Did the Windy City Blow in a Winner?

Chicago Dawg House
4300 Chantilly Shopping Ctr
Ste 1N
Chantilly, VA 20151

I haven't been to Chicago in around 16 years.  The closest that I came to going recently was when I was going to go to training in 2009, but the course was canceled.  I've never eaten an actual Chicago style hot dog in Chicago before.

A couple of weeks ago I came across a posting on Fairfax Underground where someone had mentioned that there was a fairly new hot dog place in Chantilly.  I happened to have some business that I needed to take care of down in Chantilly, so I thought why not kill two birds with one stone and eat there while I was in the neighborhood.  I wasn't even that hungry when I went in, but that's ok I just had to try it.

The restaurant is located a few stores down from Willards BBQ, ok it's actually more than a few stores down.  As I walk in, the place seems to be pretty crowded for a Saturday at 2-3pm, granted it's a pretty small store so it doesn't take too many people to make it look even half way busy.  When I walk in I see there's a guy sitting at a table and 2 people sitting at the counter and one person that walked in behind me.  The man at the table greets me saying hello.  I think he's the owner.   I go up to the counter and place my order for a Chicago Dawg, an order of fries, and small Pepsi (they only sell Pepsi products).  The friendly cashier who I believe is the owner's wife suggests I get a combo to save some money.  My total was 6.18 so I try to pay with a $20, but the lady's afraid she might not have enough change.  No problem at all I've got a $5 and 2 $1's.  I sit down at a small table (all their tables are small, they're only 2 seaters).  One of the guys sitting at the counter gets up and goes behind the counter.  Apparently he works there too.  A couple minutes later my hot dog and fries and drink are brought out.  I look down and am disappointed - my weiner looks pretty small.  The hot dog didn't look anything like the hot dog picture that I saw on the wall. It was puny looking.  As I had mentioned before I had never had a Chicago style hot dog before so I don't really know if this was good, bad, or indifferent.  I'll say the flavors were nice, but the toppings seemed a little sparse.  The hot dog was served "traditionally" on a poppy seed hot dog bun with yellow mustard, onions, neon green relish, a wedge of tomato, a dill pickle spear, a sprinkling of celery seeds, and oh yeah of course the sport pepper.  The fries were wonderful.  They were thick steak fry style - my favor because they're thick and potatoey on the inside.  I devoured my weiner and contemplated getting perhaps a chili cheese dog or something else.  I was satisfied, but then again remember I came in not too hungry.


The verdict?  Don't come here if you're hungry!  As much as I wanted to like it, the weiner was just ok.  I also recently heard about Windy City Red Hots out in Leesburg so I'll have to give them a try the next time I'm out that way.  If that doesn't cut it I guess I'll have no choice but to make a trip to the real Windy City and get a Superdawg.

Michel - the Past or Present Maestro? - Part II

Michel
1700 Tysons Blvd,
McLean, VA 22102
www.michaelrichardva.com

Now the continuation from Part I with most importantly - pictures!

Cheese Puffs

The diner’s names have been changed to the protect the innocent, what I’m going to present to you are just the facts.  

We each ordered an appetizer.  Diner 1 order the cheese puffs, Diner 2 ordered the onion carbonara, and I order salmon tartare.

Onion Carbonara

 The cheese puffs were just ok.  I expected them to be served warm but they were barely above room temperature.  When I bit into the puff I was anticipating a mouthful of cheese but instead I was left biting into a hollow pillow.  Maybe I had a dud, so I tried another but it was the same.  Not very exciting at all.  The onion carbonara didn’t really resemble pasta (obviously it’s an onion), but I thought it might have looked a little more like a linguine or fettuccine. 

Salmon Tartare

 The carbonara sauce was nicely balanced, but a bite with bacon could be a little on the salty side.  I also thought some of the outer leaves of the onion could have been peeled off as a few of the stands of “pasta” were a little stringy and tough.  I’m pretty sure the onion carbonara is also served at Citronelle.  My tartare was pretty standard. The fish had a nice clean taste and pared well with the finely minced egg and onion along with the capers.

Bread and Butter

Warm bread and soft butter was also served on the table.  The bread’s crust was crunchy yet the inside was a little moist and chewy.  It was excellent bread - probably some of the best bread and butter that I’ve ever eaten!

