It’s summer, and for natives of (and most transplants to) the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, that means one thing more than any other: crab season! Whether consumed in a violent orgy of mallets and shells or more demurely in delicious cake form, this is the season for the yummy little bastards. The thing is, I up and moved to Atlanta, where crabs are just a one-night stand’s lasting impression, and mentioning “Old Bay” will just get you asked if you don’t mean “Green.” 
As is so often the case, my salvation came by pure providence. I had purchased some crab meat from the grocery – the crappy packaged kind that looks like it ought to be fake but isn’t – and was planning to do something vaguely fritter-ish. But, before dinner could be considered, I was headed to the gym, and needed a pre-workout snack. I pulled down a handful of crackers, and dipped one in a fresh tub of hummus.
Lesson one: don’t buy store-brand hummus in a Southern grocery.
Panic-stricken – for if my snack went this badly I’d never have the focus to exercise – I reached for the first thing I could see to overwhelm the sour horror of that hummus-product. My crab purchase had been inspired, of course, by coming upon a tin of Old Bay at the market. It was now sitting on the counter, just before my eyes.
That experiment worked, so I experimented more. Using good hummus this time, I mixed in about 1/2 tablespoon of Old Bay per cup, and spooned the mixture into a small bowl. I fried the crab bits in an Old Bay-flour mix as well. Then I let them cool, dried them, arranged them around the hummus mixture (with Triscuits), and an hors d’ouvres plate was born!
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17Jul
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13Jul
We’ve all been there. You have a relationship, that ends, for better or worse, and for some reason you still wind up back with your old flame every so often. It’s hard to explain – you know it probably isn’t right, and that you may end up regretting it later, but yet there you are, doing it anyway. So it went this week with me.
I’ve lived in the D.C. area since 1999, and I had the fortune to leave the area for about a year and a half to complete culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu. You’d be surprised how much changes around here in that amount of time. It’s like a weird acid trip – everything is different, yet so much the same. Many restaurants that used to be some of my favourite places now just irritate me, and many places that I never gave the time of day to before, like an illicit romance, give me those familiar butterflies.
This week, I marked the passage of yet another year of irritating the hell out of people. For such an occasion, I decided it was time to revisit an old flame – 1789 Restaurant, in Georgetown. Now this really was a strange occurrence. On one hand, it was a fairly risky endeavour, as this has always been, bar none, one of my absolute favourite places in town. If things had changed for the worse, I would be crushed. On the other hand, I must admit I was fairly excited for one very good reason: this would be the first time I’ve tasted the food of the new(ish) executive chef there, Nathan Beauchamp.
On one hand, I have been a big fan of the last executive chef, Ris Lacoste. I actually know her professionally, and I’ve admired her work at Kinkead’s, and 15 ria. 15 ria was her first “solo gig” in this area and those people who ate there before she left to go to 1789 in 1995 remember how good that fare was. 15 ria pretty much tanked after she left, and I was very nervous that 1789 might suffer a similar fate, so it was with much trepidation that I approached the restaurant again.
My usual ritual at 1789 is to look over the entire menu, and then order the rack of lamb. Seriously, only once have I ever ordered anything else there (a filet mignon entrée), and while it was superb, you just can’t get lamb like that anywhere else in the D.C. area (that I know of, at least). For the most part, this signature entrée hasn’t changed much over the years, and I suspect that Nathan Beauchamp is aware of how popular it is. However, just as any band that covers another band’s music will attest, you have to put your own twist on it. This new menu would certainly pose a challenge – there were a number of new, seasonal entrées, that while fairly simple in construction, seemed truly appetizing.
After a good ten minutes looking over the menu, I decided to order a first course of a risotto, served with roasted corn, basil, chanterelle mushrooms, and finished off with summer black truffles. My fiancée ordered a chopped salad, which consisted of seasonal vegetables, anchovies, and was topped with a coddled egg. My entrée was, of course, the lamb. The rack was wrapped (and thus encrusted) in pancetta, and served with a goat cheese potato mousseline, escarole, and an olive jus. As much as I loved Ris’s version, I must admit, this was nothing short of phenomenal. It certainly consisted of some bold flavours, but everything worked together, and worked well.
As is her practice, my fiancée made up her mind before she left the house, and ordered pan roasted scallops, which were served with edamame, mahogany clams, sun gold tomatoes, and miso. I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first, but again, Nathan did not disappoint. Everything flowed together, and the clams really added a very nice touch.
