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.

24 Hours in the City of Brotherly Love

by EP

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Annie at her home in Philadelphia, PA. You might remember her from our Adventures in St. Louis a few years ago. Not only is Philly a great historic town with fanatical sports fans and a pretty killer food scene -- it also happens to be my birthplace. Woot! We celebrated my big 3-0 in Philly last summer and had a totally fabulous time. (I still count our meal at Zahav as one of the best in my whole life. Yes it's that good.)

I was pretty pumped to visit Annie, her husband Chet, and their baby James for a short but fun-filled visit. I don't like showing up places empty-handed so I brought a small sweet treat to Annie and family: Mexican-Spiced Hot Fudge. Blog and recipe to be posted soon!

Pizza Hunter: DC Edition

by EP

Pizza: possibly the world's most perfect food. Good for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Be honest - you know cold pizza cures what ails you.

Pizza Pizza!

I've lived in DC for nine months now and I've spent that time on the hunt for good pizza. It's kind of a cliche amongst DC food-lovers that there's "no good pizza in this town," but I'm happy to report that I've found a few solid spots in my local travels. Below I've outlined both the hits and the misses, and like Xani did years ago with her burger rating scale, I've given the places below a rating from 1 to 10 slices, 10 being the best.

Spring has Sprung at B&O Brasserie!

by Xani

The long days, the warm weather, the birds chirping (and the Birds fans cheering!).... you know it's springtime in Charm City!  And with spring comes the farmers' markets, wonderful new produce, and an exciting new menu at B&O Brasserie.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a Media dinner to check out the menu and the new chef at B&O.  As a longtime fan, I knew I was in for a treat.  What I didn't know was that Chef Brad Willits had transformed the menu and was going to dazzle us with fabulous new dishes.

Chef Brad Willits showing a big fish who's boss!

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

by EP

Hanukkah is over and Christmas is upon us, but before I head up to Plympton, Mass. to celebrate Christmas with Xani and Dave and Dave's family (and eat, and drink, and eat), I wanted to share two Hanukkah meals that I'll be sure to remember for years to come:

DGS Delicatessen: During Hanukkah, I was able to visit a new restaurant in Dupont Circle called DGS Delicatessen.  I heard about its recent opening via Twitter (of course) and after one look at the menu, I knew I had to go.  The menu featured old-school Jewish goodies like kasha varniskas, chopped liver, flanken, kreplach, and knishes, but taken to a unique and/or classed-up level.  For example, the knishes are made with lamb merguez and lentils; the kreplach are filled with bacalao (salt cod); and the chopped liver is topped with gribenes (fried chicken skin leftover from rendering chicken fat - schmaltz!*)).

A Warm Welcome to DC at Graffiato

by EP

Last week, to welcome me to DC, my wonderful friends Mark and Craig (you might remember them from the amazing trip to Chicago last winter to celebrate Craig's birthday) took me out to dinner.  We went to a restaurant I'd be hearing about through the DC bloggers for years it seems: Graffiato.  Graffiato is owned by Mike Isabella, of Top Chef fame, and I had heard absolutely wonderful things about it and was pumped to finally go for myself.

I met Mark, Craig, and Craig's aunt Jeannie in the bar area while we waited for a table.  Of course, we enjoyed some bubbly while we waited - what kind of fool waits without a cocktail in hand?!  After a brief wait, the hostess lead us to our table (and even took our drinks for us so we wouldn't spill as we walked up the kinda-steep staircase). 

Our waiter was adorable and wonderful, and he had been Mark and Craig's waiter before in the past -- he even remembered that Mark had a nut allergy!  He was friendly enough to the ladies at the table, but truth be told his energy and enthusiasm were geared towards the gentlemen.  This is when we realized he was very likely gay and was totally flirting with Mark.  No matter, we used it to our advantage and had a great time and great service.

Mark and Jeannie, ready to eat!

RA! RA! RA!

by Xani

No, I'm not cheering for the Orioles.  Well, I am, like everyone else in Baltimore, but that's not what the title references.  Instead I'm referring to RA Sushi Bar and Restaurant, where I was invited to a Media Dinner for the opportunity to sample their new menu items.  RA changed up their menu earlier this summer to include some new, fresh items, and because EP is so busy preparing for her big move (look out Silver Spring!), I brought Dave along with me to the tasting (lucky guy).

