September 6: Bún DC

Bún DC is a brand new Vietnamese hole-in-the-wall at the corner of Harvard & Sherman. They have a few kinks to work out but overall they’re a solid addition to the neighborhood. The food is tasty, plentiful, and cheap.

I’m no arbiter of authenticity, so if they’re Doing Vietnamese Wrong don’t @ me.

Bún DC
2905 Sherman Ave
http://www.bunwdc.com

Cost: $18

Let me be clear – you don’t have to spend $18 here. The báhn mì cost $6 and are bigger than a Chipotle burrito. I just decided to branch out.

Bún DC is tiny. Converted from the first floor of a row house, the space was smaller than my living room. The dining area only had five 2-tops. Predicting that it would be fairly small, I thought it might be fun to do an unofficial restaurant takeover. I accomplished this with a whopping six people.

Drinks

No liquor license here.  I got a salted lemonade – I’d never even heard of this, but it was recommended by somebody on Yelp. Like an actually tasty version of gatorade, this was sweet, tangy, salty, and incredibly refreshing on a day when I’d just walked a mile and a half uphill in DC’s 95% humidity. The citrus and salt reminded me of a margarita and I would have very much enjoyed this with a hit of tequila. They also have iced teas and coffee, and you can add boba if you like those squishy little eyeballs.

Food

I ordered clay pot rice with pork belly and black pepper. The bowl comes out screamingly hot and stays that way for at least 20 minutes, so if you’re an idiot like me be prepared to burn your mouth about 10 times on superheated rice. A smarter person would have been patient enough to let the rice cool a bit, but it was tasty and I couldn’t stop eating.

Pork ended up being an accidental theme – one friend got the pork báhn mì and another got the restaurant’s namesake pork bún, or vermicelli bowl. I also got the chance to try their shrimp roll and lemongrass tofu appetizers. The rolls were almost plain – pretty much just shrimp wrapped in spring roll pastry and deep fried – but still perfectly cooked. The tofu was crispy and delightful.

Flaws

There were a few areas that needed work. Please keep in mind that they have only been open a week, and I am confident that these things will improve as they iron out the kinks.

First, and easiest: they gotta get a shade for their big, west-facing window. There’s so little seating room they don’t have the option of leaving tables empty until the sun goes down, and I ended up sitting directly facing into the sun. An inexpensive half-blind would have kept me from being fully blind for most of the meal.

Second, and this was in large part our fault, they didn’t do a great job of bringing out the dishes in a coordinated way. We were seated at 3 tables and we all ordered separately so I fully realize we were making their lives difficult. And I’m not trying to hold them to 4-star standards. But one person didn’t get their clay pot rice until the rest of us were three quarters finished (the other half of that 2-top had her bún about 15 minutes earlier) and I had to ask a second time for my lemonade because it didn’t come out until I was halfway through my meal.

Even so, I strongly recommend you pay a visit. And if the dining area is fully packed – as it surely will be soon – they do takeout.

 

Flashback! April 8: Seylou Bakery & Mill

This one almost doesn’t count except for how I spent damn near $30 here.

Seylou Bakery & Mill
926 N St NW
http://www.seylou.com/

Cost: I honestly don’t remember the exact number but it was too goddamn much

So my first mistake was – as was so often the case – not reading the reviews. I went in, I ordered a coffee and a cookie, and I enjoyed them heartily. The coffee was coffee, ie: proof that god loves us, and the cookie was delightful. Seylou’s gimmick is that they don’t use refined wheat flours, only – and this is a technical term – the weird shit. House-ground  whole wheat, oats, barley, etc. This cookie was straight off some 1960s commune with sorghum and agave nectar, but also it was genuinely delicious.

Unfortunately, then I dug out the review and realized I should have ordered the masala chai and slice of toast, because this place is known for its bread and I didn’t realize you could buy it by the slice.  The whole loaves of bread did look amazing, but they’re upward of $10 each so, no.  I’d also walked from Adams Morgan, via Columbia Heights and Georgia Ave so I was basically starving.

