©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
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This is the first post in the new series about my recent trip to Washington DC right on Julia Child's 100th birthday: Series overview: Happy Birthday Julia Child.

The last place I would have thought to look for D.C.'s best Chinese food would be at a restaurant inside a museum with Wolfgang Puck's name slapped on it.

I mean, I'd had Wolfgang Puck's food before. Nothing super fancy, of course, but I'd tried Spago Cafe in Vegas and his casual Wolfgang Puck Bistro in Los Angeles (underwhelmed both times). I knew he was the inventor of the creative California-style pizzas (like the barbecue chicken pizza) and was the brains behind his flagship Beverly Hills restaurant, Spago.

But Chinese food? Like, really, really good Chinese food?

I was seriously taken aback by the meal we enjoyed at The Source, Wolfgang Puck's first restaurant on the East Coast. I had not expected such incredible dumplings to come out of what seemed like a trendy, vibe-y modern American restaurant.

No joke. I don't think I've had dim sum dumplings this good since I was in Hong Kong.

The Source is Wolfgang Puck's first restaurant on the East Coast located right on the National Mall adjacent to the Newseum. The restaurant is divided into two different sections. The bottom floor serves more casual small plates and drinks, sort of in a Japanese izakaya style. The upper floor is more like a fine dining establishment, with dishes that derive influences from various parts of Asia, including Japan, China, and Thailand.

Meet Chef Scott Drewno, the executive chef behind The Source (don't you love his shirt? ha ha ha). When Wolfgang Puck decided to open his first restaurant on the east coast, he tapped Drewno, who used to work for Puck in Vegas, to be executive chef. He gives Drewno tons of freedom over the menu. According to Puck "Scott has the liberty to put new things on the menu, which I think keeps him interested." [source]

Drewno has a huge passion for Chinese food and has been trying to continually learn more and more about it. He went to China a couple summers ago, exploring various eats and even taking a cooking class from a Chinese grandmother. Most recently, he's been dabbling in making his own Sriracha sauce, soy sauce, and tofu.
One of his signature dishes, and one of my favorite bites of the evening, were these Miso Tuile Cones with Tuna. Imagine a candied sesame cone infused with the savory umami of miso. OK, now take that cone and fill it with fresh raw tuna pieces, dried bonito fish flakes, and tobiko.
It was so addictively good. I would have loved a second one.

We then tried Chef Drewno's homemade tofu, which was great. The cold and refreshing tofu came with a mix of chili sauces, including his homemade Sriracha.
 Boiled Beef Dumpling - fermented chili bean sauce
Then the dumplings began to arrive. The texture of the skin on the boiled beef dumpling was wonderfully dense and chewy (clearly homemade!), and the fragrant chili bean paste was intense and flavorful.
 Next we tried his original dumpling - the Kurobuta Pork Belly Potsticker, which was served with black vinegar and chili oil. The handmade skins were (again) beautifully a dente but for some reason I didn't love the flavor of the filling.  The Crystal Chive Dumplings, on the other hand, were fantastic. They are filled with Kurobuta pork and king crab (not a bad combination!).  The dish came with a bold flavorful sauce that had elements of spicy, sweet, soy, and tons of umami.  In some ways, it reminded me of a more complex, more elevated version of the suan la chow shou sauce that they serve with the dumplings at Mary Chung in Cambridge (a dish I've always liked). We also tried a few bites from The Lounge, which is the name of the more casual "izakaya" downstairs.  Both "sandwiches" (the chicken sandwich and the pork bun), come from the lower level menu.
Everyone loved the Tempura Chicken Sandwich, which came with heirloom tomatoes and avocado chili aioli. The chicken was fried perfectly with a hefty crunch, and the combination of flavors from the different components made this a very satisfying sandwich to eat.

