Birthday Dinner c/o Le Diplomate

When we established that we were going to spend the holidays in the Maryland/D.C. area there was the matter of a birthday dinner. Dad and I talked a bit about it at K. and A.'s wedding and then I began my research stage to consider the options. At first I was limiting myself only to the Silver Spring/Wheaton/Rockville area, but the conversation with Dad made me broaden it somewhat. I considered this Top Chef guy's place, but honestly the reviews were a bit mixed on Yelp. And I don't take Yelp very seriously, but if the overall message is 'some of the food was really good, but it was kind of weird and service wasn't awesome,' you still need to ask yourself if it's worth the hassle. I did think that a French meal of some kind would please me and also be in Dad's comfort zone, so I began honing in on French restaurants in the D.C/MD/VA vicinity. In the end, and not without at least a little Facebook input, I suggested we try a reservation at Le Diplomate. This is a relatively new restaurant in D.C. and is actually part of the Stephen Starr umbrella. Stephen Starr has a definite stake and reputation in the Philly area as one of the 'big-time' restauranteurs. I have not been to all his establishments, but I have been to a hand full. And whatever the formula is, they generally seem to work. Le Diplomate certainly did. Due to not planning many more weeks in advance, the only available times were either around 5 or 10 PM. Dad went with the earlier of the options, which I think was a very good idea. I started off the meal with a pamplemousse cocktail, which I can't find on the website to more fully tell you about. From my own recollection it did the balance between sweet and tart quite excellently. Refreshing but not cloying, with just a little effervescence in the mix.

I will admit that the lighting in the restaurant was better for the actual moode and place than for the photographs I tried to take. They also had very neat/old school tiled bathrooms with sinks that one child I encountered called "really cool." So please forgive the photographs, is really what I'm saying. So the Starr restaurants, I think the thing that really is down to a science is how to put together a relatively effective and professional team. Our server never got flustered by our delays in actually making a decision about the meal, laughed at our jokes, asked the right questions and knew most of the answers to ours. Basically I have zero complaints about the service. Though I will say that we pretty much stumped one newer employee when we asked for more detail about some of the accompaniments to our first round of dishes. But when he didn't know the answer he made the effort to go find out and come back, so that was nice.

I debated on what exactly I would order quite a lot in the days and hours leading up to this meal. I had a few concrete ideas but didn't know what combination would make the most sense. In the end I showed very little restraint. Here is the foie gras parfait...this was the fluffiest, spreadiest, heaven-on-earthiest of foies that I've had in quite some time. The thick toast and fennel aigre doux were the perfect texture and flavor to accompany this rich piece of manna. Seriously good stuff.

I also couldn't resist the frissee salad with duck confit, poached egg and potatoes. Variations of this salad have been my favorite for quite a number of years. The way the yolk mixes in with the existing dressing just makes a magic meal, especially if you add duck into the equation.

Then there was the deliberation of what to actually eat. Ultimately I chose to go with the roasted scallops with red wine salsify, truffle sabayon and black trumpet mushrooms...as well as what I recall as being some kind of legume or potato? I kind of forget that detail. I thought the scallops were well prepared and executed though I thought they were perhaps just a tad salty...that might actually be a reaction to my father's dissatisfaction with the grilled loup de mer he ordered, which he found too salty. His dish did come with tapenade, so perhaps it should have been expected. Meanwhile when I tried his dish I thought it wasn't that salty and, in fact, though my own dish was moreso. Dad didn't agree on his own comparison testing. In the end I wasn't too bummed about the salt level and was pleased with the tenderness of the scallop and the savory elements of its rich butter sauce magic topping.

We had this wine with our entrees.

Above, the photoshopped version. Below, the original. It's bascially like I did nothing, except I spent 15 minutes trying to do something. Alas. The main change is that Dad's country terrine and lettuce accompaniment turned a very different set of colors. Blue lettuce is de rigeur, don't ya know?

We opted for coffee and Armagnanac instead of dessert, in large part because we did have a secondary appointment for the evening and I felt that we were going to be too late if we had any additional courses. When we exited the restaurant we both took a moment before looking around for cabs, and during those moments I noticed a guy standing a few feet away that looked vaguely familiar. After a few surreptitious glances, we met eyes and I finally just asked him if his name was H., which it was, and he asked me if I was me, which I am. H. and I went to high school together! I was quite amused by this random run-in and asked whether we could have a photograph taken in order to prove that it ever happened. Dad and I were both a little punchy, so this is actually the photograph that he took for us. H. is pretty tall and clearly Dad's main goal was getting the sign in the photo. Still, a funny ending to a great meal. 

