’m back, I figured I’d share some of my meals.

Bagram

Bagram. Mexican Food, Chicken Tenders, Cherry Cobbler

So Bagram wasn’t terrible for the limited amount of time I was there.

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This healthy breakfast was had in Maiwand district, Kandahar province.

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Significantly less healthy breakfast a couple days later, also in Maiwand.

So Maiwand didn’t score too high.  Still better than MREs, though.

Panjwai

Solid Army meal of taco meat and spaghetti. The spaghetti was spiced up with something that gave it a more exotic flavor. Hopefully it wasn’t the moon dust in Panjwa’i district, Kandahar province.

I wasn’t in Panjwa’i as long as I wanted to be, but the food on some bases wasn’t bad.  One in particular had made-to-order burgers every other week.  The one I had (sadly, no pictures) had a chipotle aioli with grilled onions, mushrooms. and jalapenos.  After the long trip to get there, it was phenomenal.

The winner for best DFAC (that’s Dining FACility for the rest of you) has to go to a location in Spin Boldak.  Consistently good meals for the time I was there, with a great dessert bar.  I had a strawberry smoothie there one day.

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Obviously, wearing your reflective belt is mandatory when you’re mixing up some fruit smoothies. Safety first, people. Spin Boldak district, Kandahar province.

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It tasted better than it looked. Note my strawberry smoothie.at 1100.

Obviously though, anyone who makes sushi at a combat outpost will win this competition.  Yes, this actually happened.

Spicy Salmon Roll, with water chestnuts and asparagus. Senjaray, Zharay district Kandahar province.

Spicy Salmon Roll, with water chestnuts and asparagus. Senjaray, Zharay district, Kandahar province.

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The finished product. Simple, yet refined. The only sushi ever had at such a remote location? After 12 years of war…there are no firsts.

 

Tonight I’ll be having my first sushi since getting back.  I don’t know that I’ll appreciate it as much as I did with the sushi in Senjaray.  There’s something to be said for having a luxury like that out there…it becomes the best tasting thing you’ve ever had.

 

Other food that I had out there (besides all that wonderful DFAC food) included spicy chicken and lamb from a takeout joint in Kandahar City, some of the fantastic naan flat bread from Panjwa’i, Qabili Palao, and the cloyingly sweet chai (50/50 sugar-tea mix is how it usually tasted).

 

I’m glad to be back, and I’m looking forward to getting back into the food scene.  Suggestions welcome.

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.

Beer Tasting with ChurchKey and LivingSocial, 15 July 2012

On Sunday, I went to a beer tasting event at LivingSocial’s 918 F Street led by Greg Engert, the beer director for ChurchKey and Neighborhood Restaurant Group.

I can confidently state that I have never met anyone as knowledgable about beer as Mr. Engert.  He certainly brings his academic education and experience to his craft.  For two hours or so, he was able to discuss the history, economy, science, and societal aspects of beer.  More importantly, he had picked seven beers that even I, a beer novice, could easily tell apart.

A veritable professor of beers, Greg Engert introduced us to seven exceptional brews.

We started the first round with three beers:

  • Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire
  • ChurchKey’s Flavor Category: Tart & Funky
  • Beer Name: Bam Noire
  • Brewery/Origin: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Michigan
  • Style: Saison – Dark
  • ABV: 4.3%

According to Engert, the Bam Noire is what beer tasted like for 99% of its history.  Tart, sour, and a slight vinegar smell at first.  It had a clean aftertaste with a hint of smokiness.

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  • Schlenkerla Weizen
  • Flavor Category: Smoke
  • Beer Name: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen
  • Brewery/Origin: Brauerei Heller-Trum, Germany
  • Style: Hefeweizen
  • ABV: 5.2%

BACON.  That’s all I could think of when I smelled, and then tasted, this great beer.  The extremely smokey nose and flavor comes from the beechwood it’s fired with.

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  • Stillwater Cellar Door
  • Flavor Category: Fruit & Spice
  • Beer Name: Cellar Door
  • Brewery/Origin: Stillwater Artisanal (at DOG Brewing), Maryland
  • Style: Saison – Blond
  • ABV: 6.6%

Fruit nose with a hint of sage.  The sage comes out more in the taste…white sage was used to flavor it.  This beer is contract brewed by Stillwater at DOG Brewing in Baltimore.

The first three brews. My favorite from this round was the Schlenkerla Weizen, in the center.

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At this point, we got a break to collect some charcuterie.  Good selection that went well with the rest of the beers.

Don’t mind the plating…I put this one together myself. I need to remember to eat before going out to these things.

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Round two consisted of these four beers:

  • Victory HopDevil Ale
  • Flavor Category: Hop
  • Beer Name: HopDevil
  • Brewery/Origin: Victory Brewing Company, Pennsylvania
  • Style: American IPA
  • ABV: 6.7%

Fruity nose and taste.  Orange/citrus notes.

