DC's KALIWA on the Wharf can WOW & waiver (7-29-24)

 We headed to the Wharf last night to meet a friend for dinner and chose KALIWA as we had heard so many great things about this fusion restaurant created by Chef Cathal Armstrong, whom we have known for decades!

The place is fun with great decor of hanging basket lamps, some really cute fun animal paintings (the lion has pentagonal sequined glasses) and an almost Middle Eastern feel with cushioned banquettes and low chairs. Our server Ivan was super helpful and when we told him we wanted to have starters first then wait, it was a wise move as the dishes can be filling. We love spicy food and drinks and the IS IT SPICY? will get your taste buds going as it packs a punch with Casamigos Jalapeno Tequila with Hellfire Bitters, Lime & Pratt Standard Prickly Pear to cut the spice; think sweetish but spicier!

We shared three starters and love d the LUMPIA SPRING ROLLS fried crispy with shrimp & pork and sitting on a bed of sweet and sour sauce. General Tso's Cauliflower is a superb veggie dish with a hint of spice but the description says "CRISPY," and this seemed more like cooked with a slight char. Our least favorite was the STEAK TARTARE (a dish we all were immediately drawn to when the menus arrived) mainly due to the sinewy texture. The dish had great flavors going for it with an egg yolks sauce, sesame, gochuchang, honey and green onion, but we could not get past the large amount of sinew in the meat giving it a gloppy or clumpy texture. It comes with beautiful large house made potato chips and one was actually quite soggy; a downer.

The wine list here is simple and could use some more choices as there are 6 whites(1 rose in that count), 3 reds and 5 bubbly, all available by the glass or bottle; we went for a Cloudy Bay New Zealand 2023 Sauvignon Blanc which was great with the spices. 

We decided to split two main courses and one salad which was a great move. The Galbi Fried Rice is filling and comes with yummy Kimchi Fried Rice, sesame oil, egg and pieces of grilled ribs in the rice; we loved it. Similarly, the BULGOGI CAESAR was a huge hit with Kimchi Caesar dressing, yummy, fried wonton croutons, parmesan and chunks of bulgogi beef. The Crab & Shrimp Curry was also delicious but had only two shrimp and some pieces of crab and was mostly sauce...great on the rice, but more like a curry bisque than a main dish. We were all full and could not even consider dessert.  I'd love to give Kaliwa a return visit, especially for that salad and rice, but need to avoid the steak tartare!

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Vienna's CLARITY is cultivated cuisine (7-23-24)

 

Alan S for foodie finesse

<alansavada@gmail.com>

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We had to get to Clarity when we heard our friend Chef Tracy O'Grady had taken over the kitchen, so we booked with some friends only to find she had the night off! That said, the kitchen, service and all went like fine clockwork, so now we just have to return when she is at the helm, maybe for their tasting menu!

Will and I started off with the MTM-Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Ancho Reyes Chili Liquor, Lime and Mango Turmeric Syrup which packs a spicy punch with the super-spiced rim and the ancho reyes, but is mellowed by the mango. Bee's Torn ACL was our friends gin drink of choice with minted honey, limoncello and ginger lime shrub.

The decor is overseen by some not-so-pretty 60's like chandeliers, but I love the quasi-slate-like tables and the chairs are quite comfy. The art on the walls was totally no to our tastes and I think it is for sale, so maybe someone will buy it all!! SORRY! 

The menu is varied and has many choices, so we perused until we settled and Josephine, our excellent server took the order:

Will loved his TRACY's TOMATO, BASIL, ALMOND GAZPACHO with avocado mousse, radish and toasted almonds save for a large clump of cilantro, which was not listed in the ingredients. One of our guests really despises cilantro, so it should be listed as it can be one of those weird dislike ingredients. My NEW KIND of CAESAR Salad was superb with mustard croutons (I really didn't taste the mustard), 24-month aged Parmesan, white anchovies and lemon oil. The dressing was superb, and I only begged for a couple more anchovies as these were excellent. Caramelized U-8 DAY BOAT SCALLOP in Sweet Corn & Bacon Chowder with fresh snap peas, thyme, Alepo(I always spell it Aleppo) chili oil and popcorn shoots looked delish indeed.

