Carluccio’s

Posted on March 10, 2016 by melsmosaic

Yet another new restaurant has been added to one of the growing areas just north of Washington, DC on the red line. In Pike & Rose, the latest restaurant to open its doors is Carluccio’s. They are so new that they haven’t even added this location to their website. Went during their soft opening and you could tell things were still getting worked on/staff trained. Took awhile to get service at some points, when waiters were just standing there chatting with each other or doing nothing. But overall a good experience.

You have to pay for bread at this Italian place. I was not impressed with that. Tried a bellini and it was nice.

Also ordered some Caponata which was very tasty!

For dinner, I opted for the Insalata al Abruzzese – an Italian-style Nicoise. Per the menu it was albacore tuna, green beans, sweet peppers, vine tomatoes, new potatoes, anchovy fillets, salad leaves and soft boiled eggs with olive oil vinaigrette. I was disappointed when it arrived and the tuna was albacore tuna from a can. I expected it to be a grilled steak. Nonetheless, it was good. The anchovies added a nice taste.

My friend ordered a basic Spaghetti con Polpette, with their house-made meatballs served with spaghetti and tomato basil sauce. Exactly what it was labeled.

Will totally check this place out again and see how it progresses as it gets a little ‘older’.

Barcelona (DC)

Posted on January 11, 2016 by melsmosaic

Finally made it to a Barcelona Wine Bar in DC. They have several locations and I hit the one in Cathedral Heights.

I was going to have wine, of course, but when reading the menu I was lured to the sangria. At this time of year they make it with lavendar, sage and rosemary. That…tasted…so…good.

The venue is tapas-styles, so small plates with many cheeses and charcuterie. After much glancing at the menu, with many choices of sheep and goat cheese, we opted for the Cabra Romero, which is goat’s milk crusted in rosemary and the drunken goat, which has had it’s share of wine.

Also went with some Hand-Sliced Jamon Mangalica, which is cured Hungarian pig and a Catalan sausage (I believe). They bring this all out with some amazing bread.

I can’t believe it has taken me so long to get to this place. I can’t wait to go back and try more of their food and wine. They also have locations on 14th St. and in Reston.

Momoji

Posted on December 24, 2015 by melsmosaic

Recently dined at a sushi restaurant in Chinatown, DC, Momoji to be exact. You walk in and they have a very small bright downstairs area or you can ask to go upstairs to a more quaint (sort 0f) Asian restaurant.

photo source: momijidc.com

We were there right at the end of happy hour and there were some great prices on the menu that we were able to snag with 5 minutes left. Note: you can only order 1 drink/per person at a time. Even if you were the only person sitting at the table, you can only order one drink at a time. You can’t stockpile pre-end of happy hour. Really?

Cocktail-wise we opted for some asian beer and a pear drink. That thing was pretty good.

They had some seasonal food on the menu and a Christmas roll came to the table.

I ordered the squid salad…very good (sorry for the bad light in the picture).

For main indulgence we got the Chirashi Dinner of 13 pcs sashimi (chef’s choice) over seasoned rice. So good with several varieties of fish. Every piece of that got finished!

Overall good food. Service was slow, happy hour had good prices. Worth checking out if you’re in the area.

Breweries, Wineries and Cideries (?)

Posted on October 18, 2015 by melsmosaic

Have been checking out some local places of imbibement lately and have had much fun. What else is there to do after hiking and running vs. supporting the locals while refueling?

#1 Forge Brew Works, Lorton, VA

Visited this one after hiking in Prince William State Park in VA. The hike also turned into 15 vs 9 miles. Great signage in that park, let me tell you. In the brewery’s tasting room, they have well over a dozen options on tap, from traditional to seasonal brews and you can get 4oz samplers at a great price to get a feel for the menu. My friend and I each got a spread of the 4oz pours so we could tackle the taps effectively. Some were very creative, some not up my alley, but awesome to check out. Dog friendly place (which is why we went — they have tons of water and treats for them) and you bring your own food if you want to munch on anything.

