Scrumptious Sunday Brunch at Marvin

For our February meal, the FDPs decided to change things up a bit. All of us were feeling a bit tight in the wallet and over-scheduled in the evenings, so we agreed that a casual Sunday brunch was just what we needed. We chose Marvin for our first FDP brunch destination—a bar/restaurant, Marvin has gotten lots of buzz since it opened last year. Located on 14th St. just off of U, Marvin has become a local favorite. And for good reason—Marvin is a hip hangout with an upstairs bar and a cozy but bustling main dining space with dark paneling and a large window revealing the kitchen in the rear. The place was hopping when we arrived, filled with city-dwellers looking for mimosas and delicious food to ease their post-Saturday night hangovers. We had, as usual, made a reservation through Open Table, but when we arrived, we discovered they did not have us on the list. To our pleasant surprise, the hostess was very apologetic, and after only a short delay, she somehow arranged for us to be seated despite the mix-up. We began our brunch with mimosas—the mimosa du jour was a lovely, light pear which was quite refreshing. Pouring over the menu, it wasn’t hard to find a variety of enticing options. Being a Southern girl, Kate was immediately drawn to the Country Fried Chicken and Waffle, a dish for which Marvin has earned local acclaim. Molly chose the Eggs Benedict, Melissa picked Shrimp and Grits, and Amanda went with the Croque Madame—a fried egg on brioche toast with bechemel, Virginia ham & gruyere cheese. Of course, we knew the main dishes alone would not suffice for the FDPs, so we also ordered pommes frites, maple sausage, and coffee. The food began arriving quickly, along with the incredibly strong French-pressed coffee (a good balance to the mind-fuzzing mimosas we were drinking). The fries, while not Granville Moore’s, were appropriately crispy and nicely seasoned, and accompanied by a strangely mild “wasabi” sauce and ketchup. The sausage was just the right amount of sweet to compliment the salty fries. The main courses, though, stole the show. The chicken and waffle was the hands-down favorite—perfectly fried chicken (light and crispy on the outside, moist and juicy on the inside) rested atop a Belgian waffle, which rested atop a very light gravy and small mix of sautéed collard greens. Top it off by pouring maple syrup on top and you’ve got heaven on a plate. For all of you out there to whom this sounds less than appetizing, we would like to say—TRUST US and try it. Delicious! The shrimp and grits, which were creamy and surprisingly light, won high marks as well. Actually, it all did. The service was fast and efficient, the food incredibly reasonably priced (mimosa + main dish will run you about $20). We rolled out of Marvin into the bright Sunday sunlight stuffed and content. Before heading to our homes to take much-needed naps, we all agreed this was one spot that would definitely warrant a return trip. After all, we regretted not sampling the bacon-egg-and-cheese waffle we spied on other diners’ tables! For a cozy, delicious, and affordable brunch experience, we give Marvin 3 oinks.

El Tamarindo

After each of us spent a small fortune (though well worth it!) at Blue Duck Tavern celebrating Amanda’s birthday last month, we decided to be nice to our wallets for our January dinner and head to a casual Latin restaurant, El Tamarindo. Mike, our trusty waiter from Blue Duck, recommended El Tamarindo as having inexpensive and authentic fare, and the thought of a fresh margarita in the dead of winter is always an added incentive. The restaurant is located at the corner of 18th Street and Florida Avenue in NW DC, right at the base of Adams Morgan. The concept of parking in this neighborhood on a Friday night was a little worrisome for the drivers in the group, but we lucked out with good spots and made ourselves at home in the warm and festive restaurant.

The dinner started out as so many others, with the exception of a bottle of Cholula that decided to explode and run all over our table before our orders were taken. Once cleaned up, we quickly ordered drinks (a pitcher of margarita on the rocks for three of us and a delicious frozen passion fruit margarita for Molly) and a number of appetizers. The guacamole was decent, though a little bland for my liking, but the pupusas were excellent. The menu is expansive and choosing entrees proved difficult, not to mention that it’s hard to decide on food when none of us can seem to stop talking for more than .2 seconds. But finally, we made decisions ranging from crispy beef tacos, sautéed chicken in Ranchero sauce, Enchiladas verdes and soft tacos with steak.

The food was good, but not great. Heavy and smothered in cheese is definitely desirable on some occasions (I’m thinking the business they get from the Adams Morgan drunkards at 3 am is booming), but it left most of us feeling bloated and uncomfortable. And the service was friendly, but very slow. Overall, it was decent but no better (in our opinion) than most Mexican food that you might get at a dozen other similar places. I can see that its location in this neighborhood has made it a local staple, and the fact that it stays open until 5 am on the weekends is a smart call for the masses who need to soak up the booze on a Saturday night. But for us FDP’s, it was just OK.

Rating: 2 Oinks

Blue Duck Pic

Blue Duck Tavern

The end of 2008 has brought us not only an FDP anniversary, which was celebrated at the original location of Zatinya, but also the last piggy birthday of the group.  For our December dinner/Amanda's birthday we really went all out and gorged ourselves with duck, Mac and Cheese with Duck and French Fries fried in Duck Fat (yes, you heard us right) at Blue Duck Tavern.  It certainly was a memorable night...

We met at the bar and shared a quick cheer before we were seated.  Upon arriving at our table Amanda was pleasantly surprised to see that the traditional bottle of celebratory bubbly was awaiting us.  Our (new favorite) server, Mike came over to pop the cork (Deutz NV Brut to be exact) and to go over the menu with us.  We loved his honesty in suggesting that we order some apps and share entrees and sides due to the large portion sizes.  We certainly took his advice and were glad we did!