So obviously I got a slice of toast and a cup of chai. The masala chai was delightful; just enough spice with a subtle sweetness. The toast was excellent sourdough, generously buttered.

As tasty as it was, I can’t deny the price and limited selection is a barrier to me going back on a regular basis. But if I win that lottery, they’ll be a regular stop.

September 2: Espita Mezcaleria

This restaurant bills itself as “authentic, not traditional*” and while I couldn’t vouch for their accuracy, it’s definitely delicious.

Espita Mezcaleria
1250 9th St NW
https://espitadc.com/

Cost: $150 for two

Espita Mezcaleria specializes in “elevated” Oaxacan cuisine, by which I mean expensive and made by white people. Fortunately for me, my mom was in town and it was her treat. (I picked up Julia’s Empanadas the previous night so clearly this was an even exchange.)

Drinks

Their focus is mezcal, and they carry a rotating selection of about a hundred different kinds. I’m not much for sipping it straight though, so I got two of their specialty mezcal cocktails. One was a margarita, with a chili-salt rim. The smoke of the mezcal was delightful next to the heat of the chili and neither was overwhelming. The second was fancier – or maybe just more complicated – combining various citrus with peach liquor for a delightful glass of summer. Mom stuck to the classic tequila margarita, which sadly didn’t come with the chili salt.

Food

The plates here are intended for sharing and come in a range of sizes and prices. You could easily make a light meal out of one salsa and one small plate.

We started with guacamole, which was fine but probably not worth $10, and the astounding salsa de marañón, made of cashews, charred onions, and pasilla peppers blended smooth. At only $3.50 it stole the whole show.

Next we got two small plates – the “fairytale” tacos with eggplant, corn salsa, and pepita crema. These were surprisingly good, considering I don’t usually like eggplant. I probably wouldn’t repeat them but I wasn’t displeased to be eating them. The second plate  – huaraches de carne apache – was one of my favorites. However, please note it was fully raw beef. I loved it but my mom was not a fan. Credit to our excellent waiter – though the menu made it clear the dish was raw he also brought that to our attention. It was not a surprise, my mom just prefers her beef rare over tartare.

Finally we got one of the larger dishes, the tlayuda de arrachera. A very crisp, blue corn tortilla with salsa, cheese, and some type of slaw, topped with a perfectly seared sirloin. This was generously portioned for two to share.

While I didn’t expect it to be quite as expensive as it was – nor did I realize that literally none of the dishes applauded by the Post’s Tom Sietsema would still be available – I have no regrets. And it’s past time that DC had some high end Mexican food – one NOT run by José Andreas. Espita Mezcaleria’s rapidly changing but flawlessly executed menu does the trick.

*This definitely means “some white people went to Oaxaca and now they think they’re experts but don’t @ them when they do something weird.”

 

 

Flashback! March 28: All Purpose Pizza

Weirdly, I was just walking past All Purpose in September and telling my mom how delicious it was when a completely random man stopped to say that their pizza was trash and I should go to Etto or Timber instead.

I’m sure those are both fine restaurants, but this Opinionated Stranger was wrong. All Purpose makes great pizza.

All Purpose Pizza
1250 9th St NW

Home

I didn’t make a reservation for All Purpose, and that was stupid. This place is good sized but even on a weeknight it was jam-packed. We found a spot technically in the bar area – but more like squished between the bar and the hostess stand – that I do not believe was intended as a dining space. Fortunately they agreed to bring us pizzas there.

I went with two vegetarians, which was something of a tactical error because I didn’t want a veggie pie and that meant I couldn’t in good conscience demand a slice exchange. Still, my pizza was so good I’m not sure I could have given any of it away.

yes that’s pickled cauliflower

It’s been long enough (six months) that their menu has changed but the Duke #7 is still on the list – and for good reason. The ‘nudja (a loose, spicy Italian pork sausage) combined with a pickled pepper relish known as giardiniera makes a fantastic riff on the classic sausage’n’peppers. The cheese was generous and the spice level was perfect. I ate every bite and mourned its passing.

