Snow crab legs were on super sale and of "very limited" supply at the Teeter, so of course I had to pick some up for dinner! Plus, it seemed like an appropriate end-of-summer dish as the oppressive DC heat finally begins to let up.
A common dipping sauce for crab involves mustard, and green beans are also a classic summer veg, so I thought Green Bean Salad with Mustard Crema would be a good accompaniment. They were...okay. For such a simple sounding recipe, it actually took forever to make. I blame having to trim 2 lbs of beans (I made 2/3 the recipe, and also did not include the almonds) and then wait for a massive pot of water capable of holding said beans to come to a boil. Although not bad, I think the crema could have used more mustard flavor, and perhaps a tad more salt. I also think the sauce was a bit heavy-handed...I would use half as much next time, and maybe water it down a little. Pat just didn't like the idea of mustard and green beans together. I will say, this dish is much better room temperature than cold (one of the recommended ways of serving)...cold, they're pretty bland.
We also had wheat rolls to sop up the crema. Usually, I buy these fantastic all natural Alexia dinner rolls from the freezer section, but this time they only had ciabatta rolls. So I bought HT bakery "take and bake" rolls instead and, well, baked them. Not bad, although not as crusty on the outside/squishy on the inside as their Alexia brethren. Bring back the Alexia, HT!!
For dessert, we split our first ever Hello Cupcake cupcake -- peanut butter chocolate. Pretty good, with generous (and SO delicious) icing. The cupcake could have been a little more chocolatey, but all in all, I would say it's a pretty close second to the G-town...which I now hear has bouncers and even longer lines, so we'll see how long it is before I return. Anyway, I still have three more Hello's in the freezer!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Raku
This Labor Day, Vanessa and I lunched at Raku, in Dupont Circle. Thankfully, unlike many DC area restaurants, it was actually open for the holiday. Overall, pretty decent. I would not consider it a dining destination, but the food was solid and enjoyably creative. Not bad for a dinner out with friends, perhaps.
We ordered: summer rolls, spicy green beans, the "Seoul" train roll (badum-chung!), and Double Salmon roll. The menu was pretty big, so we had many options to choose from!
Although we ordered the summer rolls with our drinks and they are considered an app, the green beans (which are a side) came out first. This was weird, but we were hungry so we were not all that put off. The green beans, although a bit greasy, were delish. Actually pretty similar to the Sichaun-style green beans I once made from a Sunset recipe online. (Yes, they are half-eaten in this picture. I forgot!! Again!!!)
Next came the summer rolls. I would have liked a bit more shrimp and fewer rice noodles, but again, pretty good! The wrapper was nice and moist, and the sauces were awesome--a duo of chunky peanut sauce and kaffir lime sauce. Which don't necessary seem to me like they would go together, but were fantastic...I might have scraped up the leftovers with a chopstick (because licking the plate, I decided, was a bit uncouth for a lunch date!).
Our sushi rolls were equally interesting. I'm not sure I was a huge fan of the double salmon (pictured on right)...the cooked salmon tasted a little fishy and kind of weird as sushi. The Korean-inspired Seoul train roll (pictured on left) was very yummy though. The kimchi, although also weird, was weird in a good way that the salmon was not. Would definitely order that again. Sorry for the blurry photo...I'm a terrible photographer.
Besides the weird side-coming-out-before-appetizer thing, service was decent and food came fast. Plus, we ended up staying and talking for like an hour after we had paid, and no one kicked us out or gave us dirty looks. Overall, nothing mind-blowing but not a bit disappointing. If someone suggested Raku again, I certainly wouldn't veto it. (portions x-posted to yelp.com)
We ordered: summer rolls, spicy green beans, the "Seoul" train roll (badum-chung!), and Double Salmon roll. The menu was pretty big, so we had many options to choose from!
Although we ordered the summer rolls with our drinks and they are considered an app, the green beans (which are a side) came out first. This was weird, but we were hungry so we were not all that put off. The green beans, although a bit greasy, were delish. Actually pretty similar to the Sichaun-style green beans I once made from a Sunset recipe online. (Yes, they are half-eaten in this picture. I forgot!! Again!!!)
Next came the summer rolls. I would have liked a bit more shrimp and fewer rice noodles, but again, pretty good! The wrapper was nice and moist, and the sauces were awesome--a duo of chunky peanut sauce and kaffir lime sauce. Which don't necessary seem to me like they would go together, but were fantastic...I might have scraped up the leftovers with a chopstick (because licking the plate, I decided, was a bit uncouth for a lunch date!).
Our sushi rolls were equally interesting. I'm not sure I was a huge fan of the double salmon (pictured on right)...the cooked salmon tasted a little fishy and kind of weird as sushi. The Korean-inspired Seoul train roll (pictured on left) was very yummy though. The kimchi, although also weird, was weird in a good way that the salmon was not. Would definitely order that again. Sorry for the blurry photo...I'm a terrible photographer.
Besides the weird side-coming-out-before-appetizer thing, service was decent and food came fast. Plus, we ended up staying and talking for like an hour after we had paid, and no one kicked us out or gave us dirty looks. Overall, nothing mind-blowing but not a bit disappointing. If someone suggested Raku again, I certainly wouldn't veto it. (portions x-posted to yelp.com)
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