Last week I attended a fundraiser for The Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne. The event had restaurants from the local area and raffles and silent auctions to raise money and awareness for the disease. I was there representing Chef Seng and Thip Khao.
There was so much good food there. It was a really nice event, AND I got to meet Chef David Guas. WHAT. I love my life. He’s very friendly, and a lot shorter in person than I imagined.
Highlight of the night? Bacon cotton candy. My life is awesome.
I love fried chicken. And chicken wings. And donuts. But more so chicken, since I don’t like TOO many sweets. The other day I stopped in at Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken. I never had the combination together, but I assumed it would be as delicious as chicken and waffles.
The place is super tiny. You basically just walk up. Order your doughnuts and chicken, they pull it out of this rack, hand it to you and you eat outside. Simple. Easy. Delicious.
The chicken came in this thick paper bag. And smelled wonderful. There were two options that day, the classic fried chicken and sriracha wings.
We got both. I really liked the fried chicken. It wasn’t very greasy, and it was crisp and full of flavor. I usually need something with my fried chicken, like ketchup or honey, but this was good on its own. The sriracha wings were yummy as well. It wasn’t saucy enough for the husband, who prefers my sriracha wings. But I thought it was still good. The wings aren’t cut, so the drummette and the flapper and still connected.
Creme brulee donut. I don’t like filled donuts. I’m not a fan of the surprise inside, but these were different. There was still a hole! The custard filling was still in the donut, and there was caramelized sugar on top. It really was like a creme brulee with the extra cushion of the donut. I did like it the best out of the donuts that we had that day, (Vanilla, and chocolate fudge was also on deck) but I could only have a couple of bites.
..and the also have a food truck!
Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken
1308 G Street
NW Washington DC 20005
202-809-5565
I am not cheating on my stylist. I promise. But I had a photoshoot, and my hair is in that awkward length that I don’t know how to deal with. So after hearing rave reviews about DryBar, I wanted to give it a shot!
This place is SUPER cute. I love the hints of yellow. It’s so cheery, bright, and happy. I booked the appointment online for me and Deana. We checked in, they offered us a beverage (I chose sparkling fruit punch, yum!) and waited until my stylist came to get me.
Here’s the deal. It’s not a full service salon. It’s just a place that washes, dries and styles your hair. So simple. I know you are like, I can do my own hair. Good for you, I can’t. Oh and by the way, it’s a professional. It’s $40 bucks, and you get to be pampered. I love it. 
Amber came out, sat me down at her station. Asked me when the last time I washed my hair. After finding out its been awhile (I know I’m disgusting and busy) she offered a double wash. I chose the Mai Tai, which is a loose beachy wave. After I decided, we went to the other room for a glorious relaxing shampoo. The best part of any hair styling situation.
My greasy before, while Deana still looks stunning.
And after!
The Drybar Georgetown
1825 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC
(202) 609-8644
I finally got a chance to taste La Diplomate. Paris was an amazing experience for me last year. After having tasted a REAL baguette and croissant my palate has been in search of the perfect baguette here in the good ol’ states. I found ONE place that I can pick some up at for home nearby.
It was a hot cloudy day when we went. There were no reservations available for sunday, so we decided to try our luck and wait for a patio seat outside. So french. Other than being a fairly large place on the corner of the street, decor wise, it did remind me of Paris. I loved it.
We sat outside, facing the sidewalk, and watching the street. I had an Orangina, and ordered the duck terrine. I was sad that they lacked the standard charcuterie board, which is my go to whenever I go to a french restaurant. But Ben, our wonderful server suggested the duck terrine, which was on point. The boo had the macaroni au gratin, which was made mostly of gruyere, his favorite cheese, and cavatappi noodles.
Then it started to rain. HARD. Luckily we were finishing up and didn’t have to find an alternate eating situation. The service was great. He even threw in a baguette with my to go food because I loved it so much.
Definitely gotta go back there with someone who will share mussels with me, and again for brunch!
Hmmm. I’ve been craving ramen a lot lately. Maybe because the weather got cold again. What are you doing mother nature? *shakes fist. We decided to try out Daikaya one cold Sunday.
Daikaya is located right next to Graffiato in chinatown, DC. Tiny place, and set up like a ramen place is known to be. Side by side seating. Fast paced and buzzing with chatter and slurping. They are very hi tech in there. Seating system is via tablet. Order system is also via handheld.
Our server was super friendly and helpful. Explained the difference between broths and helped up make all decisions. Even though it was busy, he was very patient. It was a sunday evening, and the wait for 2 wasn’t that bad. Maybe 5-10 minutes. I would guess bigger parties would be more of a hassle. Don’t count on sitting together.
The noodles were great. Perfect texture. I think I picked the wrong broth for myself. The shoyu was great, and very traditional, but I’ve come to realize, I like a lighter broth, like the miso, or I will try the shio next time. The bowls were too big for me, and I got tired of the flavor. The egg in it was delicious! It all was really great at first…but half way through my bowl I was sleepy!
I would definitely go back. Great vibe. Delicious broth.
How have I not written about this place before? I’ve gone here a couple times already, to quickly satiate my cravings for crawfish, when my brother can’t whip me up a pot “real quick”. Out of the two places in the area that I’ve been to for crawfish, this place is only second best to my family’s boil.