I can’t remember quite which pies my companions ordered – I have much less of a memory for food that I didn’t eat – but at the time they had multiple vegetarian options available including one that was heavy on the mushrooms if that’s your thing. They also have a make-your-own option if the specialty pies aren’t to your taste.

Unfortunately, a quick glance shows fewer vegetarian choices now. Their current menu has one mex-ish vegetarian pie (cotija, corn, cilantro, fresno chilis – somewhat confusingly named The Salem?? I assure you Massachusetts is not the place for Mexican food), and one with four cheeses, but the other six all have pork or anchovy.    Hopefully they’ll mix things up going forward for those with dietary restrictions who want something more interesting than a cheese pizza.

Flashback! March 23, Dorjee Momo

I’m so behind on these write-ups, so I’m going to try to catch up by doing the most recent excursion every week and also a “flashback” post. We’ll see.

Dorjee Momo is a tiny pop-up in the Bullfrog Bagel space in Eastern Market. I fully expect them to have their own storefront with more seating soon.

Dorjee Momo
317 7th St SE
http://www.dorjeemomo.com

Cost: $75 per person

I came here with one goal, and that goal was HOT POT. There aren’t that many places in DC that do hot pot, because it’s a pain in the ass–the complex broth takes a long time to prepare, and unlike ramen it’s not meant to be eaten alone, or quickly. It’s a communal experience meant to be savored.

The split pot comes in handy if some of your party wants meat, or to make the broth extra spicy.

Dorjee Momo’s version was fantastic. The broth was exactly the right level of spicy for me, and they had options to make it extra spicy upon request. The add-ins start out vegan, with an optional meat platter–obviously we got the meat because we know what’s good.

The tables could have been larger – we had approximately 4 inches left for our drinks, rice, and dipping bowls. 

The veggies were heavy on greens and mushrooms – lots of bok choi, spinach, and napa cabbage; enoki, shimeji, and wood ear. I don’t care for mushrooms, but after soaking up the rich broth these were surprisingly delicious. Broccoli and sliced potatoes were unexpected but equally good; the clear sweet potato noodles weren’t as absorbent and damn near impossible to fetch with chopsticks.  The tofu was a predictably amazing sponge.

The meat was sliced very thin, making cooking time very fast despite it coming to the table frozen. The tiny dumplings took longer but were my favorite; I would have been pleased to have a double portion.

This is about half of the meat – belated picture.

We each got a bowl of rice, and a dish of salty sesame dipping oil that was particularly good with the meats. There are lots of other dishes on the menu, but the hot pot is generous enough that you won’t need to order anything more unless you’ve been running marathons. If we’d skipped the meat, we might have been able to share an appetizer – but as it was, we left some of our spinach uncooked.

Drinks

There were four cocktails on the menu when we went; we each got one. I knew immediately I wanted the bourbon cocktail – their Moonpeak is basically a manhattan (vermouth, bitters) garnished with a slice of blood orange and accented with clove. It was delightful.

Moonpeak on the left! 

Unfortunately I can’t remember what the other three were, and their cocktail list has changed a bit – one of the drinks served up below is the #bosslady (I think the clear one), one is the Lychee Martini (probably the purple one), and the orange one isn’t on the menu anymore.

I fully recommend Dorjee Momo hotpot. It’s not cheap – even if you skip the cocktails, the vegan pot costs $140 for the table or $180 with meat. They won’t decrease the price if you only have 2 or 3 people, and they only have 9 hotpot seatings a night. But hotpot is a fun experience for a small group and this chef is definitely going places.

July 22: Elle’s Bakery

I’m still on track for 52 restaurants in 2018, but I’ve utterly failed to write about them. Let’s get back on track with an easy one.

Elle’s Bakery
3221 Mt Pleasant St NW
www.eatatelle.com

Cost: $14

Food:

Elle’s Bakery is a no-brainer. Number 1 on Tom Sietsema’s best of 2018 list, this cute cafe and bakery in Mount Pleasant gets busy fast. I arrived in a bit of a lull, but that didn’t last–the line was soon 20 people deep. The line cook was pumping out breakfast sandwiches and hearty salads without a second to rest.

