Fact: I’m a noob to the world of tea. I’ll admit — I’m no tea connoisseur with a sophisticated palette for deciphering “chocolate notes” and such. After years of subjecting myself to the generic shrugs of Lipton and Tetley, my eyes have slowly opened to the greater world of loose teas and exotic blends.
The ritualistic nature of brewing is almost therapeutic, but I do succumb to the occasional unwillingness to commit to the process of tea making. While I quietly hang my head in shame when I give in to bagged teas, I tend to gravitate to the Celestial Seasonings brand. For one thing, they’re easily accessible in any Giant or Safeway, and well…the box-art is really colorful and pretty (not to mention it has a good daily percentage of educational tea facts you can annoy quiz your friends with).
So what just so happened to capture the corner of my eye with a picture of a buffalo grazing in a dawn-filled meadow? Morning Thunder Black Tea, with energizing, healthy mate’. Oh me, oh my! Something different with the added bonus of perking me up, minus the negative effects of coffee! The tea had a smooth, rich taste which was very earthy and oakey. It’s slightly shocking at first to taste something that seems as if it was just pulled out from the soil in grandma’s garden, but this black tea/mate’ blend is becoming one of my favorites. And it goes well with my morning blueberry muffin.
Did the tea perk me up like a cup of coffee? I’m not a morning person, so I wouldn’t be more awake at 8am if I did a cannonball into an Olympic-sized swimming pool of this stuff. I did feel a small energy boost, regardless of whether or not it was a placebo effect. And there were no coffee jitters, just as advertised! Fact: It was small victory, but a victory nevertheless for this tea-noob.
Okay all of ya’ll Mr. & Mrs. Teas out there, wave your hands in the air! What are your favorite brands or blends of tea? Are you more of a coffee/cappuccino/hot cocoa kind of person?
Restaurant 3 Bar & Grill
2950 Clarendon Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
We all know and love it: bacon. Just a mention of it can make our mouths water. The smell of it can remind us of our youth. The taste and texture – just some of the many reasons why bacon stands in a class of its own.
I recently had a chance to revisit that notion at Restaurant 3, located in Arlington, VA. For a limited time between October 21st and the 27th, they offered a special Bacon Menu and a three course bacon dinner in what they called the “Week of Bacon”. For $30, you are presented with a three-part bacon-themed mini saga of salad with bacon and egg, bacon crusted mahi mahi served with potatoes, and the real kicker – dessert. I’ll get to that in a moment.
As we walked in, my friends and I were greeted by a friendly hostess, who seemed highly knowledgeable about the menu items, and notably very personable. Moving towards our table, we noticed how nice the interior looked. Candlelit mood lighting was surrounded with wood decorative walls, pretty furnishings and a beautiful bar, creating a warm, somewhat posh atmosphere. We found plenty of selection in the drink menu – domestic and imported beer, divided by region/country, as well as various wines.
I, of course, made a b-line for the bacon trio. The first part of the course was the salad. Sure, it didn’t seem too special to have a salad for starters. But this particular one didn’t just have lettuce and tomatoes. It was composed of some nice bitter frisée, arugula, a slightly soft poached egg (how I happen to like it), and not just broken up bits of bacon – big honkin’ country-cut chunks o’ bacon. All this was drizzled with a light vinaigrette. I finished all of it, so not a bad start at all.
The second part was a large chunk of mahi mahi topped with crunchy bits of smokey bacon. The fish was surrounded by baby potatoes, quartered and topped with parsley. This dish was meaty and satisfying, with the texture of the bacon on the fish creating a wonderful, interesting contrast. The fish was cooked well and definitely enhanced, not overpowered, by the flavors of the bacon. I did notice that though the dish was described in the menu as “bacon crusted”, and I imagined it would have more bacon on it, there was just enough to keep it from taking over the dish. Delicious.
Now for the third course – the dessert. What is it? Well, they cooked a waffle with some bacon in it. Then… ready for this?… they topped that with maple ice cream… with bits of bacon in it! Is your mind blown yet? Because I know mine was. The best part? My friends and I loved it. Everything works together so surprisingly well. Logically, I suppose it should. But the way they did it is definitely new to me. Taking a bite, I tasted the familiar mellow sweetness of the maple ice cream, but then I chewed into a bit of smokey salty bacon and… aha, the salty-sweet combo that I love with milkshake and fries. With the bacon, the waffles tasted and felt like they were corn-based, which I liked.
