On my third (and last) day in D.C., I wanted to take things easy. I was craving something casual yet satisfying and so I went to Ben’s Chili Bowl for lunch, where only a few months ago Obama famously said “What’s a half-smoke?”
Admittedly, I didn’t know what a half-smoke was at the time, either. But I do now, and Internet, it is good. I ordered one along with a side of chili cheese fries, which was so heavy that our dining group of five easily shared.
Touted as Bill Cosby’s favorite, the chili half-smoke is a quarter pound of smoked sausage on a steamed bun, topped with onions, mustard, ketchup and spicy chili sauce. The sausage was hefty, strong and smoky. With the chili cheese fries, they made for an exceptionally big lunch, one that kept me full (and happy) well through the day.
I spent the rest of the day at the Smithsonian, revisiting the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the National Air and Space Museum that I enjoyed so much when I first played tourist in D.C. a several years ago. After a quick Korean dinner in Virginia that evening, I packed up and was ready for the next leg of my trip: Jamaica.
Consider this a supersized entry, because it’s a travel post and a restaurant review in one. On my second day in Washington, D.C., I met up with a group of our friends in Dupont Circle to have lunch at Nando’s. The last time I had eaten at Nando’s was in Windsor, England, so I was thrilled to learn they’ve crossed the pond into the U.S. (Hey, Nando’s, now open one up in California, please!)
I split a plate of their chicken wings with Peri-Peri sauce, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. I would have liked to have a full plate to myself, but I had to save up my appetite for my eagerly anticipated dinner reservation. That being said, Nandos’ mashed potatoes are among the best I’ve ever had. So good that I kind of ate the whole thing before I remembered to take a photo.
About two hours later, my dining companion and I arrived at Cafe Atlantico, Jose Andres’ flagship restaurant. I’m in love with Jose Andres. He’s like a Spanish muppet who gets really, really excited about food, and that in turn makes me really, really excited about food. Oh, and he’s friends with Anthony Bourdain, which certainly doesn’t hurt.
We opted for the chef’s tasting menu, which began with an amuse bouche from Minibar: “sun dried tomato” with mozzarella and olive oil.
The tomato flavor was super intense and the mozzarella ball’s liquid center exploded in my mouth right after I ate it. For as much of a pretentious reputation molecular gastronomy gets, it can really be delicious.
I sipped on my Pisco sour while we waited for our next course to arrive: uni “asado.”
This was easily the most visually striking of all the dishes we were served, and it was fun to eat too. I’ve never eaten uni outside of a sushi setting, but this combination of miso-pineapple dressing, shaved pineapple, and buttery uni worked really well. The crispy quinoa on top added crunch to otherwise very creamy dish.
Foie gras is hard to come by in San Francisco, so I eagerly anticipated our next course: foie gras soup.
Served with morel mushrooms and “floating islands of corn,” the bits of corn were akin to Corn Nuts (which in keeping with Cafe Atlantico’s Latin theme, is originally Peruvian).
Although its hard to choose, this next course was probably my overall favorite of the evening: grilled octopus.
Served with bacon air (yes, I said bacon air), chorizo and lentils, this octopus was deliciously tender and smoky, which is no small feat. The chorizo was out of this world and I almost wish there was more of it in the soupy lentil base.
Our heftiest dish of the evening was the braised beef short ribs and to my delight, they included ramps!
The beef and ramps came atop a bed of baby turnips and morel mushrooms, proving that comfort food can successfully meet haute cuisine. The ribs were incredibly succulent and needed no knife, while the ramps were slightly crunchy and oniony.
At this point in the meal, I was stuffed, but dessert was yet to come. We were served warm white chocolate mousse, which was more like a sweet soup than a mousse (in a good way).
The mousse came with a chocolate ice cream orb and brittle, and the orb immediately melted with a liquid center as soon as I popped it in my mouth. I’m not sure if it was coincidental, but it reminded me of our tomato and mozzarella amuse bouche, and made me feel like I’d come full circle at the end of the meal.
