Labels: beer, event

Labels: random

if you've been paying any attention, you would already know that i've been having stomach problems.

after i went to my gastroenterologist on wednesday, he suggested that i get an endoscopy (which is what ma dukes suggest i ask him about). and what luck - there was a 7:45am appointment slot available on friday.

it's a non-invasive procedure. the doctor puts a long tube down my throat and looks around with a camera that is at the end of the tube, as well as takes a biopsy so the lab can run some tests. this all happens while i'm consciously sedated.

the night before i wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight (but i stopped way before that). the following day, cavin drove me to the clinic where i signed in and waited only 10 minutes or so before the nurse called me back and informed me of exactly what was going to happen, and to have me sign some waivers and what not.

i changed into my hospital robe and i was escorted to the room where the procedure was to be performed. i was quite nervous - the idea of having a long tube stuck down my throat into my stomach is not very appealing to me.

there was a european lady nurse in the room verifying all my personal information verbally, and putting the oxygen tube into my nose. she sounded like she could have been german or austrian based on her accent, and she had a very soft-spoken voice. i'm sure she was trying to present a soothing voice to put me at ease before my procedure, but it was a little too soothing for me. there was also another nurse setting up the iv in my arm for the demerol while the euro lady was talking to me. the doctor was in the room, but he was on the phone dealing with work related stuff and was rather busy.

after the iv was set up but not yet administering the demerol, the euro lady told me to open my mouth, stick my tongue out and say 'ahhh' while she sprayed a cherry-flavored numbing agent towards the back of my throat. she said, 'what lovely teeth you have!' and i felt like i was a character in the little red riding hood.

then the doctor said they were going to administer the sedation in the iv, and then the last thing i said was, 'i'm getting sleepy', and i think i saw a grey tube sitting next to me.

i don't know how much time passed (i was told that the procedure only takes 30 minutes tops), but when i awoke i was lying on my left side (which is the last position i remember being in) but in the recovery room with the curtains drawn all around me. i felt out of place and really strange, like my body had been invaded: my neck was sore, and i was really dizzy and just plain out of it. it reminded me of the seinfeld episode where jerry goes to see tim whatley (the dentist) and when he wakes up after being anesthesized, he sees tim whatley zipping up his pants and the hygenist buttoning up her shirt.

now, i am not saying that i was violated in anyway - in fact, i have received the most professional service at all times, but i guess i just don't like the feeling of being konked out and not knowing exactly what happened. afterwards when i asked the gastroenterologist how it went, grinning, he said, "you were quite comfortable," which didn't help alleviate the weird feelings i had.

cavin came into the room when the doctor was giving his preliminary results of the pictures, and he said all he could see was mild inflammation. i guess that's good, right? there's nothing wrong with me, that the doctor could tell. i'll have to call back in a week to get the results of the biopsy, though.

i'm glad there's nothing wrong with me, but it's discerning to know that everything seemed ok from the endoscopy, yet i'm still experiencing stomach pains.

i got a copy of the report which has pictures of my stomach and what not (which is where these pictures came from). it's kind of gross, yes, but it's also kind of fascinating. i mean, how many times do you get a chance to see the inside of your stomach?

---

Labels: random

cavin and i attended our second don rockwell event: $20 tuesdays. this time it was at mandu, the newest korean restaurant to hit the district proper.

when we arrived around 6:30pm, not too many people were there, but when we were actually eating, i noticed that most of tables filled up. so it seems like the word got out since they first opened about a month or two ago.

when we walked in, some of our dining companions were already there enjoying cocktails, and since cavin and i didn't want to feel left out (hihi) we split a bottle of mountain soju (the one with the mountains on the bottle in the picture on the left, duh). the soju we had was made from sweet potato and uses fresh mountain spring water and green tea for other flavorings. we thought it was quite delicious and encouraged others to try it. someone said it tasted like gin, but without the juniper berries. hmmm...not a bad description, i guess. [picture taken from here.]

two members of the dr board (one being korean) talked to yesoon & danny and had our menu already set up for all 14 of us, so we didn't have to worry about deciding on what to order. we got a lot of food for the amount we paid ($26/person includes tax&tip) and everyone had ample leftovers for future meals. but...

the panchan consisted of kimchi, green beens with tofu, black beans with potatoes, fish cakes, or eggplant, and spicy cucumber slices. while the panchan wasn't bad, i am used to seeing more variety, though, whenever we finished, the staff was very generous in bringing out more to us.

next came the mandu. mandu means dumplings in korean. in my opinion, if you are going to basically call your restaurant "korean dumpling" you had better have some kick-ass dumplings. i was able to taste all three flavors of their mandu (which were offered steamed as well as fried). the only one i really cared for was the veggie dumpling. the shrimp mandu was really dry and was almost inedible for me (woah!). and the only flavor the shrimp and the beef&pork dumplings had was the soy sauce/rice wine vinegar/chopped scallions condiment i doused quite liberally on them.

we then received pa jun, a korean seafood pancake. i normally see the pa jun as one big pancake, which is then cut into pieces for everyone to share. yesook serves hers as individual pancakes, a shade smaller than a cd. one critique that i heard the most around the table was that we couldn't tell if there was any seafood in it. usually larger pieces of seafood are left in the batter so when it fries up, you are like, 'look! a shrimp! oh! a piece of squid!' we heard later from the waiter that yesook grinds all the seafood before adding it to the batter.

eh. i think it's a mistake to grind it up, but perhaps i'm biased because pa jun oddly reminds me of filipino ukoy. i'm not sure why i think this. the pa jun is pan fried and ukoy is deep fried. and pa jun has more batter in it as well. not to mention that pa jun is a pancake, where as ukoy is a fritter. i guess the fact that the pa jun was formed into individual pancakes similar in size to ukoy might have something to do with it. oh, and btw? i love ukoy!

we also got jap chae which was not bad. it was served only mildly warm, which some of the non-experienced korean eaters at our table questioned: 'is it normally served just warm like this? or is it supposed to be hot?' (when i've ordered it in the past or had it at my korean friend, sojin's house, it's been served hot).

our mains consisted of bulgogi (marinated and grilled strip loin) and dak-geem (chicken simmered in spicy flavored sauce), of course served with white rice. while the bulgogi was ok, it wasn't nearly as good as i've had it at other korean restaurants. i missed the charred and carmelized flavor that comes from leaving the meat on the grill for a tad bit longer. the dak-geem had a nice heat to it (i believe the spice used is the same as the red spice that is used to make kimchi - red chili peppers), but there wasn't anything spectacular about it.

