Summer Potato Salad

Just because the 4th of July has come and gone (p.s. when did THAT happen?!), doesn't mean you're not still hovering over the grill, nibbling down ears of corn like an old-fashioned typewriter and trying to make the most of all the fresh, seasonal eats. Growing up I used to hate potato salad--the globs of yellowing mayonnaise glistening behind grocery store deli counters just didn't seem appetizing to me. I got on the German-style, vinegar-only kind bandwagon for a while...and then, I grew up. I grew up and realized potato salad was actually pretty good with both vinegar and mayonnaise. So when I picnic or enjoy a summer BBQ, I make this potato salad. May you enjoy it!

*These measurements are not necessarily exact. Use your judgement foodies and suit it to your taste!

Summer Potato Salad (serves about 4)
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. small red potatoes or baby yukon gold potatoes (or even a mix)
- 3/4 cup of mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 large shallot or 2 medium shallots, roughly chopped/diced
- Large bunch of chives, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Put the potatoes in a pot of water with a few pinches of kosher salt. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat and then simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender enough to poke with a fork. When the potatoes are tender and done, drain them in a colander and let them cool off sufficiently before you slice them into quarters/halves (bite-sized). 2. Finely chop the bunch of chives and roughly chop the shallots. You can add more of both to taste. But be careful--despite being smaller than an onion, shallots pack a powerful punch!
3. Once the potatoes have cooled and have been cut, place them in a large bowl. Note: make sure they are cool, otherwise your mayo will get into a funky consistency with the hot potatoes (not pretty). Add the chopped chives and shallots. Next, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard and red wine vinegar. Add a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir completely so that all of the ingredients are mixed well. Serve and enjoy!

Take a bite: bonappetitfoodie.blogspot.com.

To the Market and 1789

Lady luck struck again, foodies. Tweet and ye shall receive! And I received another amazing cooking class at 1789 last weekend.

I wandered down to Georgetown Sunday morning and hopped into executive chef Dan Giusti's car with a couple other people to head off to the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market. By the way, if you haven't gone to that farmer's market, you should, as it is well stocked and a foodie's paradise. Weaving through the foot traffic, strollers and foods stands, with eyes darting around the bounties of produce, Giusti was on a mission. He simply asked us what we all wanted to eat, sampled the food for sale and mentally assembled the menu before our eyes. I know that's his job. But it's cool and exciting to see a chef in action, picking out ingredients and matching them together in tasty dishes in a few short moments.

Unlike the last cooking class which was mostly a demonstration, this was hands on and we all participated in preparing the meal. I could squeal with delight being able to say I chopped mini cantaloupes in the kitchen of the venerable DC institution that is 1789. A little white wine, some good conversation about everything food (if a non-foodie had been watching, they might have gagged at how gaga we all were over talking about everything from what restaurants we've eaten at to how to prepare various seasonal foods to what food critics are whispering about), and six hours later, I was happy as a clam. Check out the spread:

Freshly baked bread from pastry chef, Travis Olson Baked tomatoes, yellow squash & zucchini with homemade breadcrumbs
Grilled puffer fish, which I de-spined. Sorry fishies. Steamed beet salad with arugula & ricotta salata. Look at those beautiful baked beets!

Fresh cantaloupe & yellow & white peaches, marinated in white wine, topped with mint granita

The food, as always, was outstanding. The surprisingly simple dish of baked tomatoes, yellow squash and zucchini with nothing but olive oil, salt, basil and breadcrumbs was the essence of summer. Puffer fish, as I learned, is a somewhat unusual, rare catch. According to Giusti, these fish are usually caught with scallops. Out of about 400 lbs. of scallops that are caught, he said, you might only get 30 lbs. of puffer fish. It's a small, but very firm and meaty fish that is good for grilling and is absolutely delicious. For dessert, we took advantage of the fresh fruit that was available at the market. Normally not a huge fan of cantaloupe, I found myself scooping up the tender melon bits greedily with bits of the cool, refreshing mint granita on top.

What I like about Giusti (aside from the fact that he's a magician of food who got my boyfriend to eat and enjoy seafood) is that he is completely down to earth. There is no pretentiousness despite all his accolades and expertise. He knows his ingredients--where they come from, when to get them, where to get them and most importantly, how to best prepare them. He can talk about food and the DC food scene until he is blue in the face, but he's not obnoxious about it. You can ask him just about any question about food and he'll give an honest, genuine answer, even when you might expect someone in his position to feed you a crafted, PR-speak response. Not to say I'm any authority, but I think the changes they've been making to 1789 reflects the young spirits of the executive chef and pastry chef, and I think it's a good move (though I kind of hope they bring back the jacket attire...).

So head out to 1789 when you get the chance, seeing as they're offering 3 courses for $35 through mid-September (anyone who complains that this "diminishes" restaurant week, I say, shuuuuut uuuuup. When are you going to get that deal at a place like 1789?). Or better yet, take advantage of their next cooking class coming up in August, I believe. Word on the street says it might feature tomatoes. HUGE thanks again to chef Dan and 1789 for hosting such a delicious and fun cooking class, and selecting me as a Twitter winner!

