Himitsu

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When your waiter tells you that the menu is essentially designed so that a table of four can eat the whole thing, you oblige. 

Last Saturday night, three friends and I finally made it to Himitsu. The lack of reservations kept me away for the first few years, but I am happy to report it is worth the wait and will keep me away no longer. Similar to Rose's Luxury, you need to be in line at Himitsu when it opens, but you don't need to eat at 5pm. I arrived at 5:30pm and was offered an immediate seat, but instead I put my name in for approximately 9pm. Suspecting that it wouldn't actually be that late, I met my friends for a drink at Petworth Citizen at 7:30pm, and we were seated around 8pm.

Since we decided to order the entire menu, we spent little time studying the options. This made the experience into a Japanese-inspired tasting menu - we had to consult the menu to learn what was in each dish! Personally, I loved the surprise and anticipation with which we waited for each dish.   

As soon as our first dish arrived, I knew this was going to be awesome. The first of several crudos was hamachi (aka yellowtail), seasoned with a perfect balance of orange segments, fish sauce vinaigrette, and citrus-y yuzu sauce. Although Himitsu isn't traditional or even straight-up Japanese, this glistening gem of sashimi took me right back to my Sushi Ya experience in Tokyo last year. 

Although it didn't hit me as hard as the hamachi, this second crudo dish was also perfectly balanced. Big eyed tuna toped with a perfect blend of spicy and sweet honeydew, serrano chiles, and cilantro. 

After the sashimi, we moved onto the cooked dishes. One of my favorites of the night was a panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) fried oyster topped with smoked and pickled onions and trout roe (caviar) and served in a Gruyere cheese sauce.  

Cheese you say? I was shocked to find so much cheese in Japan on my trip last year. As odd as it sounds, the creamy, melty Gruyere was a perfect accompaniment to the briny oyster and acidic onions. Balanced AF. 



One of my least favorite Japanese items is bonito flakes - cured, dried fish shavings. Gross, amirite? So needless to say, I was shocked at how much I liked this shrimp toast which is LOADED with bonito flakes on top. Unlike the bonito I had in Japan, these flakes were super mild in flavor, and added just a little punch of umami to the crunchy shrimp toast. Bonito FTW. 

Veering to the very non-traditional side of the menu were these roasted carrots served "elote" style - aka like Mexican street corn with mayonnaise and cheese. I love me some Mexican street corn, so I am not going to complain, but I honestly did not understand how these fit in with the rest of the menu. Then again, no one promised the meal would be conventional. In any event, they were quite tasty.

My least favorite dish of the night was agadashi tofu, which is breaded and fried and floating in a dashi broth. If you are not familiar with dashi, it's effectively the sourdough starter of all Japanese food. That said, it is usually made into a ramen or other dish, not served on its own. I really don't love tofu in any form, so this dish did not do much for me. 

Continuing down the vegetable trail, next up we had grilled eggplant served in a chili-lime vinaigrette and topped with pumpkin seeds and scallions. I am a huge fan of eggplant and find it particularly hard to cook well myself, so I am always excited to eat it at restaurants. These were both sweet and bitter - once again achieving a perfect balance of flavor profiles. 

One of the lesser memorable dishes were the seared scallops. I am having trouble remembering whether I liked these, so I guess that pretty much sums it up. They were served with scallions, pea shoots, and bok choy. 

Can't.Touch.This. No really, can you top a perfectly grilled octopus? I think not. This beauty was topped with peanuts, pickled onions, garlic, and herbs, served over a fermented black bean mole. Although the mole sounds strange, Asian food frequently contains fermented beans, so I thought it really worked here and kept up with the theme. One of these days I am going to work up the nerve to cook octopus myself - until then, this will do just fine. 

As you can tell by this picture, behind the kitchen is a legit grill master. It's not that easy to nail a perfect medium-rare all night long, so color me impressed. Oh yea, and it was waygu, and it was topped with a "scallion confit" and nestled on a perfect bed of sticky sushi rice. It was the bomb.com.

