Food reading for the week

Two articles this past week make for good reading for the DC area, food obsessed:

1. Ethnic Groceries: Washington Post writer Emily Wax visits the ethnic food markets of suburban DC. She explores H-Mart (the Korean grocery store, most notable for its amazing varity of Kimchi). Dama Pastry and Cafe (with serves Ethiopian coffee and baked goods — and which I don’t think actually qualifies as an ethnic market), Yekta Supermarket, (a well-organized Iranian and Middle Eastern food bazaar. It’s in Maryland, so unfortunately I’ve never been.) and Halal Meat and Grocery (an Indian grocery and another Maryland find).

Unfortuately, the article leaves out my favorite market, Great Wall. This Vienna-based Chinese market has an excellent selection of Asian fruits and veggies (including the best lychees in the summer), a stand where the butcher will fillet a whole fish to order and all sorts of Chinese goods that I loved during my three years in Beijing but have never seen elsewhere. More on the whole fish later.

2. Raw Milk: The New Yorker covers the sudden burst of interest in raw, or unpastuerized, milk.  I’ve never had raw milk, so I can’t comment on the taste or fabled medicinal powers. I’m always up for an adventure, so I’d be willing to ish ecoli to try it.

Spaetzle: Carb of the Year

spaetzle

Spaetzle: Deliciously unhealthy German comfort food. Yum!

Time for another recipe! It’s December; it’s time for magazines, newspapers and blogs everywhere to release their “best of” lists. Well, I’ve already tackled kale, my favorite healthy food for the year. Now, I’m going to tell you about my favorite deliciously unhealthy carb.

Spaeztle are little German-style noodles made out of a eggy dough. Size-wise, they are in between gnocchi and couscous. Something about the noodle’s petite size make them even more delicious than regular pasta. Maybe it’s having more surface area to cover with butter and Parmesan cheese. Just a guess!

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Why I love Trader Joe’s or Mo’ Choices, Mo’ Problems

Trader Joe's in Old Town Alexandria
OId Town Trader Joe’s: Where I am unfortunately on a first name basis with the man who does wine tastings

I’m very, very late to this not-so-scandelous expose on Trader Joe’s, but thank you Forbes (and Huffington Post for your round up with photos) for pointing out that more is not always better. I’m Trader Joe’s crazy, so not much of what the article reveals surprises me. But I love how the writer hit on the main reason I shop there: lack of choice. I love how shopping at Trader Joe’s requires making almost zero decisions!

A sign of the end: Pork Barrel BBQ opens its doors

Was it worth the wait?

It is difficult to believe (read my skepticism here), but Del Ray’s Pork Barrel BBQ is finally opening. Tonight!  But I read it on the Internet, so it must be true. Get the details  (and watch a video) here and here.

After all that wait, it sounds like delicious (if typical) BBQ joint:

Their 500lb-capacity “Southern Pride” smoker’ll be spitting out 12hr brisket, 10hr pulled pork, and 5hr chicken and spare ribs (plus sausages, but their cook time is unimpressive), all of which can be served by the pound, in sandwiches, or plated with sides like smoked mac & cheese.

Well, with Pork Barrel opening, I guess I’m going to have to find a new Alexandria restaurant to obsess over. There’s always the Evening Star Cafe renovation. According the website, that is due to reopen any day now. Famous last words!

Confession: I hate pumpkin pie and other holiday foods

Just admit it. No one like pumpkin pie

My mom called me a few days ago to ask an important question. “I’m just wondering,” she says. “Is it ok, if — now feel free to say ‘no’ — we have apple cake instead of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Last year, everyone just took a tiny little sliver of the pie, and rest just went to waste. I don’t think anyone likes it!”

Mom, you’re right. No one like pumpkin pie. I have one sitting in my refrigerator right now that my husband made in a fit of fall seasonal-iness. (Just making up words here!) We ate two pieces, and the remainder is still taking up room next to the coffee creamer. Right now as I type this, I feel like I should go throw it out. But I won’t. Special holiday food has a sacredness to it (like a present from a dead relative, a holy scripture or my pile of plastic shopping bags that collect under the sink out of guilt that I forgot my reusable tote, yet again). It can only be tossed in the trash when it actually starts to grow mold.

