We need a few writers!
Do you have some new recipes to share?
Have you discovered the best restaurants in the DC area?
Do you want to write a comparison article for a particular item or dish (such as best BLTs)?
Need some foodie cred? (Good, since that is how we are compensated. )
Then we want you for DCFUD! Send a writing sample to
jay (at) dcfud (dot) com, along with a couple ideas you’d like to write
about.
-JAY
Bear Branch Tavern in Vienna runs daily specials. This weekend, their BBT BBQ Big Boi Platter returns, featuring Brisket, Baby Back Ribs, Carolina Pulled Pork, Black Eyed Pea Baked Beans, Red Bliss Potato Salad (although our image features Coleslaw instead), and House Made Pickles. It’s available as a dine in entrée (inside or outside seating) for $20, or as a gameday platter for you and your friends (feeds four adults for around $80).
We very much enjoyed BBT’s BBQ platter! Our favorite items on were the Brisket, Ribs, and Pickles. Of the three BBQ sauces we tried (Kansas City, Carolina, and DC Mumbo), we preferred and fought over the Carolina (mustard-based) sauce, although all three were tasty.
Our suggestion would be to work on the baked beans a bit more. They were a bit undercooked, and black eyed peas may not be the best legume for the job. That said, we ate them.
BBT has a a great vibe and is casual and fun. It’s nice that they have both indoor and outdoor seating. As for the service, the employee who took our order on the phone (Jamie) was great.
Here is their dine-in menu. They have a brunch menu as well. When you visit their website, there is a popup with their daily food and drink specials.
-JAY
Editor’s Notes:
With a chunk of Washington, DC and the metro system closed due to the upcoming Inauguration, some of the more popular Northern Virginia restaurants have been quite busy this weekend. If you are ordering BBT takeout, call a little farther ahead.
As far as dining during the pandemic, BBT has covered heated outdoor seating, and sells branded blankets to help with the weather.
Thai is one of our favorite cuisines, so we jumped at the chance to review Verve Culture’s Thai for Two Organic Curry Kits. The curry kits are imported from Thailand, gluten-free, and vegan, and come in Penang, green, and red varieties.
Included in each are the following organic packets: curry paste, curry seasonings, coconut milk, and dried herbs. You follow step-by-step directions, which include adding 7-10 ounces of uncooked protein and 7-10 ounces of uncooked vegetables. The recipes were well described and not difficult. You are told to use 50 to 100% of the curry paste packet depending on desired spice level, and that the dried herbs (kaffir lime leaves, chili peppers, etc.) are not meant to be consumed directly (since they just flavor the sauce).
We made the green curry with wild salmon, a small zucchini, and a small orange bell pepper. The curry went extremely well with the wild salmon. We used 100% of the curry paste packet for this dish, which turned out to be around medium spice level (high for my dining partner).
For the Penang, we went with organic chicken breast from the Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op, an orange bell pepper, and fresh carrots. Visually, it contained orange vegetables with an orange sauce, so a different color bell pepper may have been a better idea. Scallions were added for a bit of color. 75% of the curry paste packet was used for this dish, which turned out to be around medium spice level (ok for me, but still a little high for my dining partner).
We used a small red bell pepper, and Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op broccoli and chicken breast with the red curry kit. 50% of the curry paste packet was used for this dish, which turned out to be around medium spice level (about right for my dining partner).
We definitely enjoyed all three curry varieties, since the direct from Thailand ingredients give them an authentic flavor, but our favorite was the green curry (with wild salmon), even at the 100% spice level. The kits are good for two people, but we had some leftovers of the Pinang and red varieties since we used an extra 1/4 cup of water and a pound of chicken each.
Verve Culture makes two other Thai kits: Tom Kha Soup and Pad Thai. For a limited time, there is a coupon code for your holiday gift-giving needs. Order 5 flavors of Thai for Two Cooking Kits with the code THAI4TWO.
Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op‘s CSA boxes can be picked up at various sites in the DC area, including the Mosaic District’s MOM’s Organic Market.
-JAY
We’ve written about Gwyn Novak and her cooking school (No Thyme To Cook) in MD previously. We love her! Her new book is available for pre-order on Amazon NOW and officially launches on 10/27/20.
One lucky DCFUD reader will get a copy of the book mailed to them (US addresses only):
We will randomly choose one entry (out of the first 100) to receive a copy of her new book, One Pot Supreme. To be entered in the contest, email your first and last name to Contest (AT) dcfud (DOT) com with the subject line “Cookbook Contest” by Wednesday October 21st at 5pm. We’ll pass the winner’s email address to Gwyn’s marketing person (who will ask you for a US mailing address).
