• 05Feb

    From Rainforest Alliance Certified Tea Gardens in Sri Lanka to My Cup

    While winter in the nation’s capital has proven to be exceptionally exciting this year, one calming elixir that always seems to soothe the soul is a cup of hot tea. Although having a large cold brew and focusing on every detail in life may be alluring, it’s important to take a step back every so often and just unwind with a simple yet satisfying brewed tea. That is what I have been doing for several days now, with the help of Jaf Tea. The 75-year-old Rainforest Alliance certified tea company sent me a box of some of their premium teas to taste and enjoy for this review.

    The design of the box itself was sleek and premium. The tea bags were all wrapped in their own individual paper and foil packages. The selection included English Breakfast, Ceylon Earl Grey, Black Tea, Green Tea, Green Tea with Soursop & Banana, Green Tea with Strawberry & Kiwi, Chamomile Tea, and Cool Peppermint Tea. With 80 packets of tea, this box has a wide and plentiful selection of unique takes on some classic hot flavors while still offering a solid traditional basis of tea.

    For this review, I brewed a cup of English Breakfast, the normal Green Tea, and the Black Tea. Each tea bag had instructions on the proper temperature and steeping instructions for Jaf’s optimal cup of tea. I tried each tea on its own with no additives, but then opted to add sugar to the green tea and sugar and milk to my cuppa English.

    The English Tea was the most robust of the bunch. It has a base of black tea flavor with added notes of aged citrus, specifically bergamot. This tea is bold and potent to say the least. The English Tea really does add a whole new dimension to breakfast since and can be a bit overpowering. The addition of milk and sugar help mellow out the tea’s flavor and make it a smoother drink.

    The Green was a much needed milder tasting tea. It was naturally sweet, with only some light bitterness on the backend of my sips. The matcha flavor was present and tasted very floral without any harsh chlorophyllic notes which often accompany lower quality green teas.

    The final tea I tried was the fruity Black Tea. This tea reminded me of the milder and sweeter English breakfast. It was naturally syrupy tasting and didn’t require any additional sugar. The brew was lighter than the other two teas and had some of the least amount of color. While not the most memorable, this tea was still sippable and pleasant albeit a bit weak.

    Overall, the teas offered by Jaf tea exceeded my expectations and were a delightful boost for my early morning and afternoon.

    -ARM

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  • 16May

    The Best Meal We’ve Had at Fogo De Chao

    We dine at Fogo De Chao a few times a year, and had an amazing meal recently (surpassing our other Fogo experiences). We were at the DC location to try their Spring menu, which included:

    • Lighter Cuts of Spring – Pork Picanha and a new spicy Linguica Sausage
    • Market Table Additions – Roasted Cauliflower Salad and a gluten-free Carrot & Ginger Soup
    • Crème de Coconut Dessert
    • Blood Orange Manhattan

    We also tried their new red wine blend, Eulia, one alcoholic drink (Grapefruit Elderflower Spritzer), and one of their new à la carte dry-aged steaks, the NY Strip ($75). The other à la carte steak is a Tomahawk Ribeye, which we may try another time.

    The dry-aged NY Strip was excellent, with a nice concentrated flavor. The pork picanha was lighter than we expected and quite good. We’ve never had linguica before (but have heard Emeril Lagasse talk about it for years) and enjoyed the sausage (which contains red pepper, garlic, and onions). The Roasted Cauliflower Salad and Carrot & Ginger Soups were favorites as well. The dessert was basically a coconut custard, and was enjoyable.

    All three beverages, Eulia (paired will with the NY Strip), the spritzer (a great nonalcoholic option), and the Blood Orange Manhattan (great update to a classic drink) were good choices. We would order any of them again.

    We did not try the Kale & Orange Salad, which is also a Spring item.

    Service was excellent as usual, but I want to point out that we much prefer this location to the Tyson’s branch.

    We can’t wait to see what Fogo’s Summer menu will bring, which we understand will include:

    Pork Belly & Pineapple, Queijo Assado, Watermelon Feta Salad, and the return of Roasted Cauliflower.

    -JAY

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  • 07May

    Thai Waffles in DuPont!