Beautiful cross section, no? We weren't sure what to do with the pickles on top so we just took them off and ate them separarately. It does provide for a dramatic presentation, though.
 Pork Belly Buns are all the rage now, and Chef Drewno has his own version too. All the components in this bun were executed well (nice soft bun, crispy pork belly). However, I found the accompanying sauce to be too sweet, and thought the overall flavors were only OK. I've had better pork buns.

Back to the upstairs menu, the Lacquered Chinese Duckling is one of the most popular items on the menu. It is clearly inspired by a the traditional Peking duck, and is served over lo mein noodles with a star anise-Stanley plum compote. Chef Drewno did a fantastic job on the crispy skin, something that is still elusive to me. I'm not the biggest fan of duck, so I'll never love it as much as, say, my husband. I would not have minded if the duck had been a bit more moist. Overall, however, it was pretty good.

I did love the chowfoon-like rice noodles over which the duck was served. The deep fried Thai basil provided fantastic, crunchy fragrant "pops", and the slightly sweet and savory noodles had a lovely black pepper zing. Seriously, I couldn't stop eating these fresh noodles.
Finally, we tried his newest dumpling (perhaps still experimental?) which came with lobster and (I believe) pork. It had some game-y distinctive taste I that I didn't like, sort of like lamb or something. The presentation here was a bit "deconstructed", with the lobster tails and scallions on the outside of the dumpling. Again, it was served with his homemade sriracha.

Dessert

Dessert was exquisitely presented, though hardly Asian at all. We started with the Peaches & Cream, which was served with caramelized peaches, almond gateaux, peach gelato, a red miso tuile, and peach jus.

I really liked the Vanilla Bean Custard (though it's not hard to get me to like anything made with vanilla). The custard was accompanied by a ginger-orange madeleine, pineapple sauce, super thin an delicate dehydrated ginger chips.

The final dessert, Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate, was really really good. They did a great job of creating desserts that really had a deep, strong chocolate flavor. The three components are:  Chocolate Soufflé, Chocolate Sorbet, and 10–Year Chocolate Sauce.

Thoughts
I was really impressed with the food at The Source. I loved how all the different dumplings here are really crafted with care. Scott Drewno clearly has a passion for Chinese food, and he puts a lot of thought into each dumpling. I absolutely loved the fresh, homemade skins on these dumplings, where were really dense and satisfying chewy.  Scott likes to plays around with interesting ingredients and sauces, which always makes the food more interesting. I think it would be super fun to come on a Saturday during brunchtime to try the Dim Sum Tasting Menu.

The prices at The Lounge are pretty reasonable, with most small plates hovering around $9-10.  For an even better value, get the three-course lunch for $22, or come during Happy Hour (4-6pm), when you can get three small plates for $20.

Upstairs, the food is much more exquisite and the prices are much higher as well. A 7-course tasting costs $135, or $200 with wine pairing. At the time of this post publication date, you could also enjoy their family style "Banquet" menu (family style) for $55 a person. Personally, for the best "bang for buck", I would just sit at the bar at The Lounge, order a few plates of Scott's excellent dumplings (maybe with a drink during Happy Hour), and continue sightseeing.

Newseum - old, old newspapers covering key events in history

For tourists, the restaurant is located conveniently right on the National Mall inside the Newseum. The Newseum itself is a worth a visit, though (unlike most of the other museums on the Mall), it actually costs money (a little over $20 a ticket!). I particularly enjoyed their collection of really, really old newspapers reporting key events in history, really interesting (and often poignant) photos from the official White House photographer through the years, their 9/11 memorial display, as well as a massive chunk of the Berlin Wall.

Of course, the Mall has tons of great free museums you can visit too. In any event, there's a high likelihood you'll be in this general area if you're visiting D.C. It's great that The Source is located in such a convenient location for all those weary tourists (and anyone else who happens to be hanging out at the Mall!).

The Source
575 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001

Disclaimer
This trip was part of a media tour of Washington DC paid for by Destination DC, a non-profit organization that supports the DC travel and tourism sector. All opinions are my own.