So was it a success? The hostess mentioned they were considering making these items part of their regular menu. Do I think they should? Answer to both questions: yes. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting a personal favorite, seeing it through different goggles. I thought it was wonderful how the bacon enhanced each dish. Granted, on the whole it wasn’t groundbreaking. But the potential of creating something like that dessert is there and that’s the kind of thing I definitely encourage. Also, the restaurant was a great experience altogether – friendly people and handsome surroundings. I recommend it and suggest you check it out if you get a chance.
How do you like your bacon? Not just for breakfast anymore?
National Harbor – September 26, 2009
On a pleasant, overcast afternoon, my friend and I set off to National Harbor for our first Oktoberfest experience. We had been looking forward to it since that fun-filled day at the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival. With all that history making Oktoberfest one of the most well-known annual celebrations, how would we NOT enjoy it?
Oktoberfest was first celebrated in Munich, Germany to honor the marriage between Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. These celebrations continued annually, with a few exceptions due to certain important events. Up to this day when anyone mentions Oktoberfest, whether or not we’ve been there, we are filled with thoughts of music, food, beer – basically joy.
$25 (online, $30 at the door) bought us enterance from 2-8pm, the tasting mug, and 6 tokens. VIP passes were available for $50, which also gives access at the earlier time of 12pm (drunk by 2pm?) and a reserved bench seat at a table so you can pass out under a tent. Those sold out online before we could get our anxious hands on them. One token granted us a little less than half a mug from our generous beer masters. Two gave us a full mug. Extra tokens were provided at $1 a piece. Not bad at all.
It was basically one huge, albeit rainy, party and pub crawl. Trotting from tent to tent, zeroing in on beer we’ve never tried before, we were surrounded by incredibly friendly people. Nevermind that we’re all crowding under the tents to avoid getting soaked, wet shoulder to wet shoulder. In fact, let’s just have random conversations with each other! Don’t feel like talking? Let’s just start singing random drinking songs together! It was great.
Then take into consideration we we’re surrounded by what was basically wonderful street food. I didn’t catch anything that seemed too “out of the box”, which was a little disappointing. The German potato pancakes were great, as were the streudels. What stood out for me were some delightful beef Wellingtons, cooked in flaky streudle dough. Believe it or not, I managed to miss having any brats. There was a ton of great food there. Don’t know what it is, but food at a fair always seems so good.
So was it all roses and streudel under the clouds? Nah. There were issues with the insufficient amount of port-a-potties. Other than that though, it was a blast. We shuffled on home, drenched in rain, buzzed and content, making plans to do it next year.
Note: there’s actually one going on right now up in Baltimore, MD! If you live near there, I hope you’re not sitting around reading this at the moment. 
You’ll never hear me claim to know much about cooking. But I do know I like things that help make life easier, especially in the kitchen.
Have ingredients in the fridge? Don’t know what to do with them? Or maybe just feel like doing something different? Recipe Puppy (beta) is a simple search tool that can possibly help you out. Sure you can Google or Bing or even Yahoo or Altavista. But if it’s recipes you want, this is one of the better time-saving choices out there.
All you have to do is enter into the search box some of the ingredients you want to use in the dish, separated by commas, and hit “Search”. Soon you’ll be bombarded with all kinds of suggestions, things you can create with your ingredients. It will highlight the ingredients you are missing and direct you to a site with the recipe. On a few of my trials using combinations of “steak, pepper, salt, rosemary, thyme”, I found that it usually comes up with recipes from such reputable sites as Epicurious (a personal favorite) and Recipezaar among others.
So next time you find yourself asking something along the lines of “What should I make for dinner?”, give Recipe Puppy a shot. You may find your next meal, or something inspiring.
I’ve been putting this one off for some time now. Why? Because it’s a book review. Reviewing a book, one that’s really well-written, makes me a bit self-conscious about writing eloquently… or about using fancy words like “eloquently”. That’s what writing book reports back in high school do to you I guess. I’m scarred for life.
