Barrel Oak Winery

Posted on January 16, 2017 by melsmosaic

After a weekend of hiking at Dolly Sods, ziplining at Nelson Rocks and hiking at Seneca Rocks, one must reward oneself!

So on the way home from WV, there are several wineries off of 66. We decided to stop at Barrel Oak (BOW) to kick back and relax. The tasting room is quite large, with several outdoor areas with fireplaces, some lofts, couches, tables and the counters.

There were 3 of us so we figured we’d get a bottle. We weren’t sure what we wanted to enjoy, though. The great person at the counter said — well, you can buy a tasting flight, or, you can get 3 tastes for free since you’re going to buy a bottle. And, since there were 3 of us, we figured that would work just fine to cover any considerations we had from the menu. Oh, when you taste they also have both oyster crackers AND dark chocolate!!!

So, after going through the menu, we decided on the, amazingly, Merlot. I say amazingly on my end. Not something I usually get. It had a nice body with some good fruit and light spice.

We sat outside to enjoy that bottle on an amazing evening. The weather was perfect and could not have asked for more. We just did not want to go home. We had to get something else. We went inside and then there was just a perfect fire in the fireplace. We had to sit there. We then grabbed a bottle of their Cab Franc. Just as nice, with difference fruit and spice tastes. What was great is that two of us were able to enjoy more of this because the driver (1) was being very responsible and (2) isn’t as big of a wine lover as the other two of us.

This is a fun place to visit if you’re a dog lover, too, because it is a dog-crazy place! Totally take your furry friend there if you want to go. Or if you’re going through dog withdrawal, you’ll do so well there with wine & pups.

Definitely one of the good VA winery and worth a nice weekend day trip for wine, relaxing (and dogs). And, if you need more wine glasses, you get to bring the one you use home with you.

Kale and Cucumber Salad with Roasted Ginger Dressing

Posted on January 16, 2017 by melsmosaic

Does the name of the recipe not say enough? This was from a recent issue of Bon Appetit. Kale, love it, cukes, well, I will say I don’t absolutely love them solo (not as much as tomatoes), but when with other stuff, bring them on, and I love ginger. And, I’d never roasted it.

Ingredients

Dressing
8 ounces fresh ginger
1 green or red Thai chile (I used a couple dashes of tabasco b.c of my low heat tolerance)
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

Salad
1 bunch small Red Russian kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces (ended up using baby kale)
1 English hothouse cucumber, very thinly sliced
3 Persian cucumbers, very thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (love cilantro)
¼ cup store-bought fried onions (nixed these)

Preparation

-Heat broiler. Broil ginger in its skin, turning once, until very dark brown and beginning to scorch in places and a paring knife passes through the center with relative ease, 40–50 minutes (if skin is getting too dark before flesh is tender, turn down the heat or move to the oven). Let cool; slice (leave on the skin).

*This really does take this long, and I had a smaller piece. I would highly recommend putting it on foil on your baking sheet as it can ‘scar’ the thing — make major black marks. I’m not saying cookie sheets are all about looks, but it does leave evidence of what was there. Come the end, the skin of the ginger is very crackly and also bulbous, is the best way to say it. Quite cool! Forgot to take a picture.

-Pulse ginger, chile, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, oil, and 2 Tbsp. water in a food processor, adding additional water by tablespoonfuls if needed, until a smooth paste forms.

Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Assembly

-Toss kale and ¼ cup dressing in a large bowl to coat; massage with your fingers until kale is slightly softened.

-Toss English and Persian cucumbers, onion, lime juice, and sugar in a medium bowl to combine; season generously with salt. Let sit 10 minutes to allow cucumbers and onion to soften slightly.

-Add cucumber mixture to bowl with kale and toss to combine, adding additional dressing if desired. Serve topped with cilantro and fried onions.

This was a very nice salad — very fresh! Can definitely be paired with a variety of food. It’s fairly light and has a great flavor. And fun to make since the roasted ginger isn’t your everyday affair. And a side note, it was enjoyed with the wild boar burgers highlighted in another post.

Pueblo Viejo

Posted on January 16, 2017 by melsmosaic

I love Mexican food! When I find a new place I can check out, I will. And what’s ironic is that I’m posting all these blogs about restaurants and I don’t eat out all that much. I cook the majority of my meals at home. I was away for awhile and I’m also catching up on a bunch of long-overdue blogs.

