To Hellburger and Probably Not Back

North of Rosslyn on Wilson Boulevard there's a nice little cluster of restaurants.  Guajillo, Pho 75, Rays Hellburger and the second Rays with interesting meats.  A friend works down the street and confessed she has never been to Hellburger. I thought that was unbelievable.  However, after my latest excursion, next time I'll follow her lead and just go to Pho 75. 

The boyfriend loved his burger and said it was juicy, spicy and a beefy explosion.  He said that it's no t-bone steak, but it was satifying.  Mine was blah and not worth cheating on my diet.  Overcooked and dry in areas but oddly pink in others, not juicy, not flavorful and cold toppings.  My side of mac and cheese was lukewarm at best, and don't get me started on the sub-par bun.  I was surprised when our order came out relatively quickly, and even the photos do not look nearly as gorgeous as previous visits.  Soul Burger #1 back in August versus January.  Where's my lettuce and tomato slice?  http://wanderingchopsticksdc.blogspot.com/2010/08/rays-hell-burger.html 

 The Big Punisher - covered in a spicy green garlic sauce.

Soul Burger #1.

My favorite food since 1995 has been a bacon cheeseburger.  Ask any of my former students in Japan. I've waxed profound about the merits of a Palena truffled cheeseburger, mentally compared the incarnation at 5 Guys to Clyde's, Chadwick's, Boulevard and Whitlows, and even enjoyed a fancy rendition at the Ritz Carlton.  But I think my love affair may have run its course.  This bumps ramen up to the number one seed, but I'm willing to audition some other contenders.  I'm still searching for a new favorite sushi joint and a close but authentic dim sum place too.  Looks like lots more food adventures to come.

Christmas in Florida

We headed to Florida for the Christmas holidays.  Driving south, we stopped for the night in Savannah, Georgia.  Looking online, we debated which place to try out for dinner.  We ended up going to the southern classic, Lady & Sons, owned by Paula Deen.  Now Paula is not really known as a "less is more" kind of gal, but we were on vacation.

The buffet has a nice variety of southern classics.  Fresh fried chicken, collard greens, creamy macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a variety of beans.  There were also ribs and ham, corn on the cob, salad and desserts.  Really nice collards. 

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We finally made it to Florida after another day of driving.  It was the first time for my boyfriend to meet my parents, and happily everyone got along really well together.

Christmas Eve dinner we had portabello mushrooms stuffed with crab, shrimp and a cheesy rice mixture.  With a light salad, rolls and a crisp Pinot Grigio, we had a very relaxed night before Christmas.

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Christmas morning tradition:  coffee, juice, fruit salad and cinnamon rolls.  This year we had orange cinnamon and regular glazed cinnamon rolls.

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Christmas Dinner

Grilled potatoes, grilled pork tenderloin and asparagus.

Shrimp casserole

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After a bit of home-cooking, we picked up some pizza to eat after watching True Grit.  It's become a holiday tradition to go see a movie. 

Vegetable lovers pizza - garlic, onion, fresh tomato, olives, mushrooms and peppers.

Mushroom, onion, sausage, and pepperoni.

Hank's Oyster Bar in DC

The holidays have crept up so quickly.  Still haven't finished my holiday cards yet. Christmas shopping?  Yeah, haven't done that either.  Last night was a lovely gathering to catch up with a friend who spent her Thanksgiving in Spain, and another who's preparing to resume her world traveling.  We all love Hank's, so despite the cold we met at their 17th Street location.

 If you arrive before 6:30 pm, they have a happy hour oyster special where the types with an asterix on the board are $1 each.  Luckily I arrived at 6:28 pm and my friend quickly put in an order for 2 of each of the HH special oysters for each of us.  All three were excellent.  Cold, briney and one had a hint of creaminess to it.

 I've been thinking about lobster rolls since summertime.  Hank's version is respectable, but for $23 (plus $2 to substitute mac and cheesy for the fries) I think I could do a comparable rendition at home for less.  I think I like bigger chunks of lobster too.

Bouillabaisse special ($23)

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It was lovely to see my friends and share a relaxed dinner together.  After hearing the travel stories, I now want to go to Spain and eat copious amounts of tapas. I hope my traveling friend stays safe and happy in the new year.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

We had a lot of leftovers from our Thanksgiving feast, despite sending home some food with our guests.  

One lunch was a turkey dinner redux.

