Cork

It was a rainy, chilly Saturday night in September, and CC decided that the lucky restaurant to host her birthday dinner would be Cork, on 14th St NW between R and S St. I had never been, so this was pretty exciting. I was sick with a cold so I was a bit nervous about how long I would last - I was like a video game character and my energy bars were disappearing at triple speed.

We got there at about 7:50pm, and of course, the restaurant was PACKED. I mean, every table was full , the bar stools were all taken and there were many many people squeezing themselves into every nook and cranny of the restaurant while waiting for a table. Since they don't take reservations, we had to wait for a table to open up and for a table for eight, it was going to be a while. As we stood by the bar to order drinks, I noticed 2 gigantic glass jars, one full of a colorful medley of olives, and one of mixed nuts. I made up my mind then that we were going to have olives, and fortunately most of our friends agreed. There were delicious scents rising to meet our hungry noses as we stood around sipping on wine and scotch. Their wine selection is vast, as expected in a wine bar, which made CC, a wine enthusiast, quite happy. They list their wines by color and then by region, and I think we had all tried something different and all were satisfactory.

After about an hour of waiting, we were taken to a table toward the back of the restaurant, which was lovely because it was much quieter than the front. Honestly, my expectation for the food was low since Cork is a wine bar, but looking at the menu, I found myself saying, ooh, this looks good, this looks good, this looks good...ooooh, THIS looks good...um, everything looks really good. So then a crazy thought crossed my mind and apparently CC's also - there were eight of us, so we could possibly get one of everything on the menu - mind you, we were starving. And it would have been perfectly affordable - I did the math and it would have been under $30 per person!! Then reality bonked us on the head and we began to eliminate a few items.

The olives were delicious, especially the big black ones, yum. One of the best things I've ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth (ooh that sounds kinda dirty) is the avocado on grilled bread with chopped pistachios and toasted pistachio oil. It is so simple yet sooooo good. The calamari was also quite good, the batter wasn't overwhelming and the remoulade complements the lemony, crispy calamari wonderfully. Oh and the french fries, oh my gosh, it's all garlicky and the house-made ketchup is amazing with a hint of cumin. My absolute favorite of the night was the duck confit - it was crispy and melt-in-the-mouth tender, wow, suddenly I'm hungry. We also tried the sauteed wild mushrooms, which was way better than expected, with a nice meaty texture and a delicious sauce. Grilled pork tenderloin topped with fried lemon and mustard greens was definitely a hit - the fried lemon was a surprise, it provided a nice contrast to the pork and the bitterness of the mustard greens. The only glitch in the evening was not getting the right cheese on the cheese platter and having to wait 30 minutes after we were done eating for the brussel sprouts (not my fave, btw, too much butter - I know, that's impossible, but in this case its true), but in the end, with lots of good wine and wonderful company, it was a fabulous evening, even though I was exhausted from coughing. We ended the feast with a cookie platter, port for the fancy C sisters, hot chocolate for MJ and me, and scotch for AM.

I think Cork is wonderful. I'd definitely go back for the duck confit and the avocado on grilled bread. You know, I should try making the avocado on grilled bread, I don't have pistachio oil, but I think a good olive oil will do just fine. Oh, so I totally forgot to take pictures of the food...I was sick!! I'm sorry, my mind wasn't working right!! I'll do it next time, so if you wanna go, call me! Tasty tasty!!!

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www.corkdc.com

Mei Wah

I was out and about on a rainy day, and I had an hour to kill before I was due at work. I was feeling hungry, and my tummy demanded sushi. I used to be a regular sushi consumer at Mei Wah (the Chevy Chase locations has a sushi bar, the DC location does not) for a couple of years until I noticed their quality was disintegrating. The spicy tuna rolls were strange in texture and definitely not fresh and the yellow tail rolls were - for lack of a better word - gross. I wanted to experiment and see if I ordered and ate at the restaurant instead of getting it delivered, it would be better.

I was impressed right off by the large number of sushi specials available, which is not included in the delivery menu. I especially enjoyed the colorful pictures that came with the descriptions of each item. So instead of going for the usual shrimp tempura roll and the spicy tuna roll, I decided to expand my horizons. I ordered a vegetable soup to start, to be followed by the tuna tempura roll, and I feel like such a failure as a blogger, as I've forgotten the name of the second roll that I ordered - I want to say it had an exotic, mythical creature in its name.

The soup was good, as usual, full of snow peas, bamboo shoots, carrots, mushrooms, and water chestnuts in a yummy broth. Then the rolls arrived. I was very impressed by their presentation! So pretty and colorful. The tuna tempura roll was quite big - it was a long strip of tuna rolled in rice and seaweed, and the whole roll was tempura battered and fried. It came with a wonderful, spicy sauce on the side. It was delicious and I was pleasantly surprised. The mystery roll had shrimp tempura with lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and spicy fish roe, with a drizzle of a spicy and sweet sauce on top. The circumference on this thing is huge, so be prepared to stretch those jaw muscles and look pretty funny as you attempt to chew. Other than the difficulty in consumption, it was fabulous. I had my doubts when I saw the lettuce and the carrots - I don't think they're common ingredients - but they added a nice, cool crunch to the whole thing.

