FAMILY LEE in DC makes it to TWENTY-anniversary celebration at Mandu (7/7/26)

 I nabbed a seat at a super wonderful tasting menu the other night at MANDU here in DC to celebrate Chef Danny Lee's 20th year here. He was joined by his amazing mother, Mama Lee as well as Chef Edward Lee, also a well-known figure in DC!

I was escorted to the quieter upstairs section (I did not even know this existed) and my servers Doobie and Jake took over to take me on a Korean food journey that was as memorable as it can be. I like Mandu's Essay Chenin Blanc as it stands up to spice and started with a glass of that as the amuses or snacks arrived:

SOON DOOBU TART came with fermented lemon "chiffon" if you will, and basil oil on a Monaka or rice wafer. This dish was made of whole lemons blanched multiple times and added to soft tofu to make a not sweet, but very tart, lemon chiffon if you will. It was a great palate cleanser and setup for the GESAL MUCHIM or toasted seaweed cracker with MD lump crab, perilla, persimmon vin and gim. The crab was fab and I loved this taste of what was to come (photos on FB).

Starters were a SAEWOO MANDU or Shrimp dumpling in Gochujang Cream, Ssukgat with pear and powdered shrimp paste. This dish was a revelation. While Mandu literally means dumpling and it is a specialty here, of course, this preparation and the blow-your-mind spicy cream was a novel mouthful of east meets west. 

Gimmari was a Rice paper tempura fried crispy seaweed "roll" with glass noodles, onion & carrot filling topped with sea urchin and caviar. Decadence at its best indeed and while the seaweed was crispy it was also chewy in a very novel way that made the dish so different. needless to say, the uni and caviar were divine.

The main courses all came together in three plates with BANCHAN to mix and use as sauces or such with mama Lee's Kimchi (the best), Oi Sabagi, Ojinguh Muchim & Yeongeun which amounts to kimchi, pickled lotus, cucumber and a superb spicy squid salad.  BIBIM MAKGUKSU was a almost a soup of buckwheat noodles, pickled eggplant, Minari with some apple pieces that popped and a sauce that rocked.

The main plate had two dishes: GALBI JJIM, a prime short rib with sweet, braised daikon, carrot, rice cake, dates and pinenuts. Opposite was a Fondant Potato and while that's as Frenchas it gets, here it was topped with Jajang or black bean sauce and Charred Kimchi--more east meets west!  Everything was cooked to perfection with spices and seasonings that tingled and got every taste bud excited.

I had already moved on to red wine and loved the Lodolai Dolcetto d'Alba, Ca' del Baio which is a tad bigger than most Dolcettos with a touch of acidity; a good pairing with these dishes but had to finally return to the much bigger Partridge Malbec, a really great wine on the menu for big meat dishes and spice, too.

Dessert was YAKGWA -Honey Cookie with Ginger Syrup, Vanilla Gelato, Misugaru, and Strawberry Cheong or fermented strawberries which were a real treat. Not too sweet and just right as I was quite full by now, but I had to finish every bite for sure!

Bravo to this entire team who always had on a smile, and I could tell made everyone in the whole house very happy.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Magnificent modern Indian at KARIZMA in DC (7-2-26)

 We are so glad our friend Elliot suggested Karizma in downtown DC for our outing together last night as it was a magnificent find indeed. We walked in and the chef and some staff we are the far end of a nice bar just chatting and the place was empty--well it was Thursday night on a holiday weekend when half of DC downtown streets are closed due to massive holiday nonsense! Karizma shares space with Karma next door, which is a tad more elegant with a tasting menu (we can't wait to try that), but we loved the simple and calm decor with white marble tables, banquettes, comfy chairs and several high tops near the bar in the front windows. The kitchen at the rear is open, but since we were the only table all night and a small group at the bar, the staff was not too busy. When we said we wanted to thank the chef after dinner, he was gone!

Our server Griffin told us he had been there for years, and the place opened in 2017! How did we miss it? We looked at the varied wine list and since the temperature outside was still hovering at over 100, I asked if I could taste the Gruner Veltliner which comes by the glass. he brough over a nice taste and we all tried and loved the Weingut Stadt Krems 2022 from Austria that was more than refreshing in the heat and was great with all the spice. It was so good, we finished off THREE bottles!

We ordered some dishes and got to taste many things and loved it all. Only the Garlic naan was a tad too thin and crisper than what I would normally like.

Quinoa Tikki was potato, quinoa, ginger and white pea mash in a cake that was superb and Tandoori Cauliflower was spicy with Garam masala, tomato jus and yogurt to cut the spice. We loved the starters and were even happier when the mains arrived. 

Griffin also brough out some sliced fresh onions with lemon, hot chilis and chili sauce in case we wanted more seasoning.

The order of Grilled Lamb Chops came out rare, so it was sent back as Norca likes well done, The Kerala Fish Curry was superb with sea bass and tamarind. The Malvani Chicken Curry was a stewed spring chicken with coconut milk but no skimp on spice and my Nariyal Chili Prawns with basil and blistered cherry tomatoes was also a fabulous treat. The simple cumin rice with pea shoots on top was some of the best rice around town and it was a godsend with all the fabulous sauces. Griffin had also brought out a tasty cucumber raita.

My number 1 gauge in an Indian restaurant is the Palak Paneer of spinach, burnt garlic and cheese and this dish could win a prize indeed. It was creamy, a tad spicy and the spinach was cooked to perfection.

We were full but Griifin insisted we try two desserts and both were superb. The Mango Kulfi was like semifreddo on crack and the Coconut Payasam was a rich, delicious rice pudding, yet so light it was gone in seconds.

We loved everything about this place and cannot wait to return. Indian food is all over, but not always so great as that of Karizma, loaded with charisma!