As usual, the service was impeccable. Our waiter not only knew it was my birthday, but had arranged for the menus of the day to say so on the bottom in 24 point bold type (not that anyone else in the restaurant had any idea who I was), and brought me a card signed by the staff (as in all of the staff), along with a Valhrona chocolate truffle for dessert. While I’m trying to forget exactly how old I am, I won’t soon forget the meal I had there. Excellent job, Mr. Beauchamp! I look forward to doing this again – just don’t tell Ris.
1789 Restaurant
1226 36th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20007
(202) 965-1789
In addition to the standard fare, 1789 has a coupon on their site which will get you a three course meal for $36 (lamb and filet carry a $10 surcharge). -
11Jul
Today’s 7/11, which means it’s the annual FREE SLURPEE DAY at your favorite neighborhood convenience store.
7-Elevens are pretty ubiquitous, but here’s their store locator in case you’re not sure where the closest one is.
This might be a good day to check out the Kwik-E-Mart inspired 7-Eleven in Bladensburg, one of just twelve in the country.
Here’s the thing, though. Area 7-Elevens tend to be inconsistent on whether they’re participating in the promotion or not. According to an LA-based food blog, if you show up and your 7-Eleven says it isn’t participating, you can call 800-255-0711 and receive a free Slurpee Coupon. Suburban outfits tend to be more likely to participate than the DC ones, it seems. -
10Jul
Where are you going tonight? To Hej Hej, of course.
Tonight is a very special Hej Hej with a performance by The Lovekevins from Malmo, Sweden. This is the band’s only U.S. show outside New York.
DC 9 (1940 9th St. NW)
Doors: 9:00 PM / 21 + / $8
Drink specials: Vikingfjord vodka
Check out the Hej Hej site at www.hejhejmusic.com and come on out tonight.
And check out all the love they got from the Express today, too.
We’ll see you all there! -
03Jul
Groups of women sharing herbs. Sharing herbs is, in a cultural sense at least, what groups of women are *for*. Herbs for impressing a guy, herbs for bandaging up a kid, and herbs, historically at least, for when you don’t have the first and are in danger of the second. Women passing around herbs – it might as well be the definition of society.
My personal herb sharing network – ooh, that sounds so much more illicit than it actually is – says right now is the time to pass around some Basil. I know this because I got handed some this morning over the wall of my cube. Apparently the super hot weather we’ve been having has been perfect for Basil growin’, and now that it’s cooled down it’s time to munch before the plants start to do some crazy flowering.
But while gifting is all very well, what do you do with all that fresh Basil?
We asked Pee Jim, absurdly capable guide of Khmer ruins to high-ranking military officials in the Thailand university town of Burriram (it has its own market!) near the Cambodia border. And even tho as a devout Buddhist she often fasts after 12, she’s willing to do a bit of culinary creativity for the local monestary; feed the monks, get a blessing. But not the nuns – their major spiritual duty seems to be washing the dishes.
Pee Jim’s fried basil w/ chicken wings, adapted with a lot of internet help
Mix together:
1 tablespoon fish sauce
A bit of finely chopped lemongrass if you’ve got it.
10-15 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoons chopped fresh red chilis
quarter cup chopped cilantro
quarter cup rice whisky (or whatever sort you have around
2 tbsp olive oil (my addition)
2 tbsp of ketchup
Cut off the tips of a couple dozen wing, rinse and dry ‘em off, toss them into the marinade, and stick the whole thing in the fridge overnight. Grill or bake ‘em at 375 ’till they’re nice and crispy.
Holy basil is what you really want for this – but go for the smaller leaves of other varieties if you have to. Rinse off and dry your basil – lots and lots of it, and strip the leaves. I mean it about drying it well, squeeze it out between paper towels and lay it flat for a little while if you have to.
Get a nice big wok with a couple inches of peanut oil and heat it super hot, almost to smoking – a drop of water should spit all over the place. Then drop in handfuls of the leaves – they’ll only need a few seconds to get nice and crispy – and lift ‘em out with a slotted spoon to drain on a paper towel.
Gently mix together the leaves and wings to keep from crushing them. Toss in another handful of chopped red chilies – or you might want to saute the chilis up a bit first. A sprinkle of salt over the finished product…It’s a dish fit for a monk. -
02Jul
California Tortilla is giving out free Pop Tarts on July 18th. Just a little over two weeks from now, you can stroll into your neighborhood Cal-Tort and get a Pop-Tart.
