I am sure you all remember the "Oprah's Favorite Things" episode of her popular TV talk show. This is the episode where Oprah would share her favorite things, whether it be a sweater, a particular brand of cookies, or in one case, she gave everybody a car. "Oprah's Favorite Things" reminds me of the people you see at Costco, who gather around the people who give out samples of half-cooked, processed chicken cordon bleu nuggets. The masses descend upon the table, and clear out every nugget, and then the next group of vultures sit and wait as the poor lady bakes more nuggets.
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Although I think the carnival surrounding "Oprah's Favorite Things" is a bit bizarre, I do appreciate the fact that when you consume a product that you truly love, you want to share it with as many people as you can. In the case of myself, when I eat at a restaurant, there are certain items on the menu that I have partaken in that are awesome. I post pics of the things that I have eaten on my Facebook page all the time, and people constantly ask me, "Where did you get that?" Well, I am now going to tell you. This is..."MARC'S FAVORITE FOOD THINGS" (Part One). LET'S GO!!!
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| Italian Sausage Sandwich with fries at Haute Dogs and Fries in Purcellville, Virginia http://www.hautedogsandfries.com |
A family favorite, Haute Dogs and Fries serves a mix of locally-made hot dogs and sausages. They also make excellent hand cut fries. I always order the Italian Sausage Sandwich, topped with red and green bell peppers and onions, with a nice coating of provolone cheese. The sausage is spicy, with a little bit of crisp from the peppers, and the creaminess of the cheese. And the New England-style hot dog buns they use is a perfect foil for the sausage. Their fries are some of the best around. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, as a good fry is supposed to be done. Get the fries with the chipotle mayo...it makes an excellent dipping sauce. Haute Dogs and Fries holds a special place in my family. It's one of the first places we took Alaiyah when she was baby. It is also the last restaurant that my mother ate out at before passing away in April, 2012. She ordered their "Three Piece Suit" hot dog and loved it. If you don't want to drive all the way out to Purcellville, they recently opened up an Alexandria location. When you go, give the owners, Lionel and Pam a shout out.
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| Quarter-White of Pollo Ala Braza at El Pollo Rico in Arlington, Virginia http://www.welovethischicken.com |
Being the good ole' Southern boy that I am, I thought no other chicken mattered except for fried chicken, bbq chicken, and my mother's roasted chicken. Until I started to eat Peruvian chicken. And the best Peruvian chicken around is at El Pollo Rico in Arlington, Virginia. A family-owned joint, it is not the prettiest of places. Parking is a pain in the ass, and they do not take credit cards (They do have an ATM there, in case you forget to get cash). At lunchtime and on the weekends, this place is ridiculously packed, but the chicken is worth the wait (The line actually moves pretty quickly). You get to the counter, and the person there asks what you want. You may not be able to immediately answer them, because one may be distracted by the wonder that is the multiple rotisserie charcoal ovens cooking dozens of chickens at one time. For me, I order a quarter white-meat chicken, steak fries, with some green sauce, and a ice cold can of Coca Cola. For a quarter white-meat chicken, two sides, and two sauces, not including the drink, you will pay about $6.00. A #1 at McDonalds costs as much, and doesn't taste anywhere as good as El Pollo Rico's Peruvian chicken. They also have locations in Gaithersburg and Wheaton, Maryland, and Woodbridge, Virginia. But it is something about the original Arlington location that makes this dining experience special.
