Matuba has a $1 a piece nigiri sushi night on Mondays. I like Matuba, but have not been there in quite a while because I tend to visit metro accessible restaurants more often than not.
Cafe Asia has a Happy Hour Monday Through Friday, 4:30-7:30pm, during which nigiri sushi is $1 a piece, and select beers are $2. I was there a couple of nights ago and felt that the sushi was a good value.
Whitlow’s on Wilson has 1/2 price burgers all day on Mondays. I like their burgers, fries, and onion rings. Monday evenings can be quite busy there. They also have a Tuesday-Friday 1/2 price sandwich lunch special, but I haven’t had their sandwiches.
I generally go to La Tasca for dessert, since their desserts are excellent, but the restaurant does have some specials worth mentioning. The restaurant offers a free paella station at the bar Friday evenings 4:00-7:00pm. They also have Monday-Friday Happy Hour specials of $2.45 fried eggplant (berejenas fritas), and $2.45 fried potatoes (patatas panaderas) appetizers, $3 draft beer, $3 per glass and $13 pitcher sangria. Happy Hour specials are only offered at the bar. Desserts are 1/2 price on Sundays.
Matuba
2915 Columbia Pike
Arlington VA 22204
703 521-2811
Cafe Asia
1550 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA
703 741-0870
Whitlow’s on Wilson
2554 Wilson Blvd,
Arlington, VA 22201
703 276-WOWE (9693)
La Tasca
2900 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
703 812-9120
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30Jun
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28Jun
There are some foods that shouldn’t exist in nature, like deep fried Oreos, foot-long corn dogs, fried cheesecake, candy apples, and and chicken-on-a-stick. As such, nature has banished them to the land of play and fun, the state fair, and kept them away from our everyday life. And it’s for the best. Just imagine the cosmic imbalance that would occur if deep fried Oreos start appearing on every street corner, or if candy apples started appearing as dessert at, say, Citronelle.
Even so, those foods have begun to creep into everyday life. You can buy Candy Apples at some candy stores, and you can get deep fat fried Mars Bars at every takeaway in Scotland. But there’s one food that’s been protected throughout the years. It is the ultimate fair food: The Funnel Cake.
The Funnel Cake is so perfect because it is so simple. You take some dough, take boiling oil in a giantic drum, and twirl the dough in. You cover it in powdered sugar, and you eat. And you dump the powdered sugar all over your shirt. Luckily, you’re at the fair, where calories don’t count and no one notices the faint mist of powedered sugar covering your t-shirt.
Now, another bastion of American life, has brought these two worlds onto a collision course. The International House of Pancakes, that “American family tradition” (as the posters adorning the wall proudly proclaim) is in the midst of its IHOP Funnel Cake Carnival. That’s right, the ultimate fair food, Funnel Cake, is now available at your neighborhood IHOP. In fact, you get “two warm, delicious funnel cakes with creamy whipped topping, powdered sugar and your choice of fruit topping: strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon-apple or red, white & blueberry (strawberries, whipped topping and blueberries).”
It’s a travesty, I tell you. How can you eat a Funnel Cake when you’re not trying to balance it on one hand, afraid of dropping it on the ground, while ripping off pieces with the other? How can you serve fried dough, with approximately 40 grams of fat, in the real world — where calories count? And how can IHOP tempt us with those glorious mounds of fried dough available any time want them?
I have to admit that I passed on the Funnel Cake during our last IHOP trip, choosing to believe that fair food should remain at the fair (and because I love my arteries). Still, I believe I can hear that sound off in the distance of the two worlds – the far-off, fantastical world of fair food and the natural, everyday world of diner cuisine – colliding. And I are very afraid.
So we beseech our readers. Should you live in the vicinity of an IHOP, don’t try the Funnel Cake. Make a statement: fair food belongs at the fair. But should you slip-up, and decide it’s just too long to wait for the next State Fair for that fried doughy goodness, perhaps you could save us a little piece? -
27Jun
These past couple weeks have been loaded with the stress that comes from moving into a new place, and all the organization work that comes with it. Lately I’ve been feeling more broken than an escalator in any given Metro station. As a way to let off some steam, eat copious amounts of one of my favourite foods, and to generally learn about local eateries, I decided to do some research and review the area’s phở (pronounced “fuh”) restaurants.
Phở is the national dish of Vietnam, and is traditionally eaten for breakfast. It is a noodle soup that consists of what has to be the most flavourful and well-scented broth, with Vietnamese cinnamon, star anise, and added ingredients that suit an individual order. Traditionally, phở is made with beef (usually a brisket that is cut into paper-thin slices that are cooked in the soup), although today, there are many varieties including chicken phở (phở gà), vegetarian phở, and seafood phở (which is not considered real phở, but it’s still awfully tasty).
