#183 - Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington DC

A few weeks ago I was back home in Maryland visiting family and friends. My friend Kara lives in North Carolina, but occasionally comes to town when she knows I'm going to be there. This was one of those times, and we had a 2-day funtivities excursion.  Our funtivities are a lot more tame now than they were in college...probably a good thing. The first day we did Annapolis, visited Heather in College Park, and went to the Washington Nationals game.  The second day we toured DC, hitting a lot of spots neither of us had been to in a really long time. We went to the Jefferson Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Capital, and the Supreme Court. We got to the Capital too late to do a tour, but they were in session and we saw about 40 black Suburbans with tinted windows, waiting on the senators. I stopped to talk to the cops and they asked if we wanted to go in and watch whatever they were voting on.  I would rather watch paint dry, and they found that really funny. I was serious. I'm not sure if you can ever go into the Supreme Court building, but it was pretty cool. 

We walked EVERYWHERE. Well, we took the metro to Arlington because it's way too far to walk. But other than that, we walked. And it was blazingly hot. Thank goodness we were both smart enough to wear running gear. According to the pedometer on my phone we covered 13 miles. That's an entire half marathon. 

If you've never seen the Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery, you need to go. It's one of the most moving things I've ever seen. It's a very elaborate, exacting ceremony that takes less than 5 minutes, and all the spectators remain standing and completely silent. I was melting during the ceremony, so I can't even imagine how hot they get in full dress.

By the time we toured the cemetary and took the metro back to DC we were starving. I looked on restaurant.com to see if I could find someplace for us to go, but nothing caught our eye. Instead we decided to go to Old Ebbitt Grill.

Old Ebbitt Grill opened in 1856, and is the oldest bar in Washington DC. It's moved locations around DC several times over the years, and is now just a couple blocks from the White House. So it's no surprise to see politicians eating there. The walls are dark paneling, it's white tablecloths at lunch and dinner, and the servers all wear white shirts with suspenders, bow ties, and long white aprons. The decorations are ornate, with large paintings on the walls

Photo courtesy of about.com

We were 100% underdressed for eating here. But, it was a late lunch, and it's the height of tourist season in DC. So we decided not to care. 

First up, lots of water. Then, it was time for a beverage.  To beat the heat, we went light and crisp with prosecco

I'm a big fan of prosecco.  It's not as sweet as champagne, but it has all the bubbles. And it's very refreshing. 

We decided to start with oysters. They change up the oysters daily, and since we were on the East coast we went with the ones from New England and Maine

Ice cold, fresh, and delicious. The vinegar sauce was really good as well.  I've had some that is really overpowering with the vinegar, but this one had a really nice balance.  It was interesting that they put the horseradish directly into the cocktail sauce.  I've never seen that before.  The down side to that is you can easily get way too big a chunk of horseradish.

Kara raved about the burgers, and they use locally raised beef. Who can pass up on that?! We both went with the regular burgers. Kara added American cheese and sauteed mushrooms

I added bleu cheese and sauteed onions, and added sriracha mayo mayo on the side

The burger was awesome.  It was cooked to a perfect medium, and was very tender and juicy. I've never seen sauteed onions on the side before...usually they just put them on the burger. But they give you a whole lot of onions. So maybe that's a good thing. 

I'm a huge french fry snob. I have no qualms asking restaurants (both sit down and fast food) to bring fresh fries when the ones I get aren't up to my standards. I have to say I was quite disappointed with these fries.  They had good flavor, and were the thickness that I like, but they were just lukearm. I'm pretty sure we got at or near the bottom of the batch. I'm not sure why I didn't send them back. Probably because I was starving, and we still had a lot to do in our day. 

Will I go back? Definitely. I love the atmosphere, and the food was really good. Besides, I need to give the french fries another chance. 

#182 - Wicked Waffle, Washington DC

When I was a kid, we went to downtown DC all the time. Every time we had friends or family from out of town, DC it was.  I swear I went to the Air & Space Museum about 50 times by the time I was a teenager. But its funny…when you live in or near a tourist area, you rarely go otherwise. Who wants to deal with throngs of tourists? And because all of the attractions in DC are free, I feel like it's worse and more crowded than other cities. 9/11 changed security measures all throughout the country, but thankfully it hasn't had a major impact on DC tourism. You can still easily go to every museum, but just have to pass through a metal detector. And everything on the National Mall is still free. I can’t imagine working in downtown DC. Every day in the spring and summer you’re competing with thousands of visitors, many of whom have no idea where they're going or what they're doing.