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| Pizze Vongole with Pancetta at 2 Amys Pizzeria in Washington, D.C. (NW) http://development.ginatolentino.com/2amys/ |
Most people are used to the thick-doughed, cloyingly-over sauced tomato sauce, wrongly and "overtoppinged" (Yes, I made that up), plastic cheesed pizza. Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Papa Johns, Little Ceasars...these national chains make something that resembles pizza, but doesn't come close to what pizza really is. The birthplace of pizza is the Naples region of Italy. In Italy they take pizza so seriously, that the Italian Government actually has a designation of what pizza "is". An association called the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association (VPN) "enforces" the rules of pizza making according to the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status set forth the Italian Government (There are approximately 90 VPN/DOC pizzerias in the United States). To be considered D.O.C. certified, the Neopolitan pizza must fit four requirements: (1) The dough must be made with "OO" Flour, which along with water, yeast and salt makes up the dough. (2) The tomato sauce must be San Marzano tomatoes, which is a specially cultivated tomato from Italian, grown from soil that was made with the ashes from Mount Vesuvius (You know...the volcano that destroyed Pompeii), (3) The pizza has to cook in a wood fire oven, and (4) Mozzerella di Bufala can be used, in addition to a "few" other toppings. What you get is an authentic slice of Italy. A pizza that uses the best and freshest of ingredients, and the wood fire oven cooks the thin crust to perfection, with leopard-spotted char marks which gives the pizza an added flavor profile. One of the best places to get D.O.C. certified pizza is 2 Amy's Pizza located in the Cleveland Park section of Northwest Washington, D.C (About a block away from the National Cathedral). 2 Amy's has a national reputation of being one of the best pizzerias in the country, and after going several times over the years, I see why. I order the Pizza Vongole, which is a clam pizza (Something that would never been done in Italy, because seafood and cheese is frowned upon.). Fresh clams, garlic, capers, red pepper flake, parsley, and I always add pancetta to it, in order to give a "clams casino"-kind of feel to it. 2 Amy's stays crowded, the parking is inadequate, and seating is limited. However, if you go, it is worth the wait, worth the parking tickets you will receive for parking illegally, and worth eating while you're sitting against the wall.
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| Grilled Lemongrass Beef Banh Mi at Song Que in Falls Church, Virginia http://www.songquedeli.com/ |
One of my favorite places in the DC Met Area to is the Eden Center , located in the Seven Corners area of Falls Church, Virginia. The Eden Center is a Vietnamese-centric shopping center consisting of approximately 120 stores. It has been the cultural center for DC's growing Vietnamese population for three decades. Of the 120 stores, 37 of them are bakeries, delis and restaurants. I started going to the Eden Center back in the early-2000's, when I went to a restaurant called Four Sisters, which for many years has been considered the premiere Vietnamese restaurant in the DC Metro Area. A few years ago, Four Sisters moved to nearby Merrifield, Virginia, however the Lai Family who started Four Sisters, changed the space into the largest Vietnamese deli in the Eden Center, called Song Que. When you go into Song Que, the first thing you see is a "hot box" full of Chinese-influenced pork buns, which always makes me drool. In the middle of the store, there is an aisle full of fresh, pre-made Vietnamese classic dishes, and on the right, you see the hot items that you can order to eat in, or take out. What Song Que is known for is there Banh Mi sandwiches. Banh Mi actually speaks to the bread, specifically the baguette which was introduced to Vietnam by French colonialists. What the Vietnamese did was take a crusty baguette and stuff it with different kinds of meat, condiments, pickled and fresh vegetables, and herbs. Your meat choices include everything from pate', Vietnamese meatballs, ham, chicken, shredded pork, and grilled lemongrass beef. My personal favorite is the "#8", which is grilled pork. The pork marinates in fish sauce, lemongrass, palm sugar, and other Vietnamese spices, and then grilled, giving the meat a smoky flavor. The generous amount of grilled pork is topped with pickled dikon and carrots, jalopeno, fresh cucumbers, onions, cilantro, fish sauce, and Asian Butter (Which is mayo). You get an 8-inch pork/veggie filled bonanza for only $3.75. Forget Subway, Mickey D's, or any other funky fast food. Get yourself a piece of Vietnamese culture and one of the best sandwiches in the world.
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| Bone-In Cowboy Cut Ribeye Steak from Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington, D.C. http://www.charliepalmer.com/charlie-palmer-steak-dc/ |
Washington, D.C. is a steakhouse town. I've been to The Palm, Bobby Van's, Ruths Chris, the old Caucus Room, Morton's, Smith and Wollensky, Capital Grille and probably a few others that I can't remember. There are so many steakhouses in DC they border on cliche'. People conjure up images of wealthy businessmen, lobbyists and politicians corrupting each other over standard steakhouse fare, such as large hunks of aged beef, creamed spinach, sauteed mushrooms, scalloped potatoes, shrimp cocktails, all washed down with a bottle of red wine (You have to buy a nice cigar afterwards). Most of these steakhouses are dimly lit restaurants, appointed with dark woods, generally marketed towards men. In the last few years, however, there has been a paradigm shift in steakhouses across the country. Some of America's top chef/restauranteurs are opening up "new school" steakhouses which elevates the standard steakhouse to something really unique. In the DC Met Area, those new school steakhouses include Laurent Tourondel's formally owned BLT Steak, Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak, and Jean-George Vongerichten's J&G Steakhouse. Charlie Palmer, another one of America's great chefs/restauranteurs opened up Charlie Palmer Steak to wide acclaim in the late-2000's. Although it is a steakhouse, the bright, sleek interior would suggest something other than the classic steakhouse. The menu is also deviation from the standard steakhouse restaurant. In addition to the great steaks, it is also heavy on seafood, and draws from Italian, French and Asian influences. One of my favorite things at Charlie Palmer Steak is their bone-in cowboy cut ribeye steak. Aged for three weeks or more, this medium rare 20-ounce piece of meaty wonderfulness is AWESOME. Choose from one of their 10 different sides (I recommend the potato gnocchi) to accompany the steak, and you are off to their races. If you have room for dessert, I would highly recommend the Trio of Creme Brulee, which I think is one of the area's best dessert options.