along with the mains came yache gui, which essentially is grilled veggies (eggplant, peppers, zucchini) that were marinated in some sort of soy/vinegar mixture, and topped with sesame seeds. while it was very tasty, it didn't strike me as being "authentic korean."

we finished the meal with fresh fruit (cantaloupe, blueberries, grapes, strawberries) which was actually very refreshing.

would we go back to mandu? eh. first, there is no table top korean bbq grilling. more importantly, everything there is pretty general. don't get me wrong. it wasn't bad, but there really wasn't anything outstanding about the place. yesook came up to our group during the meal and asked how everything was going. she seems like a very nice lady and i hope she does well - and she just might because there is a lack of korean restaurants in the district. but it's just not worth it for us to metro (& change lines) and then walk half a mile out to mandu. i think cavin and i will just stick to koreatown in annandale.

mandu
1805 18th st. nw
washington, dc
202.588.1540

Labels: booze, event, restaurant

apparently friday was the great guinness toast where people all over try to break the record of the number of people simultaneously drinking and toasting guinness drafts.

back in college i remember aimee & ang going to zeno's for the toast and coming back wasted. i, on the other hand, was a dedicated student who didn't have time to go gallavanting around town haphazardly spending my hard earned cash (donating plasma). plus, i was the last to turn 21 amongst the three of us. :)

i was jealous that they came back with a bunch of free stuff (who doesn't love free stuff?) like stickers and what not. so i was determined to get in on this guinness toast the next year. but i had soon forgot about it all these years until friday night.

so this past friday, when we got to irish times and saw a counter underneath the tv, we knew something was up.

about an hour until 11pm (when the toast is supposed to occur, apparently), a man in a cape started walking around the bar, drumming up business, making people chug pitchers of guinness and giving out those monstrous hats that resemble guinness pints. (incidentally, the man in the cape closely resembled mc king kong mushi from parappa.)

somehow jj was able to wrangle mc king kong mushi into giving us a t-shirt if we each did an irish car bomb. but after we finished, mushi only had ONE t-shirt to give. so while jj and leticia each scored one of the guinness hats, and cavin scored a wicked all-day hangover on saturday, i got the "i was counted in the great guinness toast" t-shirt, a white smithwick's t-shirt, and a bunch of dc 101 shit like beer cozies & lighters.

i think the best thing i got, though, was two free dvd's: national lampoon's tv the movie (which is advertised as 'a very special kind of stupid') and man about town starring ben affleck.

thank god i have monday off for prez day so i can put these oscar-contender films on repeat all day. (not.)

oh, and by the way. guinness + bailey's + irish whiskey (like jameson) = irish car bomb.

Labels: beer, random

no, seriously. i did.





i was on opentable looking for lunch possibilities for friday, and i happened to see that oyamel (a mexican restaurant serving fancified antojitos and authentic tacos) had open reservations for later in the evening. oh really?

cavin and i have a intimate relationship with oyamel's menu. well, at least we did, before they closed back in september. we were confused when at minibar when chef andres mentioned something about how "the crystal city location wasn't working out." we didn't quite understand what he was talking about (it might have had something to do with the amount of wine we were drinking), but a week or so later, i had heard the news that oyamel did indeed close. and, unfortunately, cavin and i did not have the chance to go there one last time before they did.

the good news, though, was that they were to re-open downtown, and even better news was that on thursday we found out about the soft opening (that night) in time to attend.

the space is much smaller than the cc location, but it still had the charming hanging butterflies from the ceiling. it was early, maybe 6pm, and no one was really there yet, though, there were many oyamel employees standing around waiting for a big surge later in the evening. so we opted to sit at the 8-10 seater bar. there is also a 4 seat ceviche bar in the opposite corner of the normal bar, and from the outside (7th & D Streets NW) you can see little plates of ceviche being made.

they are still working out the kinks. an individual order of margarita puts you back $9, yet if you order the pitcher, it's only $30. so if you at least have a partner to drink with and you plan to drink at least 3 drinks between the two of you, you're already getting a steal: the pitcher served around 5-7 drinks for us. and, since cavin and i are both boozers, you can probably guess what we ordered.

we ate things that were on the previous menu like the tuna ceviche, papas al mole (potatoes in mole with creme and sesame seeds), and the carnitas tacos (baby pork tacos topped with crushed chicharron).

they also had things that weren't on the previous menu (well, at least the not the last time we were there): chapulines tacos. oh, and chapulines=grasshoppers.

i was really curious about it, so we decided to order one and split it. i've heard that chapulines are a normal part of the oaxacan cuisine, eating them like pulutan with beer and drinks. i was completely anxious about the entire thing. while the idea of eating it sounded exotic and fun, realistically i knew frightening and strange would be a better way to describe it.

when i was first living on my own after college, crickets (which are in the same major insect group as grasshoppers) invaded the bedroom walls of my apartment. they somehow got into the walls (especially the wall behind my bed) and chirped all night. some of them eventually made their way into the apartment where young pippi and crosby would pounce on them but then easily grew tired of their playmates.

ever since then, i've grown to really dislike them, and most times am frightened by them (all insects in the grasshoppers & relatives group).

in grad school to use up some credits, i took an entomology class to try to get over my fear and learn a little bit more about insects. i even had to keep a cricket for a week at home and write up a small report about my experience (that's where the pictures in this post come from). while i got an A, it really didn't change my feelings for the cricket.

which brings me to thursday night, and the chapulines taco. the bartender told us that we might not be able to recognize that we were eating grasshoppers, because they were sauteed in shallots and garlic. uh, wrong! when the taco was set down before us, i looked and a grasshopper happened to fall out onto the bar, and i could tell exactly what it was.

so i took my first bite, feeling a little bit like being on fear factor. it was crunchy, but not like a potato chip. i could taste that the particular grasshopper i was eating had some 'meat' in it. the flavor was described to us as 'earthy', which i suppose is true, but honestly i think it had more texture to it than flavor.

i was doing fine until i realized that most of the food i was chewing was in the right side of my mouth, yet somehow a sole leg had made its way to the other side of my mouth. once i realized what was going on, i had to quick get a grip and push the leg back over to the chewed up mass on the other side of my mouth. that was the most unnerving part about the experience.

i had two bites (though, i have to admit my second bite was a bit smaller than my first bite) and cavin finished the rest. it's exciting to say that i ate grasshoppers, though i wouldn't call the experience quite that. i probably won't order it again, but hey. at least i tried it and can say that i don't really care for it.

