May 2012
2 posts
tacos mi nacho
Looking for a Mexican restaurant near Hartford, Connecticut? Well, look no further than Tacos Mi Nacho, a place that I can only describe (lovingly, of course) as a hole in the wall. Tacos Mi Nacho is a tiny Mexican restaurant in Meriden, which is just outside of Hartford, making it a convenient stop on road trips from New York to Boston. The menu is large and the food seemed authentic...
end of the term feast
Alice prepared a delicious feast yesterday. She is such an amazing cook; she never uses recipes or measuring cups, yet everything she makes is incredible. Here’s the proof:
Above is jjajangmun. This is a noodle dish with a spicy bean paste sauce. There are pieces of zucchini, onion, red pepper, and potato in the sauce. This dish was so good (and check out the garnish! Fancy!).
The...
carnivore bbq
This post has been sitting in my mental queue for quite some time now. It’s been a few weeks since I ate at the Carnivore BBQ food truck (can you tell I’m really into food trucks), but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good—somehow I just forgot to write up Carnivore BBQ sooner.
I chose this truck mostly for its line. The business of finding the best food truck is a...
April 2012
13 posts
roberta's pizza
Roberta’s, a Brooklyn-based pizzeria, had a stand at the Sweetlife Food and Music Festival held yesterday. I got the def aleppo pizza, which had mozzarella, spring onion ricotta, aleppo pepper, and breadcrumbs on it. The pizza (fired in a wood burning oven on site!) was great; the festival, not so much.
far east taco grille
In my quest to eat food from trucks whenever possible, I decided to check out the Far East Taco Grille earlier this week. Korean taco trucks are quite trendy nowadays, but I’m not sure how I feel about this combination.
The tacos I tried were (from left to right) pork, chicken, and tofu. The pork was my favorite. The chicken and tofu were kind of weird. The chicken was unappealingly...
pasta with broccoli
One of the main challenges of dorm room cooking is that the largest grocery store on campus has quite a limited selection. For example, on Sunday I decided I wanted to make Smitten Kitchen’s recently posted pasta with garlicky broccoli rabe, when I got to the store, however, there was no broccoli rabe or pecorino romano cheese in sight. I think you can see where this is going—pasta...
greek deli and catering, part two
As much as I want Greek Deli and Catering to be my regular lunch spot, I just don’t think it’s going to work out. I went back a couple weeks ago and tried the spanakopita, which had the same dill problem as the gyro.
The orzo was decent, but considering the cost and the wait, I think that the food trucks in Farragut Square are a better bet.
spotted this gem
At the dining hall…
This reminds me of the South Park episode making fun of the Food Network. I don’t watch South Park but I saw that episode and I’m reluctant to admit I found it hilarious.
spring fair!
Spring Fair at Hopkins is basically a weekend-long carnival. There’s food, people selling stuff, cute animals, moon bounces, and more. Over the span of the weekend, we enjoyed quite a bit of food.
Chicken gyro—this wasn’t that good. The chicken was pretty bland and the gyro was dripping all over the place.
Turkey leg—this was quite delicious. What I liked most was...
sweetgreen frozen yogurt
I never did a post on Sweetgreen’s frozen yogurt, so here goes.
I love Sweetgreen, but their frozen yogurt is passable at best. The toppings they offer are quite limited, the texture of the yogurt is icy and grainy, and the yogurt has a lemony taste to it which is alright, I suppose, but not what I want when I’m looking for plain frozen yogurt. They use Stonyfield Farms yogurt, so...
my new favorite food truck
A few months ago, I made the street cart chicken recipe posted on Serious Eats. I had never tried street cart chicken before, but I loved the dish when I made it—in fact, I had been dreaming about it ever since. On Thursday, I got to try street cart chicken from an actual street cart (DC Kabob & Grill).
I got the chicken on rice, which is a fairly decent deal for $8.
The chicken...
cinghiale
Yesterday I went to Cinghiale in Fells Point with my parents. We had a great Italian meal there, I’d definitely recommend it. I had the bruschetta sampler to start.
From left they are: asparagus with herbs, some kind of pork thing, caramelized onions, egg, olives, and beet and ricotta. I didn’t try the pork, egg, and olive ones but I really liked the asparagus and beet offerings....
san soo kab san
Last weekend Alice and I went to a Korean restaurant in Hampden called San Soo Kab San (2101 Maryland Avenue). I must say, compared to some of the other Korean places we’ve been to, this spot was pretty luxe.
Of course, to start there was the traditional banchan.
See the dish on the far left? That’s octopus! In addition to the banchan, they give you free mandu. Pretty sweet,...
a secular seder
Yesterday I hosted a little seder for Passover. I made matzo ball soup,
roasted carrots with orange (I forgot to take a picture), matzoh brei (fried matzoh—not traditional but our seder wasn’t exactly traditional),
and caramel matzoh crunch.
