Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, The Features

Eat Like Me: November’s Best Dishes

Photo courtesy of

courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

You will not find a Washingtonian more grateful for the warm-ish weather that we’ve had this fall. I’m decidedly NOT a winter girl, and I’ve been known to curse coats and whine incessantly about the cold. While winter in DC is just something I must tolerate, sometimes I can assuage my pain with a really great bone-warming dish. I was lucky to run across a lot of those in November, and without really meaning to, my list of favorite dishes wound up being a list that could double-time as a ‘great winter dishes’ list as well.

So when you head out to spend your hard earned dollars on a meal, here are some dishes that are best bets for spending wisely. And to boot, they’ll even keep you warm. Continue reading

Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, The Features

Eat Like Me: August’s Best Dishes

July Foodie Blogger Damage.

August. Dead month, right? Not in the foodie world, at least not in DC. Yes, things may be slower than usual, but I was still pretty busy shoving food into my mouth. I was lucky enough to preview upcoming Masa 14 and meet Kaz of Kaz Sushi Bistro, I headed out on the town with Donna for a locovore dinner at Charlie Palmer Steak, and I returned to some all-time favorites. Mostly I’ve been eating sushi and steak, seems to be the reoccurring theme this month. At least they balance each other out in the health department, right?

So here are the best of the best dishes I’ve eaten all month. I’ll give you a list of where I’ve been (also known as what we’re working with) and then give you a look at the best of the best. Can you handle all the tasty? Continue reading

Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, The Features

Eat Like Me: July’s Best Dishes

Photo courtesy of
‘jamie’s manhattan’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

I think I’m getting addicted to that subtle tingle of anticipation I get when I sit down at a restaurant I’ve never been to before and unfold the menu. I crave that now – ordering a meal and wondering what exactly will appear. I adore the buzz of a place, the low murmur or the boisterous laughter. I like the sleekest of scenes, the sound of my high heels on a polished floor and the dingiest of hole-in-the walls with foamy beer right off the tap. There’s a small miracle in being given a whole list of options, choosing the ones you like best, and then having them brought to you and placed right in front of you (!) for you to devour, judge, accept or reject – when is that experience ever replicated in life? I love not having to cook, I love the simplicity of the process. I love having a dish presented to me, no matter what. I appreciate the showiest constructed dish with sprigs of Rosemary, stacks of accoutrement and a carefully placed spruce of tartare to the simplest plain white bowl of grits topped with shrimp. I love the smells. I love the sounds. I love the possibilities. I love the interactions. In the simplest of statements, I love restaurants.

Good thing I’ve found an outlet for my adoration. I know it sounds a bit overboard, my little poetic waxing about restaurants – I mean, they dot every corner of DC, from Wisconsin to New York Ave. They come in all sizes, all standards, serve a number of purposes. To love something so mundane to someone else might seem silly. But I am unabashedly, unashamedly in love with the food in this fine city. This month was slightly less busy than the last, and August is gearing up to be on par. There have been openings, there have been new menus to try, and there have been simple dinners out with friends. Out of all the places I’ve eaten this month, here are my favorite dishes from eat places within the Beltway. Continue reading