Zentan

Posted on February 10, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was treated to a very nice lunch the other day at an Asian restaurant near Thomas Circle in DC. The venue, Zentan. Per their own description, they are a modern Asian restaurant featuring award-winning cuisine, focusing on Japanese-inspired small and shareable plates.

The restaurant is very ‘sharp’ — that’s the best way I can think to describe it. Lunch was at 1 on a Thursday, so it wasn’t packed but busy enough. Nice decor, cool tables, overall good atmosphere. We get the menu. What to order? Too many choices! (sorry for the shadow on the picture, odd light in the restaurant)

I finally opted for the Rainbow Don Bento Box — tuna, salmon and whitefish sashimi, cooked shrimp sashimi (I can’t quite get why it’s sashimi if it’s cooked), sushi rice and seaweed salad.

I don’t really like seaweed and this salad was a knockout! Wow, so good. The whitefish was unreal. The waiter said what it was and I can’t totally remember the Asian name he mentioned. Melt in your mouth. Absolutely amazing lunch. Will totally have to check this place out for dinner, too. Add it to your list if you’re looking for a new restaurant to try in DC.

Brasserie Beck

Posted on January 12, 2014 by melsmosaic

I was very fortunate this week to be able to return to a restaurant I visited several years ago, though this time it was just for a basic corporate lunch. It was nonetheless just as amazing. The location, Brasserie Beck in Washington, DC. It’s a “contemporary European style brasserie” with a basic yet widespread menu. Both times I’ve been there they have made amazing accommodations for dietary restrictions (lactose intolerance). The first time the chef wanted to make something totally new as a challenge.

They are well known for their beer selection, boasting 9 Belgium drafts and over 100 Belgium bottles. Darn, why was I there on a business lunch this past time?

For my meal I enjoyed an amazing Diver Scallops Salad — Avocado, Citrus, Shaved Fennel and Rocket Salad. This is where they used oil to pan sear the scallops vs. butter.

My colleagues each enjoyed the Grilled Hanger Steak Salad — Mixed Greens, Charred Scallions, Warm Fingerling Potato Salad, Blue Cheese.

None of us had a bite of food left on our plates. Would recommend checking this place out for lunch, dinner or just a nice happy hour.

Holiday Lunch

Posted on December 19, 2013 by melsmosaic

Today called for a holiday lunch, which also meant I got to check out a new (to me) location in DC. Had a nice 3-course meal at Decanter at St. Regis with some colleagues.

We started with delicious focaccia and a mesclun salad. Under all the lettuce was an amazing tapenade. Heaven for olive lovers!

For the main course I opted for the scallops. Pan seared with both a chickpea puree (can we say hummus?) and chickpeas, along with great seasoning. Very nice portion size, too!

Though white would have paired a bit better with the scallops, I went for some Malbec. The waiter said this stuff was great and I couldn’t turn it down. The rest of the table was drinking beer or white so I had to take one for the (red) team. I enjoyed some Siete Fincas from Argentina. Medium body, smooth, fruity.

The other food options were a steak or pasta. They were both inhaled/enjoyed quite a bit.

The meal closed with a nice dessert of 3 sorbets — lemon, raspberry, lime, with a little meringue on top. Perfect ending.

I would be interested in checking this place out for dinner, as well. Delicious food, excellent service, nice atmosphere. Might just add it to my list.

DC Brunch Spot

Posted on December 13, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last Sunday the weather was bad but that was no reason to avoid heading out for brunch. It had been planned and was going to happen. There is a great restaurant called El Centro on 14th Street with a (food and drink) bottomless weekend brunch on Saturday and Sundays from 10:30-3 for $35.

It’s a great Mexican fare and you order, essentially, small plates. So, you can have a little bite of everything. The drink menu contains everything from Mimosas to Bloody Marias to seasonal mixes. What’s ironic? You HAVE to pay for coffee, tea and juice. Dang!

As soon you get there they bring you great chips and salsa and come on, guac is a requirement!

I tried some of the ceviche, chicken tacos, beans and eggs. Others at the table had beef tongue, jicama, chile relleno and more. Didn’t get pictures of everything. It was delicious. Definitely worth checking out. It was very slow, though. Sort of ironic with things like ceviche that don’t really cook and the restaurant wasn’t that busy. But, there was no rush since it was an ugly weather day out there.

A Pre-Halloween DC Tradition

Posted on October 31, 2013 by melsmosaic

Note: This post has nothing to do with food. But, it’s fun to change gears sometimes. I have been living in the DC-area for over a decade and finally made it to the High Heel Race this year. It takes place the Tuesday before Halloween and is a huge tradition in the city. The weather was perfect, the costumes put most of us to shame by just going to the costume store and the entertainment was phenomenal!

Some local news (recap) links are at the bottom, too.

Lots of pictures (there was so much going on that the quality isn’t great on all of them because I was in constant motion)!