When Kara brought her kids in April we hit a few of the hot spots. I will never make that mistake again. Every school group in the world was there. It was absolutely brutal. Best birth control ever. It’s still super crowded in the summer, but it’s just families so it's not quite as bad.

Of course we needed food to start our day. Kara had come across Wicked Waffle on Facebook a couple months earlier. I had never heard of it, so I checked it out online and it looked pretty good.  And then I saw it in the food court at Montgomery Mall. When I sent Kara a picture, she was skeptical because it was at a food court. But I assured her that she shouldn't judge a restaurant simply because of that. And then I sent her a picture of my amazing lobster roll from Lobster Me...from the same food court.

On the morning of our excursion, my mom dropped us off at Silver Spring metro station. The train (metro) is the way so many residents and tourists travel around DC/Maryland/Virginia. It's clean, convenient, and super user friendly. The one down side is that they jack up the prices during rush hour, and their rush hour hours are really long. But it still beats driving, fighting traffic, and trying to find a place to park. There are actually 3 metro stops within easy walking distance of the restaurant.

I'm sure rent prices for shops & restaurants in that area are insane. So Wicked Waffle is a very small place. There's no seating inside, but there are a few tables out on the sidewalk.

I also fell in love immediately, at this sight

I love Nutella. And they've got these huge jars of Nutella everywhere. I was kind of tempted to grab one and run. But it wasn't worth getting arrested over that.

The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch, and they've got savory sandwiches, sweet topped waffles, and a few sides. I love that they use the waffle iron inserts for the coffee drainer

Since it was breakfast we both decided on sweet. Kara got the strawberry cheesecake, and I got the Nutella (of course)

Oh my. The waffles were incredibly light. I have no idea how they do that, but it was amazing. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. You could easily eat double, and not even be full. The day before I was disappointed that there wasn't enough Nutella on the pop tart from Iron Rooster. Wicked Waffle makes up for it and more. Never thought I would say this, but it was almost too much. Almost. I didn't try Kara's, but she raved about hers as well.

As we were ordering, I looked back out the window and saw that this place is right next door to The Bottom Line.  We spent many nights there back in college and beyond.  It's one of my favorite bars downtown. I think the last time were there was for Kara's bachelorette party. Basically a big deja vu. Wicked Waffle should seriously consider opening late night on weekends. They would kill it with the after-bar crowd. 

Will I go back? No question! I'd like to go for lunch and try one of the sandwiches. Or maybe back for a breakfast sandwich. Or both.

#143 - Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, Washington, DC

A couple weeks ago I was on Facebook, and saw that someone had commented about a place in DC called Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken.  I like doughnuts, but don't eat them very often because I don't want to look like one.  I do, however, have an unhealthy obsession with fried chicken.  And when I looked further, I saw that it was owned by Jeff Halpern and another former Washington Capitals player.  Jeff's mom and my parents worked together at Montgomery College for years, and my mom and I went to go watch him play hockey a few times when he played at Princeton. 

I knew I had to find my way to this place.  The perfect solution was last week, when Kara and I took her kids to DC sightseeing for the day.  We packed a whole lot into the day.  Our first planned stop was National Archives, to just run in and look at the Declaration of Independence.  The line was halfway around the building at 10:30AM.  So that was out.  But we did hit National History, the White House, Air & Space, World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.  I usually give Kara grief for walking so fast, but it sure came in handy so we could fit everything in.  We probably covered about 5 miles. 

The boys were really hungry after National History, and Astro is on the way to the White House, on G St between 13th and 14th.  So it timed out really well.  I knew it was small, but had no idea quite how small.  It's literally a cubby hole.  No more than 10 customers can stand in there at one time, and if all 10 are in there, it's packed. There are a couple of tables just outside the door to eat, so I'm guessing most of their business is locals who live or work nearby.  It was chilly and windy, but the tall buildings blocked the wind and so it was actually very comfortable to sit outside.  Good thing, because that was our only option.  They also have a food truck, which is probably more popular than the building. And they're getting ready to open another brick and mortar location in Virginia. 