Our white wine was a Chateau Crezancy Sancerre 2023 from the Loire, and the citrus tones were nice with a hint of grapefruit. Our superb red, suggested by Matt the manager was an Inkblot 2021 Cabernet France from Lodi made by Michael David Winery.

Main courses were hugely varied from a huge CORN FLAKE CRUSTED PORK SCHNITZEL with Buttermilk Spaetzle, Dutch Runner Beans, Fava Beans, Waxed Beans, Gigante Beans, Summer Savory and a Smoked Pork Jus (served in a cup on the side so as not to have the wonderful crust damaged). I loved the way the beans covered the schnitzel and were so varied and needless to say there was plenty of it all to bring home leftovers. The Australian F4 WAGYU NY STRIP Steak came with Shitake Truffle Emulsion, Twice Baked Fingerling Potato, Blue Cheese, Trumpet Mushrooms, Spring Onion and a red Wine Sauce and got raves for the meat and sauces. The 18 oz. USDA PRIME RIBEYE is served only for two people and comes with Earth & Eats Wilted Spinach Fiorentino, Shitake Cream, Whipped Potatoes and a red wine sauce. The crust of the meat had a crunchy peppery crispiness that was divine, but some of my meat had some gristle and fat, which is why I usually stay away from steaks, but I was lured by someone willing to split the dish and that shitake cream and the spinach which were divine!

Bowls of Strawberry & Peach Sorbet with fresh peaches arrives and after that, we could not even fathom the thought of dessert. I can't wait to go back and hopefully sit in the rear closer to the kitchen and away from the ugly art as well as order smaller portions and taste more things as there are so many items on the menu we missed.

NOSTOS in Tyson's Corner, VA is great Greek!! (7-17-24)

Our friends Lee & Kevin suggested trying Nostos in Tyson's Corner (McLean) VA last night and we agreed having never heard of it. We were surprised on arrival to find the place had been open for over a decade and is an adorable (if noisy) spot just a block off Route 7/Leesburg Pike that you might never notice! The rooms are all stucco white giving a real Greek Isles feel with on brick wall in the room we were in, though the noise factor was high when the room was full. Our server Bella was very helpful, though we had some specific items in mind and decided to share 4 starters!

Before they arrived, the owner offered us four small skewered pieces of swordfish on fava bean puree which we adored. we had ordered an Assytirko "Kaldera" from Karamolegos Winery on Santorini that was bright and acidic and worked brilliantly with the foods as well. The wine bottles start at around $50 with lots of options as well, many of them Greek, of course. Our second wine was a barrel aged Assyrtiko from Nikolau Estates on Skyros which had an ever so slight hint of oak but still retained that strong acidity. With all the dishes being fish and the temperatures outside near 100, red was not needed!

The Taramosalata here is excellent and we gobbled it up along with the superb Dolmadakia Yaialantzi, stuffed grape leaves with tzatziki. For fun, you must try the Saganaki, a pan fried Kefalograviera cheese which is flambeed tableside! I have never had Feta Karpouzi which is another excellent option if you like feta cheese, here served warm and crusted with sesame seeds then fried and paired with Greek honey and refreshing fresh watermelon!

We were surprised again when the owner appeared with another complementary tray this time with four "palate cleansers" the likes I have never had before and truly LOVED. It was the same fried and sesame-crusted feta blocks but here served with an ice-cold chili sorbet that just was excitement in the mouth and on the tongue!

When we asked Bella about which main fish dishes were best, she went right for the Whole Branzini, and it is indeed special. She did agree to fillet it tableside, and another guy helped her as two of us ordered these huge whole sea basses served with broccolini and potatoes. There must have been more than 3/4 of a pound of fish after they finished the filleting and it was a lot for one person, easily a great dish to split, especially after a goodly number of starters which are all so great! The Garides Saganaki was another dish one of us ordered and I realized that saganaki is not cheese, but the frying! This was sauteed shrimp with feta, tomato, onion and raisins. Also yummy was the Youvetsi Thalassinon, a huge platter of shrimp, calamari, fish of the day, mussels and tomato sauce over orzo.