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/23824780/thousands-cheer-on-runners-in-27th-annual-high-heel-race#axzz2jKPGttyH

http://www.voanews.com/content/washington-dc-halloween-race-features-high-heels-drag-queens/1780650.html

Voulez-vous dîner avec moi ce soir?

Posted on June 23, 2013 by melsmosaic

Etes-vous intéressé? Il y a un nouveau restaurant français à DC.

And now to English we go. Was getting together with some long-lost friends the other day and they did the searching for where to meet. There was rumor of a new French place that just opened its doors a few months back in the 14th street/Logan Circle area of DC so we wanted to check it out. The name, Le Diplomate.

Tough to get reservations so we took the risk of walking in and got there early enough to not have to wait too long. Two of us got there before the other tw0 and grabbed a drink at the bar. My friend had a glass of wine and I had a house cocktail that can be served either straight up or on the rocks. The Romarin – Absolut, St. Germain, rosemary, and grapefruit. Very nice and refreshing!

Once we were seated, there were many options on the menu, traditional for French fare. I will say, while looking it over, I had a great time talking to the waiter in French. When I can, I’ll do it. Have to practice. While looking over the menu, they bring you AMAZING bread. Baguette, wheat, cranberry-walnut stuff…waiter…another basket. Dang, so so so good! Two of my friends opted for raw oysters for appetizers and another for some (french) fries. I waited for the main course.

Main course-wise, two at the table went for Steak Frites, another went for Lamb Shanks. For me, because so much french food has dairy, not having had it for so long, and the lack of ingredients in it, had to go for Steak Tartare. Also ordered some grilled asparagus.

Overall recap of the evening. Great place, highly recommend trying it. I would also recommend aiming for a reservation or getting there early. It was packed 20 minutes after we arrived (6:15pm). Also give yourself tons of time. It took us 15 minutes to get a bottle of wine and water. Raw oysters took 30 minutes. Raw… Main courses took awhile too. We were so busy talking we didn’t really notice. On the wine note, we had the Kim Crawford Pinot Noir. We opted for a well priced option.

But, after dinner we were meeting some others and went across the street. That’s where we found some wine I’d never tried or heard of. It’s the Prima from Spain. Check out their site — I can’t decide the exact name of the bottler/vintner because the names change a bit on the site so I don’t want to say the wrong one. I just know this is where to visit — bodegasanroman.com.

Ding Dong, Ping Pong, Dim Sum

Posted on April 9, 2013 by melsmosaic

I couldn’t resist the title with the tiny bit of catchy-ness it has.

Dim Sum is always a great meal to enjoy over the weekend — no need to order, just stare, point, nod, chew, repeat, progress to food coma.

I checked out a new place (for me) in DC this past weekend for Dim Sum — Ping Pong in Chinatown. Not what I expected. I went in, ready to start chowing down within 5 minutes of sitting. But, I didn’t see any carts. Rather, I see a menu and check lists, just like when you order sushi. ???? — what is that? So, I find out that you have to literally pick what you want from the menu, check the box on the long, skinny piece of paper then wait 5-20 minutes for your food. That’s not Dim Sum!

Now a pro to all this — you can’t just pick anything you want off the cart and therefore constantly eat. You realize what you’ve ordered and have to wait. Eventually you realize you are full and stop ordering. Also, you can reserve a table for Dim Sum’ing via Open Table (score! — it was busy and there was no need to stand outside for 30-60 minutes before they opened to be sure we got a table).

Side note — they have this really cool tea with a ‘bag’ — I don’t know the true term — that blossoms into a flower. Pic below.

To summarize, next time I want this treat, I will go to one of my favorite places with the true tradition. But, I would like to try this place again out for a ‘regular’ meal as their food was good and I’ve heard they have good happy hours.

Testing…4,5,6…Tested

Posted on April 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

The pesto-like dip was tested the other night with no complaints!

Then, the next day came about for taking a friend around DC. Between museums, one must eat! So, after going to pizzeria #1 and having a long wait, we opted for pizzeria #2…longer wait. What now? We stumbled upon another restaurant/pizzeria in the Gallery Place/Chinatown area that was amazing…District of Pi. The restaurant is based in St. Louis and this location has been in DC for about 1.5 years.

Table-wise, no wait at 12:15pm on a Thursday (though we opted for the bar). Great beer-on-tap selection and many pizza options, both thin crust and deep dish. We opted for one of the thin crust specials of white bean, chicken, chorizo and arugula, requesting half with/half without cheese because of my lactose intolerance.

Now, the order was place AFTER great conversation about, and tasting of, the beer on tap. They have amazing brews available and the bartender gave me samples of nearly half a dozen before I opted for a wonderful Bell’s Amber.

When the pizza arrived, it was amazing — thin, hot, perfectly ‘halved’ cheese-wise and delicious. And, nice beer pairing, too.

If you’re in the DC area, I would highly recommend checking this place out. It’s just about a block from the normal ‘turf’ of Gallery Place/Chinatown and amazing.