Arlington's INCA SOCIAL does up another super special and sensational meal (12-23-25)

 For several years now we have purchased the tasting menu for several people that was auctioned at March of Dimes SIGNATURE CHEFS and we returned again last night to be treated to a superb and sensational meal by Chef Mike Ciuffardi at INCA SOCIAL.

It was quiet as this is a holiday week and we were in the even quieter private dining room with the excellent Isabella from Colombia who was dream from the start as she gave us a lesson in how to prepare the PISCO MULE drink(pisco, lime, ginger beer, bitters) down to the specific type of Pisco used and for what reason. She really did a great job and deserves praise for putting up with the 8 of us as well!

After our wonderful cocktails (some of us had more than one!) chef greeted us with YUCA a la HUANCAINA, a superb fried yuca in Huancaina cream with dehydrated Peruvian Olive and we learned that the name of this superb sauce is from the town of Huancayo!  It was a tasty start to this excellent repast showing all the flavors of Peru that make this cuisine so delicious. NIKKEI CEVICHE is an homage to Japan as there is a large Japanese population in Peru. The homage is in the leche de tigre which has oyster sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil and is darker than its South American cousin. Here it was served over beautiful fresh tuna chunks with cucumber, avocado and seaweed. INCA SOCAIL really rocks when it comes to ceviche!

SUDADO PACIFICO was the fish of the day and was a beautifully grilled piece of Mahi-Mahi cooked in Ahi Amarillo sauce (spicy yellow Peruvian peppers) which is likely one of my favorite sauces on earth. Chicha de Jora is a fermented sauce that compliments the dish which also came with a Peura (Peruvian) scallop in its shell and a tasty grilled shrimp. We all loved this dish and paired it with a tasty OKO Pinot Noir from Pays d'Oc in France. 

Our main course was a huge TOMAHAWK RIBEYE (checkout the photos and videos) with Maras Salt (the salt pans in Peru's sacred valley), butter and rosemary with Anticucho-style grilled asparagus. The meat was superb, and I gnawed on the huge bone for extra fun! We switched to a Canyon Road Merlot which was nice, but the wine list could do with some upgrades here!

Many of us admitted we are not big cheesecake fans, but the CRIOLLO CHEESECAKE was an exception with chicha morada (purple corn) sauce which I can easily say was gobbled up by everyone present.

What a fun way to spend our last meal out in the USA this year before we head overseas for 3 months this weekend.

See you in New Zealand next time!

DC's MANDU has moved, but the food is still marvelous (12-13-25)

 We piled into the car last night to head to MANDU and WAZE said it was on K Street in NoMa! Well, I must have missed the move from Dupont Circle and of course, parking in that new up and coming loaded with restaurants 'hood was not easy. The five of us settled in and our excellent server Ephram took our order, and we started with a bottle of Essay Chenin Blanc from South Africa, a great white with spicy foods. Later we switched to any equally wonderful Partridge Malbec, also great with spice, which there was plenty of.

Ephram brought out a pickle platter of kimchi (the best!), pickled cucumbers, bean sprouts and seaweed, but the amazing new taste for us was the Soy pickled radish which was tangy and yet also slightly sweet and we all loved. The Sojutini did not get a rave as the mango taste seemed lacking.

Ephram suggested the Kimchi Jjigae as many of us craved a big bowl of "soup" and this dish was loaded with spicy kimchi, braised pork rib meat and delicious tofu. So amazingly filling on the eve of the impending snow and cold. Soon Doobu was also a silken tofu stew with shrimp, scallops, clams and a soft egg on top.; a winner for seafood lovers! Kimchi Bokum Bap is an immense plate of everything with your choice of toppings as well to assemble your own dish as you like. That is what is so much fun about Korean food...it is hugely varying and always filling.

We were all stuffed and waddled home before the snow even fell.

Chef Danny Lee always makes his clients happy!

DC's CHANG CHANG is still ringing in the customers! (12-11-25)

 We joined some friends at CHANG CHANG, Perter Chang's downtown DC sport that has been a huge hit since it opened. We loved it the first time, and while our take-out experience last Xmas wasn't that wonderful, our meal last night was a big hit across the board.

