Adega Wine Cellars & Cafe

I planned to served mulled wine at Jackie's during dinner service, so I made my way to Whole Foods in Silver Spring for vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. When I was done spice shopping, I realized that I was starving, so I went around the corner to Adega. I'd been there once before and I remembered the sweet potato fries were yummilicious. After looking at their sandwich and wrap selections, I decided on the portabello mushroom with pesto, sauteed onions and grilled red peppers on foccacia and a side of eggplant fries. I did contemplate ordering a glass of wine, but it seemed inappropriate to drink in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday just before going in to work at a bar.

As I waited for my food, I picked a nice quiet table by the window and checked out my surroundings. The part of Adega that I was at was the cafe section, with a counter for ordering and paying and then a separate counter for picking up food, and behind a wooden panel, the exciting action of food preparation was taking place. There were about 10 tables to dine at or there is also counter space at the wooden panel that separates the food prep area from the dining space. The other side of the establishment was dedicated to wine - shelves and shelves of wine which I would have loved to check out up close, had I not been weak from hunger and dying to catch up on what Edward and Bella were up to in my new book, Twilight. There is seating on the wine side also, but not as much as the side that I was sitting at. So I admired from a distance and opened up my book.

I only got through a couple of paragraphs when my number was called. I suppose that has a lot to do with the fact that it was 3:00pm on a Tuesday and there were only about 5 diners. I galloped over to pick up the food and I got excited when I saw my tray. The sandwich was pretty large, the foccacia was thick and they didn't skimp on the filling. I took a bite - no, I took several bites and ate a few of the eggplant fries before I realized I had forgotten to take a picture!! So I paused quickly to take a couple of pictures then went back to enjoying my lovely lunch. The only unsatisfactory item was the cold marinara sauce that was served with the eggplant fries. Why cold? The sandwich is hot, the fries are hot, but the sauce, which I was fully expecting to be hot, was not. Nevertheless, it was delicious. The fries were crispy on the outside and soft and yummy inside, and, might I say, the perfect companion to the portabello sandwich. Before I knew it, I had read an entire chapter of Twilight, was full, and had lunch for the next day as I couldn't eat more than half of the sandwich.

If you are in the neighborhood and want a delicious bite to eat and maybe some wine to accompany your meal, definitely check out Adega. Oh, check out their Monday special: half off Adega selected wines with a purchase of entree, dine-in only. Tasty tasty!!!

$

www.adegawinecellars.com

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!!!

$$

www.corkdc.com