RA, as always, has a rockin' vibe, with red globe fixtures providing mood light and pounding music (a little too loud for this old lady, but the rest of the crowd seemed to be enjoying it).  The place was pretty packed at 7pm on a Wednesday, with lots of people taking advantage of the great happy hour specials.

Dave and I were seated and were lucky enough to be taken care of by Scott, the General Manager, who was super-attentive and helpfully explained each course to us.  And there were a lot!  But first, cocktails.

Ginger Blossom

Coconut mojito

I had the Ginger Blossom (Tito's Vodka, fresh muddled strawberry, pink grapefruit, fresh lime and ginger beer), and Dave had the Coconut Mojito (light rum muddled with fresh lime, sugar, soda and fresh mint).  The Ginger Blossom was tasty but just a tad too sweet for me, but I'm a sucker for anything coconut and I thought the coconut mojito was excellent.  Dave must have liked it too; by the time I went to steal a second taste, it was gone!

Dip not pictured

The first course of food came out right away, and consisted of Edamame Dip, Bonfire Shrimp, and Garlic Edamame.  The dip, served with crispy wonton chips (who doesn't love a fried wonton??) was very creamy and had spinach in it-- sortof an Asian take on spinach and artichoke dip?  Very tasty.  The garlic edamame, which were traditional steamed edamame in the shell, followed by a saute in garlicky butter and Asian seasoning, were also good but messy to eat!  Make sure you only order these if you don't mind licking your fingers in front of your dining companions.  The bonfire shrimp were lightly breaded and fried and coated in a chili sauce that had just the right amount of heat.  I also loved the shisito pepper that came with this dish- great flavor.

Before we could say "we're losing the light!" the next course came out: a sampling of their new crispy Asian tacos.

Last picture before the sun went down

These were awesome!  First of all, I was impressed with the creativity of the taco shell itself, which is made from flash-fried rice paper.  It was so light and crispy (and not greasy at all), and a perfect vehicle for the yummy fillings.  My favorite filling was the chicken, which was a chilled shredded sake steamed chicken with asian vegetables-- the chicken was very moist with incredible flavor, plus that crispy crunch from the shell!  Delicious.  We also sampled the "RA"ckin shrimp taco (very good) and the Spicy salmon taco, which included guacamole so of course it was great!  The spicy salmon taco was the only raw fish served on the tasting menu, but Scott told us there is also a spicy tuna taco on the menu, not to mention their entire sushi menu.  So RA definitely does raw, if that's what you are into (which, of course, I am.)

OK, at this point, I admit, I was getting full (those tacos were BIG).  But, a food blogger has certain duties, so we pressed onto the next course.  Small bowls of Drunken Black Mussels were brought out, along with spoons so we could drink the broth.  The mussels were excellent but man were we happy about those spoons!  The broth was to die for.  The mussels are cooked in garlic, seasoned soy sauce, and butter.  I could have drunk a vat of the stuff. Yum!

The final plate contained samples of three new dishes: Salmon with green beans, Black Pepper Teryaki Chicken Wings, and Chili Ponzu Asian Chicken Wings.  While everything was tasty, this plate had the least "wow factor" as far as uniqueness.  That said, the salmon, served with still-crunchy green beans, was well-cooked, not dry at all, with an excellent spicy yuzu sauce.  The wings were nice and meaty and both had great flavor.  I especially liked the Black Pepper wings, which had huge black pepper flavor but weren't too spicy- magic!

Dessert- oy, I could barely eat another bite but when they brought out a teeny portion of mochi (ice cream wrapped in sweet rice cake) I couldn't resist.  A nice sweet bite to end a delicious evening.

Thanks so much to RA for the great meal-- rice paper taco shells, now why didn't I think of that??

Go O's,

X

A Blog-Worthy Birthday

by Xani

I'm just coming out of the haze of happiness that I lived in for the past few days while celebrating my birthday.  Now its all work deadlines, broken dishwashers, bills to pay and blogs to write.  No wait, I take that last one back.  Let me re-live the weekend by sharing with all of you!

The past few years we've headed up to NYC to celebrate my birthday.  Always a fabulous, but exhausting time.  This year, we decided to rest our old bones (?) and keep it local.  Erin hosted me at her house (complete with a real guest room and surprisingly comfortable air mattress) for the whole weekend and we lived. it. up!

