Where I've Been + What Was Good




• To stock up before a sunset cruise on a friend's boat, we hit the new Wharf Farmers Market, down at Seventh and Maine Avenue SW, for provisions.

First stop was the Frank cart, where Red Apron Butchery's Nathan Anda is serving some killer dogs. I went with the cheddar dog, which has an oozing streak of cheese running through the artisanal sausage and is topped with smoked beer braised onions (at right). 

Anda's also doing a BLT version with a bacon hot dog, bacon mayonnaise, iceberg lettuce and heirloom tomatoes, and a Frankie Jr. with bacon-braised pulled pork and coleslaw, in addition to a few more.

Next stop was Peter He's Asian bao bun stand for a few nice-sized pork buns with pillowy exteriors. He has a food truck in the works but is currently selling at several area farmers markets.



Some Buzz Bakery chocolate chip cookies and we were ready to set sail. The Wharf market runs Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. with live music and beer and wine for sale.  

• Among all the incredible tastes during a Saturday night celebratory meal at Komi, chef Johnny Monis' beautiful play on a beef tongue gyro stuck with me. The dish is presented as a long, perfectly square row of alternating squares of pita and beef tongue. Draped on one end, a slice of foie gras. The other, a bright mix of onion, feta and tomato. It's one of those conceptual dishes that make you smile.

• A recent discovery that Pho 14 delivers to Logan Circle has made me and my pho-loving husband quite happy. And what I love most are the plastic bags stuffed with a generous amount of basil and sprouts for garnishing. The basil looked like it had just been snipped from a garden.
 
• The first meal I ate after touching down in Southeast Asia for the first time was a bowl of kao soi noodles in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I love channeling that exciting moment with DC Noodles' very good version of the Burmese-style dish. Slippery egg noodles combine with a rich curry coconut sauce, crunchy fried noodles and tangy pickled cabbage for a satisfying meal.

Looking for more ideas for good food? Here's more of where I've been eating:

• Casa Nonna, Birch & Barley, Rasika, Cork, Graffiato, America Eats Tavern
•  Proof, Graffiato, J. Chocolatier, Kafe Leopold
•  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
•  Jack Rose, Watershed, Standard, Pizzeria Paradiso, Luke's Lobster, Dupont Market
Looking for more ideas for good food? Here's more of where I've been eating:

• •  Proof, Graffiato, J. Chocolatier, Kafe Leopold
•  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
•  Jack Rose, Watershed, Standard, Pizzeria Paradiso, Luke's Lobster, Dupont Market Proof, Graffiato, J. Chocolatier, Kafe Leopold
Westend Bistro, Freddy's, Estadio, Ripple, Bread Ovens at Quail Creek
Volt, Proof, Tabard Inn, Hill Country
Sheppard Mansion, The Source, Rasika, Taberna del Alabardero