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| Burrata Platter from Pupatella Neapolitan Pizzeria in Arlington, Virginia http://www.pupatella.com/home.html |
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| Proscuitto Arugula Pizza |
Pupatella, like 2 Amys, is another one of the nation's VPN/DOC-certified pizzerias, subscribing to the strict standards by which authentic pizza is made. Unlike 2 Amy's, Pupatella is relatively new to the DC Met Area's culinary landscape. Starting out as a food truck, Pupatella soon opened up a brick and mortar location in Arlington, Virginia between Ballston Common and Falls Church. Although Pupatella is a newcomer, it has opened to wide acclaim locally and nationally, just recently being named to Eater.Com's "38 Essential Pizzerias Across America, 2014. In my opinion, Pupatella is the best pizzeria in the DC Met Area. 2 Amy's has long held that honor, but Pupatella has pulled slightly ahead. It's small, and even on an off day, it's packed, so I would suggest going early. They make many of their products in house, including the breads and cheese. All of the ingredients there are fresh, and they follow the mantra of having great ingredients, and not messing with them too much. Two of my favorite things are at Pupatella, the first being their Burrata Platter and the second being the Proscuitto Arugula pizza. The Burrata Platter is one of the best things I have eaten...PERIOD!!! Burrata is an Italian cheese delicacy. A solid mozzarella outer shell envelopes a mozzarella/cream middle. It has a soft, creamy texture, and it tastes like solid milk. At Pupatella, they make their own barrata, and the platter comes with house-made toasted bread, fresh tomatoes and arugula dressed in olive oil and lemon, and a generous amount of proscuitto. It is an expensive small plate ($19.00), and they sell out quickly. But when I tell you that this is good, this is run across the dessert over broken glass-good. As for the proscuitto arugula pizza, I have seen this kind of pizza at other pizzerias. I never really focused on it, because I wasn't sure about arugula. However, I tried it at Pupatella, and it is now my "go to" pizza. It is a combination of salty, bitter, milky and sweet. One may think of it as salad on a pizza, but it is very filling and very gratifying. I strongly recommend this pizza. I cannot recommend Pupatella enough. At least once a week, I joke with Alicia about going there to eat. To be honest, it's not really a joke...I could eat there every week. If you live within 50 miles of this place, travel there and eat some of the pizza in the country.