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  • Duck-Rabbit Doppelbock
  • Flavor Category: Malt
  • Beer Name: The Duck Rabbit Doppelbock
  • Brewery/Origin: The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, North Carolina
  • Style: Dunkles Doppelbock
  • ABV: 8.5%

I wasn’t sure what to peg the flavors in this as…I thought soy sauce, and somewhat similar to the next beer.  More intense flavors than the Hitachino, and a little more bitter, especially at the finish.  From what I gather, for a hoppy beer, this wasn’t that bitter though.  As I don’t normally drink a lot of beer, I have more taste testing to do before I can figure that out on my own.

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  • Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout
  • Flavor Category: Roast
  • Beer Name: Sweet Stout
  • Brewery/Origin: Kiuchi Brewery, Japan
  • Style: Sweet Stout
  • ABV: 3.9%

As mentioned above, I found this similar in taste to the Duck-Rabbit (although I’m not sure I should’ve with the different flavor categories they fall into).  I found this one to be a little bit mellower and sweeter.  Cleaner finish than the Doppelbock.

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  • Tuppers Keller Pils
  • Flavor Category: Crisp
  • Beer Name: Tuppers’ Keller Pils
  • Brewery/Origin: Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Beers (at St. George Brewing), Virginia
  • Style: Kellerbier-Zwickelbier
  • ABV: 5.0%

Bready nose and taste with a hint of grapiness.  I don’t know how something that tastes doughy can also be crisp, but surprisingly it was.

The last four beers. Hard to pick a favorite out of this group, but I’d probably say the HopDevil (the one on the left in the top row).

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Some additional bullet points from the evening with Engert:

  • Local isn’t good just because it’s local.
  • Hungarian oak barrels are the best.
  • There are more U.S. brewers today than at any time since 1889.
  • The people who brought you ChurchKey will be opening Bluejacket around March 2013.  Location will be near Nationals’ Stadium.

I haven’t made it yet to ChurchKey, but after this class, and my subsequent rediscovery of beer, I will be dropping by in the near future to try some more.

Tiki Mixology with Jon Arroyo, 10 July 2012

On Tuesday I went to yet another great LivingSocial 918 F Street mixology course.  Jon Arroyo, chief mixologist of Founding Farmers, went over the basics of tiki cocktails, followed by a tasting of four drinks from the genre.

The LivingSocial 918 F Street Bar…decked out with tikiness.

Arroyo did a great job of explaining the cocktails and the history behind them, as well as some other useful cocktail bullets:

  • Cocktails are spirit, water, sugar, bitters.
  • Mojito is a swizzle vs a tiki (see also Queen’s Park Swizzle).
  • Pour sweet, sour, then spirit so if you mess up and have to pour out you won’t waste spirit.

On to the evening’s cocktails.

  • Zombie – a cocktail with eleven ingredients invented by Don the Beachcomber.  This one had 3 different rums, Falernum, bitters, absinthe, grenadine, fruit juices, cinnamon syrup, and was topped off with a mint sprig.
  • Mai Tai – one of the best known tiki cocktails…this one created by Trader Vic.  Rums, curaçao, orgeat, and lime juice.
  • Scorpion – A smaller version of the scorpion bowl….rums and brandy (or cognac) with triple sec, lime, and orange juice.
  • Painkiller – a creamy tiki cocktail that includes coconut milk (Arroyo makes his own), orange juice, pineapple juice (in this case we used pineapple syrup – I’ll have to try making that) and, of course, rum.  The drink was garnished with nutmeg.

Fantastic class taught by a master mixologist.  Definitely worth the while.  I’ve been very impressed with the two mixology classes that I’ve attended thus far at 918 F Street, and I heard good things that night about others that I, unfortunately, missed.  I’d encourage others to attend if they’re in the D.C.-area.  See below for some more photos of the evening.

Zombie

Mai Tai

Scorpion

Painkiller – the other drinks were prepared by Arroyo and his team, but we made these ourselves.

Queen’s Park Swizzle – they made one of these to demonstrate how to make a swizzle utilizing an actual wooden swizzle stick (not the plastic straw most are familiar with).

Jon Arroyo (center) and team. They certainly set the tiki mood that evening. Apologies for the blurriness.

NH Cocktail Party, 30 June 2012

My friends hosted a cocktail party the other night in New Hampshire where I got to put some recipes (tried and true and a couple new ones) to the test.  Sources for the recipes included Andres Aleman (Dragon’s Kiss), Gina Chersevani (Black White and Tiki, Beety Bastard), and The Passenger (Hot as Girl on Girl, Monk’s Mule, Obamacare Sling, Milton’s Stapler).

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The menu isn’t fully correct – we made it up at the last minute – but it’s close.

We whipped up several different types of simple syrups that we hadn’t tested out before, including strawberry syrup (great stuff – see Andres Aleman’s recipe for that one here), mint, cinnamon/nutmeg (really good – I think I used one large stick of cinnamon and a few dashes of nutmeg, then strained through cheese cloth), habanero, ginger (used my recipe from before, minus habaneros, and plus a little more ginger), and beet.  I need to work out a good recipe for the beet syrup…mine was not beety enough for what I was gunning for.

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Some simple syrups being prepped.

