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Johnna’s Pick of the Week: Taberna’s New Tapas

May 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood Grilled Asparagus Soup & Carmelized Olive Oil

Honestly, the first thought that comes to mind when I think of tapas is:  not enough.  Staying true to their original purpose, snacks/appetizers in Spanish cuisine, they are no more than 1-2 spoonfuls of food spread out on a small plate.  For yours truly, this is appropriate when my appetite is not begging for more than two nibbles of the tuna tartare but when its dinner time, it’s dinnertime.  My view on tapas has either been skewed or maybe Taberna del Alabardero got the hint that bigger is better.  Recently, I had the opportunity to snag first dibs on the restaurants new tapas menu and I left feeling like it was one of those bottomless spaghetti nights or endless buffets.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood Chef Romero

After literally rolling myself out of the restaurant, I revisited the treats of the night and what made them so strikingly good.  Well, it starts with the brains behind the madness…the chef.  I’m a true believer that the best food comes from love and that’s what Chef Javier Romero exudes in his kitchen skills.  This is truly a person that loves to cook and enjoys being around everything that is food.  The creativity that he takes in the kitchen, from making asparagus the center of the dessert to making basic tomatoes taste like some of the best old fashioned canned strawberry preserves, is unparalleled.  This has to be love.  The thing I love about Chef Romero is that he is like one of those players in the NBA who is so underrated but is really the MVP of his league. 

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I think I am most impressed by the simplicity of it all.  A little heavy cream here, a little red wine there and a sprig of thyme, dress it up…and we have a work of art.  Putting olive oil with bread alongside some ice cream would never have crossed my mind and I truly thought I loved? love food.  This food adventure has me thinking about how passionate I really am about food…how outside of the box am I ready to reach??…

Taberna Del Alabardero on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Food.Fun.Stuff., Johnna's Pick of the Week, restaurant reviews, Washington D.C. Tagged With: , , , ,

Johnna’s Pick of the Week: Red Rooster (NY)

April 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Everytime I go back to Harlem, something is new.  Next up: the Red Rooster.  Ten years ago, the thought of a chef like Marcus Samuelsson in Harlem would have resulted in calm chuckle and side eye from yours truly.  Now some odd years later, the streets I used to run up and down while sucking down an Italian icy has turned into an urban professionals rest haven.  With rents reaching over $1,600 and the who’s who of who moving uptown, it is no surprise the eateries would follow with upgrades. 

You cannot help but remember Red Rooster…if not for the food, for the décor (*could not track down the designer name…).  The paintings lining the wall captivate you for at least the initial 10 minutes after being seated.  Besides soaking up all the flavors on the wall, you can take in the view from the open kitchen and the eclectic American style menu.  Visiting Red Rooster on the night and day side gave me the opportunity to get the dibs on the top cocktails (*tried more of these than I should have…) and the tasty food selections (*helped separate the memories from the night before…). 

 
 

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

The Good:

The Brownstoner…Bourbon, St. Germain and Cherry Heering all twisted in one.

The Cat’s Meow…Perfect for the light social drinker, just enough gin tempered by citrus.

The Bad:

The Lenox…Kind of what Lenox Avenue was back in the day, nothing special.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood (Red Grits and Shrimp)

The red shrimp and grits slightly mesmerized me as I contemplated how I would replicate this at home without overdoing the tomato juice.  The poached egg needed some more time and attention where it was slightly under cooked (*I know this seems almost impossible but it can happen…).  The nuggets and toast, however, was the star of the show.  You would have thought this was my order the way I kept sticking my fork over the table for another bite.  Fried chicken without the sickening levels of grease and french toast that seemed to be missing the egg base, put this dish at the top of my list.  At this point you probably do not believe me, but it was a brunch to tranquilize the food senses without all the extras.

I am impressed to say the least and glad to see the neighborhood broadening the food culture.  Smiling like a proud mom on the first day of school, I say “Cheers to the new faces of Lenox Avenue”…

*Apologies for the pic’s…camera phone was the only thing in hand on these days…

Red Rooster on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Johnna's Pick of the Week, restaurant reviews, Travels Tagged With: , , ,

Johnna’s Pick of the Week: minibar (DC)

March 24, 2011 By 2 Comments

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

I bumped into this dinner.  Bumped into? Yeah, I was not supposed to spend a night of the most innovative, succulent dishes with someone I did not know and spend $230 on a random Saturday evening, but it happened.  In my life, I have no regrets and this night was no exception.  Twenty-seven courses of delicately created dishes that would make even the pickiest eater think twice about questioning the ingredients. Instead of your typical Appetizers, Entree and Dessert titles, the restaurant replaces those with “Munchies, Flavors & Textures, Pre Dessert, Dessert and Sweet Surprises”.  Each is served as they are made and guests can choose one of the wine flights to accompany their meal.  I chose The Great Harvest which was a fresh blend of Riesling, Marsanne/Roussanne, Pinot Noir and Moscato accompanying each phase of my meal.

