Food Explosion - 30th Birthday Style

So my sister's 30th birthday just passed, and considering what a special day that is -- she disagrees -- we celebrated in style.  Meaning, we ate a lot.  A LOT.  To be fair, the eating started pretty early, since our mom was going to paradise (California) and wanted to have a family dinner before she left.  

I'm not really going to talk about that meal, though, because we went to Shoya Izakaya and...I mean, a little short snippet will not really do justice the love and reverence I have for their food.  Serious.  So good.  Sashimi...yakisoba...crispy chicken skin...grilled sake onigiri (!!!!!!)....Mmmm.

But, back to the birthday festivities.  My sister chose to eat at Miller Union for her actual birthday, since both of us had never been before.  We decided to get the farm egg - highly recommended - and rabbit rillette for appetizers, the duck breast and quail for entrees, and the vanilla custard and blackberry pie for dessert.

It was all really good, and I particularly loved that they had blueberries in the duck breast dish and figs in the quail dish.  Typically, I'm not super down with fruits in my salty foods - that pineapple fried rice? Not for me. Hawaiian pizza? I'd rather just have the ham - but these entrees really worked.  The sweetness of the fruit wasn't overbearing, it was a nice complement to the meat.  My one complaint would be on the blackberry pie.  It was delicious, but they served it with some sort of citrus sorbet, and this really bothered me, because all I wanted was some vanilla ice cream to pile on top of the pie! 

Side note: whatever that chocolate cookie thing they had on the side of the custard...it's like crack.  And it's probably best I have no idea what it is.  

Then the weekend came, and the real food explosion happened.  As follows...

1. Parish

Oh, man.  Delicious brunch.  HEAVY brunch.  Between the three of us, we got the fried oysters and grits, the fried green tomato benedict, and the fried chicken benedict.  Also, my sister ordered a single bloody mary that was not even halfway finished (I haven't found a taste for them.  And it was pretty strong).  I don't usually steer towards ordering grits, but I liked theirs.  Lots of texture, and a nice balance for the fried oysters.  

2. Inman Perk

We stopped by here after brunch for some caffeine to help us wake up before heading to the World of Coke.  Great coffee, and they have Jake's ice cream!  I am still searching for that Panda-monium green tea flavor, though, haven't seen it since the actual Jake's stores were still open.

3. Einstein's 

No pictures of the food since the lighting is pretty dim.  But a simultaneous thumbs down/thumbs up for this place.  My sister had made a reservation for dinner here for a big group of her friends, which, as we learned upon arrival, was forgotten.  No reservation.  For a group of 20-some people in Midtown on a Saturday night. Horror! Luckily, they had room to seat us at a couple of different tables, and our waiter was really accommodating.  I remember that my beef was good, but not much else.  We did bring a Sweet Hut taro cake with us, and that was probably the highlight of my meal.  

4. Late night snacks

Yes, late night snacks.  Which included Steak and Shake (unavailable in Cali), swiss chard, rice, turkey and tomato pasta, and Sublime donuts.  Maybe some Sweet Hut pastries.  Three girls.  Yikes.

5. Jang Su Jang

This is one of the go-to places we take out-of-towners.  It's nice and there's something for everyone.  This meal ended up being our 4PM "lunch".  No need to reiterate how much I love this place.  I tried their bossam for the first time, and it was awesome - so meaty, but almost light and refreshing as well with the accompanying pickled radish and cabbage.  

6. VMA's Medley!

Anyone who knows my sister knows we were NOT missing out on that 'Nsync reunion on the VMAs!  Which meant watching TV for a couple of hours late at night.  Which means snacks.  Which means picking up food from Dan Moo Ji and beverages from Bambu.  WHICH equates the best ending to a weekend ever.  

Don't miss out on the tuna kimbap or the chicken wings from Dan Moo Ji.  I knoooow the tuna thing sounds weird. I know it does.  But it tastes awesome.  And they have the best pickled radish cubes and fish cake! As for Bambu....honestly any number you choose for the che will be good.  It will all have a medley of chewy, jello-ey, sweet, possibly fruit-y STUFF that you'll have no idea what it is, but it tastes good anyway.

So....yeah.  I'm still full.

Foodtrippin' - DC Edition

Weekend trips! They are the best.