(Jet was passed out on the floor while we were sipping, eating and watching football)

#2 Distillery Lane Ciderworks, Jefferson, MD

I keep calling this a cidery because it goes with the flow of the sentence with winery, brewery… Ok, so it’s a distillery. They distill (hard) cider. Anyway, on we go. I mapped this out to visit after completing a half marathon as part of refueling. As a map point, it’s about 30 minutes from Harper’s Ferry and maybe an hour+ from DC. They have a big range of hard cider, from bubbly stuff, to ones with some additional flavor influence (fruit, sweet), to dry & sweet, to barrel-aged stuff. I never knew there was so much to this. When you buy your tasting, you get to pick whatever you’d like to taste — $5 for 4 pours, and the souvenir glass. And when you go with somebody else…sip & share, share & sip.

The whiskey-barrel influence stuff–nice! The cherry and maple (independent) fused stuff, yeah, not so much. The bubbly — where’s my champagne flute? They also have that regular apple cider that you don’t need an ID to buy and those healthy apple things that you buy to just add at this cool place.

#3 Big Cork Vineyards, Rohrersville, MD

(cork stool, oh yes)

It’s 5-10 minutes from the cidery, darn, I meant distillery. Isn’t cidery just a natural name? That’s why we visited it next. I’d tasted their wine a couple times at local farmer’s markets. But, they just opened they gorgeous tasting room this year. My friend and I decided to split a tasting so we splurge and went for the big one — 7 wines — watch out! It was $14 for this ‘more’ tasting.

Some were ok, nothing to write home about. There is still just something missing in MD wines. VA is gaining power and MD is next door so I don’t know why they can’t do it (at least for me, though I know I’m not alone in that comment).

#4 Right Proper Brewing Company, Washington, DC

Was simply googling breweries in DC and this one came up. Had never heard of it so had to investigate. It’s in the Shaw-Howard area of DC. So much on tap, innovative options, what do I pick? You can get half pours (no flight options). My friend and I opted to play with the wolves and ordered some Wild Wolves and Raised by the Wolves. We had some sips to ‘sample’ before ordering our half pour of choice too. I stopped here before a big dinner so didn’t get to do enough investigation but definitely plan to go back to do a deeper search.

#5 Boxwood Winery, Middleburg, VA

Located in a historic, very nice area 1-1.5 hours outside of DC, this winery is growing well. They used to have a nice tasting room/wine bar in Friendship Heights which has unfortunately closed. They still have one at National Harbor and in Reston. These are definitely VA wines, unique tastes and good to keep an eye on. I like a couple but I just can’t justify paying the price for some of them. The price was $10/tasting, and we got to keep the glass (add to the collection).

Blinder than Blind

Posted on September 12, 2015 by melsmosaic

Wine tasting on weekends are some of the best things to attend. Recently a wine shop in DC presented a blind tasting. They admitted when we got there that maybe they could have made it a bit easier and made it one region, one varietal or narrowed it down in some fashion. Why? Because we felt like we were taking the test for a Master Somm. It was awesome.

We had one bubbly, 3 whites and 3 reds. This store sells mostly old world wines and everything we tasted was sold in house. It was tough for me because I lean new world.

All I can say is I got a huge F on this test. I was writing/spelling wrong at some points because I was confused and failing so badly! I was close on some, region-wise.

Does that mean I need to take it again and taste more wine? I was definitely blinder than blind is this one.

Paladar

Posted on August 3, 2015 by melsmosaic

Went to check out a place down the street from me with all this heat because of little desire to cook. It’s Paladar, in the DC-area, and I’d been there once right when they opened so it was packed. Was looking forward to checking it out again.

It’s a Latin restaurant which means some of their drinks are perfect for a hot evening. My friend and I both opted for Sangria — one of us red, one of us white. These things went down way too easily!!

For some food, we grabbed the neccesary guac then went with ceviche. The guac is served with yucca, plaintain, malanga and ‘regular’ chips.
They have unique ceviche options! I opted for Salmon & Mango, which was thinly sliced salmon, fresh mango and red onion tossed in sweet and tangy coconut ginger marinade. Very nice balance between all the flavors.

The other ceviche at the table was the Mixed Seafood one, with a great blend of fresh snapper, calamari, and shrimp tossed in sweet and tangy broth made with lemon, lime & orange juices, aji peppers, and celery, topped with fresno peppers, carrots and onion. Nice flavors all around.

A place worth checking out for drinks and/or dinner, definitely on a hot summer night.