The menu is very limited, but I like that.  Pick a few things, and do them well.  And they do 2 things... fried chicken and doughnuts.  The chicken options are leg/thigh, sandwich, or tenders.  I really like that everything is served in recyclable materials.  As I was deciding, I noticed they have a dumbwaiter to either upstairs or downstairs where they cook the food. And there are about a dozen varieties of doughnuts that rotate from day to day. I really like that they have the different doughnuts displayed on the counter so you can see them up close to help you decide. 

(forgot to take a pic, so borrowed this from online)

Kara got chicken tenders for the boys.  She got a chicken sandwich, which of course is served on a doughnut instead of bread. With the sandwiches you can get your choice of a couple different sauces.  The one thing I did think was weird is that they don't have ketchup. They probably should have it available, since kids usually want it.  And that's what Liam and Spencer had asked for.  I failed miserably on the pictures, so I had to borrow these from online

Of course I got leg/thigh. I'm always going to take that option when it's available.  There's no fries or other sides, but they did have chips.  And Mexican coke.

The chicken was fantastic.  Think there's a little Old Bay in the seasoning.  Whatever it is, it adds wonderful flavor.  It wasn't screaming hot like I usually like it, but it hadn't been sitting for more than a couple of minutes so it was still hot.   The meat was tender and juicy.  Of course it was a little greasy because it's fried chicken. But not bad at all.  At first I was a little disappointed they don't serve fries.  But with doughnuts on the menu who needs fries?  And besides, the chips were delicious.  I'm really a fan of the kettle cooked.

I went with the nutella doughnut.  And of course as I was waiting, the lady behind me asked which one to get and the cashier said crème brulee was the most popular.  I didn't even see that one.  Fail on my part.  But I didn't want to be the creep changing my mind, so I stuck with nutella.


I started pulling it apart before I realized I had forgotten to take a picture, which is why it's smoothed on one end.  These doughnuts are so good. Very light and airy.  I was kind of hoping it would be filled with nutella, but that would have been overkill.  The frosting was more than enough.

I will definitely be back to this place.  Even if all I do is get a doughnut.  It will be well worth it to support Jeff. 

#142 - Panache Restaurant, Washington, DC

I'm so annoyed.  I did this post last Wednesday, and then today when I logged in to take notes on our lunch spot, I noticed that this post was back to draft. And when I looked, the whole thing was gone.  Poof.  No clue what happened. It's never happened before, and luckily it was just this one post and not the whole blog.  So here's my attempt to re-create.

You know how when you live in a touristy area but you never go to the touristy part?  That's the way I am with Washington DC.  I lived in the area for 95% of my life, but it's always too crowded, too much traffic, and just too much everything.  When I was a kid I went with my dad every time relatives came to town. Since becoming an adult, my trips to DC were to the bars with friends in my mid to late 20's.  We had to pick up my mom at Union Station last week anyways, so it was the perfect opportunity to find a good restaurant downtown. There's 100's of them on restaurant.com.  Traffic in DC is no joke, so I tried to find something not too horribly far away.  I went back and forth on a couple of places, and eventually settled on Panache Restaurant. 

Panache is at 17th and Desales St, right in the heart of downtown.  We found street parking about 2 blocks away, which in downtown DC in the middle of the workday is a small miracle.  It's a cute place, tucked in between office buildings, and the color scheme is red.  It's not big, but they sure know how to maximize space.  The entire left wall is several large semi-circle booths, the tables in the middle are is mainly 2 and 4 tops, and then the bar area has 5 high top tables plus seating at the bar.  I never think about making reservations, because you don't need to in Stillwater.  When we arrived the restaurant was packed, so our only option was the bar area.  But that was fine.

Panache is a tapas restaurant, so we decided to get several items to share.  First came complimentary bread

The bread was good, but it would have been even better if it was warm.  It was kind of a flatbread.  The butter was really delicious and creamy, kind of like a sweet butter.