I may be 9 years too late in doing this (since the book came out in 2000/01), but I feel it’s my duty to push on, let people know about Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. If you already know about it, this is my attempt at encouraging you to pick it up and read it. Not because I’m a foodie, although that’s true. Not because I enjoy Bourdain’s television presence, which is also true. I’m telling you this because it’s simply a great book – deeply engrossing, richly detailed, sincerely funny. If you are a cook of any caliber, a lover of food, or just someone who enjoys a nice book, this is a definite must-read. And if you need more convincing or reasons… well then, I guess I’m just gonna have to roll up my sleeves and try.
“The life of the cook was a life of adventure, looting, pillaging and rock-and-rolling through life with a carefree disregard for all conventional morality.”
— Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
Here’s an understatement: Bourdain’s lived quite the life. I’m not talking about the “wining and dining” kind of life – the contrary really. He begins this book in his childhood, letting us in on the origin of his culinary lifestyle. You’re soon pulled into his world of fine and not-so-fine dining, meeting wonderful or wonderfully shady people, going to strange parts of different cities. Drugs, sex, immoral behavior… we’re not describing rock stars here. He sometimes does portray cooks in that light. Secrets about the food industry that no one going “out on the town” should ever know are passed on to us. We get to know the summits and pitfalls of his career, in most cases the latter.
If you’re familiar with his narration style, you’ll find more of it here. His writing will draw you in, force you to see how things were through his eyes, and even let you listen in on his thoughts, oftentimes to amusing effect. He paints the people who have played major roles in his life with vivid character and personality. You are taken on tours of restaurants from his career, invited in to have a look around the kitchens, get to know the strangely likable “pirate” crew working there, maybe even have a taste of the menu items. And the descriptions of the food and their preparation… beautifully illustrated, nearly coming off the pages.
What did I get out of this ride? By the end of the book, I felt I’ve really gotten know this Bourdain fellow. Not like how we know him on TV, but deeper than that. I’ve seen parallels to my own life throughout the book, as I’m sure most of you would. Even more, it made me question why I never attempted to become a professional cook, while at the same time reminding me why I avoided the industry altogether. He doesn’t sugarcoat a single thing, but at the same time he makes you appreciate how food gets to your table. The book brought me times of reflection and also tears …from laughing so hard.
If you haven’t read Kitchen Confidential yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. Oh, and did I mention I highly recommend this book?
1520 Deep Creek Drive
McHenry, MD 21541
When you just wanna get away from the monotonous brake-honk-gas rhythm of the DC city life, you can’t go too wrong with Deep Creek Lake. And if you’re feeling a tinge of hunger after reaching a zen-like state of peaceful enlightenment, there’s the Pine Lodge Steakhouse & Saloon.
The Pine Lodge Steakhouse & Saloon is full-to-bursting with charming, rustic aesthetics. Everything abounds with wooden craftsmanship, animal heads decorate the walls, and high-vaulted ceilings will likely crane the necks of low-vaulted patrons. If a log cabin fell from outer-space onto an Outback Steak house, this lakeside eatery would be the resulting child of the two. It’s a good place to bring the family, a date, or the Brawny man and/or Brawny men for a weekend fling.
The service at the restaurant was excellent, with friendly, attentive staff — although it felt a little awkward with their semi-plastic smiles, which left me wondering if “Smiling Bob” spiked everyone’s water with Enzyte. But it’s completely forgivable and expected from a tourist-prone spot.
After extensively scratching my chin and saying “hmmmmm” while browsing the menu, I settled on the Mountain Man Meatloaf. “Tender veal, nutritious buffalo and wild boar sausage with cranberries combine to create a flavor sensation like none other, served with green peppercorn gravy.” How could I resist?
I’m normally not one who complains about plating and presentation, but my dish looked as if a baby vomited chipped beef on a plate and the parent’s tried to pass it off as high-brow art. I just expected a tad bit more from an upper-scalish restaurant.
You definitely can tell that this is not your grandma’s secret recipe, but for a gourmet reinterpretation of a classic dish, it was much more bland than any Sunday meatloaf night I could remember. With such interesting ingredients, the dish completely falls asleep and it’s hard to tell what’s even there or not there. It’s as if Noah created a food vessel for two of each animal and bored them to death by listening to Perry Como records. The underseasoned meat was in desperate need of salt, and was saved only by the mild spice from the sauce.
