TwoDC Turns Four!

Four years ago today, we started chronicling our adventures in DC.  We had no idea that our little journal would turn into a blog with over 400 posts covering our lives in DC from A (Acadiana) to Z (zpizza).  In fact, we've written about at least one restaurant from every letter of the alphabet except X.  2013 will be the year we complete the alphabet!

On 2/10/2009, DC was welcoming a brand new President to town.  On 2/10/2013, DC has the same President but an entirely new crop of restaurants to dazzle him with.  New restaurants are popping up so fast, we can't come close to keeping track.  4 years ago we never would have thought that H Street NE and the 14th Street Corridor would be the hot places in town to slurp a bowl of noodles or eat a toffee bacon donut.

We are thrilled you've joined us for every up and down over the past 1,460 days.  Without readers like you, we'd just be writing to our parents.  It kind of bewilders us that anybody except our parents is even out there.  Hello not-our-parents-readers and hello to our parents too.  Here's to more adventures in DC (culinary and otherwise)!

Second Thoughts From B

4 years is a long time to do anything.  Seems like we should be graduating with a degree by now.  I guess that is one of the great things about this city that we call home.  After 4 years of exploration, there is still so much for us to see and do.  Glad to have everyone along for the ride!

Hank's on the Hill

Catching up on some culinary adventures, we take you to Hank's Oyster Bar on Capitol Hill.  You may be familiar with the Hank's near Logan/Dupont or the Old Town Alexandria location.  Hank's on the Hill is the youngest sibling in owner Jamie Leeds' mini-chain. 

The space is narrow and dominated by a large bar on one wall.  DC's master mixologist Gina Chersevani (of Buffalo and Bergen fame) has partnered with Hank's to create "Eddy Bar" featuring a wild menu of cocktail creations.

On this visit with a group of friends, we shared a plate of fried oysters for the table.  If you can't get down with the slippy slidey-ness of raw oysters, these lightly-coated fried bivalves are for you.

Hank's has a chalkboard that lists where the raw oysters are from that day.  Since we know approximately nothing about oysters, we let our waiter choose a selection.  He explained which ones were brinier and which had a smoother finish.  I dump cocktail sauce and horseradish on them and they taste pretty much the same to me.  An oyster expert I am not.

I've never met a lobster roll I didn't like, so I couldn't resist ordering the Hank's version.  I was pleased with the large lobster chunks and light touch of mayo.  The onion rings were a big disappointment.  They were bland and two of the four (yes, four onion rings) were made from the stringiest part of the onion, making them very hard to eat.

Since apparently B didn't have enough oysters for the appetizer course, he ordered the oyster po boy.  Though it was oyster overload, I think he liked the sandwich version of the fried oyster appetizer.

One of the coolest things about the Dupont Hank's location, the half price raw bar from 10pm to midnight every night, does not appear to have made its way to the Capitol Hill location.  This late night happy hour is what makes Hank's stand out in our minds, so I hope they'll consider adding it to the Hill location. 

Even without the late night discount, Hank's makes a nice addition to Pennsylvania Avenue SE and I'm glad to see their recent roof fire didn't keep them closed.

Second Thoughts from B

I've written the latter half of nearly 400 blog posts under the heading, "Second Thoughts."  The title is simply an allusion to our TwoDC theme that provides two perspectives on all the wonderful, and sometimes not so wonderful, things to do and eat in Washington.  In this post, however, "second thoughts" takes on a more traditional meaning... regret.

Any loyal reader knows that I enjoy eating almost anything and that allows me the flexibility to order the "best" thing on the menu.  Sometimes this is determined by the masses (i.e., Google), sometimes a waiter/waitress gets an assist, and sometimes the answer is written in giant letters over my head.  In other words, when I go to Hank's Oyster Bar, I'm ordering oysters.

The problem with that strategy is that on this particular night, I got a bit carried away.  I'm sure some of you love oysters enough to have them featured on three different plates.  I'm not one of those people.  By the time my po boy showed up, I was oystered out.  Don't get me wrong, they were good.  Really good.  But I had enough of the rich, salty, sliminess and was wishing I ordered a salad.

So to the good people of Washington, learn from my mistake.  Skip the third straight oyster dish, but don't skip a trip to Hank's.

Pasta Mia

Pasta Mia in Adams Morgan was one of those places that had been on our list for a long time but we kept putting it off because it seemed too difficult to deal with.  It doesn't take reservations and is notorious for slow turnover leading to long lines of hungry people.

