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Paris meets 14^th Street?  Some aspects of the newly opened Le Diplomate, chef Stephen Starr’s first DC venture, could certainly fool you.  The chairs on the 14^th street side that face the passing traffic, the blue and yellow tables on the patio with the “RICARD” across the top for the famous French liquor – which apparently is trying to make a comeback (Business Week - Ricard Comeback)  - I don’t know about you, but I’m ok with letting myself mentally escape to Paris for a few hours if I can’t be there for real.

Le Diplomate has been open for a couple months now and I’ve already managed to go twice, once for dinner and once for brunch.  I wasn’t disappointed at either.  I love the vibe, there’s sexy ambient lighting at night and during the day it’s bright and cheery with two full walls of windows and a garden room that opens to the patio.  Always packed, it’s best to plan ahead and put that OpenTable reservation in a few weeks ahead of time, otherwise expect at least an hour wait.

I had dinner there a few weeks ago.   I’m horrible at deciding on just one thing to eat, but thankfully one of my dining companions was willing to go splitsies (did I just say that? sorry!) on a few things.  First and foremost, don’t ignore the bread basket they bring you – its three different kinds of freshly made and very good bread including baguette, a rustic country bread and a cranberry-walnut variety.  Maybe it’s that mental escape I mentioned, but I swear even the butter is delicious…can anyone else who has been to Paris, or France in general, recall how amazing their butter is?  Salty and flavorful and so worth the calories.  Anyway, on to the rest – we went with the classics, gotta try them out on the first go-round, so onion soup, hanger steak and apple tartin it was!  Oh, and don’t forget the cheese plate for the table to start.  Delicious cheeses accompanied by apple slices, dried tart cherries, fig spread and some marcona almonds – can’t go wrong.  The soup was great, a definite close rival for my favorite onion soup in the city (thus far) at Bistro Bis.  The steak was a little tough, but still had great flavor.  Slightly charred crust, well seasoned and cooked as ordered – just wish it had been a little more tender.  By the way, another friend had the Norwegian Salmon and said it was really good – it certainly looked tasty, but alas, I didn’t try it.

The apple tarte tatin however, was perfect,  Sweet, slightly tart, baked to perfection so the apples were soft all the way through but still intact – mmm, I could have downed that on my own for sure, but probably definitely best that I didn’t!

Onward to brunch, which was this past weekend.  It’s always a struggle…eggs or French toast/eggs or pancakes/eggs or croque madame – hmm, well since eggs are at the forefront of all of those scenarios, that’s what I went with.  I make them at home all the time, but not like this – not with lots of that great butter, or with all of the yolks for that matter.  I had the gruyere omelet and I was not disappointed, it was salty and herby and cheesy and totally hit the spot.  Plus, that left my sweet tooth for actual dessert.  My friends and I split the fresh fruit tart, in this case raspberry with pistachio cream, and the chocolate hazelnut profiteroles.  Alright, if you like almond extract, you’ll like the tart, but I think it tastes like a fake flavoring so I took one bite and let out an immediate “Blech!”  The shortbread crust was rife with almond flavor, no thank you!  Come on, what about lemon?  Anyway, the profiteroles were more than enough to fulfill the sugar craving.  Even chilled, the dough was soft and delicate enough to cut through with just a fork and the cream was smooth with the perfect chocolate/nut balance.  Oh, and make sure to get their Mimosa Lorraine with peach and orange juice, yum.  Finally, if anyone gets the croque madame, I need to know how it is, I think that’s next!

All in all, I love this place so far.  Two great meals, excellent service and a fun atmosphere.  Unlike some places when they were new (ahem, Graffiato), Le Diplomate has your reserved table ready and waiting for you when you arrive, with your full party of course.  Well done.  (http://lediplomatedc.com/)

Wow – these cookies pack a serious punch of flavor.  I know spice cookies are generally made more around the holidays, but when I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs (www.browneyedbaker.com) I knew they would be perfect for my troop shipment.  What is a more homey comforting thing than the aroma and taste of warm, sweet, earthy spices, particularly cinnamon?  When they were baking I definitely felt comforted, so hopefully as the guys are chowing down on them, they will too.   My suggestion, pop them in the microwave for just 10 seconds or so to get that smell wafting through the air….and a soft warm cookie ain’t bad either.

I’m thinking I might have to make these more summery as I definitely don’t think I can wait until next winter to make them again.  How so??  Make ‘em a little bigger and sandwich some homemade vanilla ice cream in between them – Y.U.M.

