Jackie Warner-Inspired Salads

Ok, I've gained like 10 pounds (give or take 3) since the holidays...and the main reason is that I haven't been dancing or working out like I should. I have been too busy sleeping til noon and doing "research" for this blog. Anyhoo, I'm getting back to the gym, contemplating a second dance class, and maybe even yoga or pilates. Perhaps it's the warm weather, the new job, or my clothes not fitting...or maybe it's the show "Workout" with that hot trainer, Jackie Warner, that has inspired me. That's right, I want this woman's body. Is it the Kashi? The soy milk? No, no, that is, I want a body *like* hers. I'm going to work it out until I, too, look like Skeletor with muscles. Tonight, I made a salad of avocado, green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, and shaved emmentaler and dressed it with red wine vinegar and olive oil. I had it with a little side of mixed olives and a cup of mint tea. It was really tasty! This is getting to be a good trend for me, as the last couple places I've been to eat, I've had some pretty great (and light) salads:

1) The Afghan salad--tomatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers With Mint Dressing at the Afghan Grill
2) Tomato, Avocado, Hearts of Palm, Blue Cheese, Sherry Vinaigrette at Merkado

Note: Despite all the references, I must reiterate that I am not a lesbian (and I don't really watch tv).

...and for anyone interested, Jackie has a great protein shake that she mentions on her show. The recipe is...

2 cups of organic mixed berries
1 scoop of mega green powder
1 serving of whey protein powder
1 tbsp of flaxseed oil (Cold Pressed)
1 tbsp of liquid amino acids
1 cup of icemix in blender

No Corkage in Kabul

I have been to the Afghan Grill in Adams Morgan probably a half dozen times now. And the service was awful each and every time. There is always a wait and the atmosphere seems perpetually harried and chaotic. The tiny 12-or-so-table restaurant is run like a third world country, but, man, is the food good. Afghan cuisine is a cross between Indian and Mediterranean. It's amazingly flavorful, but not too spicey (for those of you with a delicate g.i. constitution). Get the Aushuk (leek dumplings with yogurt and meat sauce) or the Kadu Buranee (sauteed pumpkin with garlic yogurt and meat sauce) as appetizers and share the exceptionally tender lamb kabobs.

Also, most places in the city commit highway robbery by charging corkage--a fee for the wine that you bring--of about $30 on average. But AG hasn't caught on to this ridiculous practice, so we bring our own wine (or beer) and they pour it for us, sans corkage. And the last time we went, we brought our own microbrewed beer...and at the end of the evening they gave us a couple complimentary bottles...just because. But I suspect it was for our troubles earlier in the evening, as we stood around for ten minutes as they hurried about trying to figure out which of the four open tables they should seat us at. Ah, this is what Kabul must be like...flustered inefficiency with a good heart.

Philistines in Chinatown, Go to Zola

If you love the city for its edge and cultural vibrance, then don't go to Gallery Place/Chinatown on a Friday or Saturday night. Stay away especially if there's a game at the MCI Center. Because anything colorful or authentic is overshadowed by doughy massification. Matt and I had to fight hordes of loud, corn-fed Philistines--likely from greater northern Virginia, including Dumfries, and the hinterlands of "murlin"--to find a place to eat. It was awful. We were bombarded with gleeful, crazy-eyed-night-in-the-big-city interlopers wearing their effing hockey jerseys and Blue Tooth earsets (closing that very important Tokyo deal, I'm certain).

Anyway, not that you would ever even think about doing it, but you will wait forever at the unfortunate chains that have cropped up everywhere in the Chinatown neighborhood. Great casual eateries such as Matchbox and tapas restaurant, Zaytinya, will also be completely overcrowded with hip hunters. So your best bet, if you find yourself stuck in the neighborhood on such an evening, is something a little pricier (or hidden away from the too-touristy H & 7th street area) such as Zola or Poste.

Zola--despite being next door to the Spy Museum--offers anti-banal fare, is never egregiously packed, has a good cocktail menu, and very cool surrounds. The service is great. For example, the tables are set with the usual utensils and white napkins. However, if you happen to be wearing dark trousers, your server may offer you a dark napkin so as to avoid the obvious lint that a white napkin would leave. Now, *that* is great service. Anyhoo, there is also a separate and cozy bar area with table seating if you don't have reservations.

We were fortunate enough to grab a corner table in the windows in the bar area the other evening. Great view. Plush, cushiony chairs, and a quiet environment. It was a much-needed respite from the street. The menu, although decent, didn't seem to inspire us that night. So, we created our own tapas out of the appetizers. They have *great* appetizers at Zola including:

lobster macaroni & cheese
mussels with garlic and sesame noodles
lox on flatbread with cream cheese and micro arugala
FRIES with basil mayo

We also got the beet salad, but there are better places to have this dish. (BTW, they offer an extensive wine menu by the full, half, and glass.) Nice.

www.zoladc.com

In general, the Gallery Place/Chinatown/Penn Quarter area caters to visitors. As such, it is a little shinier, more contrived, and bling-a-ling, than other neighborhoods. You will not find "neighborhood" restaurants or a lot of locals here on weekends. But it does have its virtues.

