Fish Taco

Posted on December 26, 2016 by melsmosaic

I had heard so much about Fish Taco that I eventually had to try it. Also did it by taking a friend there as a thank you for picking me up from the airport. Good excuse, right?

Their background is ‘Our food is rooted in traditional flavors inspired by various regions including Baja California, Mexico and the Southwest. We embrace local, seasonal and authentic ingredients presented simply, yet prepared with passion and precision.’

It’s one of the restaurants where you go up and order and they call your number when it’s ready, the new fast-casual, or something along those lines. I had sort of wondered about that, or how exactly they worked. They have three locations in the DC-area, and I visited the one on Old Georgetown Rd.

Was torn on what to order. I was assuming that based on their background (and name) they’d have ceviche (or some sort at least), but no.

I ended up getting the Blackened Fish Salad; mixed greens, romaine hearts, baby kale, avocado, grilled mango, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cotija cheese, blackened fish, and our house made Lemon Cilantro Vinaigrette (minus the cheese) — $11.95. The seasoning was nice, but the fish was pretty greasy.

My friend went with the Adobo Barbacoa (Brisket) Tacos; fresh white corn tortilla, adobo marinated barbacoa, pickled jalapeno/carrots/onions, guajillo sauce — $8.95. This was apparently darn good, but not a very big portion.

To kill time we also ordered chips and salsa. It’s always a strike against when at a mexican restaurant (generic term) you have to pay for chips and salsa. And, it was $4! (and not that ample of a size).

I can see why this place gets hype. It was relatively quick and easy. But, I personally wasn’t all the impressed. I would rather cook at home. And it was overpriced for what’s offered/delivered. But, it is Bethesda/DC so you come to expect it. Glad I was able to pass the opinion myself.

Sausage & Potato Pan Roast 

Posted on December 25, 2016 by melsmosaic

Had Supper Club at my place awhile back and it was right before Halloween (yes, catching up on writing many posts). The theme I chose was Orange & Black, meaning that anything people cooked had to contain something of/with those colors. I came across a recipe in Food & Wine, Sausage-and-Potato Pan Roast, that with some slight alterations to the ingredients would fit the theme.

Active: 20 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

2 large red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 large baking potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
**for the potatoes overall, I used fingerlings, several medium reds and a sweet (for my orange color)
10 medium unpeeled shallots, halved
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths **I grabbed chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s
One 8-ounce bunch of arugula, stemmed and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Prep

Preheat the oven to 425°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss all of the potatoes with the shallots and the 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are lightly browned. Brush the sausage with olive oil and add to the baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the potatoes are tender and the sausage is cooked through.

Transfer everything on the baking sheet to a platter. Fold in the arugula and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and serve.

This stuff was delicious! So easy to make, too. Definitely added this to my default list for recipes to make.

Flor de Luna

Posted on December 24, 2016 by melsmosaic

I don’t love trying out new restaurants right after they open all that often. But when it’s a family-owned restaurant that serves Latin-American cuisine, I’m there. It’s also great when it’s very close to where I live.

So, my friend and I checked out Flor de Luna in North Bethesda/Rockville, MD recently. If you know that area, it’s 1/2 block from Whole Foods. So, we called to make a reservation and we could only get in at 6:30pm (I think vs 6:00). Basically I say that because they made it sound like they were packed and it was empty in there (and it wasn’t getting busier). I think there were 2 other tables filled.

The menu said that Happy Hour went until 7 so we ordered some margaritas and mentioned that it was great that HH was on Sundays. He said, well, oh no, it’s not on weekends. We mentioned that nowhere did it mention that, either on the menu, signs, or website. He just sort of shook his head. Not good advertising and way to mention things. The waiter also said with all this they don’t serve margaritas on Sundays because as of right now the bartender isn’t there (just opened) so they can’t make the drink. He said he could try, we mentioned we would really appreciate that, happy hour price didn’t matter.

Note, when it did eventually come, service was slow, it was an awesome margarita! Nice work non-bartender!

We started looking over the menu, this was while enjoying a very unique opaque dip (no picture). It looked like a cheese dip but I was guaranteed there was no cheese/dairy in it. It was just so emulsified, but it was all good.

