yes, i'll drink to that!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
co co sala
my sister met me downtown last night after work for a fun night on the town before she leaves town for all of her travels. the plan of the night was to get dessert at the new dessert bar - co co sala. wanting to have something a little substantial before a large dessert we went to oya and grabbed so sushi. four rolls later we left oya and walked the few blocks over to ccs (not to be confused with css). we didn't even make it to g street before the skies erupted and the storms they had been calling for all day finally blew through.
earlier in the afternoon i had checked on opentable to maybe snag a reservation for ccs. there were literally reservations available at every single fifteen minute interval and since i didn't know the timing of the evening i decided we could probably just risk it. well we walked in at about 7:30 and there were no tables for two! but luckily they have two bars where you can order from the full menu. so we squeezed into two seats (they had a few too many barstools stuffed around the bar) and began to examine the menu.
here's the deal: there are four dessert tasting menus all with five courses. all four menus are based on a different theme (indian, italian, aztec and childhood favorites), but have the same five basic courses: a main dessert, two snacks, a cheese and a cleansing sorbet course. you can either get all five courses for $30 or three courses (no cheese or sorbet) for $20. in addition to the desserts there are cocktails that pair well with the themes. and if your parents trained you right and you have to eat dinner before dessert they have that covered too. on the "real food" menu you have a choice of mac and cheese, crab cakes, sliders or salad. and keeping with the theme of the restaurant all of these savory dishes incorporate chocolate in some way.
since we had already had dinner we went straight for dessert and opted for the five course aztec dessert menu. not up for cocktails we went with the trio of hot chocolate. we ordered milk chocolate, dark chocolate and lavender white chocolate (lauren's choice, not mine). fifteen minutes later we got dark chocolate, white chocolate and white chocolate lavender. the dark chocolate was delicious the others were pretty disgusting. we didn't even bother complaining though, since it had already taken forever to get these drinks. plus we could tell the bartender had no idea what he was doing (every question we had about the menu was met with a "sure" or
"i don't know" or "let me check").
so how was the dessert? well it was delicious! let's look at each course:
1. amuse - churros with cinnamon cream and dulce de leche dip.
such a great way to start! we got two churros, but i wonder if that amount changes based on the number in your group. every part of this dish was delectable.
2. main dessert - hot chocolate soufflé with fiery chocolate center and kahlua soother.
wow, they should have bolded that fiery part. the chocolate center was definitely spicy, but good nonetheless. i guess that was the point of the kahlua soother (yes, i copied that directly from the menu).
3. intermezzo - papaya and lime margarita sorbet with papaya stick.
a perfect refreshment after that spicy chocolate soufflé.
4. cheese course - pepper cheese enchilada with guava sauce.
wow. this was just delicious. and not spicy at all (despite the pepper description on the menu). the guava flavoring made the dish sweet without overpowering the gooey jack cheese.
5. petit fours - chocolate infused horchata and mexican wedding cookie.
this was a great, light way to end the meal. i could have done without the sesame seed sticks, but the shortbread cookie was delicious.
and of course i have some other random comments on the place. first off i went to check out the bathrooms (come on - you know me). i can't decide if i liked them or not - the floor to ceiling mirrors really threw me off. and the lighting in the restaurant (or at least at the bar) was way too bright. the ambiance was so sheek and sexy but then they had bright lights everywhere. maybe it was just a timing thing, but about halfway through our meal all the lights dimmed - it was much better. the best part about sitting at the bar? the flat screen tvs that streamed flowing chocolate. it was like straight out of willy wonka. as i mentioned earlier the service was pretty lousy (steer clear of the bartender lorenzo!), but i can cut them a break since they just recently opened the place. and i do have to give credit to the kitchen - they really timed the courses well. you don't realize how much such small dessert courses can fill you up!
i would definitely be up for giving ccs another try - any takers? it's a really fun lounge atmosphere complete with a dj booth. i see it as a fun spot to hang out at between dinner and going out - and being located in the heart of penn quarter makes it perfect for that exact purpose! plus there are three other dessert menus to try...
earlier in the afternoon i had checked on opentable to maybe snag a reservation for ccs. there were literally reservations available at every single fifteen minute interval and since i didn't know the timing of the evening i decided we could probably just risk it. well we walked in at about 7:30 and there were no tables for two! but luckily they have two bars where you can order from the full menu. so we squeezed into two seats (they had a few too many barstools stuffed around the bar) and began to examine the menu.
here's the deal: there are four dessert tasting menus all with five courses. all four menus are based on a different theme (indian, italian, aztec and childhood favorites), but have the same five basic courses: a main dessert, two snacks, a cheese and a cleansing sorbet course. you can either get all five courses for $30 or three courses (no cheese or sorbet) for $20. in addition to the desserts there are cocktails that pair well with the themes. and if your parents trained you right and you have to eat dinner before dessert they have that covered too. on the "real food" menu you have a choice of mac and cheese, crab cakes, sliders or salad. and keeping with the theme of the restaurant all of these savory dishes incorporate chocolate in some way.