Tequilaccinos and Immigration Research

I know, I've been really bad about posting...what with the winter malaise and the new job (doing immigration policy research) and all. The past few weeks have been really bad weather-wise and the only two things that staved off the depression and frigid temperatures (not to mention served as a thematic nod to my new gig) were scrumptious gigante vegetarian nachos at my neighborhood sexy Mexy restaurant, Merkado, and a walk home to my place to make capuccino spiked with Tequila (aka Tequilaccino--see recipe below):

2 shots espresso

2 shots tequila

place ingredients in cup, mix, sip (FYI: Don Julio is to be sipped. Always.)

Now that it's not so violently cold out, I will be sure to post more often (and drink less distilled spirits).

Love, Loneliness, and Despair in a Basket: A Valentine's Trip to the Grocery Store

(Pictured: Actual plate of rare rack of lamb with broccoli-cauliflower puree I made for Valentine's dinner.)

Last night, I went to two different grocery stores to purchase the ingredients for the love: herb and pepper encrusted rack of lamb (with broccoli-cauliflower puree). You can tell so much about someone's state of mind, politics, sexual orientation, coupling status, and (gulp) socio-economic station by just peeking into his grocery basket. Since I'm a voyeur by nature, I can never help but look (and stare).

I first went to the Giant grocery store in Columbia Heights, a neighborhood that is on the cusp and is still "turning over." I love this store for all its heterogeneity. It caters to all the disperate contingencies in the neighborhood. The contrast of the large isle full of Goya products, hot bar of fried items, and deli full of artisenal cheese is a sight to behold. They had almost everything that I needed except for the fresh rack of lamb and the wheat baguette. Anyway, while I was in line, I spied despair behind me: twelve Banquet frozen dinners, a bag of pre-rinsed iceberg lettuce (yellowed), Miracle Whip, ranch dressing, and two-liter of Dr. Pepper. He was a young white man, perhaps a graduate student, definitely straight, likely middle of the road politically. (I mean, who else but a poor, single, marginally Republican man would eat this stuff?)

Then I went to Whole Foods in the recently gentrified (for better or worse) neighborhood of Logan Circle to purchase the meat and bread. In line there was a middle aged man, slender, probably gay, obviously liberal. He was sad. I knew this from the single serving tray of prepared summer rolls, bottle of Cab, and pint of butter pecan Hagan Daas. I wanted to wish him a happy Valentine's but realized it would be lame...and self-serving and self-righteous. He was lonely and eager to smile at the indifferent check out girl on her Bluetooth. I should have let him have all that in private. I'm an assh*le for looking and watching and judging.

...But back to my superficial reality: the lamb turned out well. I, however, really messed up the creme brulee. It's just as well--the ramekins were a dumb and gleeful heart shape. No one should eat from something shaped like a heart.

Amy's--Not Just for Doves Anymore

Despite the fact that I regularly shave my armpits and didn't vote for Kerry, I find this stuff scrumptious (http://www.amyskitchen.com/).

...I also rest easy knowing that it doesn't contain any GMO's (genetically modified ingredients)--no cloned three-eyed cows or super tomatoes engineered from fetal tissue and some tungsten.

For a discussion of heady things like cloning, fetal stem cell research, and science, go to: http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/ ...

(But if you're more interested in awesome things to put in your pie hole, stay here.)

The Diner, Testing Emo Patience

Mike and I waited 20 minutes outside The Diner (in Adams Morgan) for a table Saturday afternoon. Even at 2pm, the place was packed--filled with late risers trying to get over their hang overs with comfort food. However, standing around in the cold was worth it for a few reasons:

1) The large plate of chili cheese fries we eventually shared--the chili was actually really flavorful and you almost don't notice the orange, processed bladder cheese smothering the perfectly deep-fried potatoes.

AND

2) This girl-->

who walked into the restaurant to see if she could get a table as her patently gay male friend waited outside. Unsuccessful, she came out, screamed, "Why the f* are idiots standing in the vestibule...why stand in the vestibule? G*d%mn idiots in the m*ther-f*$&ing vestibule..." and then walked off with patently embarrassed gay male friend.

Who says "vestibule" and why was she so angry? Mike and I pondered the latter and came up with the following:

a) no coffee, no Zoloft, no fun;

b) recouping the financial and intellectual investment on a Women's Studies degree is tough when you're a 30 year old non-profit intern (who wouldn't feel a little stressed?);

c) complaining about nothing in a strident, shrill manner is the only way a (Wellesley) woman can get ahead in Washington (who knew?).

AND

3)...(The final reason the wait was worthwhile:) The french toast--they give you like 67 slices dusted with powdered sugar and a gluttonous array of choices for toppings (including fruit and syrup). It is absolutely to-die-for and you can get it, along with other breakfast items, 24/7!

Kisses.

http://www.trystdc.com/diner/