While the salads looked tempting–roasted peaches with feta; farro with fig and parmesan–I needed something a little more like morning. I went for their breakfast sandwich: scrambled egg, cheese, and in-house smoked brisket.

This was absolutely the right choice. I’ve had a lot of breakfast sandwiches in my day and I’ll admit paying $9 for one is a bit of a stretch, but the brisket was sincerely to die for. The only thing that could improve it would be a runny egg instead of scrambled.

Drinks:

Elle’s has more options for coffee than they do for meals, and they also have a nice assortment of non-coffee options. I decided on a London Fog–basically an earl grey latte. I like seeing cafes branch out into more tea-based drinks, and this did not disappoint.

Honestly, this place deserves every kudos it has gotten. My sandwich was delightful, my tea was perfect. It’s fully self-serve, so you do have to listen for your order to be up–my tea ended up sitting for a few minutes because I didn’t hear the barista call my name. The decor is charming, and if they’re too busy for your preference all of the food is available to go.

 

March 15: Poké Papa

I don’t know if this is fully authentic poke; it was basically a sushi bowl. I am extremely okay with that.

Poké Papa
806 H St NW
pokepapa.com

Cost: $14

Poké Papa is conveniently located for lunches – just far enough I feel like I’m getting a bit of a midday walk but close enough even for a pretty busy day. I was working, so no drinks.

They offer both DIY and pre-designed options; I went with the Volcano while my friend had the Onolicious. All bowls are offered on rice or mixed greens.

Volcano

Chunks of tuna marinated in a spicy sauce (basically a sriracha mayo), topped with jalapeño, scallion, fish eggs, soy sauce, and “lava sauce,” plus their standard edamame, cucumber, pickled ginger, hijiki salad, and imitation krab salad.

I thought this was fantastic. The lava sauce is indeed pretty hot – or at least white people hot – when combined with the spicy marinade already on the tuna. Factoring in the additional jalapenos, I was glad to have the cooling krab and hijiki salads. If you like a spicy tuna roll, you’ll be happy with this bowl. You can get the lava sauce on the side, or not at all, if you don’t want as much heat.

Onolicious

Chunks of tuna marinated in soy sauce with hijiki, lotus root, ginger, sesame, scallion, and onion. Served with the usual edamame, cucumber, pickled ginger, hijiki salad, and imitation krab salad.

I was not as fond of this one – I found it a little bland. I suppose I could give them more credit and call this one “subtle” instead, but I’m not gonna. (I actually went back on another day and got a whole bowl, so it wasn’t just that I got a mediocre bite of my friend’s lunch.) There was nothing wrong with it, and if you’re a big fan of the regular old tuna roll then you will have a good time with this one. But I prefer my plainer rolls with a hit of wasabi, and that was missing here. From the menu it looks like they do have a wasabi sauce option – perhaps next time I’ll give that a try.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic (and hearty!) lunch option in downtown DC .There are several other “signature” bowls, including salmon, shrimp, scallop, and octopus, or one that is vaguely Thai with ground chicken if you’re feeling squeamish about raw seafood, and you can always DIY if you have your own vision of perfection.

 

March 1: The Bird

I decided to kick off March with an act of true gluttony, and The Bird delivered. This was also the day that Hope Hicks got shown the door, which meant everything on the happy hour menu was half price! Keep an eye out for fired senior staffers to keep both your wallet and your belly full.

The Bird
1337 11^th St NW
www.thebirddc.com

Cost: $50 per person

A clarification about the cost – I put together a group of nine, with orders to come hungry and wear elastic waists. We ordered … a good portion of the menu, and kept the drinks coming. You could easily leave well sated for less than $30 – maybe even under $20 if somebody got fired that day.

The Drinks

Of course they’re famous right now for their Moscow Mueller, but to be honest I don’t love turmeric that much. The Black Boulevardier (rye, Campari, amaro, balsamic) was more my style. Usually they cost $8 at happy hour and I would not have been mad to pay that much; at $4 every drink on the menu was a steal.

