A Rose By Any Other Name

by EP

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Rose's Luxury in the Eastern Market/Barracks Row neighborhood. This place is on every top restaurant list and is the talk of the town (at least, according to my twitter feed). I had been wanting to go but in the back of my mind was skeptical - is this place really that amazing? I'm pretty snobby - maybe this place isn't all it's cracked up to be? Spoiler alert: IT IS.

During the polar vortex that brought temperatures in the area down to single digits (not to mention the wind chills), best buddies Mark and Craig and I headed down to Southeast DC. Normally the wait time is about 2 hours at Rose's, even if you get there right when they open at 5:30. Yeesh. Mark got there at 5:40 and by some polar vortex miracle, we were seated at 6:10. I was excited, to say the least. There may have been applause when we were seated. Maybe.

Holiday Gifts 2013: Just Add Vodka

by EP

This year, while I made plenty of cookies, I didn't give them away as formal holiday gifts, as I've done in the past. I wanted to do something a little different. I was inspired by my friend Ginger, who gave me a small bottle of homemade vanilla extract last year, which I used in all my baking until it was gone. I cleverly told everyone that whatever treat I'd made was made with "local vanilla."