An O.K. Brunch-Lunch at The Heights
Last Sunday found my roommate and I wobbling around Columbia Heights at 3 in the afternoon, looking for Mother’s Day brunch scraps to indulge in. It was relatively nice out and we were both clad in sunglasses and sundresses without cardigans, a bit too ambitious considering it was still only in the 60′s. Nevertheless, we … Read more
APizza from Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza
Whenever I’m new to a city, some of my first meals there tend to be delivery. I’m not really sure that is, though I suspect it has something to do with being too overwhelmed by the unknown to want to venture out of my newly decorated room, too lonely because of the initial lack of friends … Read more
May Industry Takeover Night at Graffiato: Chef Kyle Bailey and Pastry Chef Tiffany MacIsaac
The first Monday of each month, Graffiato turns into a kind of war-zone. A stainless steel counter and U-shaped pizza bar serve as the trench line, behind which chefs hurry-scurry, stuffing fried chicken into buns, grating daikon over pasta, piling freshly fried donuts onto serving plates. Across enemy lines, hoards of curious gastros push forward to … Read more
Some Beautiful Russian Food from Bazaar
I fondly remember those Sunday mornings when I would wake up in the early afternoon to the sound of my parents arriving back home after their weekly brunch at Japonaise Bakery and Cafe, bearing a big brown bag of treats from Bazaar (a.k.a. “the Russian store”) in Brookline. Stacked containers of super garlicky mushroom and … Read more
Ambar: Any Hour but Happy Hour
I recently attended a networking get-together, held at Ambar, a Balkan restaurant near Eastern Market which serves up small plates of all your former-Yugoslavian favorites. The food is presented in elegant and visually pleasant ways in bite-sized portions and paired with an awesome, almost exclusively Balkan wine list (from which I tried a very funky white … Read more
A (Coincidentally) Fully Gluten-Free Brunch at The Coupe
Last weekend, I finally got to take part in the very popular Washington, D.C. brunching trend on a rainy Sunday afternoon with some friends who were visiting me from Boston. I had heard good things said and read good things written about The Coupe, and the online menu looked interesting, so I decided to leave the … Read more
A Sobering Nightcap at Julia’s Empanadas
One late night place I’ve grown particularly fond of lately is Julia’s Empanadas at DuPont. It’s a great little spot to visit after a long night of DuPont Circle merriment, a good meeting point and a good place to loiter around and smoke a cigarette while your group decides what is next on the night’s … Read more
Revisiting Ben’s Chili Bowl as a Temporary Local
Sometimes you end up moving to a city you once visited on a road trip with friends. In this case, it is a wise idea to correct the mistakes you once made as a weekend tourist, or at least polish your experience about the place up a bit. That’s what I did this past weekend … Read more
Hungarian Treats at the Embassy
I recently attended a showing of A Tanú, a film that was famously banned in Hungary for over a decade for its parody of the inefficiencies of the post-WWII communist regime. The event was held at the Hungarian Embassy and the movie viewing was followed by networking and noshing, as well as tasting a red and a … Read more
Herbal Medicine in Hong Kong: A Remaining Mystery
To this day I am haunted with one colossal regret about my life in Hong Kong. My Argentine roommate and I made a promise to ourselves on our 2nd week in this crazy city that we would figure out the traditional Chinese medicine and dry good stores that line the street of Sheung Wan and … Read more