oyamel
401 7th street nw
washington, dc 20004
202.628.1005

Labels: chaos, restaurant

yesterday as i sat at home reflecting on one of my previous lives, chaos around me ensued. apparently opm (office of personnel management) decided to close the federal government at 2pm in order to get people off the roads by the evening so that dot or whomever could properly prepare for the supposed inclement weather.

cavin came home before lunch, so luckily he was not stuck in any jammed up metro situation. and from the time opm announced the early closure to about 6pm, from our balcony we watched all the feds (and others, i'm sure) leaving early, populating the streets with car after car, making the commute home hellish.

when i woke up this morning, i wondered if we really did get the predicted weather. it seems that the roads were icy (from news reports) and opm granted feds a 2 hour delay. what is a 2 hour delay? good question. i'm still trying to figure it out.

from opm's status website:

federal agencies in the washington, dc, area are open under a delayed arrival/unscheduled leave policy. employees should plan to arrive for work no more than 2 hours later than they would normally arrive, and employees who cannot report for work may take unscheduled leave.

this means...

• employees should plan their commutes so that they arrive for work no more than 2 hours later than they would normally arrive. employees who arrive for work more than 2 hours later than their normal arrival time will be charged annual leave or leave without pay for the additional period of absence from work.


• employees who cannot report for work may take unscheduled leave for their entire scheduled workday.


• emergency employees are expected to report for work on time.

hunh? i actually came in on time today, so does that mean i don't get the 2 hour credit and still need to work a full 8 hour day, while those that took 2 hours to get here (i.e. took the 2 hour delay) only have to work 6 hours?

if that is the case, it seems totally unfair. it's as if they are penalizing me for living close to work and getting here on time.

think about it this way. take two people, ann and bill. ann lives 10 minutes walking from work. bill lives an hour away and has to drive to work. say ann and bill both leave at the same time to get to work today. because of the weather, it takes ann 20 minutes to get to work while it takes bill 2 hours to get to work. following the rules, bill gets credit for the 2 hours of traveling, while ann more only gets 20 min of credit of traveling.

so at the end of the day, essentially ann has worked more hours (clocked more hours in the office) than bill, yet they are still each getting paid for the full day. does that seem fair to you?

what opm should do is give the 2 hour credit to everyone, regardless of how they use it. jj puts it nicely:

"I shouldn't have to work more hours today than someone else because I choose to live in the District and have Metro access. I think giving everyone two credit hours usable only today is a great idea. It rewards everyone who comes into work in crap weather, not just those who have a longer commute."

opm should also make it a bit clearer on the website about how the policy works. either way, i'm making it work to my advantage and shooting for a departure time of 3pm today (if i have the 2 hour credit or not): i planned on getting to work at 6:30am, but i took the 2 hour delay, thus causing me to get to work at 8:30am, thus, making my 8-hour day from 6:30am-3pm.

gotta love the government.

Labels: chaos, work

i'm at home nursing my poor stomach. i haven't been treating it well and it's mad at me.

from my bed, i can see the snow and it reminds me of a particular time in grad school.

it was snowing pretty steadily (with inches of snow accumulated on the ground already). my roommate maria and i were both at home and had been doing some serious work, when lunchtime rolled around.

aie samanta! i'm so hungry. we don't have that much to eat in the house.

i've got an idea! pepe just took me to the popeyes and i think i remember how to get there! it's only like 10-15 minutes away!

aie, popeyes? i've always wanted to go there! but samanta! it's SNOWING out!

come on, maria, let's go! get your coat and i'll drive us there!

so we bundled up, we drove around trying to navigate through nj, and eventually we ended up at popeyes, where maria was deflowered by the 2 piece spicy dark meat combo, mashed potatoes & gravy, and of course, the buttery biscuit.

it was a fun and whimsy time and i suspected maria was having a good time as well.

this was back when i mostly depended on driving to get places. when i was fearless. when i could (and did) drive many hours alone trying to seek out new and unknown places.

things are different now. these days, i depend on the metro to get places. and when we have to go out of town, cavin almost always drives. rarely do i get into the car on the driver's side.

and because i rarely drive, i don't know how to get anywhere. i mean, i have an idea based on the times we've gone out and cavin has driven. but if i ever got lost and was driving by myself, it would not be a pretty picture (me freaking out, trying to figure out what to do, completely stressing...). and you can forget about asking me for directions - i'm completely useless.

but here is where it gets silly: all this non-driving has caused fear to supplant my once fierce driving skills. it's completely stupid, i know. i should just get in the car and drive somewhere and get over it. and maybe i will...soon. but that day isn't here yet.

so gone are the carefree days when i am able to go out on a whim to popeyes on a snowy day like today. well, at least until i grow a set.

Labels: random

i have a routine during the weekdays (more or less): i get up, make the bed, feed the cats, take a shower, check the weather, get dressed, ride the metro, get to work, sign in, turn on my computer, fill my nalgene (or mug) with water, sit down and read the news, donrockwell, dcist, etc. only after i complete this routine, am i able to settle down into my work.

i would suspect that people who work in my building also have a routine, perhaps as similar (and dull) as the one i have described above.

in the morning, as soon as i step onto metro ground, i'll admit, i'm cranky. it's like 7am (more or less), i'm trying to get to work with thousands of other people and i just want to get there. a successful morning is judged by being able to get to the metro, not wait long for a train that isn't jammed up, read my book (currently alias grace by m.atwood), switch trains without having to wait long, and not having the metal detector go off when i walk through it once i get to work. and, i should add, it's most successful when i don't have to talk to anyone during the course of the morning, at least not until i've had my green tea.

i'd say that my success rate for the past month has been at a low - possibly 30%.

so what's been gooing up my morning routine? here's a few things that really irk me in the morning:

1. waiting for a train, only to discover it's already completely packed like sardines and one more body just won't fit, and then having to wait for the next one (or the one after that, or the one after that)



2. people on the train who lean on the vertical pole that i'd like to use to hold onto (i can't reach the top bar that runs along the length of the train), and then they look at me like i'm a jerk when i try to hold onto the bar anyway and my fist is essentially punching them in the back.



3. when i run into someone i know on the train. not to be rude but seriously. i just woke up less than an hour ago, and i don't want to talk to you about work or anything else, plus i'm trying to read my book.