It all started Friday night, when I headed to Erin's with a car full of cooking/baking supplies, doughs, plastic cutlery, way too many clothes, and this:

Eddie only stuck around for the early part of the evening-- a little later his daddy picked him up so that EP and I could get to the business of failing at macarons.  Sigh.  We had prepared ourselves for this likely outcome but it was still a bummer.  We're blaming it on our lack of a convection oven.  Despite EP's research, including getting specific guidance from Chef Briony in actual FRANCE, our little disks refused to form a foot, formed cracks, and just generally flopped.  We tossed them and drowned our sorrows in champagne and delivery from Kebab Stop (not bad stuff if you are in the Mt. Washington area).

The "before" may look promising, but the afters got thrown in the trash :(

The next day, we awoke refreshed and with one thing on our mind: shopping.  After a getting our fix, we returned to EP's house, knocked a few things off our prep list for the next morning's brunch, and then started preparing ourselves for our much awaited dinner at Wit and Wisdom, the swanky Michael Mina restaurant in the new Four Seasons Hotel downtown.  We had been looking forward to this meal for weeks.

Despite the build-up, W&W did not disappoint.  At every turn the service was better and better- valet, coat-check, bar-tenders, waiters, etc, etc.  The drinks at the bar were as creative and quaff-able as everyone has been telling me (try the Sticky Wicket!).  Once we headed to our table (with a view of the open kitchen AND the waterfront, beat that, other tables!) I was thrilled to see a birthday card waiting for me which had been signed by the whole W&W staff.  And it just got better from there!  Our waiter Paul was perfect in every way, and the only thing more perfect than him was the food.  Here it is, in all its splendor:

GUNPOWDER BISON TARTARE | 

 anson mills green farro, upland cress

Rice Porridge with duck tongues, crispy onions, egg

AMISH RABBIT BOUDIN & COUNTRY-FRIED LOIN 

Insanely Good Broccoli (not the official name)

"Scorched Wheat" fettucine with kale and perfect egg

Special Birthday dessert!

Red Velvet Goodness

Not all the dishes we ate are on the restaurants website, so I had to paraphrase a  little with the descriptions.  But even without official/accurate descriptions, how gorgeous are these plates?  And they tasted even better than they look.  The two starters were excellent- the bison tartare was perfectly executed, but the porridge was the real star, just because it was so different, and tasted SO good.  EP and I are suckers for gruel anyway, and this was like gruel to the Nth degree!  Both mains were excellent as well- the pasta was nutty and al dente, and the eggy, buttery sauce reassured you that this was NOT health food, despite the kale.  All three elements of the rabbit dish were excellent: the country-fried loin, crisp and crunchy; the confit legs, rich and melt in your mouth.  But the boudin was the overall winner-- just bursting with great flavor.  Add some broccoli served with hunks of bread that had been fried crisp in bacon fat, and you've got yourself a hell of a meal!

We finished things off with a couple of gorgeous creations by the pastry chef.  At this point I was nearing saturation of both food and alcohol, so memories are especially hazy.  We snapped one last picture and got out of there before we could eat or drink anything else.

Already thinking about tomorrow's brunch...

The next meal in the weekend's parade of food was a Ladies' Brunch Sunday morning.  We hosted six of our girlfriends and plied them with mimosas, bloody marys, and carbs.  What could be bad about that??

Menu:

• Mimosa Bar (peach puree, strawberry puree, OJ)
• Fruit Plate
• Made from Scratch Bread Basket
• Nutty Fruity Sourdough
• No-Knead Baguette
• Orange-scented Olive Oil Cornmeal Muffins
• Pomegranate-Clementine Butter
• Honey-Five Spice Butter
• Mixed Berry Cream Cheese
• Sausage Biscuit Babies
• Spinach Gruyere Strata

We fancy, huh

A spread of spreads

Call it a strata, call it a bread pudding, just don't call me late for brunch!

fruit to fill in the corners

I think these pictures tell the tale better than I can with words.  My bread-baking hobby is sliding in to the "obsession" territory, thus I insisted on making the baguette, sourdough, muffins and biscuits from scratch.  We made the sausage patties as well (and I still think wrapping them in parchment was the cutest touch!).  The strata is truly the perfect brunch dish- fully assembled the day before, it baked to perfection while our guests nibbled the other offerings.  Most importantly the brunch featured good friends, lots of laughs, and many cocktails.

