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Archive for August, 2011

Aug 15

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tacos al pastor & the art of substitution

tacos al pastor

I have recently become mildly obsessed with Mexican street food, particularly tacos. Part of this comes from my not-so-mild obsession with Jose Andres, which led me and Katherine to his Oyamel restaurant (we’re such big fans we even held our rehearsal dinner there). But most of it is because tacos are great and it has been really fun to discover that there is so much more out there beyond Ortega hard shells and ground beef.

Given Katherine’s obvious affinity for Tacos al Pastor, a delicious mix of smoky and spicy pork, red onions, and pineapple, all cooked on the grill, I decided that I’d use a warm summer Sunday afternoon to try out this recipe. I’ve become a fan of Rick Bayless’ show Mexico: One Plate at a Time and I saw him make this recipe a couple of weeks back. It sounded like the perfect way to enjoy the sunshine.

I immediately encountered a problem when I looked up his recipe. It calls for achiote paste as a principal ingredient in the marinade for the pork. Achiote paste is a mix of ground annatto seed and other spices with vinegar and, according to Bayless, has a “hard to describe earthy flavor [and] is a primary spice in the Yucatan section of Mexico.” Despite his assurances that it can be found in well-stocked grocery stores, I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be in my local Whole Foods. And I was right; I found neither achiote paste or annatto seed.

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Aug 12

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zucchini flower anyone?

squash blossom festival at oyamel

I have no passionate convictions about zucchini. I don’t love it. I don’t hate it. I rarely seek it out as a component of a meal and I tend not to order it when it is on offer at a restaurant. I have been known to consume it in large quantities, however, when baked into my mother’s zucchini bread. Especially when she agrees to mix a few chocolate chips in as well. (don’t be deterred – it is delicious.) But recently I’ve encountered a new way of getting more zucchini into my diet: via the squash blossom.

If you quickly skim past the bit about swollen ovaries and female zucchini flowers, Wikipedia is happy to explain that what we – and restaurants – commonly refer to as a squash blossom is the golden blossom at the end of each developing zucchini. And, as opposed to pansies and roses which, despite their aesthetic appeal I’ve yet to be convinced are appetizing, this little edible flower is both lovely to look at and yummy to eat. And, added bonus, it serves as a perfect conduit for soft cheesy fillings, and how can you go wrong with that.

honeydew punch

Oyamel, one of my favorite spots in town, is celebrating this little gem with their Squash Blossom Festival until August 14 and not long ago my sis and I stopped by to get our fill. And what better way to kick off a festival then with a refreshing drink. So I was happy to welcome to the table a beautiful glass of Honeydew Punch, concocted from Siembra Azul Blanco tequila, rum, honeydew melon juice, lemon, mint, squash blossoms, and cucumber ice. And, yes, it was as festive and refreshing as it sounds.

And while we couldn’t pass up our favorite Oyamel treats – al pastor taco, please – we carried on enjoying the seasonal celebration by indulging in a tamale stuffed with squash blossoms, as well as the little flowers themselves stuffed with warm, melting cheese. We threw a few veggies in the mix for good measure (apparently mom’s stipulation that dinner must always include a vegetable – and no, corn doesn’t count – still haunts us in our adulthood); hearts of palm, orange, radish, and avocado with tamarind dressing for me and Mexican squash salad with crumbled queso fresco cheese, crushed peanuts, with hibiscus dressing for my sister. They were some damn appealing vegetables.

Topped off with tequila sorbet at the end of the evening, I’m game for a squash blossom festival any time of the year.

Aug 8

a seat in the shade

a glimpse of leopold's from cady's ally

If you’ve ever spent a day wandering – or even attempting to walk purposefully – down M Street in Georgetown you’ve no doubt elbowed your way through the dense pedestrian traffic and attempted to keep your footing on the narrow and uneven brick sidewalks. Add that to negotiating your way through the laden shoppers pushing their bags into you as they exit any number of stores – or trying not to get hit in the face by the doors at Barnes & Noble that open inward instead of out – and you are most likely exhausted and ready for sustenance before you’ve gotten very far. And what appeals most is a happy spot away from the fray.

Head to Kafe Leopold’s in Cady’s Alley and you can snag yourself a seat in the shade. Sip freshly made lemonade with a hint of mint. Relax with simple and delicious food under the cool of the umbrella or inside near the beckoning pastry counter. Even on a hot DC day, the canopied courtyard can feel like an oasis.

a seat under the umbrellas

One of the iconic items on their extensive menu is the Kaiserschmarrn mit Zwetschgenröster, which [very] loosely translates to Emperor’s mismash with plum jam, or at least according to Wikipedia. There are various stories about the origin of this dish, but it is a traditional Austrian dessert – or breakfast in this case – made of a souffléd pancake torn into bits and served with a dusting of confectioners sugar and side of warm jam. It is delicious. And as Kafe Leopold serves their breakfast menu until 4 PM you can have it for breakfast, lunch, or afternoon snack. What an excellent idea.

watermelon & feta salad

Given the sweltering heat of DC’s summer, however, on this visit I opted for a lighter, cooler dish – the Wassermelone Salat. Or, salad made of fresh watermelon, fresh thyme, Feta, sea salt & extra virgin olive oil. The crispy, juicy fruit, salty cheese, and faint herbal scent were perfect on a hot, sunny day. So appealing, in fact, that a winged, buzzing thing nearby kept trying to help itself to my plate. Paired with a chilled glass of lemonade, lunch at Leopold’s proved to be a relaxing respite from the bustle of the street only a few yards away.