 For the leftover macaroni and cheese, I cut the cold macaroni into sticks, dredged them in egg wash and panko, then fried them in hot oil.  After they turned brown, I put them in the oven at 350F for 20 minutes while I made the spicy tomato dipping sauce.

The coating was nice and crunchy, the insides were meltingly luscious.  Extremely decadent and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, although maybe this should remain a once a year assault on my arteries.

I also made homemade turkey stock for a vegetable-filled turkey chowder.  Paired with a turkey sandwich, we've almost finished the last of the leftovers.  My boyfriend and I will need to go on a cleansing diet after this week of holiday gluttony. 

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving, it's a day to bring people together and give thanks for all the wonderful people in our lives and events we have experienced.  What I do not like is traveling by plane, train or car during this 4-day weekend.  This year I spent Thanksgiving with my boyfriend and a few friends who were staying in the area.  I haven't cooked a full Thanksgiving meal in a while, so it was with a bit of trepidation and excitement that I planned what to cook.

 My boyfriend's a Southern boy at heart, so he wanted some macaroni and cheese.  I made it with spinach, gruyere and a 3 cheese blend.  Due to limited oven space, I made it Tuesday night. It was ok but a little too crunchy on the top.

 I made a vegetarian and a meat-based dressing.  Listening to NPR, I got the idea to cook chicken drumsticks on top of the sausage dressing to give it that "stuffed in a turkey" flavor. I made both dressings Wednesday evening.

 My boyfriend picked up some pretty flowers for the table.

 We started off with some nibbles as I cooked the turkey.  Marcona almonds with sea salt and rosemary, olives, roasted red peppers, grapes, smoked salmon, salami and a smoked trout dip.  I also made two flatbreads, one with zucchini and feta and the other with mushrooms, zucchini and feta.

 We bought a 12 pound turkey, which I basted with a sage-thyme butter.  I roasted the turkey on top of onion, carrot, celery and some turkey stock, and placed lemon, onion and herbs inside the cavity.

 We needed a bit more space, so we set up a table to hold the hot dishes include mushroom dressing, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, sausage dressing, turkey, buttermilk biscuits and a cranberry nut bread.

 For a few lighter sides, I made green beans with lemon, salad and carrots with thyme.

 My turkey carving skills would have been aided by having a proper carving knife on-hand.  

The sausage dressing turned out much more flavorful than previous renditions.  The roasted chicken dumsticks gave a lovely aroma and moistness to the dressing.

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Thanksgiving is so much more special when you can spend it with family or friends, and I'm so thankful I could spend mine with some wonderful people.  I think a few things could have been cooked with more finesse, but there were no major kitchen catastrophes and everyone had a full belly and a nice evening, which I consider to be a success.

Boulevard Woodgrill in Clarendon

I have a favorite neighborhood place.  The atmosphere is convivial yet relaxed, the bartenders and servers are polite (except for one I loathe) and the food and wine are always reliably good.  It's a great place to grab a drink  when I want to catch up with my girlfriends.  It's good for first dates and family visits since the menu has something for just about everyone.   My favorite bar manager works there, constantly finding interesting wines from the most unexpect places.  Did you know there's a delightful red from Idaho?  Or that pineapple sparkling wine is quite refreshing?  Well, Andy did and he's out to let everyone know.    http://www.boulevardwoodgrill.com/Boulevard_Woodgrill.html

 Balsamic Beef Bruschetta ($10)

 Blackened Grilled Salmon with mashed potatoes and woodgrilled asparagus ($17)

Tilapia with rice and asparagus ($22)

 Duo of seafood kabobs on a bed of rice ($15)

Side of Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese ($6)

Gooey and delicious. 

 Grilled Greek Shrimp Salad ($14)

 Seared rare Ahi tuna salad ($15)

 Kingston Wings ($9) - Caribbean jerk chicken wings with a guava and scotch-bonnet sauce.

Pan-seared monkfish with grilled aspargus over a potato-scallion cake ($20)

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I've enjoyed their ribs, cheddar-bacon burger, steak salad and love the hummus.  If you ever see polenta fries on the specials' list, try them, they're great.

Ray's Hell Burger

Ahhh Notorious BIG...

Ray's Hell Burger in Rosslyn has a burger dubbed "The B.I.G. Poppa". It is a juicy 10 oz beef patty crusted in black pepper then grilled to your specification (or thereabouts). Then it's topped with aged Danish bleu cheese (this is a case where less is definitely more) and served with cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms, slice of tomato and lettuce, with a toasted brioche bun. I believe they want to create a legion of converts to the joys of burgers grilled medium-rare.