So, another place in Ft. Collins that I checked out was Pueblo Viejo.

When they bring you the chips and salsa they also provide a unique bean dip. It’s made with pinto beans (not black beans). Nice to have something a bit different and just had some nice spices in it. Some guac was definitely ordered, too. Very good stuff!

Went for lunch and ordered some chicken tortilla soup. This stuff was amazing! They add tons of veggies to it — cauliflower, carrots and more. Not something very common and I loved it. It gives you a nice hearty meal. If you check this place out, definitely worth ordering.

El Pueblito

Posted on January 16, 2017 by melsmosaic

Dined at a new Mexican restaurant when I was in Ft. Collins last time — El Pueblito. They also have locations in Loveland & Greeley.

They had some unique items on their menu that you don’t see in many places. We had to take advantage of them when ordering.

I decided to go with the FAJITAS DEL MAR — Octopus, shrimp and catfish, grilled with tomatoes, onions and bell green pepper , served with rice, beans, guacamole salad and your choice of tortillas.

The other at the table went with TACOS DE LENGUA — Corn tortillas or flour tortillas stuffed with grilled tongue, cilantro, and onions. Served with beans and tomatillo sauce on the side.

I love octopus and it was delicious on the fajita plate. The catfish, I wasn’t a fan of (I don’t know that I’d ever even had catfish). It was just super chewy and almost bland. I was also lucky enough to ask if it was served with cheese for my dairy issues and they mentioned they use butter. I thought that was interesting for a Mexican place. They said they would absolutely just use the oil because of my lactose issues.

You don’t often see beef tongue in restaurants, so this was a good find.

The gaucamole we had at the start was nothing to write home about and the margaritas were marginal, but it was cool having the unique main courses.

China Chilcano

Posted on January 14, 2017 by melsmosaic

Was able to dine at a restaurant I had not yet checked out awhile back — China Chilcano in the Gallery Place/Chinatown/Judiciary Square area of Washington, DC. I had heard rave reviews about it so couldn’t wait to check it off my list.

It is one of Jose Andres’ places and it brings together Peruvian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. And their feature cocktail – Pisco Sours.

I went on a Wednesday night. Made a reservations so the table was all set. The tables were at a very low level (from the ground) so you really have to bend over/down to eat. The light was very yellow-y, too. Not sure why. Hence why the picture all have an odd light to them.

The service was very slow, as in it took a long time to get our waiter. Once he finally arrived, we had to make the required order at such a restaurant — pisco sours! And they also bring you these little nibbles — pepitas.

Once we received the pisco sours (that also took awhile), cheers! Very nice.

The menu is tapas-style, so most of the dishes are small and meant to be shared. The choices were almost overwhelming. But we finally decided on:

Ensalada de Chonta — Hearts of palm, tamarind, avocado, tomato, kiwicha seed, sweet plantain

Ceviche Clásico La Mar — Red snapper, leche de tigre, sweet potato, red onion, cancha, cilantro

California (Roll) — Potato causa, jumbo lump crab, spicy mayo, cucumber, avocado, tobiko, huancaína sauce

HaKao — Steamed glass dumpling, shrimp, pork, ají rocoto-soy sauce

Yàn Wõ “Birds Nest” Soup — Coconut “Birds Nest” soup, pink grapefruit sorbet, mint, sesame, ginger

Like a typical tapas restaurant, these orders came out randomly. Some within a minute then others about 15 minutes later.

The hearts of palm salad was by far my favorite. Could have ordered several of those. The ceviche wasn’t quite what I was expecting because it was ‘soupy’. I could have used a spoon to eat it (picture below, top row, right). Unique and tasty, nonetheless.

The other dishes were very good, as well. The others at the table enjoyed the dessert and said they’ll have to pass next time. I had a small bite of the sorbet and it was interesting. I’ll stick with just the citrus itself.

Very glad I checked the place out, would totally go again.

Prost Brewing

Posted on January 14, 2017 by melsmosaic

Last time I was in Ft. Collins was able to visit another new (to me) brewery — Prost Brewing. They also have a location in Denver. To find this place, you have to walk down crazy back alleys and around corners. Sort of hard to find, but very fun.

They have a huge menu of German-style brews, and offer all of them in small pours (as well as quite large ones), so you can get a good taste range. They have based what they offer on quite a history of alcohol & beer in the US. The way they craft their suds is from German influence and you get great bier satisfaction at this place. And, they welcome dogs. How can you go wrong with that?

