Feeding the Soul of a City

I picked up this really dope book from busboys the other day. It features recipes and stories from workers, graduates & volunteers of the DC Central Kitchen, including renowned chefs Jose Andres (Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Cafe Atlantico), Anthony Bourdain (No Reservations) & Michel Richard (Citronelle, Central) just to name a few.

One of my favorite recipes is Marianne Ali's Pineapple Ginger Soup. The sweet pineapple pairs perfectly with the fresh ginger and is given a slight kick with a bit of ground cardamom. Marianne, the Director of Culinary Job Training's story is equally inspiring. After recovering from a 20 year heroin addiction, Marianne requested a position with the training program and has since worked her way up.

Checkout this video for information on how valuable this program is to our community:

All the recipes are easy to follow and range from simple dishes developed by high schoolers to kicked up classics by top chefs. They even have a beef stew recipe for 2,500 servings!

The stories will inspire you, the recipes will excite you and you'll feel good to know that 100% of the proceeds support programs of the DC Central Kitchen. The book can be purchsed directly through the DC Cetral kitchen here

Casa de Feijuada

I damn near had a food coma after eating all this:
Feijuada... Brazil's national dish- a stew made of black beans and a combination of many many many different smoked and sun-dried meats-- mainly pork, smoked sausages and beef. Originally created by Africans as a way to use leftover/ undesireable meats such as pigs ear, feet, tail. Don't let the ingredients fool you- this dish has been perfected over hundreds of years. The the stew is slow cooked in a clay pot for hours melding the flavors of the beans and smoked meat perfectly and making the meat fall apart tender.

Starters:

Crusty bread w/ butter & cheese, olives & smoked sausages

Traditionally served with a ton of sides. Our meal included: white rice, collard greens minas gerais style, fried manioc, farfoa, oranges & pork rinds.

Plated for you right at your table:

Also, this is where I had that AMAZING Brazilian Fish Stew I told y'all about and had to re-create at home (check it out in my older posts)
For dessert: pumpkin & coconut compote, banana compote, and milk compote.

And if all that wasnt enough, your meal includes complementary lime and passion fruit cocktails all night (batida).

Galetos! (baby chicken)

One of my favorite meals in Brazil had to be the Galeto's (both my 1st & last meal). Its a simple dish-- baby chicken brushed with a lime, vinegar, garlic solution and slowly charbroiled over an open fire- simple and delicious! As the juice from the baby chicken drips into the charcoal pit, the flame rises creating a thin crispy skin and wonderful smokey flavor. The frango (chicken) meat is fall off the bone tender and juicy -- absolutely amazing! The galeto's are served with a totmato onion-salsa, oil, vinegar, and salt.

My favorite spot was: "Quick Galeto's" a modest dine in bar located one block from Copacabana Beach. Check out the video below:



They also had all sorts of other grilled meats, sides and salads-- their beef skewers w/ green peppers and onions is also a winner. They even add bacon strips to the meat making the beef taste even smokier!!!
Grilled Beef Skewers w/ green peppers & onions


Hearts of Palm, tomato, avocado, onion salad

And of course galetos!


And the elderly owners are too cute ;)
http://www.quickgaletos.com/

Quite Possibly the BEST burgers in the DMV: Ray’s Hell Burger

Everyone loves Five Guy’s- and who can blame them? With real ground beef, never frozen, made to order burgers and unlimited free toppings, it’s hard to go wrong. They’re definitely a step up from your typical Mickey D’s.

Ray’s Hell Burger is sorta like Five Guys, but UPGRADED (no Beyonce).

First, they get the prime beef used for their burgers from Ray’s the Steaks, their sister restaurant and grind all the meat on site several times a day. From there, you can choose your burger style (seared with peppercorn crust, brushed with a spicy chipotle marinade, etc), doneness/ temperature, and toppings (for no extra cost). Toppings include classic such as grilled onions as well as your classics jazzed up a bit such as cognac & sherry sautéed mushrooms.

Now this place isn’t the cheapest but for a few bucks more than Five Guys, you can get some top quality ish! Your standard 10 oz burger with any of the toppings from the set list will cost you about $7 (no cheese). If you decide to add any of the specialty toppings such as seared foie gras with truffle oil or roasted bone marrow, you’ll be charged a few bucks more.