Maybe I was the unlucky one who got stuck with the short straw that night, as everyone else seemed to like their food just fine. With a diverse menu that includes rack of elk, buffalo t-bone steak, and Maryland blue crab ravioli, I would avoid the fancy-shmancy meatloaf. The Brawny man would be deeply saddened otherwise.
Regional Food and Drink (RFD)
810 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
In a previous post, I talked a little bit about the food offerings from this fine drinking establishment. Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty – the beer!
First up is Chimay Blue – Grand Reserve, which I have had prior to sampling RFD’s offerings. So, yeah, I’m kind of cheating here. But I do feel the need to tell people about this beer, which is one of my favorites. This beer comes in three different forms – Red, Triple, and Blue – and is brewed by Belgian monks, so you know it’s good. It’s deep, dark, malty, has a nice rich aroma, and goes down smooth – the kind of beer you would like to take your time with… bring it out on a few dates… meet its parents. It’s a reliable choice during the times I don’t feel like trying something new. Hey, it happens. The availability of Chimay has been increasing, appearing sometimes on restaurant beer lists, so be on the lookout for any of its versions.
Next is Baltica #8, a Russian Wheat beer. Is it proper to call it a Hefeweisen, mixing in the German language with a Russian beer? Nevermind. All I know is it’s a very drinkable, clear, crisp beer, with a slightly sweet aroma. Baltica #8 is a solid Hefeweisen, lighter than most with its own distinct flavor. This one is definitely on my list.
Hailing from England, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is just as the name implies. As you might guess, it hits a deep chocolate note, but not in the “sweet candy bar” kind of way. It’s more like the pure bittersweet chocolate. This English stout is smooth and very drinkable, never getting too sweet. I imagine it would go well with desserts. If you happen to get it in can form (440 mL), you’ll notice the little ball inside, like Guinness and Boddington cans have, which releases nitrous to help you get a draught-like head in your drink. This is a great drink to have from time to time, whenever you want something a little sweet.
Floris Apple Wheat beer from Belgium was one that I mentioned in a recent comment on my last post. If you didn’t see it, shame on you for not following every single word on this blog! …lol. This one surprised me a bit. It was very reminiscent of a good cider, but with a bit of a twist. It reminded me of an apple cobbler, with maybe a hint of green apple Now n’ Laters. Floris has a good, solid beer with this one, even if it is a bit of a “frou frou” drink. Thus, I drank it with my pinky up – a bit of a nod to Three Sheets.
Next up we have Heather’s Kelpie Seaweed Ale, a very interesting Scottish concoction. You would think from the name alone that it tastes like seawater. But this one rewards the curious with an unexpected experience. It has a deep, dark color and a slightly smokey aroma. Highly distinct, the flavor is where it really gets you. Kelpie has a chocolatey quality to it, almost reminding me of a stout. It’s a decent beer if you want something a bit heavier than a regular ale.
Last but not least, we come to St. Peter’s Cream Stout, a very dark beer which comes from England. This one has strong aroma and flavor, smokey with hints of chocolate. If you like Dogfish Head’s Raison D’Etre, I think this one is right up your alley. I will say this though: if you’ve already had a stout, don’t drink this one after. It’s fairly heavy and strong in taste. I didn’t find it as drinkable as the Raison for some reason. A little too strong perhaps?
So there you have it, a nice little romp through Beer Town. Wait. Does that place actually exist somewhere? And if it did, would you visit it yearly? Would Beer Townians, or whatever they would call themselves, have a parade and mascots during Oktoberfest? Discuss.
National Harbor – Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival
“Variety is the spice of life.” Someone said that once… or twice. It’s a philosophy that kind of sticks with me, especially when it comes to food and drink. Ah yes, sweet variety. As a foodie, you just can’t live without it.
A couple of weeks ago, June 20th, I decided to run that little philosophy through its paces. How else? With lots of beer, of course! A few of my friends and I gathered together at the National Harbor that day for a beer tasting extravaganza, namely The Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival.
As you may know by now, I’ve got a bit of a thing for beer. I can respect and understand that some people don’t like it. Actually, I didn’t like it so much at first. Then I found out there are more complex flavors than… oh say, Coors Light. Belgian and German beer seem to be high on the list for me these days, though I have found some great domestics as well.