Take a bite: bonappetitfoodie.blogspot.com.

A Review: Comet Ping Pong

As one of Washingtonian's best cheap eats, I strolled over to Comet Ping Pong since I was craving pizza. If you know me or this blog, you know I'm a pizza snob. Born and bred in New Jersey, I can be a downright pain in the ass to get pizza with outside of the tri-state area (do not even suggest Papa John's for delivery; where I come from that is dough with cheese on it, not pizza and is considered slightly blasphemous). Comet, with it's stripped down, slightly warehousey feel and ping pong tables in the back, fell in the middle of my pizza scale. They serve up thin crust pizza which is always a plus, but fell short in some other pizza criteria.

There is definitely variety in their pizza options. I wasn't quite craving their soft shell crab pizza and wasn't entirely sure how it would taste. My inclinations are to keep the delicate soft shell crab I love so dearly off of a cheesy slice of pizza; but I'm curious, and when I try that pizza, I'll report back. So instead I tried the pepperoni and jalapeno pizza and their pizza with meatballs. There's a good beer selection too. Sometimes nothing hits the spot like some good hot pizza and cold beer.

Both pizzas were a little on the oily side which was the only major fault with this pizza. The meatballs were flavorful, not laden with breadcrumb filler, and I wish there had been some more of them scattered on the pizza. The sauce was fantastic, and they definitely put a generous amount on the pizza, which I like. The bubbly crusts were good enough to eat by themselves, but the bottom crust could have been cooked a little more.

Comet Ping Pong is a neighborhood place. You'll find lots of families there, so watch out for ping pong balls whizzing by your feet if you sit near the back and a tiny tot with poor aim is playing with his dad (so adorable though). When you want an easy bite to eat in a laidback place, Comet is a good choice.

Take a bite: bonappetitfoodie.blogspot.com.

Sauca - (n.) an international food truck

Man, I've been hoarding blog posts like squirrels stuffin' their cheeks with food throughout DC--those little creeps practically take the sandwich right out of my hands during my lunch break in the park, geez. Anyway, in a sea of ebbing food trends ranging from cupcakes to designer burgers to vodka eyeballing, I admit I was a little slow to hop on the food truck train. Thinking it was all nothing more than trucks serving overpriced food to hungry office workers dying for a taste of something other than mediocre Cosi sandwiches (really, the place only serves flatbread. What kind of crap is that for a "sandwich" place?), I didn't write off the food truck craze, but I certainly ignored it.

That is until Sâuçá came along. Pronounced as s-ow-sa, this food truck is probably the best thing to happen to my lunch break--and isn't too hard on my wallet. The roving food truck offers some of the most flavorful lunch options influenced by various international cuisines. At first glance, the menu might seem on the short side--eight entree options from the same basic formula--but they also offer inexpensive side dishes, soups and salads. However, lest your eyes be bigger than your stomach, as mine so often are, try just going with one of the entrees/"sandwiches." They're incredibly filling, but they don't leave you with that gross, bloated, "I need to nap at my desk now" feeling. The entrees all come served on a thick, naan-like bread, making them very easy to eat and quite portable if you're eating on-the-go. There are 15 or so sauces that you can choose to add to your order and they really compliment the various dishes.

The first Sâuçá I tried was the mumbai butter chicken (see above; sorry I was too consumed by the deliciousness of this dish and took a picture halfway through my meal). From the first bite, I was hooked. Flavors of intense curry, warm basmati rice, cashews and spice flooded my tastebuds. The chicken was just spicy enough, and the dill yogurt sauce made for the best combination. I'm not a huge fan of dill, but the yogurt sauce cooled down the already mild spice and had just a hint of dill flavor. The cashews added a nice crunch to the soft naan.

The second Sâuçá I sampled was the beef shawarma (see picture below). While the butter chicken was the better choice, the beef shawarma had rich, middle eastern spices that went really well with their tahini sauce and the eggplant mayo. I didn't notice any onions in the shawarma as it says on the menu, but there were some good pickles that gave it a little tart crunch.

Of course with so much food, you need something to wash it down. Usually I forego wasting my cash on a crappy, fizzy soda or other beverages with empty calories. However, when you go to this food truck, you must try the signature limunad. At first the cool citrusy lemonade seems a little two sweet. But on the second and third sip, you can taste the mint and orange blossom. It was so refreshing and very different from most lemonade/citrus beverages. Their iced tea limunad is sweeter and not bad, but if you're not up for a syrupy sweet beverage, skip it.

A few things to keep in mind about Sâuçá: sometimes their internet connection on the truck goes out and you can't pay with credit cards, so it's always a safe bet to bring cash. Also, Sâuçá has a little partnership with my nonprofit favorite, DCCK. A portion of the proceeds from certain meals/beverages listed on the truck goes to DCCK. So you can pay for your lunch and pay it forward a little bit.