    We recently had a nice dinner at Thai Chef in DuPont. We tried:

    Appetizers:

    Papaya Salad – sliced green papaya pounded with garlic, tomatoes, roasted peanuts, basil leaves, hot pepper & fresh lime juice

    Moo Ping – skewers of pork marinated in Thai herbs, grilled and served with spicy fish sauce

    Entrees:

    Tilapia Sam Rod – battered and deep fried Tilapia with sweet and spicy tamarind sauce

    Catfish Pad Ped – stir fried with young peppercorn, Thai eggplant and rhizome basil

    Kao Mun Gai – seasoned sliced steamed chicken served over herb studded jasmine rice, with cucumber, cilantro, and spicy garlic ginger sauce

    Thai Chili Shrimp – battered and deep fried shrimp with Thai chili

    Desserts:

    Mango Sticky Rice

    Traditional Bubble Waffle with palm sugar and shaved coconut

    The Standouts:

    The seafood (two fish dishes and an admittedly a little salty shrimp dish).

    The drinks

    The Thai Waffle

    Needs Improvement:

    Papaya Salad (which is usually a no brainer but was plain)

    Mango Sticky Rice (although it was pretty)

    We will definitely go back for some shrimp and waffles (that should be a thing!) and drinks. And, Thai Chef has $5 Happy Hour and great lunch specials during the week.

    -JAY

     

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  • 11Dec

    Unlimited Rounds of Meaty Protein at Chima

    After nearly 8 years, we returned to Chima, a Brazilian steakhouse in Tysons. Previous coverage can be found here. We do dine at these rodizio (all you can eat rotating selections of meat) restaurants often, and the name of the game is finding the true standout dishes, and we found quite a few.

    It’s important to mention that unlike their main Brazilian competitor (in Tysons), Chima has free valet parking. Also, on a Sunday in the early evening, we even found street parking.

    Our Favorites:

    Grill-wise, our favorites were the Filet Mignon (we tried the one without butter), Leg of Lamb, Cajun Ribeye, Salmon, Baby Top Sirloin with Garlic (picanha). We were impressed at how tasty the Filet Mignon was (even without butter) since it is often a tender but not very flavorful option. The Leg of Lamb was so well executed and flavorful, that my dining partner (who doesn’t usually eat lamb) very much enjoyed it. I tried the Salmon with passion fruit sauce instead of the cilantro pesto, although I hear the latter is good as well.

    The desserts were both quite good. It was nice that they had one vegan dessert, the raspberry sorbet. The Coconut Lava Cake was a great option as well, although I substituted cinnamon ice cream for vanilla.

    The Strawberry Caipirinha and Passion fruit Caipirinha were both delicious, so we know their cocktails are well-worth ordering.

    The salad bar included a good variety of fresh options and a flavorful vinaigrette. A few images of the salad bar were included above, but only cover a portion of your options.

    Room for Improvement:

    The tougher than usual Flank Steak, overcooked and bland sausage, and flavorless Black Beans with Pork (bland sausages and very tough chunks of pork) could be much improved. Please don’t confuse Chima’s Black Beans with Pork with Feijoada (the very flavorful national dish of Brazil), since they are not the same. I was ok with the beef ribs, but I eat them with chimmichurri, and wasn’t a huge fan of their very thin version of that sauce. I’m used to lighter cheese puffs. And, they do not have pork ribs.

    Strategy:

    At this type of AYCE restaurant, go with stronger options. At Chima, try Filet Mignon (with or without butter), Leg of Lamb, Cajun Ribeye, Salmon (with passion fruit or pesto sauce), Baby Top Sirloin with Garlic (picanha), Caiparinhas, desserts, and your favorite salads. Feel free to experiment with other options as well.

    We didn’t try everything, so feel free to comment or email us if we missed some of your favorite Chima dishes.

    -JAY

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  • 29Nov

    Chile Chef Challenge – Report

    Earlier this month, we were happy to attend the Chile Chef Challenge at the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) HQ in DC. Thank you ProChile for showing us how wonderful Chilean mussels, salmon, and beef can be! This annual event highlights how Chefs and mixologists can do incredible things with truly high-quality ingredients. I won’t say which, but we actually voted for one one of the winning dishes and one of the winning cocktails. And of course, one of the highlights of any Chilean event is the wine!Above are some images highlighting the event.

