Category Archives: We Love Food

Restaurant Reviews & Food News

Downtown, Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Equinox

Photo courtesy of
‘proof.glass.2’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Situated on Farragut Square in the Downtown corridor, Equinox is unassuming on the outside. With a glassed-in atrium, it looks like it was once a lunch eatery or an after-work bar spot that has been transformed, to the best of an interior decorator’s ability, to an upscale dining room. After having a wonderful time at Equinox in the fall, partaking in the fall happy hour, I was dying to try Equinox for a full meal, and Valentine’s Day was the perfect excuse.

We were sat, and the meal started out with bread. I love bread – it has the potential to set the tone for the entire meal. Bread can be a warm welcome, a fabulous place for a meal to start, and unfortunately Equinox’s bread fell flat. Well, not the bread so much as the hummus that came with it. I’m a big fan of interesting spreads (hello, honey butter, yogurt dill cheese or herb butter) and so I was excited to try the hummus that came with a pastry puff bread and some sort of fruit and herb bread slices. It was bland. It was mostly tasteless, with sort of a weird aftertaste. I tried it with or without the bread, and have to say, that hummus was a mistake for the chef to send out. I could have gotten better hummus at Trader Joe’s. But luckily, the hummus was the worst part of the entire meal, and everything just got better from there. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The DC 100, We Love Food
By

DC Omnivore 100: #11, Calamari

"Squid" by ajagendorf25, on Flickr

"Squid" by ajagendorf25, on Flickr (a shot from the DC Fish Market)

This week, our continuing quest to try all 100 foods a DC Omnivore must experience checks out calamari. 

Whenever I see fresh calamari, the first thing that comes to mind is Admiral Ackbar slurping, “your taste buds can’t repel flavor of this magnitude!”

Ok, maybe not. But this versatile cephalopod is truly a wonder of the sea.

There are a myriad ways to prepare squid – fried, grilled, stuffed, with the tentacles or not (no tentacles? wimp!). Squid ink makes a glorious rich pasta and salty sauce that can stain your tongue black as night. Raw squid as sushi can be disconcerting or refreshing, depending on your palate. My personal preference is sauteed or grilled. Perfectly prepared squid should not be overly chewy – it should have an initial ever-so-slight firmness that dissolves into a fresh from the sea taste. 

When I was a poor little match girl just out of drama school, I discovered I could get squid quite cheap and saute up a batch for both me and my cat (wow. that is a depressing memory!). But now if I cook calamari, it’s for a luxurious seafood pasta with squid, shrimp, and scallops. 

After the break, a more appetizing picture, and tips for rustling up calamari at home and eating out…
   Continue reading →

Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: 2941

Photo courtesy of
‘Bottle Necks’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

2941 is a lot of things. Gorgeous: with high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. Delicious: From a beef tartare amuse bouche to a delicious lemon dessert our meal was rich, creative and certainly french–nouveau. It was also Expensive. Capital E. Matt first took me to 2941 for my birthday, we heard great things about Anthony Chavez’s pastries and headed over for wine and dessert. That alone was a bajillion dollars, so we were hesitant to try dinner there, knowing tasting menus ranged from $55 to over $120 per person. We’re meager young professionals, trying to live off a lobbyist/PR and a teacher salary, folks. So when we heard word 2491 was having a $44 tasting menu in honor of Obama, we rushed to make reservations to finally taste Chef Chemel’s actual dinner food.

Continue reading →

Arlington, The Features, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Brunch @ Boulevard Woodgrill

P1040012

Brunch at Boulevard Woodgrill courtesy of Needlessspaces

I have an odd relationship with breakfast. I don’t care for eggs – gasp – so there’s not tons of breakfast foods that appeal to me. I enjoy the pancakes, and french toast. I love hash browns, grits, bacon, sausage… but most of breakfast is centered around eggs, which is why I embrace brunch. Brunch, the hybrid between breakfast and lunch – I can order some lunch counterparts, or I can stick to breakfast foods that I enjoy like the ones pictured above.

Arlington is home to some insanely delicious brunches – it seems practically every restaurant up and down the Wilson/Clarendon stretch offers brunch.  My fellow Arlingtonites come out in full force, wearing the weekend-morning uniform of Uggs and college sweatshirts, we find ourselves sipping coffee and munching on yummy food. I love it. Matt and I can roll out of bed, I can throw on my UNC hoodie, and we can walk to a plethora of delicious options. A few weeks ago we chose Boulevard Woodgrill, and it was completely satisfactory to our breakfast/lunch cravings.  Continue reading →

We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Recession Specials

Beck DC Appetizers, by christaki

Beck DC Appetizers, by christaki

Your 401(k) is shrinking, you’re hearing rumors of cutbacks at work, and your house is losing value by the day. You know what you need to take your mind off it?  A nice meal out.  