Like I mentioned earlier, cheese is an additional cost. Of course, they’ve got your typical Mozzarella, Munster, or Cheddar cheese, but if you really wanna go all out, this place offers specialty cheeses including Chimay a la Biere, Aged Danish Bleu and Imported Double Cream Brie.

If the endless choices and options make you dizzy, you can also order from a menu of burgers, all with nods to hip-hop artists, including the B.I.G. Poppa, the Fat Joe, and the Mack.

If you decide to check this place out, be prepared to make a get your hands dirty… any place that has rolls of paper towels at each table is sure to be a bit messy. The buns don’t hold the delectable, juicy patties very well and the bread tends to fall apart. Also, none of the hot, hell or heck sauce is very hot… at least not nearly as hot as I would like it to be.

Sides are great (but don’t expect any fries) and they feature a delicious draft root beer. Don’t expect to find a menu online (except here)- this place has no website… it doesn’t even have a sign outside.

If you do plan to venture out to Ray’s,
don’t forget to write down the address:

1713 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22209

Brookland's Newest Addition: San Antonio's

I’ve been living in the Brookland neighborhood a few years now and while I love this area, my main grip has always been its lack of quality sit down restaurants. While I’ll kill some New Tong Shin (Thanks Jeremy) or Brookland Grill, sometimes the usual carryout joints just won’t do. So when I found out that a new joint was opening up at the site of the former Ellis Island Restaurant on 12th Street, I had high hopes.

I had been eyeing this place for a few months, but after reading about the owner in the Brookland Heartbeat, I had to try it. According to the article, Mr. Vargas, the owner of San Antonio’s was part owner of renowned DC restaurants Lauriol Plaza and Cactus Cantina in the 90’s and was the original owner of Banana Café on Capitol Hill, which he later sold to a friend. With successes like that, on top of the fact that this place is in my backyard I had to try it.

I would highly recommend trying this place during their Happy Hour (3-7pm, Mon-Sat). Specials include $3 margaritas, domestic beer and wine, $3.50 mojitos, and ½ priced apps. Their frozen Mango Margarita is delicious and you can't beat the HUMONGOUS nachos for 3 bucks!

The full menu features traditional Latin and Tex-Mex fares as well as American classics for about $12- $17 per meal. I had the Ropa Vieja (a traditional Cuban dish of shredded steak in a tomato based sauce) which was served with rice, black beans and fried plantains, while the mister had chicken fajitas. Both were amazing- cooked perfectly and seasoned just right. The service was meh- not bad, but not exceptional.

After all that food and some drinks, I definitely had to undo my button and struggled a bit to get home. This is a great neighborhood spot. I would definitely recommend it & can’t wait to share it with my friends and fam.

San Antonio Bar & Grill
3908 12th St NE
Washington, DC 20017

ipoh: An Asian/ Sushi Joint in Wooldey Park

I was in the Woodley Park neighborhood this weekend and had the opportunity to try iPoh, an Asian and sushi joint. Let me start off by saying that the service was exceptional!

Aside from your typical sushi dishes, the menu features rice dishes, noodle dishes and other entrees.

We tried the Buah Mango which features shrimp or chicken sautéed with shredded mango and bell peppers in a spicy mango sauce. The shrimps were a good size and the mixture that they served everything in was very tasty. The mango used in the dish wasn’t quite ripe (giving it a bit sourness that you would typically find in a green mango), but still somewhat ripe (giving it the sweetness that you would normally find in a well ripened mango). I it was a wonderful balance of sweet and sour mixed with the spiciness from the sauce. The dish was beautifully served directly in the mango skin which was used to make the dish.

The Sunshine Roll (sushi) which is roll made with fresh mango, mint, and cucumber then topped with salmon was wonderful. Nick even liked it (and I didn’t even have to get him drunk). We also tried a couple of sushi classics including a tuna avocado maki roll, and a vegetable tempura maki roll which were both prepared nicely and comparable to your typical sushi joint.

Overall, I would recommend this place. It’s a great spot for a casual meal, prices are moderate ($9- $13 a meal during dinner), and the service was phenomenal.

Other minor details: This place has a free delivery service from which you can place your orders online at their website (http://www.ipohusa.com/) and it doesn’t serve any alcohol.

This quaint space is great for a casual dinner. As you can see, the sushi bar only seats 6 people.

Located on Connecticut Ave, directly across the Woodley Park/ Adams Morgan Metro