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1/28/10

Lunch at Sticky Rice

I feel like lately I've been eating out quite a bit. Not sure if the Restaurant Week is to blame, or the fact that I've been doing freelance cooking and photography for Robyn Webb, leaving less time for me to come up with my own recipes (other perks are awesome though!!!). Regardless, here's another mini review of my lunch at Sticky Rice with Stephanie.

Stephanie and I signed up to take a 4 week intro to digital photography class, and this past Saturday we had a field trip around Union Station. Being huge fans of food, we decided to head out for lunch right after the class. Unfortunately, the place we were planning on checking out, Toscana Cafe, was closed for lunch. We stopped by at a nearby coffee cafe and asked for recommendations. We were told to check out Sticky Rice. I've heard of this place multiple times, and so Stephanie and I headed out to find this restaurant.

Thankfully, the day was sunny and warm and we happily chatted as we walked. A word of caution: I must admit that the neighborhood surrounding Sticky Rice is somewhat sketchy. It's on its way to being hip and popular, but it's not quite there yet. I was definitely happy we were walking there together and during a day light.

Once we found Sticky Rice, we were told there'd be a 25 minute wait. Both of us had a look of surprise on our faces as we clearly could see at least 3 empty booths. Turns out, they only serve food upstairs on Saturdays. Ok, we decided to wait.

Once upstairs, I absolutely LOVED the decor, and was happy to have my Canon Rebel with me so that I could snap a "few" photos.








I find these paintings fascinating! Can you imagine tattooing something like that on your back? I must admit I've been fascinated with tattoos for a long time. But I dislike making decisions and dislike pain-->making getting a tattoo rather difficult.

Ok, let's talk about food now. By the time we were seated, we were both starving. The menu was quite versatile: anything from tuna rolls (the most out-of-the-box combinations) to grits with shrimp. And yet, I decided on a combination of tater tots (haven't had those in ages), eggs, bacon, cheese, scallions and red onions. OMG this was so good! I could have easily taken 1/2 of the portion home, but I was a trooper and finished everything on my plate :)

Stephanie chose a few items from the sushi menu. The presentation was spectacular, and the one I tasted, Sticky balls (tuna, crab, siracha rice in an inari pocket deep fried and topped with scallions, wasabi dressing and eel sauce) was very impressive. I really liked the combination of different textures, flavors and colors.

I really enjoyed brunch at Sticky Rice. Great service, atmosphere and food. If you go, make sure to schedule some time for a nap afterwards.

This Saturday is my last photo class with Stephanie. Luckily, this is not the end of our eating adventures!

Oh, and on the way back from the restaurant I found gorgeous purple Italian yarn. A great day!

1/26/10

Lunch at SEI in DC

I've heard many great things about SEI, and finally decided to try it out last week for lunch. My two lunch companions were Quinn and Jenn C. First of all, the restaurant is gorgeous! The attention to the detail is spectacular, and the use of bright red color as splashes in the midst of white is brilliant. Yes, I was quite impressed.

I asked for a table nearest to the window because both Quinn and I had our cameras ready for taking pictures of food. That's what we food bloggers do :)

For my first course, I ordered Spicy Tuna spicy miso pickles scallion. First, I was rather impressed by the portion size. Also, the presentation was very pretty. And once I took a bite, I really liked the spiciness of tuna and the fact that it did not overpower the entire dish. I could not decide which photo I liked best, so I'm including both of them.

For the main course I ordered Short Ribs wasabi potatoes miso demi. Lately I've been a great fan of wasabi mashed potatoes. I've also had them at dinner at ZenTan. These were fluffy, but the wasabi wasn't perfectly distributed. After some bites I thought I would cry: you know what happens when you have too much wasabi. The meat was tender and well flavored. Unfortunately, the carrots were slightly undercooked.

And then there was dessert! Chocolate Fondant Tahitian vanilla ice cream cherry jam. I did not realize I was ordering a cake after reading the name of the dessert on the menu. But I wasn't disappointed. This was a warm dense chocolate cake served with ice cream. Again, the presentation was very impressive.


I really enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and of course my dining companions!

2/25/09

Raku: Sushi with the girls

Over the last 3-4 years, I've had 3 blind dates at Raku. The dates did not go too well, and I've formed a negative association with this restaurant. Then Anna S. and Wendy took me there for dinner for my last birthday, and a few months ago I went there for dinner with Lisa. Both experiences gave me new and happier memories of this place.

For President's day I met with Radha, Theresa and Adrienne for sushi and jewelry making. The service at Raku was attentive, the atmosphere casual and fun. All of us ordered sushi. I had salmon & avocado roll and a crunchy spicy tuna roll (something my friend Jenn introduced me to a while back). The sushi was good!



Radha was nice enough to let me take a photograph of her shrimp tempura roll: what awesome presentation!



What are your favorite sushi rolls?

11/18/08

Sushi at Yamazato with Anna and Wendy

A while ago I wrote about really good sushi at Yamazato, a sushi place my friend Jenn introduced to me. Today I was supposed to meet up for lunch with Anna and her friend Wendy (who is finishing up her studies at the CIA, but is in VA for a few days). The plan was to meet at Gallery Place because it is close enough to my work, but the plans have changed.

I guess I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, and coming home after midnight Monday night (dancing) did not help. After snoozing three times, I turned off my alarm clock and went back to sleep, only to wake up at 10 am. Right. So no work.

Anna called Wendy, and we decided to go have sushi at Yamazato instead. Sorry Jenn...we'll go there with you another time :)

We started with vegetable and shrimp tempura and tom ka soup. The soup was great: spicy, creamy (due to coconut milk) and flavorful. The tempura was pretty good, but needed something other than soy sauce.

It took us a while to choose sushi, so Anna and I ordered Diet Cokes, and Wendy ordered coffee. Turns out, they serve instant coffee! Can you believe it? We were shocked, and Wendy sent her cup back...outrageous.

We then ordered 3 rolls and 2 pieces of flying row. One of the rolls was with eel: not my favorite, but I was a trooper :) The one I liked the best was spicy crunchy tuna (something else I learned from Jenn!). The last roll had avocado, tuna, and yellow tail topped with jalapeno.


eel
The food was great as always, but the service was a bit off. Oh, and I completely forgot the name of a special roll that is not on the menu, but which Jenn always orders for us: it has spicy mayo, avocado, and something else...I'll have to get it next time.

And then it was time for dessert...

8/7/08

Sushi with Jenn

Jenn is going to be in Seattle for the entire next week, so tonight we went to dinner to one of our favorite places: Yamazato sushi. I've written about this gem a while ago, and since then we've been to Yamazato several times and even took Anna there when she was visiting: she loved it.

This time I decided to take my camera along to snap a few pictures of the beautifully crafted sushi.

spicy crunchy tuna
Eagle roll (with spicy mayo on top)

salmon with avocado and cucumber
and of course, edamame

The food was great as always, although we had to wait for it a bit because they were quite busy. Too bad the place is not Metro accessible.