A Weekend of Fine DC Dining

This weekend, my grandparents came to visit me in DC and while this means several things, most importantly for all of you, it means great food! I certainly didn't starve this weekend and it was a great break from my usual, student dining restrictions.

When they arrived Thursday night, we went to dinner at one of my favorites: Kinkead's. This long-standing restaurant is a bit of a dining classic in DC, especially for seafood. The restaurant calls itself "an American brasserie" and it's menu reflected this broad name. Though about 95% of the dishes involved some type of fish of seafood, there were dishes ranging from spicy ceviche to Asian influenced fish with coconut broth to their "Kinkead's classics." last time I peered the simple salmon, which was far from simple but delicious, so I decided to be a little more adventurous this visit. For my starter, I choose the "Mexican-style" seafood cocktail because the waiter told me t was one of their newest menu items, and one of his favorite. It was sort of like a ceviche married a shrimp cocktail in a joyous and flavorful ceremony. Served in a cocktail glass, the appetizer had a tomatoe sauce base like a traditional cocktail. Yet, it was diluted with a acidic and vinegary mixture, like a ceviche. The glass was then loaded up with several shrimp, a few scallops, a clam or two, and some white fish. All of the fish was fresh and full of the flavor. To help flavor the cocktail and add crunch, there were also jalapeños, peppers and onions with the sauce. It was a delicious, fresh, light and surprisingly filling appetizer! For my main course, I ordered a pasta with a simple sauce of garlic, olive oil and a little vinegar. The noodles were fresh but what really made this pasta though was the giant and flavorful head-on shrimp topping the pasta. These giant prawns were succulent, beautiful, and full of flavor. The clams in the pasta were also well cooked and the tomatoes were perfectly steamed. The pasta was simple but full of flavor! Despite being so full I was concerned about my ability to walk home, I naturally ordered dessert. For dessert, I got a mini pecan pie tart with rum ice cream. The ice cream tasted very strongly of rum but the tart was perfect! The outside was crunchy and subtly sweet while the inside filling was sticky, crunchy and yummy. I tried not to imagine it having the same effect on my arteries. It was a struggle to walk home after eating all of this food. (But totally worth it.)


Friday was a busy day of sightseeing, shopping in Georgetown, and the newseum so miraculously, I was hungry again by dinner time. For dinner, we went to a hidden gem I discovered freshman year, I Ricchi. Tucked off from the street and situated between the downtown business center and DuPont Circle, I Ricchi is truly a worthwhile find. How does a lowly freshman discover such a great restaurant you may ask? , of course! The small inside is intimately decorated with vines, a few plants and sandy orange hues which truly give the restaurant an Italian feeling. The open window to the kitchen, decorated with copious amounts of bread adds to the Tuscan ambiance. After being seated, our waiter came to our table where he talked us through the huge three page menu, pointing out his favorites along the way. The individual attention of the waiter, who was only serving one other table despite a nearly full restaurant also helped add to the atmosphere of the meal. The entire first page of the menu was full of the daily special starters, salads, pastas, seafood and meat specials. The next two pages consisted of an enormous list of their staple offerings. Our waiter encouraged us to order Tuscan-style since it was a traditional Tuscan restaurant, meaning we order a smaller portion of pasta and then a meat. For my starter, I opted for one of the daily specials: a smaller portion of a risotto with sun-dried tomatoes and  cheese. It was delicious! The rice was perfectly cooked and the sauce mild but flavorful. The rice was ideally al dente: soft while maintaining a slight crunch. The sauce was made of a mild tomato base but was simple, allowing the flavors of the tomatoes and cheese to truly flavor the dish. I could not get enough! For my main course, I ordered one of the special fish dishes of the day. It was a trout grilled with only a few spices and then served with sauteed artichokes, lemons and a simple lemony roux. The sauce was full of flavor but not overpowering, the artichokes were tender and the fish, which flaked easily, was perfectly cooked. For dessert, we ordered a chocolate mousse which was one of the most unique dishes I've enjoyed! It was prepared and looked like a slice of cake, with a thin layer of meringue on top of the dish, which was then dusted with powdered sugar. Beneath the meringue was a generous portion of dark chocolate mousse and then a thin layer of chocolatey crunch. Then, a layer, equal to that of the dark chocolate, of semisweet mousse and finally another layer of chocolate crunch on the bottom. Chocolate + chocolate + chocolate mousse + chocolate mousse + meringue = more please! In case the dessert wasn't sweet and decadent enough, one side of the plate had a tart, simple rasberry sauce which helped balance the chocolates but the other side had powdered sugar and cocoa powder in case you wanted to make it more chocolatey. It was AMAZING! 

Overall, it was a lovely weekend full of delicious meals! If anyone else wants to come visit me at school, I can promise just as exciting a culinary tour of DC and a shout out in the corresponding blog entry. Just throwing it out there...

Far East Euphoria

This week, I finally had another great meal in my food truck challenge! After the weekend in New Orleans, my favorite city, celebrating Mardi Gras, I expected to come back to DC and write a blog about all the fried oysters, po boys, and hurricanes I had but instead, my Tuesday lunch blew them all out of the water. (That is not to play down how amazingly well I ate in New Orleans it just proves how incredible my food truck lunch was.) I decided to eat at Far East Taco Grille. Best. Decision. Ever. Ok maybe I'm being a little dramatic but hey, I'm allowed it's almost my birthday!
The truck is not particularly bright and colorful but for some reason it piqued my interest. The menu affords the diner many choices and extreme personalization of their far east soft taco experience. First, you choose whether you'd like flour or corn tortillas. Guests then choose from Powerful Steak, Bang Tang Chicken, Spicy Flying Pig (pork), and Sweet Sexy Tofu. I ordered three different meats but we'll get to my choices after I explain the whole menu. After settling on a meat, a sauce must be decided upon: spicy Salsa Roja, milder spicy mayo, #15 Sauce, the house specialty, and Spicy Pineapple. As if the choices weren't enough already, you then have to choose your slaw. These choices are kimchi-lime, spicy yellow corn, sweet chili romaine and grilled bean sprouts. Finally, each patron must chose a "finisher:" onion-lime relish or cheese-crema. With over 100 possible creation combinations, I did not take deciding what to order lightly. Also, I'm terribly indecisive so it was even more of a challenge but I managed and am very pleased with my decisions.