I just love rye, okay?

The Food

Almost everything at The Bird is, well. Made of bird. Most of that is chicken, but you’ll also find duck, pheasant, quail, Cornish hen, and assorted eggs. This is not a place that’s vegetarian friendly, though there were one or two items on the menu that would suffice. We started with the Happy Hour menu – ordered most of it – and then moved on to the full menu.

Happy Hour

Deviled Eggs: Sure, it’s “just” a deviled egg but to be honest it was a really great deviled egg.

Korean Style Fried Wings: Delicious, but unless you’re wing-obsessed wait for a visit to Bonchon.

Duck Meatballs: These were fantastic. The curry sauce overwhelmed the duck – they could have been chicken or turkey for all I could tell – but the sauce was so good I didn’t care. Forget the meatballs, somebody pass me a vat of that sauce and a spoon.

A classic done well!

Unfortunately now I want Bonchon.

I could dive right in.

Chicken and Waffle: I am a latecomer to the whole chicken and waffle thing but I am fully converted now. The happy hour portion was good sized – half a waffle and a chicken quarter.

Chicken Tacos: Tasty and a steal at the price but other things on the table were better.

Nachos: Very standard nachos. The only standout was the fried duck egg on top.

From the Dinner Menu

Chinese Broccoli: A nice break from all the richness. It was good to have a green thing.

Duck Fat Roasted Carrots: I don’t love cooked carrots but these were tasty. Probably something to do with all that duck fat!

Grilled Peri-Peri Cornish Hen: Nando’s does more satisfying peri-peri, but I could have eaten my body weight in the potatoes that came with this.

Quail, Shrimp, & Grits: I didn’t get a lot of this dish but the grits were fantastic.

Silkie Chicken Doro Wat: Richly spiced lentils with berbere. Frankly, all doro wat should come with a runny poached egg on top.

Duck Confit Bolognese: The duck in this was barely noticeable beyond adding richness, but ohhhhh my god the gnocchi and sauce were so good. I could have happily eaten three bowls. The portion is pretty small.

Brussels Sprouts: delightful! The pomegranate arils were a nice pop.

Dessert

Chocolate Ice Cream Cake: Heavy on the ice cream, light on the cake. Respectably delicious.

Bourbon Brioche Bread Pudding: Creamy and tender, with a scoop of ice cream and a caramel drizzle. The bourbon was too subtle but everything else was great. No raisins, thank you chefs.

Sorbet Duo: Blood orange and Forest Berry sorbets; I skipped these and left them for our lactose intolerant diner.

Sweet Cinnamon Waffle: OUTRAGEOUS and outrageously good. A giant stack of waffle sundae.

Apple Frangipane: I was sincerely surprised to find that this was my favorite, but the classic combination of apple and almond really stood out amid an evening of excess.

As much as I enjoyed The Bird – and I very much enjoyed it! – their gimmick doesn’t work quite as well as I hoped. Many of the more “exotic” birds were used in highly spiced dishes that overwhelmed the flavor of the meat itself. I could not tell you how silkie chicken or a guinea fowl egg differs from regular chicken meat and egg, because the berbere spices in the doro wat took front row. The duck meatballs were overwhelmed by the (phenomenal) curry sauce. The quail was stuffed with spicy andouille sausage. A couple dishes we skipped – the pheasant ramen, the pan seared duck breast – may be prepared with a subtlety that would allow the meat to shine. The food was all fantastic, but they could have used chicken in every dish and I wouldn’t have noticed a difference.

February 21: Bete Ethiopian

I wound up Accidental Cheap Eats February with another Ethopian option, and I’m finally writing about it. I’m EXTREMELY BEHIND on my blogging! But not on my eating – let’s be realistic about my flaws here.

 Bete Ethiopian
811 Roeder Road, Silver Spring
https://www.beteethiopia.com/

Cost: $27 per person

I have no idea how to pronounce this restaurant’s name. Bet? Beetee? Behtay? However you say it, it’s well worth the trip to Silver Spring.