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| A plate of dumplings at China Bistro in Rockville, Maryland No Website |
There is a story about how I discovered this place. I am not sure if Alicia and I were on holiday break, or if we were playing hooky from work, but on a cloudy and rainy day in 2009, we were thinking about what to have for lunch. My wife, who is a Chinese food junkie, said that she had a taste for Cantonese-style dumplings. Most Chinese restaurants and several mainstream American restaurants sell dumplings, mainly as appetizer items. They are usually pre-made and frozen, and lack a certain punch of flavor. Alicia and I do not eat at most Chinese restaurants, because many of them are the same cliche', Americanized, unauthentic version of Cantonese cuisine that so many of us are familiar with. The few that we do go to serve great, authentic regional Chinese cuisine, but we found that the dumplings were lacking. So I had to do a quick search of restaurants in the area that serve good dumplings. I did a Google search, and one restaurant kept showing up, and that restaurant was China Bistro. China Bistro is located in Rockville, Maryland, specifically in Rockville's Chinatown section, where some of the area's best regional Chinese restaurants are located. I showed Alicia the reviews, we hopped in our car, and took the 40 minute drive to Rockville. The restaurant is located in a small strip mall off of Rockville Pike/Hungerford Drive. The parking is horrible, and that day, it was difficult to find a parking space. As we walk towards the restaurant, we see a line coming out of the door. We then remembered it was lunchtime, but still, we were surprised at the length of the line. The restaurant is small...REALLY small. Prior to the renovations that they made last year, China Bistro sat about 15-20 people in the main dining room, and then they had a smaller room right behind the cash register. Although clean, it was unattractive and nondescript. If you decide to dine there, and you have to go to the restroom, you literally have to walk through the kitchen into the back of the restaurant in order to "handle" one's business. Since the renovation, the restaurant has expanded considerably, and it is more decorative and inviting. They also built a new restroom that one did not have to go through the kitchen to access. The area near the door where the line started at was cramped, but Alicia and I settled in. I would say about 90% of the people who were ordering, were ordering dumplings to go. Some people were ordering bulk orders of dumplings in order to take home and freeze them. Alicia and I looked at each other wondering "what the hell they are putting in these dumplings?". We waited in the line for about 30 to 45 minutes. During our wait, we had the opportunity look over the menu. Despite the emphasis on dumplings, it is a full-service restaurant that serves other regional Chinese classics...some familiar, some that are not. Although this place has attracted the attention of non-Chinese persons, the menu at China Bistro was designed primarily with the Chinese consumer in mind. But of course, Alicia and I were there for the dumplings, and on their menu they had 12 different dumplings, the most expensive dumplings were $7.95 (The prices have moderately increased since then). With an order, you get a dozen dumplings, ranging from pork and dill, vegetarian, chive and shrimp, and many more. However, Alicia and I were interested in ordering "Mama's Special Dumplings" ("MSD"), which was mentioned a great deal in the reviews we read. MSD consist of pork, shrimp, chive and napa cabbage. I personally believe they have crack as a secret ingredient, but that is pure speculation at this point. Alicia and I ordered two orders of MSD, paid, and had to wait for an additional 10-15 minutes. Why so long? Because they make each and every dumpling TO ORDER. Nothing pre-made, nothing frozen. Every order is made with care and attention to detail. It's all about quality and culinary integrity. When they did have the bathroom behind the kitchen, I actually saw how they made the dumplings, and it is an awesome process. All of the ingredients are fresh, and their dumpling dough is made in-house. We then received our order, headed to our car, drove to a nearby parking lot where we decided to eat. We opened up our boxes, and steam immediately hit our faces. The smell was intoxicating. In the styrofoam containers, we see 12 really large dumplings. Most places you go, you get five or six miniature dumplings or pot stickers. Not these dumplings. These were dumplings on steroids. Alicia and I could not whip out our chopsticks out fast enough, as we proceeded to eat. We took our first bites of the dumplings, and we were beyond happy. Texture, flavor, aroma...these pillows of culinary wonderfulness were well worth the wait, and we understood why people gave such favorable reviews to China Bistro. Alicia and I ate all of our dumplings, and almost went back to order some to take home (We didn't want to deal with that line again). We did come back about a week or so later, enjoyed some more dumplings, scallion pancakes, and Mama's Special Soup, which was awesome. We have been going to China Bistro since then, inviting friends to enjoy the experience with us, and it was probably the first restaurant we took Alaiyah to after she was born. Since that time, she has also become a fan of the dumplings and soup. These dumplings are so precious to Alicia, that the mere mention of the word "dumpling" will cause her to have a pavlovian-response, and she immediately wants to head to Rockville for dumplings. Once you go to China Bistro, you will understand Alicia's reaction. I would just say...call ahead and order.