I wish Jose Andres had a restaurant in the Bay Area, because this was one of the best meals I’ve ever tasted and I wish it wasn’t so far from reach. But hey, Andres has just opened The Bazaar in Los Angeles, so maybe a trip down south is in order soon. Either way, my evening at Cafe Atlantico remains one big happy memory.
Peruvian food is America’s new darling ethnic cuisine. I can’t say I’m surprised – it’s one of the most diverse in the world and offers not only native Peruvian flavors, but influences from the Spanish, Japanese, Africans, Cantonese and Northern Europeans.
Combining traditional dishes with a modern twist, Fresca has been my go-to Peruvian restaurant for years. With multiple locations in San Francisco, the one in West Portal is my favorite, and easily worth the long wait to be seated. I’ve tried dishes from all over their menu, and while they’re all good, my favorite remains the lomo saltado.
Made of sliced steak stir-fried with onion, tomato, soy sauce, vinegar, aji chili and served with French fries and rice, it is a classic amalgamation of Peru’s rich culinary heritage. It is the dish I recommend first to those trying Peruvian food for the first time and the one I can’t help myself from requesting over and over again. For the thirsty, Fresca has a good selection of drinks too. I usually alternate between a Cuzqueña or Inca Kola.
Peru has long been at the top of my list of countries I want to visit. I’d love to try ceviche and anticuchos and picante de cuy in Lima. Until I do, I’ll be paying Fresca frequent visits to get my fix.
I was never a breakfast person growing up. I mean, I like to eat breakfast (who doesn’t?), but my morning meals have usually been a little untraditional. I mean, if you can eat pasta or steak for lunch or dinner, why not at breakfast?
But I’ve caved in. I’m a breakfast person now. I like eggs and turkey bacon; I devour sausages and hashbrowns. And that’s why I’ve become a repeat visitor to St. Francis Fountain, San Francisco’s old school diner-slash-candy store in the Mission District. Expect a wait, but it’ll be an entertaining wait as the place is always packed with the most hipstery of hipsters.
The chef’s mess (scrambled eggs with bacon, peppers, cheese, sour cream and salsa) is a popular favorite, but I often get the huevos rancheros.
The eggs are cooked just right and the salsa is fresh-tasting and spicy. During my last visit, I was feeling extra hungry and ordered the biscuits with sausage gravy, which also comes with two eggs.
The potatoes were perfectly crispy and the sausage gravy was delicious, but the biscuit was huge. Too huge. It felt like a rich mass of dough covered in a rich mass of sauce. Which is what it’s supposed to be, I guess, but in this case it was just too much. I think I was expecting a flakier, less intense biscuit.
Overall, St. Francis Fountain is a solid place to go to for breakfast or brunch. You can’t really go wrong on the menu, but some items certainly stand out more than others. The service is cheerful, the crowd is fun and I love the neighborhood.
I don’t know what it is about strip malls, but they seem to attract more than their fair share of good-quality Asian restaurants. I wasn’t exactly expecting to run into a Malaysian restaurant at one of San Mateo’s many unremarkable strip malls, but when I came across Langkawi, I was more than happy to give it a try.
Langkawi has since turned into one of my go-to Southeast Asian restaurants outside of San Francisco. It’s a little out of the way and the food is standard Malaysian fare, but it’s solid and well-prepared. My favorite dish at Langkawi is the char kway teow – the noodles are chewy but not overcooked, the seasonings have just the right amount of sweet and spicy balance and I love the extra chili sauce that they provide.
During my last visit, I also tried the cendol, a dessert-drink concoction made of shaved ice, coconut milk, green pandan leaf noodles, red beans and palm sugar.
It’s like a smoothie, slurpee, and bubble tea all mixed up together, but far less gross tasting than that description sounds. In fact, cendol is delicious and the variety of textures make it fun to eat. I’ve only seen cendol on the menu of a few Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants, but I cannot wait until it catches on and becomes as ubiquitous as bubble tea. Until then, I have Langkawi.