The Drinks

Bete has a very limited drinks selection, and this time I had to try the honey wine. It was interesting, but very very sweet. There is zero resemblance to the funkiness of mead, so don’t go in with that expectation. I like sweet things so I had a good time, but I’m not planning to search out more at my local package store.

The Food

We got two main dishes and a veggie combo, and everything was sincerely great.

Kitfo and tilapia in the middle, assorted lentil and bean dishes around the perimeter. Not pictured: two additional cameras providing good lighting.

Kitfo: Ground beef in spiced butter and berbere, with collard greens and crumbly cheese. We got this cooked medium; raw is traditional. I think I would actually like to try it cooked well done – I think it would benefit from having crispy bits and more Maillard reaction.

Fish Dullet: Minced tilapia with onions and jalapeno. Surprisingly, this was the standout dish for me. I don’t usually love tilapia, because I find it bland and uninspiring even when covered in delicious spices. But the ratio must have been in my favor, because this was fantastic. It came with a little pile of bright red chili powder that really pumped it up without being too hot.

Veggie Special Combination: A standard veggie combo, with a lot of lentil and bean and collard dishes. I couldn’t single out any one as the best, but they were all delicious.

I can recommend this one unequivocally. The food was great, the price was right, and the location was reasonably convenient to the Silver Spring metro / 16^th St Corridor bus lines. The restaurant is tiny, but there was only one other party in the place so unless this one gets “discovered” you should be fine.

February 14: Chaia

Galentine’s Day tacos?  Yes please! But also: not quite.

Chaia
3207 Grace St NW
https://www.chaiadc.com/

Cost: $25

Chaia is only sort of a taco joint. Yes, the food is small, handheld, and wrapped in a corn tortilla. But there are few of the flavors of Mexico that you might expect. There’s some lime. There’s some cilantro. Jalapeños are available. Otherwise, it bears closer resemblance to “new American” – or maybe just ridiculously hipster – than anything else.

The Drinks

Chaia offers an assortment of pressed juices and shrubs. (Another tick in the hipster category.) I got the lemon ginger shrub, served cold. It was tasty but it didn’t turn me into one of the drinking vinegar obsessed.

The Food

Chaia might not be serving proper tacos, but that doesn’t make them bad! In fact, all three I tried were delicious.

They’ve done an excellent job at putting together hearty, interesting, and strictly vegetarian options with seasonal ingredients. Nothing this season is vegan, but some of it could probably be made so if needed.

Three tacos was a modest amount of food – the addition of one side made for a filling meal.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Hash Taco: Tasty, but this was pretty one note. The chipotle was nonexistent, I didn’t even notice the feta (not cotija? Feta’s not even the right continent!!), and the arugula pumpkin seed salsa was … theoretical.

Smoky Collard Greens: I didn’t grow up in the south, so my interest in collards comes and goes. Frankly, they shine brightest when bolstered with bacon. Here they only had queso fresco, a smoky salsa, and cilantro for assistance.  Again, it was pretty much just collard greens. If that’s your thing, you’ll like this.

Creamy Kale + Potato: This was my favorite, maybe because I’m just a sucker for potatoes. But I also think the creamy pepperjack and the pickled onions went a long way to making this one sing. It was the only one that felt like it was greater than the sum of its parts.

Green Rice side: The menu calls this “brown rice with herb pesto and feta.” (See how none of those words are Mexican in the slightest.) Still, this was the other star of the meal – a generous amount of feta, a bright herby flavor, and bonus toasted pepitas for crunch.

Cinnamon Coconut Cookie: I might be a cookie snob, but this was only meh. While the cinnamon was nice, the texture was dense, crumbly, and a little greasy – and not in that great, classic Toll House kind of way. However, the menu notes that it was made by Rise DC, one of our few entirely gluten free bakeries, so I’m giving it a pass by virtue of ingredient limitation.

Ultimately, the food was good and it was nice to find a place that does both a locavore and entirely vegetarian menu. It might not be gluten free enough for somebody with celiac disease, but it was close enough to suit if you’re “gluten sensitive.”

It still wasn’t tacos though.