since we had already had dinner we went straight for dessert and opted for the five course aztec dessert menu. not up for cocktails we went with the trio of hot chocolate. we ordered milk chocolate, dark chocolate and lavender white chocolate (lauren's choice, not mine). fifteen minutes later we got dark chocolate, white chocolate and white chocolate lavender. the dark chocolate was delicious the others were pretty disgusting. we didn't even bother complaining though, since it had already taken forever to get these drinks. plus we could tell the bartender had no idea what he was doing (every question we had about the menu was met with a "sure" or
"i don't know" or "let me check").
so how was the dessert? well it was delicious! let's look at each course:
1. amuse - churros with cinnamon cream and dulce de leche dip.
such a great way to start! we got two churros, but i wonder if that amount changes based on the number in your group. every part of this dish was delectable.
2. main dessert - hot chocolate soufflé with fiery chocolate center and kahlua soother.
wow, they should have bolded that fiery part. the chocolate center was definitely spicy, but good nonetheless. i guess that was the point of the kahlua soother (yes, i copied that directly from the menu).
3. intermezzo - papaya and lime margarita sorbet with papaya stick.
a perfect refreshment after that spicy chocolate soufflé.
4. cheese course - pepper cheese enchilada with guava sauce.
wow. this was just delicious. and not spicy at all (despite the pepper description on the menu). the guava flavoring made the dish sweet without overpowering the gooey jack cheese.
5. petit fours - chocolate infused horchata and mexican wedding cookie.
this was a great, light way to end the meal. i could have done without the sesame seed sticks, but the shortbread cookie was delicious.
and of course i have some other random comments on the place. first off i went to check out the bathrooms (come on - you know me). i can't decide if i liked them or not - the floor to ceiling mirrors really threw me off. and the lighting in the restaurant (or at least at the bar) was way too bright. the ambiance was so sheek and sexy but then they had bright lights everywhere. maybe it was just a timing thing, but about halfway through our meal all the lights dimmed - it was much better. the best part about sitting at the bar? the flat screen tvs that streamed flowing chocolate. it was like straight out of willy wonka. as i mentioned earlier the service was pretty lousy (steer clear of the bartender lorenzo!), but i can cut them a break since they just recently opened the place. and i do have to give credit to the kitchen - they really timed the courses well. you don't realize how much such small dessert courses can fill you up!
i would definitely be up for giving ccs another try - any takers? it's a really fun lounge atmosphere complete with a dj booth. i see it as a fun spot to hang out at between dinner and going out - and being located in the heart of penn quarter makes it perfect for that exact purpose! plus there are three other dessert menus to try...
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
obama!
wooooooooo!
watching his speech right now - SO exciting!
but will hillary ever concede?
and more importantly - will virginia finally go blue in november??
Monday, June 2, 2008
everyone is going green
my company's color is green so it only makes sense that we are making a big push to be carbon neutral by 2010. that means our new office space is leed certified (gold i think) with automatic toilets and sinks (waterless urinals for the guys), motion sensor lights and glasses and mugs (no more solo cups).
and at the penny dive at dl this past weekend they announced that "dunn loring is going green" by not having all those crappy plastic toys in the kiddie section.
and even the nationals are going green! on wednesday discovery is launching their new network, planet green, and the nats are supporting the silver spring based company by wearing green caps. and the best part is my cousin is throwing out the first pitch!
random segue... fingers crossed that zim's shoulder gets better soon!
and at the penny dive at dl this past weekend they announced that "dunn loring is going green" by not having all those crappy plastic toys in the kiddie section.
and even the nationals are going green! on wednesday discovery is launching their new network, planet green, and the nats are supporting the silver spring based company by wearing green caps. and the best part is my cousin is throwing out the first pitch!
random segue... fingers crossed that zim's shoulder gets better soon!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
a zappos.com endorsement
the shoes might not be super cheap, but you get them fast. last night at 7pm i ordered a pair of shoes from zappos. i got an email this morning at 10:30 saying they had been delivered. and that's free shipping both ways. wow.
jackson 20
if the quality of a restaurant's bread basket is any indicator of it's overall quality then jackson 20 is great. after months of failed attempts (some their fault, some mine) to get to the new restaurant in the hotel monaco in old town i finally made it this week. let's just say it was worth the wait.
upon sitting down (next to the giant pig statue!) our overly cheery waitress explained the drink menu to us. the first thing that stood out was their extensive wine list that boasts 20 bottles for $20. and the best part is the majority of those wines are from virginia. but even if you're not in the mood for wine (we weren't), there's plenty more to choose from. just like any other kimpton spot their cocktail list is fun and inventive. and they had some solid beer choices (any place with dogfish head on tap is fine by me).