There is of course Greek coffee to be had and some dessert options as everyday as Chocolate Mousse or as traditional as Baklava. There are two baklava variations which we tried and loved: BAKLAVA CRUMBLE with added crumble over the traditional and ice cream on top, as well as BAKLAVA BEXEVANIS (credited to a chef in Greece who created the dish) which is a modern version with less phyllo (I missed the phyllo) but with apple, apricot, raisin, cinnamon and walnuts and ice cream wedged into the dish. I have to admit it was most refreshing with the intense heat outside.

We all left full and very happy finding an excellent option for Greek food in our area that we never knew about!

HARBINGER heightens vegetables and more in Des Moines (Iowa-7-14-24)

 I had been to Harbinger once before on my first trip to Des Moines Metro opera and we tried to go last year, but they had a power outage as we arrived, and we had to dine elsewhere. We returned this year and while temps were close to 100 outside, the A/C was working fine, and the power was ON!

We sat down and ordered the TOM YUM MARGARITA with Blanco tequila, Galangal, Lemongrass, Lime, Lime leaf and Thai Chili which packed a punch with alcohol and its yummy spice rim as well. We loved the smooth tequila with the hints of spice. We moved on to a bottle of Verdicchio di Matelica "le Salse" from Belisario which was great with all our veggie dishes as harbinger does specialize in that!

Our servers Grace & Mustafa were superb. Grace oozed excitement and was a truly bubbly personality helping us with choices at every move and Mustafa warned us not to miss certain dishes. There were many to choose from and we opted to pick the ones we wanted rather than go with a heavier tasting menu which had scallops and wagyu as well as all the veggie dishes.

We chose several dishes to share to start and GREEN BEANS TEMPURA were the first to arrive (all fotos on FB) with a light batter, fried to perfection sprinkled with prawn dust and chili oil and served with an XO mayo dipping sauce--a must for anybody coming here. HAKUREI TURNIPS are served shaved raw and cooked in this quasi-salad with local miso, puffed rice, a smoked confit egg yolk (think rich aioli), pickled ginger and toasted nori powder and was a perfect dish in the intense heat. The Steamed Bun with FRIED CHICKEN, Yuzu Cherry BBQ sauce and pickled pepper was nice, but the least exciting dish. SALT CRUSTED KOHLRABI was also shaved and grilled and then glazed with wild black-raspberry vinegar and came with compressed beets and lemon thyme; another hit dish in the heat and really proves how amazing veggies can be!

FARM CARROTS have been on the menu since the beginning but in various different personalities and now are served soured (pickled carrot coins) with a Lemongrass Pork Sausage (not everything is totally vegetarian) with crispy shallots and cilantro. The dish has weight because of the sausage with its maple-y Asian BBQ flavors, but the use of carrots still keeps this dish on every menu. Mustafa said we had to order the SUMMER SQUASH FRITTERS and we were really glad we did as these were served with Mohinga Mayo (a super kick-ass spice) and a Burnese crunch made from crunchy edamame, fava (horse beans), pumpkin seeds, fried garlic and toasted sesame! They were small cylindrical discs rather than the flat latke-like fritters we know and packed a punch!

At this time, we moved on to red wine and had a glass of the Luigi Giordano Barolo which Mustafa suggested and was just right with our last savory dishes, the final one being CHICKEN ROULADE stuffed with OYSTER Mushroom sausage, roasted potato, pickled turnips, yuzu ginger puree and parsley puree. We liked the dish, but the description did say CRISPY SKIN which seemed to be missing.

Dessert was a truly novel Late Spring SNAP PEA CAKE with Calamansi Butter cream and Toasted Pistachios. It reminded me of a carrot cake (but with peas!) with a very rich icing, and while it was nice, I could only eat a couple bites as I am not a big icing fan.

We loved everything and had a great time and were so happy the power held out this time. Can't wait to return again!!