The noodle soup itself is brought out to you at the table, along with a plate of condiments including bean sprouts, jalapeno peppers, Thai basil, and Vietnamese coriander (fresh coriander is otherwise known as cilantro, but this variety is a distinctly southeast Asian herb). These condiments pair with the omnipresent Sriracha, Hoisin, and fish sauces, which ultimately provide for a good, solid, meal in a bowl. Phở warms on a cold day, and refreshes on a hot one, and if you’re feeling run down, it is a great way to reenergize yourself. If they could bottle this stuff, we’d be ready for the bird flu pandemic.
It’s worth noting that phở restaurants are not known for their stunning décor, or their superb service. Most phở restaurants have the atmosphere of a school cafeteria, and the service to match it. The food is the main attraction here. I’ve visited the restaurants profiled below several times, and each time I’ve had a traditional phở with brisket and eye of round steak, or a chicken phở (phở gà). Given that there are a ton of phở restaurants in the area, I’ve picked a few of the review-worthy places, and summarized them below. Prices usually hovered around the $5 – $6 range for a large bowl of phở , and the $4 – $5 range for a small bowl (which makes it a great bargain for a full meal in either size bowl), and even those times when it wasn’t as good, it was still good.
Phở 75
This venerable restaurant (they’re nationwide now), has four locations in the D.C. area. The service varies, depending on the day, and so does the food. Generally, I find that the phở served at any of these (especially the ones in Arlington and Rockville) is some of the most flavourful around, and generally does not require much in the line of condiments. However, the meat can vary dramatically, depending on the day, and the mood of the chef. One one visit, the meat was exceptionally fatty, and practically all grizzle. Not that it matters because you’ll be so busy eating, you won’t care. Grade: A-
Nam Viet
A full Vietnamese restaurant (that serves things other than phở as well), Nam Viet started out in Cleveland Park, and has since branched out to two locations in Arlington and Alexandria, respectively. The phở was not as flavourful here as it was at other places, and thus required a little more in terms of the condiments. The atmosphere was nicer than a pure phở house, and the service was actually very friendly. Many of the non- phở items on the menu are quite good, and it makes for an easy and cheap night out in D.C. (just don’t try to park in the area). Grade: A-
Queen Bee
I had heard some really good things about this place, and the restaurant makes a significant point in reinforcing the fact that they are Zagat rated (the signs are everywhere). However, this was the only place that I was disappointed in. Also a full-service Vietnamese restaurant, the server seemed unable to communicate anything about the various dishes (and this was not due to a language barrier, he just didn’t do a decent job of explaining what certain things were, for those of us that don’t speak Vietnamese). The phở seemed somewhat flat, and therefore required more in the line of condiments, which led to my real issue, which was the stunning lack of condiments. My dinner companion ordered the seafood phở, and that was tasty, although I have had better in other places researching this article. Grade: B
Phở Cong Ly
This favourite of the local Vietnamese community has been in business in Springfield, Virginia for quite some time. It’s nothing special to look at, since it’s located in a strip mall on Backlick road, but hands-down, this place had the best phở of all the places I’ve been to. It’s a traditional phở restaurant, with no real other options (although there are some appetizer items on the menu), and about sixteen different ways to order your phở. Absolutely no condiments were necessary (although I did add some of the Thai basil, because I love that stuff). Very simple, and straight-forward, no complex décor, no Washington power-brokers, just phở as it was meant to be eaten. Grade: A
Phở 75 • 1711 Wilson Blvd. • Arlington, VA • (703) 525-7355
Nam Viet • 3419 Connecticut Ave. NW • Washington, D.C. • (202) 237-1015
Queen Bee • 3181 Wilson Blvd. • Arlington, VA • (703) 527-3444
Phở Cong Ly • 6671 Backlick Rd. • Springfield, VA • (703) 451-8864 -
25Jun
Since it has been SO HOT in DC lately, I have been trying to recall recipes my mom used to make on hot summer days. One of my favorites was her Summer Pasta Salad. It’s quick and easy. Just make it a few hours before eating, or the night before a picnic, work lunches, or a party.
Ingredients:
1 Box Tri-Color Rotini Pasta
1 can of Tuna (optional)
Some Mayo
Salt
Directions:
Cook pasta until done, and drain
Add can of tuna
Add mayo (to your desired consistency)
Add salt (to your flavor)
Chill in fridge until cold & serve!