Sam was with us and there is a wealth of veggie options here as well and this place does tofu better than anywhere, I can recall!

We ordered the same white we had last time which was Adegas Gran Vinum Mar de Vinas Albarino 2024 which is crisp, citrusy and acidic which is ideal with those very spicy dishes! Our server Wendy made some suggestions, and they were all spot on.

Sam had his own plate of delicious veggie pan fried dumplings with a soy-chili sauce that he declared divine. he also preferred the Mexican Coke to the sweeter Kimino Yuzu Soda!

We started with Manchurian Crispy Fish Slices in a gooey but awesomely yummy citrusy sweet and sour sauce.  Shanghai Pork Dumplings are now served on a piece of paper, so they do not stick to the steamer which was a problem before. They came off easily and popped in our mouths for a soup explosion and the vinegar/ginger sauce is superb.

(Photos on FB). I love good bread but sometimes a bao bun is just too much and that was the only problem for me all night. The delicious Peking Duck Bun needed more of that savory duck with hoisin sauce and less bun. I actually discarded the top portion of my bun!

Sizzling Brussels Sprouts and Tofu was a spicy and yummy dish again with that fab tofu.

Sam ordered the Mapo Tofu for his main which was even more spicy and came in broad bean paste with soy chili and black bean sauce. The purple and white rice dishes are ideal for this dish to mop up the sauce. The veggie lo main with long wheat noodles and bok choy was just that and the tongs that came with it were useless...luckily spoons and forks abounded.

I was sad not to see my favorite dish on the menu from last time and Wendy said, have no fear, we can special order the Dry Pot Scallop and Prawn with Asparagus & Cabbage which I think was even spicier than last time loaded with dried chilis. Now we know to ask for it even though it is not on the menu! Wendy also hit the jackpot with the Iron Plate Beef Tenderloin which is wok-fried tender beef with leeks. YUM!

Dessert here is a must and a big hit with the Passion Fruit Pie made of calamansi-lime infused filling on a rice flour graham crust and black-pepper spiked meringue. 

The lines at the door for take-out never stopped for hours, so I am hoping they improved that part of the experience as we wanted to try take-out again, but last year it was painful with a 30-minute wait for a simple order which was all messed up to boot

Dine in works wonders.

DC's AMAZONIA is amazing (12-8-25)

 Hotelier friends of ours were visiting DC and as foodies they always like a great dining experience, but Monday can be a hard night. I wanted to try CAUSA the Michelin star Peruvian fusion spot, but they are not open every evening, so we opted for AMAZONIA, its upstairs sister, where the service and food are easily star qualifiable!

Indeed, our server Alejandra was more than helpful and really made our experience superb.

We wanted to share some starters, and all decided that the ANTICUCHERIA was the way to go with several grilled skewered items. Our platter came with carrots (they were amazing), asparagus, mushrooms, salmon belly and chicken thighs. All were as juicy and tasty as could be and the two accompanying sauces while amazing were not even needed. Speaking of salsa they were my favorite aji amarillo and the slightly spicier (for the meat) aji panca. The ahi panca went superbly on the extra side anticuchera we ordered as I had to have the Corazon de Res!

Some of us had cocktails. There was a sweet Sana Sana with Amazonia acholado #7, pineapple, orange, aji amarillo and aji charipita. The Pisconi Blanco (with its adorable flag emblazoned ice-cube) was the opposite of sweet with La Diablada Pisco, luxardo bitters, dry vermouth & gary regan orange bitters. There were also Caipirinhas and I opted to start the fabulous white wine, a 2023 Domaine Billard la Combe Bazin Saint Romain that was creamy and minerally and great with all the tasty spices.

Mains were a super tender LOMO SALTADO made with wagyi a really great Chaufa Putumayo of chorizo, cecina, jasmine rice,  egg, soy, sesame and scallions.

My Oatarshca was a beautifully cooked Grouper in Banana Leaf with mishkina(a brilliant sauce)--fotos on FB--red onion, sacha culantro and crispy patacones hid under the banana leaf so they stayed super crispy.

Dessert was not a thought as we were all stuffed after a fabulous evening of food and friends.

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