We had a great time talking, laughing, and getting into the spirit of Passover.
I wonder if Elijah liked the blue solo cup we left for...
the maugus restaurant
When I was home on break, I went to one of my favorite brunch spots near where I live—The Maugus Restaurant in Wellesley. I love their pancakes, especially the strawberry variety. So, that’s what I got on this most recent visit.
I’m sad to say that this time the pancakes were a real letdown. They were tough and chewy (like the batter had been overmixed or was sitting out for a...
March 2012
19 posts
revisiting julia's empanadas
I got a turkey empanada from Julia’s for lunch yesterday.
It was (how do I put this delicately?) not to my tastes. It was really spicy (in the hot sense and in the general sense) and the flavors were just busy and muddled (sorry for the vague description, but it’s kind of hard for me to remember exactly why I didn’t like it other than that I thought it was way over-spiced). I...
white beans!!!!!!!!!!!!
There’s this episode of the Barefoot Contessa where Ina and her friend make Provencal beans, and at one point in the show, her friend squeals “white beansssssssssssssss!” Naturally, my dad and I found this hilarious, and for some reason I felt the need to make white beans after this incident. It was the first time I had made beans from scratch (rather than using canned beans) and...
anna's taqueria
Chicken quesadilla from Anna’s Taqueria, my favorite Mexican place. It was even better than I remembered.
1 tag
dumplings with homemade wrappers
Recently I made dumplings. The dough recipe was great, but the filling was bad. Next time, I’ll stick to my own filling recipe and use the same dough.
1 tag
granola
Why buy granola when it’s cheap and easy to make? Plus, you get to control what goes into it and the texture of the finished product. Stop throwing your money away, start making your own granola!
Start by preheating your oven to 300 degrees. Then, mix together 4 cups of old-fashioned oats and 1 cup of sliced almonds (I doubled the recipe, that’s why there’s so much granola in...
canines & cocktails
This is seriously one of the best ideas.
@ The Wellesley College Club, Thursdays from 4-7. You’re welcome.
bruegger's bagels
If you’re a bagel snob, look away now. I have a confession to make: I love Bruegger’s Bagels. Now, I know that’s lowbrow, and that I should at least pretend to like New York (or Montreal) bagels, but I’m just going to tell it like it is. I strongly suspect that the bagels you eat as a child are the bagels you grow accustomed to and love even as an overgrown child. Kind of...
bibimbap (again!)
I made bibimbap a couple nights ago, according to Alice’s directions, obviously.
The only difference is that I made it in a big skillet (and I used brown rice), so I wouldn’t have to crisp up the rice in individual bowls. On that note, the rice didn’t get as crispy as I would have liked. If you’re making bibimbap, I’d suggest crisping the rice for a lot longer than...
1 tag
firehook bakery
On Thursday I got a sandwich from Firehook Bakery for lunch. It was a delicious curried chicken salad sandwich. The chicken salad had raisins in it, which was a nice added touch.
For a quick, grab-and-go lunch, I’d definitely recommend Firehook. The food is good and it’s not too expensive, which is a rarity in D.C.
sweetgreen
Sweetgreen is a salad/yogurt place that has multiple locations in the DC/MD/VA/PA region. The concept of Sweetgreen is similar to that of Chop’t—basically, it’s a place where you can get custom-made salads. This seems to be the latest lunch trend, and I think it is a pretty good one. It’s fun to interact with your food (even vis-a-vis a Sweetgreen employee), and the salad...
snapshots from DC, part 2
Eastern Market. I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to look. Tons of fresh meat, cheese, and produce. I hear their brunch is amazing, too!
snapshots from DC, part I
Pitango Gelato (660 Pennsylvania Avenue)— nocciola (hazelnut) and chocolate noir (dark chocolate sorbet). The perfect treat for this unseasonably warm weather.
hamentaschen
You guys. Alice is really embracing Judaism. In fact, on Saturday she made me hamantaschen because she was celebrating Purim. Just kidding, I made the hamantaschen. But Alice, Ingrid, and Eliza helped me eat them! Hamantaschen are easy to make and so good. I used Smitten Kitchen’s recipe and it turned out great.
Start by softening 8 tablespoons of butter and 3 ounces of cream cheese.
Mix...
look what alice made
Red bean buns! Yum! Maybe if we’re nice she’ll give us the recipe.
greek deli and catering
Near where I work in D.C., there’s this place that always has a huge line out the door at lunchtime. This Thursday, I went at around 11:45 in an attempt to beat the lines and see what all the fuss was about. I still had to wait on line for a little over ten minutes, and when I got to the front of the line at Greek Deli and Catering I started to get stage fright. The owner was barking at the...
a bat mitzvah for alice
Okay, Alice didn’t actually convert. But we did make matzoh ball soup today, and it was amazing! Matzoh ball soup isn’t hard to make but it does take a long time. Here’s how you make it.