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

This is the fifth post in the new series about my recent trip to Washington DC right on Julia Child's 100th birthday (Series overview: Happy Birthday Julia Child): Other posts in this series include Wolfgang Puck's The Source, Ben's Chili Bowl - an Inside Perspective, Exploring Little Ethiopia, and Jaleo. 

These are exciting times for DC.

The presidential race is going full force, and pretty soon the inauguration will take over the nation's capital. Droves of people will swarm upon the city to enjoy its incredible museums, lively food scene, and excellent hotels (many of which have a rich history of hosting dignitaries over the years!).

Take the Madison Hotel, for example, which has been around for nearly 50 years and has housed countless dignitaries in its presidential suites, including President Kennedy, one of its first guests back in 1963. I had the pleasure of staying in the Madison Hotel during my short DC food trip back in August. It had just undergone an extension 22-million dollar renovation.

After arriving in DC that first night, it was nice not having to worry about trying to head out somewhere for dinner. Our group met at The Federalist, a new restaurant adjacent to the Madison that opened as part of the massive renovation of the hotel. The Federalist takes local Mid-Atlantic ingredients and creates dishes inspired by recipes from the 18th century.

We started out with cocktails in the restaurant's lovely outdoor terrace. The weather was surprisingly not too hot, even though it was the middle of August!

Here are the fun cocktails we sipped on while people watching on the terrace: upper left is the Twin Leaf, which is made of Hangar 1 vodka, chamomile tea, and sake with elderflower & lavender. To the right is the Smoked Strawberries, which tasted surprisingly (and pleasantly) smoky (presumably from the 'smoked' limoncello). There's also Three Citrus Vodka and local strawberry preserves,  Five on Rye consists of (ri)1 Rye, peaches, rhubarb shrub, pink peppercorn, and sugar.

We asked the chef, Harper McClure, to tell us his favorite drink. He picked an off-menu drink called Trade Winds, which has candied ginger, lime, lemon verbena vodka, and vermouth. Of course a couple members of our party just had to try it (and they liked it!).

I had the Twin Leaf, which was quite nice, and I sampled the Smoked Strawberry, which was very interesting and fun.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their drinks as well.

As the sun began to set, we headed on inside. After some discussions with the chef, we decided to keep the entire meal a surprise. After all, isn't it best to let the chef choose what you eat? Sort of like an American-style omakase?

