Belgian beer with Belgian Frites with a loaded burger of everything?
Yes please.
St. Arnold’s on Jefferson 1827 Jefferson Pl NW Dupont Circle Washington, DC 20036
richmond fatties no longer in RVA!
For a while, I felt like I was in a rut (how dramatic) because I knowingly moved myself to a tourist-ridden place that makes a 3-mile commute a 45-minute endeavor, but for some reason a place where there isn’t a Target in sight…and I surmised that DC would not appreciate being tagged as a “fatty” as this place is swarmed with “clean eating,” marathon-obsessed fiends, and self-righteous healthy lifestyle practitioners. (When they’re not hating on tourists at the metro.) I mean, good for them…
Somehow I have still managed to reap some calorific finds when I’m not too busy trying to look like I’m not new here.
Above are my adventures on a Sunday morning in Dupont Circle. I cannot help but miss Richmond’s unapologetic spread of obesity-inducing goodies, but Brunch in DC takes a somewhat parallel, but also different approach: it offers up an unapologetic spread of hangover-curing goodies. And what’s a better way to cure a hangover than to drink more? Hence bottomless (and interchangeable) mimosas and bloody Marys to pair with your “Hangover Helper” (Which is almost always a conglomerate of biscuits, scrambled eggs, home fries, shredded cheddar cheese with your choice of bacon, sausage, or ham - topped with a sausage gravy with a side of toast).
I think I won’t fare too badly at this place.
With the Zara franchise accessible, iPhone user cohorts alike and aplenty (thank goodness, I am almost rid of these Droid users who give me so much grief, oh please…), and these places that acknowledge hard partying (without the pretentious I-just-went-to-Bible-humpin’-time-did-you? airs but simply the pretentiousness of being a DC resident airs) on a Sunday morning… yes, DC doesn’t look quite as bad despite the legendary horrific traffic.
Level One
1639 R Street NW, Washington D.C.
Firehook Bakery
1909 Q Street NW, Washington D.C
What I miss most about going to school in Fredericksburg… These lovely little apple tarte tatins.
Pièce de résistance: Triple Salted Fleur de Sel Caramel-Filled Cupcakes
I was so bowled over by the richness of the gluten-free Fleur de Sel offered at Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe @ Grove&Libby this weekend, that I made it my personal goal to re-create this in my kitchen this very week.
As this seems so frenchy and oh-so-fancy, surprisingly, you can find most of the ingredients in any standard housewifey’s pantry, with the exception of the Fleur de sel, heavy cream and buttermilk.
I made the cupcakes in advance and completed the necessary and extra finishes this evening. The butter-cream-caramel frosting base is so easy to make (simply butter, confectioner’s, the caramel an extra step), but is SO finger-lickin’ delicious, I was delighted to see that I had plenty of extra and scooped that up into a Tupperware holder in case of emergency and future crises. At first, I kind of cringed at the little specks of hardened caramel amongst the butter-cream base, but I increased the mixer speed and left it whilst I cleaned up my explosion of confectioner’s sugar and caramel all over my counters. Et voilà, clumpy and sketchy transformed into light and airy. I <3 you, Kitchen Aid. Now if I could only work a pastry bag…
Making the caramel candy lattice was oh-so-fun, trying to peel them off of the wax-paper without keeping the wax-paper and hearing that cracking break, felt like I was breaking my own heart. I broke out the emergency frosting and all was well once again.
Common sense things to be careful of (that I ignored): working with caramel is extremely dangerous, especially when you stir in the cream and it begins to foam and steam up… whisk diligently, but also be careful of scalding. The recipe author did an amazing job detailing (and really, kitchen testing) under which specific conditions, time and optimum ingredient temperatures to be mindful of, so please do try this recipe. The butter-cream frosting in itself is a gem, all three combined, this has got to be a wow-factor.
WEEKEND JAUNTS! (Places to commit capital offenses of cheating your diet and other mortal sins.)
A place to take your vegan-for-lent practicing Catholic friend: Buz and Ned’s Barbecue.
(Honorable mentionables: Bourbon-cooked apples, Iced Tea so downright sugary, you could say you’d be “sippin sizzurp” upon tasting it.)
A place to take your sweet-refraining practicing Catholic friend: Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe
(Honorable mentionables: Their gluten-free fleur-de-sel cupcake bowled me over completely that I undertook the task of re-creating such a cupcake this evening. See above post.)
A place to take your Jesus-time observing friend after prayerful penitence on Sunday morning: Starlite Dining & Lounge
(Honorable mentionables: While they are famous for their $14 mimosa-pitchers, I went for the Bennies, I swear. Isn’t it beautiful? Normally I cringe at the thought of un-fried, un-scrambled, heaven forbid BOILED eggs… but slathered in a creamy lather of already scrambled egg-cream sauce, perched atop Virginia country ham and an English muffin and salty-crispy homefries with a gallon of catsup? YES PLEASE!!)
Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe
5812 Grove Avenue Richmond VA 23226
Buz and Ned’s Real BBQ
1119 N Boulevard Richmond VA 23230
Starlite Dining & Lounge
2600 West Main Street Richmond VA 23220
Comfort delivers what their very namesake promises.
Determined to dine here, my friends and I trooped through the 1-hour, 20-minute wait with the help of Riesling and Pinot Grigio. (They don’t take reservations.) You know a restaurant is amazing when you find that you and 50+ other people in the restaurant are very much willing to spend their much awaited Saturday night to wait it out (and make it rain at the bar) for some calorific food.
By the time we reached our table, our poor old waiter Daniel had to deal with our extremely ravenous and somewhat inebriated antics. He was a good sport about our uncouth lack of manners.
My mouth is watering at the thought of re-counting this two-week old memory. I could go there for the sides alone. I can still taste the garlicky, crispy surface of their potato gratin, unbelievably loved their squash casserole (trick your children into veggies with this resto!), and shamelessly asked for seconds when it came to their house bread and corn bread.
In my top five for places to take people who come to visit to. (Only if you really, really like them.)
200 West Broad Street Richmond VA 23220
When my best friend comes to town… bad eating habits are exponentially exercised.
Boychik’s Deli
4024 Cox Rd Glen Allen VA 23060
Seemingly standard breakfast fare simplified, scrumptious. Speedy attentive service to boot. In addition, family and wallet friendly.
Capriccio Pizza
W Broad St Richmond VA 23294
Thin crust pizza the way you want it. All for a buck ninety.
Thai Top Ten
911 West Grace Street Richmond VA 23220
Fried banana with honey and ice cream. Need I explain this?
Cap Ale Dollar Burger Night
623 East Main Street Richmond VA 23219
Makes that mundane Monday magically marvelous. They’ve changed up their dollar burger menu slightly, no longer offering up Smokehouse (Gouda and Applewood Bacon) or Southwestern (slathered with spicy mayo) for $2.50, but rather charging a range of $0.50-$1.50 per additional topping. No problem. Still cheapo. Still delicious. Still my favorite place to be on Monday night with raucous friends.
A few of my favorite things… The Holiday Season 2010
