Zengo’s current “Test Kitchen” is  Hanoi-Havana (Vietnamese/Cuban fusion), and you HAVE to try the Cangrejo Enchilado (soft shell crab lettuce wraps) and the Lemongrass-Lychee Mojito! Seriously! The crab appetizer was so good that Eugene of DC Life Magazine, who does not like soft shell crab, actually enjoyed it. The Boba Cafecito (a cocktail with dark rum, iced Cuban Coffee, Thai Chili, coconut milk, and coffee pearls) was good as well.

Moorenko‘s Milk Chocolate Gelato has great texture and flavor.

Talenti‘s double Dark Chocolate gelato is very chocolaty with delicious little bits of chocolate.

Ciao Bella‘s Lemon Zest Sorbet and Lime Graham gelato  are both good but I prefer the Lime Graham gelato (which also comes in sandwich form). Ciao Bella is a finalist for a Sofi Award at the Fancy Food Show for the Grapefruit Campari (which I have not tried).

Tate’s Bakeshop in Long Island is also a finalist for a Sofi Award for their chocolate chip cookies. The cookies are delicious, buttery, and very crunchy. I actually like to let them soften for a day or two.

I had a great breakfast at Art & Soul with Art Smith and Mary Beth Albright, where I met Allison Adato, the author of Smart Chef’s Stay Slim. It is a great book and Art wrote the foreword. Yes, I ate lemon pancakes and house-cured bacon, but I also tried Art’s healthy quinoa granola.

I had some great food and wine at Market Tavern, so I am sorry to hear that they closed their doors a couple of evenings ago. I even hosted a large happy hour there recently.

I’ve nearly used an entire bottle of Suriny rice bran oil. It works well at high temperatures and has been responsible for some great veggie stir-fries.

We got to try a variety of Norwegian brewery Nøgne ø’s beers at the Norwegian Embassy, and while they were all good, the (chocolaty) porter blew us away, especially paired with berry panna cota. If you find their porter for sale in DC or Arlington, let me know. I hear that Wine Specialist may carry it. The embassy’s Chef Sandre Bruvik Ellingstad created some truly amazing dishes–this was some of the best food I’ve had anywhere recently.

DuckTrap River of Maine makes some truly great smoked salmon (and other fish). Look for it in Whole Foods, although WF doens’t carry the pastrami spiced lox, and Giant only carried that one variety.

Mighty Leaf makes some of my favorite teabags. I’m a fan of their organic Green Hojicha (which tastes like toasted rice), Organic Spring Jasmine, and Orange Dulce (a black), and less a fan of the Green Tropic (although it smells amazing). I understand the “magic of the tea pouch” but it would be great if  (1) the tea didn’t run down the string to the table, (2) I didn’t find tea lives and pieces of cotton or string floating in my tea, (3) They weren’t $9 for a box of 15 or so, and (4) if people didn’t keep telling me the string looks like a certain feminine product.

Big Buns is a great burger joint in Ballston. I like their beef burgers, and even their sweet potato fries are good, and they have a soda bar (to make flavored sodas). The vegetarians can get a mushroom burger (I can’t vouch for it).

Saffron Road‘s Lasagna is a great (vegetarian) product and is available in the freezer case at Whole Foods Market. They have recently come out with simmer sauces but I’ve yet to try them.

I’m addicted to Popchips, especially the BBQ and Salt and Pepper varieties. Please don’t tell anyone. 4Bitten Media put a bag of the cheddar flavored variety in my gift bag at their awesome launch party a couple of days ago at Masa 14, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Keep an eye out for Kababji Grill‘s food truck. I attended the truck’s launch last night, and got to sample the food, which was good. I especially enjoyed the baba ganouj, kibbe, and friend phyllo cigars (stuffed with cheese).

-JAY

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