For New Year’s, I went up to New York City, where I affirmed I am a city girl through and through. NYC was particularly bustling with people, mostly tourists who came to the Big Apple to see the ball drop for the new year. It was a spectacular treat getting to wander around NYC, in Central Park, Riverside Park, midtown Manhattan, Times Square, and Queens. It was an even bigger treat to sample some of NYC’s food!

First up was this quaint Italian restaurant called Pazza Notte. It’s located on 6th Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The restaurant was, of course, super busy on New Year’s Eve, but we were able to squeeze in a little table by the window. We ordered an appetizer of calamari fritti, which is hand-battered calamari, served with marinara sauce and tarter dip. I had the spaghetti alla bolognese for the main course, classic Italian spaghetti with a special-kick meat sauce. Delicious! Beats any spaghetti dish I ever made, that’s for sure.

Spaghetti Alla Bolognese

On New Year’s Day, I was able to sample for the first time, Gray’s Papaya hot dogs! I heard about Gray’s Papaya way back when I was 11 or 12, having watched multiple rom com movies that mentioned the famous NYC hot dogs. Even though I’ve been to NYC more times than the number of fingers I have, I’ve never tried Gray’s Papaya hot dogs. There are two locations, one on 8th Street and the other on 72nd Street. Went to the one on 72nd Street on the Upper West Side. Gray’s Papaya is famous for their high-quality hot dogs and the papaya fruit drinks for which their restaurant is named after. Ordered the “recession special” – two Gray’s Papaya hot dogs and a fruit drink (chose the famous papaya drink). Gray’s Papaya is as great a landmark as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. These hot dogs are better than any hot dogs you might find from street vendors (not to mention cheaper too). I had sauerkraut and onions added to my hot dogs, doused on some ketchup, and gobbled down the hot dogs like they were chocolates.I challenge anyone to find me a better hot dog.

Gray's Papaya on 72nd Street

Gray's Papaya Recession Special

Afterwards, we stumbled upon this cute cupcakery called Red Velvet Westside Bakery, located on 72nd Street on the Upper West Side. Homemade, old-fashioned desserts? Yes, please! We ordered two red velvet cupcakes. It was the first time I’d ever seen or eaten a red velvet cupcake with sprinkles on top, and it was good :) I love finding cupcakeries, especially ones that are not so mainstream, because more often than not, the way these dessert entrepreneurs make their sweets is truly homemade, unique, and delectable.

Red Velvet Westside Bakery

Red velvet cupcake

I also was able to sample some Chinese cuisine. On a tip from my mother, we went to Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant in midtown. Joe’s is famous for their soup dumplings and made fresh to order. These soup dumplings are simply outstanding and I couldn’t get enough of them. You know there are people who actually make specific trips to NYC just to eat these soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant? Crazy! We also ordered two main courses of double cooked pork and dry sautéed shredded beef with hot sauce, along with our appetizer of soup dumplings (6).

What an amazing trip! I loved it all – the food, the sights, the places. Of course, what else can you expect from one of the most bubbling cities in the world? NYC is home to some of the most diverse and finest cuisine and restaurants in the world. Even the street food looks more appetizing than the food trucks of D.C. Calzones, gyros, stromboli, pizza, souvlaki, soft pretzels, fried noodles, and grilled chestnuts over expensive $8 cheesesteaks (which admittedly is good, does not do NYC street food justice)? Hell to the yes!

Bon appétit!

I ordered a little devil burger (1/3 lb), grilled (seasoned with their secret steak blend) medium, with pepper jack, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, sherry sautéed mushrooms, and Ray’s Heck Sauce.

Ray's Hell Burger - Little Devil burger

Oh em gee. So so delicious! I was starving and this burger did the trick.  The meat was wonderfully juicy, the guacamole was like icing on top of cake, and the condiments complimented each part of the burger so well. As Marshall Eriksen from How I Met Your Mother said in the “The Best Burger in New York” episode,

…swirling in your mouth breaking apart and combining again in a fugue of sweets and savor so delightful. This is no mere sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread.

