Mar 27, 2004

Meskerem

I have to admit, Ethiopian food is not my favorite. I find it pretty boring because all the food pretty much tastes the same to me. Amy, however, loves it. The other night, we went over to Adams Morgan to try Cities again but to our disappointment, they were closed (Cities is closed until April to prepare for their yearly change in menu). Right next-door to Cities, is Meskerem (I wonder if Amy knew that Cities was closed :)). I had been putting off getting Ethiopian food for a while now. Pretty much every time we go out, Amy brings up the idea of either going to Zed's or Meskerem, and I find an excuse not to go. There was no excuse this time.

If you are familiar with Ethiopian food then you can skip this paragraph. The idea of Ethiopian food is that it is meant to be shared. Basically, when they bring out the food, it is all on one plate. On the bottom of the plate, is a very thin layer of bread called injera. Injera is very similar to a pancake in texture; however, it is not in taste. The server will also bring everyone at the table a large piece of injera to eat the food with. This is your utensils. Tear off a piece of the injera and use it to scoop the food off the plate. The server will hen take the dishes and pour them onto the injera. They also give you some vegetarian sides; usually a couple lentil stews. Mix the different dishes together. The combinations can be pretty interesting.

Meskerem is regarded as one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in DC by most food critics in the area. Amy and I both tend to feel that as far as quality of food and service, Zed's in Georgetown is superior, especially when it comes to service. Meskerem does not seem to be able to handle the busiest times of the day and we end up waiting forever to get our food. This last experience at Meskerem left me pretty disappointed. I ordered the Assa Watt which is their fish version of the stew with the spicy berbere sauce. The fish was way overcooked and almost chewy. I could not even finish it. Their lamb, beef and vegetarian dishes, however, are very tasty. So if I were you, I would just stick to them. Here is a picture of the food we ate.

Yes, my camera phone does not take the best pictures, however, the food is not the most appetizing-looking out there. It does taste a lot better than it looks.

Pretty much every Ethiopian restaurant we have been to has the same dishes. Our favorite appetizers are the sambussas which are little fried pastries that are vary similar to egg rolls with various vegetables or meats in them. The main courses are usually stews made with sauces that vary in levels of spice. The true Ethiopian restaurant will also serve Kitfo or Gored Gored. Both feature very lean rare meat in various spices and sauce. I have never been brave enough to try these dishes.

If you are looking for an Ethiopian restaurant, there are plenty around. Like I said before, Zeds and Mekerem are probably the best in the area. We have yet to try Dukem, which we have heard is excellent. But what ever you do, STAY AWAY FROM AWASH on 18th st. Amy got the worst case of food poisoning from there.

Meskerem is casual and reasonably priced. The average price of a bottle of wine is about $25 and the average price of an entree is about $10. Our bill are usually around $50-70 after tip.

Meskerem
2434 18th St. NW
Washington, DC
(202) 462-4100
Map

Categories: Adams Morgan, Ethiopian, Restaurant Reviews
Link To This Post
Comments (9)

Mar 23, 2004

Afghan Grill

There are very few people I know that have actually tried Afghan food. I always tell people about Afghan Grill and the look at me like I was crazy. They have either never heard of it or they can't comprehend what Afghan food is like. We're not ones to talk -- Amy and I have only been eating Afghan food for a couple years now.

Immediately after 9/11, I noticed the Afghan restaurant I was passing on the way to work everyday was practically empty all the time. I figured it was most likely because of a backlash against Afghan businesses. We had not read much about Afghan Grill, but we decided to try it out and see what Afghan food was like. Here's what we found.

Afghan Grill is located very close to the corner of Calvert and Connecticut on the side of the bridge that takes you over to Adams Morgan. Do to how dark it was, I was not able to get a great picture of the outside, but you kind of get the idea.

Inside, there are not many tables. It is small and there is barely an entrance. The lighting is low and it is pretty quiet. There is rarely a wait for a table and if you do wait, it won't be for more than 10 minutes. In the picture below, Amy and I were sitting at the far end of the restaurant by the window.