We decided to start with calamari and hummus while we discussed other options

Purée of chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil & garlic.
Topped with chopped tomatoes & served with toasted pita

The hummus was delicious and very fresh.  Most places it's served room temperature, but this one was served cold.  The bread was really good and served warm, and I really enjoyed the contrast in temperatures.

Grilled squid tossed in salsa verde with fresh parsley

The calamari was really good.  It was served more room temperature, and I've never had it that way.  I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not, but it worked.  I've also never had calamari battered rather than breaded.  But I really liked it, and even ate the crispies that had fallen off while we waited for the rest of our food.  The salsa verde was excellent.  So flavorful and light and creamy.  Our server said it was their version of cilantro aioli.  They should seriously bottle and sell the stuff.  She also brought out a red pepper dip, but we didn't like that one nearly as much.

Next came Escalivada Mediterranean (grilled veggies) and blackened salmon with artichokes

Escalivada Mediterranea (Grilled marinated eggplant, zucchini & yellow squash)

Blackened Salmon filet with pan seared artichoke hearts finished with a pesto cream sauce

I didn't try any of the veggies, but my dad said they were really good.  The salmon was outstanding.  The blackening wasn't spicy at all, just lent a warmth to it.  The only negative was that the piece was really small.  I know tapas are small plates, but I really wish they put more on the plate.  The pesto cream sauce was delicious and not heavy at all.  I dipped my bread in it.  I usually only eat artichokes on pizza, but these were really good.

My mom and I were going to share the shrimp with garlic, and our server said it was a good choice.  And then she recommended the Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops).  And raved about them.  So we switched

Seared diver scallops with a creamy anise sauce

Wow.  These were absolutely fantastic.  Fresh, creamy, and perfectly cooked.  I don't know what anise sauce is, but I could have eaten a lot more of it.  Heck I could have eaten 3 plates of this.  It was that good.

When we originally gave our server the order, my dad asked how she would remember it all since she didn't write it down.  She told him it was easy, since she'd been doing it for 15 years.  So it was really funny when we realized she forgot my French onion soup.  She apologized profusely, and offered to take it off the bill.  But I told her not to worry, because we needed it to get to $50 for the coupon.

Rich beef broth with sweet yellow onions. Topped with toasted gruyere cheese

So good.  The broth was rich but not heavy.  The cheese was melty and gooey and delicious.  The way melted cheese should be.  And perfect for the chilly day that it was outside.

I saw desserts being delivered to a table and they looked really good.  But we were so full. You think because it's small plates that you need to get a lot.  But then it's deceiving.  The calamari itself is a large serving, and since my mom doesn't eat it, it was all up to me and my dad.

This place was really, really good.  Forgetting the soup aside, our server was excellent and friendly.  And I loved the atmosphere.  I think it would be a great place for an after-work happy hour.  I will definitely be back. 

#107 - Twist Restaurant, Dupont Circle, Washington DC

A few months ago my mom bought a coupon for Twist Restaurant on livingsocial.com. Neither of us had ever heard of it, but it got great reviews for its Sunday brunch. There are 2 locations, one in Dupont Circle and one on Wisconsin Avenue.  Either way, you're fighting traffic and horrible parking.  So we flipped a coin and went with Dupont Circle. It's located in the Carlyle Suites Hotel.  They said that reservations were strongly recommended.  When my mom called the guy said that they seat 400 at peak.  I don't think my mom believed that by her reaction when she hung up the phone.  But I really didn't want to take chances. Besides, I swear everyone in Dupont Circle eats out.  

Dupont Circle is in Washington DC, near to Embassy Row and home to lots of restaurants, bars, and shops.  It's also a very gay-friendly neighborhood, and has been for as long as I can remember.  There's tons of row houses that I would assume are crazy expensive, seeing how close it is to downtown and that it's right near all the Embassies and many private associations.  We drove around for quite a while, and finally found parking about 5 blocks away.  Of course as we walked to the restaurant we saw lots more spaces.  Oh well.

