Eat Like A Native: Culinary enlightenment awaits at Arlington’s ethnic outposts

Posted on May 3, 2013 by nevinmartell

You’ve overdosed on pad Thai, California rolls and kung pao chicken. You’ve eaten your body weight in food-truck burritos. Want to introduce your taste buds to something new and different? How about a lesser-known cuisine, such as Lao or Afghan? Or perhaps one of the mysterious dishes featured only on the non-English menu at that hole-in-the-wall you pass every so often.

In an area where nearly one quarter of residents were born outside the U.S. and public school kids speak 94 languages (per county statistics), authentic ethnic cuisine isn’t hard to find. We sent two of our top food writers on a mission to taste-test the dishes that Americans typically don’t order (but should). Here’s what they recommend.

Ethiopian

Eyo Restaurant and Sports Bar

3821-B South George Mason Drive, Falls Church; 703-933-3084

Always wash your hands before dinner—especially when you’re going to use them instead of a knife and fork. At Eyo, most dishes are served on a bed of slightly sour, spongy Ethiopian injera bread (choose between one made in-house, or an even-tangier option that is flown in daily from Addis Ababa), and the bread serves as your utensils. Rip off a strip, pinch it between your fingers and use it to grab a bit of meat with a dab of lentils. And be sure to let the pocked surface of the flatbread soak up some sauce. It’s hard not to derive a primal pleasure from eating this way, which could be why so many patrons here are smiling as they dig in to their dinners.

Owner Bizuwork Tafesse and his wife, Hiwot Fesseha (who developed the recipes and does some of the cooking), have been offering up generously portioned Ethiopian fare since 2007. As a general rule, Fesseha advises neophytes to start out with the vegetarian combo—a circle of injera bread, topped with mounds of yellow lentils, a citrus-infused cubed tomato salad, stewed cabbage and more. The best bite on the plate is the red lentils amped up with berbere, a traditional spice mix containing chilies, cloves, coriander and other seasonings, which Fesseha hand-imports from her homeland whenever she visits.

Carnivores should move directly on to the tibs, which are slow-cooked beef cubes served in several different stews that vary in spiciness. The awaze tibs dish, served in a rich tomato-based sauce with garlic, jalapeno and berbere, was my favorite. The doro wat—chicken served in a spicy red pepper sauce with a hard-boiled egg—is equally worthy of attention. To beat back the heat, order a St. George beer, a golden lager that’s been brewed in Ethiopia for nearly a century.

Tucked into the Build America plaza in Bailey’s Crossroads, the eatery is outfitted with eight flatscreen televisions, which are usually showing soccer (pardon me, football) games from around the world. During the FIFA World Cup, the sports bar overflows with fans. “It gets a little crazy,” says Fesseha. “People are really into it.”

Sounds like a good excuse to order another round of St. Georges for the table.

Finish reading this article on the Arlington Magazine website now.

Best Restaurants Near DC’s Convention Center

Posted on April 23, 2013 by nevinmartell

After a long, tiring day of crisscrossing Washington, DC’s massive convention center making connections and sealing deals, it’s easy to cop out when it comes to dining out. Resist the temptation to order room service or settle for a familiar fast-food concept. Since you’re smack dab in the middle of the up ‘n’ coming Shaw neighborhood and within walking distance of the bustle of Chinatown and Penn Quarter, there are plenty of fantastic dining options spanning diverse cultures. Whether you’re in the mood for Mediterranean, itching for Italian or have a yen for ramen, or you’re looking to explore the latest cutting-edge cuisine, or just want a stellar sandwich, these top 5 restaurants near DC’s convention center are sure to satisfy.

Daikaya

Two is better than one. Located just a few minutes’ walk away, in nearby Chinatown, this bi-level eatery features a ramen joint on the ground floor and an izakaya (Japanese tavern) above it. The downstairs noodle house is bursting with energy. Pop songs blare, conversations burble and the compact open kitchen hums. There are 4 broth choices for your ramen — classic shoyu, soy-based shio, barley fortified mugi-miso and a surprisingly satisfying vegetarian option.