Now onto the food. Afghan food is a lot like a combination of Indian, Mediterranian and Turkish food, which is pretty much what you would expect from the area of the world it is located. You definitely see the influence from the surrounding areas on the food with lots of kabobs, curries, lamb and chicken. What turned out to be our favorite dish, however, surprised me a lot - pumpkin. Aghan Grill calls it Kadu Buranee. The chef sautees pumpkin for about 30 minutes. On top of it they pour a garlic yogurt sauce and a meat sauce. The result is an interesting combination of flavors that I have never witnessed elsewhere. Afghan Grill will often run out of the pumpkin. One time, we were the last to get it, much to others dismay. Our other favorite is the chicken kabob. Too bad the pictures I took don't really show much of a difference between the two dishes. Honestly, the dishes look mush more appetizing in person ;).

Everything is super seasoned, right down to the rice which all dishes come with a helpful portion of. If you have some left at the end, you'll want to finish it, even if don't have anything to eat with it.

The wine list is reasonable in accordance to my standards. The average price of a bottle of wine is about $25. As far as desserts go, we haven't ever had any room to try them. The service is very friendly and we've not once had a problem. Dress is casual. Our average bill is about $60-70 which is very reasonable for the quality of food ou find here.

So make sure you go to Afghan Grill and let us know what you think.

Afghan Grill
2309 Calvert Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 234-5095
Map

www.afghangrill.com

Categories: Adams Morgan, Afghan, Restaurant Reviews
Link To This Post
Comments (6)
TrackBack (1)

Mar 22, 2004

Pics from Chipotle

Once again we were too lazy to cook dinner and walked down to Chipotle. Took some pictures of our burrito bowls. There's nothin like a Corona and a burrito to get you through the night after a long day at work. :)

Categories: Tex-Mex
Link To This Post
Comments (0)

Mar 17, 2004

Meet your foodies

I just got a picture phone, and I decided to try out the mobile blogging that typepad offers. Anyway, meet me and my wife Amy.

Categories:
Link To This Post
Comments (0)

Mar 16, 2004

Five Guys

Five Guys is now in Largo!!! I've been waiting for this day for a while now. I used to work in Old-Town Alexandra and we would go to the Five Guys there all the time. Luckily, Magic Johnson is investing in PG County and we have the Largo Town Center. When I saw that Five Guys was moving in, I was sooooo excited. The people I work with even pulled an early April fools joke last week, telling me that Five Guys was open before it had actually opened. I had already eaten lunch, and I still almost grabbed my Jacket and ran out to get one of their burgers.

So what is so good about Five Guys burgers you ask? THE BEEF. I know this is not a good picture, but it is like the butcher is in the back room. FRESH, FRESH, FRESH.

The new location in Largo is a lot like the one in Alexandria. The dining area is pretty small. There are about 7 or 8 tables. The rest of the floor is reserved for all the people waiting for their number to get called out. You basically have two options. A regular burger or the mini burger. On either you can get bacon if you like. The regular burger is two beef patties and it is pretty damn huge. It's extremely hard to get your mouth all the way around it, and trust me, I have a big mouth. A mini would probably be enough for me, but it just seems wrong not to order the regular.

Choose all the toppings you want for free. They have all the standards: mayo, mustard, ketchup, onions, fried onions, mushrooms, etc, etc. Oh, Five Guys has fries too. You can get regular or cajun style. The fries are a lot like Boardwalk fries down at the shore. Be careful. The small order of fries is usually enough for everyone at the table.

Five Guys is the ultimate lunch spot. McDonalds should be shaking in their boots, cause Five Guys makes their beef look like Joan Rivers after a chemical peel.

Five Guys is at 7 locations:

2521 John Milton Dr.
Herndon, VA
703-860-9100

6541 Backlick Rd.
Springfield, VA
703-913-1337

4626 King St.
Alexandria, VA
703-671-1606

107 N. Fayette St.
Alexandria, VA
703-549-7991

14001 Jefferson Davis Hwy.
Woodbridge, VA
703-492-8882

7622 Richmond Hwy.
Alexandria, VA
703-717-0090

2301 Georgia Ave., NW
Washington, DC
202-986-2235

Updated:
1335 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20007
202-337-0400

The Five Guys Web Site

Categories: Alexandria, Burgers, Georgetown, Herndon, Howard, Restaurant Reviews, Springfield, Upper Marlboro, Woodbridge
Link To This Post
Comments (6)

Been Busy

Wow. I've been busy. I've had absolutely no time to post anything here. Sorry. I should have a bunch of posts this week.

