January 2014 Happenings

Welcome to February! January was a busy and very very cold month. Here's a brief run down of January 2014!

- #Polar Vortex: I am so over this weather. We experienced 6.6 inches of snowfall in January and I have lost count of how many single digit degree days we have had. This has been by far the coldest winter we've had since I moved here in 2011. Is it spring yet?

January 21, 2014

January 21, 2014

January 25, 2014

- RAMW Restaurant Week: I got to experience a new restaurant this month as well as enjoy another meal at an old favorite during DC Restaurant Week. There has been some noise about how Restaurant Week isn't really a good deal and might also be a rip off. I don't disagree, but you can also find good deals by scouring the menus and picking high price point restaurants. 

I had a lunch date with myself at Sushi Taro, my favorite sushi restaurant in DC. My lunch was comprised of a 3 box tasting of shrimp and vegetable tempura, salmon and albacore tuna sashimi and soba. For my sushi course, I received eel, yellowtail, tuna, salmon, white fish and shrimp nigiri and salmon and avocado maki. Lunch ended with a serving of green tea ice cream. Yum! And not bad for $20! 

Raisin Bread and I had a friend who was in town for a week on business so we set up a Restaurant Week excursion with him to Charlie Palmer Steak on Capitol Hill. I don't often find myself around the Hill but this establishment was teeming with Hilly people. 

I started my meal with a cocktail called The Lobbyist's Libation (Hendrick's Gin martini with cucumber puree and lemon-infused simple syrup). I wasn't at the table when our amuse bouche arrived, but it was yummy and tasted like tomato soup. 

For my three course meal, I had the red oak and roasted beet salad with crisp goat cheese, black walnut and a sherry shallot vinaigrette, the grilled angus sirloin with short rib ravioli, sweet potato puree, braised swiss chard and black garlic jus, and lastly, green apple consomme with crisp apples, cinnamon panna cotta and almonds.

My favorite course was the entree. It was perfectly cooked and I really liked the accompaniments, especially the black garlic.

- Funniest Thing to Happen: I won a year's supply of toothbrushes from Colgate and Influenster. Sweet! Clean teeth! If you haven't tried the Colgate SlimSoft toothbrush before, I highly recommend it. It's magical.

- Making an Apartment a Home: January was the first month since we've moved to DC that both Raisin Bread and I weren't in graduate school. We got a chance to spruce up the apartment a little with some greenery. I love plants but I have a history of not having the greenest of thumbs. Hopefully, these bad boys will thrive.

- The Treadmill is My Friend: When it's cold, I treadmill. When it's icy, I definitely treadmill. I'm currently training for my next half marathon, the Rock 'n' Roll DC Half Marathon in March. I also got to put in some miles in my awesome new Union Jack leggings, which I received from my mother-in-law for Christmas. 

Total mileage this month: 30.8 miles. 

- Trip to San Francisco: Last but not least, as you know, I visited San Francisco over MLK weekend. Be sure to check out my posts on this fun trip. The final post will be up later this week.

Part 1: The Hills of San Francisco
Part 2: Sunshine, food and wine in Napa and Sonoma

Sushi Taro
1503 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Charlie Palmer Steak
101 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Eat and Drink: The Oval Room (DC Restaurant Week Summer 2010)

Tuesday night was my first foray into DC's Restaurant Week. I was skeptical at first because while LA Restaurant Week has tiers depending on the price range of the restaurant's normal menu, DC's had one price across the board: $35.10 for dinner. I was also worried that service would be lacking. Perhaps I thought they would look at me and realize that I don't have a real job?

I arrived a few minutes early to The Oval Room and was seated by the maitre d' (the hostess was seating another couple at that time) in the center of the back room. He complimented me on my new purse before leaving my side. Isn't it pretty?

Back to dinner. The dining room was bright and open. I found the atmosphere comforting with the noise level at a low buzz. Not so loud that you can't hear your dining companion and not so quiet that you are forced to eavesdrop on other diners.

For my first course, I ordered the Amish white corn angolotti with black truffle butter and parmesan crumbs. I found this dish to be a tad sweet for my taste and also slightly disappointing in size. However, I enjoyed the cream sauce and parmesan crumbs' contrast in texture.

Amish white corn agnolotti, black truffle butter and parmesan crumbs

Raisin Bread chose the soft shell crabs with buffalo mayo and celery. This appetizer had an upcharge of $5, which was reasonable considering other options included an heirloom tomato salad. The server told us that there was bleu cheese in this dish also, but we kept asking ourselves, "Where's the bleu cheese?" I looked back to the online menu and it doesn't say there was any bleu cheese. It is all a mystery to me. I found this dish to be a creative if odd play on buffalo wings.

Tempura fried soft shell crabs, buffalo mayo and celery

My main course were the sea scallops. When this dish arrived, I knew that the scallops were perfectly seared just by looking at them. I didn't quite enjoy the combination of the chorizo and scallops, which I thought added a degree of saltiness that wasn't necessary.

Sea scallops, stew of cauliflower, chorizo and hysoo

The other entree that we ordered was the seared salmon. For those of you who are familiar with my tastes, I never order any cooked fish other than black cod or monkfish. However, I quite enjoyed this salmon dish, especially the black pepper condiment. The presentation was also very lovely. It looked like a work of art.

Seared salmon, black pepper condiment, shaved cucumber and mashed potatoes

Finally for dessert, I had the date chocolate cake with toffee glaze and chocolate ice cream. The cake was moist and rich with huge chunks of dates strown throughout, while the chocolate ice cream was good but nothing extraordinary.

Date chocolate cake, toffee glaze and chocolate ice cream

I also had a taste of the almond brown butter cake, which our waiter recommended without hesitation. My favorite item of this trio was the cake. It was moist on the inside with a firm exterior. Both the peach salad and ice cream were a freshing compliment to the cake.

Almond brown butter cake, peach salad and sour cream ice cream

I was surprised by my first restaurant week meal despite my concerns. Service at The Oval Room was attentive and extremely well timed. The dining room had workers stationed throughout the entire time who were paying close attention to their guests. We both agreed that this meal was a wonderful first taste of restaurant week!

The Oval Room
800 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006-2726

DineLA Restaurant Week

I am a big participant in DineLA's Restaurant Week. It has given me the opportunity to try many restaurants that are normally only "special occasion" places (re: out of my price range). Next month, fall restaurant week will be held October 4-9 and October 11-16 at over 200 participating restaurants. With three-course meals at three different price levels, there is something for every budget. Lunch ranges from $16-$28 and dinner from $26-$44.  

How do you choose which restaurant to go to? First, see if the restaurant you've been dying to try is on the list and then, look up its menu to see if it sounds appealing.

More details at: http://discoverlosangeles.com/play/dining/restaurantweek/participating_restaurants.html