Start with some chicken (I used 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs), one half of an onion (cut in half again so you have two quarters), one carrot, cut into thirds, one piece of celery, cut in...
birthday cake oreos
Birthday Cake Oreos are all the buzz lately. At an event I hosted tonight we had them, and I must say, the experience was a little perplexing. The Oreos really do taste like birthday cake (in the most synthetic, chemical way), which is bizarre because you’re expecting them to taste like Oreos.
What’s the takeaway? The idea is cute (especially the sprinkles in the filling), but...
dried apricots
Like a little bite of summer. Perfect for a dreary winter day.
P.S. Mariani apricots are the best. Don’t get those shriveled up, brown, dried apricots, they’re tough and not at all delicious.
February 2012
29 posts
georgetown cupcakes
Today at a briefing I went to there were free Georgetown Cupcakes. Like anyone in the DC area with functioning ears, I’ve heard a lot about these cupcakes. So, I grabbed one to see if they were any good.
I should have spent a little more time choosing my cupcake. I was surprised to bite into the cupcake and find out it was banana bread. It wasn’t bad, but I would have rather tried a...
orange bloody orange
Blood oranges are so beautiful.
Yum. Second only to Cara-Cara oranges in terms of deliciousness.
chobani passion fruit greek yogurt
Passion fruit is one of my favorite fruits and Greek yogurt is my favorite kind of yogurt. Obviously, I was expecting the union of the two to be delightful.
Chobani certainly didn’t let me down. I have to say, it didn’t surpass my fave flaves, which are Fage plain Greek yogurt and Siggi’s passion fruit-pomegranate skyr, but it was still really good. I especially liked the...
how to: make bibimbap
Bibimbap is an easy and healthy weeknight dinner. It doesn’t take long to prepare and it is so good! Here’s how you make it:
Start by preparing any assortment of vegetables.
Cook a bit of protein (Alice mixed some ground pork with some soy sauce, tapicoa starch (it’s Alice’s secret ingredient—it makes the meat more tender), sugar, and Chinese cooking wine).
Put...
yogen fruz
Yogen Fruz is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while (seriously, it’s been a couple of years now), so today I finally took the plunge. The premise of Yogen Fruz is that they custom blend your yogurt with the fruit(s) of your choice so that you have a delicious, blended treat. Toppings are so passe, right? I got raspberry blended with my yogurt. I would have liked to add other...
the little house cookbook
I am mildly obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder. I especially loved her food descriptions—pig’s tails, candy hearts, maple candy, I could go on and on. Last year, as a legal adult, I checked out The Little House Cookbook from my local library. The recipes actually seemed pretty gross, and the book came due before I could make anything. Of course, the library accused me of not returning...
WatchOne of my favorite SNL skits. Taco town!!!
village square cafe
Last month I had brunch at Village Square Cafe, a cute little spot in what can only be described as a glorified strip mall in the Roland Park area. I took photos while I was there, but they disappeared from my phone later that day. So, I poached a photo from Yelp (thanks Roseann G.) so that this post isn’t totally boring.
I had an omelet and a raspberry rugelach. The rugelach was...
running on empty
Wow, I am really running low on bloggable material due to the fact that I am not eating anything! Here’s a meal I made in early January— it’s a bean burger and mujaddara (rice, caramelized onions, and lentils, topped with spiced yogurt). The burger was truly awful (Mark Bittman’s recipe from NYT magazine if anyone’s wondering), the mujaddara was okay but not the best...
carryoutmenu.com
Remember how before if you wanted to get takeout you had to pick up the phone and speak to an actual person to place your order? Well, the magic of the internet now allows you to circumvent interpersonal contact when ordering takeout. A bevy of websites exist solely for the purpose of satiating your gastronomic (and misanthropic) desires, and tonight I decided to try carryoutmenu.com because they...
blah
It’s February and it feels like a scene straight out of the Doldrums from The Phantom Tollbooth.
From 2:30 to 3:30 we put off for tomorrow what we could have done today.
From 3:30 to 4:00 we take our early late afternoon nap.
From 4:00 to 5:00 we loaf and lounge until dinner.
From 6:00 to 7:00 we dillydally.
From 7:00 to 8:00 we take our early evening nap, and then for an hour before...
ricotta gnocchi
With sage brown butter. Made January 6 (better late posting than never). Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.
if you really love someone...
You won’t get her crappy flowers from outside of Union Station.
You’ll get her an Edible Arrangement.
Just kidding, obviously Valentine’s Day isn’t about what you get your “special” someone (it IS about the fact that you can still tolerate him/her even after getting to know him/her). I just wanted to show off my Edible Arrangement!