Restaurants all over the area are offering fixed-price menus designed to entice you through their doors, even while you’re cutting back spending on everything else.  Open Table’s Appetite Stimulus Plan is over, but there are still plenty of specials to be found all over DC.
Continue reading →

Downtown, The District, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Little Fountain Cafe

little fountain cafe

I believe I’ve already shared with everyone that I’m a regular reader of the local dc foodie blog Metrocurean. Matt and I were looking for a good date spot to celebrate Christmas together before I head home for the holidays, so I turned to Metrocurean’s “date spot” recommendations. Metrocurean author Amanda suggested a bunch of places I’ve been before, but one I’d never even heard of, Little Fountain Cafe. It’s getting pretty hard to stump me when it comes to good eats in this city. Between writing for WLDC and spending lots of time researching this town, most of the time I’ve at least HEARD of a place if it’s worth anything. But this one was new. A little googling, and an online reservation later, Matt and I were booked, and I was super excited. Everything I had read about said we were in for a treat.

Little Fountain Cafe is located on 18th street, right in the bustle of Adam’s Morgan. In the english basement below Angles Bar, Little Fountain is a hidden gem.

Continue reading →

Fun & Games, Night Life, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: New Year’s Eve!

Photo courtesy of mattyp_
Closer – NYE 2005, courtesy of mattyp_

Yes, yes. A bit early? Maybe. But now’s the time to start thinking of NYE planning before the rest of the holiday season overwhelms you and suddenly find yourself lacking a place to enjoy and celebrate ringing in the New Year. So here’s a very non-comprehensive list of restaurants for you to consider. We’ll post more as we find out about them!

THE DISTRICT

Article One at Hyatt Regency Washington, on Capitol Hill. Call a reservationist at 202.719.8436
A la carte from 1:00 – 8:00pm.
Menu Highlights: Pan Seared Scallops with Baby Spinach ($12); Peppercorn Crusted Filet of Beef with Butter Poached Rock Lobster Tail ($42); Crème Brulee Sampler ($7).

Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert at The Ritz-Carlton Washington, in the West End. For reservations call 202.974.4900
Prix-fixe menu: 6:00-6:30pm and 9:00-9:30pm seatings; $150 per person.
Menu Highlights: Terrine of Foie Gras, Cranberry Sauce, Duck Croquant and Dried White Figs; Shrimp & Grits; Bourbon & Maple Glazed Pork Loin, Collard Greens, Hoppin John and Pork Jus. Includes five-course menu, complimentary champagne toast at midnight and special party favor.
Menu by Chef de Cuisine Joe Palma.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Art and Soul

Photo courtesy of william couch
Wine Glasses, courtesy of the_amanda

I’ve heard the buzz about Art and Soul. Oprah’s former chef, southern cooking, two-time James Beard Award winner…blah blah blah. So when the restaurant appeared on the faux-restaurant week list (AKA OpenTable’s  Appetite Stimulus Plan.) I was pretty stoked.

Seeing as the Appetite Stimulus Plan (AS) was kind of like a best-kept-secret restaurant week only for those in-the-know, it was hardly competitive for the good reservations, and Matt and I were able to land the perfect Friday night table for two. (Ya’ll just wait until real RW, I get uber competitive and call people past their bedtimes to confer about reservations. I change them, drop them, negotiate for them. OH MAN. Just you wait, cause now I’ll blog all about them!)

Anyways. I read Tom Sietsema’s review before we went, so I was prepared. Continue reading →

Alexandria, Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Vermilion

Wall at Vermilion

"Wall at Vermilion" by jenn larsen, on Flickr

“Mmmm…” a friend sighed contentedly into her glass of hot buttered rum, “liquor pie…”

Brunch with the girls at Vermilion on a chilly afternoon was a mellow affair, lingering over hot toddies in the brick-walled upstairs room. With the place almost all to ourselves, we curled into a corner table and indulged to celebrate a birthday.

Vermilion serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00am – 2:30am, with an eclectic menu that ranges from eggs and french toast to scallops and bifteki. The hot drinks were especially welcome, as was the laid-back service allowing us to savor everything without feeling rushed. And of course, any place that serves lamb sausage ranks high on my happy meter. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The DC 100, We Love Food
By

DC Omnivore 100: #28, Oysters

Oysters at Clyde's

Enjoying a dozen oysters at Clyde's

In our ongoing quest to conquer the Omnivore 100 list, we come to #28, Oysters. It’s hardly a chore for me to kick back several dozen oysters. My love affair with the bivalves began as a child watching my grandfather stir up some homemade oyster stew, mesmerized by the delicate edges curling up in the cream. At some point as a teenager I dared my first raw bar, and the salty brine was instantly addicting. I’ve never strayed, even after a disastrous food poisoning incident in New Orleans (on my birthday, no less). No, there really is nothing like the luscious oyster, and we’re lucky in DC to have plenty of places to enjoy them.

