#17: Spring cleaning & summer bucket list
Leftover recs for your consideration and summer cooking ideas!
I’m honestly quite excited to spend a good amount of this summer in DC (said not a single soul). With last summer filled with really fulfilling travel and weddings, I’m ready for a slower pace in the swamp.
That being said, I am also really excited for an upcoming trip to Philly and NYC to do my rounds so if you have any burning recs, please send them my way!
Rounding up the stragglers
So even after the dump that you so kindly read through last month, I do have more recs to report in the last three-ish weeks that we have been apart. I do love this particular mix of recommendations. We have food markets, casual spots, and less casual (read: more formal) dining options for you to take advantage of this summer! It’s a great blend of what DC and the broader DMV have to offer.
Asiantque Market (no Instagram, follow Facebook for updates!)
When: last Sunday of every month from 5:00-9:00pm
Where: 6911 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA
Settled behind the parking lot of an old Masonic lodge in Annandale Virginia, the Asiantque Market hosts at least 30+ Asian food vendors and brings in a huge crowd.
I would go back, but closer to 5:00pm. Lines get very long so going early can save you from splitting up your group to stand in different lines the whole time. Some dishes are hit or miss. We waited in line for 30+ minutes for grilled squid that didn’t taste like much without the sauce.
But there are also many hits! The meatball skewers were a group favorite. Picture 5-6 tiny lil meatballs on a skewer doused in an addicting sweet and spicy sauce. They come in a bunch of different flavors like beef, chicken, pork and mint, fish cakes, and then spicy variations of everything listed. Some other favorites included the crispy mussel pancakes (more like savory crepes) and crispy sweet crepes filled with nutella and fruit.
I owe one more trip back for the skewered tornado potatoes dusted with spices and some savory pork and rice wrapped in banana leaves.
Suggested order: Viva Mexico cocktail, al pastor tacos, el pescado tacos, guacamole
Recently rated by the US Mexican ambassador as a top taco spot in DC, Chicatana matches the hype. To me, this is one of the best taco spots I’ve tried in DC proper.
The cocktails are phenomenal. The bar boasts high quality classic margaritas, some fruitier options, and more inventive cocktails all at a really reasonably price (I think under $12 if I’m remembering correctly?).
All of their tacos include very well executed classics. Although a bit on the greasier side, definitely get the al pastor shaved off the trompo that guards the bar. Guacamole finished with chili oil is here and is something that we should be doing much more often.
Overall, a great casual spot whether it’s a date night or large group. I don’t think there’s a taco more than $4 which seems unheard of in DC these days.
This is a ludicrous omakase deal for very high end sushi. $40 gets you seven pieces of beautifully crafted sushi, a hand roll, a miso soup, and so many “holy shit” moments in the company of strangers at the bar.
The quick omakase is only served at lunchtime on weekdays and service keeps turns tight within an hour. So, if you do have a slow work day to slip away to this raw fish haven, I would be happy to write your boss a doctor’s note.
Get there on the earlier side, maybe at noon or so. Once you sit down, the show begins. The ringleader is Chef Uchi, a former alumni of the high-end Japanese powerhouse, Sushi Nakazawa. The bar is dotted with clientele who are specifically there to watch Chef Uchi do his own very beautiful thing. 12-16 are under his close watch as he keeps track of which piece of fish each guest is enjoying.
The chef’s selection is nothing short of incredible. Two pieces in particular. First, the charred king salmon: silky, fatty, and delicious. Second, two baby squid carefully placed next to each other, brushed with the most delicate sauce, and topped with an herb that I cannot remember for the life of me. It altered my brain chemistry and it’s going to kill me how little I know about the actual components.
Just means I have to go back, oh nooooo.
Charlie can keep the stupid chocolate factory - this is DC’s golden ticket. This $42 Japanese breakfast service is held twice a month on Saturdays. The spread includes salt-cured ocean trout, a soft omelet, a wagyu beef and potato stew, vegetable soup, and house made pickles. A savory brunch girl’s dream come true.
The breakfast tray alone goes so hard, but there’s also plenty of add-on’s like Japanese style egg salad sandwiches or a fruit and cream option for those who need a sweet treat. We opted for the spam musubi onigirizaru (think of a rice ball layered with spam, egg, and cabbage, held together by seaweed sheets, and cut cross-wise like a sandwich) and a strawberries and cream sando to round out the meal. There is nothing more special.
