Other DC Foods

I ate a bunch of stuff while I was in DC not too long ago. Here’s a short compilation :)

I finally got to try brunch at Eastern Market – something I had meant to do on my last visit – and I was very very happy that I did. We went to Crepes at the Market, a crepe stand, and my friend Jacky had a spinach, fresh mozzarella, and basil crepe, while I ordered the “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” (yes, “dinner” for brunch, it’s how I roll). My crepe had some curry chicken, green beans, potatoes, onions, some kind of cheese. It was a slightly heavy brunch, but we walked over to Capital Hill afterward and explored the Library of Congress & the Air & Space Museum, so it didn’t make me uncomfortable :) It was super hearty, and made fresh. The crepe was soft, yet crunch around the edges, and was a lovely nice balance to the innards. If you like crepes, you should definitely seek this place out!

Another day, I had a handroll bento box for brunch at Teaism (I also had an “African Star” iced tea). The bento box had tea-cured salmon with miso mayo, which was yummyy. And great not-too-sour pickled vegetables (bottom left). Also tried their Salty Oat cookie, which was great. A thick oatmeal raisin cookie with some salty chunks. I love salt/sweet combination desserts, and this was a very fine example of one. I also tried my friend’s Palak Paneer, an Indian spinach curry, which was very flavorful, and surprisingly not heavy! I would totally return – its kind of like the Asian Cosi/Panera of DC.

I also got to try Chipotle’s Southeast-Asian test-kitchen Shophouse. At first, I was pretty annoyed at Chipotle, because they trademarked “Shophouse” not too long ago, forcing my favorite Thai place in NY, Pure Thai Shophouse to change its name to Pure Thai Cookhouse. What is up with that?! >[ Nevertheless, I have heard good things about this site, and while I am not Chipotle’s biggest fan, I wanted to give this place a shot. It wasn’t too bad! You pick your ingredients, as your food moves down the line. I got the noodles with the pork/chicken meatballs, roasted corn, the hot curry (“What sauce is the best?” I asked, “My favorite is the hot”, “Alright, hit me up”, “Careful, its really spicy”, “I can handle it”), all of the pickled stuff, and all of the other toppings (toasted rice, peanuts, whatever). The server wasn’t joking. The hot curry was SPICY. Good but spicy. I LOVED the addition of toasted rice, which it gave the food a great little crunch – I would definitely recommend that as a topping. The roasted corn was alright, I love roasted corn, there was roasted corn, I ate it happily. I don’t know why there is a weird orange-y light in the picture though.

Upon my return to NY, I hit up more places on my to-go list. Details to come!