4. when i'm switching trains and i see that the red line train is already on the platform and i'm sprinting as if i was in the olympics reaching for the gold, yet when i get to the door of the train (which is usually the first door in the first car, right next to the train operator) and the train conductor closes the door in my face (IN MY FACE!), before i can make it onto the train, and then gives me a dirty look, and pulls away.



5. getting stuck on the right side of the escalator (which is normally reserved for those standing, with large suitcases, or physical disabilities which prevents them from walking on the left side)



6. when my smartrip card doesn't want to function properly through the faregates and then i have to back up and budge in front of a million other people trying to get through at an adjacent gate



7. when people directly in front of me aren't courteous enough to hold the door open for me and let the door slam in my face (i've written about this before and this really, really bothers me)



8. when employees entering my building cannot work the id scanner correctly. UGH! we have to hold our ids up to this scanner thing, and when it recognizes it's legit, the light turns green and you can walk through. sometimes it doesn't turn green, but you HAVE to move forward as if it already turned green. this prompts the scanner that someone is standing there and it WILL turn green, giving you the thumbs up to walk through. i don't know how many times i've seen people standing there, waiving their id badges across this scanner thing, holding up the line to get in for several minutes. how long have you been working here for?

there is one last thing that disrupts my morning routine that i just can't seem to understand. and it happened to me this morning which really just irritated me. and the thing about it that i cannot understand, is that people who work in my building do this EVERY SINGLE DAY, so there is no excuse (unless you are a new employee or just visiting, but then you wouldn't be walking in through the same doors as i would be): passing their belongings through an xray machine and walking through a metal detector (just like in the airport).

yet, as i got to work this morning, i came across a gentleman who did not appear to be a newbie (i saw his badge when he scanned it in and it was old and faded) yet did not have this routine down.

as soon as i approach my building's doors, i already have my id badge in hand, my book in the other, and as i waive my badge over the scanner and walk through, i routinely put my badge, book, and bag on the xray conveyor belt, walk through the metal detector with my arms across my chest (so my watch doesn't set the metal detectors off) pick up my stuff off the belt, and i'm off to my office.

the man this morning must have been hit over the head repeatedly, resulting in brain damage which prevented him from remembering that this is routine, that this is something we do every day when coming into work. (you are a robot.)

seriously. he had all sorts of things in his pockets. he had his cell phone, his wallet, his keys, some paper clips, chewing gum with the metal foil wrapper, other junk, and like wads of change. dude! it's like 7:30am! what are you doing with all that crap in your pocket??? and, to make it worse, it was as if he didn't realize he had so much stuff in his pocket. he was acting like, 'oh my! what's this? ah, gum? i'll have to save this nugget for later in the day when my breath reeks of the garlic my wife packed in my lunch today! oh, change? how fantastic! now i can visit the 3rd floor pantry and purchase some peanut butter cheese crackers and party mix for my afternoon snack!'

his whole discovery.com demeanor really irritated me (it's obvious, no?), yet i had to grin and bear it because he beat me to the door by a few seconds.

maybe i'm being harsh, maybe i'm being a bit mean. but i don't have the luxury of having my dream job, and i put up with what i do so i can live the life i want to. the earlier i get to work and sign in, the earlier i can leave. and when i have all these general jerks around dilly dallying, disrupting my morning routine, well, in all truthfulness, i'm going to be passive-aggressive about it and blog about it here.

:)

Labels: work

i don't know how i came across it, but i found a new york times article about general tso's (zuo's) chicken, "the most famous hunanese dish in the world." only, this sweet&sour (and spiked with chilis) chicken dish was actually fabricated in the states and ceases to exist in china.

i'm pretty sure the article was from early february so i think the times has archived the article already. while you may not be able to read the history (or lack thereof) of general tso's chicken, you can at least make the dish at home yourself, as cavin and i have printed out the recipe and made this last night (for the second time with the leftover chicken thighs we had).

the second time we made it was better than the previous attempt, i think partly due to frying the chicken a bit longer. it's a bit of prep work, but once you start it'll be done in no time. i should add that making it with a partner really helps get the dish on the table in no time.

also, this recipe results in a hot and sour chicken dish, not like the americanized version which is rather sweet.

nyt's general tso's chicken
chicken:
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1-2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce

sauce:
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp chicken stock
1 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced ginger
sliced chilis (add as much as you feel necessary)
chopped scallions
2 tsp sesame oil
oil for deep frying

mix together the sauce ingredients (tomato paste through rice vinegar). set aside.

mise en place the garlic, ginger, scallions, and chilis.

cut chicken thighs into 1/4" slices. mix the chicken with the rest of the chicken ingredients and set aside.

deep frying: add about 1 1/2" - 2" oil to a pot, heat until 350F. add chicken to oil, deep frying until dark brown (3-5 minutes). do this in batches until all the chicken is cooked. set aside.

heat wok (or pan) on medium. add 1 tbsp oil. add chilis and cook for 30 seconds. add ginger and garlic. cook for another minute. add tomato paste sauce you made earlier and cook until the sauce starts getting thick (this should happen within 30 seconds). add the cooked chicken, and turn the heat to low and cook for a minute or so. add scallions and turn off heat. add sesame oil right before serving. serve over rice. (serves 2-3 people).

Labels: chicken, cooking

to round out our "restaurant week" cavin and i decided to have an extravagant lunch (and by extravagant i mean spend close to $100 and take a 2 hour lunch on a weekday) at restaurant kolumbia. about a month ago we walked by the place on the way to my doctor's appointment, and i was like, 'oh, so this is where restaurant kolumbia is!' so armed with that knowledge, and the fact that it is brought up quite frequently on dr with positive reviews, we decided to give it a try.

when we walked in, i was surprised by the layout. from the outside i didn't believe that the building went that far back, but it did. we were greeted by the sole hostess who had to go back and forth from the front of the house to the dining area, seating people while other patrons waited by the hostess stand.

the view from the hostess stand is a long hallway, which emptied into what seemed like a well lit main dining room. along the sides of the long hallway were wine caves, as well as a 10-14 seat bar, with 2-top boothes opposite the bar. looked very cozy. on the walk to the restaurant, we decided though, that our first outing would be to sit in the dining room, and save the bar lunch for another time. (i should mention that restaurant kolumbia has $9 lunches at the bar, which from what i've heard, is a steal.)

upon entering the dining room, the first thing i noticed was the openness of the entire room. the ceiling opened up to some sort of dome, with artwork lit up and lights hanging from above. (for me, it was reminiscent of caesar's in atlantic city, with the domed sky above you, making you feel like you were actually outside.) the fact that the tables were very spaced apart also contributed to the sense of openness.