There were a few of us there and we ordered several small pours to share. I know I grabbed the Weißbier and Kölsch. Both just great. The others around the table were equally as enjoyable. Glad I was able to check this place out.

Prost!

Opah!

Posted on January 12, 2017 by melsmosaic

Wanted to find something fun to cook the other day so swung into Whole Foods to see what they might have. Roamed over to the seafood section and found something I hadn’t noticed before — Opah. Went to the counter and asked one of the guys what he knew about it. He mentioned it was sort of a cross between tuna and swordfish. Ok, might as well give it a try.

I asked him about cooking and he said either grill or roast. I’d love to grill it but I don’t have the luxury of doing so because I live in an apartment building. I asked about pan searing and he said that works just fine, too. Seasoning-wise, he said don’t go crazy, no more than S&P.

While waiting for it to defrost (dropped it in a bowl of water, still wrapped), did some research on the Opah. They are pretty cool looking. Also found out they are pretty much a Hawaiian fish. Nice way to think about warmth.

It definitely lived up to the ‘firm’ preview. It had a really nice taste — some creaminess to it and was quite filling. I served it with some kale chips and pita & hummus.

And, let me tell you, the leftovers tasted awesome! Totally worth checking out if you see it at the store.

Grace’s Mandarin

Posted on January 6, 2017 by melsmosaic

Was at National Harbor, MD for a week-long event so had the opportunity to check out several restaurants in the area. One evening oriental food sounded good so a couple of us went to Grace’s Mandarin. The restaurant provides ‘a variety of Asian inspired dishes with a modern flair in an elegant ambiance.’

The reservation was for 6pm so not an overly crazy hour and it was mid-week. The restaurant was not packed. Opted to start with some edamame as an appetizer as we looked over the menus.

We asked the waitress several questions and she did not speak very good English. Considering National Harbor is a high traffic area with tourists, this isn’t great. She didn’t understand a lot of our questions. One of them was about the Sashimi Taco, which was labeled as — Sashimi Taco Tuna, salmon, yellowtail, white tuna, cilantro, avocado. Sounded delicious! I wondered what made it a taco, though. She told me that it was only fish, nothing else. I inquired a few more times, however, about why it was considered it taco. She kept assuring me it was only fish, nothing else in the dish.

So, I went ahead and ordered that, along with a Mandarin Green Salad Organic baby greens, tomato, carrot, goat cheese, low-cal sesame soy vinaigrette. My friend ordered Singapore Rice Noodle — shrimp, chicken, egg, onion, scallion, bean sprout, carrot, curry.

The salad came out nice & quick. Good tastes all around.

Then came out the other two. The rice noodles were just as they were described, and a huge serving. Tasty is what I was told.

Then my tacos. Not what I was expecting per the waitress’ comments, but they did fit the description. They were indeed tacos. They has cream in them. It could have been aioli but nobody seemed sure. We asked several restaurant staff and after, honestly, about 10 minutes, we still didn’t have an answer. I had to send them back in case it was dairy. At this point I was frustrated because when I had asked before ordering if these were tacos the waitress said no and now that they were, she could not identify what all was in the tacos.

She asked what else I would like and I opted for the safe bet of simple sashimi. I went for salmon, tuna and some whitefish (I can never remember what it is but it’s good).

Yes, it was dinner time and the restaurant was getting a bit busier at this point, but it took over 20 minutes to get simple cuts of sashimi, after there was an error with an initial dish. Don’t you think they might hurry a bit? And all it takes is cutting the fish… It was quite good (as I should hope for this type of dish or I would be quite concerned).

So, overall, though the food ended up being decent, not at all impressed with the service at Grace’s. Not a place I would recommend on that level. Not sure if they expect they’ll get business because they are in a tourist location, not sure if we just hit the wrong place at the wrong time, but there are definitely places I would rather enjoy a dinner out.

Proof

Posted on January 6, 2017 by melsmosaic

There is a nice wine-oriented restaurant in DC, Proof. Had been there a few times and opted to check it out again after going to the theater to see Nutcracker for the first time.