Pasta Mia is also one of those "rules" places.  What do I mean?  Check out the photo below:

While I totally respect an establishment's right to set out its own rules, it definitely is a bit of a turn off when there are so many restaurants in town that are just easier to deal with.  However, my love of pasta is so strong that I'll gladly wait in a line, bring cash, and not ask for substitutions.

Our friends M and A live in the neighborhood and had been to Pasta Mia a couple of times. We relied on their expertise and had a great dining experience.  First victory?  Arriving around 8:30 p.m. during the winter. This was late enough that the first rush of people was on its way out.  Also, I think cold temperatures may slightly deter people from going because they don't want to stand outside. 

Second victory? Letting M and A order the appetizers.  They warned us that the caesar salad and prosciutto and mozzarella were giant enough for 4 people and they were right.  We could have split this 6 ways easily.  Also, this caesar salad is $6.00.  Talk about cheap eats!

Everything at Pasta Mia is giant.  Go hungry or don't go at all.  Seriously.

The scale of these photos is hard to decipher, but trust me when I tell you that these plates are ginormous.  Even the biggest eater will be taking home a metric ton of leftovers.  We stretched each pasta dish into several meals.  If you're thinking of sharing, remember the $16 minimum per person on food.

Yes, the portions were giant and the prices reasonable ($17-ish for 3 days worth of pasta), but it was also pretty darn good.  B's pappardelle with bolognese was the perfect hearty dish for winter.  Yelpers decry the fact that Pasta Mia doesn't make its own pasta but whereever they get it from, it's got a nice snap to it. You just need to go in understanding that this is a red sauce Italian joint, not a temple of haute cuisine.  The prices are also about half what you'd pay at a place that makes its own pasta (see, e.g., Filomena).

My penne amatrice with spicy tomato sauce and pancetta was kick-you-in-your-teeth spicy and just the way I like it.  It made for very excellent leftovers the next couple of days.  I don't really like parmesan cheese dumped all over my pasta, but I was afraid to ask them to leave it off.  This just seems like a place that it's better to keep your mouth shut and eat.

Is the chef at Pasta Mia going to win a James Beard award? Absolutely not.  Is it a pain in the pitoot that they don't have a website, don't take reservations, and are cash only?  Absolutely.  But, if you want pasta portions bigger than your head in a no-frills atmosphere with cheap house wine, this is your place.

Second Thoughts from B

Most of us were dirt poor when we were in college.  (I used to think ALL of us were once poor college students but the Whole Foods next to GW put an end to that illusion).   Accordingly, most of us took great pride in finding ways to keep our bellies full while still saving a buck.  Tell me if any of my favorite tricks sound vaguely familiar...

• The stand we all called "Buck Fitty" charged, you guessed it, $1.50 for a large sub sandwich
• Creative use of carrots can double or triple the capacity of your Mongolian BBQ bowl and as long as it all fits, it costs the same
• Restaurant supply warehouses are often cheaper than Costco... as long as you are ok buying rice by the ton
• Stand around the right concession stand after an event and the leftover popcorn and pretzels are often given away for free

These were things you learned and passed down to the underclassmen.  But, only to the kids you liked because these were hard fought victories.  The secret place to park for free, the vendor who would slip you an extra-large helping of mystery meat, the somewhat odd but undeniably charming pasta joint with enormous portions.

Yeah, Pasta Mia is that kind of place that I would have adored as a poor college student and shared with only my favorite people.  You feel just a little cooler to know about it.  Not because it is the best in town, but because it is such a deal.  So for all of you who remember fondly those days when you signed up for a credit card to get a clean tshirt (and avoid another day of laundry), Pasta Mia is your place.

Energy Kitchen

Are you tired of your burgers and fries being served with a whopping side of calorie-laden guilt?  We are too. That's why we jumped at the chance to go to a menu tasting at the brand new DC location of Energy Kitchen. Energy Kitchen (a chain with locations in NY, NJ and FL) explains its business model like this:

"We take the guesswork out of eating healthy by offering a completely guilt-free, fail-proof menu. There are no hidden temptations, no hidden calories and, best of all, no regrets. Everything on our menu is grilled, baked or steamed, never fried, and always under 500 calories."

Calorie counts for each item are listed on the menu board.  Unlike at most fast food places, you don't have to cover your eyes or pretend you don't see the calorie count listed next to that burger you're craving.  While other places offer low-cal items, I've never been to a place that only offers low-cal items.
 

Energy Kitchen is a fast food joint and its simple, no-frills interior reflects that.  They only offer diet sodas in the soda machine to keep you from blowing your caloric wad on 1,000 calories of soda.  I hope they follow through on their stated goal of offering more natural soda options for those of us who don't like chemical Cokes.