While mulling over our options one of the managers stopped by and it was quite the coincidence that he used to work with Melissa.  They had a quick reunion before he sent some delicious appetizers our way.  While we attacked the smoke mackerel rillette and cured meats we tweaked our strategy.  We decided to share the Bouillabaisse as another starter and then go with 2 entrees and some mouthwatering sides.  Oh yeah and some more wine.  We chose a 2006 La Pierre Morgon because of its versatility when pairing with food.  

Our entrees included the Roasted Guinea Hen and The Tavern Steak.  For sides we went with the French Fries (fried in duck fat as stated before), the "Mac N Cheese," Roasted Mushrooms and the Veggie of the Day which was Champagne Braised Cabbage.  Okay we'll give you a second to digest that.... Good, now we'll tell you how amazing it was.  The Mac N Cheese was actually made from Spaetzel with Mustard and Duck Confit.  This is probably one of the most decadent dishes you could ever dive yourself into.  The mushrooms were an awesome example of how high quality ingredients simply prepared is the epitome of deliciousness.  And the French Fries- well  need we say more?  They were even better dipped in the steak Jus!

To sum up our night it was delicious, delightful and a great way to wrap up 2008.  We had a ball with our server Mike and we even got a tip for our January FDP gathering.  Stay tuned!

Our Rating: 4 Oinks!

Another Phun Pho Pic

Pho is phun!!

For our November dinner, the FDPs decided it was time for some warm, soothing, comforting winter food, and a night in. Since Amanda was in full study mode for her big wine and chemistry test, we thought it would be a great idea to have dinner and help her study. Our quest for warmth and heartiness brought us to Pho 75 in Arlington. Pho 75 is fairly non-descript with long tables and chairs set up in the middle of the floor, stark walls and a bare floor. The menu lists several Pho options including different meat selections, and 2 bowl sizes; regular or large (and FYI, the regular was enough for most of us to have leftovers!) Traditionally, Pho consists of a lovely salty beef broth full of rice noodles, and comes with the diner’s selection of meat cuts such as skirt steak, brisket, tripe and eye-of-round. Each bowl also comes complete with an add-on kit. This kit includes mung bean sprouts, Thai basil, scallions, jalapeños, hot chili sauce, a milder plum/soy sauce, and of course, limes. Diners customize their warm bowls by adding as much or as little of the add-ons as they want. The Pho is consumed with a big spoon and chopsticks to manage the noodles and lovely cuts of beef.
After making our selections; Molly and Kate choosing flank steak, Amanda and Melissa choosing brisket, we waited for several minutes while they prepared our takeout bowls. Both Kate and Molly ordered theirs without the jalapeños, but there seemed to be some communication issues and they received the hot peppers anyway. Oh well! After getting our warm plastic containers of broth and noodles and plastic bags of add-ons, we piled back into cars and headed to Kate’s for an evening of chatting, wine knowledge and warm delicious Pho. We slurped our way through regular piggy conversations, and took lots of photos of our delicious bowls. Though Molly had to leave early for another event (she’s the FDP who overbooked herself…..boooo Molly!!) she was there long enough to ask Amanda difficult review questions and be awed by the wine and chemistry knowledge of her academic FDP. The bowls of Pho satisfied our November cravings and overall we rate Pho 75 3 oinks!

Cheese Heads

Us FDPs have a natural love of food and while we all have different palates and different tastes there is one food that we all have a love affair with... cheese! To satiate our dairy needs we took our ever expanding butts down to Cheesetique in the adorable neighborhood of Del Ray in Alexandria, VA. Just a few years ago Cheesetique began simply as one the most awesome cheese retail stores we've ever seen. It quickly began selling wine as well and recently expanded into a small cheese and wine bar in addition to its retail end. So just imagine your cute, local cheese store with a cute little restaurant attached to it. Sound incredible? That's because it is.

We arrived with our mouths drooling and eyes full of excitement. Unfortunately we had to wait because the rest of the neighborhood also decided to partake in the fermented goodness on that Friday night. This was to be expected though. One of the kind servers, Charlotte, offered to get us a drink while we waited. We started things off the way all things should be started and that's with bubbles! The four of us gave a little "cheers" with our Prosecco, to the cheese that was about to be consumed. As we were waiting more and more people were coming into the store in hopes of scoring a table, but they had to get in line like the rest of us. Sensing that it was going to be an extremely busy night (like all nights we were told), the servers gathered together and ingeniously decided to pull a few tables from the outside and set up impromptu places for people to dine within the store. Because we waited so patiently we were granted one of these tables!

Now for the good stuff. A no brainer was the cheese and meat board. With your choice of 3 cheeses and meats, with cornichons, quince paste and mustard it was the perfect way to kick things off. From there we decided just to order a bunch of things and share them all. The prices were fantastic, with nothing really over $10 (besides our cheese board) so why not try a nice variety? In addition to our cheese selections we ordered the Arugula Salad with bleu cheese, dried cranberries and walnuts and the Fig and Brie Crostini with Prosciutto. Before moving on to our next course we ordered a tasty bottle of Vino (Primitivo) to wash it all down. Our next round brought us baked Mac n' Cheese (yum) and the Artisan Quiche which had goat cheese, artichokes and prosciutto. I must say that the Quiche was much lighter and fluffier than normal Quiches that you come across. It was flavorful and the texture was so delciate.

Although Cheesetique was crowded and busy, we never once felt rushed or ignored. All of the servers as well as the cheesemongers had smiles on their faces and looked like they were enjoying the company of their neighborhood. It makes us jealous that we don't live in the neighborhood! But because of the fun and friendly service, the amazing cheese selections and scrumptious food combined with great prices it is definitely worth the trip outside of the city and we will definitely be back!

For all of the reasons listed above plus the cheesy goodness that is still lingering in our bellies we give Cheesetique 3.5 oinks out of 4!