the arugula files

Delicious DC: Top Ten Bites of 2012

I must admit, I haven't eaten at every new restaurant around town, but I did make my way to a few tasty places this year.  Union Market is officially my favorite place to nosh and  where you can find #1, #7, and #8. Expecting expensive and boring Italian, Fiola surprised me (#2).  Pearl Dive Oyster Palace offers a delicious dinner, but an even better brunch (#4).  Curry Mantra is worth the drive to Fairfax (#9).  I can see Rasika West End from my office window (delicious danger zone) (#10)! Craving a fast food burger, head for Elevation Burger where the cows are grass fed and the diet coke machine provides five different diet coke options, including cherry (#3).  Shophouse is so much better than Chipotle ever dreamed of being (#6).   And of course, the restaurant that everyone loves: Little Serow (#5).

1. Smoked Mussels from Neopol
2. Cod Gnocchi with Octopus from Fiola
3. Double burger from Elevation Burger
4. Pontchartrain Benedict from Pearl Oyster Dive
5. Mekhong Ribs from Little Serow
6. Meatballs from Shophouse
7. Lambwich from Border Springs Lamb
8. Lambs and Clams and oysters on the half shell from Rappahannock Oyster Bar
9. Saag Paneer from Curry Mantra
10. Cod and quinoa from Rasika West End

 What was the most delicious bite you had in 2012? 

 

Styer's Garden Cafe at Terrain

A few weekends ago, Josie and I spent the night with her aunties in Baltimore.  On Saturday, we had lunch at Artifact, Woodberry Kitchen's new coffee and sandwich shop and and then we shopped around our of my favorite stores in Hampden.  On Sunday, we woke up and decided to take a 90 minute drive to Terrain, a stunning home and garden shop just outside Philadelphia. 

Graduation Time and Picking Crabs at L.P.Steamers in Baltimore

My sister Noel is an MFA.  That's a Master of Fine Art for the uninitiated.  Impressed?  I am.  This past weekend my family packed into MICA's auditorium and survived a two hour commencement.  119 and 57 seconds of academic speeches.  Three seconds of my sister walking across the big stage. 

Totally worth it. 

After the commencement we treated ourselves to dinner at L.P.Steamers, a Baltimore dive where locals go to pick crabs and drink gold beer from flimsy plastic cups. 

Pasta Making Class with Mrs. Wheelbarrow

If I tell you what I did today, you will be totally jealous.  Ready?  I took a pasta making class with Mrs. Wheelbarrow.   Taking a class with Cathy was on my culinary resolutions list from 2011.  So, finally, a few years later, I can check it off.  It was totally fun, informative, and tasty.  Cathy really knows her stuff and shared lots of helpful tips.  We made pasta dough, ricotta and potato gnocchi, and, my favorite, spinach and ricotta gnudi.  Oh, and how could I almost forget? We also made super fancy raviolis with spinach, ricotta, and a soft boiled egg gently placed inside.   You cut into the ravioli and it runs a river of creamy, yolky deliciousness through your pasta, creating a creamy sauce.  How impressive is that?

Strawberry Picking at Wegmeyer Farm

If you haven't yet been strawberry picking this season, there is still time.  Just make sure to call ahead and ask the farmer if ripe strawberries are available.  Metrocurean has an excellent guide to local farms if you are not sure where to pick.

A few weekends ago, we headed to Wegmeyer Farm, a small strawberry patch near Leesburg. 

Apple Picking at Stribling Orchard

I'm smitten by one thing these days: the weather.  It's fall in DC, my favorite time of year.  Hearing the leaves do the cha-cha on the street, drinking seasonal beer at the Black Squirrel, watching local drag queens sprint down 17th Street, and picking apples are, for me, the measures of fall.

Apple picking is the best way to embrace the weather.  My favorite place to pick my own is Stribling Orchard, located about 60 minutes from DC.  There are farm animals, picnic tables, and a small country store that sells pie.

If you are from New England forget about Macintosh Apples.  Let it go.  Now is the time to pick York, Nittany, Crispens, and Granny Smith.  What to do with all those apples? Bring them home and bake an apple pie, apple cake, applesauce, and, when your sweet tooth falls out, top them on pizza and stuff them in sandwiches.

If you are looking for somewhere close by to eat, try the Apple House, about 15 minutes further down the road on Route 66.  The kitchen serves all day breakfast and specialty sandwiches like the Redskins Rockin' Rooster.  Most importantly: they sell spiced apple donuts. 

If Stribling Orchard is too far for you, check out Metrocurean's Apple Picking Guide for other orchards in the area.