Jelyna's Profile
Asian desserts...why don't I like them?
Chocolate is a bean too. Lots of people scratching their head about "beans" (aka savory food) being in Asian food, but coffee and chocolate are beans too.
Really love grass jelly, almond jello, egg tarts, yokan, and especially mooncakes! I'm Asian American and can't really digest milky, creamy things. So i'd rather have beans mixed with lard than beans mixed with cream.
Advice for a visitor (especially for lunch and late-night eats)
i second Brasserie Beck, they have a late night happy hour 10pm to closing Thur, Fri, and Sat. The Belgian beers AND raw bar (best in city) 1/2 off. Nice bartenders (been comped a few times) and nearby.
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Brasserie Beck
1101 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
all u can drink brunch?
Fusion (upscale Indian with fresh buffet) in Petworth has unlimited mimosas.
Ja Jang Myun in Annandale
Forget ja jang myun...champ bong or jamp bong at choong woon hwa (behind popeyes on john marr) is the noodle dish to get. It is a spicy chili broth with wheat noodles, seafood, bamboo shoots and cucumbers.
You also get complimentary little dishes once you sit down. One is pickled daikon and the other is raw onion with the black bean sauce from Ja Jang Myun. The raw onion and sauce is enough for me to get the concentrated taste of ja jang myun without having the whole bland bowl.
i wish champ bong would become the new pho!!
lupini beans???
Got some at a gourmet store w/ olive oil, shallots, and rosemary. So delicious.
Best thin crust pizza in the DC area
Might be an odd pick, but Potenza (downtown DC) has the thinnest crust I've ever eaten. If the crust is bent, it can crack like a cracker.
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Potenza
1430 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
Eating near DC Convention Center on a student budget
El Rinconcito at 11th and M. Try pupusas, excellent seafood soup, or whole fried fish for $12. So good.
Taylor gourmet just opened at City Vista (5th and K). Although they're sandwhiches (yuck) they're 'gourmet' with Italian ingredients like mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, etc.
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Rinconcito Cafe
1129 11th St NW Ste Lowr, Washington, DC 20001
Foodie daughter turning 21 and we're celebrating in Washington
As an Asian-American who has lived in DC for 3 years, my recommendation would be to skip Chinese food here. Go with Ethiopian (Etete) or Middle Eastern (Neyla, Lebanese Taverna). If you -really- want Asian food, go for Korean BBQ in the suburbs OR Vietnamese noodles (pho) in Arlington.
Lobster Rolls
I doubt there will be a lobster roll less than $20 in DC, but Tabard Inn had one on the menu and my dining companion said it was excellent. Anybody try the rolls at Tabard Inn?
A&J Restaurant, Rockville
My favorite is the beef noodle soup with extra pickled mustard greens as a condiment. The Rockville and Southern California locations have the exact same menu, server uniforms, wall decorations, dishes, etc. I haven't been to the Annandale one.
The Unique Foodie Experience
First off, I'm not sure what "atypical" is to you, but....here are some suggestions:
-Eel, most Japanese places have this "Una Don" dish.
-Ostrich - I've only seen this at farmers markets in DC, not at restaurants.
-Pigeon (squab), not -that- unusual, but for some it could be.
-Wild board is pretty tasty. Dino has a pasta dish with it.
- Eat a "live" shrimp at a sushi bar (many sushi chefs did this in So. California). Traditional places probably won't do this, but fusion or sushi bars more focused on drinking might.
- I whole heartedly second trying ma-la (spicy numbing) intestines at a Chinese restaurant, specifically Bob's 66. SO good! I heard the spicy peppercorns were once illegal in the US.
-Sea snails are so good. Get the sea snails cold in a spicy marinade. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to get this outside of Asia and So. California.
- Eat fish eyeballs, supposedly they're good for you (according to my grandmother). Personally, I think they're a novelty thing to eat because they don't add much to a meal.
-Fugu! Blowfish is a delicacy (and potentially poisonous) and is probably hard to find in the US, but it is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten! When eaten raw, it tastes like a cross between amebi and lobster, so sweet and delicate in flavor.
- Scuttle jerky (squid jerky). You can find this at H-mart. If you don't like "fishy" things, then you definitely won't like this. Fish jerky is good too, as well as something called in English: pork floss. It's pork jerky that's shredded into a dry moss like consistency.
And if your adventure includes non-animals:
- Try a durian boba drink. Durian is a very pungent tropical fruit - I have heard it is banned in public buildings in Asian countries. There must be other places that have durian, but the only place I know of is in Chinatown on 6th street called Pho Saigon and Grill.
- Try wood ear. It's a tasty fungus that looks like the cap of a thin black mushroom. It usually comes in asian noodle soups or stir fries.
-Bitter Melon, try it at a Chinese restaurant. It's very bitter, yet tasty, but looks like a cucumber with a million warts.
- Shirataki noodles. It's grey with black flecks in it and is made of yam.
Where in the DC area can I get great Liver and Onions
Bistro D'oc around Penn Quarter has a great liver dish.
Best and Worst for DC Restaurant Week - Master LIst
I have to disagree with Rosa Mexicano being on the 'avoid' list. Although the RW menu has fewer choices than others, the dishes I got were delicious. The best course was the dessert, which was a flan with coconut cake at the bottom. It was soooo good, the coconut twist added great flavors. The fish I ate had a great latin-y tasting spice rub on it. The filet was thick and wasn't overcooked and the fried plantains were a bonus. No, the tableside made guacamole was on the RW menu, but 2 people had to order one guac. dish to not inccur up-charges. Yes, that's kinda lame, but the guac. dish tastes lame anyways. I ordered some and there wasn't enough avocado, and too much onion, and i prefer my guac a little more blended, i guess. OTHERWISE, I was able to walk in on a Wed. of restaurant week and be seated immediately when i walked in at 8:30pm. That ain't bad.
Best and Worst for DC Restaurant Week - Master LIst
Oyamel is one of my favorites. The salad with beets, heart of palm, and sour orange, (along with some other stuff, I forget) is really good. I enjoy that there are tacos on the menu. My favorite is the pork one with crispy pork rinds. The seafood soup is really good with avocado. I always get horchata and the juice bar always has top quality drinks.