Lobster Burger

On to the main course.  Diner 1 ordered the the roasted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes.  Diner 2 had the flat iron steak with shallot sauce.  I had the lobster burger.  None of us shared our entrees so I can only rely on what the 2 other diner’s feedback was.  Let’s start off with my lobster burger.  My first bite in and I could immediately taste the lobster.  There were definitely chunks of lobster meat in there.  The problem was, I was put off by this grit that I was chewing on.  Horrors!  Could there be shell or sand in the burger??  I’m pretty sure it’s not sand, but could it be shell?  I take another bite and it’s also gritty.  There couldn’t possibIy be this much grit in the burger so I take off the top bun to discover there’s a thin potato chip like wafer of some sort on top of the lobster burger. 

Fries

What in the world is this doing here??  It serves absolutely no purpose in my opinion!  It just adds some unnecessary hard bits to each bite.  I can understand the desire to add some texture to a dish, but this only took away.  I took the remaining chip off so I could enjoy the rest of my burger.  Eating the burger alone with no bun tastes a little salty, but tasty fine in conjunction with the bun.  The salad of mixed greens served on the side seemed to be a little over seasoned and frankly the leaves were a little bit large to eat without cutting.   The burger came with french fries, which were crunchy on the outside and almost hollow on the inside.

Roasted Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

  They were pretty good. It must have something to do with the type of oil they are fried in.  I was told by Diner 1 that the roasted chicken was just ok.  It wasn’t anything to write home about.  The roasted chicken at a chain restaurant may even be better, at least when you factor in the price of the dish.  The flat iron steak was cooked to a perfect medium temperature as requested by Diner 2, but it was a little on the small side.  I guess it didn’t quite satisfy his hunger.  Diner 2 thought the salad was drizzled with a “subtle, but yet tasty vinaigrette.  Diner 2 says the bread was the best part of the meal (I may just agree with that opinion). 

Flat Iron Steak

The service throughout the evening was not too good.  I think it all went down hill after the waitress came to ask if we wanted anything to drink.  We all just took “still” a.k.a. tap water.  The waitress probably found it to be more worth her while to be more attentive to other bigger tables that were ordering cocktails!

Chocolate Bar

We each get a dessert - how could we possibly not have dessert??  Diner 1 was told that French restaurants have the best desserts so he chooses the chocolate bar for dessert - basically the same dessert served at Citronelle, which is designed to be a play on a Kit Kat bar.  Diner 2 ordered the Pot de Creme along with regular coffee.  I ordered the banana split, but before making that my official decision I checked with our substitute waiter (our original waitress was too busy with other “more important” tables) to see if there would be anything better than a banana split.  I also confirmed that it was in fact going to be a banana split and not some out of this world concoction dreamed up by Chef Michel.  Diner 1 enjoyed the chocolate bar.  He confirmed that it was like a Kit Kat bar but with a twist.  He also enjoyed the “creamy sauce” that was on the plate.

Pot de Creme

  Diner 2 devoured the Pot de Creme.  He said it was “yummy and very creamy, but tiny.”  My banana split was not exactly a traditional banana split, but not too far from it either.  There were 3 little bowls containing vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and strawberry sorbet.  Along side these 3 little bowls were a banana that had been cut in half lengthwise that was completely covered in whipped cream, topped with what I’d describe as little chocolate balls, finely diced pineapple, and a literally transparent pineapple slice (chip).  The first thing I ate was the pineapple chip.  It was delicious!  So thin and crunchy and sweet.  It was so good I told 

Banana Split

Diners 1 and 2 to try the remaining 2 pineapple chips.  They concurred that it was good.  The vanilla ice cream was alright, I wasn’t overwhelmed with vanilla flavor.  The chocolate ice cream was too rich and creamy for me.  The strawberry sorbet was the best of the 3, but it was on par with any sorbet you could buy in the ice cream section at your local supermarket.  The banana that was completely covered in whipped cream tasted like any other banana.  I asked Diner 2 to help me finish my banana split as it was too much for me.  I think he ate more than I did, but that’s neither here nor there.  Diner 2 was also yearning for a coffee refill, which never came.  I suggest that they may not give refills at a fancy restaurant like this.

So what’s the verdict??  I say it’s worth a visit, especially if you work in Tysons Corner or don’t feel like driving all the way to DC for a “fancy meal”, but I personally don’t think I’ll be coming back here any time soon for dinner - maybe I’ll try their brunch.  The highlights of the meal for me were definitely getting to meet Chef Michell, the bread and butter (which was free), and the pineapple chip served on my banana split. Diners 1 and 2 agreed that they’d only be back for dessert.  So maybe if you’re interested in coming, just stop in for some cocktails, ask for bread and butter, and then get dessert.