The Little Devil burger with guacamole

This burger was amazing. I love guacamole burgers and this guacamole was really delicious; this burger was much better than the guacamole burger I made back in college.

Georgetown Cupcake: chocolate peppermint, white chocolate peppermint, and holiday lava fudge

After we ate lunch and explored DC for a bit, we went to Georgetown Cupcake. I restrained myself and only got 3 cupcakes: chocolate peppermint, white chocolate peppermint, and holiday lava fudge.

The chocolate peppermint is Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a peppermint-infused Callebaut chocolate ganache icing topped with crushed peppermint candies, the white chocolate peppermint is white Callebaut chocolate peppermint-infused cupcake covered with a candy-cane striped white chocolate buttercream frosting, and the holiday lava fudge is a Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a rich fudge core covered with a vanilla icing, a fudge star drizzle, and a green star fondant Christmas tree.

Cupcake box - cute reindeer sticker!

I loved the holiday lava fudge cupcake! My parents ate the other two; according to my mom, the white chocolate peppermint cupcake wasn’t that great, but my dad loved the chocolate peppermint one, so it evens out?

On a last foodie note,

Pesto cavatappi with grilled chicken

Yum, right? Absolutely.

Bon appétit!

Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes!

Yes that’s right, Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes all the way from New York! For those not in the know, Baked by Melissa is a cupcakery based out of New York City, famous for their bite-sized cupcakes. Here, there are 25 cupcakes. Flavors include: mint chocolate chip, tie-dye, cookies & cream, cookie dough, peanut butter cup, cinnamon, peanut butter and jelly, red velvet, chocolate chip panache, s’mores, and the mini of the month: snow covered pretzel.

I love how they are bite-sized, although that certainly got me in trouble and I managed to eat them all in one sitting (with some help of course). Delicious, delicious, delicious. I loved them all, but my favorites were the red velvet, cookies & cream, chocolate chip panache, s’mores, and the mint-chocolate chip. I liked the snow covered pretzel too; I thought that was very creative and I’ve never seen that in another cupcakery before.

Baked by Melissa In Chocolate: 3 mini cupcakes dipped in chocolate

These were three mini cupcakes, cookie dough, tie-dye, and cookies & cream, that were dipped in chocolate and came in a cute rectangular box.

Cookies & cream: chocolate cake, chocolate cookie filling, vanilla icing, chocolate cookie topping

Tie-dye: vanilla cake, vanilla icing, rainbow sugar crystal topping

Cookie dough: yellow cake, cookie dough filling, chocolate icing, cookie dough topping

In addition to cupcakes, I found a very cute tea shop in Penn Quarter (near Archives metro stop) in DC.

Jasmine green tea and chocolate silk cake

Teaism is a tea house/restaurant in Washington, D.C. They are located in 3 locations: Dupont Circle, Lafayette Park, and Penn Quarter. The one I made it to was the one in Penn Quarter (after finding out the one at Lafayette Park wasn’t open on Saturdays).

Ordered the jasmine green tea ($3.50/1 small pot) and a chocolate silk cake with pecan crust, served with cinnamon gelato ($5.25). The tea was very good, especially that day because it was really cold outside. The decor of the restaurant was intimate and cute, just the way I always picture tea shops to look like, and it was decorated with festive lights too for the holidays. Sat by a window and people-watched holiday shoppers, visitors, and inhabitants alike.

I loved both the cupcakes from Baked by Melissa and the tea/dessert from Teaism. 5 stars to both places!

Bon appétit!

I ordered this appetizing seafood dish called the Seafood Combination in Bird’s Nest (it’s under Chef’s Specialties on the menu). The dish includes sea scallops, jumbo shrimp, and calamari stir-fried with vegetables like broccoli and carrots, all for $23.95. It was really good, stir-fried to perfection, each piece of seafood hot and cooked just right.

Seafood Combination in Bird's Nest from Tony Cheng's

Review – Tony Cheng’s Restaurant: ★★★★★

Another time, I went to a Vietnamese restaurant with a friend of mine. This restaurant, located in Clarendon, is called Nam-Viet. I ordered the Nam-Viet lemongrass chicken (Ga Xa) for $12.35, which consisted of tender chunks of chicken mixed in the restaurant’s homemade sweet marinade and lemongrass, served with steamed rice. I liked the sauce; it was sweet, but not too sweet and it made the chicken not too dry (I’m not a fan of dry chicken or turkey). The rice balanced it all out nicely too.