Some ladies enjoying some drinks

Sisters celebrating!

 After digesting for over 24 hours, I somehow found it possible to eat again.  One final meal rounded out this fantastic weekend.  Dave offered to cook a special birthday dinner, menu of my choosing.  I went classic: raw oysters, NY strip steaks, potatoes, spinach.  Dave truly outdid himself with  the execution of this meal:

Something something about the walrus and the carpenter....

Steak by candlelight

The oysters?  Amazing.  The steak? None other than the premium dry-aged stuff from the new Harris Teeter in our 'hood. We were shocked at how flavorful they were.  The taste was very different from non-aged beef.  We both were reminded of flavors like parmesan, mushrooms, even fish.  Maybe its the umami thing all the kids are talking about.  Oh, and of course they were perfectly medium rare (thank you America's Test Kitchen reipe), and sat alongside crispy, cheesy hasselback potatoes and some damn fine creamed spinach (a favorite of mine since I was a toddler).  He really knows the way to my heart... I am a lucky lady!

Could a girl ask for a more fabulous or delicious birthday??  I think not.  Thank you to everyone who made it so special <3 <3 <3

X

Moules Frites Worth the Wait

by EP

Some sad news to share: my bestie, Rachel, who readers might remember was my companion (and translator) in Paris last spring, is moving back to her hometown of San Francisco :(  I know what you're thinking: "EP, this is the perfect excuse to visit and eat lots of SF treats!"  I hear your cry.  I realize that this is the case, and don't you worry, I will be heading out to CA in a few months for a visit!  But until then, my best friend will be across the country instead of an hour's drive away in DC, and I am sad potatoes over it.

Due to her impending departure, we have been making an extra effort to hang out more and do things we've always said we were going to do but never actually did.  For instance, a few weekends ago, we visited the DC Brau brewery. This is the only brewery in the District and we had a great time touring and trying free samples of their hoppy brews.  I highly recommend it as a daytime activity with some fun hipster-watching, and a chance to support a local business.

I Heart Cabbage

by EP

Maybe it's my Russian roots, maybe it's a significantly delayed impact of having a Cabbage Patch Kid as a child, but I am seriously in love with cabbage these days.  It's not just for summertime treats like cole slaw over a delicious pulled pork sandwich (though that is of course a wonderful iteration).  Recently Xani and I enjoyed it raw over crispy fish tacos at Captain Larry's in Federal Hill.  I enjoy a hearty helping of New Kraut (Ba-Tampte brand) on fabulous half-smoke Polish sausages that our parents procure for us.  Seriously, these Manger's brand half-smokes are the best hot dog I've ever eaten.

B&O Does Coffee and Donuts (and more!)

by EP & X

Last week, we were invited to attend a press dinner at one of our favorite Baltimore spots, the B&O American Brasserie.  Long-time readers will remember that we've been many times and always enjoy the seasonal menu, interesting cocktails, playful desserts, and beautiful space.  And last week was no different!  We enjoyed a number of outstanding dishes while chatting away with other Baltimore food bloggers and journalists including Dara of Dining Dish and Nakiya of Taste of Baltimore.  

We started with champagne (much, much needed after the stress of work these days), but we had to try some of the bartender's amazing and always interesting cocktails.  Xani got The Cadizian, for which the B&O bartender won the title in a recent cocktail contest where the featured spirit was sherry.  I got the "Law Dog," which featured Grey Goose, Galliano, grapefruit juice, and orange syrup.  Yum yum yum (and a little tipsy).

Xani's drink; EP & Nakiya chat in the background

Celebrity Karma Strikes Again

by EP

Xani and I haven't had the best of luck in our quest to meet celebrities.  Sure, we've hung out with Michael Midgley of Top Chef fame, and we saw Dennis Quaid at In N Out Burger in LA.  We also spied a handful of celebs when we were in NYC for Xani's birthday in February (ahem, Sandra Oh and Michael Imperioli -- not together), but for the most part, we repel celebrities, instead of attracting them.  Don't they know we're up and coming celebs ourselves?!

We thought, when we went to try Chazz: A Bronx Original, a new Italian-American restaurant in Harbor East, that our luck just might be turning around -- after all, one of the owners is Oscar-nominated Chazz Palminteri!

