Molly's Dinner Pictures

Birthday Extravaganza

For the month of June we were celebrating the birth of Molly and decided to go... nowhere!  Well not exactly, but close.  A few months back at one of our "meetings" we were discussing different possibilities for extravagant birthday dinners.  As you know we always try and off set the birthday months with less extravagant (and less expensive) places.   We thought of the usual high end restaurants around and for some reason nothing really jumped out.   So we continued with our beverages while moving onto different topics.  Then all of a sudden this wonderful idea popped into Molly's head.  Since other people are always wanting to partake in our gatherings, particularly certain significant others, what better way to "invite" them to an FDP dinner then make them cook and serve us!  We do have a CIA trained person and some hard-core foodies at our disposal, so why not use them?!

And so it began.  Ben and Dan (we shall keep their connections anonymous for obvious reasons, okay maybe not obvious but there are reasons nonetheless) were given the task to create a multi-course meal using some of Molly's favorite ingredients.  We would host the dinner at an FDP's house and transform it into a beautifully quaint bistro.  Of course the original plan was to dine outside, but torrential downpours and suffocating DC humidity prevented that.  However that did not stop the FDPs from using their experiences and resources to make this evening absolutely spectacular.  And without further adieu I present to you Molly's Birthday Dinner Menu:

We began with passed hors d'oeuvres of Smoked Salmon in Cucumber cups with a Greek Yogurt Dill Sauce.  This was matched with Champagne Pannier Rose NV Brut and the pairing made a refreshing start to the evening.  After being seated the chefs sent out their amuse bouche of King Crab leg lettuce wraps.  We understand the amuse bouche is meant as a 1-2 bite teaser but I'm sure we could have demolished a whole plate of the crispy, sweet and salty combination.  As the appetizers were being prepared we were served Torii Mor Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley Oregon.  This lush fruity white was a nice contrast to the De-Boned Teriyaki Chicken Wing with Napa Cabbage Slaw.  The meat was so tender and juicy that it literally melted in your mouth.  The entree consisted of Bison London Broil marinated in Rosemary and Red Wine and served with a Horseradish sauce over Turnip Puree.  The subtle earthy and herbal flavors were a great match with the 1997 Chateau Palmer.  The only thing left to be desired was perhaps a longer marinade.  And if we hadn't had enough already, what's a birthday without a little cake?  Out came homemade Angel Food cake with Macerated Strawberries and a bottle of Lodali Moscato d'Asti.  A little sweet and a little fizz, just like Molly, was the perfect way to cap things off.


We truly debated over what to give this "restaurant" for a rating, as we did not want to come off as biased.  So we thought about it.  The food was absolutely excellent.  The portions were perfectly sized, leaving us satisfied but not stuffed.  The wines were also paired wonderfully.  Our server, Mike, not only presented the food and kept the wine flowing but he took pictures for us of all the food items (we are notorious for talking too much and forgetting to take pictures).  The ambiance, which was done up by Melissa, was beyond anyone's expectations.  A floral, lavender tablecloth was topped with glass chargers for our food to be presented on.  The lights were dimmed and the room was lit with candles creating and extremely relaxing environment.   So based on this, what would you give it?  Well without a doubt we gave it 4 oinks!  And definitely will return to this secret location... given we can afford the chefs again!

OneGen Thai

In May, the piggies decided to keep up the spicy, ethnic theme for their dinner with a lovely and inexpensive meal at OneGen Thai in Arlington. OneGen is located in a non-descript office building off Wilson Boulevard. A bit hard to find, it is definitely worth seeking out for its authentic and delicious Thai fare. We began as we typically do with a round of drinks and some assorted appetizers to share—the Fresh Garden Rolls were stuffed with fresh veggies and came with a tangy Hoisin dipping sauce. Mini Crab Cakes were crispy and filled with lump crab, and the Duck Roll was tender and delicious with spring onions and a rich, dark sauce for dipping.

For the main course we chose two different noodle dishes and a Thai BBQ entrée. The OneGen Thai BBQ consisted of grilled chicken and beef on a bed of greens with two different sauces—one extremely spicy. Though we heard their Pad Thai is one of the best in the area, we decided to branch out a bit and settled on Pad C-ew with Seafood, Rice Noodles, Chinese Broccoli, Egg and Thai Soy Sauce; and Drunken Noodles with Tofu, Basil, Peppers and Chili Sauce. Both were excellent and though we asked for the Drunken Noodle “less spicy,” it was still fiery hot and proved to be a bit too much for a couple of the piggies.

We cooled our palettes with Fried Bananas and Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. The bananas were crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside, and the vanilla ice cream proved to be a perfect accompaniment (not to mention putting out the fire from the Drunken Noodle). OneGen is an excellent source for fresh, authentic Thai and we give it 2.5 Oinks!

Heritage India

April showers bring not only May flowers, but also the FDP’s love for ethnic cuisine!!  For our April outing, we settled on Heritage India in Dupont Circle.  Heritage India is beautifully decorated inside with waiters in black suits, and a long elegant bar along one side of the room.  The menu consists of many hot and cold appetizers, traditional tandoori goods, a nice selection of curries and several entrée courses.  The menu also held a selection of naan, traditional Indian bread, in flavors such as parmesan, garlic, and onion.  We knew right away we had to try several kinds.  In true FDP tradition, we handed the wine list to Amanda so she could choose a good bottle to compliment our dinner.  Her selection was the Wurtz Riesling which was so good, we ordered it twice. 

