Washington, DC

I always forget- until I'm back- how pretty our capital city is. The grand marble columns... the wide boulevards... the perfect vistas. The glory of planned cities! On our last visit, we got to do some tasty touring as well as eating, and I wanted to feature two restaurants, one new, one a classic- that we sampled!

Masa 14


The concept of this restaurant is latin-asian fusion tapas- an interesting idea, and one which produced many tasty dishes, though I had two fairly consistent comments: too much salt, and too much sauce. Everything was just slightly saltier and "wetter"- for lack of a better term- than was really necessary. And this is a tad bit a shame, because otherwise, the food was really delicious- and this seemed unnecessary!! So, overall, good stuff, but perhaps ask them to hold the salt and sauce on the side....

We tried a sampling of dishes, not even sure if this covers them all- and accompanied them with tasty margaritas and mojitoes.

The baby spinach salad with mushrooms, red pepper, and black bean dressing was fresh and featured great flavors, but as mentioned previously, had waaaay too much dressing.

The wild mushroom flatbread with oaxaca cheese, red pepper and avocado was actually one of my top favorites- the flavors balanced nicely and it was not over-seasoned. I also was surprised to like the crispy crab wonton rolls with cream cheese, corn, mushroom, shiso, truffle, and spicy ponzu- I think the cream cheese and crab combo for me works well. Finally, the wok seared cauliflower with ginger and an (extremely spicy) chile de arbol was another top favorite, as was the fried tofu with spinach, and sweet and spicy sauce.



Less successful as a complete dish was the green tofu curry with potato, carrot, and cortija cheese. The curry itself was tasty, and creamy- but I found the cortija cheese to seem forced 'fusion' flavor where perhaps a splash of lime would have served better. The feta-like cortija cheese and creamy coconut curry seemed completely at odds, and luckily was easily picked off.
Ryan also tried the pork belly steamed buns, which seemed like the perfect combo of all of his favorite things- but was disappointed by the pork and the bun- which instead of looking like a traditional asian-style steamed bun, looked more like a pita-bread taco shell... Finally, the yucca fries with chimichurri and garlic- lime aioli dipping sauce should have been amazing, but was sooo salty, that the flavors of the delicate yucca were hard to detect.

Overall, my feeling is that as at many tapas restaurants, it is a process of finding the small plates that you like. I'd try this spot again in the future, but I'd also make sure to tell them to lay off the salt.....




Jaleo


Probably well over 15 years ago- seriously- I had my first-ever taste of gazpacho at this DC classic spanish tapas restaurant. In my brain, the gazpacho here has yet to be paralleled in the states- for the traditional, real-deal thing. And, 15 years later, the memory proved true- it is indeed the best classic American take on this classic.

We also tried an eggplant and red pepper salad, as well as papas arrugas- potatoes with green mojo sauce- only like my favorite thing... ever. Sooooo good.I mean, how can a green sauce made with cilantro, cumin, and garlic ever taste bad? Oh, by adding some sherry? nope, still awesome....

If you are ever in DC, make sure to come by this amazing spot. Of course, now I know it is owned by the world-renowned chef Jose Andres, but that only makes me all the more proud to have such an advanced palate back at 8, lol.

The Vanderbilt

Renee has been wanting to try The Vanderbilt for some time, and I was more than happy to oblige her and come eat along. I am also falling in love with this neighborhood (Prospect Heights)- so it was fun to try one of the local spots. Here is a shot of my train going over the Manhattan bridge- I think it is hilarious that I have to go from Brooklyn --> Manhattan---->Brooklyn to get here, but hey, Renee, and good food, is totally worth it.

We were excited to take advantage of the summer happy hour menu- offered Monday through Friday from 5-7- which includes both cheap drinks and eats. We sipped some $5 glasses of wine- a nice red gamay, and then sampled a few dishes, all which are served 'tapas' style. The first was off the regular menu, a green garden gazpacho ($8), which was just amazing. We tasted zucchini, cucumber, celery, and parsley in the broth, and it was served with a lemon sorbet dollop and topped with scallions and radish. Pretty much every bite was a little party in my mouth. So light and flavorful, and they managed to perform a balancing act with the cucumber so it did not overwhelm the other flavors in the soup. It also had a creaminess to it- almost- which we had originally suspected might be from avocado, but was actually provided by the zucchini, as the waitress informed us.

Round two was the beautiful special salad pictured above- which included grilled peaches, heirloom tomatoes, purslane, basil, ricotta cheese, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, a little bit of fennel, and onion- and wowza. I can't believe this was my first grilled peach encounter, but ladies and gentleman, it will NOT be my last, that is for sure! What a phenomenal treat- both Renee and I agreed that this was pretty much a little slice o' heaven, and I was really loving it!! (PS: My food porn skills are growing nicely, this shot actually looks pretty appetizing and cool, right?!?!)