Gotta give Pop-Tarts credit – they’re just as unhealthy now as they were when we were kids. All the rage nowadays is with making organic versions of cereals and cookies with whole grain. Doing the Atkins/South Beach diet? Have a low carb Oreo. Not Pop-Tarts, though. Instead of jumping on the fickle bandwagon of diet food fads, they figured out consumers want actual comfort from their comfort foods. Now they’re rolling out Apple Strudel, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Strawberry Milkshake flavors, and there’s not a whole grain or alternative sugar to be found.
Those geniuses even figured out how to make a prewrapped, portable and easily-heated treat more convenient – eliminate the need to heat it. Hence, the Go-Tart.
No word yet if Baja Fresh is going to have a free Toaster Strudel promotion, but we’ll let you know. -
01Jul
I’ve written seven articles about eating on the cheap in Arlington, and was looking for a happy hour with food specials Friday night in Friendship Heights. I tried Schnozbot, and Washingtonian Happy Hour Finder with no luck, and stumbled across one entry at Happy Hour City. So, a friend and I checked out Chadwick’s 1/2 price appetizer (except shimp and squid) and $2-2.50 house wine and selected beer and drinks specials.
We had black bean chilli, potato skins, and wings, all at 1/2 price, and a couple of glasses of $2 house wine each. The food was decent, and certainly worth the bargain prices. My friend really liked the potato skins.
So, any suggestions for other Friendship Heights happy hours that feature specials on food?
Chadwick’s
5247 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC
(202) 362-8040 - 21Jun
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19Jun
I never thought I had much in common with Lindsay Lohan.
She’s a young Hollywood starlet and pop star, better known for her hard-partying, relapses into rehab, ever-changing breast size, spectacular rise and fall, and for showing her birth canal to pretty much every actor, athlete and paprazzi in California. I’m more of a brokedown former disc jockey and comedian who couldn’t wait to sell out to Corporate America for a stable paycheck. As far as I know, she’s done more drugs than a Rick James’ groupie, and the hardest thing I’ve smoked is turkey. But her song “Me vs. The World” from the Freaky Friday soundtrack speaks to me. Well, it doesn’t technically speak because I’ve never heard it, and couldn’t pick it out in a police lineup. I just found the lyrics online, and thought “I had no idea I could relate to young Lindsay’s plight.”
See, “The World” in my case is Reese’s. The loveable brand from our friendly neighbors to the North, Hershey (if not the best corporate citizens), has finally released a limited edition Elvis tribute Reese’s Cup – Peanut Butter and Banana Creme. One of his favorite treats was fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. As I have resolved to eat healthier and exercise more, and been doing a fine job of it, these little chocolatey bastards could be my undoing. As a kid, my mom preferred that I ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches, getting at least some vitamins and potassium from the banana slices, benefits absent in most jellies. When mom found these new Elvis cups, she thought it would be nice reminder of my childhood. They’re not bad, either, as I was afraid the banana would be too artificial, too overpowering. But the banana flavor is just enough to complement the traditional chocolate/peanut butter balance of a Reese’s. One of the few “Limited Editions” that I like.
Plus, this has a picture of Elvis on the package. And it’s not like that cop-out Young Elvis versus Old Elvis stamp debacle, either. You can find these with Young Athletic Elvis, Hawaiian Shirt Elvis, and, my favorite, Old Elvis. It’s clearly Fat Elvis in all his early 1970s Vegas coked-out jumpsuit glory, maybe not quite as bloated and rambling, but it’s clear he’s baked… much like Mlle. Lohan.
This limited edition run is hitting stores throughout the region now. Dollar General Stores seem to be a reliable place to find them, though they seem to be allergic to putting a store within the Beltway. If you see them, please share in the comments. Let others find their inner Elvis. Hopefully, Mojo Nixon’s vision of Elvis being everywhere can be realized.
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Elvis Reese’s Cups get 18 Whammies!, one for each of The King’s U.S. number one hits on the pop singles chart.
Thanks to The Junk Food Blog and Candyblog.
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08Jun
Seriously. The printers were down at my work today, which pretty much meant I had nothing to do; so I was surfing the internet. And I found many magical things, many horrible things, and many things that really looked delicious. One in particular, but I think my current vague attempt at a diet may also contribute to how strongly it appeals to me.
Chuao Chocolatier’s ChocoPod Picante. I mean, seriously: chocolate, Cabernet, caramel, and chilies…yes please! Sadly, I am currently short one (or more) wealthy benefactor(s) who would buy me such delicacies (that whole make a billion dollars as a public health researcher plan has *so* not panned out). Has anyone tried them? Does anyone want to fly me out to California so I can try them in their native habitat?