we were seated in a booth and each started with a glass of chardonnay. warm bread was presented to us, along with some sort of eggplant puree which was a pleasant addition to the butter. i was hungry (what's new) so we started off with appetizers. i ordered the daily soup, which was a duo of mushroom and potato, with a spinach (?) flan on top. i wasn't the biggest fan of the flan, but the soup was great. the mushroom provided an earthy flavor to the salty, creamy potato. cavin got the samboussek, spiced chicken in a crispy rolled pastry (think long pencil) and shallot remoulade. the filling was quite spiced, and while it was tasty, it was a little bit dry.

it took me a while to decide what to order, but once my food came out, i knew i had hit a winner. the truffled parsnip pierogi with parmesan mousse, brown butter and raisins was probably one of the better pasta dishes i've had in a while. the filling was light and airy, and the scent of the truffle oil mixed in with the browned butter sauce kept bringing my nose to the plate to smell (and then taste, of course) over and over again. the raisins were quite interesting, and were a nice complement to the sweetness of the truffle oil.

cavin's grilled squid over polenta was served with rapini (broccoli raab) and black olives. the piece i tasted was delicious, if not a little on the salty side (perhaps due to the olives). i don't really order polenta, but my standard now is the 3 cheese polenta at dino i had last week. kolumbia's polenta was just general. i've seen polenta cooked before, and i think sometimes it gets harder the longer it sits out (i could be wrong). so i think the polenta was indeed sitting out and/or it was cooked a bit of time ago, because cavin's polenta had a stiff crust on top, indicative of what i just mentioned.

i should also mention that we also ordered a side of 'best on k french fries' to see how good they were (well, i just really like french fries) and they were fantastic. they were in the belgium frites style, and were crispy on the outside, yet delicately potato-y on the inside (if that even makes any sense). had they been doused with a little bit of truffle oil, i would have been in heaven. while i cannot vouch for the fries being the best on k street, you can be definitely assured that cavin and i will be making a trip back for these bad boys.

as we were enjoying our meal, something unexpected happened which caused me to lose my appetite a little. because we were sitting in a booth, our table was up against a wall. as i was looking around, i spotted a BUG, about 1" long (similar to a roach, but not exactly - it did have a hard shell and antennae) crawling on the wall, walking down towards the table. i informed cavin and he used his napkin to try to steer it clear from the table, so he could eventually push it to the floor.

maybe you don't know this, but i don't like bugs. this is serious. i really don't like them AT ALL. i'm not a big proponent of killing them (though, flies and mosquitos i don't care - they are nasty), but i still just don't like them.

so i was fine with cavin's idea to push it to the floor. but the darned thing wouldn't make up it's mind. it kept walking back up to the picture that was hanging from the wall, then it would walk back down towards the table, then it started crawling towards cavin's coat. the whole thing was upsetting to me, as i couldn't eat my food without having to check the wall every few seconds to make sure we hadn't lost track of our friend.

this must have went on for at least 5 minutes, because who i can only suspect was the manager, walked over to our table and said, 'i'm so sorry! do you want to move to another table?' at the same exact time she walked up, i noticed cavin was fooling around underneath the table with his napkin. i told the gm it's fine, we don't need another table (at this point, we had like 1/4 of our meal left and i didn't want to have to relocate). cavin agrees, and at this point, i'm still wondering where the bug is - i can only assume that cavin has brushed our friend onto the floor because it was no longer on the wall.

the gm is still standing there, and is finally like, 'well, let me at least give you a clean one.' hunh? a clean what? apparently cavin has squashed our poor friend at the same exact moment the gm walked over to our table. they traded napkins and then we finished our meal.

we did not get dessert because we were really full, plus we had already been there for like 1.5 hours. i do have to admit that even though we ordered a lot of food and we are slow eaters, there were long delays in getting our food. had it not taken so long to get our appetizers, and then our mains, we would have been out of there in an hour or so. plus, the whole bug debacle didn't help matters either.

all in all, i thought it was a fantastic meal. the restaurant wasn't crowded at all so we'll have to add it to our 'places to go for lunch'. (i don't know if it was too cold for people to go out or what. but even when we walked out, there were only 2 patrons at the bar.)

hopefully next time, their fumigating (which the waiter explained happened the day before) will have worked and all the bugs will be long gone.

restaurant kolumbia
1801 k street nw
washington, dc 20006
202.331.5551

Labels: chaos, french fries, restaurant, seafood

i don't know if anyone reads this, but i am working on creating this new template for my blog. i was tired of using that black one and i wanted to try my hand at making a new one myself (well, sort of).

so, if you are reading, don't be surprised if things change dramatically (which i think they already have), or if things don't work like they used to. i'm still trying to figure it out.

leave me a comment if there is something you can't find or if you have any other comments.

here are some comments i already have:

1. if you click on the "home" tab, it opens up a new tab (if you are using firefox). i'm trying to figure out how NOT to do this
--fixed! (thanks cavin!)

2. you can't click on the title of the blog to take you to my most current post
--fixed! you can now click on the big kalat-o-scope header and it will take you to the home page (i.e. most current post).

3. i want to be able to see the titles of my archived posts. (currently, when you click on, say, december 2006, you get all my posts in a row on one page.)
--i have a feeling i won't be able to have my archives the way they used to be (if you even remember). for now, try searching on a particular topic at the top left and then click 'search blog'.

4. i want to add a list of my labels in the left column so it's easier to search
--fixed! i've been able to figure out how to add my labels. i.e. if you are interested in reading posts about french fries, you can click on it in the labels box.

5. i want it so when you put the cursor over a link, the link turns to a different color, even though you haven't clicked on the link yet.
--done! at first i couldn't get it to work, but later discovered it was because i was using a . instead of a :

6. i originally had this rss feed thing on my blog, but i didn't know much about it so i removed it. but apparently someone other than myself reads my blog and has requested it. so now i'm going to figure out how to do it and add this feature to my blog.
--i dunno. i added something though i don't know much about the rss feed. if jeff is using it and it works, then i'll just keep it the way it is now. if it doesn't work for you, just leave me a comment and let me know. thanks.

7. i'm starting a new feature (well, the only feature, i suppose): domingo cinco. it is sort of like a weekly round-up that i will hopefully be able to post every sunday. prolly just random things that i notice or am figuring out. we'll see how it goes.

