I love bubble tea. I know many who think it’s gross, but I love it; I love the oversweet tea, the strange tapioca balls, and the oversized straws you drink it all through.
You can imagine my delight (and my bank account’s horror) when walking to my office this morning I notice a brightly colored sign in the window of the once-great-but-now-mostly-mediocre Lawson’s Gourmet advertising their newest offering: Bubble Tea!!!!
So for my afternoon sugar break, I went down to Lawson’s and paid my whopping $3.85 (incl. tax). Their menu is confusing: it appears that they have many flavors of bubble tea (as you can get at a proper Chinese place), but they only have Black Tea. “Oh well,” I thought, my dreams of green tea flavored bubble tea returning to their dark corners in my mind, and ordered Black Tea flavor.
The tea itself was a bit too bitter – probably brewed too hot (as seems to be the custom in these parts) and too long (ditto) to boot – but the sweet milk with which it was mixed canceled most of that out. The tapioca pearls, which are what makes Bubble Tea so special, were good, if a bit mushy. I expect this will improve as Lawson’s staff gain a bit of experience handling them, and as long as they don’t go all the way to the other end and end up hard and awful like the miserable Teaism bubble tea, I’ll be happy. There was also a bit too much ice in my cup. More
flavors would be nice.
I’ll have another one tomorrow.
Lawson’s Gourmet
1350 Connecticut Ave, NW
Washington DC 20036
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17Jun
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14Jun
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13Jun
When I was living in New York and strapped for cash, one of the pleasures worth setting aside a little money for was brunch at Kitchenette. During the week I dreamed of fluffy scrambled eggs, perfect triangles of toast with strawberry butter, fresh squeezed orange juice and home fries. If I was feeling really indulgent, I would get dessert — like their chocolate cupcakes with the white curlicue of icing just like Hostess does, but so much better. I spend so many great weekend mornings at Kitchenette that I decided to buy their cookbook.
The little spiral-bound volume is now a kitchen veteran, covered in oil splatters, cake batter and shortening. I’ve cooked a number of recipes and all have proven to be rib-sticking good. For the hotter weather, I whipped up Kitchenette’s Chick Pea Burger with Tahini Sauce. If you have a food processor, this recipe is easy to prepare ahead of time and doesn’t require a lot of laboring over a grill. The recipe is also flexible if you want to substitute other veggies in the burger, just make sure you cook out any excess moisture. Doll up your burger with some fresh summer tomatoes, lettuce and some warm pita bread, and voila! — veggie delight. My only complaint is that the provided recipe for tahini sauce is bland. Instead, I recommend Gourmet’s souped up version which gives the extra kick this recipe needs to be truly taste-bud pleasing.
Chick Pea Burger with Tahini Sauce
From Kitchenette: Recipes From Our Kitchen
By Lisa Hall and Ann Nickinson
Makes 4 burgers
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 oz. fresh spinach, cleaned and chopped
2 14 3/4 oz. cans chick peas, drained
1/2 cup tahini mixed with equal parts water plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces pita bread
4 large leaves red of green leaf lettuce
4 tomato slices
Place 2 tablespoons oil in medium saut -
10Jun
Last Thursday afternoon, my boss came into my office with her usual order: a last-minute semi-crisis. She wanted to hold a cocktail reception the following Thursday evening, for about 35 people, in a private room at a restaurant within easy walking distance of the DSC Convention Center, that wasn
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10Jun
An instructive way of comparing supermarkets is to compare them to cars: especially around the Washington area, there are a variety of brand names, sizes and price points from which to choose.
For example, when I need the basics and nothing more, I go to the Soviet Safeway on 17th and Corcoran in Dupont Circle. The Soviet is like a late-model Honda Civic you keep around for small errands or to pass on for use as a teenager’s first car. It doesn’t have many features, occasionally has annoying quirks and doesn’t exactly drive like a dream, but it’s functional most of the time and a step up from your old scooter (the corner store).
The Whole Foods in Logan Circle is like a fully loaded top-of-the-line Volvo: safe, expensive and oriented to boring upper-middle class living. Many people would be more inclined to shop at Whole Foods more often if they were cheaper and they got over themselves and sold Coke and Pepsi products.
Trader Joe’s is the Volkswagen Jetta of the supermarket world. Youth-oriented, sporty, friendly and occasionally adventurous, it goes well with catchy indie tunes and spontaneous picnics.
The Wegmans in Sterling, Va. is way beyond the sedan class. It -
10Jun
An instructive way of comparing supermarkets is to compare them to cars: especially around the Washington area, there are a variety of brand names, sizes and price points from which to choose.
For example, when I need the basics and nothing more, I go to the Soviet Safeway on 17th and Corcoran in Dupont Circle. The Soviet is like a late-model Honda Civic you keep around for small errands or to pass on for use as a teenager’s first car. It doesn’t have many features, occasionally has annoying quirks and doesn’t exactly drive like a dream, but it’s functional most of the time and a step up from your old scooter (the corner store).
The Whole Foods in Logan Circle is like a fully loaded top-of-the-line Volvo: safe, expensive and oriented to boring upper-middle class living. Many people would be more inclined to shop at Whole Foods more often if they were cheaper and they got over themselves and sold Coke and Pepsi products.
Trader Joe’s is the Volkswagen Jetta of the supermarket world. Youth-oriented, sporty, friendly and occasionally adventurous, it goes well with catchy indie tunes and spontaneous picnics.
The Wegmans in Sterling, Va. is way beyond the sedan class. It -
08Jun
When it moved from its College Park home to its current Silver Spring location, Mandalay Restaurant garnered a great deal of attention. If you neglected to check out the Burmese Restaurant when the critics were sweeping through, give the authentic, delicious and reasonably-priced place a chance now that the chatter has died down.
Located in an unassuming spot on Bonifant Street in Silver Spring, the place is borderline empty for a weekday lunch, but hopping when Saturday night dinner comes around. Though the service can be slow, it -
03Jun
Not being much of a drinker, I -
03Jun
Not being much of a drinker, I -
02Jun
At the risk of mixing up our donut chains’ slogans, we at DCFud want to let you know that tomorrow is DONUT DAY over at Krispy Kreme. The chain is usually pretty generous when it comes to handing out their sweet treats when the “Hot” light is lit, but this time you can actually branch out beyond the glazed flavor. Any visitor tomorrow gets a free donut: any time of day, any flavor.
Krispy Kreme has locations scattered throughout the area, including Alexandria, Rockville, and the one right at Dupont Circle near the Metro Station. Expect lines to be long, but it could be worse – at least you’re not showing up the day of one of their infamous store openings, when people camp out the night before for a shot at a year’s supply!
