Today’s Haiku:
CVS tempts me:
Come for the hair dye isle
leave with a Snickers
Today’s Lunch Spot:
Skewers for low-fat kababs and things. 1633 P St NW
Today’s recipe: Grape Chicken! Low cal, low fat, low carb. just pretty much low everything.
3 Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into peices
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 Tbs Olive oil
1 Tbs Grape jam
1 tsp Tarragon
4 Green onions, chopped
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup Seedless green grapes
1/4 cup Millk
Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and brown chicken breasts on each side.
Add jam, tarragon, green onions, and wine. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook 15 minutes. Add grapes and cook 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and grapes. Add the milk to the pan, turn heat up and let it simmer until it thickens. Spoon over chicken and grapes to serve.

That line was spoken by Bela Lugosi in Dracula and became a catch phrase in most of the Dracula films that followed. It’s a complex line for four little words. We, the hip audience, know what Dracula drinks, but the poor unsuspecting victims had to wonder what kind of person doesn’t drink wine. My mother is one of those people – not the blood-sucking undead vampire, but the non-wine drinking type. She doesn’t really drink anything alcoholic other than a random margarita or a Baileys-and-coffee. She’s not a prude, but, well, she’s definitely not her son. My blood type has a 2001 vintage. My doctor doesn’t have a phlebotomist and needles for me, but a sommelier and a corkscrew.
On Mother’s Day, we went to Al Tiramisu for an early dinner. The food was fine and the desserts were excellent, but the servers were stunned – aghast, actually – that we didn’t order wine, to the point that they asked us at least six times. The first time they asked, Mom politely declined. They asked again…and again…and again, and you get the point. We were only there for two hours! There was a distinct attitude that we were somehow a lower-tipping table because we declined to look at their wine list.
Now, I’m only singling out Al Tiramisu because this was recent. Every other time there I’ve imbibed and had a blast. They’re certainly not the only place attempting to shove wine down our collective throat. It makes sense for places to sell wine. A bottle of wine pads the check, it’s seldom returned, and most folks tip properly on the higher total. Given the mark-up – usually 100 to 400 percent – the restaurant owners and servers love selling wine!
Sure, wine can make a good meal great, and it’s an obvious, vital part of Italian cuisine. But when the offer is declined, please, dear restaurants, accept it, and move on. It’s like a break-up – sure, you can mope a bit about the lost opportunity, but let it go. Put an ad on Match. Be mature about it. Nobody likes a stalker.
The city will nail drivers on DUI even if they’re not legally drunk. Tourists visit here from temperate Salt Lake as much as wine-soaked Sonoma. Some people simply don’t like to drink, or don’t want to offend a dining partner who doesn’t drink. People have their reasons; please respect them. A desperate sales approach in a restaurant isn’t dining, but is akin to walking past those obnoxious mall kiosks, begging shoppers to try their hand creams, cell phones and jiggly colored pens.

As traditionally happens once a year, zaf has realised that summer’s arrived and she no longer fits into her Awesome Yellow Wrap Skirt. This sucks! There’s only one thing to do- our Annual 2-week Diet Roundup. That’s right, two weeks of healthy food, healthy restaurants, and bitchy haikus (you’d be would too if you’d been eating this stuff for two weeks)
So, to belly flop right in.
Today’s Haiku:
My iced tea’s not sweet
Splenda can make it better
And more cancerous!
Today’s lunch place:
Marvelous Market for their “No Guilt Turkey Sandwich”- turkey, no fat coleslaw, on some kinda bread.
Today’s recipe: Green Gazpacho Soup
1/2 large green bell pepper
3 cups romaine lettuce
1 large cucumber, peeled
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 cups chicken broth
3 green onions,
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large clove garlic
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. sea salt to taste
light sour cream
Place ingredients in a food processor and puree. Chill, and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