Started at the bar because my friends and I arrived before our reservation. We all enjoy wine, so we were inquiring quite a bit about several of the wines they offered. The bartenders didn’t particularly want to help us more than where the wines were from and the varietals. For a wine restaurant, it was surprising. We had to order it on a whim and hope it was good. It was fine, but nothing I’ll order again, or remember. I didn’t even remember to take a picture…

We sat down at the table and it was extremely dark. The picture above is a flashlight you can use to read the menu. It’s both a flashlight and magnifying glass. The print is very small on the menu. I have really good vision and was having problems. The waiter said that is the tone/ambiance they want to set — darkness, it’s a better mood.

Once we were able to read some of the menu, our not-so-helpful waiter (in addition to the start with the bartenders) came and explained some of the specials. We also let him know about dietary restrictions. My friend is allergic to shellfish and nuts, as well as being lactose intolerant like me.

We decided to get some side dishes as appetizers and went with:

-Brussels Sprouts, Kimchee Mayo & Vietnamese Dressing
-Fried Cauliflower with Lemon, Tahini, Garlic & Mint (didn’t get a picture since because of the nearly non-existent lighting, it was tough to get decent shots)

After spending awhile looking over the entire menu we were finally able to choose what we wanted.

I opted for the Scallops a la Michel Richard: crispy brussels sprouts, apples, confit leeks, basil & vincotto. I asked if there was dairy in this and the waiter gasped and asked how could there not be and why would I make an alteration? I wasn’t sure and just needed it because of being lactose intolerant. He was flabbergasted that I didn’t know who Michel Richard was. Sorry. So, he said would check with the kitchen but didn’t think it would be possible to alter such a well known chef’s original recipe. Long story short, he said they would make and exception for me.

My friends ordered the Pekin Duck: käsespätzle, red cabbage, duck confit, horseradish, green apple, concord grape sauce. They made sure there was no dairy in there for her, and she was safe because there was also no fish on there, or no crazy fish ingredient in any of the sauces.

The other friend ordered the Sautéed Potato Gnocchi: butternut squash, cauliflower, beech mushroom, apple brown butter.

While we were waiting for the food, we asked for the sommelier. He came over and was a bit more helpful and gave some interesting comments about the restaurant and how it’s changed. He’d only been there a few months and once we started talking to him more he got much friendlier. The nicest service we had all night. He did suggest another wine after taking into account our likes in wine.

The food was good. Overpriced, but at least decent in taste. The evening at least ended well when our waiter was kind enough to confirm my friend’s initial thoughts — Cal Ripken was sitting at the table behind us. My friends, who are huge baseball fans, got up after dinner to ask for his autograph to give to their grandma for Christmas. She’s a long time Orioles fan. Can’t go wrong with that.

Blue Agave Grill

Posted on January 6, 2017 by melsmosaic

I recently dined at a delicious ‘Contemporary Southwestern Grill’ while visiting Colorado — Blue Agave Grill. Was in Denver and stopped in before going to the Avalanche game. There is a location in Fort Collins, but this one has recently opened.

Arrive in the 5 o’clock hour and this is a great restaurant off the top because you don’t have to be at the bar/in the bar section to get happy hour specials. So few restaurants do that (at least in DC where I’m used to going out)! So, right away, margaritas, on the rocks, no salt, please — for $5.

Then, we get the chips and salsa which are the normal addition to the table.

Next, a staple at this type of restaurant, guacamole! We got the basic one — Blue Agave Choice/ Garlic / Green Chilies / Red Onion / Tomato / Lime. It was on happy hour for $4 of $5 — I can’t remember the exact price. Really, that’s awesome! Came out super fast, huge portion and was amazing. The presentation was also nice and super effective. There is the brown ‘stuff’ below the tortilla shell bowl. It’s pureed black beans. That is done so the shell doesn’t move. Smart!

After that, we just wanted one other simple bite to eat. Opted for the Tuna Tartare / Gingered Soy Sauce / Blistered Shishito Peppers. It was around $7 or $8, I think. Good size portion. Now, I just snapped a small shot of it, but there were probably about 4 times as many pepper around it as tuna. And they were hot! I didn’t touch them, the other eater did. From far away they could look like okra. Dang, fiesty! Nice presentation, but the restaurant could save a lot of peppers. The tuna was amazing, though.

I wish there was one of these near me in DC. Absolutely amazing. Great service, too. Now, it was also quiet at that hour, but nonetheless, could not have asked for more. Will definitely have to go back next time I’m there.