But next time, to the pastry counter with me.

Aug 2

d.c.’s own half-smoke

a chili half-smoke from ben's chili bowl at national's park

There’s just something about going to baseball games. It means summer and I love summer. Its sports and I love sports. But most of all its an excuse to spend a few hours with your friends drinking beer and gorging on your stadium’s signature grilled pork product – even Katherine loves hot dogs at the stadium! In Washington, that can only mean a half-smoke.

Growing up in DC (well, McLean – but inside the Beltway) in the 1980s meant that we didn’t have our own team (seriously, how did we lose our team twice?) so we had to trudge the hour or so up I-95 to Baltimore to catch Orioles games. That brought me immense good fortune because my youth coincided with the tenure of the incomparable Cal Ripken, Jr. But it also taught me the annoying habit of screaming the “O” very loudly during the national anthem (I have since shed that foible) and alas eventually buried me under the mountain of crap Peter Angelos dumped on the team.

But we (then me and my mother) would still go two or three times a year to first Memorial Stadium and then Camden Yards, which meant at least two wonderful grilled Italian sausages with onions and peppers per visit. These were great – a big Kaiser roll, the sausage topped with the grilled veg, smothered in the spicy mustard. They became as much a part of my experience at a baseball stadium as the 7th inning stretch.

In 2005 Canada’s loss was DC’s gain as the former Montreal Expos moved to Washington and took residence at the dilapidated RFK Stadium. I was so excited that I joined a season ticket group and went to a bunch of games. But RFK was no Camden Yards (not even sure it would compare well with old Memorial Stadium). We (this time Katherine) were thrilled then when Nationals Park opened in 2008 and were fortunate enough to snag tickets to the opener.

But Italian sausages were so ingrained in my baseball game MO [read on...]

Aug 1

tequila and tacos

Chinatown, Capitol Hill/Eastern Market, U Street, H Street, 14th Street. Looking for the highest concentration of new restaurants and bars? Any one of these neighborhoods will quickly satisfy whatever food – or drink – cravings you may have, many of them with establishments that have only recently opened. And I couldn’t be more thrilled. The number of great places to eat in DC increases practically every day; the list of new spots to try long ago outpaced me and my stomach. But that doesn’t mean I don’t attempt to keep up.

A few weeks ago a friend and I, both of us in need of some mid-week tequila, headed to one of 14th Street’s newest spots, El Centro D.F. It is the most recent restaurant from Richard Sandoval, who also brought us Zengo in Chinatown/Gallery Place and Masa 14, located just a few steps further down 14th Street. And, wow, was it crowded for a Tuesday. Not to mention still steeped in a bit of post-opening chaos. As we were without reservations we weren’t able to snag a table in the downstairs Tequileria (where the real stash of tequila is), but we were quick enough to grab seats at the front bar while waiting for our table in the Taqueria section of the restaurant, located in the back of the first floor next to the open kitchen. After finally managing to hail down a waiter, we ordered our much-anticipated cocktails. The Margarita Lavanda. Yum. Summery, light, and perfect for a sweltering summer night. And while it took some time – and erratic hand waving – to place our orders, the enthusiasm of our waiter easily made up for the wait. Not to mention the fact that, overhearing an account of the previously experienced correlation between excessive tequila consumption and misbehavior, he brought us some pre-prandial chips and salsa to munch on.

pork carnitas sopes (pic via instagram)

The pace of the evening picked up quite a bit after the arrival of our drinks. We’d barely made a dent before we were ushered to our table. Happily seated, and with the beginnings of a tequila currant coursing through our veins, we settled into our dinner. The food was good, hearty. And filling. The two of us shared the pork carnitas sopes as an appetizer, splitting the three cakes two ways. That was probably my favorite moment of the meal, though the blood orange-habenero glaze wasn’t quite sweet enough to cut through the extraordinary salty-ness of the pork.

al pastor tacos

Then came the tacos. Unlike Oyamel, my favorite place for [fancier] tacos in the city, you don’t have mix and match options at El Centro D.F.; rather you are served a platter of three of the same kind. I continued my pork theme with the Al Pastor – adobo marinade pork belly, grilled pineapple, cilantro, onion, and salsa verde. My dinning friend indulged her fish craving with the Baja tacos – grilled fish, Mexican slaw, tomato, corn, avocado, and chipotle aioli. Facing our three tacos each, with sides of Mexican rice, refried beans, and the plantains we had ordered, making our way through dinner was a challenge. I’m afraid we were each defeated about 1 ½ tacos in. But our tummies were happy, sated by the sustenance. If asked to choose between Oyamel and El Centro D.F. on any given day I would still go with Oyamel – their pancita de puerco al pastor taco is one of the best things I have ever eaten – but I’m happy to welcome El Centro D.F. to the neighborhood. With 200 tequilas the drink menu will never get old and the addition of another [much needed] rooftop bar to this city is always a plus.

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