Categories:
Link To This Post
Comments (0)
TrackBack (0)

Mar 07, 2004

Old, err...New Faithful

My parents were here this weekend. Rather than go somewhere new and have a possibly disappointing dinner with them, we decided to go to Spezie. I know that is awful boring of us, but we knew my parents would enjoy it. When we lived in Gaithersburg, Il Pizzico was their favorite restaurant to go to when they visited.

To say the least, the whole dining experience was wonderful. I branched out a little and ordered the Insalata di Spinaci (Fresh spinach salad with gorgonzola, walnuts, pears and pancetta) for an appetizer. Amy ordered the Mozzarella and Roasted Peppers special again. I hope they make this a permanent addition to the menu. My parents loved their appetizers as well, ordering the special carrot and zucchini soup and Insalata Tricolore.

For entrees, we stuck to pastas since we were trying to keep the bill somewhat reasonable. Of course are Spezie, this is not a problem since their pastas are so awesome. Everyone loved what they ordered and I found a new favorite dish - Pappardelle al Sugo D'Anatra (wide pasta served with a tomato base duck ragu). We skipped dessert since we were all so full.

It's funny, we go here so often, the wait staff is starting to recognize us. As usual the service was impeccable. We saw Enzo walk by...As usual he did not stop by to say hello to us. Enzo, if you are reading this, stop snubbing us and say hello!

I'm just joking of course. I know you have better things to do.

Categories: Downtown, Italian, Restaurant Reviews
Link To This Post
Comments (0)
TrackBack (0)

Mar 01, 2004

Café Olé

It seems lately, that every other new restaurant that opens in The District serves tapas. I'm so sick of them. Places like Jaleo, I Matti, Cities, etc, etc, that charge $8-10 for a quarter serving of a real meal are just starting to get on my nerves. Usually the food is good, but the amount they are charging for a serving that would barely feed my cat is just plain robbery.

There is one exception in the D.C - Café Olé.

This neighborhood Mediterranean restaurant is everything you could ask for in a tapas restaurant - Excellent food, prices that are half what you would pay at other tapas restaurants, and friendly service. No, it is not hip and trendy like Zaytinya and Tom Sietsema is not writing about it in his dining chat. Honestly though, who needs all that?

Café Olé has not once disappointed us. Though we sometimes get varied service here, the restaurant continually serves quality food at an extremely reasonable price. Our favorite thing about Café Olé is the outdoor seating area. In the spring, we often go for a glass of wine and some hummus. It is a very quaint setting (yeah, I know I sound like a girl, but Amy edits my writing here so if she embellishes a bit, I canot 'help that). Olé is often frequented by locals who find the short walk to Ole well worth it. One fun fact for dog lovers, Olé provides a water dish and treats for your furry friend.

At Café Olé, Amy and I usually order about 2 or 3 tapas each which is more than enough for us. Amy's favorite is the Shepard's Pie Olé. Mine is the Lebanese celebration which consists of marinated chicken, hummus, onions and bulgur wheat. I know it does not sound like a great combination...just trust me, I probably order it every time (self admitted bore). Others I recommend are the Chicken and Macaroni Italiano, Polenta Tartufo, Shawarma...Eh, just about anything they serve. Like I said, we are rarely disappointed. The wine and beer list is reasonable and adventurous. You won't find any Gallo Sonoma or Kendall Jackson here. Most of the wines are from the Mediterranean.

Desserts are probably one of the best things about Café Olé. Although we rarely get them, they are utterly sinful. I am drawing a blank as to the term for them right now, but the desserts are those individual cakes that you usually can get at French bakeries. Just ask your waiter to bring out the dessert menu, and they bring out the daily selection of personal cakes for you to choose from. Once they bring out the dish, it is hard not to order one.

Café Olé
4000 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 244-1330
Map

Smoking not allowed

Categories: Cleveland Park, Mediterranean, Restaurant Reviews, Tapas, Tenleytown
Link To This Post
Comments (1)

DCFoodies.com

The Politics of Dining

Events

Sponsored Links

Search

Favorites

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Subscribe

XML