The B.I.G. Poppa burger (We love it when you order B.I.G. Poppa)

Michael Landrum's got a sense of humor...

one B.I.G. Poppa medium rare with macaroni and cheese $7.95 (burger) + side order

one B.I.G. Poppa ordered medium with skin-on fries

stack on the deliciously ripe tomato slice

Gently add the mushrooms and top bun...

One method of consumption...eat it whole...(this was supposed to be the "medium"...erm...not so much.)

Leading to this.....

And then ultimately this finished plate...

Or...you could cut the massive burger into halves (or even fourths) and attack it in a different manner.

If you notice, the bottom half of the bun is much thinner and becomes quickly saturated with the juices from the burger. To combat this, just flip the burger over for best results.

Finito.

Embracing Gluttony at Ooohs and Aaahs then Ben's Chili Bowl

My better half's band had a show last night. After playing a good set and checking out the other bands, we went to a little dive on U Street. He's a southern boy at heart, and I knew he'd love Oohhs and Aahhs with its sweet tea, macaroni and cheese and other soul food staples. http://www.oohhsnaahhs.com/10.html It's not a place for dainty portions, or the health-conscious, but it's extremely satisfying. It is a steamy, cash-only, hole-in-the-wall open late night near 10th and U Street NW. We split one meat + 2 sides meal and it was enough for two people.

Fried Catfish with macaroni and cheese and rice with gravy ($16.95)

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I thought he would be satisfied with this post-show snack, but since we were on U Street, we wandered on down the street in a post-soul food bliss to a neighborhood legend...Ben's Chili Bowl (which is also cash-only).

http://www.benschilibowl.com/ordereze/default.aspx

Chili fries ($4.30) - Spicy chili blankets french fries

(if these were Five Guys fries, it would be amazing)

Bill Cosby's Original Chili Half-Smoke with mustard and onions ($5.45).

The halfsmoke was well-grilled, bathed in the spicy chili. Much better quality at the original Ben's than the version served at the National's baseball stadium.

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We'll be working off this epic late night meal for the next few days with some day-long hikes and an all-fruit and vegetable diet. Oohhs and Aahhs has great catfish (blackened or fried), meatloaf, fried chicken wings, macaroni and cheese and yams. If you haven't stopped in there, you should.

Logan Tavern

Maybe I've always been lured in by the bright lights of Whole Foods, or the super grilled cheese at Stoney's, but until last night I never tried Logan Tavern. After reading some less than glowing online reviews, it's easy to be a bit wary. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the endearing server; the manager who warned us about the rise in thefts from purses hanging off the back of chairs; and the eclectic menu. Forewarned is forearmed, and my clever friend gave me a purse table hook one year for Christmas. Clearly I was less than clever since it took me over 8 months to realize how to use it, but now it goes every with me and my purse hangs securely by my lap. Our server was attentive without being intrusive, and thoughtfully remembered to provide a dessert with a sparkler after hearing our group was gathered to celebrate a birthday while we were ordering cocktails.
Logan Tavern is offering a Restaurant Week menu for the entire month of August. They include a glass of wine to the dinner RW menu for $35, but if you opt to forego the wine, the price lowers to $28-30 instead. http://www.logantavern.com/

Buffalo Shrimp (small) - I didn't read the menu very well, perhaps over-excited about the chance to have a Buffalo-style non-meat item. I had envisioned fried shrimp tossed in a picante Buffalo wing sauce with a side of bleu cheese sauce. This version mixes the bleu cheese into the sauce. An interesting dish, the shrimp had a nice crunchy coating, but it could be a bit spicier.
Ginger calamari (small) - flash fried calamari mixed with a ginger sauce and red cabbage. Wonderful aroma and a surprisingly large portion.
Seared sea scallops with truffled polenta, wilted greens and sundried tomato coulis. Coulis is just a fancy word for a light tomato sauce. The truffled polenta was thoroughly enjoyed.

Grilled rack of lamb (medium-rare) with creamy polenta, green beans and a minted chili sauce.

Side order of crab and shrimp mac and cheese. Maybe the seafood was more subtle than I imagined, but it tasted like pasta with a light cheese sauce. The toasted bread crumbs added a nice textural juxtaposition.

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I would definitely go back and try a few more dishes. When the weather cools down a bit the patio seats would be an excellent perch to dine and watch the denizens of Logan Circle parade by.