The Chef McClure was excited by our proposal, and ran back into the kitchen to get started our our tasting.
Our first course was an amuse - Yellowtail and Watermelon Sorbet, which was served alongside some finely chopped pickled root vegetable (maybe daikon?). I actually really liked the tart and bright flavors of the pickle. However, I found the yellowtail to be quite average. It was just a tad fishy and not quite as good as most yellowtail I've had in sushi restaurants. The watermelon sorbet which accompanied the yellowtail was delicious on its own, but I felt like the overall concept of the dish just didn't quite work. The yellowtail, which was a bit warm, was weird when paired with the cold, fruity sorbet.
The next dish, Heirloom Tomato Panna Cotta ($12), was both stunning in its presentation, creative in its execution, and enjoyable to eat.  It's served with a horseradish tomato consomme, roasted cherry tomatoes, white anchovies, and opal basil. I loved the lovely sweet concentrated tomato flavor as well as the fragrant melon essence in the consomme. The Grilled Judith Point Calamari  ($13) was served with seared potato gnocchi, roasted garlic puree, pearl onions, and scallions. I liked the pan friend gnocchi, though I thought the calamari was only average. It was just a tad rubbery and could have benefited from being cooked just a hair less.Ipswich Clam Chowder came topped with braised pork belly, poached Ipswich clams, cabbage, Yukon gold potatoes, and sweet corn.  Though the dish was creative in design and gorgeous in presentation, I still found the chowder itself to be lacking in "clam" flavor. Perhaps it was a bit undersalted? The chowder was creamy, but had some other strong flavor I did not like, almost like a stinky clam?? I don't want to assume that it was a bad clam, since others at the table actually loved this dish. I found the pork belly to just a tad tough, though decent in flavor. The Lobster and Corn Fritters ($12), served alongside a warm vermouth cream, are pretty popular, and it's not hard to see why. How can you go wrong when you combine these two awesome ingredients? These were well-executed and would make a great bar snack. The Roasted Gulf Shrimp ($27) consisted of jumbo shrimp served with baby bok choy, snow peas, and bell peppers with a bergamot broth. This dish was nice, simple, and pretty good. The Virginia Black Bass was a special that day and came highly recommended. The seared fish came on top of a gorgeous pile of sweet summer corn, chanterelle mushrooms, fried fresh link chiles (they look like hats!), over a paprika-live oil emulsion.  I really enjoyed this dish. The sea bass had a lovely crispy skin, and the farm fresh ingredients, especially the corn, were a joy to eat. The interesting link chilies (the green looking hat-like things) were spicy and smoky, yet not overwhelming tear-inducing hot either.  The Seared Raw Tuna Loin ($30) was served with a Rappahanock (local to Virginia!) oyster veloute amd baby summer squash blossoms.  The oysters were soft, fresh, and pretty tasty. The tuna was reasonably fresh and seared to a perfect "rare", but just did not inherently have that much flavor. The Heritage Pork Chop ($32) came with a summer bean ragout, pearl onion, and cornbread puree. I thought the Marsala sauce that accompanied the pork chop was deep and flavorful, definitely adding to the complexity of the dish. Though I am not a duck person, I can still be objective in picking out a good duck dish. The Roasted Moulard Duck Breast ($29) was excellent. It was cooked absolutely perfectly, and was soft, tender, and very flavorful. Alongside the duck were grilled white peaches, Lacinato kale (which has a gorgeous deep umami flavor from the Sarsaparilla jus), and an absolutely lovely macadamia nut butter, which I loved. I thought this entree was the best of the bunch.  Similarly, I thought the Martin's Angus Beef Flatiron ($28) was also very good. The lovely summer roasted heirloom tomato were delicious, and I really liked the cute little marble potatoes, each perfectly formed sphere seared to a nice golden brown on each side. The steak was fabulous when paired with the rosemary-lavender-garlic butter.  The desserts were good. A la Minute Chocolate Cake $9 came with poached cherries and a sprinkling of cocoa nib. I thought I would just try one bite but found myself reach back for more . . . and then more . . . and then more. I think there's something about cherries that just matches perfectly with chocolate.
I love panna cotta and Greek yogurt, so it wasn't a surprise that I liked the Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta $9, which came with blackberries and shortbread cookies. What I found unique and surprising was the black pepper syrup, which actually worked really well! I loved the peppery kick that it added to the dessert.  

Represented from left to right: The Daily Meal, Destination DC, The Madison Hotel, Messy & Picky.

Thoughts
The Madison Hotel is a gorgeous place to stay, and I enjoyed every minute of sleep on their oh-so-comfortable beds. The Federalist is a lovely space and seems like a great convenient location for business meals. The dishes are generally "safe" (meaning they are not so exotic that a client may not like the cuisine), and the overall ambiance of the place is really nice.

Although some dishes were disappointing, others surprised me with their creativity and quality execution.The menu is constantly changing depending on what's seasonal, which is part of the fun.

We had a wonderful meal in this gorgeous space adjacent to the Madison Hotel. After dinner, we were really glad that we were staying right upstairs because, frankly, we were probably too stuffed to move very far!

The Federalist
1177 15th St NW
Washington, DC 20005

Disclaimer
This trip was part of a media tour of Washington DC paid for by Destination DC, a non-profit organization that supports the DC travel and tourism sector. 