While not always advisable to save the heaviest item for last, we did not complain when our waiter brought out this perfect karaage - aka Japanese fried chicken. I am not one to wax poetic about any type of fried food, but something about karaage always gets me. Thankfully, I've found a number of places in DC that serve it and do it really well (recall our reviews of Donburi and Chaplin both included karaage)! Himitsu's karaage was similarly on point -- possibly better. It was topped with pickled onions - the brininess of which perfectly cut through the richness of the chicken, and the dish overall was brightened up by a charred gem lettuce salad.  

Overall, I was most impressed by the balance of each plate at Himitsu. Each was perfectly composed, but not in a pretentious 3-star kind of way. Rather their focus remained on flavor. I cannot wait for the seasons to change again so I can justify a trip back. 

Campono

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We were recently invited to dine at the legendary DC chef Bob Kinkead's newest DC outpost, Campono.  A fast dining option nestled in the back of the Watergate building across from the Kennedy Center, we have to admit we were unsure of what to expect.  As former GW students, we'd both known of his Foggy Bottom namesake restaurant, a fine dining restaurant.  So, we were interested and intrigued to see what Chef Kinkead would be cooking up in this new Italian restaurant. 

A quick glance at the menu shows neopolitan-style pizzas, sandwiches, and salads.  Overall, not incredibly unique offerings.  But, we were both completely amazed at the quality of the food Kinkead is cooking up.  We decided to start with two pizzas and a sandwich to share between us and our friend Abby who joined the party.  The first thin crust pizza was a nod to a veggie lovers pie.  It was covered in delicious and fresh seasonal vegetables and cooked to perfection.  We devoured it quickly.



Next up was the white pizza Tutto Funghi.  We really loved the truly unique mushroom-porcini cream sauce on this pie.  White pizza can sometimes be bland and dry, but this one left nothing to be desired.  Chef Kinkead came over and explained that his infused cream sauces were the pizzas of the future.  The mushrooms were fresh and combined perfectly with the cheese and cream sauce. 


While we were loving the pizzas above and already feeling quite full, Chef Kinkead spoke to us about the general art of pizza making.  He let us know that the brick oven pizza craze is nothing but a fad, and that what really matters when cooking up a good pie is the temperature of the oven.  Soon enough, he was walking back to our table with a third pizza, his personal recommendation, the Burrata.  All we can say is, wow.  The fresh pesto, parmesean cream sauce, and oven dried tomatoes on this dish were nothing short of amazing.

Being a bread lover, I had to sample one of the many subs on the menu.  We quickly settled on the meatball parm, and man am I glad we did.  First, the bread was perfect--crispy, fluffy, and not too doughy.  The meatballs and sauce were in perfect ratio to the cheese and bread.  Much like my experience with Mike Isabella's Chicken Parm at G, I have to say this sandwich is high up on my list of meatball subs.

Last, but not least, we got a personal tour of the gelato station with Chef Kinkead.  He took the time to explain to us the difference between ice cream (more fat) and gelato (more sugar).  In addition to gelato, Campono offers delicious sorbets.  The flavors change seasonally in order to make use of the freshest ingredients.  

Between the three of us, we probably sampled 10 flavors  including chocolate, caramel sea salt, honey yogurt, mocha almond, blood orange, and sour cherry.  They were all amazing.  Kinkead informed us that to tell if a gelato maker is truly adept at his craft, it is absolutely necessary to try the pistachio.  I made that my final choice along with chocolate (I mean, that's a given).  Liz and Abby both opted for the sour cherry with strawberry-lime. 

Incredibly stuffed and beyond impressed, we ended our night at Campono vowing to return soon.  We spoke to Kinkead about his choice of location, especially since the hot spots right now are 14th Street and Shaw.  A veteran chef in this area, he did not seem to be the least bit concerned about location popularity deterring diners from making the trip to Foggy Bottom.  And I must say, I couldn't agree more.  The prices, sizes, and quality of the food will be a draw for DC residents and tourists alike.  We know we'll definitely be back for more of that amazing white pizza and gelato throughout the summer.