I think the key is not to order sushi or rolls with raw sea creatures from Mei Wah, because I enjoyed a delightful lunch of rolls with cooked sea creatures. I know, if they're not fresh and gross when you eat them raw, they're just as not fresh when they're cooked, but it tastes good (shoulder shrug). That's my conclusion. :) Tasty tasty!!

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www.meiwahrestaurant.com

Everyday Gourmet by Azi

I was at work, doing tasks on autopilot when JC asked in a very excited tone, "Do you want to go to a cooking class?" I didn't even move, I paused for a moment and just gave her my "Are you kidding me?" face, then very charmingly (by charming, I mean catty), I said, "Why would I go to a cooking class?" Then she said that it was an office outing, hosted by our bosses' friend. Ok, that's nice, but seriously, why would I go to a cooking class? It's not like I ever cook, and if I do, that's what recipes online are for, right? Well, she talked me into it, saying that I didn't have to learn anything, promising lots of wine and a delicious homemade feast.

After an unsuccessful after work shoe shopping spree, we arrived hungry and thirsty at this beautiful condominium with a gorgeous kitchen in Bethesda. Then a lovey, bubbly young lady drifted over and introduced herself as the hostess, Azi, and offered us wine and a seat at the kitchen counter (granite, naturally). She began by explaining the menu her concept - she was going to make a Persian-fusion 4 course dinner. As resistant as I was to learning or paying attention, her enthusiasm and charisma was difficult to tune out.

She must have sensed our hunger because as she laid out the plans of the evening, she served a wonderful puff pastry with roasted eggplants, tomato sauce, and a dollop of yogurt. As we noshed on those, she prepared a quiche-like dish: no crust, lots of fresh herbs, chopped walnuts, and barberries and spices from Iran mixed in with eggs, and baked in small molds. The herbs were aromatic to which the berries gave a nice contrast, and the nuts gave it substance and texture, and to anyone on a low-carb diet, it's carbs free! And wine flowed throughout the whole dinner. Happiness? Yes, oh yes.

Azi was lovely, answering all of our questions and making us feel comfortable with funny stories and sharing her aspirations as a culinary starlet. I was surprised to find out that she was a successful attorney when she decided that she wasn't really happy and culinary arts were her calling. Watching her, I could feel her passion and enjoyment for cooking and sharing her knowledge.

Next course was stuffed peppers with ground veal, lentil, rice, and wonderful mixture of spices, topped with pomegranate molasses. As the peppers were cooking away in the oven, she made a cucumber and tomato salad to go with the peppers. It was so simple yet, delicious - just the cucumber, onions, tomatoes, lime juice, and salt and pepper made a fantastic mix of flavors. Then she started on the dessert - chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. As the chocolate lava cake was baking, we all sat down at her gorgeous dining table and devoured the peppers. Oh my gosh, not only were they pretty to look at, she had used red, green, and orange peppers, they were so yummy. We were all feeling pretty full and happy, but we were made even happier with the arrival of the chocolate lava cake and cardamom tea. The cake was warm and moist, and the tea was a perfect complement to the richness of the cake. If you've ever had cardamom, you'll be able to imagine its aroma - pair that with chocolate...mmmmmm. You're drooling, aren't you?

It was such a fun night with fabulous food and wonderful company. Azi does all sorts of events, like girls' night out, a romantic dinner, and obviously office outings. She's health conscious, so she offers tips on how to make her dishes more healthy. She's a fun and vibrant hostess, if you're looking for a fun night with food and wine while learning something, check out her website and set up an appointment! Tasty tasty!!

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everydaygourmetbyazi.com

Totoro

Classes started today, and this past weekend saw the craziest influx of kids I feel like I've experienced in my college experience. Usually, I feel like it's a somewhat gradual increase in student body presence over the week or so before classes. This time, it was *bam* Friday, EVERYONE is here. It's nice to have people back, though. A college town isn't quite the same without... college kids.

Now that more of my friends are back in town, this should give me more opportunity to go out to eat and share my findings, including two from this weekend: Sava's and Totoro. Sava's has a great story and I fell in love with it immediately, so I'll write about that after I make at least two trips back (and I know exactly what I'm getting).