Optional:
You can also add diced tomatoes, black olives, feta, sub chicken for tuna. Be creative -
23Jun
Lately, I’ve been trying out bargain nights at restaurants in Arlington. Are my friends cheap? Well, yeah, that is one of the reasons I like them! Here are a few options that might be cheaper than the bargain recommendations you normally read about.Monday nights at Rock Bottom Brewery in Ballston are Wings Nights. Their 25 cent wings and $2.50 a pint Rock Bottom draft beers is definitely a good deal. How are the wings? They are decent, but I will give a better wing recommendation later in this article. The Wings Night specials are available in the bar from 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm.
Tuesday nights at Ragtime in Courthouse are Raw Bar Night, from 4pm until closing. For $2.95 take your pick of: half a dozen Mussels sautéed in white wine/butter served with bread, a quarter pound spiced, steamed shrimp, half a dozen steamed clams served with butter, or a half dozen raw oysters. You will go through a bunch of plates, but it is still a good deal. They also have happy hour specials on beer and select rail drink
Wednesday nights are Wing Nights at Hard Times Café’s in Clarendon. Wings are 30 cents each on Wing Night (ordered by the dozen) and come in 4 varieties: original Texas, Chile Lime, Honey BBQ, and Honey Mustard (Cadillac). You can even order the wings grilled. I personally like the grilled Texas wings. They only slightly discount some of their beer during Wing Night happy hours, so Rockbottom is a better Wing Night is better for drinking ona budget.
Hard Times is best known for its chili, so feel free to order that as well if you don’t just want the bargain-priced wings. I personally like the Texas and the Terlingua varieties, but I have friends who like the Cincinnati and vegetarian versions. Hard Times Clarendon also has a chili dog stand for the summer Monday through Friday 11am-6pm across the street from the restaurant, at the metro .
And best of all, these bargain nights are on three separate nights, so you can go to them all in the same week. I can already hear my waistline expanding as I write this.
-JAY
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22Jun
So the Rachael Ray / Bobby Flay talk (organized by the ASAE’s Distinguished Speakers Series) didn’t go exactly as planned. I know, your little ears perk right up when I say that–you’re kind of hoping it devolved into a cage match, aren’t you? Well, as wildly entertaining as that would have been, the truth is just this: Bobby’s plane was redirected because of the thunderstorms, and he couldn’t make it. Which was disappointing, but Rachael was funny and fascinating and clearly just as pleased as punch to be there, so the talk went quite well.
When asked what she thought was the secret of her success with 30 Minute Meals, she started talking about how she doesn’t have everything all chopped up perfectly in little bowls beforehand, nor does she have any assistance on-camera. She makes the whole meal in the time allowed, by herself, and because she’s not flawless or elegant or tidy or complicated, no one looks at her show and thinks, “…you know, I think I’ll just make spaghetti tonight.” They think (and this is a direct quote), “Wow, that’s a MESS! I can do THAT!” And that’s the appeal of Rachael Ray. No, she wasn’t professionally trained, yeah, she uses shortcuts instead of devoting hours to each meal. But she’s really good at showing us what we can do. She makes cooking unintimidating, so that maybe we discover a love of the kitchen, and we’re inspired to try harder recipes in the future. She’s the Harry Potter of the culinary world.
She’s also adorable, of course. I say that not to comment on her career path, but to have an excuse to tell you that at least half the men in the audience were looking at her with their heads tilted and big moony eyes….and that includes my “date.” Fabulous.
And that’s why I made Rachael’s very delicious Creamy “Grits” with Creole Shrimp for dinner the next night! I’m including the recipe here, but I got it from the 30 Minute Meals section at The Food Network. She calls for instant polenta instead of grits, but I couldn’t find that so I went ahead and used grits instead. They’re quite nice prepared with chicken stock and whole milk…just boil up 2 cups of stock and add the grits, then turn off the heat and add in a cup of milk. Yummo. Oh, great, now I’m saying it.
Creamy “Grits” with Creole Shrimp
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
3 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery with green leafy tops, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme, intact
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 to 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons hot sauce (recommended: Frank’s Red Hot), divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup beer, 1/3 of a bottle
3 cups chicken stock, divided
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped frozen okra, optional
1 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined medium to large shrimp, tails removed
1 cup whole milk
1 cup quick cooking (sometimes marked “instant”) polenta
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into extra-virgin olive oil, add garlic, onions, celery, bell peppers, thyme, bay leaf then season with salt and pepper. Cook veggies 7 to 8 minutes until tender, add in the Worcestershire, 1 to 2 tablespoons hot sauce (medium to spicy heat level) and the flour and cook 1 minute more then add in beer and cook it off, another 30 seconds or so. Whisk in 1 cup of stock then add tomatoes and okra, if using, and bring to a bubble. Add shrimp and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until shrimp turn pink and firm then turn off heat. Remove thyme stems and bay leaf.