-JAY
We were present opening night at the new West Alex outpost, the 18th Silver Diner location. It was easy to get from the garage to diner, and our server (Levi) provided great service.
Northern Virginia is still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic (unless you ask someone at a bar in Clarendon). Occupied tables were spread out, servers wore masks, and they have a 3-level, Hospital-Grade Air Purification System (ultraviolet light in the ACs, air purifiers in dining room, ultraviolet light fixtures to clean surfaces overnight). Silver Diner (in all locations) provides delivery, outdoor seating, contact-less pickup, and limited indoor seating.
The new menu items, Lemony Chickpea Hummus and Cauliflower Pita, and Cucumber-Mint-Lemonade were both wonderful additions that we would order again. The steak, burger, and sides were all well-executed as usual. The veggie of the day was winter squash, Brussels sprouts, and beets. We both ordered sweet potato fries
They have a vegan ice cream option and almond whipped cream for those of you avoiding dairy.
We will of course return to Silver Diner for their excellent menu choices and well-sourced high quality ingredients. The menu is available here.
-JAY
“Score!” I thought when I discovered the last two frozen lumpia in the freezer today. They were tucked in a freezer bag behind a mostly empty bag of shell-on shrimp. Below that shelf, I found a bag of French cut string beans (the kind I use for lumpia). I must have bought an extra bag months ago while feeling ambitious, but then never made another batch of lumpia when the reality of rolling the Filipino spring rolls after work set in. “Oh hey, that pound of frozen raw wings I bought on sale for the Super Bowl before I remembered I don’t like football!”
What to do with only one fresh vegetable – a forgotten bell pepper – left and mostly bare stores? Go out? Heck no! We are solid proponents of staying at home and social distancing!
I used the frozen wings to make some stock. Once that was at a safe temperature, I removed the wings and added shrimp to the stock. I popped that shrimp out fairly quickly to keep it from getting rubbery and then I took out the shells. I marinated the wings in vinegar and soy sauce and then broiled them to finish them. (Is there anything sadder looking than boiled chicken?)
Meanwhile I fried up the lumpia and started sautéing garlic. My garlic was a little old, but whatever. I added the now cooked shrimp, various secret sauces (okay you got me…they are pictured above…and yes, I used bottled lemon juice. This is a comfort food (to me, anyway) emergency! I sautéed the thawed green beans, and pressed the water out the, and added the bell pepper and shrimp. When everything looked properly cooked, I removed all the vegetables and the shrimp from my wok.
After boiling some stock in the wok, I added some pancit noodles. Finally, I reassembled the shrimp, green beans, bell pepper, and pancit noodles and heated again.
Maybe not the best looking meal. Maybe not the best-conceived meal. But we didn’t leave the house. How about it, dcfüd? Show us some meals you made with all or no fresh items while we are mostly holed up at home hiding from Corona/Covid 19?
-CAF (Cindy)
We’ve had some great dishes recently and want to highlight some of them. Featured: Kiin Imm Thai, Mama Chang’s, Marumen, Kizuna, Silver Diner, Rice Bar, Hei Hei Tiger, Bethesda Bagels.
In no particular order:
We were at Hei Hei Tiger (Tiger Fork’s sister) a few days before the official opening. They wouldn’t let us order the duck because they said they were still working on making it crispy, but even so, it was the best protein we tried, including the chicken, pork belly, and BBQ Pork. The bok choi was very good but was given to me in error, since I ordered the Chinese Broccoli. Those are the only two things we as a group ate that we would order again, unless they tweak the recipes (which they are working on). They had a good crust on the pork belly but, it tasted both too salty and smoky. The BBQ pork’s flavor was a little off too, and the meat was tough. Hei Hei Tiger also has a bar in front of Sen Khao.
The meal at Silver Diner (steak, mashed potatoes, winter vegetables, spinach with garlic) was good, and definitely worth ordering again. The winter veggies (beets, Brussels sprouts, winter squash) were excellent.
Kizuna’s ramen is really good (including the pork belly), and does not include MSG.
Marumen’s kimchi (that little bowl on the side of the ramen bowl) is made by Grandma. The ramen house is open late, and tends to be busy.
Kiin Imm Thai was empty when I sat down 6pm on a Sunday and was fully packed within an hour. People were eating a huge variety of delicious looking dishes. We need to try more dishes here. The place is new and promising, but small.
At Rice Bar, a Chipotle-style Korean rice and noodles concept based in DC, avoid the miso soup they give you on the side, since it isn’t very good. Rice Bar is run by a couple of really nice guys from Mongolia. We ordered Rice Noodles with Kalbi, Marinated Cucumbers, Eggplant, Radish Kimchi, and Seaweed, which was good.