I took my little there for her birthday the other weekend. It was her first time EVER having crawfish. But being the adventurous eater she is, she opened them like a pro. She even sucked the head for the sweet brains, and loved it. I was a super proud big. They also have crab legs, clams, blue crabs, oysters, calamari…basically its a down and dirty seafood joint.
They take their spices really seriously there, so their “mild” is spicy enough for me. So tread carefully when you are ordering your spice levels. My favorite is their Juicy Cajun flavor for the crawfish. Since it’s not like Ai Toy’s crawfish, I have to dip the meat back in the sauce…but at least it doesn’t taste like pond water!
How much do I love this place? Probably too much. Out of all the French restaurants I’ve been too in the area, this is the best. Really. If you ask me where I want to go to celebrate something, I want to go there. As I mentioned in a previous post the atmosphere is very romantic and inviting. Need a recommendation for a romantic dinner date place, Bistro Cacao for dinner is it.
The service is exceptional. We had Karim, who was polite, observant and very personable. He really knew about the food, and made sure to point me in the right direction when I had questions. Who would have thought to eat a duck medium well? Not me. And thats why I have eating adventures, to learn as much as I can about food. Now lets get to the good stuff. Food.
Their dinner menu is not as extensive as other restaurants, which is perfectly fine in this case, because I think that ensures that every dish is awesome. I missed having a good french charcuterie like in France, and the places that I’ve gotten it around here just didn’t quite hit the spot. When I asked Karim, he put together a board of cheeses and meat for me, even though happy hour was over (thank you!). It came with crostinis, not french baguettes, but it still worked out perfectly. For my main course, I chose the pan seared duck breast, with a port wine blueberry reduction. It was accompanied with braised endives (my first time) and potato gratin.
I got the duck breast cooked medium, which left me with a tender, juicy cut of meat. Even though smothered in sauce, the duck came out with a beautiful crisp crust. I’ve never had such a tender cut of meat. Except maybe a cow’s tongue, but for those of you who aren’t familiar with a well prepared cow’s tongue will immediately be disgusted so I don’t wanna make that reference. I didn’t even make it to the sides, I wanted to devoir all of the duck. And I did. The boo had the filet mignon which was equally amazing, and he cleaned his plates. His sides were also a potato gratin, baby carrots and haricot verts.
Filled to the brim, Karim asked if we wanted dessert. I was so full, and I had to regretfully decline. A few minutes later, he brings us a dessert any way, on the house. Yum, profiteroles. Cream filled puffs with a scoop of ice cream, and chocolate sauce. He places it in front of the boo and says to me jokingly, “You are full, so I guess you can’t have any,” with a wink. After I gave him a mock look of surprise, he puts the plate in the middle and hands me a spoon and says, “Happy Anniversary!”.
I love this place so much.
It’s been 3 years (yesterday) since the legendary Michael Jackson died too soon. Say what you want, all the scandals and negative things about how he lived his life, but you can’t take away the fact that he was an amazing performer, and pretty much shaped pop music. Usher, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown… all their dance moves all their inspirations…Michael Jackson. I remember watching MTV (when they still played music videos) and how excited I would get when one of his videos would come on. You could probably get his videos on demand right now through your cable provider.
To this day, I am still scared of the Thriller video.
Last Friday, the boo, and my girlfriends went to see Who’s Bad, a Michael Jackson Tribute band at 930 Club on U Street. I saw them on MJ’s 1 year anniversary of his death. They are amazing, like it will bring tears to your eyes. They have not one, but 2 performing “Michael’s” one’s extremely good at dancing, and the other extremely good at singing. (That just goes to show how crazy good the real Michael is, it takes two people to make this show AMAZING.) It’s like he never left us. There show is better than ever. I can’t wait until they come back around again. Hopefully next year around the same time.
Tips if you go:
I am still on a Michael Jackson kick, so I’ll be singing all week. Sorry to those around me 😀
I love comedy. Seeing a stand up comic live is even better. Especially when you are close enough to heckle. And I’m a heck of a heckler. Jo Koy is one of my (many) favorite comedians. I first watched him on Chelsea Lately (my favorite late night talk show). For the longest time I thought he was gay, because Chelsea always makes fun of him for being gay and asian…Which he’s not, and he’s only half. Half Asian, not half gay. I love Chelsea, but she makes fun of tattooed people, and Asians a lot…. both of which I am.
Any hoooo. JO KOY was in DC last week. I tweet him and follow his instagram and this cool guy actually tweets back. *swooon. For Vitya’s birthday, we went to see him for his first show…and I went to see him again SATURDAY for his last show.
He.Is.Awesome.
I was laughing so hard, and well worth seeing him twice, on the same tour. The main jokes were the same, but because he can hear us yelling random things, sometimes he’d steer his jokes that way, so both him and Orlando Baxter (his opening act) had a couple jokes here and there that made me laugh even harder because I was hearing it for the first time.
I got to meet him twice last week, since he holds meet and greets after his show. They didn’t let us take ANY pictures ourselves, so I have to wait for his people to upload them from their camera.
He is definitely a fun guy. I hope to be friends with him in real life. Harhar. Actually I should give him a break. He knows I exist. That’s all that matters to me.
Definitely check his comedy specials if you can, one of them is on netflix, and Lights Out just came out last week.
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 😉