Bistro L’Hermitage

In the beginning of the month, I got to experience Bistro L’Hermitage, a charming French restaurant in Woodbridge, VA. It is a quaint, elegant restaurant with a warm, inviting atmosphere, polite service, and flavorful foods.

For an appetizer, i chose the lobster bisque with cherry cream, otherwise known as the bisque de homard. It was creamy and very tasty. The lobster was accented and the sherry cream added a nice pop to the overall soup. For dinner, I ordered the magret de canard, which is roasted duck breast with braised red cabbage, celery root puree, and cherry thyme sauce. The duck was neatly cut into thin strips and was so flavorful. Combined with the cabbage, puree, and sauce, the overall dish was absolutely delectable. The portion was just right too, as Baby Bear would have desired.

Highly recommend this restaurant. I’ve been wanting to go for awhile, and it lives up to its reputation.

Bon appétit!

Range by Bryan Voltaggio

Last month, I got to try Bryan Voltaggio’s newest restaurant in Friendship Heights, Washington, D.C. I’ve never been to his highly popular and highly rated restaurant Volt, but if Range is indicative of even a eighth of his food at Volt, then Volt is one heck of a restaurant.

I read some of the Yelp reviews about Range and some of the complaints are frankly ridiculous. One person complained that the decor resembled something like a school cafeteria. If Range looks like a school cafeteria to that person, I wish I could have gone to that school. This place is trendy and great for groups. If you’re looking for a more intimate, Valentine’s Day-esque romantic restaurant, Range is probably not your scene. But it’s got a great bar and even better food.

I ordered Beyond the Pale, which is a blended Irish whiskey, aperol, St. Germain, lemon, and egg white cocktail. Very tasty. Our table got a tasting of all hams, the bakers basket and spreads, the cheese plate, and tasting of dry cure meats to start. Next, we ordered beef shin with carrots and red wine, the sturgeon, kimchi linguini, and a few other side dishes I don’t even remember at this point because there was just SO MUCH FOOD.

All in all, a fantastic meal with quality service. Bryan Voltaggio, you did it again.

Bon appétit!

The City that Never Sleeps, Part II

Last weekend, I took a short, but glorious trip to the City that Never Sleeps again. New York City is one of the best places to go for a food aficionado. While I am not keen on moving to NYC, sometimes I think the food itself could get me to stay. Maybe that’s why everyone stays.

Little Serow Sorrow

Most unfortunately, this was the most disappointing meal I’ve had in DC to date.

I’ve been wanting to go to Little Serow for awhile now and finally got the chance to go last month. Concept of this restaurant is that it’s a set menu, $45 per person, for a 6 course meal.

Foodgasmic potluck

Some pretty food porn from recent restaurant outings/foodgasms:

Chocolate lava cake with a molten chocolate center of Belgian chocolate, served with vanilla ice cream, chopped pistachios, and topped with raspberries at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.

I hate the term ‘foodie’ and am not one

Read this: Why I Hate the Word Foodie. Great piece and I totally agree. The term ‘foodie’ has lost its meaning. Now anyone who takes Instagram pictures of food they bought or “made” (aka cake mix) is a foodie.

It has been waaaaaaay too long since my last post. I’d like to blame all the good food around me and my inability of writing posts to keep up with my mouth. Instead of writing detailed posts of all the restaurants I’ve been to in the last 3 months, I present a bullet list with key notes for easy viewing.

• Taqueria Poblano – Mexican food, obviously. Tacos are delish here. You can get hard or soft depending on  your choice. LA-style crispy taco: $3.95. Baja fish taco: $4.50. Shrimp taco: $5.50. Duck carnitas: $5.50.
• Temari Japanese Cafe – Had their ramen. Pretty good, but I like Ren’s better. Green tea mochi ice cream was yummy.
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House – I ordered a petite filet and it was the perfect size. They cooked it to perfection. So very juicy and delicious. Also great view of D.C.
• Dogwood Tavern – An old American pub/tavern sort of restaurant. Went there for a late night dinner. Had their dogwood chicken sandwich, which was alright.
• Blue Duck Tavern – Came here for brunch. Had their eggs florentine. Cute brunch spot.
• The Hamilton – Sushi platter was really good. Try their Hamilton sushi platter. 10 pieces of sushi, 9 pieces of sashimi, and fire dragon rolls (spicy tuna eel, avocado, smelt roe, and scallion).
• Toki Underground – Ramen! Cheap, but really solid. I had their Toki Hakata Classic.
• Paradise Springs Winery – Cute little winery in Clifton. You can do a tasting of their entire flight of wines for just $10 and get a complimentary wine glass too.
• Kafe Leopold – My favorite brunch spot in D.C. Everything I’ve had there has been delicious. I really like their melange espresso with foam and cocoa powder.
• Vermilion – Yummmm, North Carolina berkshire pork with farro salad and buttermilk blue, blackberries, and pickled mustard seeds.

Also, please follow me on Instagram! I take pictures of food (but am not a foodie! I just like taking pictures of pretty food) and other miscellaneous places/things. My username is – can you guess? – alicelily.

Bon appétit!

Cake cake cake cake cake

Contrary to Rihanna and Chris Breezy’s duet, it was my birthday!

My closest friends helped celebrate my 23rd birthday with a trip to Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, this oyster joint in Logan Circle. The wait was pretty long (Pearl Dive doesn’t take reservations) – about an hour – so we hit up the bar first for a round of drinks. Once we got a large table, we ordered an appetizer of mussels to share: Addie’s Mussels, with garlic, shallots, fumet (food stock added to sauces to enhance flavors), butter, lemon, and grilled baguettes. Ordered a large plate of oysters to share too, with an oyster selection from Rhode Island, the Chesapeake Bay, and California – East Coast and West Coast representation!