We arrived in the welcoming space on Aliceanna St., and unfortunately, our bad luck had struck again.  No Chazz (except in photos and movies playing on screens around the restaurant).  But, in place of producing a famous person, the friendly staff at Chazz provided us with a fantastic evening.

Porkapalooza

by Xani

I travel often, and I of course I eat when I travel, but I don't often travel just to eat.  This past weekend's visit to Boston was the exception to the rule.

A few weeks ago, an email arrived from Dave's Mom, M.  Attached was a scanned copy of an article from The Boston Herald, all about how Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar does a pig roast for groups of 10 or more, and Boston foodies are raving about the experience.  She had scheduled a dinner with a group of local friends for April 10-- was there any way we could join them?

Wow, what an invitation!  Were we really going to travel a few hundred miles for roast pig?  Well, in a word, yes.

Our Salty Ticket to Fame

by EP

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a reporter at the Daily Record, a business/legal newspaper asking if I would be interested in being interviewed about the blog for their weekly story about lawyers with interesting hobbies.  I, being an honest and loving sister and co-blogger, politely replied that I write the blog with my sister, and we are a package deal, so to speak.  And oh by the way, we are both lawyers.  Cha-ching!  Entertainment GOLD.

New Chef and New Season at B&O Brasserie!

by Xani

Sometimes, it's good to be a food blogger. In the past week, EP and I have been lucky enough to dine at two of Baltimore's best restaurants: Salt  (don't worry, post coming soon!) and B&O American Brasserie.  Now we've blogged about B&O before, but last night we were invited to try out the new B&O, with new Executive Chef Thomas Dunklin at the helm.  And, not to put too fine a point on it, the new menu ROCKS!

Check out that ink!

What's BCD up to Tonight??

by Xani

Are we spinning a salad, kneading dough, or roasting a whole pig?  NO!  We're headed out to a little spot known for it's kobe beef sliders, duck fat fries and green lighting.  And we won't be alone-- a reporter and photographer will be joining us.  That's right, we're getting interviewed!  For a real publication!  We're totally excited for the meal and the opportunity.

Details and links to come as soon as we have them.  I can taste those fries already...

X

Dinner at Vino Rosina: Snails and Marrow and Sweetbreads, Oh My!

by EP

Right before Christmas, to really kick off the gluttony of the holidays and my trip to Las Vegas (post on B&B Ristorante, a Mario Batali establishment, coming soon), I went to dinner with my good friend Lydia.  We wanted to try somewhere neither of us had been, and Vino Rosina, located in Harbor East across from the Whole Foods, was on my list. [Disclaimer: it was really dim in the restaurant, so I didn't take any pictures.  Okay okay, I forgot my camera.  But the pictures would have been crappy -- crappier than normal, anyway.]

We were both impressed by the cozy yet open design of the restaurant.  Guests are greeted with a large square bar, with the dining room towards the back.  The dining area had a view of the kitchen (or at least the final prep station), which we appreciated.  The place was packed for a Tuesday night, and we were excited.

It’s Game Day at the Island Grille

by Dennis

Regular visitors to BCD know that BCD parents live on the eastern shore of Maryland, on Taylors Island, (see Facebook)  about 18 miles west of Cambridge.   Dorchester County is the largest (by area) and one of the smallest (by population) of the Maryland counties and its citizens are by and large insistent on preserving   its rural and rustic nature.   This extends to the cuisine.  Although there are a few exceptions (Bistro Poplar and Clearview), fine dining is not the reason to come to Dorchester County.  On the other hand, this area abounds in the traditional eastern shore seafood delicacies and on Taylors Island one can buy, direct from the boat, the oysters and crabs that will later make their way across the Bay in trucks.  And there are many local restaurants that do justice to these treasures.  But this article is not about the bounty of the sea.

Say What??

Hobohalloweekend: Part 3

by Xani

After the scrumptious meal at Tabla, we slept off our full-ness, packed up our stuff, and headed to our last stop of the weekend, Sunday brunch at Bubby's.

Being Charitable is Delicious

by Erin

Hey folks!  First, thanks to all who have been submitting their daily votes for us in the Mobbies!  We really appreciate all of your support, so keep it up!  You can vote once a day by clicking HERE until Nov. 12 at 5pm.

We also wanted to let you know about two exciting (and yummy) charity events happening over the next few weeks...

Desserts at Mr. Rain's Fun House, one of the featured restaurants at "Life is Sweet"