Nam-Viet Lemongrass Chicken

Review – Nam-Viet: ★★★★

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Georgetown Cupcake again. This time, I ordered half a dozen cupcakes, including their seasonal flavors, pumpkin spice and caramel apple. I loved the pumpkin spice, which had a maple-infused cream cheese frosting and the most adorable maple leaf fondant topping. I also ordered my usual favorites, red velvet and chocolate ganache.

Pumpkin spice cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake

I would love to visit again in December. They have white chocolate peppermint, chocolate peppermint, gingerbread, and cinnamon spice. They also make Hanukkah cupcakes and New Year’s Eve cupcakes in December!

Review – Goergetown Cupcake cupcakes: ★★★★★

Bon appétit!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pasta, such as linguine
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (I used breasts), cut into 1-in. cubes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tbsp. chopped thyme
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Heat water in a large pot for the pasta. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the package.
2. Prepare the chicken by cleaning it and cutting it into cubes. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
3. Heat olive oil in skillet on medium high.
4. Add chicken pieces, spreading them out and not stirring them initially to give them a chance to brown.
5. Once lightly browned on one side, flip chicken pieces to the other side to cook. When both sides are browned, remove chicken from skillet to a plate.
6. Deglaze the skillet with white wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
7. Add the cream, thyme, lemon zest, honey, salt, and pepper.
8. Reduce the sauce by half again.
9. Drain pasta and add to cream sauce when the sauce has been reduced by half and is thick enough to coat a spoon.
10. Add chicken to pasta and sauce. Add salt and pepper if desired.

Chicken Pasta with Thyme Cream Sauce

It was pretty tasty! The sauce was really delicious and went well with the chicken. This is an easy recipe and doesn’t take much time to cook at all. Great for those days when you come home from work and don’t want to cook something too complicated, but don’t want to resort to frozen dinners.

Bon appétit!

1. Store spices in a cool, dark place. Do not store above your stove, as humidity, light, and heat can cause spices and herbs to lose flavor (Rick Tramonto).
2. Cook pasta one minute less than the package instructions say and cook it the rest of the way in the pan with sauce (Mario Batali).
3. After working with garlic, rub your hands furiously on a stainless steel sink for 30 seconds before washing them. It will remove the odor (Gerard Craft).
4. If you discover that you need more oil in the pan when sautéing, add it in a stream along the edges of the pan so that by the time the oil reaches where the ingredients are being cooked, it will be heated (Anita Lo).
5. When chopping herbs, throw a little salt on the cutting board; it will prevent herbs from flying around (Joanne Chang).
6. To make a great sandwich, spread the mayo from corner to corner on the bread (Roy Choi).
7. For best results when baking, leave butter and eggs at room temperature overnight (Ina Garten).
8. Recipes are only a guideline, not the Bible. Feel comfortable replacing ingredients with similar ingredients that you like (Alex Seidel).
9. Taste as you go (Anne Burrell).
10. Anytime you are using raw onions in a salsa and you are not going to eat that salsa in the next 20 minutes or so, be sure to rinse the diced onions under cold running water first, then blot dry. This will rid them of sulfurous gas that can ruin fresh salsa. It’s really important in guacamole, too (Mark Miller).
11. Do not use oil in the water when boiling pasta: It will keep the sauce from sticking to the cooked pasta (Missy Robbins).
12. When you’re browning meat, you should blot the surface dry with a paper towel so the meat doesn’t release moisture when it hits the hot oil. Too much moisture makes the meat steam instead of sear, and you will lose that rich brown crust (Charlie Palmer).
13. Always use sharp knives. Not only is it safer but it will make your work much more efficient (April Bloomfield).
14. Plunge vegetables in ice water after blanching (boiling) them so they maintain a bright color (Maria Hines).
15. Don’t overcrowd the pan when you’re sautéing — it’ll make your food steam instead (Ryan Poli).
16. Always measure what you’re baking. No shortcuts in pastry: It’s a science (Francois Payard).
17. To optimize the juice you get from a lemon or lime, roll it hard under your palm for a minute before juicing (Patricia Yeo).
18. When a recipe calls for zest, instead of grating it into a separate container or onto parchment paper, hold the zester over the mixing bowl and zest directly onto the butter or cream. The aromatic citrus oils that are sprayed into the bowl will give the dessert a zesty finish (Pichet Ong).
19. Make sure the handle of your sauté pan is turned away from you so you don’t hit it and knock it off the stove. It happens all the time (Jonathan Waxman).
20. Reduce the heat of chiles by removing the seeds. My method is making four straight cuts down the sides. This will create four long slivers, and the cluster of seeds will remain in the center of the chile. The result will be less heat and more great flavor (Dean Fearing).