 

As with all of our piggy outings, we decided to each choose an appetizer to share, traditional and parmesan naan, and settled on 2 curry dishes to share as entrees.  Our appetizers included Bhel Puri, which is a quintessential image of Indian street food.  Bhel Puri is a combination of puffed rice, chickpea vermicelli, diced potatoes, chopped shallots, fresh cilantro and drizzled with a sweet & sour chutney.  Next was the Frankie also known as the “kathi roll”, which consisted of tiny dices of grilled chicken or cottage cheese, spiced and rolled into a flour tortilla.   Third to come was Papri Chat, which is, essentially, potatoes, onions, cilantro and crisp crackers topped with yogurt and a combination of tamarind and cilantro chutney.  This was a little sweet and spicy, but bites of the delicious naan between mouthfuls helped to cool us down.  The fourth appetizer we ordered was a lovely martini glass full of sautéed calamari, with a hint of coconut and lemon which complimented all of the other appetizers quite nicely.

 

After devouring our appetizers (we were hungry piggies), and ordering another bottle of  wine, we settled on our main courses.  And more naan of course.  For our entrees, we chose the Sag Paneer which is one of my personal favorites.  It’s a sort of fresh Indian cottage cheese, in a spinach sauce.  The cheese is sort of a cross between fresh ricotta and fresh mozzarella.  It was delicious.  Our second entrée was chicken makhani.  Because one of the FDP’s doesn’t eat lamb, we settled on the chicken instead.   There were 2 chicken dishes on the menu, but again, 1 piggy has a wimpy palette and asked if we could eat the less spicy of the 2.  Chicken makhani is tandoori grilled cubes of chicken in a rich tomato sauce.  We ordered extra basmati rice to sop up all the lovely sauce from both entrees.  And, since we stuffed ourselves to the gills, we decided to skip dessert this meal. 

 

Heritage India is really delicious food for not much money.  We split our bill and 2 bottles of wine and paid less than 40$ plus tip.  All in all, for both the friendly service and the tasty meals, we give Heritage India 2.5 oinks.

 

Stay tuned for our May dinner…………..

A Great Catch

It's 2009 and we've celebrated the first of four FDP birthdays. We had the perfect celebration for Kate at Black Salt located on MacArthur Boulevard. When you first enter Black Salt you are greeted with a ton of fresh fish, as it is a fish market as well as a restaurant. If you proceed to the back you step into the crisp, clean looking bar which is where we kicked things off with some Kir Royales. We were promptly seated in the small and comfy dining room, where we were immediately greeted by our server, Celestin.

As in true FDP tradition, we toasted to Kate with a bottle of champagne that we brought. The Charles Heidseck 1995 Blanc de Blanc was creamy and nutty with hints of caramel, or as Kate put it "Caramel Popcorn." While we sipped on that we mulled over the regular menu in addition to the chef's daily menu. We were mighty hungry so we order our appetizers pretty quickly. While we wanted one of everything on the menu we decided on the Fried Ipswich clams, which were huge, the Baby Octopus, which was pleasantly tender, the Seared Day Boat Scallops with Shrimp, Calamari and Cauliflower with Brandy Butter, which was all deliciously fresh and succulent, and the Wood Grilled Sardines, which were simply prepared with grilled lemon and olives. All of the appetizers were scrumptious in very different ways.

We waited a little to order our entrees, after we devoured our appetizers, and took a minute to mull over the wine list and enjoy the bread and oil they had brought over. We spoke with one of the sommeliers, who helped us settle on "one of his top 5 favorite wines on the list" a bottle of Vouvray, which we should've written the name down. Regardless, it was floral with hints of honey and slightly effervescent. A great match with our seafood.

After discussing some options with Celestin, we placed our orders. We always order individually but just end up sharing everything, so here goes the selections in no particular order: Arctic Char with Pancetta braised brussel sprouts, Seared Skate wing, Spanish Mackerel with house cured Chorizo and Farro, and the Tonno Stufato which is a seafood stew with Sea Bass, clams, tomato broth and garlic. As with our appetizers we were more than satisfied with our dishes. The portions were hearty, but we managed to pack most of it in. The Char had a great sear on it and was richly textured between it's natural fattiness and the pancetta brussel sprouts. The Mackerel had a nice kick to it from the chorizo but was balanced out with the farro oily flesh of the fish. The Skate Wing, which was a first for some FDPs, was simply pan seared and melted in your mouth. Lastly, the Tonno Stufato was a generous bowl of tomato based stew that had a wonderful garlic background and was filled with clams and a piece of bass on the top. We requested more bread for all of the dishes so we could lap up the sauce.

As if we haven't had enough at this point, out rolled the deserts! What's a birthday without a little cake.... or how about a sampling of the entire desert offerings! Susan Wallace, is a dear friend and former co-worker of Amanda, who is currently the pastry chef at Black Salt. She was more than generous in sending out the selections, she must've known Kate has a sweet tooth! While Celestin went through our platters, describing each one, Kate unsuccessfully attempted to blow out her birthday sparkler, which in then turned her cheeks red! Thankfully one of the managers helped to put it out and we were free to dig in! I don't think words can describe the delectableness (is that even a word) of everything, but I will try and recall them. Kate's specialty plate was a warm chocolate bread pudding. We then had samples of key lime pie, coconut banana cream cake, creme brulee, chocolate peanut butter cake (a favorite), apple cheesecake, apple tart, and so much more! Please see the attached photo.

The entire evening was fun, comfortable, and needless to say absolutely delicious. Our mouths are still salivating thinking about it. We will definitely be back but in the meantime we give it 4 Oinks!

Marvin Pics

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.