INGREDIENTS:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup dark brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup molasses

For Rolling:
½ cup granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, pepper and salt; set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the egg yolk and vanilla, then increase the speed to medium and beat until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Again reduce the speed to medium-low and add the molasses, beating until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl halfway through. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Use a rubber scraper to give it a final few mixes to ensure no flour remains.

4. Place the sugar for rolling in a small bowl. Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll into a smooth ball, then toss in the sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are browned, still puffy and the edges have begun to set but the centers are still soft, about 11 minutes. Be sure not to over bake the cookies.  Otherwise - crunchy, not chewy - blah.

5. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

*A couple notes:

These cookies flatten out quite a bit as they cool, I’m wondering if adding the full egg and some baking powder may make them puff up a little more - I tend to like a thick chewy cookie.  Even thin though, these are really great – I may just play around a little next time J

She says to use a small cookie scoop and that it will yield about 24 cookies – well we must have different definitions of small, because I used my small scoop and got a little over 40 cookies!  Just a heads up.

Cooked to order noodles.

Vegetarian

Shio

• The service was great, but I didn’t love the ambience.  I didn’t see the upstairs though, which was not yet open but will serve drinks and izakaya snacks.
• No bar, at least as of now.  Beer and cold sake are the only alcohol options.  One of my dining companions was very excited about the soda in a can, however...
• The seating consists of stools, both at the bar and the tables (though I can’t remember if the two smaller tables are legit booths with benches or also have stools).  The bar seats did offer ample hooks under the bar so coats and purses were out of the way – bonus points!  No idea if hooks exist at the communal tables.
• They offer a totally vegan broth based option! And there is no shellfish in the restaurant – more bonus points for those allergy ridden folks like myself.
• The ramen prices are in line with the competitors – Toki is $11-$12 while Sakuramen is $11-$15.  Taan’s range from $12-$15.  Daikaya sits at $11.50-$12.75.  They have several extras to add, from noodles, to nori, to egg.  Prices for extras range from $0.50-$2.50.

[Ding ding ding!] RAMEN: ROUND 3! [More boxing bells]  Yes yes, yet another ramen shop has recently opened in DC, this time on the other end of Adams Morgan on Columbia Road (www.taandc.com).  Since I’ve reviewed the other two major players (Toki Underground and Sakuramen), of course I had to check this place out too.  Sooooo….

The décor is nice.  There’s a warm funky feel to it.  Good ambient lighting with old cameras and doors adorning the walls and shelves.  Not sure what theme they are going for exactly, but I’m someone who enjoys antiquing (no, not the urban dictionary definition though that’s kinda funny) on occasion (I know, how old am I?!?!  Just an old soul, I swear) so I like things like that.

The service was great. I went on a cold night and the only available seating was right by the front door.  There was a space heater pointed directly towards me and the hostess said they were “working on a curtain” for that area.  As soon as a table opened up further back in the restaurant, she offered it to us and we gladly accepted!

On to the food.  We started with corn fritters for an appetizer – basically some corn mixed in a batter and fried.  Pretty tasty – the corn flavor came through the grease flavor which is essential!  There was a spicy aioli type sauce served with them – kind of like a sriracha mayo – and it was a nice accompaniment.

I ordered their basic triple stock ramen, but substituted the pork belly for chicken confit.  The chicken was super tender and really tasty.  The soup?  Not so much.  It was good, for sure, but the broth just wasn’t as rich as I’d hope it would be.  It was in fact a little bland.  

My dining buddy got the vegetarian ramen and as you can see, it was cream based.  The menu did specify that it was “cream corn soup” but this was some thick cream.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but a little strange for a noodle soup.  And while also good, there was the same issue with blandness.  

We requested salt and our waitress said she would look for some – really?  A restaurant doesn’t have salt back in that kitchen?  Maybe not as she returned to the table with some chili powder, sesame oil, sriracha sauce and soy sauce.  I used 3 of the 4 and was able to achieve more of what I was looking for.  My veggie friend did the same and was able to improve the flavor as well but we agreed that we shouldn’t have to be adding so much extra flavoring in order to enjoy the food!  I don’t want to totally knock the ramen as it was certainly still edible.  The noodles were cooked perfectly, it was filling and there were some tasty add-ins in mine such as pickled cucumbers and a soft egg.  Also, had we actually gotten salt, that may have been all we needed to bring out the other flavors.  Here’s the final breakdown:

Would I go back?  Yes – I’d try it one more time after they’ve been open a little longer to see if they’ve worked out the kinks.  But if I had to judge now, I’d say Toki #1, Sakuramen #2 and Taan #3 – with potential to move up.