They say eating an oyster is like kissing the sea, or a mermaid. I don’t know about that, but I do know that slurping back a mineraly oyster freshly shucked off the shell is one of those things that divides people – either you can’t stand the thought or the taste of them raw, or you love them passionately. While perfectly fried oysters battered in cornmeal certainly ranks high on my list, it’s the ritual of the dozen (or three!) that I really enjoy. So here are my top DC raw bar experiences…

Continue reading →

Arlington, Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Yaku

inside
Nestled along Clarendon Boulevard in the Court House area, Yaku looks to be the perfect neighborhood hot spot. Two levels of glass and glowing lights, it always looks warm and inviting from the street. I live in Arlington, and have walked past Yaku almost daily since it’s conception as just an empty office space below my dream real-estate local, The Odyssey condominiums.

When it finally looked as if something was actually going to go in the space (that had stood empty since before I moved here in fall 2007), I got pretty excited. On my walk home, I ran up to check the posted licences to see what it would be. It’s the perfect location to be our new favorite go-to spot. Yaku, the signs said. Hmm… I said. That’s an odd name. A little googling, and I find that Yaku will be another restaurant from Latin Concepts, the same people who brought us places like Chi-Cha Lounge, Mate, Ceviche, and Guarapo (which is only around the corner from Yaku).

According to the Web site, “YAKU, is a “Chifa” restaurant lounge brought to you by Fraga-Rosenfeld.  Chifa is the fusion of Chinese and Peruvian cuisine developed by Chinese immigrants to Peru in the late 19th and early 20th centuries… The name YAKU means “water” in Quechua (Incan Language) and is intended to capture Asian-influenced Andean culinary styles unique to the region.” Yaku is also, says our friend wikipedia, a town located on Yaku Island, Japan. So let’s just go with Asian-Peruvian fusion, and call it interesting… Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Night Life, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: 1905

Dining Room at 1905

The stretch of 9th from U Street to the Convention Center makes for an interesting walk. It’s a very exciting time to live close by, with development evolving in a truly organic way. From the Little Ethiopia of Etete, Chez Hareg, Habesha Market and Queen of Sheba, to glorious grimy dive DC9, past the beautiful boys at BeBar, vegetarian haven Vegetate, on down to the weirdness of the Convention Center’s cold empty glass. All along are pockets of blight, boarded up houses mostly owned by Shiloh Baptist Church.

On this fascinating street has dropped 1905, a small second floor bistro. The vibe is rather like visiting a quirky friend’s dinner party, whose decorating style is rustic opulence on a budget. On weekdays it’s a relaxing spot for a quiet candlelit meal or drinks at the cosy bar. On weekends the communal table ramps up and it’s far livelier, with live jazz on Thursdays at 10pm. Whichever you prefer, the staff is committed to making sure everyone has a good experience and keeps a friendly atmosphere.

The menu features kicked-up bistro and comfort food with a French twist. Like the space, it’s small, and I wonder if it will change seasonally. The standout for me is the “Grilled Merquez with Polenta and Piquillo Peppers.” I’ve had it twice and it will be hard not to have every time. Having comforting polenta and spicy lamb sausage together – well, it’s like kissing a shy boy and finding out he is a bad boy. Seriously, that’s my metaphor and I’m sticking to it. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: I Ricchi / Sesto Senso

Photo courtesy of daquellamanera
Vela, courtesy of daquella manera

Back during Restaurant Week, my lovely wife hit two dining spots in Dupont Circle. Due to me first losing her review, then forgetting about it, it’s only now just appearing for your reviewing pleasure. I suspect I’ll be taking her out again this weekend to make up for my faux pas…

So, here it is – better late than never!

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Night Life, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Sticky Rice

"Sticky Balls" at Sticky Rice

Sticky Rice is a lot like its brazenly named signature dish, “Sticky Balls” – a chaotic gooey crunchy glorious mess.

This isn’t some temple of sushi where a plate of trembling tempura is placed in front of you with a reverential hush like it’s the freaking Holy Grail. You want that, go to Sushi Ko. You want pristine sashimi prepared by traditional chefs, go to Sushi Taro. You want beautiful experiments and the occasional fugu dinner, go to Kaz.

What you will get at Sticky Rice is irreverent cuisine, a florid interior reminiscent of a tattoo parlor’s secret bordello, and a crazy atmosphere like some art students’ late night party. And resign yourself to waiting on a busy weekend… this isn’t the place to hit with a hard time deadline.

Continue reading →