so we have the drinks covered - how about the food? well, as i said, the bread basket is delicious. the mini-cornbread is reminiscent of black eyed pea's cornbread (sweet and mealy, not that fake cake-like cornbread you find at many places). and then there were mini crescent shaped biscuits with a hint of sweet, but not overly dry. and with that was a slab of honey butter. like i said - delicious.
their menu changes seasonally in order to highlight the freshest (and local) ingredients. our chatty waitress was quick to point out the items that were just recently added to the menu. but she also told us what was just taken off the menu - maybe it's just me but i don't really want to know what i missed out on.
seeing as we were starving we went for the fried green tomatoes and a fresh greens salad to start. the tomatoes were lovely. big fat slices fried to the perfect crispness. they were topped with a flavorful, white cream sauce. the mixed greens were tossed with a grapefruit vinaigrette and served with avocado, apple and grapefruit slices.
the entrees were split pretty evenly between meat and fish (with a pasta dish thrown in to the mix as well). we're a big sharing family so we tried not to have any overlap on the ordering. we settled on the roasted chicken, pork chop, trout and flounder. can you guess which one i ordered?
the chicken was nice and juicy (dare i say crisp and juicy?). it was served with rather large shallots and with a yummy corn pudding straight in the corn husk (like a tamale!). the pork was
cooked perfectly (medium, but not too chewy). and it was a nice cut of pork - it had a bone but was not all bony like some of those pork chops are. the pork was served with swiss chard, a few giant onion rings and a grilled peach. i tried a bite of both of the fishes - they were ok if you're into that kind of thing. the flounder was served with roasted potatoes and the trout with a crawfish etouffee. side note: did anyone else know that cut up okra looks just like jalapeño peppers?
that night we were celebrating my sister's birthday (which everyone knew since my mom bought her a dora balloon). so of course we had to order dessert. except when we looked over the dessert menu nothing really jumped out at us. we were also pretty stuffed (maybe it was all that bread we ate?) so we decided to pass. i don't think our waitress was too happy about that.
overall a very good meal and with very reasonable prices (made even more reasonable when i didn't have to pay). and the bar looked fun - not sure about any happy hour specials though. the only happy hour i know of is their supposedly famous doggie happy hour (gross). if they allow you out in the courtyard at other times i will definitely give it a shot - but not if there are any dogs in sight.
upon sitting down (next to the giant pig statue!) our overly cheery waitress explained the drink menu to us. the first thing that stood out was their extensive wine list that boasts 20 bottles for $20. and the best part is the majority of those wines are from virginia. but even if you're not in the mood for wine (we weren't), there's plenty more to choose from. just like any other kimpton spot their cocktail list is fun and inventive. and they had some solid beer choices (any place with dogfish head on tap is fine by me).
so we have the drinks covered - how about the food? well, as i said, the bread basket is delicious. the mini-cornbread is reminiscent of black eyed pea's cornbread (sweet and mealy, not that fake cake-like cornbread you find at many places). and then there were mini crescent shaped biscuits with a hint of sweet, but not overly dry. and with that was a slab of honey butter. like i said - delicious.
their menu changes seasonally in order to highlight the freshest (and local) ingredients. our chatty waitress was quick to point out the items that were just recently added to the menu. but she also told us what was just taken off the menu - maybe it's just me but i don't really want to know what i missed out on.
seeing as we were starving we went for the fried green tomatoes and a fresh greens salad to start. the tomatoes were lovely. big fat slices fried to the perfect crispness. they were topped with a flavorful, white cream sauce. the mixed greens were tossed with a grapefruit vinaigrette and served with avocado, apple and grapefruit slices.
the entrees were split pretty evenly between meat and fish (with a pasta dish thrown in to the mix as well). we're a big sharing family so we tried not to have any overlap on the ordering. we settled on the roasted chicken, pork chop, trout and flounder. can you guess which one i ordered?
the chicken was nice and juicy (dare i say crisp and juicy?). it was served with rather large shallots and with a yummy corn pudding straight in the corn husk (like a tamale!). the pork was
cooked perfectly (medium, but not too chewy). and it was a nice cut of pork - it had a bone but was not all bony like some of those pork chops are. the pork was served with swiss chard, a few giant onion rings and a grilled peach. i tried a bite of both of the fishes - they were ok if you're into that kind of thing. the flounder was served with roasted potatoes and the trout with a crawfish etouffee. side note: did anyone else know that cut up okra looks just like jalapeño peppers?
that night we were celebrating my sister's birthday (which everyone knew since my mom bought her a dora balloon). so of course we had to order dessert. except when we looked over the dessert menu nothing really jumped out at us. we were also pretty stuffed (maybe it was all that bread we ate?) so we decided to pass. i don't think our waitress was too happy about that.
