Ray's the Steaks, Arlington, VA

I finally had dinner at Ray's the Steaks in Arlington a few weeks ago. They are opening a new branch in Ward 7 of DC in the next week.
I was with a friend so we ordered the Chateaubriand to share. It was delicious and cooked perfectly. I got a side of the brandied mushroom sauce, and we shared sides of broccoli and mashed potatoes.
I got to try a nice bottle of Bell's Hop Slam, and we had dessert. Total bill for the two of us was $80. Great meal and great price.

2300 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 841-7297

(new branch)
905 Dix St NE
Washington, DC 20019

Ren's Ramen, Bethesda, MD

I found a very authentic ramen shop in the DC area in Bethesda, Ren's Ramen. It's located inside what used to be the Daruma Japanese market which closed last month.
I ordered "The Sapporo" Tonshio ramen which came with roast pork, but I added fatty pork and a boiled egg. The noodles were really good. I heard that they are imported from Japan (hence the price), but they have amazing flavor and texture.

6931 Arlington Rd
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 693-0806

Pastry House Hippo, Novi, MI

HelloKT told me to go to Pastry House Hippo, a Japanese bakery near Detroit, MI, to pick up her favorite item, a turtle shaped pastry filled with chocolate cream.
It certainly reminded me of bakeries I've been to in Tokyo. When you enter, you get a tray and tongs, and then you grab what you want.
The bakery has both sweet and savory choices. I was also happy to see that they had the Japanese style of sliced white bread which, when toasted, is just amazing with butter.


42130 Grand River Avenue
Novi, MI 48375-1833
(248) 347-6408

Comet Coffee, Ann Arbor, MI

Visited my friend Chupacabra in Ann Arbor, MI. He is one of the biggest coffee snobs I've met, and he took me to his favorite local coffee shop, Comet Coffee, in the Nickels Arcade one morning.
We had some delicious pastries- a pain au chocolat, and a spectacular almond croissant loaded with marzipan.

However, their coffee was pretty spectacular. They really take pride in how the coffee is prepared as well as their beans. All cups are freshly ground to order. I had a wonderful cappuchino, and Chupacabra had a double espresso.


16 Nickels Arc
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 222-0579

Kellari Taverna, Washington DC

I went with some friend a few months ago to Kellari Taverna which had just opened a DC branch of their restaurant. The waiter mentioned that all their seafood was flown in fresh from the Mediterranean, and based on the freshness of our meal, I would believe it.



We started with Saganaki, a dish of Cretan Graviera cheese flamed with Metaxa, an alcohol made of brandy and wine. The flavor was really delicious.






We ordered the tasting menu to try a variety of the items on the menu. Our first plate, the charcoaled grilled octopus, was by far the best. It came with Plevrakia, lamb riblets, and small Spanakopita, spinach pies.

Our second dish was grilled langostines with Spanakorizo, or spinach with arborio rice.

Our main dish was Tsipoura fish with spinach. The fish was so incredibly fresh. It was really tasty and delicate.

We finished off our meal with a dessert plate of Baklava, Yiaourti me meli (like a cheesecake with sheep’s milk yogurt honey & walnuts), and Karidopita (a walnut cake with fig compote).


1700 K Street NW
Washington DC 20006
(202)535-5274

Hecho en Dumbo, NYC

Brooklen, LBT, and I went to dinner a Hecho en Dunbo, a Mexican restaurant in the East Village for a great meal before going to see the Joanna Newsom show.

We started with some drinks. I had the Michelada made with beer, lime, and Worcestershire sauce- making it kind of like a bloody mary, but with beer. It was nice and refreshing. Brooklen partook of some delicious tequila with a side of sangrita.

Hecho en Dunbo was fun to eat at because they serve mostly small plates that we could all share.
We started with some fresh guacamole and chips. Then we got some housemade Queso Oaxaca smothered in avocado oil. They reminded me of Wisconsin cheese curds. Good.

We then had the Tostadas De Ceviche - corn tortillas topped with fresh halibut ceviche and guacamole mixed with green squash.

LBT could not get enough of the Queso Fundide de Chorizo.
We all shared small cups of the Pozole Rojo, a nice zesty soup of hominy and shredded pork with radish, oregano, chiles guajillo and piquin.

We order several plates of tacos. The first was the Tacos de Costilla (top pic), made with grilled steak short rib with the bone on the side. I gnawed up all the meat of the ribs. Yum.

We also got Tacos de Cochinita Pibil made pulled Berkshire Pork. The menu said the meat was prepped with Yucatan spices and steamed in a banana leaf
over orange juice. It was really delicious.


We then finished things off with a few main plates. First was the Cecina, made of a thin filet of cured beef with a side of their frijoles borrachos, "drunken beans"- made with Negra Modelo.

My favorite dish was the Lengua De Res, made of wagyu beef tongue. I was smothered in a caper and chile poblano sauce and came with delicious chard. It was so tender.

Dessert was also quite good. We ordered the Tres Leches cake, but our favorite was the flan & chocolate cake. That item was so good, we ordered a second one to polish off.

354 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
(212) 937-4245

Sandwiched at the Whitney Biennial

As part of this year's Whitney Biennial exhibition, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group designed a special menu with items created by the group's chefs.
I ordered the Chicken Schnitzel- a hot sandwich served on toasted brioche with black truffle & celery slaw and Gruyère. This was pretty good. The chicken, although fried, was light and juicy.
Fougoo was disappointed in her Knoll Crest Egg sandwich which had slab bacon, cheddar curds and tomato marmalade. It just seemed like an overpriced breakfast sandwich you can get at any takeaway in the city.
For dessert, we did like the lemon whoopie pie, but for the price of the items, I'm not sure it's worth repeat business.

Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

I was lucky to make it to the famous Zingerman's Roadhouse this winter for dinner with some good friends in Ann Arbor, MI.
We started with an order of Chopped Liver, made of Amish free-range chicken livers broiled in schmaltz with onions and ground with hard boiled egg and pepper.
We also ordered their Chili and Cheddar Fries- twice cooked fries topped with ancho beef chili and with grated 2-year-raw-milk Vermont cheddar.
Based upon the smell of the restaurant, I could not resist getting the BBQ Pork Entree made of Cornman Farms hogs, pit smoked for 14 hours with mashed potatoes and greens. I opted for the Carolina style vinegar sauce.





My friend See ordered the Cornman Farms Chicken Fried Steak made with sirloin topped with chicken gravy. It was pretty delicious.
There was not question about me getting, for dessert, Ari’s Original Doughnut Sundae-
a housemade Dutch doughnut covered with bourbon-caramel sauce topped with vanilla gelato, whipped cream, salted Virginia peanuts and a cherry. Unbelievable.


2501 Jackson Ave,
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 663-3663