• 31Oct

    Arden’s Garden Brings the Juice!

    Arden’s Garden opened its first juice squeezing facility in 1995, and now has various storefronts throughout the greater Atlanta, GA area. This company is all about improving health through easy access to products made with fresh fruits and veggies and produces multiple day juice cleanse combos. They’re happy to ship their juices, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a variety of their products for review.

    My favorites in order were the Yoga One, Pineapple Apple Ginger, and Passionfruit Turmeric. I enjoyed the Lemonade Lavender and Complete Recovery (smoothie) as well. I was surprised I enjoyed Yoga One as much as I did since I’m not usually into green juices. If you like lemonade and lavender, you should definitely try the Lavender lemonade. Green Energy Machine (which somehow dodged the photo op) was definitely too “green” for me. I haven’t tried the juice shots yet.

    It was nice having access to these great products last week when I was under the weather (I had a cold). I’ll admit I’d like some more Yoga One, Pineapple Apple Ginger, and Passionfruit Turmeric juices here right about now, even though I’ve recovered.

    -JAY

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  • 13Aug

    Free Chinese Tea Tasting in Dupont Circle

    Yunhan Zhang
    Yunhan Zhang Displaying His Fan Skills
    Sammie Davis Jr. in the Gallery Downstairs

    I attended this morning’s free Chinese tea tasting at the Valley Brook Tea shop at the Ven Hotel (2015 Massachusetts Ave NW) in Dupont Circle. Yunhan Zhang is a wonderful host and is incredibly knowledgeable about tea (including its production and history). His family in China grows the tea he serves and sells.

    Yunhan will be doing these free tasting on Sundays at 10:30am for at least the next couple of weeks but be on time since there is limited seating. No reservations are required.

    You may want to check out the Sunday Dupont Farmer’s market (a block away from 8:30am to 1:30pm) and the current art gallery downstairs as well.

    -JAY

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  • 25Jun

    Brand New Thai Restaurant on P Street in DuPont Circle

    This is a shoutout to Sampannee at 2122 P Street NW (the old Asia 54 space)! They just opened 3 days ago. I stopped by yesterday and tried thePad Thai, Mango Sticky Rice, and Coconut Ice Cream (which has jackfruit inside). Definitely a place to try some authentic Thai cuisine. Next month they will open the counter next door for breakfast/brunch. The owner and staff are really sweet people — I’m so happy I met them.

    -JAY

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  • 01Apr

    Praise for Veg Heaven’s Vegan Baked Goods

    Veg Heaven makes a variety of wonderful baked goods that seem way too good to be vegan (but are). This winter, Veg Heaven had a stand at the Dupont Circle farmer’s market; this stand was so popular that it sold out halfway through the market’s hours. Freshfarm (who runs the Dupont Circle farmer’s market) has decided not to approve Veg Heaven for the current season when what they should have done was approve this business and request that they bring enough product to make it (at least most of the way) through the market’s hours.

    One of the above images was taken at 8:30am and one just prior to 10am (market hours are 8:30am to 1:30pm); I bet you can tell which is which.

    Right now, you can find Veg Heaven’s products at the following farmer’s markets:

    Eastern Market Saturdays and Sundays from 8 to 4 pm

    Palisades Sundays from 9 to 1pm

    UDC Saturdays from 9 to 2 pm

    Cleveland Park Saturdays starting on May 13 from 9 to 1 pm

    -JAY

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  • 30Jan

    Bacchus of Lebanon Has a New Enclosed Heated Patio

    We recently attended an event to showcase the new enclosed heated patio at Bacchus of Lebanon in Bethesda. The patio is nice and toasty! Here is a video of Zaid (the owner) talking about the new patio.

    Below are some photos from the event. We definitely need to go back soon for more of the yummy fresh hummus and baba ganouj.

    Chicken, Mushrooms, and Rice
    Felafel, Kalage Bel-Jebne, and Stuffed Grape Leaves
    Zaid is on the left or the right!
    Tabbouleh on the Left
    Baba Ganouj
    Hummus
    Baklava

    -Jason

    Disclosure: From time to time, we are given free items, meals, or entry to events. Our words are still our own.

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  • 18Jan

    Crooked Run and Pizza Serata Has Opened at Union Market District

    Crooked Run and Pizza Serata is a new, collaborative concept from Crooked Run Fermentation owners/brew masters Jake Endres and Lee Rogan, Michelin-starred Chef Chris Morgan, and “Pizza Czar” Anthony Falco. We attended the friends and family event Monday and got to sample their food and beer.

    We sampled four brews: Raspberry Empress (a sour), and three Pilsners, New Zealand, Italian, and German. All four were great, with my favorite being the Italian-style Pilsner, while my guest’s favorite was the New Zealand-style Pilsner.

    We tried the Arugula Salad (Lemon Vin, Pickled Peppers, Whipped Ricotta, Roasted Beets, Red Onions Jam, Crushed Pistachios), Steak Sandwich (Skirt Steak, Salsa Verde, Calabrian Aioli, House-Made Bread), Sicilian Anchovy Pizza (Anchovies, Tomato, Garlic, Pecorino, Roasted Onions, Breadcrumbs), and Reading Terminal Pizza (Porchetta, Mozzarella, Broccoli Rabe, Provolone, Long Hots, Vodka Sauce).

    As far as the food, the absolute standout was the Arugula Salad, with delicious pickled peppers, roasted beets, and crushed pistachios. A nearby table raved about the Italian Chop Salad, and there is also a third salad on the menu (Grilled Treviso). The pizzas were good as well, with a thick focaccia-like crust, as was the Steak Sandwich. While we did try their Sticky Garlic Chicken Wings and were not crazy about them (the texture and level of saltiness), it was the first day of service, so they can still work on that one.

