The Gravy Train

a caffeinated apology

One of the things I love about my friends is that I regularly hear about some amazing meal they've eaten recently.  "You'll never believe the sheer amount of truffles that were coating that tagliatelle," they'll sigh with delight.  Or, "I've eaten my weight in fresh ahi tuna and fear I may have mercury poisoning," (I'm looking at you, Meredith).  It's honestly one of the highlights of my day, to get a play-by-play of a resplendent meal enjoyed.

My response, though, is always the same.  After the requisite shared exuberance passes, I always ask if there's photographic evidence.  I want to see what glorious damage you've done to your otherwise healthy eating habits and ability to restrain yourself.  Inevitably, the answer is always the same: "Um, noo...I was too excited to eat to take photos."

I have to say that part of me, while I completely understand that otherwise rational people (like myself) may black out when approaching a really great meal, part of me is always a little incredulous that I'm hearing gastronomic music to my ears with no sound.  How could you forget to take at least one photo of your most memorable, blissful meal of recent memory?  How is that even possible?

I didn't fully have an appreciation of how much your excitement can forsake all else until we were at our friends Joe and Lisa's house in Washington, DC last month.  Joe is, quite frankly, slightly insane about food.  I say this in the highest, most complimentary way possible, but I honestly think Joe might be slightly permanently cross-eyed from the sheer amount of food research he did on our trip to Vietnam two years ago.   Anyway, Joe backs up his culinary obsessiveness with a killer ability in the kitchen, and one night he promised us a good home-cooked meal when we were still living out of suitcases.  

I worked myself into a frothy lather, thinking about and anticipating what that meal might entail.  After three weeks of suitcases and a whole lot of boiled pasta, I might've been slightly ravenous.  And oh, was that dinner Joe made ever delicious.  Stuffed courgette.  Homemade hummus.  Delicious chorizo.  I ate and ate and ate, and when I came up for air, I was still eating.

It wasn't until all the plates -- and my head -- were cleared that I'd realized I hadn't taken a photo.  Not a one.  I was gutted that I'd forgotten to document Joe's amazing meal, and so the next morning I snapped a photo of this beautiful cappuccino he made me.  The swirls of foamy milk, the chocolate-y espresso from Peregrine -- truly, this is the stuff that makes waking up in the morning exciting.  I dreamed about that cappuccino for days afterwards.

So, Joe, I'm sorry.  The next time we do a family cooking day, you do all the heavy stirring.  I'll be standing behind my tripod, snapping away.

 

little plate of happiness: chicken sandwich?

Oregon Avenue chicken cutlet sandwich with roasted garlic, arugula, Parmesan

When we left two years ago, Taylor Gourmet, an Italian market and deli, had just opened in the redeveloping H Street corridor.  Their simple, tasty sandwiches showed promise that the DC food scene was coming up with new, fun things to offer other than the power lunch.

Last week, I meet up with old friends at Taylor for a quick bite at their new(er) K Street location.   I love the Philly-style chicken cutlet sandwiches that Taylor offers, and so I picked the Oregon Avenue, a promising little number featuring roasted garlic, fresh arugula and shaved Parmesan.  I love roasted garlic so much. You could slather roasted garlic on an old shoe bottom and I'd seriously consider eating it.  

The Oregon Avenue didn't disappoint, although, and maybe this is just me, but I found myself wishing there were some marinara sauce.  Yup, I think that would've put me over the edge.  

And I might've just found the perfect sandwich.

Taylor Gourmet | Various locations in Washington, DC and Bethesda, Maryland | Open daily

PS - Congratulations to Melanie, the winner of my robot lunch box giveway!

 

at bistrot, je t'aime, moules

La Traditionelle Mouclade des Charentes at Bistrot du Coin in Washington, DC

Here in DC, I'm satisfying two years' worth of built-up irrational cravings, and man, I've been having some fun.  Last Friday, we met our friends and their toddler out at Bistrot Du Coin, an old neighborhood standby of mine.  It's not the fanciest or the best French I've ever had, but it's solid on steak frites and mussels.  Oh, how I love a good Staub crock filled with fresh mussels.  While we had plentiful fresh seafood in Malaysia, mussels were rare, and my favorite preparation, steamed with garlic, white wine, and parsley, was practically unheard of there.

Lamb steak special

This time, I had La Traditionelle Mouclade des Charentes, which are mussels steamed in a light curry cream sauce.  I have become, in my short tenure overseas, a sucker for curry, and the thought of curry, cream and mussels was enough to make my head swim.  Or it could have been the Cotes du Rhone.  I'm okay with either cause.