Some may ask how could I possibly afford to bankroll such a lavish meal.  Well the answer is quite simple.  It was funded by the generous support of readers like you.  So please keep those donations coming!

Michel - the Past or Present Maestro? - Part I

Michel
1700 Tysons Blvd,
McLean, VA 22102
www.michaelrichardva.com

Michel is located in the former spot of Maestro at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner.  I’ve been wanting to go here for a while, ever since I found out a restautant had taken the place of Maestro and all the more so when I learned it was a Michel Richard restaurant.  Some of you may recognize the name, Michel Richard (it’s pronounce like Michelle - don’t ask me, it’s a French pronunciation), from what I would say is his flagship restaurant - Citronelle, located in Georgetown.  You may also know him from two episodes of Baking with Julia (circa 1995) or more recently in WETA’s Guide to Fine Dining(circa 2008).

My life is one step closer to complete.  We arrive at Tysons II and make our way to the restaurant from inside the mall a little before 6pm.  Our reservation for 3 (2 former coworkers and myself) was at 6pm.  After wandering through the maze of corridors to get inside the hotel we stop to ask for directions to the restaurant.  We check-in at the hostess and then we begin to make our way to the table, when who do I see???  It’s Michel Richard, himself, right there live and in color!!!  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  He’d just finished talking to a customer.  I pause stop and then continue walking.  I somehow muster up an ounce of courage and turn around and intercept Michel as he’s heading toward the kitchen.

Me: “Chef!  Good to see you” (I learned that expression from Gordon Ramsay - he always says it even when it’s the first time meeting someone)
Michel: “How are you, how is everything?”
Me: “Great to finally meet you!  I watched you on Baking with Julia in 1995”
Michel: ”Me? No I wasn’t alive in 1995”
Me: “What?? No, it was me who wasn’t alive in 1995!” as he starts to walk away

After that very brief interchange he headed off to the kitchen.  He obviously wasn’t too interested in talking to me.  In hindsight I’m going through all the things I could have talked to him about:  How I’ve been to his flagship restaurant - Citronelle or ask about his daughter - the one who didn’t like oeufs (french for eggs) as we learned on one of his episodes with Julia.  It all happened so quickly it was like a blur, but I was absolutely delighted meeting him in person.  Frankly I’m very surprised he was at the restaurant.  I would have thought that he would have been down in Georgetown at Citronelle.  I can only hypothesize that the commute is easier to Tysons than to DC. This was not how I had originally planned on writing out this post,but running into Michel really threw me for a loop.  But the real question: how was the food??  Check back tomorrow to find out in Michel - the Past or Present Maestro? - Part II!

Coming of Age

Please bear with us as we try to come up with a standardized format for our posts.  After-all this is all just part of our journey right??

Initially we’d like to ramp up with a bunch of posts so we have some content for the site.  You may notice that some of posts were from dining experiences that took place while ago so they may not have all the details or formatting of a more recently dined at restaurant.

We also hope to have some guest bloggers in the future.  If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns please post a comment!

Did Eggspectation Meet Our Expectations?

Eggspectation
5009 Westone Plaza Dr.
Chantilly, VA 20151
www.eggspectations.com


My first impression of Eggspectation was how crowded it was on a Sunday morning. We opted to sit by the bar so we didn’t have a long wait for a regular table. The restaurant features a variety of breakfast food that serves throughout the day. The menu has a nice selection of drinks, including everything from juices, smoothies and coffee. We ordered Caffè Moka Nero, cappuccino, eggs benedict and eggspectation omelet. The drinks came out really fast, and the espresso was wonderful! It was not overly sweet and creamy. My cappuccino in my opinion could use a little bit sugar or milk.

One would assume that Eggspectation would execute the egg to perfection hence the name. Unfortunately, the egg benedict was poorly executed. The eggs were completely overcooked and cold. When David cut into the egg, there was no delicious, silky yolk running out of it. There was also gruyere cheese on it, which I never had before on a “classic benedict”. The hollandaise sauce was a little runny as well. The omelet was also overcooked and under seasoned. It could have been benefited from a dash of salt. The ham pieces were good; it definitely enhances the flavor of the omelet. Though not every bite would contain ham in it. Nothing makes this omelet special from the one I would make at home, beside the cleaning part. Both of our dishes came with a side of fried potato. The fried potato was delicious and perfectly seasoned. David didn’t like it as much because of the potato skin. The fruit garnish of pineapple, oranges and grapefruit was a nice tough.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed on the food, but the service was fast considering how crowded the restaurant was. There are definitely better places to go for breakfast but if you want breakfast at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, then this would be your only option. As for brunch, don’t even get me started. That’s a whole another post….