I had brunch with a friend at The Boulevard Woodgrill in Clarendon last weekend. It was my first time at the restaurant. The hostesses were pleasant –and cute- and the service was good.
My friend and I both ordered the skirt steak and eggs. The steak was cooked to the correct level of doneness, and that is a rarity nowadays. The over easy eggs were also properly cooked, and the potatoes had flavorful spicing.
The problem is that there is a step that is situated in between the hostess’ station and the restaurant seating. It was impossible to enjoy my meal because of the sense of impending doom that the step emanates. It is an accident waiting to happen, as sooner or later someone is going to trip and get hurt.
The hostess said that a lawsuit is in progress, but the management does not want to turn the step into a ramp because they feel that people would still trip.
They do warn every person to watch their step as they walk them to their table, but people leaving their tables don’t get the warning. The step has faded letters stating “caution” and “watch your step”, but we still saw an older gentleman stumble. And, one person at a particular table -which happened to be me- gets to sit right over that step, hoping nobody trips, but witnessing when it actually happens.
After watching one man trip, hearing the hostesses warn customers as they seated them, and watching various parents lunge for their small children as they reach the step, I don’t think I will be returning to the restaurant. Well, they do have outdoor seating…
The Boulevard Woodgrill
2901 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22201
(703) 875-9663

Well, it must be springtime, because I finally got out to Kaufmann’s Tavern in Gambrills, Maryland for the annual rite of bashing crabs with mallets and washing them down with gallons of beer. This place is sheer crabby magic, I swear. A half-hour drive out 50-E from downtown, it would be worth the trip even if one had to walk. (That being said, feminine wiles and/or a nice boy who will drive you there are advantageous.)
Go with a huge crowd of people if at all possible, and reserve the sunroom. It’s quiet enough to hear your companions even over the noise of mallets hitting crustaceans–I know if I had to lip-read in a loud and crowded joint….well, I wouldn’t, because I’d be busy bashing crabs. The waitresses might hate you a little for coming in with twenty people (that’s part of the charm of this place), but be nice and they’ll be calling you “Darlin’” before too long.
Hope it storms while you’re there, because it’s beautiful when it does that. (Alternatively, sit in one of the main dining areas on a night when local stand up comedians are performing. I can personally vouch for Adam Ruben, who appeared on the Kauffman’s stage recently.) Order several pitchers of beer, and the mussels and the rich cheesy crab dip and the enormous spicy peel-and-eat shrimp to snack on while you wait for your bushels of crabs to come out.
I would describe the crabs, but I’d feel terrible if you drooled all over your keyboard and shorted it out.

I have eaten at the Algerian restaurant Couscous Café at 20th and M many times, and by now am friendly with the family that owns it. Today, I had the Sephardic meatballs, which is a common special. The meatballs are made with ground lamb, onion, and parsley and are finished with lemon juice and fresh chopped parsley, and served over rice. They have a soft yet chewy texture and a nice flavor. I am told that this dish usually comes with peas, but today it did not.
Other dishes that I have enjoyed at the restaurant include their b’stilla, and couscous a la royal. B’stilla is chicken, almonds, and peanuts in phyllo dough. The couscous a la royal consists of chicken, merguez (spicy lamb sausage), lamb, chickpeas, summer and winter squash, carrots, potatoes, and turnips on a bed of couscous with a flavorful tomato sauce. They also serve vegetarian, lamb, and chicken versions of the couscous entrée.
Couscous Café also has an appetizing case filled mostly with vegetarian side dishes like hummus, ratatouille, baba ghanouj, lentil salad, beet salad, carrot salad, and carrot with garlic and spice. I often take some of these side dishes home when I am cooking an entrée and want easy –because I didn’t make them- vegetable side dishes.
One of my favorite side dishes is called torche in Algeria and mama houria in Tunisia. It consists of pureed carrots with cumin, coriander, garlic, and harissa, which is a hot sauce made with hot peppers and garlic. The torche is served cold and eaten with pita bread. If you ask for hot sauce at the restaurant, they hand you a squeeze bottle containing harissa.
The restaurant always has Middle Eastern music playing, and today was no exception, with the sounds of Electric Oasis’s CD, Exotic Arabian Grooves. Couscous Café has free wireless access, so it’s a nice place to use your laptop while listening to interesting music, and drinking hot or cold mint teas.
I mainly recommend the place as a lunch spot, since later in the day they tend to run out of dishes like b’stilla and falafel.
Couscous Cafe
1195 20th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 689-1233
8am-8pm, Monday-Friday
This guest blog is by Jason over at http://jasonsfood.blogspot.com/

Local produce! Fresh humus! Specialty meat! Crazy nuts! I don’t mean Whole Foods, or even Superfresh, I’m talking about Grosvenor Market. No, stop, I’m actually serous. I know it’s in the basement of an apartment complex. I know it sounds like a glorified convenience store, and I know it’s way out in suburbia, but this place rocks!
Where else are you going to get all-natural dry aged beef on a moment’s notice? Or Apples from a local orchard? Or those great honey-sesame candy things you’re addicted to? The front of this tiny hole-in-the-wall is decorated with the various prizes they’ve won for organic food, happy service, etc. etc. etc. And they also have a Notary Public – I mean, what else can you possibly ask for?
To get there, exit the Grosvenor metro and take a right down the escalator, follow the path that goes to the right of the little landscaped stream through the big scary suburban apt buildings. Past the kiddie pool. Stop laughing! This place rocks, I mean it!