Most of these cocktails came out pretty well…I wouldn’t do the last item on the menu larger than a shooter though.  Way too sweet.  I’ll also need to tweak future menus a little bit..too little variation in the drinks (e.g. too many gin drinks, and too many with ginger beer – oops).

This was my first time being the bartender for a group this size (15-20).  It was definitely an experience that I’ll need to repeat…I need more opportunities where speed is important and stress exists (I don’t get that mixing drinks at home, obviously).  I’ve certainly got a ways to go to get out of novice status.

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My office that evening.

Sumo, Sushi, and Sake – 22 June 2012

I went to a great Sumo wrestling event that the LivingSocial 918 F Street team put together for their DC-based clientele.  Not only did we get to watch two giants battle it out, but we got a glimpse of YO! Sushi‘s new US-based operation.  YO! Sushi has been around in the UK since 1997 (I had the chance to eat at the one a couple of blocks from Bedford Square in London in the summer of 2003), and it has expanded to Ireland, Portugal, UAE, Bahrain, Norway, and other locations globally.  The first US location will be opening at Union Station in DC on 11 July 2012, and this was a great kickoff.

I have to say that when I tried YO! in 2003 I was not thoroughly impressed.  I was more a fan of the kaiten-style sushi bar than anything else there.  However, the quality has been stepped up based on what I tried, and I’ll definitely be stopping in to their new location once in opens to see if it continues to live up to my new expectations for it.  The nigiri sushi was especially fresh and tasty, and the California rolls (although atypical from the norm – I think mine was crab and avocado with no cucumber) were better than most I’ve tried – rather than using crab stick, it tasted like fresh crab (definite taste difference between the two).

My view of the Sumo ring.

The menu for the evening.

We started off with some edamame and sashimi.  The sashimi, fresh and delicious, came out drizzled with a yuzu salsa that made the dish tangy.  I was a fan of this course, and I’d get it again at the restaurant…maybe two of them.

Whitefish sashimi in yuzu salsa. Good starter.

While we dined, the director of the US Sumo Championships, Andrew Freund, went over some facts and information about Sumo in general, and US Sumo in particular.  We then met the evening’s challengers – Byambajav Ulambayar of Mongolia, seven-time winner of the US Sumo Open gold and three-time World Sumo Champion, and Kelly Gneiting of Arizona, winner of four US Sumo Open medals and three-time US Sumo Champion (340 and 415 lbs respectively).

Director of US Sumo Open, Andrew Freund, explaining Sumo to the audience.

Next up on the menu was Spicy Tuna Tartare on Crispy Rice, and Shrimp Tempura Glazed with Creamy Miso.  I’m not sure that I’ve had crispy rice sushi before, but this wasn’t bad.  The shrimp tempura with the somewhat sweet miso glaze was tasty…it reminded me a little of fried and glazed Chinese dishes.

Tuna tartare on the left, tempura shrimp on the right.

While enjoying the course, the match began in earnest.  There were five rounds total, with Ulambayar winning 3-2.  It’s pretty impressive seeing guys of this size throw each other around…I certainly wouldn’t want to see one of them charging at me.

Next up on the menu was the previously mentioned nigiri sushi (Albacore Sushi with Citrus Ponzu) and maki (California Roll).  Both were excellent.

A great California Roll. I don’t normally get these since they’re done everywhere, but I’d get this one again.

Fresh albacore – a favorite of mine – with a tangy citrus ponzu sauce.

The drinks for the evening were great too.  Everyone was provided three sakes during the courses, and there was also beer, wine, and a cocktail called “Sumo Smash” (vodka, St. Germain, Aperol, and citrus) available for a price.

The first and second sakes were filtered (thus, they were clear), and the third was unfiltered (and therefore appeared cloudy).  The first, Diamond Sake (probably Momokawa brand, but that wasn’t specified), was smooth and buttery.  The second, Rock Sake (possibly this one), had what I picked up in the taste as a hint of blackberry.  The third was Pearl Sake (probably also Momokawa, based on this review which picked up on the same tastes), and was tropical in nature…I definitely picked up on the taste of pineapple in this one.

The Sumo Smash was also a good punch-like cocktail…I’ll have to recreate that.

Sumo Smash cocktail.

For those in the audience who were brave enough (i.e. not the author), there was an opportunity to go head to head with a wrestler of his or her choice (yes, one female tried it out), adding some additional interactivity to the event.

Dessert was Mochi Ice Cream of various flavors.  I grabbed a vanilla one, although they also had green tea and strawberry available.  Essentially it is ice cream inside of a rice cake.  I’m not usually a fan of stuffed rice cakes, but with the ice cream it wasn’t bad…the shell was much less tough than the others I’ve had.

Mochi ice cream – enclosed in a rice cake. I broke mine open before I got the shot 😦

Great event overall…this one sold out faster than any I’ve seen on LivingSocial.  If they offer it again I’d highly encourage it as an option for a fantastic date night out.  Check out YO! Sushi when they open, and if you beat me to it let me know what you think.

The author with the champs. Man, I’m in good shape.