Ms Foodie goes to Washington

RRR & I spent this weekend in DC. Not much on our agenda except having some great meals in our nation's capital. The Jay-Z trip was a bit of a whirlwind and I've really forgotten how much I love this city!

We started Friday evening with a return visit to Urbana. RRR had read about it in Bon Appetit magazine (she didn't read my review!) and I loved the pizza so much I figured it would merit a second trip, plus I was hoping to re-evaluate the poor service on my initial trip. The restaurant wasn't nearly as crowded as it was on my previous visit with Ev-O and although we had a reservation, we bellied up to the pizza bar to watch the masters at work.

Our meal consisted of: chicken pesto pizza, beef short rib ravioli, and zucchini with feta. Once again the pizza was the standout item and the pasta was a bit disappointing. The service was better on this trip, however, the restaurant wasn't nearly as busy. For future visits, I would suggest sharing two pizzas and a side or delving into one of the entrees - pass on the pasta. Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice (you know how it goes).

On Saturday, after an educational but somber trip to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, we ventured into Old Town Alexandria where there were some Christmas festivities planned to raise our spirits. After strolling the streets and taking in the sights, we decided to have lunch at the Vietnamese fusion restaurant, Non La.

Lunch consisted of: perfectly crispy and deliciously flavorful shrimp & crabmeat eggrolls (not greasy at all!), spicy grilled tenderloin pork with diced peanuts, chopped romaine and vermicelli noodles, and chicken pho in a salty fish broth with mint, basil leaves, sprouts, chili peppers and lime. The accompanying herbs & veggies came in a side dish and we needed to assemble the soup reminding us of our final dinner in Paris. What a great trip down memory lane!

What I love about Vietnamese cooking is how everything is seasoned and flavorful yet still maintains what I can only call a freshness to the meats, veggies, noodles, whatever is in the dish. Awesome!

We made two pit stops - one at a local homemade ice cream shop where the pecan bourbon ice cream was insane! and at the Starbuck's marketing machine... a stand on the waterfront where they were giving out samples of their rich peppermint hot chocolate. I hate their coffee, but the hot chocolate is the bomb (and I'm sure a calorie 'bomb' as well!)
And because the food train never stops, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. After numerous debates we decided to hit Zaytinya and decided we'd better get reservations at the Blue Duck Tavern on our next visit.

Zaytina, a Greek Mediterranean tapas restaurant with star DC chef Jose Andres at the helm, was no lame runner-up. The bar was hopping and after downing a few cocktails we were seated and the dining began. I must say I got a little too carried away with all the tapas that pictures were limited - sorry! Here's how our tapas-feast went down:

Spanakopita: spinach & feta in phyllo - this rendition looked more like eggrolls than traditional spanakopita, light on the spinach, heavy on the flavor

Imam Bayildi: Ottoman-style roasted eggplant stuffed with onions and tomatoes - a dish that somehow managed to be sweet and creamy at the same time. Roasted peppers perhaps?

Keftedes: ground lamb & beef with roasted garlic yogurt sauce - this one fell short, the yogurt was delicious rich and creamy but the meat was more hamburger than anything else.

Filet of Bronzini with Santorini: crispy seared bronzini with a tomato caper stew - perfection!

Not being able to decide whether to continue on the savory path, we went with down the sweet road. I enjoyed a delicious Warre white port and RRR had a semi-sweet "teeth coating" Turkish coffee. For anyone who's ever had Turkish coffee and seen the grounds that remain in your cup, you'll know what I'm talking about!

For desserts we shared the Turkish Delight (background in pic): walnut ice cream with Skotidakis Farm goat's milk yogurt mousse, honey gelee, orange-caramel sauce and carmelized pine nuts which was so different than many desserts I've had in the past and heavenly is the only way to describe it.

We also had the Turkish Coffee Chocolate cake (foreground in pic): warm chocolate cake, bittersweet chocolate flan, and cardamom espuma finished with espresso syrup. As much as I adore chocolate this one didn't do it for me - I am starting to think I have a distaste for cardamom but this dessert was not as unique to my tastebuds as the Turkish delight.

After crashing the holiday party which was in full swing at our hotel when we returned from dinner, we decided to call it a night.

This marathon of eating made both of us wake us ravenously hungry and we went to Martin's Tavern in Georgetown for a bit of history and some brunch! Unfortunately, I forgot Kenny-Pooh's crab cake recommendation and opted for eggs, applewood smoked bacon and potatoes with peppers and onions. RRR chose a delicious turkey club and eventually we realized that we were sitting in the JFK/Jackie Bouvier "proposal booth" where JFK popped the question. Our neighbors at the "Nixon booth" was not as pleased with his seating and in an absurd moment asked to be seated at a different table. Poor Tricky Dick - he can't even catch a break at a local institution. Hopefully Nixon's favorite dish, the meatloaf gets some leniency...