Weekend in DC: Day III

After a late Saturday night in Adams Morgan, we woke up the next morning to rejuvenate at the Dupont location of Teaism. My first experience with Teaism took place two months past, when Darien brought along a bag of Salty Oats on one of her weekend visits to the city. The crumbly oat cookies generously speckled with sea salt, proved so memorable that we made sure to include Teaism in our weekend agenda.

Moroccan mint green tea

The restaurant was quite lively in the morning with crowds of hungry customers, though luckily enough the lines move efficiently and we were able to find a seating for our group of seven with no issue. A few of us had the Moroccan mint green tea featured above, slightly sweetened and heavy on the mint.

Birchermuesli with homemade yogurt & fruit

I spotted Muesli on the breakfast menu and immediately settled upon that. I've always had a soft spot for museli, be it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There's something oddly comforting and very satisfying in yoghurt soaked cereal, often with a handful of dried cranberries and raisins. The best muesli is doubtlessly found at Kahala Resort's breakfast buffet in Honolulu, but with that said, it's pretty hard to go wrong with concocting your own muesli. Up until last year I used to prepare muesli for breakfast right before going to sleep. I'd mix cereal (either store bought or a personal mix) and dried fruits with plain yoghurt and a swirl of honey then store in the fridge till breakfast when I'd top it off with blueberries, bananas, and strawberries. The only hard part (for me at least) was resisting the temptation of waking up in the middle of the night to polish off the muesli - it was too good to leave till morning! Thai Chicken Curry

Shann went with Thai curry over brown rice (it automatically come with brown, not white :), while Chrissy had the Palak Paneer, and Kelly, a sort of assemble your own roll set, complete with tea cured salmon, miso mayo, nori, braised cabbage, and brown rice.

Cilantro Scrambled Eggs with Tea Cured Salmon

Pictured above is Nat's dish of eggs and salmon...click here for a photo of Darien's veggie burger on wheat focaccia. The variety of menu options is vast, and thus either impressive or disappointing depending on the eyes through which you view restaurants. There are places which you patronize with the sole purpose of eating, and eating well. And then there are other in which you do want good food (one should never desire otherwise!), but company and the need to please the taste buds of all involved becomes a greater desire. Teaism falls in the latter, and there on a lazy Sunday morning, with good company in the sunlight drenched second floor of Teaism, there was no place else I'd rather be at that very moment.


We followed the morning meal with a walk through the Washington DC Farmer's Market which rivaled that of NYC's Greenmarket in both size and variety of vendors. Prices were right on par with the city...am I the only one who finds paying $4/pound for peaches absurd? There's no arguing that they're ridiculously delicious, but its hurts my wallet to the same extent it pleases my taste buds.

We spotted everything from steamed clams to a Dolcezza stand with more of yesterday's gelato...and of course, seemingly endless bounty of heirloom tomatoes, and summer corn.

I thought this little watermelon chart was adorable :)
We spent the afternoon in the city of Georgetown, a large chuck of it within the safe haven of Baked & Wired with sweet and cups of coffee and.

The bakery layout was charming, if not confusing to navigate. You enter on the left, but need to walk to the right side (there's a wall dividing the two sides) to order drinks first. You then have to take the drinks back to the left where you select baked goods of desire, and then pay for them all at the end counter. It's a bit disorganized, but the sight of sweets calms all.

Each product is outfitted in a glass cake, a la these carrot cupcakes seen above, with a bright "name" tag. Very, "awww, so kyoot" inducing.

Shann's chocolate hazelnut biscotti was the sure winner of our selections for the day, chocolatey and crumbly just right with generous hazelnut chunks. Perfect for dunking in a warm latte.

My "Jolt Brownie" on the other hand...

...was some sort of oddness more akin to a chunk of fudge as opposed to a brownie. Toothachingly sweet and dense...I don't mean fudgy brownie, but just plain fudge ^_^ The "jolt" of espresso was bright and clear, the single satisfying element in the brownie.

It was late afternoon before we realized it, and Shann and I were soon due on our bus back headed to NYC. The estimated five hour ride ended up taking seven hours, and we were glad to heed Darien's advice of taking along dinner from Granja De Oro Chicken A La Braza for the bus ride.

1/4 chicken with fries and salad - most enjoyable meal I've had on a bus to date! I feared the smell of fries and chicken might have upset neighboring bus riders, but when others whipped out a plethora of burritos, pizza and doughnuts, I knew everything would be just dandy.

Teaism
2009 R street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 667-3827

Baked & Wired
1052 Thomas Jefferson St NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-2500

Granja De Oro Chicken A La Braza
1801 Adams Mill Rd NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 232-8888

Weekend in DC: Day II

In a rush...Shann and I moved to a new apartment in the East Village this past weekend. We now live with Steph and Darien, close friends also from Hawai'i, in a rather adorable 4-bdrm. Much cleaning, unpacking, and shopping to complete. Short posts this week - waiting for Time Warner to install internet in the apartment!

Now, heading back two weeks for a weekend trip to DC�

Saturday morning at Cafe Bonaparte in Georgetown begins with�

�iced lattes�

�and warm cappuccinos.

Then, crepes with caramelized onions, Italian sausages, green pepper and Fontina�

�another with eggs and Swiss cheese...

