In addition to our awesome holiday meal (read more here), we also ate out a lot while we were in Bend, OR last week.
We ordered breakfast from room service at our hotel, The Oxford, a few times and it was really good. The french toast with berry compote, in particular, was awesome. Right next door to the hotel is a brand new doughnut place (as in they opened their doors for the first time the Saturday after Thanksgiving) called Luvs Doughnuts. They make small batches and sell the day-old doughnuts for 50 cents! I had a glazed-yeast raised and Jasper had a chocolate-dipped blueberry cake doughnut – they were pretty good! I also enjoyed my chai latte from there – nice strong flavor.
We also ate at a local breakfast/brunch institution – Chow, which is open every day from 7-2. They focus on local vendors and sustainability and accommodate pretty much any diet. They are happy to make up a unique dish just for you if nothing on the menu suits you. They also have some killer guava mimosas (or man-mosas if you want a bigger drink). This is the only restaurant I thought to take pictures at, so enjoy!
Blurry – sorry!
Bagel with cream cheese, pickled veg (celery, carrots, green beans), salmon, and sprouts.
Chow has a number of signature egg dishes. This one is the blackstone – with poached eggs, cornmeal crusted tomatoes, spinach, bacon, and bearnaise over polenta. Super yummy.
This was the omelette of the day with house potatoes. They make their own hot sauces here, and from what I heard the Carrot-Habanero was amazingly hot and tasty. (more…)
I don’t really know what to say about this place. The reviews were all great, and my husband really liked it, but I wasn’t impressed.
We tried plenty of sushi, as you can see, and I thought it was just average (especially for the price). Taro and Kushi are way better in my opinion.
I was more impressed with this creamy lobster and scallop dish, but not enough to make me come back.
There was nothing really wrong with any of it, but it didn’t stand up to my expectations. My husband might disagree, but I found it to be overpriced for average sushi. The pear martini, however, was delicious.
Earlier this year I wrote about a restaurant called Sea Pearl, mostly in regards to their brunch. That review was pretty positive. I’ve been back a few more times for lunch with more mediocre results.
This lobster roll was pretty decent, but not my favorite in the area. It’s very herby, which isn’t bad – I just don’t prefer it personally. I would say that Coastal Flats has better. Also, though the garlic rosemary fries were good, I wasn’t a fan of the boring side salad that came with.
This burger was pretty good with the caramelized and pickled onions. But the foie gras was unnecessary. I can’t believe I’m saying that because it was the main reason I ordered the burger, but it just felt like it didn’t belong (unlike the stellar version at Mockingbird Bistro in Houston, TX).
Lastly, the Hudson Valley roll was a huge flop. Seared foie gras, raw tuna, and green apple with a balsamic plum wine reduction. This just didn’t work, and the foie had a weird bitter taste. I noticed it on the burger, too, so however they are cooking their foie here is no good.
I think I’m going to be sticking to brunch for awhile.
I’d been meaning to try this restaurant for a while, but it is inside a hotel which always makes me wary – overpriced and mediocre quality are the norm. The website claims that the chef is devoted to farm-to-table cooking and that they have an organic garden that provide herbs and produce and that they use local meats – I’m a sucker for all of that. So I finally just went over there for lunch to try it out.
My first impression was that the space is GORGEOUS – modern, impeccably designed. The hotel is very modern and upscale on the inside, too – which you cannot tell from the outside. The restaurant is long and narrow, with huge windows that run down the entire length of one side and provide lots of light during the day. When you enter, you walk past the kitchen with wood burning stove (hence the name) on the right and a large, glass-encased wine room on the left. The dining room is decorated with pearlescent white leather, pale green, and purple alligator print – very modern and luxe. There are glass fireplaces set at intervals throughout, just in case you forgot the name of the restaurant. It’s very trendy and modern and I totally love it.
Now, the food – good quality with inconsistent pricing.
The lobster roll is what brought me here over the summer. The quality of the lobster salad was good and the buttery brioche bread was tasty, but as usual the ratio of bread to lobster was too high. Red Hook Lobster Pound really has spoiled me for life. I wasn’t a big fan of the house chips – nice crunch but no flavor. The pickles, however, were fantastic – and served in an adorable tiny jar with a tiny spear fork.
This turkey sandwich is very much Thanksgiving-esque with caramelized onion, cranberry mayo, and their signature bacon jam. That isn’t deli turkey, either – it is big slabs of roasted turkey breast. Huge, delicious, good value.