Intimate but not isolating, the Minibar takes up a small bar space on the second floor of Penn Quarters Cafe Atlantico.  What looks like it was meant to be a sushi bar, is the home of one of the District’s top five restaurant ventures:  fresh local ingredients, dynamic twists on old favorites and a three person team to serve six guests, the max number of patrons allowed at Minibar during the two seating times (6 pm and 8 pm).  Jose Andres is a food genius for this one.  Enough about my rants, I know you came to see the food, so here we go:

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*Hot and Cold Pisco Sour

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*Peking Wonton

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*Popcorn “Empanada”

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*”Bagels and Lox”

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*”Chicken and Eggs” (Love the creative process behind this one:  baked chicken skins shaved of all excess fat and free of oil)

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*”Bloody Mary”

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*Mini Deli Slider

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*This is Minibar’s version of the childhood favorite:  cotton candy.

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*Zucchini in Textures

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*Smoked Oyster with Apple

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*”Guacamole” (This gives a whole new meaning to guac…immaculate.)

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*Sea Urchin Ceviche with Hibiscus

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“New “New England Clam Chowder”

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*Organic Carrots with Coconut

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*Charcoal Salmon with Black Garlic

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*Minibar’s take on breakfast at night

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*”Philly Cheeseteak” (Hands down my favorite dish of the night…thought I would never get this feeling outside of Philly.)

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*Philly Cheesesteak continued…

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*Dessert begins…

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*Dessert Continued…(*Guilty Look* If you read the blog regularly, you know I’m not a sweets fan so I do not remember any of the dessert names…)

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*Finishing touches with a plate of “S’mores”, Bacon and Chocolate and Mango Boxes.

Amazing is the summary of events that night minus the final bill.  Minibar is for the daring and bold diner, a night that does not call for rushing and above all, good company.  Bon Appetit.

 
 
 
 
 

Minibar By Jose Andres on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Food.Fun.Stuff., Johnna's Pick of the Week, restaurant reviews, Washington D.C. Tagged With: ,

Johnna’s Pick of the Week: G Natural and G2 Natural

June 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 The only time I reach for a Gatorade is the night after…the night after a hangover (*Off the record, Gatorade is one of the best things that happened to recovering from a hangover…). That was until I had an opportunity to taste the G Series: G Natural and G2 Natural from Gatorade. Created with the purpose to fuel, fluid and add nutrients (*before, during and after) activity, the new line from Gatorade has taken a healthy approach to the fruit juice family. Sober Johnna stays away from Gatorade unless it is the only option around. Now sober Johnna has a reason to skip the other stuff and head for the Gatorade G Series.

Sweet, but not to sweet, light and refreshing (*blah, blah, blah…), the typical features of a good natural fruit juice fill this quirky bottle, but the most appealing part is not listed above. Perhaps it comes in the calories (*its beach bod season, no time for games…): G Natural holds about 50 calories per 8-oz. serving and the G2 Natural has 20 calories per 8-oz. serving. This fact combined with the flavor count: Blackberry Raspberry, Orange Citrus and Citrus Mango, to name a few, makes this our new drink of the week. Johnna’s Pick of the Week is evolving…I realize I do not always go to a good (*Emphasis on “Good”) restaurant, ice cream shop or the like every week so it would be unrealistic to limit the span of subjects. The evolution begins with G Natural and G2 Natural…good drinks, perfect time of year to enjoy a nice cold one and they encourage your belly to stay flat instead of initiating a gut. Quench your thirst!

 
Filed Under: Announcements, Food.Fun.Stuff., health concious, Johnna's Pick of the Week, non-alcoholic beverages, restaurant reviews

Johnna’s Pick of the Week: Nam-Viet (DC)

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The neighborhood restaurant. That is probably the best way to describe Nam-Viet. With two locations in the DMV, Nam-Viet is not new to the neighborhood, rather a place that is a part of the culture in its designated locations. The one we are most familiar with is the one in Cleveland Park, which offers the perfect amount of space for an intimate dinner for two or a dinner with four of your best girlfriends.

We stumbled on this spot one day when we were looking for something reasonable, with a relaxing environment and without the high maintenance of some of the typical Upper Northwest restaurants. Perfect match. The staff was attentive and helpful in the menu selections…Vietnamese food is not our speciality, but we are learning. We randomly chose our selections…one was for the best, the other not so good. We started with the Sup Mang Cua (*Nam-Viet Crab and Asparagus Soup)…delicious. The combination of the crab, egg whites and asparagus dipped in a clear, thick broth was just what we needed on this rainy night (*sound familiar?? Last night was absolutely yucky…). The not so good part of the meal came with the Rau Kho Xa (*Lemongrass Tofu with Mixed Vegetables)…the mixture just did not mesh well together. We will take the blame for this one, however, because we were looking for a lemongrass soup when we entered and just needed to fill that void.

The atmosphere offers the low key, pleasant feel needed after a hard day of work or play. When you’re on this side of town, it is worth it to try the Pho (*they are Pho 79, after all…). The lesson from this Pick of the Week is when one is ordering Vietnamese food, one should know their “dish”. This is not the time to try something new and that be your whole meal…choose something safe and then splurge on something new. We speak from experience…crab and asparagus soup is our new fetish of the week. 

Nam-Viet on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Johnna's Pick of the Week, restaurant reviews, Washington D.C.
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