vFalafel

I have strong feelings on lots of things: cilantro, whether the color of a college basketball player's undershirt clashes with his jersey, etc. However, I've never had strong feelings on falafel. I usually see it on a menu and move on to other things. It's not that I've had a particularly bad falafel experience, I just feel kind of "eh" about it. Our friend Budak, on the other hand, is a falafel kind of guy. Whenever we travel to a new city he tells us where we can find good falafel. When he suggested we meet him at vFalafel near Dupont Circle, I was ready to give falafel a fresh start.

First, I love the tile awning. If a massive indoor rainstorm ever threatens the falafel topping bar, it is fully protected. Second, the owner (Man in the Yellow Hat) is really nice. He bears an uncanny resemblance to our favorite picture framer at Picasso Gallery and is equally friendly. When we looked a little overwhelmed by the variety of toppings on the salad bar, he offered to put the toppings on our falafel for us.

What makes vFalafel stand out in the world of falafelness is its all-vegetarian salad bar. You choose either a regular or a junior falafel sandwich and then can go to town adding toppings such as hummus and pickled veggies. Man in the Yellow Hat said that his wife makes a lot of the salads herself, but she just had a baby, so wasn't back to salad making yet. We also missed out on her bean brownies (hopefully they taste better than they sound) but I wish her congratulations on her new baby and a speedy return to brownie baking.

While Budak, the Falafel Fan went the do-it-yourself route with the salad bar, B and I let Man in the Yellow Hat work his magic.

We ended up with a tangy, creamy, messy concoction that was good enough to make me interested in falafel. Budak gave high marks to the topping selection but said the falafel balls themselves were a bit on the dry side. I hardly noticed since my pita was bursting at the seams with about 45 different kinds of toppings.

If you're a falafel purist, this might not be your cup of tea. We've gotten a lot of blog comments directing us to Amsterdam Falafel in Adams Morgan. My general falafel doldrums have prevented us from trying it thus far so I can't tell you how vFalafel stacks up. However, it's going to take some good falafel to tear me away from the Man in the Yellow Hat dishing out falafel under the awning.

Second Thoughts from B

Clearly, people are trending away from national chains and embracing smaller, local restaurants. J and I are no exception. While the argument usually centers around fresh ingredients and unique recipes, not much is made about the connection that can develop between a small business and its customers.

vFalafel is the perfect example. I won't remember the food so much as the Man in the Yellow Hat. People talk about chefs putting "love" into a dish. It was clear that every aspect of vFalafel was the product of the hopes, dreams, and yes, love, of the Man in the Yellow Hat. He was sharing his food with us, but also his passion and his culture. vFalafel represented him.

Eating out is sometimes more than food. It can be an experience that excites much more than your sense of taste and smell. By going to vFalafel, I felt like I was going into a person's home to hear his story... and that can be so much more fulfilling than any meal.

Sprinkles Cupcakes

I hear you. DC didn't need another cupcake place. I know. Baked and Wired has the best cupcakes in town. Yes. The line outside Georgetown Cupcake makes me nauseous, too. However, when California native Sprinkles Cupcakes opened on M Street in Georgetown, we couldn't resist popping in to show them some California Love.

Sprinkles calls itself the world's first cupcake bakery and while I can't verify that statement, I can say that I've been enjoying Sprinkles cupcakes since they opened in Beverly Hills in 2003. Back in 2003 the world was a different place. B and I first caught each other's eye, the Washington Nationals were dropping baseballs in Canada as the Montreal Expos, and it was a huge novelty to find a place specializing in cupcakes (and frosting shots!). Sprinkles was my first cupcake love.

This past Saturday, B found a way to combine two of my loves: cupcakes and Target. Isn't he so dreamy? We raced out the door needing to eat breakfast and run some errands, so we popped into Sprinkles, scooped up some cupcakes, and made our way to Target's food court to devour them. Why didn't we just eat them at Sprinkles? Have you tried dealing with parking on M Street? Target parking is so much easier.

So we sat in Target twirling in our plastic chairs and licking frosting off our fingers. I was the picture of happiness. To me, Sprinkles has just the right balance of moist cake and decadent frosting. Their coconut cupcake (bottom of the photo) is my idea of cupcake perfection.

I was so excited to have a taste of home that I allowed myself to get talked into buying 4 cupcakes. We demolished two of them in Target and then packed up the other two for eating a few hours later (I couldn't wait!). As I pushed my red cart around the store, I kept a very close eye on the precious cupcake cargo sitting on the child's seat. People steal my cart in Target all the time, but if someone had stolen my cupcake cart, there would have been quite a scene. Don't get between a girl and her nostalgic cupcakes.

Second Thoughts From B

J mentioned the coconut cupcake. It was joined by (going clockwise), strawberry, a special cherry flavor to honor the cherry blossoms, and peanut butter chocolate. Now, everyone in their best Cookie Monster voice*, repeat after me: Mmummm, mmummm, mmummm, mmummm, mmummm!

While all of our friends in LA (and the folks at US Weekly that turned Sprinkles and cupcakes into a starlet-driven fad) probably like hearing this West coast shout out, we know what all of you DC readers want to know. How does Sprinkles compare to other local offerings? As the one without the nostalgia bias, let me take a stab at this one...

The cake is uniformly moist and light, and as good as anything we've tasted in DC. As for the flavor, some were bolder than others, but none were lacking. The frosting is always fabulously vibrant and light, and as J said, the ratio to cake is spot on. And the size and price is even appropriate. I guess it is no surprise that the owner of Sprinkles is a judge on Food Network's Cupcake Wars (which was recently won by our favorite vegan bakery, Sticky Fingers Bakery).

