First taste of Ethiopian

Posted on July 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

My friend finally talked me into trying Ethiopian food recently. I was told I would not have to worry because there is no dairy in this stuff. So I checked it out. We went to Addis Adaba in Silver Spring, MD, just outside of Washington, DC (sorry they don’t have a website).

I had heard that with this cuisine you get to use the hands (only) so this was going to be pretty interesting. I let my friend order because he’d been many times. So the decision was Beyaynetu, a vegetarian platter combo of Meiser Wat, Yatekilt Wat, Kik Alicha, Tikil Gomen and Gomen.

The definition of these:

Meiser Wat: Spicy lentil stew with berbere and garlic
Yatekilt Wat: Green beans, carrots, potatoes, jalapenos with Ethiopian spices and herbs
Kik Alicha: Yellow split peas with garlic, peppers and onions
Tikil Gomen: Fresh cabbage with onions and carrots
Gomen: Collard greens cooked with onions and jalapenos

And this is all served with injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread, aka your fork. After a quick google search, I have found that this is:

Injera (Amharic: ənǧära እንጀራ [ɨndʒəra]; sometimes transliterated as enjera; or “taita” Tigrinya: ጣይታ) is an East African sourdough-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

It was a super cool sponge texture, indeed, as darn tasty.

So dinner came out and pretty interesting. Very colorful and quite good! I am very glad my friend got me to go. Will definitely have to enjoy this food again and explore other Ethiopian restaurants, as well.

Fetta’s Greek Tavern, Cairns, AUS

Posted on May 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

When in Australia, one must eat Greek! Was on a tour bus on somebody mentioned this great Greek place in Cairns. Sounded good so decided to check it out. The name — Fetta’s Greek Taverna.

Got there, got a table and right away we knew this was authentic Greek. Was tough to understand the staff because of accents, we could not figure who our waiter was vs who the (apparent) drink order taker was. We asked a lot of questions and the waiter sort of gave answers but we couldn’t totally understand him.

Most important thing for me to get at a Greek place is an appetizer and we and opted for the Melitzana, an eggplant, onion & garlic dip.

After that we decided to split several small dishes. We went for dolmas, a village salad (with true feta) and octapapodi (octapus marinated in olive oil, vinegar, garlic & oregano).

For wine, the waiter wasn’t overly helpful but this guy sitting next to us piped in and gave us amazing help and suggested a wine I would not have jumped on, but so glad I took his advice. We opted for the Bay of Stones Merlot. Not what I would expect from a Merlot. This was another amazing dinner in Great Barrier Reef world. This place is just great!

Dundee’s, Cairns, Australia

Posted on May 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

April, Cairns, Australia. It’s the place you go to visit the Great Barrier Reef. You get off the plane and it’s upper 70s to low 80s. Heaven! Can we bring some of that to the DC-area…PLEASE?

The first night there we walked around and checked out menus for dinner and finally decided on Dundee’s, which is one of the many restaurants right on the water.

While going through the menu of course some wine was needed. We opted for some (get Austin Powers in your head) Mojo. Very nice Shiraz from Barossa Valley.

After much going through the menu we decided on one of their very popular dishes to get a true local flair, the Australian Sampler Plate — A taste of Australia’s most popular cuisine – chargrilled eye fillet, pan seared wild barramundi, kangaroo striploin satays, crocodile tail satays, emu chipolatas and a tiger prawn satay served with honey roast sweet potato, teriyaki, spicy peanut and plum sauces with lemon beurre blanc.

We also decided to get some salad to have a bit of veggie, so went for Rocket & Apple Salad and Mixed Leaf Salads.

That mix of meat was so unique. I’d had the ‘roo, but the croc was pretty cool. Similar to gator. The emu was nice. Praws, just like shrimp. The barramundi was great. All this, the salads and that wine…glad the hotel was about a 2 minute walk away.

Beirut, Auckland, NZ

Posted on May 12, 2016 by melsmosaic

Another night, another restaurant. Asked for another suggestion from the concierge and this time because of what we were looking for, the restaurant suggestion was Beirut, which is contemporary middle-eastern food.

After pouring over the menu, we opted to split several small dishes and opted for:

Za’attar: kale, thyme, coriander, sumac, goat’s cheese

Fattoush: watermelon, beetroot, cucumber, orange blossom, parsley

Bubba: burnt eggplant, black sujuk, toasted sesame, black cabbage

Skate: fermented apple water, bees wax, pine oil, onion ash, batarekh, white radish

All were amazing. The bubba just melted in your mouth. The radish wasn’t my favorite in the fish dish (skate) but the rest of it was great. Love this kind of food!

Fuga Japanese Brasserie, Auckland, NZ

Posted on May 9, 2016 by melsmosaic

On the second night in Auckland, opted to go for some Japanese fare. Found a place right around the corner from the hotel, Fuga Japanese Brasserie, that wasn’t busy. It was also pretty hidden/subtle. When we walked in, we were definitely in the minority, which likely meant it was not common for tourists to check this place out. Makes it all the better.

The table opted for some sake and Japanese brew.

Went for some pretty basic food options that night. Some nice soup (it was cold out that day), fresh salad, sashimi and nigiri.

Pretty good, though the fish didn’t have any outstanding flavor. The service was a bit slow, but very nice. Good choice overall.