Totoro. Say it. Totoro! Isn't it fun?? It's more fun if you say it really fast in almost a light whisper, so the words tumble off your tongue in that giddy Japanese schoolgirl way. Totoro-san, hai! Clearly, it's a Japanese restaurant. I went with a couple of girlfriends for lunch on Sunday. My first time. We walked in and the waitress greeted us by pointing out the udon + cali roll special for $8.45. I was pretty much ready to order then. But the three of us sat down and pondered over the menu, considering at one point or another everything from bowls to bento boxes.

We settled on ordering and sharing 3 rolls - crunch crunch, tempura california, and spider roll. Back to the basics. Nothing adventurous, but all very crunchy. I was worried from the moment we ordered until I took my final bite that 3 rolls would not be enough. I'm the kind of eater that doesn't understand the concept of full, and it isn't until I'm rolling around on the couch short of breath that I realize I shouldn't have had that fourth helping. After being dubbed "The Masticator" this summer, I decided I should learn to control myself, so after we finished off our rolls I told myself that I was content and didn't need to order another. To my surprise, the end of our post-meal chitchat found me... full. I guess that satisfied feeling that you get near the end of your meal is a sign that it's a good time to stop eating so you don't suffer through being overstuffed.

Why is this turning into a self-reflection of my eating habits? Back to the subject, spider rolls are always a favorite and I was not disappointed at Totoro. The crab was light, crispy, and perfectly tasty. The crunch crunch is tempura shrimp and avocado topped with tempura crunch and masago with eel sauce. Tempura california is, you guessed it, deep-fried cali roll. Maybe my least favorite of the three because it seemed heavier, what with it being wholly dunked and fried in batter. I don't have a "fancy phone" like someone, but I snapped a few shots with my dinky flip phone. The food looks washed out, but I promise it was yummy! And the sushi chef laughed at me when I took pictures of the restaurant. I don't know why.

Unfortunately, Totoro probably won't be my most frequented restaurant for sushi... but that's because there are literally 3 sushi places within 2 blocks of where I live (a bone of contention which I'm sure I'll rant about some day). But I dare say it may be one of my top three of sushi in Ann Arbor. Will try more special rolls in the future. Yummers!!!

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No website, but you can find the menu and pictures here.

Nage

MJ and I had our Restaurant Week dinner at Nage, at Rhode Island Ave NW and 16th St NW (there's another one in Rehoboth). It wasn't either one of our first choices, but seeing as we made our reservation kind of late, we had to compromise.

We started out with a bottle of Oxford Landing Sauvignon Blanc, which was quite refreshing on a hot, humid, and sweaty afternoon. We were ready to order quickly since we were hungry and had looked at the menu ahead of time. Now, I'm no expert in cuisines, but I'm a little mixed up about what their concept is, it's fusion of American (Southern), French, and Spanish or something? MJ started with the chilled avocado-cucumber soup, which was simply delightful - nice thick and creamy texture with a lovely limey finish. It was so pretty in presentation and the portion was generous. I decided on the bbq braised short ribs - oh my gosh, it was so tasty. The meat was so tender, it was melting in my mouth and the sauce was perfect in sweetness and tartness and spice, and the fried green tomatoes and the slaw that came with it were very complementary.

The timing was excellent, as we were just finishing up our appetizers, the entrees arrived. It seemed appropriate to go with seafood, since it's name means "swim" in French or it's a broth that one cooks shellfish in (How the heck do I know that?! I don't know!! I'm so confused - damn it, I hang out with foodies too much, ahem, MJ and CC!). MJ had chosen the pan roasted barramundi (we had to Google barramundi on our phones, thank goodness for fancy phones, how did we ever get by before?!), and it was absolutely delish!! It was cooked well, yet not dry, and the sauce was fantastic - I don't know what it was really, but again, it was fantastic. I ordered the summertime seafood plate, which consisted of lobster, mussels, clams, and shrimp cooked in a lovely beer based sauce with potatoes and little bits of chorizo. There was a lot of food, but shockingly, I ate the whole thing. Yum!!

As full as we were, we couldn't turn down the desserts! I experimented with the tomato and basil frozen yogurt- I know it sounds totally funky, and it was, but it was yummilicious. It tasted like tomato and basil and balsamic vinegar in a most wonderful, palate cleansing, frozen yogurt kind of way. MJ ordered the special of the day, which was a bread pudding, which was good, but honestly, I don't quite remember it, as the delightful frozen yogurt overshadowed it. We were stuffed and tipsy, yet we somehow managed to roll ourselves out of our seats and go home.

There are a few things on the menu that I'd like to try that I didn't get to this time around. I would love to try the grilled octopus salad and the bacon wrapped softshell crab from the appetizer section, and if I were to choose a different entree, I would definitely go for the bay scallops with black fettucini. If I had room for dessert, I would hope that they would have the tomato and basil frozen yogurt again, I wouldn't get anything else! My impression is that they're not that busy, and that's too bad, my experience was awesome!! Tasty tasty!!!!

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www.nagerestaurant.com