Mama Chang is an adventurous Hubei/Sichuan restaurant in Fairfax (near Marumen) inspired by Peter Chang’s mother.
The image of of a bagel with lox features vegan veggie cream cheese. I didn’t take a picture of them, but Bethesda Bagel has secret potato pancakes. The sign for the latkes fell down, but they still have them (with sour cream or apple sauce).
-JAY
Editor’s Update, January 12, 2021:
Rice Bar in Crystal City is closed for the Pandemic, but they are open in DC. The other mentioned restaurants are still open.
Fogo de Chão has remodeled their DC location. We recently dined at the DC location and requested a few of Fogo’s official photos to share.
-JAY
A few nights ago my family and I went to one of the more favorite local restaurants, Tequila Grande (in Oakton). At Tequila Grande, guests should be aware that the “grande” in the name is by no means a joke. The portions and quality at TG are unmatched for this classical Mexican eatery. The interior of the restaurant is very comforting as the orange painted walls and many windows present a homely vibe. The menu at Tequila Grande offers an array of different Mexican specialties like carne asada, enchiladas, and tacos in addition to more Americanized menu options like burritos and chimichangas.
When we arrived were greeted with chips and salsa as we perused the menu. As customary at Tequila Grande we started off with their fresh guacamole. The guacamole is smooth and spicy and served in a very charming blue corn tortilla bowl that gets slowly devoured with the dip. For dinner, I ordered the biggest menu item they have, the burrito-gordo. This is the biggest burrito I have ever experienced in my life. It is overflowing with flavorful ground beef, stewed chicken, re-fried beans, and Spanish rice. The burrito is also covered in cheese, pico-de-gallo, and sour cream. As terrifying as it looks coming straight at you it is an extremely delicious burrito with a dense and hearty filling that leaves you stuffed for several days. As usual, however, I was only able to eat half the burrito and saved the rest for later (which is perfectly fine as it heats up great).
My father ordered his favorite, the enchiladas. His go-to combination, which he highly recommends to anyone ordering enchiladas is one shredded beef, one cheese and onion, and one stewed chicken. I had a portion of some of his as we were all sharing and the winner to me was the tender shredded beef enchilada. All of them come smothered in sauce and cheese served alongside beans and rice.
My sister and mother shared a combination of chicken and shrimp fajitas. As they were picking at my burrito I grabbed a small flour tortilla and scooped the grilled shrimp, caramelized onions and soft bell peppers into the tortilla. I topped it with some sour cream, salsa and lettuce and had a fantastic albeit wet mini shrimp taco.
The food at tequila grande may be grande but that does not at all undercut its quality. Being a small family establishment tequila grande manages to have some of the best Mexican food while also having a lovely atmosphere all for a reasonable price in local midtown Vienna. It is somewhere you should definitely consider the next time you are in the mood for a fiesta of flavor.
-ARM
Editor’s Note 12/20/2020: Tequila Grande was recently rebranded as Mama Tigre (under the same ownership). It is now fusion of Mexican and Indian cuisines.
When entering Dogwood Tavern, one may be deceived by the rustic background and dated feel of this small establishment. The walls are covered in patriotic paintings and the all wood interior communicates a relaxed, no-nonsense atmosphere. However, while the looks of this tavern seem aged, the food and service are fresh and exciting.
Dogwood Tavern sports a menu of fresh takes on various American food classics. This includes totchos, a portmanteau of tater tots and nachos, and sandwiches such as their famous French onion burger. During our visit, a few friends and myself ordered a round of totchos with custom burgers and sandwiches.
We started out our meal with the loaded totchos. A cross between nachos, chili cheese fries, and tater tots towered on a silver plate when they arrived to our table. The tater tots were crisp and held together quite nicely as layers of cheese and heart chili blanketed the platter. The whole thing was devoured in minutes.
I ordered the shrimp po’ boy, which came on buttered french bread and was served with crispy waffle fries. The pieces of fried shrimp were flavorful and crispy without being too heavy. The spicy remoulade sauce complimented the shrimp well and the toppings of shredded lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and thinly sliced white onion all paired together deliciously.
The star of the table however was the infamous French onion burger. The French onion burger is a specialty at Dogwood, and for good reason. The beef patty was juicy and was topped with a mountain of caramelized onions and melted Swiss cheese. In addition to the burger, this entrée also came with french onion jus on the side for dipping. The jus was extremely flavorful and savory, pairing very well with the richness of the burger.
While it may seem aged at first glance, Dogwood Tavern is a very charming place with a lot of interesting and delicious options for anyone looking for stepped up bar food. Overall, Dogwood Tavern is a great destination if you want the feeling of a Cheers-like bar where one can watch local DC sports teams play on big televisions, while still enjoying some solid grub.
-ARM