The fall agnolotti was very good, too, wit brown butter, crispy sage, lemon ricotta, and walnuts. I didn’t see any figs though, which are listed in the description. Here’s where the prices here get a little wonky – that giant turkey sandwich was $13.50, and this tiny appetizer sized pasta (which is billed as an entree) is $16. I mean – what?
My husband said he liked this turkey chili with white beans, cheddar, creme friache, and hot sauce. But I thought it was overpriced – $20 for a bowl of chili, just because it’s listed as a main instead of a soup or appetizer.
Here is an example of the uneven pricing that swings the other way, thank goodness. This giant dessert of fresh made butterscotch pudding (served warm) with scotch soaked pound cake, salted caramel sauce, and fresh whipped cream is enough for 4 people, easy – and it’s priced the same as the other desserts! It is ridiculously decadent and delicious and I love that they serve it in a pot with the little Le Creuset spatula.
We also got to try a free dessert that the chef was working on – angel food cake with more of that salted caramel and whipped cream. When I saw it I thought – boring. But it was actually really good. The thing with simple dishes is that each component has to be top notch, and that was the case here. Now I get why the chef wanted people to try it for free – you might not order that if you saw it on the menu, but once you knew how good it was that would change.
Here’s an insider tip – if you check in using the Yelp app, you will get a coupon to take home a little jar of bacon jam! Do it – it’s fantastic.
My takeaway from Harth is that the main plates are overpriced, so stay away from those. Stick with the creative sandwiches, huge salads, and wood fired flatbreads. If you are with a group, definitely get that butterscotch pudding. And take advantage of the fact that Mon-Fri any glass of wine is $8.
As a thank you to all the bloggers and media folks supporting their events, DC Wine Week hosted an invitation only brunch at Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar. The space is very cool – a three story townhouse with big windows and modern decor.
There were three sparkling wines available for tasting: Ca’del Pucino Prosecco, Lovisolo Brut Nebbiolo Spumante Rose, and Opera Lambrusco. The Lambrusco was our favorite – a sparkling red with raspberry notes that reminded us of our favorite black raspberry port from Fabbioli.
Small bites of brunch food were served buffet style. This was a sneak peek at the new brunch menu at Sonoma, just for us!
On the menu were roasted baby beet skewers, prosciutto wrapped melon, French toast bites with apple and cinnamon, cured meats, and cheeses with homemade fruit spreads. The big item on the buffet was a breakfast “burger” – with a house-made sausage patty, bacon, and Cabot white cheddar on a house-made bun.
Everything was very tasty so I would love to check out the regular brunch menu, or the dinner menu, or any menu – why isn’t this place in NoVA?!
And that brings us to the end of DC Wine Week! We had a great time and will definitely be participating next year. I hope to see you there!
What’s your favorite wine bar? Leave your answer in the comments.
Wednesday night’s DC Wine Week event was an outdoor wine tasting at the Italian Ristorante I Ricchi. Venders offered tastings of 16 Italian wines, plus 2 full glasses of your choice. Cheese and charcuterie were served, as well as a few grilled dishes, while Chef Ricchi herself made the rounds to talk with guests.
Chef Ricchi managed a family restaurant in Tuscany for close to two decades, before coming to DC to open a restaurant here in 1989. She serves authentic, rustic Tuscan food and creates events like the weekly Women’s Club – where women can enjoy 50% off while they network. We really enjoyed talking with her about Tuscany, where we spent our honeymoon.
The grilled food we were served at the event consisted of a decent chicken skewer and an outstanding bean and sausage dish. The later contained white beans with tomato and rosemary, served with a grilled sausage and a stick of (addictive) fried polenta.
White
Vernaccia di San Gimignano – Montenidoli
Pinot Grigio – Jermann
Chardonnay – Antica, Antinori
Soave Classica – Suavia
Greco di Tufo – Loggia Della Serra
Red
Valpolicella Classico – Nicolis
Dolcetto – Marcarini Boschi di Berri
Il Bruciato – Guado al Tasso, Antinori
Chianti Classico – Il Molino di Grace
Cabernet Sauvignon – Antica, Antinori
Col Solare – Antinori/Chateau Ste. Michelle
Barbera d’Asti – Damilano
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – Fattoria del Cerro
The standouts for us were the Soave Classica (a funky, earthy white) and the Col Solare (predominately Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec). We were offered the opportunity to purchase the showcased wines at a discount from Schneider’s of Capitol Hill.
The weather was gorgeous, the piazza was lovely, and the wine was flowing – truly a lovely night.