So where might you find Sâuçá, you ask? The answer lies within the power of Twitter. Follow @wheresauca to find out where the two trucks will be for lunch and dinner. One thing I love about the food trucks in DC though is their ability to successfully grab foodies and non-foodies alike, mainly by marketing themselves through Twitter. What better way to run a roaming food truck and attract patrons? Sure there are probably the people who happen to walk by the trucks and decide to chance their lunch experience for the day. But I know I'm not the only one following these food trucks on Twitter, stalking out their next location and crossing my fingers it will be near my office. Who knows, maybe I'll see you there.

Take a bite: bonappetitfoodie.blogspot.com.

Restaurant Review: Ardeo

Whew, foodies, it's been a while! Now that I'm out of hibernation (sorry, I was job hunting, getting my post-grad life in order and then starting a job), I've got some catching up to do here! So without further ado, a review of the latest restaurant I've frequented: Ardeo.

Seeing as it was from the same owner of notable restaurants such as 701, Rasika, The Bombay Club, The Oval Room and Bibiana, the bar for Ardeo had been set pretty high. And fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Despite the beginnings of a heat wave descending over Washington, my boyfriend and I decided to eat outside on the restaurant's tiny roof deck. With the sun setting and maybe a mild breeze going by, it's a romantic setting (minus the whirring of fans on neighboring roofs, but those are blocked by lattices). It's nice to dine outside in DC, but be above street level, removed from the city noise.

Before I launch into the praises of this meal, allow me to get two things out of the way. Ardeo has a pre fixe menu; however, I must have overlooked the fact that it ends at 6:40 pm. While I don't recall seeing this detail on the menu, I trust my waitress, but I was still miffed at the end of the meal to get a bill I wasn't anticipating. If the "pre fixe" option ends at 6:40 pm, this is an "early bird special"--let's call a spade a spade here. Secondly, our waitress for the evening maintained a Kristin Stewart-esque scowl throughout the evening, as if her job was the bane of her existence. I get it, I can commiserate, but please, you're kind of killing my buzz and romantic roof-top vibe when you scowl that much and essentially make me grab my piping hot dinner plate before the food slides off and lands in my lap. I respect people in the restaurant/food industry. But if you are serving at a high-end, pricey restaurant, just try to muster up a smile, okay?

Moving along...starting off with cocktails, we had a mint julep made with some limoncello which was strong, but perfect for an outdoor summer meal. I had a hibiscus-like cosmopolitan which was also very good, albeit a little too syrupy sweet. For appetizers, I had the heirloom tomatoes which were presented simply as to show off the variety of colors. I also tried the cucumber gazpacho with black garlic crostini, which was an interesting dish. The cucumber gazpacho was delicious, not too chunky but was very strong on the red wine vinegar. The black garlic crostini tasted sweet, but with the slightest bitter, almost burnt flavor. Black garlic is fermented garlic and becomes paste-like when spread on a piece of toasted baguette. At first glance it doesn't look too appetizing (think black goo/tar), but it does taste good.

The two entrees I tried were the scottish salmon and the roasted chicken. The salmon reminded me of the entree I had at the sister restaurant 701 a while back--cooked almost completely through except for the middle portion that was a deeper, delicious, ever-so-raw pink. This version was served with patty pan squashes, fried artichokes and small onions. Patty pans, for those of you who haven't heard of them, are the darling, adorable child of the squash family. They taste a bit like zucchini, but are much more aesthetically pleasing and more fun to say (try it: patty pan, pattypanpattypan). The fried artichokes were so good--crispy, crunchy on the tips and delicately tender on the thick artichoke heart portion.

The other entree I sampled (and almost swiped off of my boyfriend's plate it was so good) was the roasted chicken. Perfectly cooked, the chicken meat was tender and juicy, but the outside skin on top was crispy, with liquified hints of chicken fat that burst in your mouth. The chicken was paired with a delicious yellow kiwi and asparagus, as well as rice. The warm, sweetness of the yellow kiwi with the salty crunchy chicken skin was delectable, though I preferred savoring the flavor of the chicken by itself.

For dessert, I tried the panna cotta which was creamy and the perfect consistency that just melted on your tongue. I also tried a strawberry and chocolate tart. The shell of the tart was a little dry, but the strawberries were ripe, fresh and in a sweet sauce that helped make up for the dryness of the tart. I know my description of the desserts is a little lacking, but honestly, I'd come to Ardeo just for dessert if I could.

All in all, it was another fantastic meal at Ardeo. It's the type of meal that is expected at this restaurant--familiar entrees, a certain style that is emulated in the other sister restaurants. But when the food is that good, I don't need to be surprised or wowed with exotic, unusual pairings of ingredients. Ardeo is a good option for a romantic date or special occasion. And if you've got the time and money, consider stopping by the restaurant's other half down the street: Bardeo, which I've heard has an excellent wine selection.

Take a bite: bonappetitfoodie.blogspot.com.