    I really enjoyed the mussel dishes, since it was excellent quality shellfish, but also because I just don’t order mussels enough in restaurants (or cook them at home). At the end of the event, one of the chefs (City Winery) asked me to help him finish off the last few plates, which I did.

    I didn’t actually try Slate’s dish, since I have an allergy to one of their ingredients.

    Event Winners:

    JUDGES FOOD CHOICE
    Executive Chef Jonathan Dearden of Radiator created a BluGlacier Aji Amarillo Spiced Salmon made with a quinoa-olive oil salad, avocado puree, and topped with pieces of salmon skin chicharron.

    JUDGES COCKTAIL CHOICE
    Mixologist Peter Grimm at Equinox created a masterpiece cocktail named Pisco Pomada, made with Waqar Pisco, ginger, turmeric, and lime.

    PEOPLES FOOD CHOICE
    Ype Von Hengst from Silver served a merqueen-spiced Range Meats Patagonian ribeye with Chilean pebre cilantro sauce, oregano and thyme seasoned roasted corn, and white beans finished with ulmo honey drizzle, pomegranate and pine nuts.

    PEOPLES COCKTAIL CHOICE
    Jo-Jo Valenzuela of The Barkeep Consulting gave guests something to truly enjoy with the Gobernador Otoño, using El Gobernador Pisco, pomegranate, Autumn-spiced citrus cordial, ginger beer, and bitters.

    -JAY

     

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  • 12Aug

    Spice Rubs, Chilean Wine, and Vegan Candy Bars

    It’s time for another Product Roundup!

    First up is Dizzy Pig. We’ve been fans of (and writing about) competitive griller and BBQ supply store owner, Chris Capell’s spice rubs for years, and he keeps coming up with new varieties. We recently visited his new Manassas location, snacked on Tsunami Spin-rubbed chicken and duck, and Pineapple-rubbed bacon, and came home with some of his seasonings.

    We came home with newer blends, Peruvian-ish, Crossroads, and Peking, and traditional blends, Shaking The Tree and Pineapple Head. Shaking The Tree (lemon pepper) was wonderful with roasted potatoes and garlic. We tried Crossroads on burgers; it competes pretty closely with their best seller, Dizzy Dust, for BBQ flavor, although Chris recommends the latter for larger cuts of meat. Peking, we haven’t gotten to yet, although we will try it next time we cook skin-on chicken such as wings or thighs.

    So, what about Peruvian-ish? WE LOVE IT! Seriously! It has that Peruvian flavor you can only get with aji amarillo. We tried Peruvian-ish, on a mixture of roasted onions, orange bell peppers, and yellow squash, and on both beef and turkey burgers, and it worked wonderfully. Flavor of the Andes indeed! This is the first rub since Raging River (our favorite) that seems to go equally well with a huge variety of proteins and vegetables. And, both are very different flavor profiles, so they don’t compete. Now, we have to try some of these Peruvian-ish recipes!

    We recently got to try several Chilean red wines from the 10,000 acre holistic vineyard, VIK: the VIK 2012, Milla Cala 2013, and La Piu Belle 2011. All are red blends around 14% alcohol, and delicious. They are great paired with grilled or roasted meat, which explains why Fogo De Chao featured them at a recent media event. You can’t go wrong with a forkful of picanha in one hand and a glass of a great red in the other. I will admit that I (as planned) ate a plateful of their pork ribs, which did not disappoint.

    Fogo is the first U.S. restaurant brand to be pouring VIK Chilean wines. Fogo is offering two of the three VIK varietals in all of their Fogo restaurants nationwide – Milla Cala (Red Blend, Millahue Valley, Chile, 2013) and VIK (Red Blend, First Growth from Chile, 2013). Pricing varies by market, but those listed below are for the D.C. region:

    • Milla Cala: $13 (3 oz. glass); $25 (6 oz. glass); $93 (bottle)
    • VIK: $22 (3 oz. glass); $42 (6 oz. glass); $164 (bottle)

    I recommend getting on Fogo’s email list, since they will send you promotions. They recently emailed us about their $39 per person restaurant month (August) promotion, and you need to show up with a copy of their message to get the special.