Vive la France at Bistrot

The hubby's craving was for lamb.  We had it occasionally in Malaysia, when I could find a good imported cut from Australia.  Now that we're back, though, it's hard for him to pass up a lamb dish, especially when it's the special for the evening.  

We had a lovely dinner.  Especially the part when we chased our toddlers around the Bistrot, dodging waiters, trays of hot food and righting upended chairs.  It's not the same sort of relaxing evening we used to have, but it's bliss all the same.

Bistrot du Coin | 1738 Connecticut Avenue NW | Washington, DC | Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner

PS -  just one day left on the robot lunch box giveway!  Enter by leaving a comment here.  

a good food sunday

Cherry tomatoes in season at Dupont Farmer's Market

Last Sunday was a good food day.

The way carrots should look, with their nice green tops; melons; and likewise, Mr. Cured Meat Vendor

We spent our morning revisiting the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market.  I was a little sad that our hotel room doesn't have a kitchen so that I could take advantage of the gorgeous peaches and tomatoes in season.

The scene at Dupont Farmer's Market

When we're not having lunch or dinner out with friends, we're making do with a crock pot (for things like  curried lentil and potato stew for the Gravy Baby) and one of those hot pots everyone had in college (for mixing formula, boiling pasta, and just about anything else I can make in a 32-ounce plastic bowl). 

Above, left to right: eggplant and tomato ragu; middle: slow-cooked ribs finished on the grill; and delicious grilled chicken

Of course, we also have the kindness of our friends to give us a home-cooked meal every now and again, as we found at our friend Jeff's house.  We used to live across the hall from Jeff, and he was like Kramer, always popping by to snag a snack or two.  After we left he got much, much better at cooking for himself.  

Now we're the lucky ones.  

(P.S. -- need something to carry around your delicious food?  Enter the robot lunch box giveaway here).  

beau ty, beau thai

Pad Pik King (sauteed pork with green beans) at Beau Thai Restaurant in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC

We're back in Washington, DC for a few weeks, after spending time in Florida and New Jersey with family.  It's good to be back and get to spend some real time here; we're excited to see all of the changes, both with the city itself and with our friends.  

On our second day, the Gravy Baby and I decided to play urbanites, and so we sped off to Shaw in our kicky borrowed Zipcar.  My friend Ty recently purchased a condo there, and we were eager to see what new offerings this redeveloping neighborhood had to offer.

Top left: the Gravy Baby's favorite was the sesame seed-crusted tofu appetizer; bottom left: we love pad see ew, and this version was tasty and lightly seasoned; right: the Gravy Baby's million-dollar smile should be a ringing endorsement  

For lunch, we stopped in at Beau Thai, a simple, modern-looking neighborhood restaurant.  It's one of Ty's favorites, and I could quickly see why.  The entrees are inexpensive (ranging from $8-12), yet everything felt like an upscale version of a home-cooked meal.  

We shared three items: the crispy tofu ($5), a sesame seed crusted tofu appetizer with a sweet and sour dipping sauce; the pad pik king ($9), a stir fry with pork and green beans; and the pad se ew ($8), wide, flat rice noodles with chicken.  Everything was great -- nothing was overly greasy (which is a common trap Asian stir-fries tend to fall into), lightly seasoned, and fresh.  I particularly liked the hint of lemongrass I tasted in the pork in the pad pik king; usually, this dish is just a stir fry with some fish sauce and chilies, so it was nice to see a little bit more flavor there than usual.

The clean, cool interior of Beau Thai

I  marveled to Ty that Shaw now has enough of a resident base to support a charming little new place such as Beau Thai, and it seems that there are lots of reasons to venture into this redeveloping area.  I'd say that a trip to Shaw for a meal at Beau Thai is well worth the time, even if you don't have a friend who's forging new ground by living there.

You know, having a good neighborhood place to eat might also convince me to buy there, too.  That's not weird, right?  To buy a house near a restaurant you like?  Because I'd totally do that.

Beau Thai |1700 New Jersey Avenue NW | Washington, DC | (202) 536-5636 | Open Monday-Sunday from 11:00 am - 10:30 pm

italian time in washington, dc

A Roma sub from The Italian Store in Arlington, Virginia, which is chock full of mortadella, genoa salami, prosciutto, provolone cheese, and delicious spicy and sweet marinated hot peppers

Happy Monday!  It's logistics day here at Gravy Central.  The hubby and I, having gorged ourselves on American consumerism, family/friend time, and sandwiches, are trying to stuff ourselves and our glorious loot into four suitcases and one air shipment intended for the Gravy Baby.  While we do that, I'm reminiscing about some of the amazing meals we've had, starting with Washington, DC.