Pure Pasty

Pure Pasty
128-C Church Street
Vienna, VA
www.purepasty.com

I think my last post may have been a little misleading. After thinking about it for maybe a total of 2 seconds, I thought to myself that it may have sounded like I’m a British ex-pat who is yearning for thecomfort food of his homeland. The reality is I’ve never actually been to England before, nor really outside of the country (I don’t count the Caribbean as “international“) so I’m just a guy who once had a frozen pastry that was called a pasty and I’ve liked them ever since.

Just yesterday my housemate (yes that’s right, for those of you who don’t know me, I live with another dude, but he has his own room and I have my own) was baking something that smelled very similar to a pasty. I commented to Anita how much the smell reminded me of a pasty and how I wanted one.

Well talk about the alignment of the moon and the stars, just this morning I was perusing NBC 4's website and found a video featuring a new venue called Pure Pasty. I was intrigued and cautiously optimistic. Was Pure Pasty really a pasty shop or is it just a front for some other sort of store? Where could this place be located? Surely it wouldn't be anywhere nearby, it’s always some place far far away like in Woodbridge or Fredericksburg, heck even DC is kinda far away for a guy who doesn’t like to drive too much. After a quick Google search all my questions were answered and my fears assuaged. Pure Pasty was indeed a British style pasty shop and is super conveniently located in Vienna, Virginia – just 3 miles from home!

The restaurant is a little hard to locate and appears that parking could be a problem if you went at a busier time of day. We went around 11:30am on a Sunday and the adjacent bike store was not open so there was plenty of parking. The actual store area is very small, most of the restaurant area is an open kitchen so seating is extremely limited. We took our pasties to go.

So what did we order? We got 2 traditional pasties, 1 sausage roll, and 1 steak and guiness pie. We tried the traditional pasty first and it was goooooood. The pastry really stole the show. It was so soft, tender, flaky, and buttery it was to die for! Next up was the sausage roll. I guess this is a traditional item that would be found in a pasty shop, but I had never tried it before. It personally didn’t like the flavor of the sausage. I think it had a very heavy caraway flavor (at least I think that was caraway). It wasn’t bad just not my cup of tea hahahaha an allusion to England’s tea time. Last but not least was the steak and Guinness pie. This sort of resembled a chicken pot pie, but the crust was probably more shiny and golden brown than any pot pie that I have ever seen before. The crimping was perfect! So we dig right in - under that gorgeous crust is sort of a beef stew. I didn’t really care for the filling - I think it was the Guinness gr avy that I didn’t care for. Don’t get me wrong, it was really good, but just not exactly what I was expecting. The filling also had carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery. I think there were a few other ingredients inside but they were a little hard to positively identify.

Conclusion
I love this place! In my previous post I documented my love affair with pasties. I cannot believe this place has been here in Vienna, practically right under my nose for over 6 months and I just found out about it today. I’m craving it more and more right now. I’m going to be back in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon and I’m definitely thinking of going back for 2 or 3 or 4 or more traditional pasties. They’ve got some other flavors that I could try, but usually the traditional is the best for me. I can’t wait to eat more! I’m highly/strongly/definitely recommend you stop by and pick yourself up a couple of dozen pasties! Bring me back some too!

My Love Affair with Pasties

What exactly is a pasty and how the heck do you pronounce it? A pasty is a delicious baked pastry that originated in Cornwall, England. It is pronounced like “pass tea” NOT “paste tea” I believe the first time I had a pasty was back in the late 1980's or early 1990's. Back then Giant sold a frozen version of a pasty under the brand name of Mr. Pasty or was it Pastie?? Sadly the product disappeared in the mid to late 90's. This left me yearning for the British delicacy for the next 10 years or so.

In circa 2006 I attempted to recreate the baked treat at home based on a recipe that I found on www.cooks.com. I again tried to make the dish in August 2007 and then most recently in late 2009 or early 2010. Each attempt was as unsuccessful as the other. I mean it wasn't terrible, but it did not live up to my expectations. I thought the flavors were good, but working with the pastry dough was challenging and resulted in a misshapen dough package that did not have the signature pasty crimp. I thought I was resigned to having to travel either to Michigan where pasties are very popular or take a trip over the pond to the UK.