Bon appétit!

Sinplicity

Not only does Sinplicity have stores in Falls Church and Reston, they also drive a food truck (which they call the Sinmobile) around Washington, DC and the DC metropolitan area!  The food truck stops at Clarendon, Rosslyn, Crystal City, Ballston, Courthouse, Dupont Circle, and many other hot spots in the area. I’m really getting into all the food trucks in the area, as I never knew about it growing up in the region, but now actually working full-time in DC gives me the opportunity to learn about and conquer the food trucks. I am trying to hit District Taco, Sweet Bites, and Curbside Cupcake, to name a few of the many food trucks.

I ordered a Black and White Sinwich from Sinplicity. It’s a blackberry macaron with blackberry compote and vanilla bean ice cream. I loved it! The flavors worked so well together, giving the macaron the perfect amount of moistness, the blackberry compote the perfect amount of tang, and the vanilla bean ice cream the perfect old-fashioned, classic flavor that complimented both the macaron and the compote. A+ to Sinplicity and its sinwich creation! It might be ‘sinful’, but it’s the kind of sin you want to indulge.

Base Address:

6402 Arlington Blvd #B150

Falls Church, VA 22042

You can follow them on Twitter to get their Sinmobile locations!

Bon appétit!

Made bruschetta and guacamole last week!

Last week was my 22nd birthday (getting older!) and during the weekend, I was taken to this absolutely amazing restaurant located in downtown Vienna, VA – Café Renaissance. It is an elegant French restaurant, with a classy, European-like ambiance, mixed with a friendly and relaxed atmosphere against a wonderfully balanced stylish decor. Absolutely cozy and quaint, it is perfectly intimate and the service is beyond fantastic and gracious. This restaurant is charming to the tee. I had the lobster bisque and sea scallops in a cilantro sauce and my goodness, it was like being transported to some remote location close to the sea where the scallops are plucked out of the water and cooked instantly, so fresh and high-quality and delicious. There are few times when I eat something that makes me want to close my eyes and say “yum” aloud, but this was one of those times. I was also sung “happy birthday” to by the waiters/staff of the restaurant over a large plate of dessert samplers. The service here is impeccable, certainly the best I’ve experienced in quite awhile.

In addition to this gorgeous and charming restaurant, I also had the pleasure of going to Peregrine Espresso near Eastern Market in Washington, DC. If you have read my Wishlist, it was one of the restaurants/food spots I wanted to visit/try and now I can happily scratch that off my list! This coffeehouse/café takes their brewing very seriously. Everything is freshly brewed and made in front of you. The expertise and attention to detail is astounding and I marveled at how skilled and thorough all of their baristas were.

I had a cappuccino, a perfect, harmonious balance of milk, espresso, and foam; the coffee art was beautiful! I’m not usually a coffee/caffeine person, but this cappuccino could win me over. It is a small and cozy coffeehouse; when I was there, it was jammed pack with tourists and locals, but luckily, it was a gorgeous day outside and there was a farmer’s market/flea market happening just a couple steps away, so I was sipping my cappuccino in one hand and looking through black-and-white photographs of different places in the U.S. with the other at the market – such a picturesque day!

A cappuccino from Peregrine Espresso

What a marvelous and unforgettable 22nd birthday it turned out to be :)

Bon appétit!

