Where I've Been + What Was Good
From peaches to pumpkins, eating out right now means straddling the seasons with some gorgeous plates around town ...
• After tasting the first pumpkin soup of the season at Ripple's booth at the National Zoo's Grapes with Apes last week, I left wanting more so I headed over to the Cleveland Park restaurant for a full meal. Chef Logan Cox is making a risotto-like dish with quinoa — I'm so stealing that idea to try at home — with the savory addition of meaty lobster mushrooms and a poached egg.
• An overnight trip to Baltimore to catch up with some girlfriends meant a return visit to Woodberry Kitchen — or rather it was a necessity that a trip to Baltimore equaled a meal at the hip and super seasonal restaurant. Things kicked off with one foot in summer, an Orchard Muddle Box cocktail made with fresh peaches, rye, five spice syrup, arrack and Peychaud's bitters. A series of rustic dishes followed, my fave being the beef heart sausage with roasted okra, potatoes and a fried egg on top. (What can I say, I'm a sucker for an egg on top of anything. See: Ripple.)
• Thanks to instant popularity, a meal at 14th Street's new Pearl Dive Oyster Palace can mean a long wait. But we cooled our heels happily slurping oysters and sipping cocktails on the bocce rail in Black Jack upstairs. Once our number came up on the DMV-style ticker, we dug into plates of very good fried chicken and a towering fried catfish BLT topped with a fried egg. (Yes, I'm really on a roll with this egg-on-top thing.) Don't miss the Vietnamese-inspired fried pickled shrimp served over tangy julienned vegetables.
• Not that you need a season to eat soup, but I certainly start getting a hankering with the air gets crisp. (Ok, so give it until Saturday, but we'll get some humidity free air soon.) I picked up some excellent soups at Soupergirl's new store, located conveniently right across from the Takoma metro. My stash of end-of-summer butter bean with corn and a gingery lentil soup made great healthy dinners and lunches for a few days.
• I was treated to a press trip for a few nights at the dreamy Inn at Perry Cabin, where new Sherwood's Landing executive chef Aaron McCloud served a gorgeous bluefish pulled out of the water hours earlier as part of a decadent tasting menu. Housemade rabbit sausage, heirloom tomatoes from the property's garden and a "crabuccino," a frothy soup with nice hunks of lump meat, were other standouts. Stay tuned for a full video report from St. Michael's.
Looking for more ideas for good food and drink? Here's more of where I've been eating:
• Bourbon Steak, Estadio, Citronelle, Hank's Oyster Bar, Full Kee, Vermilion
• Red Apron's Frank Cart, Komi, Pho 14, DC Noodles
• 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 and drink? Here's more of where I've been eating:
• Bourbon Steak, Estadio, Citronelle, Hank's Oyster Bar, Full Kee, Vermilion
• Red Apron's Frank Cart, Komi, Pho 14, DC Noodles
• 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 MarketLooking for more ideas for good food and drink? 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
Volt, Proof, Tabard Inn, Hill Country
Sheppard Mansion, The Source, Rasika, Taberna del Alabardero