�and one more, featuring wild mushrooms, onions, scallions, ricotta, and goat cheese. The weekend morning menu also offers a range of breakfast omelets in addition to sweet crepes outfitted in dreams of honey-yoghurt with pistachios, caramelized mangos with lemon gelato, and a classic Nutella and cream.

Post-meal, we took a leisurely stroll through the waterfront pier, but hankering for something sweet and chilly, something like, say oh, gelato�we popped in for an afternoon stop at Dolcezza�

�where we oogled flavours of Yellow Peach Bourbon, Dulce de Leche, Avocado Honey Orange and Counter Culture Tiramisu.

Off to the side were little pyramids of churros organized on white porcelain stands, plain and piped with dulce de leche. Visually tempting, but lacking the lure and appeal of warm churros fresh out of the fryer.

I finally settled upon a scoop each of Peach Prosecco and Lemon Opal Basil�both beautiful with a taste true to name but lacking the vibrant boldness of L'Arte del Gelato in NYC. I'm well aware that fruit based gelatos are lighter than their chocolate/espresso/dulce de leche counterparts, but L'Arte manages to successfully retain honest fruits flavours while bringing about a lusciously rich product. Dolcezza verged on the end of tooo light.

Shann went with the Formosa Plum, while Nat, Darien, and Kelly selected a trio of equally vibrant flavours - all based on summer fruits.

We whittled away the dusk hours over iced coffees, catching up on the last two (or was it four? - how time flies!) years since we've left Hawai'i. Dusk settled into night, and after a short nap back the apartment we headed out to Dukem for dinner.

Four combination platters were shared between the seven of us. I cannot recall the name of every dish, but personal favourites included the Minchet Abesh (chopped beef braised in a ginger and garlic sauce), Melasena Sember (tripe and tongue with carrots and jalapenos in a ginger sauce and the Lamb Wot (lamb stew).

It must be the curious tang of injera, or something about the combination of meats, injera and eating with your fingers, but if the food did not eventually come to an end (and by end, I mean, having finished the dishes), I feel as if I could continue on eating Ethiopian forever. Unlike Chinese or Italian, Ethiopian food feels oddly weightless in my stomach while in the process of consumption...in a manner, I suppose, not so different from how spicy food makes some people hungrier.

Cafe Bonaparte
1522 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-8830

Dolcezza Gelato
1560 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-4646

Dukem
1114 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 667-8735

Weekend in DC: Day 1

Shann and I took off to DC for the weekend, leaving NYC Friday afternoon and returning just a touch past midnight on Sunday. We were there to visit a few of our closest friends, Kelly, Darien, and Nat, all of whom we grew up with in Hawai'i. Good Ethiopian, gelato, the farmer's market and bakeries were on the agenda, but friends were doubtlessly first priority.

After a groggy five hour trip, the bus dropped us off, blurry-eyed and hungry at Dupont Circle. We stepped off and the first the first object to meet my glance was the bright Krispy Kreme sign flashing "hot" and "now."

"Oh. Shann. Doughnuts."
"Doughuts?"
"I think we want doughnuts...no, I know we want doughnuts."
"For real"
"You want?"
"Let's do it!"
"Want to split one since were having dinner right after?"
"Okay."
"Or we can split two."
"Yah, that sounds better."

And so, fresh off the bus, we started off a very pleasant weekend with two doughnuts: the original and a glazed chocolate cake. As the very kind gentleman behind the counter threw in an extra original doughnut, I couldn't help but wonder, are all people in DC this friendly?

We met Kelly along with a few friends back at their apartment - a fantastic four-bedroom with a kitchen bigger than both our bedrooms, and a living room larger than our entire apartment. My notion of living space and accompanying rental prices has been thoroughly warped after living in NYC for over a year. But even with all those factors, I wouldn't trade life in NYC for anything else at the moment.

Zorba's was on the dinner agenda, a casual Greek restaurant perfect for a low-key night with friends. Oddly enough I ate Greek fairly often in Hawai'i, favouring the now gone Greek Corner right outside Kahala Mall, as well as that other restaurant across from Bubbies in Manoa. New York, or rather, the life I live in New York, has not met much in the way of Greek, though I'm sure it's out there. I kept it simple that night, with the Fas�lia Plake� featuring white beans baked with onions, tomatoes and parsley, a side of dolmathes and Greek salad.

Shann went with the Y�ro Plate with salad and french fries. Speaking of fries, I've had a most intense french fry craving for the last two weeks, and I think/hope some of it has rubbed off on Shann. No more than a second after swallowing my morning vitamins, or stepping out of the shower, the craving kicks without warning. When I crave a particular food object, I crave it. The worst is when you wake in the middle of the night, lost in the depths of a french fry fantasy.

Kelly had the Shish kebab platter while Chrissy did the Ionian Salad and Cathie dined on the lighter end with tabouli and pita.

Post-dinner we walked around Dupont Circle for a bit - the weather was nice and quiet after-dinner walks are best types of walks. We stopped in at Sweetlicks for ice cream, operated by a very nice man in a very strange shop. The sign outside proclaimed "homemade" though I remain highly doubtful on the matter. Nonetheless, my coconut with chocolate shards was pleasant enough, though I found Kelly's mint Oreo particularly lust-worthy.

It was early when we returned to the apt, but the clock somehow turned to 3am before we called it a night. Time flies fast with six girls, television and a guinea pig named Miso.

Zorba's Cafe
1612 20th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 387-8555

Sweetlicks
1704 R St NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 797-2736