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| Cumin Pulled Lamb Noodles at Xi'an Famous Foods in Flushing, Queens (NYC) http://www.xianfoods.com |
If you want to get this dish, you are going to have to travel 4 hours north to the Big Apple, and go to Chinatown. Not the one in Manhattan that everybody knows about, but the larger Chinatown in the Flushing section of Queens, which is not far from where my wife grew up. This is not the fake-ass, two or three block Chinatown that we have here in DC, this is a serious, real-deal Chinatown. Nobody speaks English. Most of the signs are in Cantonese or Mandarin, and all of the businesses cater to Chinese people. In the middle of Main Street in Flushing, there is the Golden Shopping Mall, which is the epicenter of the Chinese community in Flushing (Pictured Below)
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| The Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing, Queens (NYC) |
As you can see in the picture above, this certainly doesn't look like a mall. In fact the entrance to the mall (In the center) looks like the entrance to a convenient store. But when you walk in, it is something totally different. You take a narrow stairway, almost like a stairway you have at your house. You go down about four levels, and then BOOM...you're in an underground Chinese village. You walk through a labyrinth of stores and restaurants, walking through narrow corridors going from one place to the next. We were making our way through this maze of stores, and we asked a man how to get to Xi-an Famous Foods. The man's English wasn't good, but he was able to point us in the right direction, and we ended up at Xi'an Famous Foods. I first heard about Xi'an Famous Foods on Travel Channel's "No Reservations". It has also been featured on "Bizarre Foods", as well as featured on several other food shows. Although there are several locations within NYC, this is the original location, and considered the best. The restaurant is about the size of an average American kitchen. It seats about six to ten people, and the tables and chairs are wobbly. On the wall, they have a pictoral menu of all the items they offer. Alicia and I ordered two items that each show talked about, which was the Cumin Lamb Burger and the Cumin Lamb Pulled Noodles. Ground lamb meat spiced with cumin, peppers, onions and other spices, stuffed inside a pita-like pastry. It's yummy, spicy and unrealistically cheap...only $1.50. As happy as we were with the Cumin Lamb Burger, we were anxious to try the Cumin Lamb Pulled Noodles. As soon as you order the noodles, we saw one of the women in the kitchen pull out noodle dough, and literally make the noodles right before your eyes. It involves pulling the dough and slamming the dough on the counter. Pulling the dough and slamming the dough. You wonder how this process is going to turn the dough into noodles, but the longer they do this, the noodles start to form. They then put the noodles in water for a brief period of time, take the noodles out, toss the noodles in some kind of spiced oil mixed with spiced lamb, and then served. Cost...about $5.00. We begin to eat, and once again, we had the same kind of shared reaction with good food. It was awesome. The noodles were not firm, but not mushy. The spicy oil and lamb was spicy, but it was so good you didn't give a damn about how much pain you were in. You just wanted to eat more and more. The ladies at the counter, in their broken English, asked if we liked it, and we gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up. I think being the only black people in the restaurant, and perhaps the whole mall, she was concerned about whether we liked it. It's all good though. We left satisfied, and we didn't spend that much money for a great lunch. For the cost of two-#1's at Mickey D's, you get some of the best, and most authentic Chinese food in the country.
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| Half Smoke with Everything at Ben's Chili Bowl in NW Washington, D.C. http://www.benschilibowl.com |
Some people think it is a culinary icon. Others think it is overrated cliche'. To me, it is both, but that doesn't take away from its greatness. Some people say that you are not a true Washingtonian until you have a half smoke at Ben's Chili Bowl located in the U Street Corridor in NW DC. Ben's has been a giant in DC's culinary landscape since 1958, founded by Ben Ali, a Trinidadian immigrant. Ben's serves the common man, the celebrities, and even the President of the United States. The celebrity mainly associated with Ben's Chili Bowl is Bill Cosby, who has been a lifelong customer. It has been featured in movies and television shows. My mother used to go to Ben's Chili Bowl when she lived on U Street back in the 1960's. Now it has become a tourist trap, with lines snaking around the building. Ben's sells burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc., etc. Ben's is famous for their half-smokes, which is a spicy hot dog-sausage hybrid. The classic Ben's dish is a "Half-Smoke with everything", everything meaning chili, mustard and onions. You can get it with fries or potato chips. It's messy, it's not organic, in fact the half smoke exemplifies culinary incorrectness. And it is SOOOOOOO GOOD. I turned my wife onto it, and being that she is from the hot dog capital of the country (NYC), I thought she would look unfavorably on the half smoke. After trying one, she said it was the best hot dog she has ever had...HANDS DOWN. I know a lot of my DC friends who don't like Ben's, which to me speaks to a certain level of contrianism born out of the fact that it is a tourist attraction. Who cares? If it is good, it's good. When you come to DC, take the green-yellow line on the Metrorail, get off at the U Street/African American Civil War/Cardozo metro stop, walk across the street, walk into Ben's, see Big Mo (Big dude with dreadlocks), and ask him for a half smoke with everything. After you enjoy your half smoke, walk down the block to the 7-11, and buy yourself some Tums. You will need it.
And for now...that's the Marc-Up!!! We'll reconvene soon for "Marc's Favorite Food Things-Part Two"
