Arlington Eating

Since moving to Arlington, I haven’t ventured downtown all that often to dine as of late (something about the suburbs; I can see all you city-dwellers shaking your heads as I speak). Luckily, my neighborhood and the surrounding area have given me a few delicious options of their own to tide me over until I get more ambitious (and to be honest, a little less broke). Some successful meals as of late have been at:

Delhi Club: This tiny Indian place right across from the Clarendon is quickly becoming a favorite. Mid-priced, with generous helpings of naan and a nice selection of appetizers and vegetarian options, my only complaint is attempting to get a seat in the intimate space on a Friday night can prove impossible, depending on your timing. So far, I’ve had success with the chicken tikka, butter chicken (a standard offering, but Delhi does it well), saag gosht with lamb (a spicy, spinach-infused dish), and rarah gosht (what can I say; I’m a sucker for anything with lamb, even lamb cooked with lamb). The samosas were fine, but nothing unusual. Next on my things-to-try: some of their paneer dishes.

Ravi Kabob: I visited this hole-in-the-wall Pakistani place first over a year ago, after two friends and I miraculously stumbled on it after just knowing it was “in a shopping center in Northern Virginia.” Hadn’t been back again until last week, though this was by circumstance rather than choice, and the place is even better than I remembered. The seating isn’t much more than what a take-out place offers, but the food is the real deal. I'd heard about it from a Pakistani friend-of-a-friend, and when I mentioned the place to a coworker whose husband is from the region, her eyes lit up, so perhaps that's a testament for authenticity - it's been my only foray into Pakistani food, so I lack a basis for comparison. Lamb kabobs, mixed kabobs, beef tikka – all are amazing, and come with generous sides of rice, salad and chickpeas (make sure you get a nice helping of the yogurt dipping sauce). I haven’t tasted anything there that wasn’t assertive, filling and satisfying. While friends of mine will swear by the mango lassi, I experimented with the pink tea, topped with pistachios. It’s a creamy, decent dessert drink, but I wouldn’t order it with a meal again (and the server’s skepticism when I did should have been a clue). Most dishes are under $12, and many are for even less, so you’re getting quite a bit for your money here.

Café Asia: I’m always on the lookout for a good happy hour, and this place fits the bill – cheap beer, and even more importantly, $1 pieces of sushi. I never manage to escape this place, however, without dropping quite a bit of money – maybe it’s the fancy cocktails (loved the mojito, as well as a pink-colored drink, the name of which escapes me), or the varied selection of main courses, and the need to get some sushi to start…ok, clearly there are a lot of reasons why I'm going broke here. I’m not a sushi connoisseur, so my opinion here is somewhat suspect, but I’m a fan of the place’s rolls and daily specials. And the shrimp and roasted pork Singapore noodles (distinctive for their generous shot of curry) are a favorite.

Delhi Club
1135 N. Highland Street,
Arlington, VA 22201

Ravi Kabob
305 N Glebe Rd
Arlington, VA

Café Asia
1550 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA

Metal for your head

You’re used to sticking them in your mouth, now put them around your neck. Yep, I’m talking about cutlery jewelry. You’ve seen them at all the cheesy middle-school-art-teacher boutiques…and on late 90’s alternative singers. And hippies. But now humans can have them too. This means the next time you’re stuck with a huge plate of fois gras, truffles, and caviar without a spoon, you know where to reach.

Or, if braceletes are more your thing, http://spoonman.com/nbr413e.htm

Or how about…

Earthy cooking

It’s a sobering moment when you realize that no matter how extreme your sauté, how crazy your roasting, and how freaky your flambé, you will never be as hardcore as PEOPLE WHO COOK WITH AN ACTIVE VOLCANO.

As the undisputed bungi jump, sky dive, and parasail of all cooking methods, it’s probably understandable that Volcano Cookery has not yet made it to DC. First off, it helps to be Maori, on New Zealand’s North Island. The thermal activity comes off the Pacific Plate (the same plate we’re hoping claims California before ‘fusion sushi’ invades the rest of the country). This leaves us with some really steamy ground.

Method 1: A flaming pit. Dig a pit. For us wusses without hot dirt, filling it with hot volcanic stones will do. Then line it with cabbage or watercress, put your sweet potatoes in, cover it with mutton cloth (?) and flax (??) and shovel the dirt back over. In three hours you’ll have yourself some earthy barbeque.

Method 2: Boiling mud. No really. All this volcanic activity should have left pools of it, along with geysers, bubbling mineral water, and all kinds of other hot wet stuff. Find a closely woven basket for your sweet potatoes, tie a string to it, and throw the whole thing into the crater for ‘the time it takes to sing three songs’.

Method 3: A stove. Peel and grate three large sweet potatoes. Mix with 1 cup of sugar and lightly press it into a shallow, greased baking dish. Bake the whole thing for 1 hour at 350 degrees, let it cool, slice, and serve with cream.