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

This is the sixth post in the new series about my recent trip to Washington DC right on Julia Child's 100th birthday (Series overview: Happy Birthday Julia Child): Other posts in this series include Wolfgang Puck's The Source, Ben's Chili Bowl - an Inside Perspective, Exploring Little Ethiopia, Jaleo, and The Federalist.

Oh coffee, how I tried so hard not to become an addict.

Strangely, even though I have been drinking some version of coffee since I was pretty young (my mom used to give me tastes of the free coffee from our local grocery store, diluted with TONS of cream, hot water, and sugar, of course), I was never addicted to coffee.

Throughout college, as other students at the 'Tute (affection way by which we refer to MIT) lived off of intravenous coffee drips into the week hours of the night with their problem sets, I never needed it. Sure, I drank my frappuccinos "socially", but it was never a daily occurrence.

It was the free, available coffee at work that did me in.

For years, I only drank coffee in the afternoon, convinced that I "wasn't really addicted" since I didn't need it in the morning to wake up. It wasn't until I noticed this dull, throbbing coffee headache  whenever I skipped my afternoon cup, that I realized just how physically addicted I was.

So what did I do? Embrace the addiction, of course!

Now I drink a lovely cup of cappuccino that I make at home every morning. After lunch, I brew yet another cup at work. Yes, I have a coffee maker in my office so I can make a fresh cup (even though there's free coffee in the kitchen). Yes, I'm a wee bit obsessive.

While in DC on this food trip, we soon found out there were several members in our group who were just as addicted as I was to coffee. We all politely requested (or more like begged) that a coffee shop be our first stop.

Our host, Katie, couldn't have picked a better place in DC for us to try.

Peregrine has definitely received its share of accolades. In 2009 Bon Appetit named Peregrine one of the 10 best boutique coffee shops in America. Their founder/barista Ryan Jensen won the Southeast Regional Barista Competiton in 2005. It's constantly being named "Best coffee in DC" on numerous lists. Clearly, it has a strong following here in DC.

Those who are willing to wait a few minutes for great coffee can order a gravity drip "microbrew" pourover coffee, where you can slowly watch your coffee being extracted right in front of you. The menu has many unusual and exotic choices, including a rotating variety of single-origin coffees.

Of course, if you're in a huge rush, you can still grab a piping hot cup of their "macrobrew" single origin coffee, although it is only available in the morning (when there are enough people to ensure that the coffee remains as fresh as possible).

You can order a cappuccino and enjoy some gorgeous latte art (see top picture). It was tough to choose between them, but eventually I opted for the cappuccino, which was awesome.

Thanks Kate for taking care of our coffee-deprived bodies that first morning in DC. I can't imagine a better way to start in the morning.

Peregrine Espresso
660 Pennsylvania Ave SE
Washington, DC 20003


Disclaimer
This trip was part of a media tour of Washington DC paid for by Destination DC, a non-profit organization that supports the DC travel and tourism sector. 

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

Jen and Virginia Rollins, co-founder of Ben's Chili Bowl and wife of the late "Ben" Ali.

This is the second post in the new series about my recent trip to Washington DC right on Julia Child's 100th birthday (Series overview: Happy Birthday Julia Child): Other posts in this series include Wolfgang Puck's The Source.

There's no question that this is one of the most famous and popular food places in the entire DC area.

Tourists line up around the exterior of the building just for the chance to take a bite into their famous, absolutely delicious, chili half smokes. It's the stuff of legends, really. President Obama's been there. Bill Cosby swears by it and goes all the time.

The walls of this simple, humble looking place are adorned with photographs from celebrities, old friends, and loyal customers from the past fifty years.

I first visited Ben's Chili Bowl just like any other regular tourist back in 2010 with Bryan's family. We stood in that long line to get inside to taste those chili half smokes. It was crowded, crazy, but lots of fun.

This time, I got the inside scoop.

Together with Kate, our fearless leader from Destination DC, we got up bright and early and headed over to the U Street in the Shaw neighborhood of DC.