Labels: blogging

cavin and i went to kotobuki on wednesday night for a grand ol' time of sushi and the beatles. this was no ordinary kotobuki visit, though. where normally we would leave as early as possible to beat the rush, eat, and be sitting back at home in a little bit over an hour, we went a bit later to meet two of our friends. some would call it a "double-date". whatever.

although kotobuki is off the beaten DC path (it's in the palisades section of DC), it has acquired a cult following (cavin and i included). i basically describe it as a no frills japanese sushi dive restaurant. don't expect fancy named rolls, or even fried rolls (like spider or shrimp tempura rolls). but what they do have is extremely fresh fish and seafood, the most friendly staff, and a sushi chef who adores the beatles.

we planned to meet our friends at 7:30-7:45pm, and i had my doubts. what would it be like at the 25-seat restaurant? well, i'll tell you. the place was full. there were only 2 seats open (at the 4-seat sushi bar), and there were 4 (obnoxiously loud) hoochies (early to mid-20s) already waiting for a 4-top to open up.

d&l were not there yet, so cavin and i waited. several people arrived before then, and grabbed the 2 free seats, and picked up to-go orders, but no one seemed to be leaving.

when d&l arrived (only 10 min later), still, no one had left. so we waited. and waited. finally we saw checks being handed out by the waitresses. but upon further inspection, the two tables were not next to each other. while we were standing at the top of the steps crammed in, we debated whether we should just bag the entire "breaking bread together" concept and each go for a 2-top. but we decided to keep in the spirit of the "double date", in the hopes that another table would open up, preferably one that was next to a table that was already free.

after about 45 min of waiting, the slow pokes finally paid their bill and we were escorted to our seats. (thanks a lot, jerks)

as usual, cavin and i ordered a variety of things: toro (fatty tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), lobster, uni (sea urchin), oshinko, unagi (eel), salmon skin roll, sea scallop, salmon, and white tuna. this time around, the toro wasn't as stellar as it always is, but everything else was fantastic.

along with our meal we also ordered the cold sake, which they serve in a box cup, and provide you with salt, so you can add it to the rim of your box cup. i guess you could say it is somewhat similar to adding salt to the rim of a margarita glass. cavin and i don't normally order the sake - usually we dine and dash (but not literally) - but since we were with friends, why not get into the spirit (hehe)? plus, i was fuming because i was in a bad mood all day, so it was good that i got a drink to wind me down.

kotobuki is one of those places that i wish was in my neighborhood (god, i wish something was in my neighborhood!), but kind of glad it isn't. the sushi is ridiculously cheap (on normal outings to kotobuki, cavin and i stuff our faces for $40 total) for how fresh it is and i would be there everyday (or every other day) if this place was within walking distance from our living quarters.

kotobuki japanese restaurant
4822 macarthur blvd
washington, dc 20007
202.625.9080

Labels: restaurant, sake, seafood, sushi

a few weeks ago on dr, someone mentioned a glass giveaway at rustico. curious about this, i visited rustico's website and struck gold:

Garrett Oliver subtitled his novel, "Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food." Tonight we do just that! Brooklyn Brewery's Brewmaster will be onhand to discuss the art of pairing great beer with great food as we explore a vibrant selection of his beers paired with dishes created by EatBar's Chef Nathan Anda. Cost is $90 (including tax & gratuity); $120 for dinner and a signed copy of Garrett's beer bible, The Brewmaster's Table. This evening's blow-out beer dinner is not to be missed!

i don't claim to be the next michael jackson of beer, but i know what i like, and i like brooklyn brewery beers. so it was obvious that we were going to reserve tuesday, feb 6 for the brooklyn brewery dinner.

eatbar is in virginia, a half mile or so from the clarendon metro stop on the orange line. it actually opened recently (2006) as a gastropub, attached to another neighborhood restaurant, tallula.

after braving the cold walk to the restaurant, i was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of the place. we walked in the eatbar doors (and not tallula), and it was a very relaxed. the lighting was warm and inviting, and it seemed the patrons were neighborhood folk trying to warm themselves up from all the cold with good beer and good food.

when we finally figured out the dinner was being held in the private back room, and made our way back. we found a lowly lit room (candles) with a 6-seater rounded bar, and 5 or 6 tables with name cards (well, a folded piece of paper, actually). we were the first ones there, and found our names at a cozy 2-seater booth against the wall next to the bar. great! i was glad that we didn't have to sit with people we didn't know and make small conversation. people started to trickle in, and at 7:30, the dinner began.

garrett oliver started the night off contrasting homemade bread/wonder bread and artisan cheese/kraft "slices". this naturally led him to talk about the differences between large scale beer makers and smaller craftier breweries (like brooklyn brewery). he was a great speaker and captivated the audience every time he spoke, which he did before each of the 6 courses, to talk about the beer and why it was paired with a particular dish.

i won't go into full details about the food and the beer pairings, which you can see in the linked picture in this blog entry. but i will mention a few things.

i think my favorite dish was the braised pork belly with house baked beans, paired with the brooklyn smoked weissbock. if i remember correctly, i believe mr. oliver mentioned that the malt was lightly smoked for brewing, which led to the nice smokiness of the weissbock. i think it was perfectly paired with the pork belly, which was also smoked, as well as the beans. i seriously could have eaten 5 of those dishes and still had room for the rest of the meal. it really was outstanding. i might have to try to recreate the dish at home.

we also were privy to a new beer they were making at the brewery that hadn't yet been released to the public: brooklyn local 1. it had notes of bananas, cloves and bubblegum (that's what mr. oliver said, and when i tasted it, he was spot on). it reminded me of victory's golden monkey, but not as strong, with a smoother finish. (i think i prefer brooklyn's local 1.)

the 5th course was a cheese course. i was curious to see what cavin was going to do, because not only was it a cheese course, but it was a stilton cheese course. it was paired with a black chocolate stout. eh. mr. oliver actually told us a quick anecdote of how this pairing came about. he was at another pairing: stilton cheese with the barleywine (which actually ended up being paired with the 6th course), except when he arrived, someone messed up and they only had the black chocolate stout. so he had to "bluff" his way thru the talk, as if he had done the stiltons and the stout on purpose. for him, this ended up being a blessing in disguise, because he actually thought the pairing worked, and decided to include it in our dinner.

there were two "stiltons" served, one an old-world style from england, which actually was a stilton, and another new-world style from wisconsin, which was in the style of a stilton, but technically wasn't. i thought the cheese from wi was fantastic. i even ate some of cavin's because i knew that he wasn't going to really touch it (to give him credit, he did taste it). but the pairing was a little off to me, and i could barely drink the stout, even though i love them so much. (i would have prefered the barleywine with the stiltons, truth be told.) ah, tant pis!