For our third and final course, we shared one of the happy hour menu items- a spring vegetable risotto ($8). There were several herbs in the parmesan risotto- including mint- which every now and then gave a nice (and surprising) burst of flavor to the dish. The vegetables included carrots, peas, and fava bean, and scallion and radish was again the perfect garnish to the flavors.

All in all, I could not complain about my experience. The food was amazing, way gourmet for the price- and introduced me to a bunch of new flavor combos and foods, which was extraordinary. Purslane, grilled peach, and mint in risotto are all now on my list of to-eat as often as possible. Kudos to this place- and I highly recommend it!!

Bar Artisanal

Last night Ryan and I celebrated 6 years together! We have nicknamed our anniversary of meeting/dating the "anniversary of knowing". I feel very lucky to know Ryan....

So, we ventured to Tribeca to check out Artisanal's little sister, Bar Artisanal. Long before this blog, perhaps some three or four years ago now- *gasp* time goes fast- we went to Artisanal with a large group of friends during restaurant week. Friends who have been living in Italy for two years... friends who have been in Florida for a year... Friends we dearly miss! Anyway, sentimental romanticizing aside, we had an amazing time. Artisanal began as a fromaggerie- a cheese shop-and though I can't recall the majority of the food and wine we had, the highlight for me was a "1,000 cheese " fondue. It was a blend of many different cheeses, and it was just awesome. Beyond that, I remember tasty french fare, and mainly just a lot of fun.

So, back to Bar Artisanal. This new spot highlights Spanish wine and food, rather than the uptown spot which is french through and through. We Started off with a glass of Albarino- a citrusy, refreshing white wine ($11)- for Ryan, and a glass of Cava- a sparkling, champagne- like white ($10)- for me. Both are perennial favorites and hit the spot on a humid and muggy night. We didn't try the sangria- which was probably a huge mistake, as it looked awesome- and comes in several styles, including a hot & spicy version ($8/ glass) ! I'll add that to my "next time" list.

We started off with some tapas- small plates- which they offer in both 'classic' and 'modern' versions. We ordered marinated olives($4) and patatas bravas ($7) from the classic side, and manchego tempura ($7) from the modern.

The patatas bravas- basically fried potatoes- are a favorite dish of ours, and I've always seen them before as actual potatoes, but here were french fries. They were really nicely seasoned, salty, lots of pepper, and some herbs, and served with two traditional sauces, one which has a smoky, chipotle flavor, and a second which was an aioli, a creamy garlic- olive oil-mayonnaise. I thought this dish was really awesome and both sauces were addicting- but I wished they were served as potato wedges rather than fries.

The Manchego tempura was really interesting- manchego cheese was shaped into a ball and then batter dipped and fried. Awesome. My only complaint was that they were way over-salted, at least the two I ate, but Ryan did not have the same experience, so this might reflect a heavy hand more than the actual dish. I also thought the fries were salty too, so this might be my one complaint. Then again, I am an exception to most people's taste in salt.... I wonder if the manchego would have benefitted from a sweet sauce of some sort, just to balance the savory and salty flavors of the cheese and the batter. But overall, my mouth is watering recalling this dish, so clearly the saltiness did not ruin an otherwise lovely plate.

I had a glass of red wine, a Tempranillo from Rioja, which, as my husband often forgets, is a region and not a grape or style of wine. The red was really nice- and I received by far the most generous pour of the evening. We did notice that the bar seemed inconsistent- some glasses were quite full, primarily mine, and Ryan's always seemed rather small. The tempranillo had a subtle oak flavor that complimented the tapas wonderfully. Ryan ordered a glass of viura, a white wine also from Rioja- that was very floral and perfumey, but lacked the citrus notes I'd like in a glass of white.

We then split a meat and cheese plate ($25), I mainly eating the cheese.. and Ryan taking on the meat. The plate came with 3 types of meat: Chorizo, salchicon, a dry cured sausage, and lomo, cured pork loin. I DID sneak a bite of the chorizo, which was nice and spicy, like salami. oooh yes. As for the cheese, I asked the waiter to select one cow, one goat, and one sheep, and sort of pick his favorites. The goat was semi-firm, nutty, sharp, and really nice, but the sheep was my favorite- Roncal- and Ryan's. It was not quite as sharp as the goat, but also had a nutty flavor, similar to manchego. The last was definitely a curiosity- a soft cow's cheese that had cayenne in it- Afuegal Pitu. We both thought it was interesting, but not sure that either of us could really say we liked it. I'm glad I tried it, just for the experience!

Finally, we shared a dessert, another classic- churros ($10), served with hot chocolate. I love churros- fried dough- and these were really fresh and tasty. The hot chocolate was also great, I actually poured a little into my coffee!!

Overall, I had a really nice time. We both saw more we'd like to try- Ryan wanted to taste the mussels, and I saw some tasty looking salads, as well as more cheese I would love to sample. Not to forget the sangria!! I definitely see this spot as good for snacking and drinking.... Ole!