Depot Eatery, Auckland, NZ

Posted on May 9, 2016 by melsmosaic

First night in Auckland, received a suggestion from the concierge to not walk more than 100 feet outside front door of the hotel to this place called Depot Eatery for dinner They don’t take reservations so you just either get there early or wait patiently in line.

We were fortunately there on a weeknight so it wasn’t too crazy but still had to wait. Once we got a seat, we got to sit at the bar, which makes it more fun. While looking over the menu of course it was necessary to grab a drink. There was wine on tap. Awesome! Always love trying that stuff. It was perfect.

Then, they bring you white bean hummus and pita bread to nibble on while picking food.

While looking over the menu we asked for suggestions from the bartender. It was the kingfish. Ok, sold. The description was Kingfish belly w/ eggplant kasundi, lime & toasts. We chose that and Brussels sprouts — ‘not your mothers’ w/ ‘Otello’s’ pancetta & walnut crumbs.

There was nothing left on either of these plates. Amazing food. So glad this restaurant was recommended and can totally see why it has a wait.

Coyote Grill, Queenstown, NZ

Posted on April 28, 2016 by melsmosaic

Next place to check in a NZ town if of course a Mexican restaurant, right? After getting back fairly late from a tour it was close to the hotel and looked pretty good, so why not? So we checked out Coyote Grill.

One of two mandatory orders was right (and done right away) – chips & guac. The other that wasn’t (margarita) was simply replaced with sangria.

The guac had a perfect texture and spice to it.

Two appetizers were ordered after that for dinner.

Prawns (that’s what they call shrimp) Veracruz– sautéed with mild guajillo chili and slow cooked garlic

Duck Tostada – shredded roast duck served on a crispy corn tortilla with salsa

The shrimp had a nice kick to them and whatever seasoning they used on the duck was amazing. And for appetizers, these were big dishes. Perfect end to a long day.

Fishbone Bar & Grill, Queenstown, NZ

Posted on April 28, 2016 by melsmosaic

New town, new country, of course new exploration. The hotel where we stayed recommended a great seafood restaurant for the first night in Queenstown; Fishbone Bar & Grill. Of course, you have just a bit of water around you when you’re in New Zealand so there is likely to be some decent seafood.

And to kick off the meal in the new country we started with some vino, of course. We opted for some Rockface Pinot Gris from Waipara, NZ. Pretty dry, which is why we picked it to pair with upcoming seafood.

For dinner we decided to go with 3 appetizers. They were good sized as we saw them going to other tables, which is why we went this route.

Seared Tasman Sea scallops with tomato and fennel ragout, shaved fennel, orange and fresh fennel pollen

Sesame-crusted west coast Albacore tuna sashimi with Daikon, cucumber and bok choy, black garlic mayonnaise

Salt & chili arrowhead squid with radicchio, endive, orange, and squid ink mayonnaise.

I don’t think you could find a piece of food left on these plate. The tuna was perfect crusted in sesame seeds and the perfect size, the squid had been cooked to perfection and was the perfect texture and those scallops, oh those scallops. This place needs to open a location in DC.

8407 Kitchen Bar

Posted on March 27, 2016 by melsmosaic

Have heard of the restaurant 8407 Kitchen Bar in Silver Spring, MD for awhile and was finally able to check it out recently. It’s right next to the Silver Spring Metro and just outside of Washington, DC.

There is a bar area downstairs with TVs and then the restaurant upstairs. My friend and I were ‘normal’ and (actually) got a table upstairs.

After looking over the menu we decided to split a bunch of small plates versus going for entrees. The decisions the ended up on the table were:

-Farm Fresh Deviled Eggs

-Pickled Veggies

-Salmon Bites

-Gouda Ewephora Cheese

-Black Goat Truffle Cheese

-Prosciutto Americano

(so we devoured half the salmon before I took a picture)

Also ordered some Temptation Zin to pair with all this. Nice wine with berries and spice.

Was a very nice meal. Service was a bit slow but nothing to worry about. Prices are about the same as most restaurants (as in entrees were low upper teens to mid 20s) in the DC area. Would totally be game for checking this out again.

Agua 301

Posted on March 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Yards Park, DC. Visited what is labeled as a ‘modern Mexican’ restaurant. Don’t know if that’s the middle ground between tex-mex and authentic Mexican, but of course had to give it a try. So, the place is Agua 301.

The time of the visit was oh-so-fortunately in the evening which meant happy hour was at hand…margarita, on the rocks, no salt. I took a sip and sort of jumped back. Waited, took another. Took a sip of my friend’s as a comparison. Then truly confirmed…they don’t skimp on alcohol. I guess that’s good? While I appreciate tequila in my drink I very much appreciate the lime in a margarita. I had to send it back. I could not drink this. It was straight alcohol. Some people might love this…anyway.

Of course came to this place for dinner to also check out the food.

Guac was also on happy hour. Ordered that ASAP. For $6 you got probably a softball size serving of great guacamole. Some nice chunks of avocados were in there, too. Tasty! Paired nicely with their unique salsa.

For dinner, I had to get their Ceviche Pescado Blanco. It was extremely unique. It was mixed with some salsa and other unknown, good flavors.

My friend went for the Camarones en Crema de Chipotle, which are pan seared shrimp in a chipotle cream sauce over Spanish rice. Good flavor and nicely cooked.

Overall, dinner was good. But, service was marginal. We were there around 6pm on a Friday and the place wasn’t too busy. It was tough to attract or find the waiter and it took a long time to get drinks and food. Considering they don’t take much time to cook, it was odd.