Big thanks goes out to Dad for the birthday dinner!

Football Sliders and Work Lunches

I'm not sure whether I've really mentioned it on the blog, but I did join a fantasy football league this year, though I wouldn't say that anyone would usually describe me as a particularly die-hard sports fan. It just seemed like an interesting new thing to do. Turns out that football is far more interesting when you feel like you have something on the line. Though, really, I'm pretty sure nothing is actually on the line as this is a league without prizes. In any case, I went to Rembrandts a few weeks back so I could see the Redskins and Eagles play against each other. One of my three quarterbacks is RGIII so I quickly realized that going to a bar to root for the opposing team of the city you're in can be a little awkward. I also realized that RGIII is simply not as awesome as I thought he was. While surreptitiously being pleased while the rest of the bar groaned, I also enjoyed their $1 sliders. Pretty good stuff.

And then more work lunches. Baked ziti is my downfall and my savior. Maybe I will make myself baked ziti tonight. That, actually, seems like a very good idea. That or artichoke red onion soup.

Another day, chicken curry.

I think on this particular day it was coconut chicken curry .

And then, to lighten the mood, a spinach salad with far too many roasted red peppers.

Salmon Dinner and Catan

The main meal of the evening was Atlantic King Salmon, which was accompanied by roasted potatoes and sauteed squash and zuchini. CPM did the potatotes and squash/zuchinni while I handled the salmon and a salad. Everything turned out quite well.

Afterwards we enjoyed a round of Catan and Brutus slept, wiped out from all the walking we did earlier in the day.

Two Nights Into One: July Fourth Vacation Fun on Lake Champlain

In late winter or early, early spring K. and I connected about a potential camping adventure somewhere between Philly and Boston. After a few emails back and forth a new plan was formed, and that was to meet between Westport and Port Henry New York, at the family cottage of K.'s bf J. I hadn't seen K. or J. since visiting them in 2010 on the way to L.'s wedding, and meeting up at a cottage on Lake Champlain sounded like a really solid way of reconnecting. My drive up was slightly more eventful than I would have liked. My phone charger stopped working, my oil needed to be changed, I went through a toll and my EZPass didn't work. Just little things that stress me out and when piled on top of one another didn't leave me entirely free of worry. But I had written down the directions because I knew we were going to be in a pretty much cell and internet free zone (hallelujah) so I didn't get terribly lost until the very end of the trip, which was not surprising whatsoever. That first night we caught up, snacked on one thing or another, had some drinks and generally eased into a nice rhythm for the trip. At one point K. and I were outside and J. ended up fast asleep in this chair for quite some time.

And then the next day was upon us. K. made us all scrambled eggs with caramelized onions, cheese, and maybe scallions?

Then we drove to Port Henry to do a more thorough grocery shopping trip for the next couple of days. It was a gorgeous area. Lake to the east and Adirondack mountains to the west. Just magic stuff scenes around every bend and curve of the road.

That second day I made my artichoke jalapeno dip and we ate it while playing a game of some kind.

J.'s family has been coming up to this area for a good lot of time. His grandparents, his mother and her siblings, and now he and his sisters. For the majority of our time there it was just the three of us in the cottage itself, but the neighborhood certainly had a bustle to it. Plenty of folks with similarly long histories in the area taking advantage of the holiday week. Not that it was a week of holiday for most. The world certainly went on around us, but I enjoyed more fully unplugging than I've done in quite some time.

So I had a pretty good idea that I wanted to stop in Kingston, NY on my way north to buy some meat to contribute to our meals from Fleisher's, and it's good that I already had that inkling, because about 60 miles south of the Kingston exit my phone died, and about 30 miles south of Kingston my car began telling me it would like an oil change. This was also when the EZPass debacle took place. I just. The thing worked the whole time except going through that exit and now I know I'm going to get some sort of crazy ticket and I'll be mad about it. ANYWAY. I got off at Kingston and eventually was able to find a place to get an oil change and then another place to buy a new car-phone-extension thing. And it was only then that I finally turned my attentions to locating Fleisher's, which wasn't so hard. I arrived at the tail end of the Kingston farmer's market, which was kind of neat. Once I arrived in Fleisher's I tried to flirt with a butcher and make myself seem hardcore by suggesting that me and my three friends wanted to eat a steak that was nearly "blue." This wasn't entirely untrue we did end up with a pretty rare steak, but not blue-rare...though I mean really, how is talking about a willingness to eat nearly raw steak in any way a sign of flirtation? Pretty much it isn't. In any case. He did suggest and give us a really nice cut of steak and I truly did consider inviting him to join us (mostly joking...all joking?) in consuming it. So the second day of our vacation or was it the third? Steak was grilled, never mind the rain that was falling.