    Nelly’s Organics (based in California) produces exceptional vegan candy bars. Picture the popular but not very healthy candy bars of your youth (Milky Way, Snickers, Mounds, etc.), but organic and dairy (animal product) free. They need to be kept refrigerated and are carried locally at Mom’s Organic Market (for $3 each and are well worth it). We sampled the following varieties (multiple times): Coconut, Nutty Nougat, Peanut Butter & Coconut, Caramel Nougat, German Chocolate, and Double Chocolate. We haven’t come across the Vegan Salted Caramels, but will make sure to try them if we do. Our favorites are the Nutty Nougat, Peanut Butter & Coconut, and Caramel Nougat. We grab a couple whenever we are at Mom’s.

    How did Carla (the Founder) get started in the candy bar business? She started making the vegan candy bars when her kids were little. She was just trying to copy the candy bars her kids liked and wanted a cleaner, healthier option. She never really intended to start a business, but once her friends and family tasted her creations, the requests kept on coming. Eventually she realized there might be a market for her candy bars, and we are glad she did.

    -JAY

    Permalink Filed under: Drinks, Home Cooking, Products, Stores 1 Comment
  • 04Jul

    Jardenea’s Summer Menu Shines in Georgetown

    Executive Chef Nelson Erazo

    We recently attended a Summer media tasting of Jardenea in the Melrose Georgetown Hotel. It was nice to return after a wonderful meal several years ago.

    While not gazpacho fans, we did enjoy the Summer Mango Gazpacho with Jumbo Lump Crab and Jalapeno Lime Creme Fraiche. Not sure we would have known it was supposed to be gazpacho, but that is fine.

    The Maine Lobster BLT Salad featured bibb lettuce, melted tomatoes (?), haricot verts (thin green beans), crisp pancetta (bacon), and avocado puree. This is a nice version of lobster salad, but it doesn’t really remind me of a BLT.  We should have asked what “melted tomatoes” are.

    They did a great job with the Cherry Wood Smoked Duck, which was served with flavorful caramelized onions and thyme pancakes. For a gluten-free diner, the pancakes were not served with this dish.

    Than Pan Seared Wild Salmon was one of our favorite dishes of the evening. It was served with coconut risotto, fresh pineapple, citrus gremolata, lemon preserve, and (very flavorful) Appalachian corn.

    The Menu for the evening.

    The Coconut Panna Cotta was served with (a delicious) papaya compote and toasted coconut. But, the Panna Cotta was not properly set, so was more like a pudding. We have no doubt that if properly set, this dessert would be delicious.

    We ordered the Stoli Doli cocktail, which features Pineapple infused Stolichnaya Vodka, Mint Simple Syrup, and Lemon Juice. This is definitely a drink we would order again.

    The restaurant is good at dealing with food allergies and alternate diets (such as gluten-free, dairy-free, or specific allergies).

    And, the service was very good. Our waiter was attentive and took great care of us. He even brought each wine bottle around for us to photograph.

    -JAY

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  • 08Apr

    Spring into Fogo De Chão

    We recently visited Fogo De Chão’s Washington, DC location once again, and sampled both their new spring dishes and rodizio (selection of meats). The restaurant did an excellent job with the new seasonal dishes. Some of our favorite meats were the ribs, top and bottom sirloin, and sausages.

    We enjoyed both of the spring salads. The Ancient Grain Salad is gluten-free recipe and features including quinoa, chia seeds, toasted kasha (buckwheat groats) and wild rice with diced apples, and pomegranate in a house-made citrus vinaigrette. The Asparagus and Spring Pea Salad features fresh asparagus, spring peas, arugula, goat cheese, lemon zest and herb vinaigrette, and is topped with fresh cracked pepper. This dish was listed as “Arugula Salad” on the salad bar, instead of “Asparagus and Spring Pea Salad.”

    The Sweet Pea and Asparagus soup, is a nice creamy vegetarian soup made with sweet spring peas, asparagus and a blend of Parmesan, cream and fresh ground black pepper.