**While we did receive our meal at Campono for free, the opinions offered in this post are our own.

Pizza Parts & Service

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As a former New Yorker, pizza by the slice is one thing I frequently miss here in DC.  And no, Jumbo Slice is not pizza by the slice.  They are totally different concepts. Needless to say I was pretty excited to hear that the guys who brought us Taylor Gourmet were opening up a pizza place on H Street that is serving pizza by the slice at newly opened Pizza Parts & Service. Check out the menu here.  

 

 

Luckily my boyfriend was just as excited to have a new pizza place on H Street NE, and we went right when they opened on Monday night.  For those of you who want the backstory, this place was originally called Taylor Charles Steak and Ice and served up Philly-style cheesesteaks.  But according to Casey, from the Taylor Gourmet empire, Taylor Charles was too much work for too slim a profit margin. 

 

Originally they planned to open Pizza Parts & Service in Logan Circle on the corner of 14th & P, but the place they were considering was structurally unsound and way too much work. As an aside, that place will soon become a Dolcezza- who seems to be creating their own empire these days and will offer somewhat redundant competition to Pitango Gelato, also located at 14th and P.  Let the gelato wars begin! 

Anyway, back to the pizza . . .

 

I should probably preface this by saying that we ate a lot of carbs.  An unusual amount of carbs for a Monday night, but Passover had just ended and I was damn sick of salad.  

 

Even though I loved the pizza, I am going to start off talking about the garlic knots because they were my absolute favorite. When I was a kid in New York, I used to sneak out of hebrew school with my carpool crew to get garlic knots from the pizzeria next door to our temple.  I have been searching for garlic knots as good ever since.  I am surprised to say that Pizza Parts and Service makes the best garlic knots I've tried in this city. The dough to garlic ratio was spot on.  They were not dried out at all.  And best of all, they were warm and covered in the perfect amount of garlic oil, parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley. I actually poured a little bit of extra garlic oil over my white pizza (shhh!), and I can only hope that becomes an available pizza topping. 

 

 

First I got a slice of the sicilian-style thick crust margherita pizza.  It was flavorful, crispy around the edges, but chewy in the middle -in a good way. I remember having pizza like this as a kid, and haven't seen it in years.  Thanks for bringing it back! I will say, as a caveat, that Chicago does deep dish pizza much better than NY.  If you're really craving deep dish, you might be better off going to District of Pi.  But it was perfect for me! 

 

My boyfriend got the ultimate man's slice of pizza.  It was topped with various cured meats, and sautéed onions and peppers.  Although this is totally not my kind of pizza, I have to admit it was good for what it was.  The thin crust definitely is the winner over the thicker sicilian crust.  

 

 

For our second slices (whatever, don't judge), I got the white pizza with 4 different cheeses. My boyfriend got the buffalo chicken with mozzarella, fontina, and ranch dressing. When asked to decide which he preferred, he declared it impossible to decide because the second was so untraditional.  The buffalo sauce had the perfect amount of heat for both of us, while we generally sit at opposite ends of the spicy food spectrum.  The white pizza was alright, but needed some doctoring up.  Luckily the table was equipped with crushed red pepper, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese (or as we used to called it in my house "sprinkle cheese"). 
 

 

Lastly, and only because they gave it to us for free, we had a slice of NY cheesecake.  I said don't judge! Casey personally delivered it and claimed it was the best NY cheesecake he had tasted outside of NY.  The cheesecake actually hails from a "little bakery" in Baltimore called Ms. Desserts.  This was a decadent and delicious end to our carb-fueled pizza feast.

 

 

We both really liked the different pizzas we tried and can't wait to go back and try some more.  I was personally impressed with the long list of pizzas that you can order either by the slice or by various-sized pies.  And let's be honest, I will be back soon for those garlic knots. 