And my god. It was delicious. No joke delicious. Seriously. At K.'s suggestion I did almost exactly three minutes per side and then just left it alone to rest. LEFT IT ALONE. I need to get better at leaving my meat alone while smiling at strangers and learning how to flirt. All this meat flirt conversation is confusing, I'm sure. I believe that this was a dry aged sirloin?

K. made an arugula salad with tomatoes, roasted pine nuts and shaved parmesan.

I brought a bottle of wine my father had given me while in North Carolina, which went down easy and well with the steak and salad.

And while it certainly was pink, I don't think anyone would call it quite "blue." My butcher boyfriend might have been relieved. Or disappointed. I'm not sure. In any case, if you have the opportunity to get meat from Fleisher's, do.

And then I taught K. and J. the glory of Catan and we never turned back. I believe I won this first game (I was blue) but they were quick learners and our Catan playing from that point on was often not concluded with a victory on my part. GOOD TIMES.

Dinners In The Outer Banks

Months and months ago a plan was created between a cabal of individuals. This plan involved much planning, consideration, exchange of money and hours in a car. The end result was a week in a beach house in Corolla Beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The cabal of folks responsible for this turn of events included my cousin K. and a number of other family members. I drove down from Philly on Sunday. It's really not a bad drive and I go down through Delaware, which is such a strange state in a way. Or at least along the portions of Route 1 and 13 that I've experienced. Delaware may be slightly underrated. There is a lot of nice country out there, and the beach is never too far away. In any case, I made good time on my drive and arrived in North Carolina in the late afternoon. I got in the pool for a bit and then it was time for dinner. On this particular night my cousins K. and M. and my cuz K.'s fiancee A. wrangled some less-than-optimal camp-style grills into cooking a bunch of chicken and tilapia. It was not an easy undertaking in terms of the quantity of meat to be grilled and the quality of the grills in question, but they persevered and the results were delicious. Add roasted broccoli, cornbread and a bit of collard greens and you've got yourself a meal. Or, rather, I had myself a meal.

The next day I think I was totally lame (in some people's opinion) and didn't go to the beach for much of the day. Instead I took up residence in one of the beach house's porches. Specifically in the hammock on the second floor porch, which had a view towards the sea (though we were about three house rows back from the ocean itself). And then, when I did go to the beach late in the afternoon I was too busy lying down and going in the water and reading to bother taking out my camera and recording any photographs. But the day ended with grilled barbeque pork chops (this time on the newly arrived gas grill) along with salad and roasted potatoes.

The croutons are the buttered French rounds I enjoyed in the country.

Oh and there were peppers in the tomatoes as well.

And then another afternoon Dad and I went to a fish market to inquire about soft shell crabs (none fresh) and ended up buying a pound of shrimp, most of which I consumed for lunch.

Then there was quality time around the pool with many a balloon made and exploded.

I brought some of the coconut rum I brought back with me from the Bahamas and we made all the children their first alcoholic beverage! Just joking! The kids got virgin pina coladas while those of us over 21 had the real deal. Sweet but tasty in moderation.

And then another day featured grilled asparagus. Cuz K. and A. held down that grill.

And while they were grilling and my aunt L. and cousin M. and so many others were preparing the rest of the meal, K. and I went to the turret/bird's nest of the house at his insistence, which I was happy to do both just to enjoy the view and also to make sure he didn't fall over a railing. It was way high up. While we were 20 people consisting of 8 kids and 12 adults but a house next to us and another just across the street seemed to be totally comprised of tan college kids, some of whom jumped off a similar height into a pool. Apparently no one died but those kids did seem to be forced to leave much sooner than they wanted to...for hours they were sitting on the bumpers a wide variety of cars with their bags backed, waiting for rides away from the beach. Let that be a lesson to everyone: you jump from a deathly height into a pool, you will be kicked out of the beach house.

That's a ways down. I think the dudes across the way didn't jump from quite this high.

Inside two sisters took over Cuz K.

And then we ate grilled asparagus and tacos...or in my case a burrito.

Home Salad with Radishes

A salad seemed in order one night a few weeks back. Arugula, two types of radishes, spring onions, tomatoes, avocado and a poached egg all went into it with a olive oil/basil/feta/lemon/pepper dressing.