Bring remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 2 cups stock, 1 cup milk and 2 teaspoons hot sauce, to a boil in a sauce pot. Stir in 1 cup quick cooking polenta. Stir constantly to mass the cornmeal. Once the mixture thickens to the consistency of whipped potatoes, season the “grits” with salt and divide among dinner plates.
Serve generous ladles of shrimp and sauce on a bed of creamy “grits”. -
20Jun
Courtesy of the fine Washington Post, this article about upscale development in Prince George’s County, Maryland, contains good news for all foodies in the District, Annapolis and Alexandria.In May, the county signed a deal with the high-end Wegmans Food Markets to anchor the Woodmore Towne Centre in Landover, a billion-dollar project that will include homes and more than 750,000 square feet of shopping space and is expected to open in summer 2008.
This would be the closest Wegman’s to DC and a short distance from the Largo Town Center Metro stop. Currently, there are two Wegman’s in Northern Virginia, one in Fairfax and the other near Dulles. A lease has been signed for a Wegman’s in Gambrills, in Anne Arundel County, but with no firm opening date. The newest Wegman’s in the region is in Baltimore County’s Hunt Valley. When it opened in 2005, people were actually camped outside of it to be the first inside, like a campout for U2 tickets!
Why such excitement? Would only bored suburbanites go bonkers over a bloody grocery store? Hardly. Wegman’s is a New York-based chain of megamarkets that caters to people who truly love their food. They have all the trappings of a regular market – bonus club cards, bulk food section, shopping carts – but they do it in a store about the size of a Smithsonian, with a friendly, knowledgeable staff. With all that space, they have the room to include pretty much anything you need for a gourmet meal made from scratch, or made by real chefs that can easily be passed off as your own. A fantastic butcher shop, fresh seafood, a great wine selection (Virginia stores only, at this point), a jaw-dropping prepared food section, deli, a cafe’, coffee shop, pizza parlor, pasta bar, olive bar, sushi bar, kitchen equipment, stemware, bakery, cheese shop, organic market, regional and international food sections, cooking classes, and a produce area that could inspire poetry…PLUS they have a little choo-choo train that runs around the dairy section. This ain’t your grandma’s supermarket, unless your granny was Julia Child.
My alter-ego, the Five Paragraph Bitter Food Critic, will be doing reviews of the major chain markets in the area, plus some of the neighborhood markets and speciality stores. Without giving away too much from the reviews, the FPBFC is a big fan of Wegman’s, and will be a bigger fan of one that’s Metro-accessible. -
19Jun
This is what the sign in the kitchen reads at Gates Bar.B.Q. in Independence, Missouri, a city which is not known for its cuisine. When we visit we generally accept that it will be a trip punctuated by once-or-twice-daily trips to whichever fast food establishment currently holds my grandparents’ favor. Currently, we are big fans of Wendy’s, which is admittedly a big step up from last winter’s turn at Arby’s, and we ate there some.
On Friday night, we visited Gates as a reprieve from these fast food standards. From the outside, this could only be a barbecue joint, it just has that look about it. Walking towards the door we saw the long line winding out, and as we got nearer, we began to hear the Gates signature calls of “Hi – May I help you?!” from the two order-takers at the front of the cafeteria-style line.
They take your order well before you are far enough up to actually read the menu, but it doesn’t really matter; it’s barbecue – you know what they have. You do need to pick up on the lingo pretty quick – asking for “extra sauce” will be translated for you on read-back as “heavy on the sauce,” but you must figure out how to say “to stay” or “to take” to get the right kind of containers.
The line mistresses seem to have been hired for their booming voices and flawless memories: they’re handling three or four parties’ orders all at once, and I’ve never heard a slip: we alone ordered a few slabs (that’s ribs), and a mixed plate (short ends (more ribs), brisket, ham, and fries), cole slaw, barbecue beans, a bud light, a Budweiser, a Coors light, and some waters. Three dollar beers!! Three dollar beers!! Three dollar beers!!
Our orders all landed on our trays, we paid (about $67.00), and carried our haul to sit at one of the dark wood and leather seat booths to begin the mess-making. This is some fantastic barbecue, the ribs especially, with edges just-caramelized to crispy perfection, leaving the meat inside tender, juicy and flavorful. The brisket was tender, rich, and yummy, the ham juicy and tasty. The fries were, well, fries, and quite good at soaking up the copious quantities of sauce flung far and wide. The beans were fantastic, among the best baked beans I’ve ever had. They were sweet, but sweetness was only secondary to the rich, smoky flavors of the beans and sauce. The only complaint I had about the food was the slaw: too creamy for my tastes, with not enough bite. My parents thought it tasted good, but agreed that the texture wasn’t quite right. Friendly wait staff are all too happy to bring you more beer, and clear your piles of bones, as you eat. We had left-over ham and ribs for two days after the meal, and will say that the ribs, at least, were every bit as good that way.