This month is the 25th Anniversary of Virginia Wine Month, which I didn’t know about until last week. I also didn’t know about DC Wine Week, which kicked off it’s 3rd year last night, until I got a special invite to attend some of the events. You see, the co-founders are social media marketing experts, and they scour the web looking for locals who might get excited about their events. And let me tell you, I was excited.
Lisa Byrne and Vanessa French started DC Wine Week as a celebration of all things wine, but especially of local wines and the places that serve them. So it makes sense that they chose Veritas Wine Bar (one of the best wine bars in the city and, I’m told, one of the first) for their opening event.
This was my first time at Veritas, but I would love to go back. The selected wines were all new to me, and all fantastic; and the cheese and charcuterie pairings were outstanding on their own, but also some of the best examples of food and wine pairings I have ever experienced. These guys know what they are doing. Period. Special shout-out to Uri Martinez, who took really good care of us even though the place was packed. They do seem to serve their reds at room temp, whereas I like them around 55 degrees, but it’s hard to find anyone who puts a little chill on a red.
I don’t have many photos of the event, so here are some shots of me doing silly poses. You’re welcome.
Wines and Pairings
1) Sparkling, Rossignol de Moragas, ‘Brut,’ Cava, Penedes, Spain, NV – This was clean, crisp, and dry (everything I love in a sparkling wine) and paired with some fantastically meaty (read: not thin and dry) prosciutto.
2) Sparkling, Cricova, Spumante Original, Brut, Moldova, NV – As much as I liked the first wine, I liked this one even more. Also crisp and dry, it had a lot of floral going on that brought out the more complex flavors (like juniper) in the wild boar salumi it was paired with.
3) Chardonnay, Slo Down Wines, ‘Broken Dreams,’ California, 2012 – Oh my gosh, you guys – this wine. My favorite of the night, possibly my new favorite ever. This is not your standard buttery CA Chardonnay (which is good, because I don’t like those) – full bodied and fruity (think tropical), this reminded me more of a dry Riesling. It was paired with a firm sheep’s cheese from Spain called P’tit Basque. The guys who make Broken Dreams are hilarious, and the wine is less that $20 a bottle. Seriously, check it out.
4) Viognier, Barboursville, ‘Reserve,’ Virginia, 2012 – VA is famous for Viognier, so of course there had to be one on the list! This particular one was very nice, with a good amount of terroir (aka funk). We really loved the cheese it was paired with – a firm cow’s cheese with peppercorns from Oregon called Marco Polo. With the wine, I was picking up notes of citrus and herb in the cheese – super yum!
5) Pinot Noir, Laetitia, Arroyo Grand, California, 2012 – Light bodied and dry with notes of cherry, this was paired with a killer braseola. It didn’t set off the allergic reaction I get with some Pinots, so that was definitely a plus for me!
6) Tempranillo, Baron Ladron De Guevara, Rioja, Spain, 2012 – Medium bodied, dry, and jammy and paired with an outstanding duck rillete. Neither of us really likes pates or terrines, and we loved this rillete, so that says a lot.
7) Sparkling, Aecovi, ‘Penelope,’ Jerez, Spain, NV – This was another favorite. Very sweet, a sparkling dessert wine, with honeyed apple notes that reminded me of a Tokai. Paired with a creamy and salty blue cheese.
And here is Jasper – drinking and thinking. What a cutie!
This event was super fun. I learned a lot, I met some cool people, and I had some really great food and wine. Be sure to go to www.dcwineweek.com and sign up for one of the events!
We finally got to try out Top Chef Alum Mike Isabella’s DC restaurant Graffiato. Of course by now the buzz has died down and he has opened 2 other restaurants, doh! But that’s okay, it means it was easy to get a table, even on the weekend. The restaurant is trendy and urban and almost a little hipster, with rustic wood tables and graphic, cartoon wall murals. The cocktails are inventive and the wine list is good; they are even using a new type of device that let’s them pour from a bottle without removing the cork and without introducing oxygen, so that they can do wines by the glass that never would have been available before. Nifty. The food is Italian style small plates, which overall were quite yummy. It is overpriced, though, which is what you get with “celebrity” chef’s in already pricey places like DC. So just be prepared for sticker shock if you go.
First small plate was burrata with kumquat and shaved smoked pork loin. A beautiful mix of creamy, sweet, tangy, smokey, and salty – A+.
Next up was the charred octopus, which was good but wasn’t as charred as I would like it and definitely wasn’t better than Nostos’s.
