Zaytinya Mezze Restaurant - Washington, D.C.

Zaytinya Eastern Mediterranean restaurant by Spanish chef José Andrés. His Minibar restaurant, with a fixed menu priced at $225 per person, is one of the toughest reservations to have in DC. We decided to pick between Zaytinya and Jaleo Tapas for lunch.

Puffed flatbreads served with some olive oil and pomegranate syrup

Grape leaves dolmades - grape leaves with rice, tomato, fennel, pine nuts, golden raisins, served with labneh  (strained yogurt)

Baba Ghanouge - fire-roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon, garlic

Santorini Fava and Squash soup - purée of yellow split pea and butternut squash, sultans, marinated mushrooms

Garides Me Anitho - sautéed shrimps, dill, shallots, mustard, lemon juice

Spanakopita - House-made phyllo, spinach, feta cheese

Turkish Delight - walnut ice cream, yogurt mousse, honey geleé, orange-caramel sauce, caramelized pine nuts

The check

What a lovely lunch!

Zaytinya
http://www.zaytinya.com/

Ben's Chili Bowl - Washington, D.C.

We decided to have breakfast at the famous Ben's Chili Bowl located on U Street.

It was too early to try the famous chili. We shared a "Salmon cake breakfast" which included 2 salmon cakes, home fries, scrambled eggs and a pancake. The waitress was nice and divided up the meal into 4 plates for us.

Ben's Chili Bowl
Washington, D.C.
http://benschilibowl.com/

Tortilla Cafe - Washington, D.C.

Tortilla Cafe proposes cuisine from El Salvador and Mexico.

Pupusa (handmade corn tortilla filled with cheese) served with some cabbage salad

 

Beef fajitas with refried beans and plantains. All fajita dishes are served with salsa, guacomole, sour cream, and flour tortillas.

 
Shrimp fajitas with black beans and yucca.

Tortilla Cafe
Washington, D.C.
http://www.tortillacafe.com/

36 hours in Washington D.C.

We spent 36 hours in DC. Foodie highlights include trying Salvadoran pupusa at Tortilla Cafe, breakfast at the famous Ben's Chili Bowl and a Mediterranean mezze lunch at Zaytinya.


Snapshots from Washington D.C.

Library of Congress - Jefferson building

Library of Congress - Main Reading Room

National Air and Space Museum

Apollo 11  and replica of Sputnik I

The 1903 Wright Flyer

Good evening, Mr. President!

U.S. Capitol - dome of rotunda.

Newseum - Berlin Wall

Newseum - 9/11 Gallery

Lincoln Memorial

The Mall - Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol building

The Mall - reflecting pool

View from our hotel room at Donovan House - Thomas Circle

Cocoron Soba - NYC

Cocoron is a tiny soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles) shop in the Bowery neighborhood. Cocoron means "heartwarming", and as we walked in hungry at almost 10p.m. on that cold January evening, it provided just that. The place was inconspicuous and we missed it as we walked in front.

It has only about a dozen seats, mostly around a counter overlooking the small open kitchen. Although it was rather late, the place was almost full. We were lucky to have 2 seats at the counter without having to wait.

We were sitting about one meter from the stove, so it was very hot. Although the owners are Japanese, the staff despite shouting "gozaimasu" each time a diner walked in, spoke another language (Nepali? Tibetan?) among themselves.

Green tea. It's only at the end of our meal that we realized that we had to ask the waitress for more hot water for refills.

Kasiwa Soba with chicken thigh, chicken meatballs, Shiitake mushrooms and scallion

Tororo Wakame Soba with tororo, wakame seaweeds and scallion

The soba was excellent. Had they not been so slow, we would have shared an additional bowl. There was only one inconvenience however with Cocoron: since the place is so small and we were literally eating in the kitchen, our clothes picked up all the strong cooking smells. As we left, we just wanted to rush to our hotel to shower, so Cocoron is definitely not the dinner place before a night out.

Cocoron
http://cocoron-soba.com/

Sylvia's Harlem Restaurant Gospel Brunch - NYC

Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem was founded in 1962 by Sylvia Woods, the "Queen of Soul Food", who passed away in 2012. Sylvia's has grown into a big enterprise with a catering business and a range of food products.

We wanted to have some soul food during our trip (especially some fresh corn bread) and Sylvia's seemed to be a fine option. When we found out that they offered a "Gospel Sunday Menu" with live gospel music from 12:30 to 4p.m., the decision was made. Since they do not take reservations for this event, we arrived there early at 11:45.

Here are some photos of the place taken while we were leaving at around 13:20 - all tables were occupied and there were more than 15 persons waiting to be seated. Some were even eating at the counter by the kitchen, which in our view is not the most comfortable/practical area.

We ordered a breakfast plate and a lunch entrée. Soon after we ordered, a basket of warm biscuits, margarine spread and grape jelly was served. Sylvia's own hot sauce was already on our table. We asked for some corn bread and were told that it was in the oven and would not be ready for a while..

Fried catfish and scrambled eggs with grits

Southern style fried chicken with 2 sides: garlic mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas (seasoned with smoked turkey)

We also ordered an extra side of baked mac & cheese

Shortly after 12:30, the gospel music started with singer Ruth energizing the diners with a beautiful rendition of 'Amazing Grace'. I managed to snap a photo before she began a tour of the restaurant.

Stopping by each table, she would ask diners where they came from, then shout "[country name] is in the house, y'all! Enjoy!" We were surprised by the great diversity of the other diners around us, from Argentina to Norway and South Korea.

Since our plates had already been cleared but we wanted to listen to the music for a while, we ordered a Peach Cobbler for dessert.

Finally, after checking on the status of the corn bread 3-4 times during our meal, and minutes before we were about to leave, a young waiter brought us a basket of warm corn bread straight out of the oven. The smile on his face was like "you've been very patient. Here's your treat!". Although stuffed at this point, we managed to finish this corn bread which was seriously good.

As we left the restaurant, we noticed a display of several Sylvia's products on sale, which included peach cobbler and corn bread mixes.

 

The Sunday Gospel Brunch at Sylvia's was a great experience that we strongly recommend to Harlem visitors who want to (re)discover soul-food.

Sylvia's Restaurant
Harlem, NYC
http://www.sylviasrestaurant.com