This is some really good barbecue, so if you’re in the Kansas City area, I highly recommend making a trip to one of their six locations. I bought a bottle of the tangy, smokey sauce, and was thrilled to discover that Gates has an extensive website, complete with a number of enticing recipes.
Gates Bar.B.Q.
10440 East 40 Highway
Independence, MO
816-353-5880 -
19Jun
Humanity senses intuitively that, after a great undertaking, it is wrong to just go home, run the dishwasher, and feed the cat. No less than the great Terry Pratchett gives the example of woodsmen felling a huge tree; in the moments after it crashes to the ground there’s an almost soulful pause as they stand around and think, bloody hell, that thing totally isn’t up anymore!
Which goes a long way to explain the reverential silence at our table at the end of a meal at Crème Cafe. This meal was a true work of art, staggering in size and scope, and now it was no more.
I’d read about Crème in the recent Washington Post article where they introduce it as the new Soul place for cool kids to be (but warn against the deserts). The U-street space is done up in warehouse-chic, airy and loud, and there was no line despite the online warnings. We sat down to hot bread with herb humus. I was sold.
Our server was the perfect antidote for a soul bruised by one hundred “Hi-my-name-is-Jenn-and-I’ll-be-your-server-today” ‘s. She was sweet, friendly, and fast- the type of server that makes you wish you had a brother to set up. In this order she brought: Crab cakes made of pure crab mixed with a buttery herb sauce. No I mean it, pure crab. Amg, who originally ordered it, only ended up with a bite as the whole table scrambled for a forkful. Then a buttery grits with prawns, flavored with anduille, scallions, and happiness. There was a fragrant lamb done both as a piece and ground with cumin. But the pride of the table was a brown-sugar roasted pork shank with beans overflowing the plate. It fell off the bone like a caramel string cheese.
Our plates were brought by a jovial guy in an apron who made cracks about our crab-eating habits – who turned out to be the chef. Despite the long line now forming outside the door, he stopped for a few minutes to swap his food philosophy – treat ’em like family. We asked to be adopted.
Even the deserts turned out to be trippy: coconut cake like a moist Jamaican afternoon. Either they read the critique in the Washington Post, or the reviewer was insane. If I was going to start a religion- which I may- I can think of worse inspiration.
Crème Café Lounge (Creme Cafe)
1322 U Street NW -
15Jun
If anyone heard delighted squealing and the clapping of hands coming from the vicinity of Thomas Jefferson Street last weekend, that was me walking into Snap for the first time. The creperie and bubble teahouse opened last summer in a converted townhouse in Georgetown, and it’s a good thing.
The menu is long: part classic (sugar crepes), part modern (prosciutto, asiago, and fig spread), part sweet (a bajillion different bubble teas), part savory (pesto and chicken), and part weird (red bean paste crepes…I’m not knocking them, because I didn’t try them, but nonetheless weird. If you’ve had one, email me and tell me…should I try this crazy crepe?).
If setting is at all important to your dining experience, you may be both pleased and baffled by Snap. It is housed in an attractive pied a terre townhouse right off the C&O Canal, with clean, modern bright blue and white walls, black and white photography, and a neat fireplace, but the charm of the setting is partially negated by the necessity to pay first, at the counter, with a credit or debit card. (Snap accepts no cash.) The back patio is breezy and pleasant, with tree branches overhanging the tables, but you set and bus your own table.
The crepes, however, are absolutely heavenly: light, firm, and delicately sweet. I highly recommend the lemon curd filling with fresh strawberries (the strawberries offset the tartness of the lemon, as well as giving the sauce something to hold onto), and the fluffy egg and cheese crepe. I also really enjoyed the very rich, satisfying butterscotch and banana…it’s just butterscotch chips and sliced bananas, but it’s greater than the sum of its parts.
I also had my first bubble tea there. I’ve been hearing about this stuff forever, so I was a little disappointed to discover that the tapioca balls are not tiny and sweet, but tasteless, marble-sized, and slippery. I kept worrying about getting one stuck in my throat. Maybe it’s an acquired taste? The strawberry milk tea the bubbles were in, however, was lovely, and I will be ordering it again (neutered this time).