    We definitely need to go back, since there are salads, brews, and pizzas we didn’t get to try.

    -JAY

    Disclosure: From time to time, we are given free items, meals, or entry to events. Our words are still our own.

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  • 29Dec

    May Your New Year Be Filled with New Menu Items from ChiKo

    Smashed Cucumber Salad, Umami Nosh, Warm Walnut Potato Salad
    Egg Drop Hot Sour Wonton Soup
    Dry Spiced Double-Fried Chicken Wings
    Xo Shrimp Lo Mein
    Wok Stir Fried Sea Bass
    Sesame Custard (Has no Eggs)
    Chinese Style 5 Spice Donuts

    We were happy to try the new menu items at the DuPont location of ChiKo, a group of Chinese/Korean fusion restaurants. I can’t eat egg yolks, so brought a plus one (“C”) to try the dishes I could not. We enjoyed all the new menu items; my guest vouched for the dishes I could not try).

    C’s favorite dishes of the visit were the Umami Nosh (soft-cooked egg, salmon caviar, seaweed) and Egg Drop Hot Sour Wonton Soup, two dishes I could not try. He attacked the Chinese Style 5 Spice Donuts. When he brought home the leftover soup, his partner proclaimed it “sex in a bowl.” I asked no further questions at that point.

    My favorite dishes of the evening were the Wok Stir Fried Sea Bass (which I LOVED) ordered without the oyster mushrooms and Dry Spiced Double-Fried Chicken Wings (wonderful savory flavor and perfectly crunchy), although the latter isn’t a new dish. I attacked the Sesame Custard, which does not contain eggs and features a perfect combination of flavors and textures (coconut, caramel, almonds, basil seeds).

    The new dishes are available at all ChiKo locations. Scroll down to see the menu.

    -JAY

    Disclosure: From time to time, we are given free items, meals, or entry to events. Our words are still our own.

    Standard menu. They also have a vegetarian and a GF menu.

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  • 13Dec

    Give Authentic Turkish Style Doner in Dupont Circle a Spin!

    The Turkish Pastries are Imported from Turkey.
    Chicken Shwarma is a New Menu Item.
    Beef/Lamb Doner Handled with Care.
    Doner Also Available on Flatbread or as Platter.

    Capital Doner in Dupont Circle (corner of P and 20th St NW) has been open over a year now, and recently added a second rotisserie; that one is for Chicken Shwarma. You can order your butter-basted Doner or Chicken Shwarma as a sub bread or flatbread, or with rice and French fries as a platter. The platter includes a large amount of food. And, yes, this restaurant is Turkish style (not Berlin style). The food is delicious here and they even have outdoor seating (no heaters). Sandwiches are $15 and platters are $19 for healthy sized portions.

    The pastries are imported from Turkey and exceptionally good. All except one of the pastries include pistachios (one is walnut). And yes, you can wash it down with Turkish coffee.

    I brought a Middle Eastern friend that was visiting from NY here, and he went back to Long Island trying to find doner as good as what we ate at Capital Doner. He hasn’t yet, but you’re welcome to make suggestions for Nassau County or Queens Turkish style Doner in the comments IF you’ve tried Capital Doner (so can make a fair comparison).

    -JAY

    Editor’s Note: We’re taking submissions for guest writers. Drop some article ideas you’d like to pursue (and a writing sample) at jay (at) dcfud (dot) com if you’re interested.

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  • 04Oct

    Silver Diner Opens First Location in DC at Navy Yard

    Thursday, we attended the pre-opening night of the new Silver Diner location in Navy Yard. After 33 years in the DC area, this is their first Silver Diner in Washington, DC proper. They have a Silver in DC (Cathedral Heights), but it is a different concept (more upscale).

    Ype Von Hengst (Right)

    Silver Diner co-owner and Executive Chef Ype Von Hengst (a TVFN Chopped and Rewrapped champion) was on hand with his CEO and a huge staff. They continuously checked on the diners that evening (bigwigs and media). So, the service was definitely attentive. The baseball-themed cookies as favors were a nice touch for this event.

    We’ve dined at and ordered takeout and delivery at various Silver Diner locations over the years. We even covered the opening of an Alexandria location during the pandemic. And, I’ve even ordered the steak dish many times. The Old Bay Wings with Mambo Sauce are new though.

    The food was better than anything we’ve experienced at Silver Diner in the past. The steak was perfectly cooked, the wings were crispy and tasty. We tried nicely executed (and yummy) margaritas which had a shot of Cointreau in a tiny lime rind bowl, and the house made ginger ale. Hopefully, this is the normal level of quality for this location and not just the case because it was a heavily staffed and monitored opening event. If the DC location can keep it up, maybe Silver Diner can bring their other restaurants up to this level, from good to great.

    Give the new location a try and comment letting us know if they keep up this really high level of food and service.

    -JAY

    Permalink Filed under: Drinks, Events, Restaurants Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment
  • 19Sep

    The Two-Week Paella Celebration at Spanish Diner has Arrived

    We attended the Paella Fest Kick-Off Party at Jose Andres’ Spanish Diner in Bethesda yesterday. This was to kick-off to its annual, two-week celebration of paella (9/19-10/2). Chef Daniel Lugo cooked shrimp paella outside in front of guests. The other paellas were brought from the kitchen already prepared. Tapas, wine, and sangria were also served; the white sangria was a big hit (and was fizzy).

    We understand that it is difficult to prepare and coordinate food for large groups of people at these party-like events. That said, two of the 4 paellas were very oversalted (the shrimp and the squid ink). Most likely, the paellas will be more spot on when directly ordered from the menu.

    It was a nice event overall and the flamenco dancer was great; it was nice having live entertainment outside. The service was good.

    -JAY

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