to end the night, the last "course" was the barleywine served with a cigar. cavin and i don't smoke, but i thought it would be kind of cool to smoke the cigar (not the best cigar i've ever had, but it was decent with the barleywine) so we split one. it was a pretty great ending to the whole night.

at the end of the dinner, it was announced that there would be another beer dinner in the next month or so at eatbar: victory. i am also a fan of victory, and have actually gone to the brewery in pa, so we'll definitely be going again.

and eatbar/tallula seemed like a great restaurant to go to relax and hang out, so we'll probably be there in the future as well.

tallula/eatbar
2761 washington blvd
arlington, va 22201
703.778.5051

Labels: beer, cheese, event, pork, restaurant

just yesterday i was asking cavin, "where the hell is our new games magazine?!?!" and, just like an actress taking her cue, our march 2007 issue arrived.

the cover reminded me of the candy line up seinfeld episode so i thought i'd share it with you.

can you name the candy bar based on the cross-sectional pictures on the cover of games magazine?

Labels: candy, games, random

this past weekend cavin's bro, brent, came to the dc area. it was the first stop on his month long driving adventure across the country (more or less).

so saturday during the day, we decided to do some touristy things and then go out to dinner. it was fun because we ended up going to places that cavin and i hadn't gone before, even though we've lived here for a year and a half.

the first place we ended up was the national archives. i was always curious about this archives place. i'm like the opposite of a history buff, so i really never had a strong desire to go there. but saturday was a good excuse to finally get my butt over there.

so what is there to see at the archives? well, first, i should say that when you get inside, there is minimal light, and no flash photography is allowed (i guess so that the documents could be preserved as long as possible).

like i said, i'm not into the whole history thing, but it was kinda cool to see the magna carta (in latin), the constitution, the bill of rights, and of course, the declaration of independence. i saw the large john hancock signature, and i also overheard some foreign tourists comment on the louisiana purchase:

ew. they didn't even FIGHT for most of their land. they just BOUGHT it.

after leaving archives we headed over to the national portrait gallery, which just opened less than one year ago. it was actually really cool to go there. the place is really huge, which we realized when we walked up a set up stairs and it was like teeny hallway after teeny hallway of art, similar to being in the stacks at the pattee library. i think cavin and i will have to go back in the near future, because we didn't even get a chance to see half of the art in there. and the fact that it's open until 7pm (11:30am-7pm) is pretty awesome.

we left the portrait gallery a little early, but decided we would press to dino an hour early, and sit at the bar. i was completely excited to be going - we've heard so much about dino on dr. but when we got there, many others also had the idea of sitting at the bar as well. and we didn't realize that it's a small 6-seater bar. but dean, the owner, was very gracious and said he could seat us right away if we wanted, which turned out to be a blessing because all three of us were already hungry.

one of the other reasons i was excited to eat at dino was because i knew brent didn't necessarily have any money restrictions either, so we would be able to order lots of stuff (and wine!) and not have to worry about money.

we ended up asking the waiter for advice on wine, and we ended up ordering a bottle of collemattoni (sangiovese) rosso di montalcino 2004. it was a full-bodied red wine from italy (dino's speciality). we tried to pick our dishes to go along with the wine we chose, so we first ordered a cheese plate (which we selected the cheeses): caseficio dell’alta langhe "la tur" {sheep, goat, cow} cuneo, piemonte, pecorino foja di noce {sheep} toscana, and guffanti provolone 28 mesi {raw – cow} valpadana, lombardia.

along with the cheese plate came out the salumi artigianali (cured meats: bresaola, speck, petit jesu, spanish choriso), as well as the burrata (bufala cheese air freighted from campania every sunday and thursday; essentially it's really fresh mozzarella wrapped around fresh ricotta). everything was completely fantastic, and the burrata was one of my favorite things that i ate that evening.

our second course (yes, we ate a TON of food! it was awesome!) consisted of calamari fritti (fried calamari) and the fritti di mare (fried sardine and baby anchovies). the calamari came out perfectly fried and tender. the fritti di mare was excellent. the sardine was fried enough so that you didn't have to worry about the tinik getting stuck in your throat. the anchovies were fried to a crisp and really went well with the rustic tomato sauce that accompanied it.

at this point in the meal, we ordered another bottle of red, alma rosa (pinot noir) santa rita hills 2004. i have to say that i don't know if this was on purpose, but our 3rd course (entrees) came out after some time. i actually thought of this during the evening, but was glad that our entrees had not come out immediately. we had eaten the hell out of the bread, the cheeses, the cured meats, and the fried fish that i was getting a little bit full, and i needed the welcomed break before getting our main. later, talking to cavin, he mentioned to me how he liked that there was a gap between when we finished the fried calamari and sardine and when we got our entrees. it really was great timing.

when our entrees arrived, they looked fantastic. to compliment the wine, brent ended up getting the pappardelle ai cinghiale (wild boar pasta), cavin the cervo (venison with roasted mushrooms & madeira sauce), and i the pepposa (braised beef short ribs served on 3 cheese polenta).

i tasted cavin's venison and it was quite delicious - i had never had venison before. but to be honest, i thought my dish was the best of the two (i did not taste the pasta). the beef was cooked to the point of falling off the bone tender, though no bone was presented on the plate. but i didn't need a knife because it literally just came apart with your fork if you even tried to move it around. it was so delicate! oh, and the 3 cheese polenta? omg. i had never tasted anything like it in my life, it was outstanding: very creamy, with a slight cornmeal texture. i'm going to have to replicate it at home, i think.

finally, while brent ordered cognac, cavin and i opted to stuff ourselves even more and order dessert. cavin got the macedoine di fruitta (winter fruits marinated in prosecco with sorbetto) and i got some sort of lemon tart with a sorbet on top. we both also ordered the moscato, a sweet grape wine that complimented our desserts. my lemon tart was not too lemony and not too sweet, so it really did end my night perfectly (since i'm not into sweets and chocolate too much).

because we got there early, we ended up being seated around 6pm, and when we were finished and leaving, it was about 9pm! woah! we stayed for 3 hours ordering and drinking whatever our hearts desired (~$270 pre-tip). it was fantastic. we didn't feel rushed, and cavin noticed as we were leaving that we weren't holding up a party waiting for a table, though, the restaurant was definitely full of other patrons having a great time.