Boost your bowl with braised pork belly, marinated bamboo, seaweed or a nitamago (soft-boiled egg). If you’d rather enjoy cocktails and small plates instead, climb the stairs to the dimly lit, dark wood-lined second level. For a quick fix, order up and slam down a round of Dai-drops — sake spheres sunken in Sapporo beers. When it comes to dining, grilled oysters dressed with sake, skewers of fried pork and Brussels sprouts and miso-braised mackerel are all good choices.

Finish reading this story on the Travel Channel’s website now.

A Late Bite Out: The night owl’s guide to dining in the Bethesda area

Posted on April 22, 2013 by nevinmartell

The midnight hour is approaching. The movie you went to see has just let out. The show at The Music Center at Strathmore has ended. Or maybe you just wrapped up an intense, late-night workout at the gym. And you’re famished.

Most restaurants shut down their kitchens around 10 p.m., but an increasing number are staying open later these days. That means nighthawks don’t need to settle for cold leftovers at home, fast-food giants or the grab ’n’ go case at the 24-hour CVS. There are plenty of tasty options that span the culinary spectrum—from Caribbean-inspired small plates to Mediterranean favorites to American comfort food. Some are only open late on weekends, but several stay open late most nights. Here, listed in alphabetical order, are a dozen.

8407 Kitchen Bar

8407 Ramsey Ave., Silver Spring, 301-587-8407, 8407kb.com
11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to midnight Friday; 5 p.m. to midnight Saturday; 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday

From open to close, this cut-above neighborhood favorite offers a breakout menu of house-made charcuterie, cheese platters, salads, sandwiches and seafood. Whether you’re stopping by for an intimate tête-à-tête with a friend in the lounge or to mingle with the bar crowd, you can’t go wrong with fan favorites such as flash-fried buttermilk calamari served with a zesty salsa verde ($11), or the Cuban sandwich made with slow-brined roasted pork and pepped with a swipe of chimichurri sauce ($10).

American Tap Room

7278 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, 301-656-1366, americantaproom.com
11:30 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday;
10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday

Diet-be-damned appetizers take center stage at this downtown corner standby. The amended menu—offered from 10 p.m. until close Sundays through Thursdays and from 11 p.m. until close on weekends—includes fried deviled eggs (yes, you read that correctly) with a spicy pepper aioli ($6), and grilled Camembert cheese accompanied by honey-soaked walnuts and toasted bread ($10). This comfort food is an excellent accompaniment for watching the game on one of the many flat screens strategically positioned throughout the restaurant.

Finish reading this story on the Bethesda Magazine website now.

Photo courtesy of Mr Noded via Flickr.

Out of the Kitchen: Local Chefs Playing a Different Tune

Posted on April 6, 2013 by nevinmartell

There’s a natural music in the kitchen—the rhythm of knives, the hum of the meat slicer, the sizzle of the grill. Some chefs keep rocking out after their shifts. These four are just as comfortable playing music as they are wielding a boning knife.

Vikram Sunderam: Chef at Rasika and Rasika West End

Instrument: Tabla, an Indian-style pair of drums.

His learning process: “If I hear something often enough, I can play it.”

Tip for tabla mastery: “You play with your hands, so you have to have skillful fingers.”

Influences: Indian tabla maestros Zakir Hussain and Alla Rakha.

Where he plays now: “I have a tabla set and a drum kit at home, so I definitely keep the neighbors up.”

What he listens to in the kitchen: Pop, rock, Bollywood tunes, Hindi music.

Finish reading this story on Washingtonian‘s Best Bites blog now.

Tapping trees and collecting memories

Posted on April 5, 2013 by nevinmartell

Whenever I think of maple syrup, I smell diesel.

When I was about a year-old in the mid-’70s, my father bought an old farmhouse on a 200-acre stretch of woodlands in Greene, a blip of a town in the far reaches of New York state just northeast of Binghamton. It was an escape from his life in the city, where he owned a European-influenced restaurant and old-fashioned saloon called Martell’s on the Upper East Side.