I chose to have all three of my tacos on flour tortillas because I prefer them over corn. For my first taco, I chanced it with the bang tang chicken, #15 sauce, spicy corn and cheese-crema. This first taco was hands-down my favorite. The chicken was juicy and packed a nice grilled flavor while the #15 sauce, which they describe  as sweet and mild, was unreal! It was a light juicy red colored sauce that was sweet almost like a sweet BBQ sauce but then had a big kick. The corn initially seemed like a balancing factor to the spice because of its texture but then had a strong adobe, chipotle flavor! The #15 sauce spice was sweet with a vinegary spiced flavor as an aftertaste while the corn had a more southwestern bite. The cheese sauce was the ultimate finish with its richer, mild texture, subtle sweetness of the cream, and tartness of the cheese. Wow. Next time I go, I'm definitely ordering three of these!
My second taco was my second favorite made up of steak, salsa roja, kimchi lime and onion-lime relish. The steak was also juicy and flavorful but what made this taco was the slaw and finish. The salsa had the spice and fresh flavor of a traditional red salsa. The kimchi lime slaw had an awesome crunch from the fresh cabbage and the lime flavor was so fresh it tasted like someone had picked limes from a tree that morning and marinated my kimchi in them. The onion-lime relish was a great accompaniment which paired ideally with the lime slaw. I loved this taco for its refreshing, sharp, flavors and how well they paired with the heavy steak protein.
For me, the third taco wasn't as much of a hit but with 100 other possible combinations, it won't deter me from returning to the food truck. My third taco was filled with the pork, spicy pineapple, sweet chili romaine and onion-lime relish. The chili romaine was good and added a nice crunch but the spicy pineapple consisted of almost no pineapple and the pork wasn't really to my liking.
Far East Taco Grille was a delicious lunch and for eight bucks, it can't be beat in terms of value! I definitely recoomend a visit to this food truck if you're in DC!

Food Truck Feast

Today for lunch I decided to mix it up and venture to one of the many food trucks that have become ever-present around DC and particularly, GWU's campus. In the spirit of trying new things, I settled on  Kimchi BBQ Taco: a brightly colored truck that enticed with its flavorful aroma. Despite the colorful and elaborately decorated outside, the operation is simple: a grill, two people preparing the food, and bomb-ass sauces.
For the tacos and burritos, the main draw, guests have the choice between bologi beef, spicy pork, spicy chicken, or tofu for their protein and a choice of six kimchis. I chose the bologi beef because it seemed the classic choice and sweet-and-sour kimchi because it intrigued me the most. I definitely chose well! I was served three large tortillas overflowing with beef, kimchi, corn, lettuce and then had the choice of homemade sauces to pour on top. In the adventurous spirit, without tasting the sauces, I poured Kimchi BBQ Taco's "spicier spicy mayonnaise" "sweetened sriracha" and a sweet hoison sauce over all three. The dish initially struck me because of the color. There were vibrant pinks from the mayonnaise, reddish-orange form the kimshi, light orange from the sweet sauce, green from the lettuce, yellow of the corn, and brown from the bologi all set against unassuming tortillas in a deceptively simple Styrofoam box. My first bite was a delicious explosion of flavors. The first was a the acidity and crunch of the kimchi (For those that don't know, kimchi is basically Korean pickled cabbage). The sweet-and-sour flavor of the kimchi was not overpowering because I first tasted the crunch and freshness of the cabbage, then the sweet flavor, and finally the kick. By time the kick of the kimchi settled in I was absorbing the calming tastes of lettuce and corn. The real wow factor was the bologi beef: prepared on a grill and doused in the hoisin sauce giving the meat a sweet and perfectly cooked flavor. The final bite was the tortilla which by this point had soaked up the sweet hoisin sauce, spicy mustard, the sweet-and-sour vinegar from the kimchi and the juice from the meat making even the tortilla awesome and full of flavor.
This was a truly great and unique lunch and I enjoyed every last bite of the dynamite tacos dripping down my chin. And it was all from a food truck! I'm definitely going to try more of these trucks, I'm thinking once a week? And obviously an accompanying blog entry to leave you all hungry!

Home Sweet Home

Well ladies and gents, I've been home for a little over a week now. Although I miss being able to pop into a pub for curry and a pint or exploring hidden streets to find a real foodie gem, I've eaten well since I've been home and had time to reflect on my experiences. Between Christmas baking and savoring holiday roasts, one of the things that initially struck me about leaving London was that I no longer had a pretense to blog and I was going to miss it. So, I decided I'm going to continue blogging about restaurants, recipes, escapades, and culinary mishaps at school in DC, home in St. Louis, and anywhere else I go.

My time in the states so far has been filled with a trendy eatery in Chicago, rich Italian food in Louisville, and decadent surf and turf in St. Louis. I'm excited to try several places on my list at home in the next few weeks before returning to DC where I have an extensive list of restaurants and recipes to try. I can't wait to share my forthcoming culinary experiences with all of you and thank you for your loyal support during my time abroad this past semester! Happy eating in the new year!