When we arrived it was already full.  There were only 2 tables available in the room. And they certainly pack the room with tables. I eventually realized there are 2 additional eating areas that were separated from the main room by an open doorway, and those rooms were closed in.  And by the time we were finishing our meal both of those rooms were pretty full as well.  The good thing with it being a buffet is that there's a lot of turnover.  It seemed like people stayed about an hour.  But then again, there a few tables that were there when we got there, and were still going strong when we left.  Brunch runs from 11-3, and because  there's such a large crowd the food doesn't last long.  So it gets replenished fast and often. So it's fresh and delicious no matter when you go up.  We saw a lot of people who were using the coupon, and from sites other than livingsocial.com.  Word had obviously gotten out.  But what a great way to boost your business.

A young woman got into a huge argument with the manager because she was seated in one of the side rooms, and wanted to be in the main room. He was pointing out that the main room was full when she arrived, but she didn't want to hear it. I saw her when she walked in, and there were no empty tables in the main room.  Here's my thing.  If you only want to sit in the main room, then you wait until a table is available there. Don't sit somewhere else, and then cause a scene afterwards.  She eventually stomped out in a huff.  I'm sure she bashed the whole situation on social media, but she was in the wrong on this one.

The main room was done like an Italian street cafe, and the glass ceiling made it feel like you were outside.

Brunch included unlimited mimosas and bloody marys.  I don't do the bloody's, so mimosas it was.  I loved that once there was a wait, they offered guests in line mimosas. Definitely makes the wait seem shorter.  About halfway through our meal a guy showed up and started playing the piano.  It was very close to our table so a little loud.  But he was very good and it was jazz, so we enjoyed it.

There were tons of things to choose from.  Made-to-order omelettes, waffles, breads & pastries, hot food, salads, and desserts.  I was disappointed they didn't have description menu cards at the stations, and I had to guess at what some stuff was.  To me, every buffet should have at least a minimal description of what's in each dish.  

I started with the cold stuff

I wasn't a fan of the grape leaf thing.   It was filled with rice and some other spices.  My dad liked it though.  The tabloui and couscous both had tons of flavor.  I like that the tomato/cucumber/onion salad also had pineapple.  Had never had that combination before, but the pineapple added a very nice, subtle sweetness. 

Next came the hot food

The hummus was delicious.  Yes, I realize that's cold, but I had missed it the first go round so I couldn't pass it up again. The bacon was just okay.  The lasagna was delicious.  It had great seasoning and lots of gooey cheese. The chicken was fantastic.  I love the sauce it was served in.  The fish was pretty good.  It was a very mild white fish, and the sauce had a lot of flavor. The meatloaf was outstanding.  I didn't even know what it was when I took it (see, why they need the menu cards).  Even after a bite I wasn't sure.  When I went back for more they had replenished the tray and I could then see the meatloaf shape.  I had never seen meatloaf on a buffet before, and couldn't tell you the last time I ate it. But I could have eaten a whole tray of it. It was so moist and flavorful.   That and the chicken.  When I went back for more meatloaf, I got more chicken too.  Couldn't help myself.

Of course we had to take breaks between plates.  And during those breaks, I drank mimosas. I really wonder how much champagne they go through every Sunday.  Brunch runs 11-3, and the mimosas are unlimited.  And the place holds 400.  And it's packed. We had gotten there at 11:30, and by noon there was one lady at the bar, constantly making pitchers of mimosas.  For efficiency's sake, they came around with the pitchers and refilled the mimosas.

My last plate was dessert

The mini cannolis were awesome.  I liked that they were small, so not overwhelming.  I was good and only had the 2.  The fudge brownie was extremely rich but very good. The tiramisu...let's just say after one bite I sent my mom back to the table to get another piece. I think they soak the lady fingers all week because they packed a serious punch. There was a little too much cream, but I just ate around that.  And I ate the other piece my mom brought me.

I was very surprised that the buffet is only $34.95 per person.  For Washington DC that's a great deal, especially with the unlimited drinks.  Last year when Emily and I went to Black's in Bethesda it was $58pp.

Will I go back?  No question.  I may try the Wisconsin Avenue location, just to see if it's any different.  As long as they have the tiramisu, meatloaf, and chicken, I'll be happy. Oh, and of course the mimosas.