Garrison celebrates the TOMATO with wines from EARLY MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS in a true coup by Chef Rob Weland(9-20-18)

Thursday evening I hauled myself up to Capitol Hill and in the end, the traffic was so light, I arrived nearly 30 minutes early for this set dinner that Chef Rob Weland of Garrison(who I have known for over 2 decades since he opened the now departed Poste at the Monaco Hotel downtown!) had organized at his lovely, small and fine restaurant.

I sat at the bar, met a nice couple and downed a delicious glass of Galen Glen Gruner Veltliner 2017 "Stone Cellar" from (YES!) Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. A couple of weeks ago we had an awesome Texas rose and this was all new to me, as were the amazing wines of Early Mountain Vineyard in Madison, Virginia. 

We sat down at three tables and the most addictive Poppyseed Gougeres arrived as the Early Mountain Young White 2017 was poured. I was completely mystified by the varietal and guessed everything until Pat from the winery explained it was a 95% Vidal Blanc and 5% Petit Manseng; I was blown away as Vidal is so often loaded with residual sugar, but he explained it is picked early and hence bone dry and delicious. It was paired with the most magnificent Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Dijon Mustard Ice Cream. The gazpacho(foto on FB) was thick and rich and had nice chunks of tomato and the ice cream was more or less a foil and really had only a hint of mustard, but paired brilliantly. The wine indeed was an ingenious pairing as tomato can be very hard to pair wine with!

Next came and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Pickled Red Onions, Vanilla, Mint & Cucumber with Cucumber Sorbet and basil, again, not so easy to pair with wine, but the Early Mountain Rose 2017 which is made from a blend of 65% Merlot and the rest Syrah/Cab Franc & Malbec was another big winner. It is easily one of the top 3 roses I have ever had from Virginia and one of the best for my buck's bang.

Crispy Local Squash Blossoms were cooked to perfection and indeed crispy when served (not easy to do with 20-something people) and came with Smoked Provolone, Ricotta stuffing and Romesco Sauce. The wine was Quaker Run Chardonnay 2015 and Early Mountain ferments and ages it in oak(both new and old French) for 9 months, nice but a bit pricier than the others. 

The main course was a perfectly cooked just past rare(I asked for it that way) Cast Iron Seared Virginia Bison Hanger Steak with Red Onion & Tomato Salad and Blue Cheese.(Gray Hill from Mass.) The meat was perfect and the dish delicious, but I had a much whiter cheese that I could have sworn was Feta and the person next to me clearly had a very crumbly bluer cheese. Look at my FB photo; I welcome your thoughts. The paired wine was another Virginia wonder, Cabernet Franc 2015 from Early Mountain's Shenandoah Vineyard (they have several locations they get grapes from). 

The dessert was Warm Local Fruit Spoon Cake with Blackberry Buttermilk Ice Cream and was perfect on a warm night with the ice cream and the warm fruit cake....gooey and fun. The wine was a Petillant nautrel 2017 sparkling wine made of 100% unfiltered and unrefined Syrah which shocked me as there was a slight hint of beeriness to the wine and not really my cup of tea...oh, wine!

We all had loads of fun and stayed to chat with Chef as well as Capitol Hill is a far stretch for us....everyone else seemed to live around the corner. It was great food, great company and the perfect meal for the end of summer.

DOI MOI does it deliciously again and with many veggie variations(9-16-18)

Last Sunday night we took a group of Young Artists from the Washington National Opera to dinner and since one was a vegan and our Sam is a vegetarian, he actually came up with the ide to return to Doi Moi on 14th St, NW, which was indeed brilliant. The seven of us just chose various items from the menu and if our server Jenifer said it had fish sauce, paste or other, quickly advised, a vegetarian or vegan version was available. Everyone was happy.

We started with a bottle of Zweigelt Landhaus Mayer 2017 Rose from Austria as I knew this would complement some of the spicy dishes, but moved on to another great "spice pairing" varietal, Gruner Veltliner, Obere Steigen 2016 from Huber also in Austria. Both worked fine. When we decided to move to a red well into the emal, I opted for a Nerello Moscatello 2016 Contadino, and Etna Rosso from Sicily, which we all swore was off as it was quite fizzy. The wine manager opened another and it was the same and agreed it was really not right, so she offered up a nice Syrah from Herve Souhat 2016, a delicious Rhone, but the whites/roses were indeed much better.

Wok Fried Cashews are made with kaffir Lime, Garlic and Spicy Chili and indeed make you drink faster link any other bar snack these days, but our food arrived quickly and well spaced as we ordered so many different dishes(many on FB):

Sliced Raw Scallops with Nam Jim Dressing, Crispy garlic & Kaffir Lime on a Scallop Shell are gorgeous thinly sliced sushi grade scallops that packed a punch from the spice

Green Papaya Salad with Chinese Long Beans, Chili, Lime, Heirloom Tomato & Peanuts was delish, but seemed to lack that intensity that a good Asian green papaya salad has

Sauteed Okra with Turmeric, Shallot, Green Chili & Ginger was so good we ordered a second portion.