Your choice.

Complain about food. Get free stuff.

Zagat's is running their annual write-in survey for DC/Baltimore again. If you are not familiar with their little red restaurant guidebooks - and which planet have you been living on? - this dining series is compiled from readers filling out an online survey rating the restaurants they eat at. Then the editors put together catchy little reviews. Last year's had over 6,000 participants, including yours truly, covering 923 local restaurants. Love it or hate it you can't simply ignore Zagat's influence, as proved by the Zagat rating posed proudly in the windows of high rated places around town

The survey is easy and quick to do, with space to write-in restaurants that aren't already listed. The payoff is a free copy of the guide sent to you when it comes out. Yup, free. Go to

http://www.zagat.com/

Look on the middle left for Vote, Active Surveys, and click on Washington DC,/Baltimore. You will have to sign in, give them a little info so they know where to send the guide when it comes out, vote, and that's it. The closing date is March 12, 2006.

You can also tell Zagats other cities you're familiar with and get notified when their surveys are happening. I participate the NY and South Florida surveys since I am there often enough to be familiar with their restaurant scene -- and I get the free guides for those too.

Thanks guest blogger, MHF!

Eatin' at the Bottom

I'm feeling very suburban, in that my second dining out experience back in D.C. was at a chain restaurant. Feeling very jet-lagged and with my body still thinking it was sometime tomorrow, I headed down to Bethesda to catch up with the now-famous DJ Seeking Irony (aka NM) and a blogless friend. We decided that easy was our plan for the evening (and since I've sworn off all Asian and Indian food for at least three weeks), headed down to Rock Bottom in Bethesda.

Rock Bottom serves standard American brew-pub fare: burgers, pasta, salads, and several large entrees. I settled on a Hickory Burger, a larger burger with BBQ sauce, bacon, and cheese, which came out a bit more raw than "medium" generally implies but otherwise was fine, but not spectacular. NM went for the Mac n' Chicken, which was, like most other Rock Bottom fare, generically mediocre. The saving grace is that Wednesday night is beer glass night, where you purchase a glass for $4.95 and get unlimited refills for $2.00 a piece. And you get to take the glass home. Oh, and our waitress gets points for being both cute and friendly.

Still, Rock Bottom remains what it's always been: a place to go to hang out with friends, have a beer, and eat a decent meal. Go in with that expectation, and you'll walk away satisfied.

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
7900 Norflork Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
www.rockbottom.com

Homecoming, Part 2.

Here it is, Part two: the best of Australia and New Zealand measured in Chipotle Burritos

Australia:

Bluegrass/Alice Springs – Yet more nouveau. This place is unusual in Australia for serving something besides deep fried potatoes. Almost as good as a burrito.

The Pier Seafood Restaurant/Lorn- Built on the dock, try the blackened salmon in citrus rosemary sause. Oh yes oh yes. Better than a burrito, and fresher!

Fish Frenzy/ Hobart– This is the #1 place in the world for beer battered fish and chips*. Its imperitive that everyone eats there once before they die. (* According to me.) More fattening than a burrito.

The Ugly Duck out/Swansea- Crazy nouveau world-class cuisine with fish and smoothies and things. The real question is, how the hell did this chef end up in Swansea (pop 529). About as good as a burrito

L’unico/Sydney- Northern Italian. Better than a burrito and 100x the price

Fran’s/Larrimah- The best pies. Ever. Get there in time for Spicy buffalo and cheese, stay for Fran’s opinions on home schooling in the outback. Fran is also the Mayor and tourist office of Larrimah, pop. 7. Better than a burrito. Actually, if Fran ever opens an American chain, Chiptole is in trouble.

Ba Ba Lu Bar/Lorne – Delectable tapas. Those of you who dare to ask for a straw for your mojito will get the stare of doom. Almost as good as a burrito, but Chipotle gives out straws.

New Zealand

Cook ‘n’ With Gas/Christchurch- This place will give you directions to a beer brewery, chat up your boyfriend, and make fun of your accent. It also serves lamb and steaks that are as satisfying as a burrito.

Vudu/Queenstown- The best place to fill up on all the stuff you’ll loose later when you sky-dive/ bungi-jump/parasail/ do all those other obligatory things in Queenstown. About half as good as a burrito, but it tries harder.

French Farm/ Akaroa- It’s neither restaurant nor farm, but a winery with a freakishly huge cheese plate full of pates and things. Amg says: ‘bloody brilliant’. Not sure if it was better than a burrito due to heavy wine sampling.

Homecoming, Part 1

It’s exactly 10 months since zaf and amg left DCFUD in the hands of our excellent guest editors and set off to find food poisoning in new places. And tomorrow, we return to you victorious, having successfully been poisoned by an amazing variety of culinary methods It would have been later, but our craving for a burrito got to be too much. Also, we’re broke.