I just came back from visiting a friend in Washington DC -- and it was really, really difficult to drag myself back here.  Apparently, Atlanta didn't want me back either; my first flight was cancelled, and the one they put me on got delayed for nearly 3 hours.  I absolutely wouldn't have minded spending more time (aka my life) in DC, though it's probably for the best that I don't....says my wallet. 

But my stomach definitely misses the place.  I feel like I should be on some sort of cleanse right now after all the food this weekend.  

(Ha ha ha. One of my post-trip meals was at Ming's BBQ.  But in my defense, who out there can say no to Ming's BBQ??!  The beef chow fun there is my weakness.  Also, I just made some soy sauce braised eggs and chicken...pass the rice, please.) 

Anyway, here is my trip in food pictures, in the order items were consumed/enjoyed.  Sorry about some of the bad quality...there was just a lot of excitement to start eating!

1. Georgetown Cupcakes 

Yum! I went to do some shopping around Georgetown and noticed the line for this place was pretty short.  Last time I visited DC, the only cupcakes I tried were at Sweet Lobby at the Eastern Market, so I was pretty stoked to try these.  They were nice and light and not too sweet, just the way I like them.  I got the strawberry and chocolate ganache.  Not sure I would wait 45+ minutes for these, which I imagine some of these people did...

2. Kintaro 

Super yum! Anyone who has seen any of my Facebook mobile pictures will know that I am a big chirashi fan.  Mainly because I'm very indecisive and like a lot of variety.  Or/and I think it's a good deal.  This one has my stamp of approval.  I've had a couple of chirashi-dons lately that has underwhelmed me with the fish quality, so Kintaro was a nice breath of fresh air in that department.  My friend said they have really good ramen as well, but it literally felt like summer in Taiwan outside, so...that didn't happen.  Also, I really like that this place is run by the cutest old Japanese couple ever. 

3. Baked and Wired

So, naturally, we had to compare Georgetown cupcakes.  We got the dirty chai cupcake here, which was ginormous!  Very moist.  I would say they're pretty different from Georgetown Cupcakes though, so no clear winner for me here.  I did try my friends' chai latte and coffee here though, really really good.  I'm not a coffee person by all means, but if I were, this is probably the kind of place I'd want to go. 

4. Nando's Peri Peri Chicken

This is a place I've heard about since last year but wasn't able to try during my previous trip.  So glad to have made it this time!  My friends and I shared a whole chicken platter (with corn and garlic bread) as well as a serving of medium spicy chicken livers.  You order at the counter, pick your sauces/spiciness level, sides, etc. and sit and wait for your feast to come.  Y'all...I am NOT a garlic bread person.  Which makes absolutely no sense as I love bread and absolutely adore garlic.  But this bread? I loved.  Especially paired with the spicy chicken livers.  Mmm.  We also got a pitcher of sangria to share, which was a nice sweet accompaniment to the meal.  Yeah, so the lighting was not great for these pictures, but...well, I was hungry.    

5. Shake Shack

Another recommendation I had heard about; perfect that it's literally next door to Nando's.  My sister had told me about the black and white shake, which she swears by, but we decided to share a "concrete" which is even thicker.  We got the Washington Monu-mint (hee hee), which has marshmallow swirl, mint, and cookie dough.  It's like all things that I love in ice cream but never had together...but it works! Really, really works. I'll have to go back to try their food, which I hear is good, too. 

6. Ardeo

I found this place on some sort of list of places you need to eat in DC.  Ardeo does a $27 bottomless mimosa/champagne brunch...and they are not playing around with that "bottomless" business.  I never finished my drink.  I would look down and surprise! Completely full glass. I got the brunch, which comes with an appetizer, entree, and choice of mimosa or champagne; my friend got the french toast.  It was probably a smart choice, the plates were pretty generous.  I really loved my brussel sprouts - they were cooked with mango and peanut and had a sort of Asian taste to them.  Nice and roasted and crispy on the outside.  The french toast was awesome...not too sweet, and the creme anglais on top was so nice.  For my entree, I ordered the braised leg of suckling pig over grits.  It was good, but just too heavy to finish.  I think it would have been nice for the brussel sprouts to have come out with the meat dish to balance it out.  The fried pig skin on top was a nice touch though!

7.  Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato 

Perfect for the weather.  My friend got the Thai Coconut Milk gelato and I got 1/2 Lime 1/2 Pineapple Mint Sorbet. Nothing else to say except, perfect end to my trip! 

Anybody have other favorites must eats in DC? Have to start building up my "To Eat" list for next time.