I ate it while reading Ender's Game or one of its later related books.

Modo Mio Makes the Meal and Unibroue Brings the Brew

It came to my attention at some point in May that it had been far too long since my last meal at Modo Mio (I think I've been writing the restaurant's wrong since forever....Modomio?), which had been in December for my birthday. I don't know what happened exactly. Funds were tight. I wasn't really going to many restaurants on the whole? LW also felt that it had been too long since her last visit, so we combined forces, made a reservation and began anticipating what magic things might be in store for us. The meal began as it usually does with a little amuse bouche. This time I believe it was a fig, gorgonzola, balsamic little treat. I can't remember if I'm making up a pancetta element or not, but it might have existed.

Modo Mio, in case you didn't already know, is a restaurant where one goes for a four course meal (appetizer, pasta, entree, dessert) at a set price. You can order a la carte, but the portions and plates of each course are usually just the right size. This means that mapping out your meal necessitates tough choices. You might be drawn to three different appetizers, but you can only have one...so for me I think I was debating the crab cake, the scallop and the pork carpaccio-ish dish. LW also was weighing her pros and cons. In the end we made our choices, but our server - one terrific lady named Marie - ended up gifting us an extra plate of magic to try....and that was sauteed escargots with capers on a crusty melty cheesy piece of bread. This was LW's first snail experience, and I think it went quite well. The snails themselves were so tender and the combination of herbs with the saltiness of the capers and the ooooooozy loveliness of the crusty cheesy (provolone?) bread all worked together in a very pleasing fashion.

The appetizer I chose was the thinly sliced pork on a small bed of arugula with dried cherries, fennel, and I think gorgonzola cheese...I meant to take a photo of the menu so I wouldn't be approximating quite so much, but alas between opening our bottle of vinho verde and agonizing over my menu choices, actually documenting what those choices were slipped my mind. What I can tell you is that this was a very nice and relatively light way to start the meal, especially given my next two courses. The vinaigrette really perked things up and the pork itself was almost dainty in its texture.

I think this photograph illustrated how we felt about our first courses. We most certainly became members of the clean plate club for this round of tasty treats.

I had another internal debate when it came to the pasta. I love what they do with the rather simple amatriciana-like preparation...thick/hollow spaghetti with a vibrant tomato sauce and pancetta and sometimes a little kick. Oh man. It's just so good. But I also eyed the ravioli they had on that particular day, which was a rich ravioli with artichokes and ricotta all sauteed in an almond butter. I shared my teetering decision with our server and she suggested branching out, and so that is what I did. The ravioli was rich and happy making. See proof below.

And then there were the main course options. I had arrived thinking that I would choose a beef option, but when we were informed that one of the specials of the night was their take on a 'surf and turf' only with soft shell crab as surf, and sweetbreads as turf, that original idea went out the window. You'll see in later posts that I was already primed for soft shells, and so this became the first fresh crab I had for the season but certainly not the last. Sauteed instead of deep fried and only very lightly (if at all) breaded, it still had a crisp note to it while better displaying the overall crabby goodness. The sweetbreads were hearty and yet creamy.

LW used her camera to take this photograph...thus the completely different color cast. This is what I look like when I'm so happy I'm almost miserable about it.

We also had the opportunity to try the asparagus with over easy egg. A nice addition for sure!

And then there was dessert and esperesso. Oh man. Dessert. This I think was a walnut/strawberry panna cotta with maybe a savory element to it. I really have to write things down. I'm the worst.

And this was sort of like a trifle with blueberries, cake, and basil. There was also tirimisu in the mix, which LW declared the best.

The meal, the service and the overall ambiance was, as it always is, just fantastic. We made temporary friends with the couple sitting next to us and discussed how much we collectively loved the place. There was a birthday, but the birthday boy or girl had requested no singing...so that was sad for me since I love singing happy birthday to strangers. But not if they don't want me to:)

I had every intention of ending my night after the meal. When something is so good, it's best to call it a day instead of trying to do more. LW, however, had plans on meeting up with Jerry the Unibroue brewer. You see, it was also Philly Beer Week and LW and Jerry usually meet up to say hey at one Unibroue event or another. Since the location for the event was pretty near my place/in my neighborhood I did make a different decision once we got out of the cab, and joined LW and Jerry to try a variety of specialty brews he'd brought with him from Canada.

It was a good night full of fanciness, new tastes and good times.