Turns out I don't have to venture that far away after all. Read my next post about where you can find pasties here in Northern Virginia!

X.O. Taste – Hong Kong Style Restaurant

X.O. Taste
6124 Arlington Blvd.
Falls Church, VA 22044

After going to the same Chinese restaurants that we always go to, I wanted to try Hong Kong style restaurant. It was recommended by my parent's friend. I have this vision that it will be so much better and different. I was expected to be blown out of the water. But what a disappointment! From the outside, X.O Taste looks like a typically take out restaurant, but the interior is not so much. The restaurant is overcrowded with table and chairs. The wall colors were purple, blue and orange. Not too sure what the owner was thinking (or not thinking at all). At first I didn’t know how to describe this place, colorful walls with no decor, high purple ceiling with square-y not too pretty chandeliers. Industrial, that’s the word David said. So we ordered hot and sour soup, wonton noodle HK style soup for appetizer and smoked duck and spicy frog for entrées. The hot and sour soup came really fast; it was a little sour than usual. What I like was the fried wonton wrappers that came in a fancy looking bowl. Unfortunately, the fancy china did not cut it for the cuisine. The smoked duck has nice flavor, smoky taste. The only flaw about it was the salty sauce. If the chef didn’t put about half a pound of salt in it, it would have been the best duck I’ve ever eaten. The wonton noodle soup was also salty. And it took a while for it to come out. Either the chef has a heavy hand for salt or it was on sale for real cheap! Surprisingly the frog weren’t salty at all; it actually has nothing going on for it beside the fried garlic and onions that was sprinkled on it. David didn’t like how it was the whole frog. He said he would rather have frog legs that have a nice amount of meat on it. Maybe frog was not the best choice to try at a new restaurant that you never been to before. Having said all of that, it wasn’t the worst place I’ve been to and definitely not the best Chinese place. Perhaps, the only place to find a decent Hong Kong style food is in Hong Kong. But I’ll keep trying.

Best Television Chef of all Time

Let me start of by saying that Jacques Pepin is the greatest television chef of all time.  Practically every chef that you see on TV nowadays is a fake!  They don't cook anything - all they're capable of doing is rough chopping a couple of vegetables, throwing some crap in a pan, sprinkling with salt and pepper, and then taking the lid off of a pan that was "cooked ahead" and calling that a dish.

Jacques Pepin is the real deal.  I don't remember when I first saw Jacques Pepin on TV - gosh it must have been circa (be forewarned, I tend to use the term "circa" a lot) 1997.  Jacques is the real deal without a doubt.  From his ability to peel an apple with just a paring knife, bone a chicken, make a beautiful garnish, make a fluffy omelet, to actually cooking a meal from start to finish without relying on something that was "made ahead."

I've seen many of Jacques television shows: The Complete Pepin, Jacques Pepin Cooking With Claudine, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, Jacques Pepin Celebrates, Jacques Pepin: Fast Food My Way, Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way.

I really feel like I've grown up with Jacques, so much so that I affectionately refer to Jacques Pepin as "my friend Jacques" as Anita can attest to.  I was very delighted to see Jacques as a guest judge on Top Chef season 5.

I've learned so much from watching Jacques Pepin.  Everything from the basic fundamentals to the more advanced like a bouche de noel I learned by watching Jacques Pepin.

So in honor of Jacques - "Happy Cooking!"

Long Time Coming

Everything has a beginning and an end as I am to witness everyday.  This is the beginning.  Who knows when the end will be, but hopefully we'll have a a great run, so let's see how we do!  Here is how it all began.

Many many months ago I had the dream of reviewing restaurants that I had eaten at.  What's the best medium for something like this?  There's obviously Yelp and Urban Spoon and many other foodie websites, but those weren't enough for me.  I wanted/needed something that I could call my own.  I kept the idea of a blog in the back of my head.  Probably once a week I would dream about what it would be like to have my own website.  I sort of had an idea of what I wanted even if I couldn't describe it in words.  Because it was all in my head I'd know exactly when all the pieces were together and when I'd be ready to launch.  That time was today.  I purchased a domain (actually several because they all sounded good) and after consulting with some very smart and experienced coworkers I knew I could pull this off.  So now is the moment of truth and it's all on the line.

Sorry to bore everyone with those details, but I just had to get that out there.  I'll try to make sure all the subsequent posts are food related.  This site is going to feature commentary from my girlfriend, Anita (without Anita there definitely would be no blog) and some featured guest commentators.

Thanks for visiting!  Ya'll come back now ya hear??