While skimming the menu we noticed several mistakes for the new venue…lots of typos, such as a staple for this type of restaurant, you could get ‘guacamole deep.’

Moving on, it was a cold night and I decided to get the Seafood Soup — Fish, mussels, squid, shrimp, and scallops in fish broth. I was about $16 or so, and was sure hoping it was going to have a good amount of seafood in it. That was an understatement when I got the bowl. This picture does it no justice at all. So much good stuff in here. Absolutely amazing.

My friend opted for the Carne Asada — New York stake (*another typo, I copied and pasted) served with rice, beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo. My friend quite enjoyed it, all tasted very good.

During the meal, the owner of the restaurant came out to meet us, very nice. I unfortunately can’t remember where she is originally from but it was great to see who cooked our delicious food. We eventually finished everything and asked for our check. Our waiter delivered it and did make the margaritas the happy hour price as he mentioned they should be based on what was advertised/mentioned. Thanks and nice work for ‘saving’ yourself.

Very nice dinner and will definitely go back and try several other choices from the menu. I also hope their business starts to pick up. I think I went in the first week or two from when they opened so it’s very likely this will be the case.

La Fiesta Grill & Cantina

Posted on December 14, 2016 by melsmosaic

Awhile back I checked out a great Mexican place in Steamboat Springs, CO — La Fiesta Grill & Cantina. What drove me there? The coupon that was on the back of the receipt from the grocery store. I guess those things actually work!

Some of the required drinks were ordered, margaritas. But, after some discussion with the waitress I changed from my normal, or I guess just what is normally served, and got one with white tequila. Ok, that’s my new favorite.

Had some simple stuff for lunch between the two of us there. I had one of my staples — ceviche, and the other had chicken tortilla soup.

The ceviche was good, but not quite the normal. It was almost like a gazpacho. There was tomato juice in there. Not saying I didn’t like it, but totally not what I was expecting. The tortilla soup was just perfect!

With the coupon, we got one of the margaritas free, too. Heck yeah! Worth checking out if you’re in that town.

Santa Came Early

Posted on December 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Got a great Christmas present recently. A stocking stuffed with wine. Box wine, removed from the box, stuffed in the stocking, and the tip of the stocking had been removed. Perfect! Just press the button and your wine glass gets filled. And since box wine has improved a lot, this is a great way to enjoy the holiday season!

Quality in cans

Posted on December 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Simple pleasures can come in the form of cans, and I try to only enjoy them during the holidays. Cranberries says it all. Canned Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce. Get it out of the can in the shape it came in, make sure it still has all the lines on it, then carefully slice it, and enjoy. Oh yes, what would the holidays be without this high quality sugar rush?

Cugino’s

Posted on December 11, 2016 by melsmosaic

While in Steamboat Springs, was looking for some lunch and came across a sort-of-hidden Italian place, Cugino’s.

Italian food sounded good and their lunch options sounded even better! For under $10 you could get a small pizza and beer (not sure if they have seasonal menus and I was not there during ski season). That was almost too good to be true. And the beer was good stuff, not just some boring macrobrew.

The service was a bit slow but the waiter was very apologetic. And we were sitting outside enjoying the weather so that helped.

When the food came out, well worth the wait! I went for pizza with no cheese (lactard) and some other great toppings, the other pizza at the table did have the nice melted stuff. Perfect crust, perfect size, absolutely delicious.

Will definitely check this place out again next time I’m in the area.

Brazil Nuts

Posted on December 11, 2016 by melsmosaic

The other day I was offered some cashews and I wasn’t very hungry so turned them down. But then I was told they were from Argentina and this guy’s mom picks and them toasts them herself. Then she sends them up him (her son). I could see there was something unique about them from far away because of the dark and sometimes tiny black accents on them. Had one…wow. Most amazing cashew I’ve ever had. These things were also enormous!

Made me think about Brazil nuts and my trip to Brazil a few years ago. Overall, I love nuts. But, I usually avoid buying mixed nuts because of those darn huge Brazil nuts that take up so much space in the container. They are a bit tasteless and almost chewy.

