Bistro Cacao for Brunch

Brunch Brunch Brunch. I am ADDICTED. Ever since Birch and Barley, I’ve been obsessed with getting brunch on weekends. I wake up demanding eggs benedict and threaten to hulk smash anything that will get in the way. Well, not really. But I think my new thing, is to eat as many classic eggs benedicts as possible from different places and write about it. Yeah. And MIEMOsas. yum.
So Valentine’s day, the boo took me to Bistro Cacao. The outside looks like a row house on the Hill. We walk in greeted by a friendly fireplace and a crazy wine room. I loved the way it was laid out. Room after room of dining areas. The host seats us in a nook behind red drapes and 3 windows overlooking the street. When it comes to brunch, I am still pretty new. The only brunch I’m familiar with is Dim Sum. So it was my first time having a classic eggs benedict and it was amazing. I am smitten. Quite smitten actually. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Like most places that host a brunch, its a fixed menu that you get to choose items from. All come with a starter mixed pastries basket. This was my favorite from the basket. Nutella. Yum.
My food. So delicious. So happy. These eggs benedict changed my life. The challenge is to find something like this every weekend. I accept. I would definitely want to brunch there again!

Over all the bistro was GREAT. I’d love to try their dinner menu. If I do, I’ll definitely let you know 😉

Posted on March 13, 2012 by miemo 0

The Cajun Experience

…not really. Out of all the cajun restaurants I’ve been to in DC, looking for a taste of home, this was my first disappointment. After coming down from my personal mardi gras 2012 party, I was having high hopes for a professionally done Mardi Gras dinner. I was looking for the Cajun Experience, pun intended.

Lets start off with the food, because that, to me, is always where we should start! I love food. Instead of offering their regular menu tonight (which is what I was hoping for), everyone was getting the buffet. The place was set up nicely, and had a great, fun zydeco band with a tiny dance space available if you wanted to get down. I did enjoy the vibe and I like the space.

Abita beer was unlimited that night, which was awesome considering the $45 price tag. The food however was sub-par. I really expected better, but I won’t be too harsh, since it was massed produced for the crowd. There was a variety of traditional cajun entrees, gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee..and mac and cheese and hushpuppies. The jambalaya tasted like tomato sauce from a jar with sausages thrown in. There was no hit of cajun spices. The etouffee was good, I prefer my cajun dishes a lot spicier, but I understand that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. However there were no spices on the table to help it out. You were confined to your styrofoam divider plate and your plastic cups.

Needless to say, I only had one plate, and spent the night enjoying the music, and my company and $45+ worth of delicious abita beer. I also felt overlooked as a customer. Our server was very sweet, could be a little more attentive, but nothing blatantly wrong with the service. The guy who might have been to the manager seemed to talk to every table and dropping off goodies such as masks, and drink cozies, and didn’t even make eye contact or attempt to say hello to our table… but made a point to say hello to the surrounding tables. Make note that I wasn’t even in a corner table. And no, I wasn’t a quiet mousey, no eye contact patron either. I joked with the table next to us, clapped and cheered to the live band and was trying to make it a good experience. Overall it was not.

I will give it another shot on a regular day, their brunch menu sounds awesome. But I won’t be attending their Mardi Gras party again in the future.

Posted on February 22, 2012 by miemo 0

Daikokuya Original Noodle and Rice Bowl

For those of you that know me, or read my tweets/blogs enough, know that I LOVE noodle soups. They are just so comforting and I could eat it even if it is hot outside. Something about them just makes me happy. A foodie trip to Los Angeles wouldn’t be complete without stopping for ramen there!

Since I had no idea what to do, or eat, I left it up to Steve to pick out our stops for the trip. First and favorite noodle place? Daikokuya Original Noodle and Rice Bowl. Like my beloved ramen joint in DC, its a first come first serve type place, with your name on a list. We were there on a Saturday night prime dining hours… I would say we had about a 45 minute wait. Well worth it.

Decorated with Japanese themed elements, it’s what you would expect from a noodle and rice bowl shop. Service was quick and friendly, food was AWESOME. Though the noodles don’t taste as fresh as they do at Toki, but you can’t win them all. It was still really good!