 

Rose's Luxury

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My recent foray into GMAT studying has left me slightly behind on blogging.  While I have been somewhat delinquent with my foodie responsibilities, I have been dying to share some thoughts and photos from my birthday food-extravaganza at Rose’s Luxury.  The new spot, located in the Barracks Row neighborhood of DC, has been on my go-to list for quite some time.  But, the thought of the hours long wait time had me slightly anxious, so a Tuesday night early birthday dinner seemed like a great option.

 

 

When we arrived at Rose’s around 5:25 the line was already about 20 people deep (side note: Liz dropped by around 5:45pm Saturday night, put her name down for 2, and came back 2 hours later and got seated right away).  Once the doors opened we were quickly ushered to our table.  But, upon seeing the amazing seats overlooking the kitchen, I requested to be relocated to get a good view of the chefs at work.  The service at Rose’s was impeccable and they had no issue fulfilling my request.  It was awesome to watch the chefs work their magic throughout our meal.

While the menu is small (and changes quite frequently FYI), our appetites are not.  We knew we would most likely be ordering the majority of the small plate options, and order we did.  Our waitress confirmed our suspicions that basically everything is recommended, as all of the food at Rose’s is simply to.die.for.

We started with the kusshi oyster.  It was fried and served over a bourbon ginger ale granita and a dill and raw oyster tzatziki-like sauce.  It was also topped, I believe, with pickled jalapeños.  Though we only ordered one each, I could have eaten a dozen of these tasty bites.

My favorite dish of the night was the pork sausage and lychee salad with habanero sauce.  I know it sounds like a bizarre combination, and it is difficult to accurately convey the complexity of unique and satisfying flavors embodied in this dish.  Suffice it to say it was sweet, tangy, spicy, and rich in each bite.    It is served deconstructed, with each element separately placed in the bowl. The server instructed us to mix it up well before sampling, which we did.  The pork sausage, although fried, was surprisingly delicate and blended perfectly with the mix of zesty red onions, sweet lychee, and hot habanero sauce.  This dish seems to be a staple at Rose’s, so make sure you try it.

As a pasta fan, I was so excited that my not-as-enthusiastic-a-pasta-lover boyfriend agreed to order two of the house-made dishes.  We started with the ricotta-stuffed ‘gnocchi’ and quickly added the rigatoni amatriciana with smoked sheep’s milk pecorino as well.  The gnocchi were larger than others I’ve seen, and reminded me more of ravioli, stuffed with the perfect amount of cheese.  The sauce, mushroom based, was light and flavorful at the same time. 

The rigatoni amatriciana was served with a smoky and spicy guanciale (Italian bacon) sauce, topped with grated cheese and pickled red onions that added a surprising and delightful kick.  The combination of red onions with the spice-rubbed guanciale was the star of the dish, and a unique twist on traditional sauce.  It was zesty, and by far the spiciest meal of the night.
 

Rose’s was offering a special that night of langostino with a buttery side of rice—good, but not our favorite.  Though, we did devour it, evidenced by the fact that the only picture I was able to snap was of the remains.

For the last two courses, we went with the pickle-brined fried chicken, which was topped with honey and benne seeds and was served with the most amazing and creamiest mashed potatoes I’ve had in my life.  The chicken was crispy and the breading was flavorful.  Inside, the chicken was juicy, though I did not really get the pickle-brined flavor at all.  Still this dish was divine.  The mashed potatoes were velvety smooth.  They were topped with chives and fried potato skins that were a great textual contrast to the creamy potatoes. There are probably at least 1,000 calories in this small pot, but every bite was worth it.

The softshell crawfish with grits and hot sauce were up last.  The grits were fluffy and creamy and the crawfish was deep fried, but overall lacked the vibrancy and complexity flavors of the other plates.  This dish was low on my list of favorites, but still tasty and perfectly executed. 
 