we'll definitely be going back to dino (i'm going to push for once or twice every two weeks!) again. on sundays and mondays they have a great wine special: 1/3 off all wines above $50. i have to admit that i'm very ignorant in the wine department, but after a quick search online, the wines that we ordered at dino were not at the wine store we frequent. so we'll have to just go back and order them there (and eat the fantastic italian food)!

dino
3435 connecticut avenue nw
cleveland park, washington dc, 20008
202.686.2966

Labels: pork, restaurant, wine

the end of january has come abruptly. what happened? it's been a month since new years? hunh?

there is a restaurant in the hotel george, which is about 2 blocks from where i work. cavin and i went to bistro bis during the first (and only, thus far) restaurant week we've gone to. i remember it being really cramped, and the food was good, but nothing super-spectacular. i guess decent french bistro cooking.

since that first time we went, i've gone to bistro bis for breakfast a couple of times. they have excellent coffee that doesn't give me stomach aches, flaky croissants you would find in any parisian bakery, and, despite its capitol hill location, an upscale, yet non-demeaning atmosphere.

cavin and i have been talking about going back for a while, and it wasn't until this past wednesday that we made good on our whim.

at the last minute, i made a reservation for lunch about 30 minutes before our time, and we headed over there. the place was full. it was actually full of suits and army people, having a midweek lunch out of the office.

while cavin and i discussed our living plans for 2007-2008, we dined on some yummy things. i ordered the frisee salad (frisee lettuce with bacon lardons, croutons and sherry vinaigrette) and the steak frites bernaise. cavin ordered the jambon terrine persille (ham terrine) and the saint pierre et palovrdes (john dory fish).

i can't speak for cavin's dishes, but my frisee salad was dressed with the proper amount of vinaigrette, and the bacon lardons provided an extra saltiness to an otherwise plain salad with croutons. my steak (sirloin) was perfectly cooked (medium rare) and the bernaise added a nice acidic touch to the steak. the frites were pretty tasty as well.

i'm not sure if cavin had too high expectations for lunch, because he thought it was good, but short of outstanding. while i have to agree that lunch wasn't spectacular, i still thought it was decent french bistro fare. we spent about $75 (before tip) which was kind of pricey for lunch, but i wasn't really that surprised when the bill came out.

i wish that other decent restaurants would open up in my work neighborhood. sometimes it's nice to have options for lunch outings (besides all the crappy restaurants in union station). i guess for now i'll keep bistro bis on the list, and if i want other options, i'll just have to travel to cavin's work neighborhood and try out the places near there.

bistro bis
15 e street, nw (hotel george)
washington, dc 20001
202.661.2700

Labels: beef, french fries, restaurant, seafood

this week, starting saturday the 3rd, was supposed to be a big restaurant week for cavin and i. on deck was dinner at dino with cavin's brother, the brooklyn brewery dinner at eatbar, kotobuki with dpl, and finally culminating with the gerard pangaud dinner at l'academie de cuisine on the 10th.

but for reasons beyond our control, the second night of the gerard dinner was cancelled. and since we were unable to switch to the first night, we had to unfortunately decline (very sad day in our lives).

so friday being all depressed about not being able to go to the gerard dinner, cavin and i decided to eat out. we actually didn't decide we were going out until we met up at gallery place metro stop friday after a long day at work.

where do you wanna go? how about matchbox? ok. sure.

wow. what are all these old people doing at matchbox? and it's super jammed! aie. i don't see any bar seats, and i don't feel like dealing with it. ok. so what do you wanna do now? i dunno, but i like truffled frites.

but as we're walking in the cold weather to poste: well what are we going to do about dinner? are we eating at poste? oh. i dunno. would you rather go to cafe atlantico? well, it would be cheaper than poste. it would? wait. where are we? 9th street? let's go to zaytinya. it's right over there. ok.

so after going through all of our possible choices, we ended up at another of jose andres' empire of restaurants (including cafe atlantico, minibar, jaleo, oyamel).

when we arrived, we tried to jockey for seats at the bar. unfortunately, everyone and their mother was there early saving seats for their so's. ugh. so we ended up getting a table, which actually was better in the long run.

zaytinya is an upscale eastern mediterranean (greek, turkish, lebanese) restaurant that has mezzes, or small plates. it's of the tapas fashion, so you order a bunch of mezzes and share with the table. normally for cavin and i, we tend to order 4-6 mezzes (though, we ordered 6 this time around and we were stuffed).

we started with cocktails: i ordered the apricot sour and cavin the retsina cocktail. my drink tasted like apricot juice with sour mix (and vodka, though, i could barely taste the alcohol). apparently, retsina is some sort of wine. to be quite honest, cavin's drink would have tasted ok had it not been so watered down. i'm not even sure if it had any vodka in it, as the menu says it does. well, you win some, you lose some, eh?

we decided on 6 mezzes, because i had only eaten 1/2 peanut butter sandwich all day and i was hungry. we ended up with two veggie mezzes, two meat, and two seafood:

-cabbage dolmades (stuffed with rice & mushrooms, served with avgolemono sauce)
-kolokithakia (baby squash served with ladolemono and micro greens)
-mavrofassoula me loucaniko (grilled pork and orange rind sausage with bean stew)
-kafta harra (ground lamb and beef served in a stewed tomato sauce with pine nuts)
-fried squid (served with fresh dill & garlic-yogurt sauce)
-seared salmon (marinated in herbs & served with roasted garlic yogurt)

the cabbage dolmades was tasty - the inside tasted like it might have had some sort of cheese in it, and it was topped with the avgolemono sauce, that was very reminiscent of hollandaise sauce.

i think the best dish was the kafta harra (one of the specials). the meat was cooked perfectly and was not dried out, and the tomato sauce that was served on top was not too acidic for the rest of the dish.

the one dish that didn't wow us was the mavrofassoula. i didn't taste any orange rind in the sausage, and the bean stew consisted of the beans and the bean liquid one would find in a can of beans.

this was our third trip to zaytinya, and i think our bill each time was about what it was friday night: $60 (before tip). not too bad, for being able to taste 6 different dishes. i think next time though, 4 or 5 mezzes would be enough, and i might stick to drinking wine or maybe even try ouzo.

oh, and i just found this out on the zaytinya website: zaytinya is olive oil in turkish.

zaytinya
701 9th street nw
washington, dc 20004
202.638.0800
202.638.6969

Labels: restaurant, seafood, wine