We also had the focaccia with Mike’s famous pepperoni sauce, which I didn’t get a photo of. I was surprised at how good the sauce was, considering I am not a fan of pepperoni. Jasper, who loves pepperoni, was a big fan.
Ravioli special – chicken and mushroom. This, along with the sweet corn agnolotti that I didn’t get a photo of, was the best dish in my opinion.
This pappardelle with rabbit was good, but not great.
It was the same story with the seashells pasta with snails and bone marrow – good, but not great. Here I think the problem was a mint pesto that was overwhelming.
We were focused on ordering small plates to get a sampling of the menu, so we weren’t able to order a pizza. I hear that they are fantastic, so I would like to return to try one (the countryman, in particular). I would say that the stuffed pastas are smaller portions than the other pastas, but have much better flavor; the burrata was a standout; and the pepperoni sauce is worth the hype. If I hadn’t been with my meat loving husband, I would have loved to try some vegetable dishes. Isabella treats his ingredients with care, so I imagine that he could make a simple vegetable dish amazing.
Overall, worth a try if you can afford it. Valet is available, but it is right next to the Chinatown Metro stop.
I have written about Marcel’sbefore, but not extensively enough considering it is our special occasion place. It is where Jasper proposed to me (and I said yes) and where we spend most of our anniversaries and New Year’s. It’s also where we go every time we see a show at the Kennedy center. The provide a special Pre-Theater menu (though you can also do 3 or 4 courses off of the tasting menu), make sure that you get out on time, and provide a car service to and from the theater – brilliant! They also have just the best people working there – from Adnane Kebaier, the Maitre d’ who always greets us by our names and seems happy to see us (here is an interesting interview with him about the ins and outs of the job), to Moez Ben Achour, the fabulous Sommelier, and especially our usual server, Jonathan Crayne, who is also the Senior Captain – everyone is just amazing. Anyway, I’ve never been able to show you photos of their food because it’s usually very dark by the time we get there. But we recently went for a Pre-Theater (for Book of Mormon, which is HILARIOUS by the way) and because it is summer, the sun was still out! So I am able to show you some of the gorgeous dishes from our favorite restaurant!
An amuse bouche from the chef – smoked salmon with creme friache, chives, and caviar.
An elegant take on Crab Louis – crab, avocado, and tomato gelee with remoulade.
Alaskan salmon – smoked in house – with red onion, chives, pine nuts, and croutons.
The melt-in-your-mouth signature dish – Boudin Blanc. This is our absolute favorite, we both order it every single time (even though they have started adding a $12 supplement). It is a white poultry sausage that is more like a mousse – so light and creamy, but also rich. It usually comes in a truffle sauce of some sort – this time with bits of foie gras in it!
Steak with mushrooms, potato puree, bone marrow. This was Jasper’s entree so I don’t know much about it except that he let me eat the marrow.
We both ordered the same dessert – peach souffle with peach ice cream and blueberry sauce. You can’t get more summery than that!
I’m so glad I was finally able to share photos with you from a place that is so special to us!
Ah, the ever-continuing quest to find good sushi in VA. The menu for Sushi Prince had such unique stuff on it that I had to try it out. A few good items, but mostly this was a disappointment – not worth a return trip.
This is the item on the menu that really caught my eye – the Viagra Shooter. Sea urchin, salmon roe, and raw quail egg in ponzu and sake. What?! It was really good, but impossible to actually shoot. I had to get my chopsticks in there and pull out the uni, then shoot it. Super fun, though.
Another super weird combination – Monkey Fingers. These are bananas wrapped in basil, then beef, then fried and topped with a creamy sauce. It does actually work, somehow, but not perfectly. Very interesting, but I don’t know that I would order it again.
This was probably my favorite dish – big chunks of white tuna with avocado and nuta (sweet miso sauce). The tuna was fresh and I liked the thick, sweet sauce with the avocado.
BBQ eel bowl with rice, avocado, and tamago. This was pretty good (it’s hard to mess up unagi), but the tamago was AWFUL – you can tell just by looking at it.
One of their creative rolls – a BLT made with shrimp tempura, asparagus, bacon, and tomato with balsamic glaze. Cool idea but it didn’t really work – the bacon wasn’t cooked enough and it was too big of a bite.
Another creative roll that fell flat. The carbonara roll has scallop and shrimp with tamago, bacon, asparagus, and creamy masago with balsamic glaze and pesto. The flavors didn’t really come together, it just didn’t work.
We did order some normal sushi, it was pretty “meh”.
The kushi yaki was alright.
All in all this was pretty disappointing and below average, I wouldn’t recommend it.