The Thai "Gang Makua" Ratatouille with Chinese Eggplant, Zucchini and Red Pepper Curry was less interesting for me, but the vegetarian/vegans and others liked it. I guess I am just not a ratatouille kind of guy.

Jackfruit & Purple Sweet Potato Massaman Curry with Wok Tossed Peanuts, LWT Microgreen and rice was a huge hit. 

The Quail Jungle Curry was a spicy dry curry with Thai Eggplant, Holy Basil and rice as well.

Jennifer suggested we try the jasmine and other rice(I forgot what it was) as we did and there was plenty to share.

Thai Marinated Beef "AKA" the signature jerky came with a yummy Shark Sriracha Dipping Sauce and was also a big hit, disappeared in seconds and was wonderfully crispy.

Steamed Buns were filled with Nyonya Malaysian Fried Chicken and one set came with Chickpea Tofu option for the vegetarian/vegan. These buns were yummy and also not very huge dough portions which can often overpower the ingredients. the fried chicken was a neat variation  on the usual ingredients.

Crab Fried Rice was made with maryland Blue Crab(more would have been nice), Shredded Rainbow Carrots, White pepper and Crab Roe and while not a disappointment, was in need of more crab at $29!

Vegetable Fried Rice was ordered without the egg(vegan style) with Chinese Broccoli, Zucchini, Carrot, Scallion & Garlic and at $9 was a much better deal!

One of the big favorites was the Rohan Duck Leg Khao Soi in Coconut Curry & Egg Noodles topped with Pickled Mustard Greens. The dish was superb with the duck falling off the bone; we only needed spoons and rice (and bread--alas none of that) to lick up all the sauce.

Char Kuey Teow were Singaporean Rice Noodles with Argentine Prawns, Chinese Sausage, Broccoli & Black Garlic Sauce which was another huge hit.
Indeed everything was tasty and what fun we had. Someone asked for a small dessert sample, or maybe Jennifer brought it out for free (I can't recall) but there were two:
a Parfait kind of construction made of Honeydew, Pandan & Forbidden Rice Ice Creams(yes, it tasted like forbidden rice!) and a Mango Sticky Rice bowl.

Vegetarians, Vegans and meat and fish lovers are all happy here as Doi Moi does deliver.

Arlington's YONA is yummy casual (9-15-18)

We were headed to theater in Falls Church Saturday and wanted a quick filling, yet casual dinner before and chose YONA in the Ballston area, just off Wilson Blvd. The place was fairly empty at 545pm when we arrived but almost full by 7pm! The music was a bit noisy, but not obtrusive, and the décor is blonde wood, open kitchen with bar and simple Asian fare with a large variety of sushi and maki rolls.

The adorable Junmai Panda sake from Miyozakura was refreshing and comes in a small glass with pandas to announce the first of their kind in Japan! It's great with the spicy steamed Edamame made with sesame nori and bonito for flavor. It's also divine with the Maki and I chose the VOLCANO of Eel, Tempura Shrimp, Avocado, Togarashi & Spicy Mayo. Will started with a Friends Don't Lie concoted from green tea, infused tequila blanco, Benedictine, lemon and agave and our friend had the Upside Down of gin, tozzi sake & cocci Americano; all the drinks are tasty and superb.

Will's maki roll was TNT made with tempura shrimp and avocado and topped with Tuna Poke! Our friend started with the delicious and simple but tasty Green Bean Salad (photos on FB).

She and I then split the Curry Chicken Ramen which was huge and a perfect and easy dish to split with an extra bowl. Ithad only two large slices of white meat chicken chashu, but was loaded with ramen, enoki mushrooms, nitamago egg all in a super rich flavorful coconut (not sweet) curry broth. Will oved his Tonkatsu Steamed Buns of crispy smoked pork shoulder, miso, mustard, Konzuri pickles and Katsu sauce. They were not too doughy as some buns can indeed be all dough and so little filling.

A great light and so reasonably priced meal which we all agreed was a hit find.

DC's MAKETTO makes your mouth water with its brunch Dim Sum menu(9-2-18)

Sunday afternoon took us to H St, NE & the Atlas District where Maketto has been a dining centerpiece for three years now, and this was my virgin visit. We had a dim sum brunch with paired drinks from a charity auction and Chef James, who runs the kitchen under owner Chef Erik Bruner-Yang and mixologist Jeremy made us all very very happy.

Our server Sammy brought out Chef James to start who toted a plate he called "pickles with a shot" featuring fermented baby corn, pickled ramps, green beans, beach mushrooms, Thumbelina carrots, okra(with Cambodian Curry), bread and butter Hungarian wax peppers and a bowl of fermented watermelon rind/kimchi at the center, which some declared too funky and the rest of us kept going back to with curiosity. A shot of bourbon for each of was the most amazing foil to all the pickled veggies which each had its own character and taste making for lots of fun.