The last mate post was in January 2005, so I am going to renew the buzz…
I absolutely LOVE yerba mate. I’ve been drinking it for about 3 or 4 years now, and I still just love the taste. According to Wikipedia, Yerba mate is: “A highly caffeinated herbal tea called mate prepared by steeping the dried leaves in hot water. Drinking mate with friends from a shared hollow gourd (also called a mate) with a metal straw (a bombilla) is an extremely common social practice in Paraguay and Argentina.”
I started by buying a bag of Guayaki (tea bags) from Whole Foods in Chicago out of curiosity (I am addicted to buying different teas), and have since purchased my own gourd and bombilla straw, along with loose mate leaves from Teavana at Tyson’s Corner mall. I love being able to relax at home, drinking mate. It’s so great. I am considering planning our next vacation to Argentina just so I can sit around with some locals in a village and drink some traditional mate.
I enjoy drinking mate over coffee anyday, because I feel more energy without feeling jittery or nervous (like I’m having a panic attack) when I OD on coffee. It’s better than tea to me, because it’s a better stimulant. Plus, it’s rumored to be an appetite suppressant as well, but I haven’t noticed too much of that lately. I did notice it more, when I drank it on a more consistent basis.
Today, I received my shipment of 2lbs loose leaf mate from Nativa. I recommend this company, my order came quickly, and the products (mate and herbs) are delicious!
Another great site to order from is EcoTeas, and Aviva. Also, for more local suggestions, check out the January 2005 archive.
Enjoy!

On June 19th at the Kennedy Center, ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership present
An Evening with Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray: Food, Culture and Fulfillment: Living a Richer Life
“Celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray are nationally known for their multiple television shows on the Food Network….Join us for a special evening with two great chefs as they explore the role of the creative process in their work and delve into how food and wine have brought people together for centuries, connecting diverse cultures and enhancing the richness of life.” Tickets start at $50 and go on sale May 28. Call 202-326-9530 or email speaker@asaecenter.org.
They were kind enough to send us free tickets to attend this event, so I’ll be sure to let you all know how faaaaaabulous it was if you can’t make it!

Happy Tuesday! I think Tuesdays are the longest, more boring day there is in the week. I’m willing to debate anyone about this subject too, Tuesdays take forever.
In order to make this Tuesday a little more interesting to me, I thought I would write my first post on DCFUD, and start it off with a SMASHING good recipe for Curry Cashew Chicken Salad.
I love this recipe, and I’ve changed a few steps from the original (don’t ask where that is!) but it’s definately better this way. The original writer didn’t know what they were talking about.

Curry Cashew Chicken Salad (In 10 Simple Steps)
To make a decent size batch, you will need….
1.) 2 cans of canned chicken (Usually found next to the canned tuna, you can use real chicken, but then you have to cook it, and that takes too long for me. I don’t like to be patient.)
2.) Red Grapes
3.) Cashews (usually just two scoops from the nut bin at the store will be fine)
4.) 1 or 2 cans of water chestnuts
5.) Celery (However much you want. I used a small bag from the salad section to dice up)
6.) Oranges or a Small thing of Orange Juice (I squeeze fresh juice, but it doesn’t matter. I’m perfect, like Martha. Wait, Martha wouldn’t use canned chicken though I bet….Hm….)
7.) Curry Powder (yellow)
8.) Ranch Dressing (I suppose you can use Mayo, but Ranch gives it a good taste).

NOW,
1.) Chop the cashews.
2.) Chop the water chestnuts (drained).
3.) Chop the celery.
4.) Mix into a big bowl.
5.) Add a splash of orange juice
6.) Drain the chicken and add the two cans.
7.) Mix all of that goodness.
8.) Slice the grapes in half each (looks nicer, easier to eat).
9.) Add some ranch dressing to coat (want the chicken to still be flaky, no clumps, and not a thick dressing).
10.) Add the curry (I like to add a lot).
Keep tasting, and adding whatever you want. Ranch, curry, orange juice.
Enjoy!
If you don’t like it, you’re crazy!