Thai X’ing - the not-so-secret secret Thai place you definitely want to check out.  The restaurant is located in a row house on Florida Avenue tucked away behind grape-vine covered trellises.  Unless you’re looking for it, you could easily pass it by.  Until recently, the only way to get a reservation was to call and call and call and hope they would return your increasingly more desperate messages.  Then, as of a few days ago, when I was trying to retrieve my wallet that I inadvertently dropped on the floor the night I ate there, an email address popped up on their site (and they responded within an hour!).  However, their website seems to change on an almost daily basis, so don't be surprised if only a phone number is available.  Not sure what’s up with that, but here is the site (www.thaix-ing.com) - do your best to get a reservation and try it, it is totally worth the time and trouble.

Here’s the deal:  This isn’t a fancy place.  You’re basically sitting in someone’s house as a few servers scurry around bringing you plates of food and walkie-talkie messages to the kitchen.  As far as I know, they only serve water, so bring your own alcohol if you prefer.  Some nights are vegetarian and some nights have meat.  There is never a menu.  When I went, we had a group of 4 people and received 9 dishes, including a whole fish and it was more than we could eat.  Here’s a rundown of what we were served:

In addition to all of this, you are given a large bowl of white rice to sop up all of the amazing sauces.  I think I could pour that pumpkin curry sauce on anything and it would be good.  

Bottom line – try Thai X’ing.  It’s family run, authentic and an experience.  At $30-$40 it is well worth your money. 

11^th Street NW has been exploding lately – as has my never-ending list of places to check out, one of which was El Chucho which opened in late June.  They describe themselves as “a small neighborhood cantina serving modern Mexican food”.  The restaurant is managed in part by Jackie Greenbaum whom some of you may know from Jackie’s restaurant in Silver Spring, MD.  I went to Jackie’s years ago and remembered it fondly so I was curious to try her new venture. 

My trusty taste testers, Jermaine, Leon and Carburetor, were kind enough to give up a Tuesday night and try the place out with me.  Ummm yeah, those are most definitely aliases.  At any rate, Jermaine was particularly vocal about the experience right off the bat. “What’s with this menu?  I can’t even read it.”  “I thought it was going to be all Mexicans working here, I’m a little disappointed.”  And the comments continued….  To explain those comments – the menu was a little confusing aesthetically.  The font changed multiple times, it was divided into hard to distinguish sections, some words were bolded for no apparent reason, some were surrounded by shaded-in shapes, etc.  Definitely a little overwhelming at first glance.  We bombarded our waitress with questions and she was gracious enough to help us navigate everything and offer suggestions of her favorites, a few of which we did order.  As for the employees – well we had heard that this was an “authentic” Mexican restaurant, unlike many in DC, and most employees did not appear to be Mexican.  However, upon further research on the restaurant I’ve learned that the chef’s family is from Mexico and she herself had training there.  That’s good enough for me.

Let’s get down to the business of the food.  First and foremost was the corn on the cob.  I think this picture says it all – smoky grilled flavor, cheesy salty cilantro-y goodness, not at all overcooked (which definitely makes or breaks corn) – delicious!  Only problem?  The price tag.  I know there is an upcharge on everything when you eat out, but this time of year in the mid-Atlantic you can easily find local corn at the grocery store for about $0.25/ear – this was $4 – ouch!

After the corn, we just ordered a mish-mash of things and shared it all – here’s what we got:

Takeaways:

Upon arrival there was a 30 minute wait.  They took my name and cell number and said feel free to wander, they’d call me when the table was ready.  Considering they are placed along a 2-3 block stretch of bars and restaurants and their own bar is quite small, I thought this was a nice touch.  We ended up getting seated within a couple minutes of their estimate.

The Juan Rose cocktail is delicious.  Fruity, tart, strong.  Don’t be afraid by the “apple shrub” listed in the ingredients – there are no plants in your drink.

Plates.  With each dish that came out we indicated that we were sharing everything, yet we never got any plates.  Granted we didn’t specifically ask, but as a former waitress, I don’t think we should have to…

My tasters provided ratings based on a 0-100% scale, 100% being excellent:

Jermaine – 72%

Carburetor – 61%

Leon – 68-69% (if I remember correctly)

Trust these at your own risk; however I can attest to the fact that they all really like food, including mine, meaning they deserve at least 90% credibility.  J

Note - it doesn't appear that they have a website yet, but you can find El Chucho on Facebook.