Where I've Been + What Was Good
Proof's small plate of spicy meatballs with goat cheese agnolotti.Photo from Proof
A look at where I've been and what was good ...
• To ease the sugar shock of the Sprinkles Congressional Cupcake Wars (stay tuned for the video!), I joined Sprinkles founders Candace and Charles Nelson for a meal at Proof. I can't not order the fantastic pho terrine, which takes the traditional Vietnamese soup's flavors and translates them to pâté form, and the spicy little meatballs with goat cheese agnolotti.
• Though I only crashed a friends' table and have yet to sit down for a full meal on my own, I did get to taste Mike Isabella's now legendary chicken thighs with pepperoni sauce at Graffiato. The dish lives up to the hype and provokes one of those 'why hadn't anyone done this before?' moments. • It had been too long since I've popped into the tiny jewel box J. Chocolatier, tucked off M Street in Georgetown at 1039 33rd St. I picked up a mixed box of the shop's petite artisanal truffles. The jasmine tea-flavored chocolate topped with a delicate bit of candied violet and Montezuma, spiced with chipotle and cinnamon, were delicious standouts.
• Temperatures like these call for rum punch, and I found an excellent version at Cady's Alley's Kafe Leopold. The lavender rum punch (at right) arrived frothy, potent and cold. Just what I needed on a 100-degree day.
Looking for more ideas on where to eat? Here's more of where I've been eating:
• Westend Bistro, Freddy's, Estadio, Ripple, Bread Ovens at Quail Creek
• Et Voila, Bibiana, Fiola, Eve, Estadio, Pitango
• Volt, Proof, Tabard Inn, Hill Country
• Sheppard Mansion, The Source, Rasika, Taberna del Alabardero
� €¢Â Jack Rose, Watershed, Standard, Pizzeria Paradiso, Luke's Lobster, Dupont Market
Looking for more ideas on where to eat? Here's more of where I've been eating:
Westend Bistro, Freddy's, Estadio, Ripple, Bread Ovens at Quail Creek
Et Voila, Bibiana, Fiola, Eve, Estadio, Pitango
Volt, Proof, Tabard Inn, Hill Country
Sheppard Mansion, The Source, Rasika, Taberna del Alabardero