So imagine you're in the heart of Georgetown and in need of a cupcake. Where do you go? Hello Cupcake (one of my favorites) in Dupont is too far. Up the street is the cupcake shop you've heard a lot of buzz about. However, you're a savvy TwoDC reader and know that Georgetown Cupcake guarantees long lines and small, hype-powered cupcakes. Down a side street (Thomas Jefferson) is Baked & Wired (J's favorite), the cool coffee bar with awesome (taste and size) cupcakes and Hippie Crack. But to get there you have to pass Sprinkles. What to do?

Honestly, you can't go wrong with either. While they are both equally good, they are by no means the same thing. One embraces the off-the-beaten-path location and lifestyle with an emphasis on natural ingredients and a laid back atmosphere. The other is chic, cool, and beautiful, and more similar to Hello Cupcake. My advice, find a friend and get one of each.


*Really? You're going to call me out on my cupcake-eating Cookie Monster reference? If our favorite dessert eating monster can incorporate broccoli into his diet, you think it is such a stretch that cupcakes would make it?

Casa Blanca

We found ourselves walking down L Street in downtown on a weeknight and hungry for a quick dinner. Since much of downtown turns into a wasteland of closed restaurants by 6 p.m., we were gearing up to settle for Quiznos. However, as we passed Vermont, I remembered a little restaurant tucked between K and L called Casa Blanca. We rounded the corner expecting to find it closed, but instead did an awkward happy dance when we saw the glow of a neon "open" sign. I was ready to hug the nice woman behind the counter when she told me they stay open until 10 p.m. on weekdays.

Since we had basketball to watch, we ordered our food to go. However, if you're inclined to sit for a spell, Casa Blanca offers table service complete with the requisite telenovela blaring from a large TV. We ordered our food and B asked if we could purchase a bag of chips to eat while we waited. Big high five to Casa Blanca for giving us chips and salsa on the house to satisfy the rumbling hunger monsters in our stomachs.

Since we were nearly delirious with hunger, I went way overboard in the ordering department. I thought ordering 4 pupusas as an appetizer seemed reasonable until we got home and saw that they were big and fat and served with a mountain of tangy slaw. We would've been very satisfied to have eaten these for our dinner.

But since we like to go big or go home, we each ordered a burrito. B tried the burrito mojado which means "wet burrito" for those that took German instead of Spanish in high school. It was massive and completely gringofied, but hit the spot. The rice, often a throwaway dish, was perfectly cooked and had a nice zing to it.

I test drove the beef burrito which was similarly massive. While all of the ingredients were good, it was a little blah in the flavor department. I piled on some of Casa Blanca's very spicy green sauce and was in tongue tingling heaven.

Is my opinion of Casa Blanca colored by my excitement that they were open late on a weeknight and the fact that I was starving? Probably, but sometimes all you need is a smiling face to serve you a reasonably priced burrito. For that, Casa Blanca fits the bill.

Second Thoughts from B

A couple of days ago I told you about CFITA restaurants (that's cheap, fast, and in the area). Casa Blanca is now the latest to earn this title. The difference though is that for those of us who work and/or live in downtown, we're always in the area.

If I didn't live nearby, I don't think the memory - or lack thereof - of my massive burrito would bring me back. But the pupusas might. They were both light and fluffy while being packed with enough cheese to sink a ship. How they produce such a culinary paradox is a mystery to me. All I know is that four was without a doubt too many, but that doesn't mean we didn't eat them.

So let's check the scorecard. Local CFITA restaurant. Noteworthy menu item. Friendly, casual atmosphere. Add it all up and you get the return visit guarantee.

El Pollo Rico

You can't drive very far in the Arlington, Virginia area without running into a restaurant serving pollo a la brasa, a.k.a. Peruvian chicken. As many times as we've seen the signs, we'd never made it into a restaurant to check out the chicken hype. Opportunity struck last week as we played the "where should we eat?" game with visiting family and someone suggested Peruvian food. 388 mostly positive Yelp reviews led us to a packed parking lot in Arlington to try El Pollo Rico.

El Pollo Rico is a no-frills cavernous room featuring several rotisseries for roasting the famous birds. It's a good thing they have so many rotisseries because people come in and order chicken like it was going out of style. The ladies in front of me ordered six chickens to go. The staff keeps the line moving quickly and before we knew it, we were carrying our trays to a table in the dining area.

The menu is short and keeps the focus on the chicken. Chicken comes with a choice of two sides (rice, beans, tortillas, french fries, or coleslaw). The rice is standard steamed rice, which is helped in the flavor department by a generous dash of their green hot sauce. The fries and coleslaw were nothing to get excited about. The chicken, however, was juicy and flavorful and worth a return visit.

I can see El Pollo Rico being a great stop before a picnic or as an easy meal for a group. A whole chicken (with 2 sides) will only set you back $14 so you can feed a lot of hungry mouths on the cheap. Our group of 4 ordered one and a half chickens and it was almost more than we could handle.

Second Thoughts from B

On a dark and stormy night, four intrepid souls ventured outside the city gates in search of sustenance. Their journey of peril and heroic perseverance led them to an oasis of exotic and worldly cuisine of the highest order. In their moment of triumph, the victors sang hymns of exaltation to the heavens to celebrate their good fortune.

OK, back to reality. We found a chicken joint in Arlington and in the words of Miley Cyrus (or at least what I know of her from SNL), it was pretty cool.

I just don't know how excited I can get about chicken. It was good but as a staple of home cooking, I'll never associate it was fine dining or something that I crave. Still, as a reliable and irreplaceable part of my diet, I'm happy to have stumbled across another good option. And I guess that is what El Pollo Rico is... another good option. File it under the "cheap, fast, and in the area" category. (That's CFITA for you government folks)