Meatless Monday: New York

While in New York this weekend, I revisited Quartino Bottega Organica for dinner. I knew the food was organic, but didn't realize the restaurant was nearly meatless (they only served fish). So if you are visiting New York on Meatless Monday, this is definitely a place to add to your itinerary.  

The menu was creative and used fresh, organic ingredients. The pear, arugula, and parmesan salad was delicious, while the wheat fettuccine with artichoke hearts, pine nuts, and spinach made me wish I lived next door.  The wine was organic and quite good. The service wasn't as friendly as I remembered, but our waitress was attentive and helpful. The only downside was the noise level in conjunction with the close proximity of the tables.  My friend and I left the restaurant knowing far more than we ever wanted to about the girl sitting next to us.

A Belated Meatless Monday: A Sweet Respite

Yesterday was one of those days. So much so that I didn’t get a chance to post my weekly Meatless Monday blog until Tuesday. But there was a bright spot in my day and it was meatless, though not necessarily super healthy. I was rushing off to a lunch meeting in Crystal City when I passed the Sweetbites cupcake truck. Food trucks are all the rage right now, but working mostly in Arlington or McLean, I don’t see them too often. Luckily Sweetbites was still around after my meeting. Their chocolate coconut cupcake got me through the afternoon. The frosting tasted like a sweet whipped cream with coconut. Maybe it was the circumstances in which I ate the cupcake (it was the only escape from a crazy day), but it may have been the best chocolate coconut cupcake I’ve eaten in this town. Needless to say, I’ll be back next Monday. If you’re in Arlington, here are the deets:

Sweetbites Cupcake Truck
Mondays 10am – 3pm
Crystal Drive and 18th Street

To follow the truck in the city, check out its calendar!

Want to get your weekend off to a good start without feeling like a sardine?

Last Friday, a friend and I were looking for a chill place with great cocktails that wasn't packed. Everywhere we tried was crowded and noisy. One place (Churchkey) even smelled like a beer-soaked frat house. Not encouraging.

We'd heard good things about Dickson Wine Bar and headed in that direction after the traumatic frat party flashback. Dickson was exactly what we wanted. There were enough people to give the place some life, but it wasn't like riding the metro during rush hour. The ambiance was nice - the space was open with the top floor overlooking the main floor and facing a huge window.

We settled into seats on the loft overlooking the main dining area and started to review the menu. The cocktail and wine lists were impressive; both lived up to expectations. Our server was friendly and unpretentious, making excellent recommendations without being overbearing. The food was as good as the drinks. We ordered two flatbreads: fig /goat cheese and prosciutto / arugula / goat cheese.  Both were amazing, but what impressed us the most was the side salad. I have never tasted spinach and greens so fresh.  Never in my life did I think I would see the day when a salad eclipsed flatbreads (with goat cheese no less), but against all odds, it happened.

In short, Dickson Wine Bar is the perfect place to start your weekend.

What could be better than starting your
weekend off with a bourbon drink
at Dickson?

Can whoopie pies hold their own in this cupcake town?

Could anything be better than a cupcake? Some things, like Derby pie, come close, but nothing else can at once be delicious, cute, nostalgic, and give the illusion of portion control.

Until now. Whoopie pies are popping up in high-end bakeries and groceries around the city. They retain the quirky, bite-size nature of a cupcake, but offer a completely different dessert experience.

Thanks to metrocurean, I found out about Whoops! Bakeshop and started following them on Twitter @WhoopsBakeshop, where they announce when they will be selling whoopie pies at local venues.  Not long after, we headed to Mid City Caffe to see if Whoops! would live up to the hype.

Vanilla Chocolate and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In spite of appearance, whoopie pies are not cupcakes with frosting in the middle. The cakes are tasty and are somewhere between a cupcake and a cookie in consistency, which gives them the strength to keep the pie together instead of crumbling underneath the weight of the icing.  Whoops! icing was delicious and a nice change from the frosting-on-the-top setup. The overall effect was a perfectly proportioned dessert that was sweet and satisfying. I honestly can't  say I like whoopie pies more than cupcakes, but they are equally as impressive.

Meatless Monday: My New Obsession

Tofu scares me. It always has. The consistency is slimy and looks like opaque Jell-o. I’ve avoided tofu like the plague. In an effort to branch out and challenge myself on Meatless Monday, I recently tried Pad Thai Tofu. The consistency was unexpectedly good, probably because the tofu was fried. It had a sweet taste, adding to the flavor of the peanut sauce and fresh herbs far more than chicken. I can’t stop ordering this dish. I would eat it every day if I could. My obsession is that bad.
This experience proved to me that in the right dish, tofu can be delicious. If I ever stop eating Pad Thai Tofu, perhaps I will be able to try and recommend other delicious tofu dishes. In the meantime, I have some Pad Thai to heat up.

Meatless Mondays: Healthier Cupcakes

Cupcakes are glorious, but not exactly the epitome of healthy living. This has never stopped me, but when I read Have your (Less Sinful) Cupcake, I was inspired to try a new take on my favorite food.

The recommended recipes were intriguing, and I thought it would be worthwhile to try one. I chose Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting, which was simple to make. The cake recipe doesn't have butter, and the result was a light-tasting and very banana flavored cupcake.

The frosting calls for almond milk, confectioner's sugar, and dark chocolate.  

The end result is delicious, meatless, and healthier - perfect for Meatless Monday.

How a disappointing brunch at Montmartre was salvaged by Crepes at the Market...

Some friends and I heard that some of the best crepes in town were at Montmartre in Eastern Market, so we headed there for brunch. After ordering a round of mimosas, we looked at the menu. There were only three crepes on the menu and two of the three had Swiss cheese. The menu explicitly said "No Substitutions," but my friend is allergic to Swiss cheese asked if it could be left out of the crepe. The waiter said no, explaining that we had to respect the chef. He suggested that my friend try the vegetable crepe without Swiss cheese. But that crepe didn't sound nearly as good. While I agree that the chef should be able to set the menu, I cannot excuse a restaurant that doesn't accommodate food allergies!

We left disappointed and crepeless.

Fortunately, Crepes at the Market saved the day.  With reasonable prices and an extensive menu of sweet and savory crepes, our brunch was salvaged.  After a ham, apple,  cheese savory crepe and a delicious banana, strawberry, Nutella crepe Montmartre was a distant memory.