Sugo

Posted on May 11, 2015 by melsmosaic

Revisited a restaurant recently that I hadn’t been to for a few years — Sugo in Potomac, MD (a suburb of DC), an Italian Osteria and Pizzeria.

The best thing this place has to offer is their Sangria, and they also have other phenomenal dishes.

After browsing the menu for awhile decided on the Brussels sprouts to start with, served with crispy pancetta & caper aioli sherry vinaigrette. The Brussels sprouts were so perfectly crisp. And, I don’t like aioli, but let me tell you, there wasn’t quite enough in the bowl. I don’t know what they put in there besides what the menu states…

Next I ordered the squid. Or properly said, charred octopus with potato, ‏ capers and pickled radish. Let me tell you, there was so much seafood on that plate, it was awesome! And, so perfectly cooked, just moist when you bite into it with amazing flavor.

Great place to check out if you need something new.

Gringos & Mariachis

Posted on March 29, 2015 by melsmosaic

Caught up with a friend the other night and we were in the mood for some good margaritas. There are always the cookie cutter places. Why we must we always go there? Then I remember checking out a place in Woodmont Triangle (in downtown Bethesda) last year that I wanted to go to again.

It is so ‘hidden’ that it’s easy to miss. We eventually tracked down Gringos and Mariachis on Cordell Ave. I say hidden because there is no sign for it. The exterior of the building is gray and their name is painted in black above the windows. If you don’t know exactly where it is, amongst other popular restaurants, you walk right by it, as we did. I only worked and lived near it for years and missed it.

Anyway, we walked in and it was packed on a Friday evening. We snagged a (1) stool at the bar and (fast forwarding) were eventually able to get another. They had a good variety of margaritas and I opted for the smoked one to begin.

The bartender said it’s the combo of the type of tequila and mezcal, and of course the special salt blend they use that makes it good. Very unique and darn tasty!

We also got some staple food, from chips and guac to salsa. Some of their salsa is super spicy! They have tacos al pastor, which are very hard to find in the US. I remember having them in Mexico. It’s a pork taco and very good. We also had their delicious seafood taco with Mahi Mahi.

Another great restaurant to check out, especially if you’re into margaritas. And, it’s close to the Bethesda Metro and near many of the parking garages.

Edible Insects

Posted on March 5, 2015 by melsmosaic

Was flipping through a copy of National Geographic the other day and came across one of their Future of Food/Food by the Numbers pieces (there have been several). This was quite interesting about how insects are essentially multi-purpose; used for both feed and food. They are used to feed cattle and in some places they (grasshoppers in particular) are a delicacy for humans! That’s in Uganda where they cost 40% more than a pound of beef. Will be interesting to see what happens in the US with this in the future.

Check out the video. National Geographic also has several other great pieces on various food topics Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the NatGeo museum before the exhibit closed to see all of this in person, but it received great reviews. If you live in DC, or visited the city, and made it to the museum, would love to hear what you thought about the exhibit.

Photo Source: nationalgeographic.com

Bidwell

Posted on February 18, 2015 by melsmosaic

Recently found out about a newish (one year old) restaurant in DC at Union Market. It’s a growing area and Union Market alone has tons of great little (food) shops. The restaurant is Bidwell, and there is also a restaurant by the same chef in NYC. They have a garden on the rooftop and in the summer grow their own herbs and veggies — nice!

Our ‘table’ was great — right in front of the kitchen so we got to watch all the action take place. It was a busy night, they didn’t expect it, so stuff was a bit under par, but that just meant we got to watch more of the fun take place.

It took awhile to get our cocktails because they had one bartender but I eventually received my City Sage.

Quite unique. I’m not a huge bourbon drinker but that sage intrigued me. Was totally worth trying it!

For an appetizer, we tried some of the highly-kitchen-rated Brussel sprouts. So nice and crisp and crunchy — give me more!

We then had to try the kale salad, just super fresh, with pine nuts and a nice vinaigrette (that had anchovies in it to give it a perfect saltiness).

To cap it off, went with the salmon served over cauliflower. Again, very good — after I received it 3 times over. They initially told me there was no dairy, but that white stuff at the very bottom is mostly dairy. The second time I got it, the cauliflower should be outside right now (freezing), the third time, delicious!

Overall, I will totally check this place out again. The manager apologized for the slow service but the food was delicious. If you’re in DC and can make it to Union Market, check this place out.