 Shaw is a historically African American area that originally grew out of freed slave encampments. Black Broadway (U Street Corridor) thrived in the early 20th century as the hub of African American music and culture, bringing about greats like Langston Hughes, Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, and Duke Ellington. These days you can still see the grandeur of those times reflected in the gorgeous victorian houses that line these streets.

The most famous food institution in the area is, of course, Ben's Chili Bowl. If you come in the afternoon, you'll fight with the mobs of tourists who come to experience this significant historical place.

The early morning, however, is when the locals hang out. The place buzzes with energy as the workers at Ben's dole out hearty breakfast items to the guests.

People treat each other like family.

In fact, the crew that works here is pretty much like family. Some of the workers have been with the restaurant for decades.

When we asked Virginia (cofounder; wife of Ben Ali, who passed away October of 2009), her philosophy on how they hired people, she said you had to let people be themselves. It's really about hiring happy people who love what they do.

"It's not just a job - you work too hard for it to be just a job."

"It's family."

For example, this lovely lady in purple on the right (boo, I can't remember her name) has been with the restaurant for over 40 years.

She stuck with Ben's as the only employee back in the dark days when riots following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination essentially devastated the neighborhood. Further construction to build the new U Street metro station forced most businesses off the street because no one could get the the restaurants.

Ben's was one of the only businesses open in their entire neighborhood, staffed by the loyal employee, who worked tirelessly next to Ben and Virginia.

It's incredible and inspiring to see the rewards of such tenacity during difficult times.

And they give back to the community.

Homeless kids in the neighborhood will sometimes come by, hungry for some food. The restaurant will feed them, but the kids have to bring a book and read it there. Afterwards, they actually get tested on the contents of the book! The folks at Ben's Chili Bowl care about the education of these kids.

Occasionally, single mothers who are in a bind will drop their kids off to hang out at the restaurant. The folks at the restaurant encourage these kids to be productive during this time, teaching them how to help out at the restaurant.

We asked Virgina what her favorite breakfast items were. Salmon cake, grits, and eggs. She says she makes sure to eat a hearty breakfast every morning.

"You have to eat enough food to have energy for the entire day."

Her daughter-in-law attests, "she has more energy than the rest of us!"

The staff was so kind as to bring over a ton of various breakfast foods, like these homefries, which had fantastic flavor.

Scrambled eggs were normal - nothing particularly unusual.

Similarly, the French Toast was solid.

My absolutely favorite (not surprisingly) was their signature chili half smoke. It's juicy, smoky, with just a bit of heat. Definitely eat it with their famous chili, which is a must-have.

When we asked Virginia what influenced the recipe for the chili half smoke, she mentioned that Ben took inspiration from his Trinidad background and applied it to the American hot dog, which he learned about in the US. The resulting hot dog is legendary, and definitely worth trying. [More pics of the chili half smoke when served as a full hot dog here]

Salmon cakes are moist, flavorful, and definitely a healthier option. It's also one of Virginia's favorites.

The grits come with a generous dollop of butter on top. They were alright, but I've had much better versions in the south.

At the end they dropped of some sweet apples, which tasted like the inside of an apple pie. A bit sweet for me, but my palate is definitely more sensitive to sweet than most!

Alas, we had to move on.

As part of this crazy food trip, we still had to go to a food tour of U Street and Little Ethiopia before lunch.

The eating had just begun . . .

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn about Little Ethiopia in DC, the second largest Ethiopian population outside of the capital city in Ethiopia

Jen enjoying an entire chili half smoke back in 2010

For a different look on Ben's Chili Bowl, definitely check out my post from 2010 where I describe a lot of their non-breakfast, more normal menu items.

Ben's Chili Bowl
1213 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009


Disclaimer
This trip was part of a media tour of Washington DC paid for by Destination DC, a non-profit organization that supports the DC travel and tourism sector. The tour was provided by DC Food Tours.

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved