Om Nom Nom!
Ben’s Chili Burger. Famous for the Obamas and Cosbys eating here. NOT famous for ME eating here. For all the hype, I thought it was mediocre. Will I eat here again? Most likely. Seems like good 2AM food, not so much Saturday lunch food. Service was quick and friendly.
Small bowl of chili is ~4$. My burger was ~$7.
First off, sorry for the low quality picture. I forgot my camera battery in the charger and had to take the pic with my blackberry.
That being said, my Macedonian friend invited me to try East European food at a Bulgarian restaurant, Slaviya, in Adams Morgan. They have different happy hour deals during the week but today’s was only wings and cheap rail drinks. I had a vodka orange juice to soak up some Vitamin C. I ordered the Mousaka, even though everyone advised me to get the Ghoulash. The Mousaka is a sort of Shepard’s Pie. It has ground beef, potatoes and is topped with eggs and flour. I liked the dish but next time, I will try the Ghoulash :)
I should also add that I LOVE the venue. It’s in Adams Morgan but is extremely spacious with huge doors looking out into the street. It’s very modern and sleek looking, and despite horrible service ratings on Yelp, I thought our waiter was just fine. The appetizers were very, very decently price and so were the entrees. I recommend trying this place if you are ever in the area!
Went to Jaleo’s in Chinatown for Happy Hour with a few friends. The service was great, we sat outside and the manager even came after the meal to ask us if everything went well. I was pretty unhappy with my order, the chorizo, but that might have been a bad decision on my part. My friends got the potato and the calamari and both were OK. The happy hour deals are only at the bar so we missed out on the tapas deals that evening. Prices of dishes and drinks was on the higher side. I would definitely consider giving this place a second chance.
Bento Cafe! This Taiwanese restaurant is located in Norcross in the Atlanta Area. Sorry if I’m going back and forth, I found some posts in my queue!
I wanted to try everything on the menu, but as much as I love food, I have a rather small eating capacity. We tried a lot of different dishes, and as bad as this sounds, I don’t really remember the names! The beef noodle soup was delicious and so was the “taiwanese burger”. The meat was very soft and tender. I thought the fried chicken was OK and so was the minced pork (I’ve only tried it one another time and it was made by a friend’s mom. Now THAT was amazing!). The slushies were delicious. We got a red bean slushie, pictured above. Warning: These can be REALLY filling, so don’t ruin your appetite. The decor was kind of plain with hard wooden benches and kind of had a ware-house feel to it. I definitely recommend for the teas/slushies and the appetizers.
Meals are decently priced ~$8
Also, visit their website, it’s super cute! http://www.bentocafe.com/
Keeping in line with my disappointing foodie experiences in DC, Bangkok Joe’s is next on the list. The best thing about this experience was the amazing decor and the friendly staff. Also, the make-your-own-thai-tea was fun. We got to mix the milk and sugar syrup in the proportion we wanted, which is a nice change from the SUPER sweet Thai tea at most Thai places. I went here based on yelp reviews, and really…this made me question the people who review on yelp. The food seemed extremely flavorless to me. I ordered the pad thai and my cousin got a basil tofu curry and neither of us really had good things to say. They are supposed to have great dumpling, but I’ll most probably pass on this place next time.
Dishes cost anywhere upwards of $9.
We decided to have a girl’s dinner for a friend’s birthday and chose Seasons 52 in Atlanta. I think it had something to do about low calorie meals. They pride themselves in the fact that every meal is below 475 calories. Everyone at the table ordered a variety of dishes from the flatbread to chicken and salmon. I tried a couple of different dishes but I can’t say that there was anything memorable about this meal. The dishes were a little pricey, but the portions were pretty big. The menu changes with the seasons or the quirks of the chef? Probably won’t go back.
Truckeroo! A meeting of all the DC food trucks at Navy Yard, right opposite the metro stop. I went there at the end of September with a co-worker. First off, we got free popsicles for signing up with Scout Mob from Pleasant Pops. I decided to be adventurous and tried a “coconut curry” one while my co-worker tried a “vanilla peach”. It did sorta-kinda taste like curry, but I think next time I’ll stick to a more traditional fruity or chocolatey popsicle. Next, we both tried the Takorean Bulgogi Steak taco. The meat and other fillings were well seasoned and tasty, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the tortilla. I felt that it was too overpowering. After that, I tried an empanada from DC Empanadas. Definitely no match for Julia’s (my favorite thing about DC). Lastly, my coworker had a slice of pizza from DC Slices which looked good and she seemed to enjoy. Overall, the event was fun with live-music and lots of choice, but my gastronomic experience was less than satisfactory.
Items will usually cost you anything from $3 and up!
Taste of DC Part III
Taste of DC Part I
Whenever I’m craving Nigerian food, I make my way to Queensway at Riverside in Maryland. The place looks exactly as you would picture a Nigerian restaurant to look like and the food is delicious, the servings generous and the price is good, especially for DC standards. A full to-go box of Jollof Rice which is a side dish on the menu will cost you $5 only and it lasts me 2-3 meals. I can never decide on one dish, so I get a ton and eat them over the week. The egusi and pounded yam were great. The plantains are cooked perfectly, not too soft, not too raw. We also tried the moimoi, scotch eggs, meatpies, pof-pof and sausage roll. Wasn’t a huge fan of the sausage roll, but everything else was delicious and totally worth it. This place is MUCH, MUCH better than Bukom or Ghana Cafe, though it can be inaccessible if you don’t have a car. I give it FIVE stars!
Let’s eat!
Cafe Alsace! When I’m 50 and look back on my life, I’ll think of hangovers and Cafe Alsace. This little french cafe in downtown Decatur is wonderful for brunches with girlfriends, perfect for a dinner date or just cute to bring your family to. The owners are super friendly and the interior decor is quaint and quirky. They have a large brunch menu and for the quantity and quality of food, I would consider the meal cheaper than expected. I love the crepe a la saucisse and my friends often get the eggs benedict, which they tell me is delicious too. Anyone close to the Decatur area should definitely try this place out for brunch or dinner. Be sure to make reservations because the place is small and can fill up quickly.
Brunch meals are around $8-12 and dinner meals are $10-25.
Stay classy, nominators!
So, I recently moved from Atlanta to Washington DC. And not to sound negative, but I have been a little disappointed wit the food here. One of the few good places I did go to was Upper Crust Pizzeria, a chain from Boston. The pizza was thin crust, the sauce had actual chunks of tomato and the toppings were perfectly seasoned. The slices are a good size and the price is right. Upper Crust has self-service and it is more of a place to grab a quick slice than to sit down for a nice meal or a date. Definitely recommend!
Slices run you $3-$4.
I made a salad. It was delicious. I eated it all just like these women: http://nomination.tumblr.com/post/3243748722/hahahaha-salad-via-thingstodohigh
Grilled curried shrimp and onions with fresh spinach and tomatoes.