Though it might seem like we would have had enough, we could not skip out on dessert.  Luckily for us, Rose’s was serving homemade donuts topped with apple caramel glaze and cheese.  It might sound strange, but trust me, it works. Sweet donuts paired with savory cheese are now high on my list of favorite desserts.

Rose’s may have stolen a spot in my heart as the best meal of my life.  I was wowed and truly inspired by the pairings of flavor and ingredient combinations. If you have appetites like us, be aware that you will pay for perfection.  The meal was also up there in terms of cost, but totally worth it. 

Enterprise Car share takes us to Alba Osteria

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As a car-less city dweller I rely heavily on public transit to get me around town. But once in a while, I need a car to run errands or get out of town for a bit. A few months ago I signed up for Enterprise Car Share and have since used them on a number of occasions.  The cars are conveniently located, clean, relatively inexpensive, and perform very well!  I've totally enjoyed trying out all the different makes and models as I zip around town! As a result of one of my loud-mouthed tweets, Enterprise's marketing department got a hold of us and offered us the opportunity to take one of the cars to a restaurant of our choosing in exchange for our write up of the experience here. The truth is that I am happy to share the experience with you. After trying out a variety of car sharing options, I am more pleased with Enterprise than ever. We were able to use the $100 gift card Enterprise gave us to rent a car for 3 hours (at $8/hr) and had about $75 left over for brunch at Alba Osteria! Win-win! Despite the sponsorship from Enterprise, the views and opinions expressed here are completely my own.

I picked up this adorable yellow Chevy Spark just a few blocks from my apartment on a Sunday morning and drove over to a new Italian spot, Alba Osteria, in Penn Quarter.  Alba has an all you can eat and drink boozy brunch that is well worth the $30. We started off a little shaky with a confused and abrupt hostess, but we quickly overlooked that with a plethora of delicious food and excellent waitress service. 



On this particular occasion I met Amanda and a group of our other friends for a birthday brunch. And celebrate we did! We started out with some brunch cocktails that were both delicious and generous. As the driver of the group, I had to stop at just one, but the waiters seemed disappointed that they couldn't serve me more! We stayed for hours and the rest of the group never saw the bottom of their champagne flutes!

The menu was bottomless, and as 6 hungry girls we dabbled in a bit of everything.  One of the group favorites were the lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes. They were delightly sweet and tart.  The ricotta also keeps them the perfect lightness. They were so flavorful that they barely needed the syrup.

One of my favorite dishes was the smoked salmon benedict. Instead of serving it on the traditional English muffin, it was paired with toast schmeared with burrata mozzarella.  The only drawback to this dish was that the poached eggs were bordering on raw.  We like our eggs runny, but not that runny.  That being said, there is no doubt I will be back for this dish. 






We also ordered one of the breakfast pizzas. This one was a creamy white pizza with pancetta, spinach, and topped with eggs. I am seriously starting to wonder if there is any food item that isn't better with a runny egg on top.

Another group favorite, although not my personal fav, was a skillet baked with spicy tomato sauce, meatballs, eggs, cheese, and french fries - for dipping. It was a unique take on the dish and reminded us of shakshuka.

The egg white frittata was a great addition to the meal. Made with a mix of veggies and Parmigiano Reggiano, it was a nice lighter option. It was also served with a link of lamb sausage that was surprisingly delicious!

Finally, it being an Italian restaurant, we had to try one of the pastas.  Yes, pasta for breakfast is acceptable. This light egg pasta was served with a veal ragu that was just divine. Although I was totally stuffed by this point, the pasta convinced me I need to come back for dinner. 

I have to say that Alba Osteria was not only a great meal, but an altogether great experience.  We loved being able to try so many dishes.  The restaurant is also beautifully decorated with a great ambiance.  

Also, because Enterprise was generous enough to sponsor us with the free ride, here is a link to their website.  If you are like me, and occasionally find yourself in a need of a car for a few hours, I definitely recommend checking them out.