overall a very good meal and with very reasonable prices (made even more reasonable when i didn't have to pay). and the bar looked fun - not sure about any happy hour specials though. the only happy hour i know of is their supposedly famous doggie happy hour (gross). if they allow you out in the courtyard at other times i will definitely give it a shot - but not if there are any dogs in sight.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
quite possibly the most random food giveaway ever
tomorrow (5/28) california tortilla is giving away free pop tarts. i don't like pop tarts, but maybe you do?!
my new obsession
trader joe's dark chocolate covered mini pretzels.
also, new at tj's: white zinfindeltwo three buck chuck. great if you're into that kind of thing.
also, new at tj's: white zinfindel
my weekend of firsts
1. took a metered cab in dc.
it seems like they still don't really know how to use the meter. our driver, abdul, started the meter and the initial charge went to $3.00 instead of the required $2.50. he immediately started apologizing and told us he would adjust it at the end. when we asked about what he thought about meters he told us he was getting 30-40% less in fares, but people were generally making it up in tips. our fare from chinatown to dupont-ish was $9 something - not sure how much it would have been in the zone system.
2. rumors.
this is my first and definitely last trip to rumors. can anyone explain the appeal of this bar? and why did i pay $5 to go in? there was awful music blasting and sketchy people hovering. gross.
3. rode the metro from dunn loring to vienna.
despite living around here my whole life i've never taken the metro until the end of the line. figure i might as well do it before we move and everyone else i know moves away from vienna.
4. ate fish!
even though there were some non-fish items on the menu at tackle box, i decided to bite the bullet and order some fish. i went with a non-fishy tasting tilapia and was very happy with my decision! and the pesto sauce and side of hush puppies and mac & cheese made the meal very satisfying (and it was only $14 - what a steal!).
the rest of the weekend was pretty typical of any other memorial day weekend - lots of pool time, a bbq and the fun run with the family.
it seems like they still don't really know how to use the meter. our driver, abdul, started the meter and the initial charge went to $3.00 instead of the required $2.50. he immediately started apologizing and told us he would adjust it at the end. when we asked about what he thought about meters he told us he was getting 30-40% less in fares, but people were generally making it up in tips. our fare from chinatown to dupont-ish was $9 something - not sure how much it would have been in the zone system.
2. rumors.
this is my first and definitely last trip to rumors. can anyone explain the appeal of this bar? and why did i pay $5 to go in? there was awful music blasting and sketchy people hovering. gross.
3. rode the metro from dunn loring to vienna.
despite living around here my whole life i've never taken the metro until the end of the line. figure i might as well do it before we move and everyone else i know moves away from vienna.
4. ate fish!
even though there were some non-fish items on the menu at tackle box, i decided to bite the bullet and order some fish. i went with a non-fishy tasting tilapia and was very happy with my decision! and the pesto sauce and side of hush puppies and mac & cheese made the meal very satisfying (and it was only $14 - what a steal!).
the rest of the weekend was pretty typical of any other memorial day weekend - lots of pool time, a bbq and the fun run with the family.
Friday, May 23, 2008
happy first weekend of summer!
and so it begins...
shorts fridays at work, lazy weekends at the pool, bbqs and outdoor happy hours. oh, summer how i've missed you.
sadly i won't be making it down to the beach this weekend, but i've got plenty of fun planned for the next three days. it's only appropriate to kick off the summer with some refreshments - this year i'll do it with margaritas. and tomorrow night will be the obligatory bbq. sunday night i plan to pretend i'm up on the northern shore with dinner at the newly opened tackle box. and in true memorial day fashion monday is the falls church fun run. i can't wait to see what color the shirt is this year!
hope everyone else has a safe and happy holiday weekend!
shorts fridays at work, lazy weekends at the pool, bbqs and outdoor happy hours. oh, summer how i've missed you.
sadly i won't be making it down to the beach this weekend, but i've got plenty of fun planned for the next three days. it's only appropriate to kick off the summer with some refreshments - this year i'll do it with margaritas. and tomorrow night will be the obligatory bbq. sunday night i plan to pretend i'm up on the northern shore with dinner at the newly opened tackle box. and in true memorial day fashion monday is the falls church fun run. i can't wait to see what color the shirt is this year!
hope everyone else has a safe and happy holiday weekend!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
most awkward music video ever!
but did you see perez? he makes a few cameos. i should have been in the video - i "discovered" him years ago... and now i'm bummed he's becoming so famous :(
john mccain is old
he even tried to make fun of himself on snl this weekend:
but better than listening to mccain stumble through his words is this blog. hilarious!
but better than listening to mccain stumble through his words is this blog. hilarious!
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