But I mean it about the burrito. They have become my de facto unit of currency. Common statements have been ‘Hey, you should buy that, it only costs two burritos.’ And, ‘Man, that dinner was four burritos and it still sucked.’

So here it is, Homecoming Part One: the best permanent restaurants from Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, measured in burritos. Special thanks to everyone who supplied us with all the antibiotics that made this trip possible.

Japan:
Serina Honten, Tokyo- They massage the cows and feed them beer. It sounds like a frat prank, instead it’s beef so tender that it can be eaten like sushi. And there are Geishas! Better than a burrito, and with a price tag of about fifty of 'em, it better be.

Generic, coin operated, noodle shops- They have them everywhere, covered in fried eggs and fish flakes. About half as good as a burrito.

Thailand:
Streetfood, Bangkok- The pork noodles served out of the back of a pickup truck. The rice omelettes. The tenticles on a stick. At least as good as a burrito, and cheaper.

Glass Home, Bangkok- Neuveau thai. It does exist, and this is where you get it. About as good as a burrito.

Vietnam:
Lac Thanh Restaurant: No one speaks English, so the only way to order the crab rice noodles and huge roast prawns is to point and flap around. Almost as good as a burrito.

Mango: A menu that can only be described as neuveau-freaky. Everything on it contains mangos in some fashion. Better than a burrito, and more creative.

Singapore:
Newton Hawker Center: What Thai and Vientnamese street food will turn into once the countries develop more. About as good as a burrito.

Malaysia:
Any of the storefronts in Chinatown/ Kuala Lampur. You’ll know the popular ones from the lines outside. Try the pearl noodles in a claypot, still covered in scorch marks. Almost as good as a burrito, and half the price.

Hong Kong
Yellow door- A private kitchen, with delectable 16 course meals. They warn you, weak whitey that you are, when spicy ones are on their way. Better than a burrito. And spicier.

Da Ping Huo – Another private kitchen. At the end of the 12 course meal the chef comes out of the kitchen and sings opera to you. Much better than a burrito, may I be forgiven.

Hutong- Look over the city while munching oddities like date and tomatoe ice cream. At least as good as a burrito, and much prettier.

Maxim Dim Sum – It’s on the second floor of city hall- tasty and legal at the same time. Really fresh stuff. About as good as a burrito. But in tiny bite-sized portions!

India
Kyhber- So many kababs and curries and breads that you forget about the scary little barefoot kids banging on the car windows on the way there. About as good as a burrito.

Bade Miya- Street food with its own phone number- four men turn kababs while two more toss fresh dosas onto hot metal spheres with freakish speed. About half as good as a burrito.

The Spice Route Apparently this is one of the top 10 restaurants in the world, and the interior took 7 years to hand-carve. And incidentally, the food is pretty good. Better than a burrito, I admit.

Tomorrow: the best of Australia and New Zealand.

Garlicky Italian Tofu

On my last trip to the Asian supermarket, I bought a big bag of tofu cut to look like fettuccini. I had no real plan of what to do with them, but they looked funny so I bought them. The other night, when it came time to cook, I decided to expand on this idea, and make an Italian-style tofu dish.

Here's what I had:

Here's what I did:

Serve with parmesan cheese.

Welcome Back Oysters

Come help ZAF and AMG, newly returned from wet places, to down a crapload of ‘Welcome Back oysters’. We will be at the DC Coast Bar on Thursday, 6:00, comparing scars and sun-poisoning. ZAF is short and frizzy-blond, and will be drinking something unimaginably girlie. AMG will be the jet-lagged one next to her.

Where: DC Coast Bar
When: 6:00
What: Lots of Oysters.
Why: Oysters, man, oysters!

Aunt Barb Dip: A Superbowl Sunday Solution

My Aunt Barb's southwestern-style dip is always a hit at parties. So much so that I'm getting email requests for the recipe so my friends have something to bring to their Superbowl shindigs. If you're in a similar tight spot, give Aunt Barb dip a try. It's gooey, it's cheesy, and it's not the typical salsa/beans/cheese/sour cream offering you always see.

What you need:
a can of black olives
1 bunch scallions
1 tomato
1 can chopped green chiles
some hot sauce (a few squirts into a bowl)
8 oz mexican cheese blend of some sort, shredded
1 cup mayo
8 oz sour cream
garlic powder or a touch of minced garlic
tortilla chips

What you need to do:
Chop up about a half cup of black olives (leave some for topping). Mix together garlic, sour cream, mayo, cheese, chiles, and chopped olives. Put in a pie ban (I recommend glass in case you need to reheat and only have a microwave as an option).

Bake for about 20 min at 350, or until top of dip is set.

Top with circles of black olives, chopped scallions (green part only )and diced tomatoes. I like to do each in a round, with green onions on the outside, tomatoes in the next ring and olives in the center. Serve with tortilla chips (I recommend blue corn or Hint Of Lime).