    The three well-crafted seasonal drinks were the:

    • Smoke & Honey – This smoky version of a classic sour features Monkey Shoulder Whisky, peaty Glenmorangie Original, honeyed ginger, and lemon.

     

    • Guava Do Sul – This sparkling cocktail contains Belvedere Vodka, guava puree, fresh lemon, and La Marca Prosecco.

     

    • Andean Punch – This non-alcoholic drink features fresh strawberries muddled with guava and mint, and topped with sparkling soda. We bet that the tasty and refreshing drink would be great with rum as well.

    The service at Fogo was excellent as usual. We always enjoy our meals there.

    -JAY

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  • 27Mar

    Add a Sipp in Your Spring

    Spring is here, and although mother nature seems to have missed the memo, it doesn’t mean that you can’t start your getting a Spring in your step.

    I got the opportunity to do a taste test of Sipp, an organic sparkling soda that’s lightly sweetened with agave.  Let me tell you, I got my drink on tasting all six flavors in one sitting: Zesty Orange, Ginger Blossom, Mojo Berry, Lemon Flower, Ruby Rose and Summer Pear.

    So I’m not the biggest fan of flowery drinks and most of these have a mixture of a flower substance. So drinking them alone was not my cup of tea, but they ,were definitely an adventure to try.

    Zesty Orange tasted a lot like an orange fanta with a little kick. I don’t like spicy, but it wasn’t an overpowering spice.  Just a slight tingle at the end of your tongue. Mix this with some orange juice and vodka and make it a fun woohoo brunch drink with the gals.

    Ginger Blossom is a combination of two of my least favorite things — ginger and flowers.  So I cheated on this one and gave it to co-worker to try for me. Her take was that it was very light on the ginger flavor and the flavor reminded her of melted vanilla ice cream. She wouldn’t drink this on it’s own, but mixed with bourbon it hit the spot.

    IMG_8712 copyRuby Rose the floweriest of them all. My suggestion with this flavor is to mix it with a red or white wine and make it a wine spritzer.

    Summer Pear was my favorite out of all of them.  None of the overpowering flower flavor, light refreshing drink for the summer.  I still wouldn’t drink it on it’s own. Make it into a fancy martini with some vodka and a lemon twist and I’d call it a pinkies up party.

    Mojo Berry has an overpowering mint flavor, so it is a great mixer for a flavored mojito when you don’t have fresh mint on hand.

    Lemon Flower reminded me of a bouche-y 7Up. You grew up from drinking the standard 7up so you moved to Sipp Lemon Flower and it’s better for you!

    My overall assessment, I would not drink these alone but I’d turn them all into wine spritzers in a heartbeat and invite all the girls over (or just stay home alone and binge on Netflix).

    – ADT

    Sipp is sold nationwide at Target, select retailers and Amazon. Follow Sipp on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest

     

     

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  • 16Sep

    Head to Sterling for Primate-Brewed Beer

     

    If you’ve not had beer brewed by primates before, then you are in for a treat at Twinpanzee Brewing in Sterling (full disclosure: the owners, Antonio & Maha, are friends of mine). Twinpanzee, named for nicknames of the owners’ children, has been a labor of love, and a long time coming from these avid home brewers.

    Located in an office park, just off 267, Twinpanzee is easy to find and has plenty of parking. Open to the public Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you’ll find a range of beers, plenty of seating, and good times. Snacks are sold inside, but there’s a rotation of food trucks outside, and you’re more than welcome to bring your meal inside.

    I visited on the grand opening weekend and truly enjoyed my brews. My first pour was the Toasted the Coconutz, a brown ale with toasted coconuts and 4.5% ABV. Definitely my favorite, though I could go for even more coconut, and perfect for someone who doesn’t drink IPAs but also doesn’t want something light. After that, I went for the Far From Lonely, a kolsch clocking in at 5.7% ABV. It was light, crisp, and refreshing. The aptly named Bob’s Brown Ale was my last drink. This 4.5% beer was tasty, and good for someone who likes a simpler beer, but I prefer the coconut version.

    For those that love delicious beer and supporting small, VA-based businesses, you’ll be happy you checked out Twinpanzee. It’s got a great vibe, amazing owners (chat them up if you can!), and fantastic offerings.

    -LEM

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