Well, when I was in Brazil, we visited a local market in Manaus on the last day. Think of something like Pike Place in Seattle on beyond illegal steroids. Among other local stuff, they had Brazil nuts and I told the guide how they weren’t my favorite. So, he grabs one, whips out his machete and shells the thing. He says ‘try it.’ Staring at it, it was just bright and a bit moist. Take a bite, it’s almost like candy. So good, nothing like we get here. It totally changed my perspective on Brazil nuts. I came back to the US hoping all these nuts had followed me on the plane, but of course when I opened a package of them or purchased them in bulk, they apparently had not boarded the plane…

Another reason I love traveling, enjoying the true local fare.

CO Beer

Posted on December 11, 2016 by melsmosaic

Was in CO awhile back and was of course overwhelmed by microbreweries. They have new ones popping up nearly every week. What’s fun about this is that every time I head out there for a visit I have new places to check out. During my trip, I tried some new suds at breweries in Ft. Collins, Estes Park and Colorado Springs. Had to cover as much territory as possible. *Note, all of these were new to me, some had been around for a bit.

#1 Jessup Farm Barrel House, Ft. Collins, CO – This one is in a barn, which is fun. Also has outdoor seating. Their philosophy “By blending beers with different fermentation variations we are able to create unique and original flavors. Our goal is to take the robust characteristics from the barrels, and blend to bring out the complexities and nuances of the flavors.” They have plenty of options, almost overwhelming. They do offer flights, which I highly recommend splitting between 2 people because of the high ABV of some of the brews.

#2 McClellan’s Brewing Co., Ft. Collins, CO – Their in-house beer (they also have ‘other’ taps) are done in Celtic style. ‘Our Cask Ales are a British Isles style of beer naturally carbonated through the fermentation process. We utilize a beer engine to manually pump the beer from a firkin to your glass. We Americanize our ales by serving it cold, and it still maintains a smooth and unique flavor profile that is less filling than it’s carbonated relative.’

Nice because you don’t get it very often. You go to breweries that all have unique beer, but this is very unique.

#3 Maxline Brewing, Ft. Collins, CO – This is one of the locations that had just opened when I was there. And DOG FRIENDLY! Lots of great options. And, since they had just opened they made us sample tons of them, shucks! Look forward to being back soon and seeing how much they’ve grown.

#4 Estes Park Brewery, Estes Park, CO – Checked this one out after going to some very scenic parks and being outside on a cold day. Here you can either pay for pints in the restaurant of get healthy free sample. You get 5-6 (depending on who’s doing the tasting) hefty pours of their brews (of your choice). And when you have several people there, if each of you picks different ones, you’ll taste everything! They have a very nice spread of beer, and some decent food to help soak it all up.

#5 Butcherknife Brewing Co., Steamboat Springs, CO – You can tell this is a popular place. Packed! One of their pieces of info “If great water makes incredible beer then Steamboat Springs has got to be the soul center of the craftiest beer on the planet. Our location provides us first use off the Continental Divide which means pure, unadulterated, fresh, clean water goes into the heart of every batch we make.”

I personally didn’t love most of what I sampled, I think it was because the ABV was high on those we chose/were able to get on all but one. Was still fun to check out!

Game of Elk

Posted on November 30, 2016 by melsmosaic

I love game meat. In fact, it’s about the only red meat my body can digest. I have enjoyed venison for ages. And when I travel to great places around the world I love trying new stuff. Now, there is also ‘domestic’ game meat — as in the stuff we have here. I say that because we don’t have my favorite, warthog, which I enjoyed in South Africa, here.

Anyway, last time I was in Colorado, Steamboat (Springs) to be precise, I enjoyed a very nice dinner at Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill and was able to expand my game tastes/tastings.

After looking over the menu several times, the elk was calling my name but the cost was not exactly low ($40). But, decided I had to give it a try. After speaking to the server, she mentioned the portion was quite hefty, so the two of us at the table decided to split that along with a house salad, oh and some vino (which of course came out well before the food)!

The elk was nice, traditional game meat. Very chewy, much more so than venison. It was not my favorite game meat ever but would definitely eat it again if offered.