Going to any tasting with friends who enjoy the same food or drink, I would imagine, makes for tons of enjoyment. Our group of friends (3 of us, plus 2 designated drivers) went from vendor to vendor, tasting beer, and sharing with each other our experiences and what we thought of the flavors. I got to try some of their favorites that I haven’t tried and vice versa. Arguably more fun than tossing Mentos in bottles full of soda! By my estimates, we tried anywhere between 20-30 different beers, most new to all 3 of us.
We didn’t try any bourbon, but the barbecue was pretty good. Lots of people were there that day, so we had to wait in lines for both BBQ and drinks. It wasn’t too bad since the lines usually moved at a decent clip. The great thing is we each received a souvenir – the tasting glass, which is pretty nice looking. It has a couple of lines on it to designate where the vendors stop pouring for bourbon and beer. Events went on throughout the day, though we didn’t get to check them out since we were too busy boozin’. There were some live bands playing good music and Jack Daniel’s was there with a mechanical bull. Need I say more? Good times.
Hmm… Oktoberfest at National Harbor? You bet.
Most surprisingly tasty brew of that day: Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
While we’re on the subject of beer and BBQ… have a happy and safe 4th of July!
The short answer: it’s yummy. I’ve mentioned this dish to people and most of them say they’ve never heard of it before. Pretty strange for a sauce that’s apparently popular in Italy. Once I even got a joking, “You just made that up!” C’mon. I could never make up a name like spaghetti all’Amatriciana. I mean, if I were to make up a name, it would be something much easier for me to pronounce.
This sauce seems to be gaining a bit more recognition these days. I surely would have never heard about it if it weren’t for certain cooking shows. So what’s this “all’Amatriciana”? The name means that it’s “in the style of Amatrice”, a town located in central Italy. It’s a pasta sauce that usually makes use of guanciale, which is dried pork cheek, and pecorino cheese. Those of us outside of Italy tend to substitute the guanciale with the more-readily-available pancetta (cured pork belly) or thick country-cut bacon. Mmm… can you ever go wrong with that kind of pork?
I made this dish for Father’s Day and wanted to share it with you all, since I think it’s pretty delicious. My family and former workmates also seemed to like it. I’ve seen at least three or four different ways to make this, so I did what I usually do with dishes that I’ve already cooked. I took the parts that I like from the recipes and modified it to my tastes. So here we go…
For this experiment, you will need:
extra virgin olive oil (about 2 passes)
pancetta (about 4 oz.)
1/2 onion chopped (red or yellow, preference)
garlic, 6 cloves chopped
crushed red pepper flakes (about a tbsp or to taste)
1 cup white wine (optional but recommended)
32 oz. crushed tomatoes
14 oz. diced tomatoes
1 tbsp dried oregano
fresh-cracked black pepper (to taste)
fresh chopped Italian parsley to finish
pecorino romano cheese (optional but recommended)
Cut pancetta into 3 inch pieces (note: if they’re the round-shaped ones, just cut them in half). In a pot, pour 2 passes worth of extra virgin olive oil. Set stove on low and cook out the pancetta fat. When all the fat has been rendered (or when the pancetta’s a bit crunchy, if you like it that way), carefully remove the pancetta from the pot and reserve, making sure to leave the fat in the pot.
Toss in the chopped garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, keeping the heat fairly low, allowing the flavor to infuse the oil. The garlic should become somewhat tender, aromatic. Now add the onion and let it “sweat” a bit. Mwahaha… consider it revenge for when it made you cry during the chopping. The chopped onion should start to become tender and translucent. Add the cup of white wine to drown the onions, simmer and let it reduce to about 1/3.
Pour in the crushed and diced tomatoes and toss in the oregano. Season it with black pepper. Also at this point put the pancetta back into the sauce, reserving about a quarter of it on the side for topping your dish later. Bring the sauce up to a boil, then back down to simmer until thick. When it starts to thicken, add the chopped parsley.
Serve with any pasta you like. I prefer spaghetti, though I’ve never tried it with bucatini (hollow spaghetti). Rotini (spirals) and farfalle (bow ties) are also personal favorites. Top with pieces of pancetta and a nice mild cheese. I recommend pecorino romano. Enjoy!