It’s so exciting to see options like this come to DC. It seems like the Japanese breakfast is pretty popular in New York and I hope the trend continues to take over DC!
St. James has been rightfully recognized in the New York Times 25 Best Restaurants in DC, Right Now list, in addition to some other local DC rankings. Due to nothing other than my own ignorance, I was surprised to find so many South Asian flavors in these dishes.
There is a long history of Indian and Caribbean flavors melding into each other. This is often left out of traditional Caribbean menus - but not this one! The menu highlights this crossover in many ways. The aloo and channa pies are stuffed with spiced potatoes and chickpeas, wrapped together by fried bread, and born to be dunked into their spicy green chutney. The paratha roti platter is a symphony of curried vegetables and stewed meats that can be folded together with a thick piece of paratha roti bigger than your head.
If you need to put back a ton of different meats cooked to perfection, this is your place. To name a few, consider the most tender marinated and braised oxtails, 12-hour marinated jerk wings with a smoky pimiento crust and spicy aioli, and garlic pork ribs with chili sauce.
To break up all of our meats, we naturally ordered a sampler platter of coconut rice, collard greens, and caramelized plantains. And for pure shits and giggles, we did add in the baked mac and cheese which was still a great call.
We don’t have a lot of upscale Caribbean food spots in DC. Casual options like jerk wings are really popular, and for good reason. It’s also refreshing to see some more modern takes and to have this option so close by.
I will definitely return for more seafood dishes like the whole fried fish, curried crab and cassava dumplings, and pepper shrimp!
Summer cooking & cocktails mood board
I have HIGH hopes for my summer cooking and cocktail agenda. Take this as more of a mood board / manifestation exercise than anything else:
GRILL GIRL SUMMER - I will be commanding my power over my tiny public terrace grilling MEAT. I’m thinking hanger steaks with chimichurri, skewered shrimp marinated in green sauce, grilled whole fish a la Contramar with a red and green sauce. The options are endless!
TOMATO POTIONS - I will be concocting little tomato tinctures all summer long. I’m thinking of this lighter bloody martini, or one of the many tomato cocktail variations from @drinksbyevie (see below). Not a tomato, but also fiending to make this radish cocktail from @menubyoven that requires a radish gastrique - how fun!
NOT LAME SALADS!
Need to take advantage of June produce with this refreshing melon, cucumber, and avocado salad recipe developed by Carolina Gelen.
I’m so late to the party on this recipe, but I recently made this vegan Caesar salad dressing from NYT cooking developed by Becky Hughes. This blend of cashews, nutritional yeast, caper brine, nori, garlic, dijon mustard, and a few other players is very potion-coded, but such a surprisingly savory flavor bomb. It would also make a great dip for a summer crudité platter, or maybe smeared on a BLT??
COLD BROTHY SAUCY NOODLES
I am ready to put my slowly dying Nutribullet to work (read: out of its misery) this summer. I intend to do this by continuing my own potions pursuit through a ton of different saucy brothy noodle dishes.
I have this vision of a green curry sauce that can be served cold with soba noodles inspired by Sohla El-Waylly’s chilled tahini soba noodles from her cookbook that I made for our cookbook club in March. Yikes, that was already in March? I need to sort out whether this sauce can be blended with silken tofu for more protein, or maybe with coconut milk and cashews instead? Stay tuned for recipe testing updates.
Nasim Lahbichi (@lahbco) declared last summer as cold soup summer and as a perpetual soup girl, who am I to disagree? His chilled noodle soup with a coconut milk, soy butter, gochujang, and miso broth with noodles is the perfect concoction to get me through the heat.
To combine my two loves, broth and tomatoes, I need to make Eric Kim’s (@ericjoonho) cold noodles with tomatoes, which resemble a blend of naengmyeon, a chilled Korean noodle soup and gazpacho.
Let me know what you’re fiending to make this summer!
That’s all for this month! Looking forward to sharing some Philly and NYC favorites with you next month. In the meantime, follow where I’m eating on Instagram and Beli (@merrysamuel).
Ciao ciaooooooooo
Obsessed with this! I need to go out of my way for a Japanese breakfast in NYC.
Too bad we don't have that in St Petersburg