What to eat when …

You’re going to have a hellish day at work

• What to eat: wholegrain vegemite toast and black tea
• Why: foods with low-glycemic index, like wholegrain toast, give a slow-release energy to help with concentration. Vegemite contains B vitamins, which help with processing energy more efficiently, while the L-theanine in black tea helps you relax yet alert.

You’re about to hit the gym

• What to eat: baked potato with salsa
• Why: eat a carb-rich meal 2 to 4 hours before starting a workout so you have enough energy to complete your workout session. Avoid high-fat foods, like chips, chocolate, and cheese.

You’re craving salt or sugar or both!

• What to eat: nuts, cheese, or fruit
• Why: when you’re desperate for sugar, try a handful of blueberries instead of reaching for the chocolate and chips.

You’re pregnant or trying

• What to eat: steak with leafy greens and yogurt
• Why: pregnant women, and especially those who are trying, need slightly more lean meat, leafy greens, and reduced-fat dairy than normal, as their iron requirements are greater.

You’re experiencing pre-date jitters

• What to eat: salad with parsley (no onions or garlic!)
• Why: parsley is a natural breath freshener. Stay away from heavy meals, such as creamy pastas, as these can upset your stomach when you’re nervous.

You’re going to have a big night out

• What to eat: spaghetti bolognaise with lots of veggies
• Why: eat something substantial before you hit the bar, as this will slow down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. Avoid salt, as it will just make you thirstier.

Bon appétit!

For those of you unfamiliar with Georgetown Cupcake, it is a cupcakery located in the heart of Georgetown in Washington, D.C. (at the corner of 33rd and M Street NW). The shop was opened in February 2008 by two sisters, Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne. On weekends, the line extends out the door and down the street. People come to D.C. just for Georgetown cupcakes; now that’s some serious dedication! A recent article about D.C.’s 44 Most Powerful Restaurants placed Georgetown Cupcake at #34, with the “star power of Kallinis and LaMontagne …to cast a hypnotic effect over sweet-toothed lemmings across the country.”

In the winter and spring of 2010, TLC began to film a reality series called DC Cupcakes; the show shadows Katherine, Sophie, and the staff at Georgetown Cupcake as they fill in orders, complete special projects, and go about their daily lives at the shop.

Georgetown Cupcake offers 14 flavors daily, including multiple varieties of chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet available each day, as well as three seasonal flavors and other flavors that rotate throughout the week. Cupcakes are baked at the shop and roughly 5,000 cupcakes are baked each day, with red velvet being the most popular cupcake sold.

I went to Georgetown Cupcake on a Sunday. Since each day has different specials (which you can find on the menu on their website and which they also hand out in paper form if you stand in line), Sunday’s specials were: carrot, chocolate coconut, lava fudge, peanut butter fudge, strawberry, and a seasonal flavor.

Some of the selections chosen included:

• Chocolate²
• Chocolate³
• Chocolate ganache
• Red velvet
• Vanilla²
• Chocolate coconut
• Lava fudge
• Peanut butter fudge
• Strawberry

Georgetown Cupcake signature pink box and logo sticker

The red velvet was amazing and I can see why it is Georgetown Cupcake’s signature. It’s a classic red velvet cupcake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting; I know that they make it with apple cider vinegar (their secret ingredient in the red velvet cupcakes) because apple cider vinegar is sweeter. The reaction between the baking soda and the apple cider vinegar is what makes the red velvet cupcake light and fluffy.

Georgetown Cupcake

In addition to Georgetown Cupcake, I’ve also had the opportunity to visit Cupcakes Actually in Fairfax, VA. This cupcakery is located in Fairfax Corner. This small, but cute cupcake shop also has a variety of signature cupcakes to try, such as Death by Chocolate, Strawberry Fields, OMG, Simply Red, etc. These cupcakes are fresh and the recipes are original and unique.

Both these cupcake shops make delicious, mouthwatering cupcakes from scratch. With so many flavors to try, a trip to both cupcakeries should be on the agenda, especially if you’re a big fan of cupcakes :)

Bon appétit!