Speaking of chemicals, we got a chance to chat with Founder and President Anthony Leone and asked him whether the lower calorie dishes we were enjoying were "real food" or more akin to a frankenfood-like Lean Cuisine. Leone told us about the grass-fed beef, whole wheat buns, and lack of artificial flavors in the smoothies. All of this is great news, but if the food tastes like straw, nobody will want to eat it.  We're happy to report that the food was delicious.

The tasting offered us a chance to try small portions of a variety of menu items.  Don't worry, the portions shown aren't the portion sizes you have to eat at Energy Kitchen to keep the calorie count down!  We liked each of the "super sides" we tried (corn and edamame salad, black bean and mango salad, and Asian broccoli slaw).  While really good, I wasn't super excited by these items because it's not a huge stretch to make a low-cal vegetable salad.  I really wanted to see if they could make the typical calorie gigantors (burgers and fries) taste good for under 500 calories.

In the burger category, we sampled the BBQ Turkey burger (turkey burger topped with turkey bacon, fat-free cheddar cheese and chipotle BBQ sauce).  It packed a ton of flavor into 468 calories.  The Classic Sirloin Burger made 90% lean sirloin taste decadent.  They use their signature E.K. Special Sauce (sort of like Thousand Island with a kick) to jazz things up.  Perhaps most surprising was that we liked the veggie burger the best.  The patty is an Energy Kitchen-made blend of rolled oats, broccoli, carrots, celery, corn, edamame, peppers, onions and green peas.  It sounds a little weird, but we found it to be the most flavorful of the burger bunch.

The things that had me doing a happy dance were the fries.  I freaking love french fries.  I've tried making them at home in healthier ways and I always miss the real thing.  I was shocked by how much Energy Kitchen's baked fries tasted like the real fried deal.  The sea salt fries (pictured below) are only $1.99 and 198 calories per serving. 

I order sweet potato fries almost everywhere I go.  I've had so many sweet potato fries, it's a wonder I'm not orange and 450 lbs.  I actually liked the Energy Kitchen baked version better than the full calorie fried version I had at the new Maddy's Tap Room the night before.  Energy Kitchen is testing out sweet potato fries in the DC market and I give them my full endorsement to keep them around.

In the drinking department, we sampled the Protein Punch smoothie (strawberries, bananas, mangos, fruit punch, strawberry protein and non-fat vanilla yogurt), the Vaccinator (bananas, strawberries, orange juice, vitamin C and non-fat vanilla yogurt), and the Peanut Better (all natural peanut butter, bananas, water, chocolate protein, and non-fat chocolate yogurt).  All were thick and had a nice smooth texture (no chalky taste).  B was a big fan of the two fruit flavors while I was giddy over the Peanut Better.  Peanut butter and chocolate is my favorite flavor combo and I was psyched to get it for 252 calories (16 ounces).

We were a little skeptical of Energy Kitchen's model before we tasted the food.  Once we learned that the food is delicious and stands up to the marketing (Fast Food, Not Fat Food), we were converted. We are thrilled to welcome a low calorie fast food option to the neighborhood (it's at 19th and L, by the way).

Second Thoughts From B

Call me the skeptical one.  I was convinced that the servings would be too small, the flavors too weak, or the calorie savings would come from a chemistry trick.  I am happy to say that I was wrong on all accounts.

But before we get too crazy, let's make one thing clear.  If you are looking for the best burger, fries, and shakes in town and don't mind the indulgence, then Energy Kitchen probably isn't the place for you.  However, if you love a good burger joint but can only rationalize a visit for a special occasion, this might be a game changer.

Let's start with the shakes and smoothies.  I don't have a big sweet tooth so going healthy wasn't too hard for me.  Do I love a great shake?  Yeah.  Do I dread the dairy bomb they often leave in my stomach?  Yeah.  So all things considered, that's a win for Energy Kitchen.

What I lack in a sweet tooth, I make up for in my salt craving and fries are a excellent expediters of crispy, salty heaven getting into my mouth.  The baking not only removed some of the guilt, it also allowed me to taste the potato (a novel concept).  Another win for EK.

As for the burgers, they tasted healthy.  You could tell that many of the components lacked some of the fat that make us crave them.  But, they were far from flavorless and certainly better than some full calorie duds I've had in the past.  The best thing is that I'll remember the burger far longer than my waistline will.  If having a healthy burger means more fries and shakes, sign me up.