My father considered himself a pioneer. He planted a sprawling garden, canned many of the vegetables he grew, and fished frequently in all of the ponds that dotted our property. Roaming through the backwoods, he discovered that we owned a wealth of maple trees. He decided to tap them and produce maple syrup, unknowingly in the style of Washington Post essayist Noel Perrin, who chronicled a parallel experience in his 1972 book “Amateur Sugar Maker.”

I began collecting sap with my dad when I was about four. It was always a treat. Mom would bundle me up in a snowsuit, help me pull on my moon boots, clip gloves to my sleeves, and top me off with a hand- knit cap before turning me over to my father’s care. He would get out the tractor, attach the trailer with the large basin for sap collection, and plunk me down on the seat in front of him so I could pretend to drive. Turning on the tractor, the engine kicked out the deep, slightly intoxicating scent of diesel.

There were no roads, so my father created his own muddy pathways by rumbling through the snow banks. The leafless branches would sometimes close in overhead, while the trees crowded around us. It felt like we were travelling through the walls of a bird’s nest. We would keep an eye out for maples, stopping when we came upon a cluster. In those days, you had to hand drill the holes into the trunks before you could hammer in the spouts and finally hang the buckets. Considering that it takes just under 50 gallons of sap to produce a single gallon of maple syrup, we had to tap a lot of trees. That was just the first step.

Finish reading this essay on the American Food Roots website now.

Beuchert’s Saloon’s Second Act: A shuttered speakeasy goes farm-to-table

Posted on April 3, 2013 by nevinmartell

A pair of bison heads gaze out from behind the gray marble bar running down the left side of Beuchert’s Saloon. That’s Mike on the left and Ike on the right. The surrounding decor at this newly opened Capitol Hill eatery and bar is equally turn-of-the-century. Wooden stools clack when pulled back on the oaken floorboards; acid-stained mirrors reflect hazy images; and pounded tin stands in for wallpaper in the front room. Custom-designed light fixtures in the style of the Progressive era cast a warm sepia tone.

The saloon’s history stretches back to the late 1800s, when prominent local businessman John Ignatius Beuchert opened the doors. During the Prohibition era, the space was converted into a gramophone shop fronting for a speakeasy. After the 21st Amendment was passed, it became a bar-restaurant again, until its closure in 1935.

Now Beuchert’s Saloon has been revived and reimagined by three partners—Brendan McMahon, Nathan Berger and August Paro. The latter is a former Hollywood set builder with credits on Dr. Dre videos and TV dramas, so he oversaw the design and decoration.

“We wanted it to have a little sex appeal,” says Paro. “There are no televisions here because that’s not what this place is. We wanted people to feel like they had stepped into a time machine.”

Finish reading this story on the DC Modern Luxury website now.

Washington Post’s Good To Go: House of Steep

Posted on March 13, 2013 by nevinmartell

Most eateries have a place to sit down while your takeout order is being prepared. It’s exceedingly rare that a foot bath is recommended to help pass the time. But that’s what happens at House of Steep, which opened last September in Arlington.

The narrow space offers something of a triple play: teahouse and cafe in the front, “foot sanctuary” in the back. The concept was developed by 31-year-old Arlingtonian Lyndsey DePalma, who says she was inspired by her great-grandmother. “She soaked her feet every day, lived to a ripe old age, was healthy as a horse and had a happy life,” DePalma says. “So I thought there might be something to the whole foot soaking business.”

You can choose from more than 40 teas — including nearly a dozen house blends — at one of the six tables, at the two-seat counter or while your feet are relaxing. I enjoyed a steaming mug of the house’s Clarity tea (cup, $4.50; pot, $6). Made with ginkgo and juniper berries, it arrived with the faint whiff of Christmas. However, it was much milder and more earthen than its aroma let on. Accompanied by a timer for personal-preference steeping and a one-bite, leaf-shaped lavender cookie, it was the perfect sip on a cold winter’s day.

Finish reading this review on the Washington Post website now.

Photo courtesy of House of Steep.