Vegetable Gyoza were a big hit, especially with Sam, but I adored the Crystal Shrimp Dumplings even more with tuk trey, a delicious Cambodian fish sauce. These were paired with a Gin & Cherry based drink with vermouth & bitters, while Sam adored his Hey Song Sarsaparilla so much he downed 3 huge cans!

Spicy Lamb Shumai was indeed spicy and also had the tuk trey sauce which is a major component of many dishes, Pork Steamed Bao with braised pork and hoisin sauce(not sweet though) were super.

Wok Fried Noodles were thick slathered noodles with a slightly spicy sauce and some red jalapenos on top for spice and the one dish that impressed least was the vegetarian Leek Steamed Bao with glass noodles and hoisin sauce as for me it was a bit too much dough and not enough leeks, although the frizzled leeks on top were nice.

An OJ Mai Tai was tons of fun with rum, lime, aperol and simple syrup. By now we were nearing full levels, but Wok Fried Snow Peas arrived  with chilies and topped with fried elephant garlic (although Chef left off the oyster sauce so Samuel could enjoy). I loved this greens dish indeed but had no clue that much more was coming, so I heaped more onto my plate.

Then Strange Flavor Eggplant with tofu puree and housemade bread arrived. we let Sam have as much of this as we wanted and I can only describe it as an eggplant hummus, but not babaganush. The grilled bread was irresistible for Sam.

Shrimp Noodle Rolls with sweet soy & herbs were "rolled" out and I can only describe these as spring noodle rolls filled with a firm shrimp filling(thick but not with pieces of shrimp) that burst with flavor.

Grilled bread also came with our last dish the signature Maketto Fried Chicken with 5-spice caramel which was also irresistible with its crunchy flaky crust and moist meat.

At this point we were telling Sammy which dishes she was to pack up for whom as we could not fathom another bite.

Maketto is amazing and the dim sum are delightful if you can stay away from too many bready bao....and you can even shop while you eat as they sell so many clothing products, shoes, etc! What a treat.

There was Cynar, an herbal liquor with lemon & bitters as well served afterwards as a digestif which really helped soothe the full stomachs!!

Kensington,MD's DISH & DRAM dishes are delicious and the pourings are perfect(9-2-18)

Last year I won a wine tasting with "bites" at DISH & DRAM, where I had never been and what a treat to discover this gem in Kensington where wine rules and food is more than favorable.

The manager, Davis, was more than generous and even kinder and truly knows his stuff to boot. He poured virtually all new wines to me and made the long afternoon tasting so much fun, assisted by Alison the bartender/mixologist who dreamed up our first drink: Summer Spritz Cocktail of Bacardi Rum, Blackberry Shrub(blackberries macerated with vinegar), Rose Cava, Lemonade and Tarragon Simple Syrup that was so good, everyone was asking for seconds. The Deviled Eggs Three Ways was an ideal treat with a pimento cheese and bacon/smoked salmon/traditional with yummy trout roe atop being the featured eggs.

Whoever heard of facing off two rose wines, one from Austria and the other from Texas?! Well, Davis made this a real test and everyone had the  favorites for sure, although we did not take a vote. The Josef Bauer 2016 Joe's Rose from Wagram, Austria was crisper and drier due to the blend of Zweigelt, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon, while I adored the 2016 Les Copain Rose from McPherson Cellars in Texas High Plains which had Carignan, Mourvedre and Viognier for that slight perfume touch that made it a treat. Peach Cantaloupe Gazpacho was a refreshing dream with the temperatures around 90 and it was paired with a yummy Bruschetta of Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil & Buffalo Mozzarella, all superbly farm fresh and locally sourced from Pennsylvania farms.

Three chardonnays side by side can be daunting and we first tasted the Clotilde Davenne 2012 Petit Chablis from France that was all steel fermented and had the funkiest of noses and flavors in the mouth; it was not our favorite. The winner seemed to be the 2/3 steel fermented 2016 Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay, while the 100% intense flavors of the Grayson Cellars from St. Helena(Napa) almost overpowered. PEI Mussels with garlic, white wine. leeks, fines herbes and creme fraiche were a slightly spicy welcome treat as I have to say I was missing seafood also the last days in landlocked Botswana.

I am not familiar with Long Island wines, but the Jamesport Vineyards 2014 Cabernet Franc from Cutchogue was a treat and paired ideally with the grilled flatiron kebab with shitake mushroom, red onion, patty pan squash and frites with a delish housemade steak sauce(mayo, Worcestershire, garlic & spices---you go from there...)

As if we were not full enough from these "bites" next came  Cheesecake & Brownie Bites and one guest declared the cheesecake almost as good as sex! Alison poured her yummy housemade Limoncello and we rolled home (I for a nap) after a wonderful afternoon at a newfound spot we will have to trek to outside the Beltway as it is indeed so good and so much fun, unless we can convince owner Zena Polin to open a branch somewhere in NW; I'm thinking Palisades!