Yes, I don’t like pumpkin pie. While I’m making this confession, let come grinch-like clean with my other seasonal dislikes:

  • Turkey (most of the time) It’s so dry!
  • Apple cider. Too coyingly sweet.
  • Christmas/Easter ham. Out of all the ways of cooking pork, why this one?
  • S’mores. Love to camp; hate s’mores. Ugh…. marshmallows
  • Peeps. Yuck, more marshmallows
  • Frosting! And most birthday cakes. Yes, I’m the fussy eater at the office birthday parties that just picks at my store bought slice of cake.

My Favorite Meal (When I have 5 minutes and a jar of kimchi)

A bowl of kimchi and ramen

Yum! Heartburn!

Let me share my favorite fast meal. I learned this in China from my co-worker who learned it from his Korean girlfriend. This recipe has really passed through many cultures to make it to this blog. So appreciate it.

My favorite part is that it contains most of your basic food groups (is that even still a thing?), so I can construe it as somewhat healthy. Well, healthier than the cheese quesadilla I would eat in its place.

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The Marketability of Brooklyn Beer

Flight of the Conchord stars

Yes, I know they actually lived in Manhattan on the show

Six Point brewery is everywhere in the DC area these days — dinner parties, beer store tastings, on tap at my favorite bars. It’s great. It comes in cans. It’s from Brooklyn.
The key point, I believe, here is the Brooklyn. A beer from Brooklyn is an easy sell. The main demographic for craft beer (white, male, 25-44, with a household income of more than 75K/year) is the same one that wishes they had moved to New York after college and started that band, written that book, launched that career as a stock trader/journalist/comedian/filmmaker or indie lay-about.  Selling Brooklyn is selling what could have been to the late 20s/ early to mid 30s crowd that abound in DC.

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Is Pork Barrel BBQ finally opening?

Logo for pork barrelll BBQ

The elusive Pork Barrel pig

As someone who obsessively watches my neighborhood restaurant scene, the maddeningly slow construction of 2342 Mt. Vernon Avenue frustrates me to no end. The building crews broke ground  soon after I moved to my old apartment in Del Ray. Rumors had it that Pork Barrel BBQ was opening at the end of summer, then by Christmas, then by Memorial Day, then by late fall, then by spring…. until I’ve been waiting two years now.  I’ve managed to get married and buy a house in nearby Huntington in the time that crew has installed flooring and light fixtures.

But for Alexandria BBQ fans there is a new, promising development! The restaurant finally appears complete, and a call went out on the Del Ray community association board for staff. They are hiring, say the restaurant owners.

As it turns out that Pork Barrel won’t be the restaurant I was imagining, though. It will be “fast casual”  (think Chipotle, Noodles and Co.) with counter service and self seating.  Reads the email:

Pork Barrel BBQ is a new, upcoming, concept located in the Del Ray Neighborhood of Alexandria. This ” Fast Casual” counter service BBQ Joint also boasts a long neighborhood style bar. We are currently looking for help…

But as everyone who has ever looked for a job knows, the hiring (and training) process can be maddeningly slow.  While I want to imagine myself eating a pulled pork sandwich with a jazzy version of  “Deck the Halls” playing the background, I also don’t want to get my hopes up.  So here’s to, um, “early spring”!

My new obsession with… um, kale

bag of kaleAs it grows cooler out, I like my food cooked. Salads and brown bag lunches are for the hot months of summer. When I’m driving home from work and it’s already dark, I’m craving soup, stew, big ol’ bowls of noodles.

Combining my love for comfort food with my need to not gain 20 pounds in the next four months is an amazing feat. Meet kale. Yeah, I thought it was gross, tough and bitter two weeks ago. But I have learned my lesson! I love kale now.

I now am the proud owner of an industrial sized bag. Because if the world ends and I am trapped in my basement hiding from the zombie appocolypse, I will need my dark green veggies. That and kale cooks down, a lot Here’s the secret to kale love.

How to make kale:

I learned this at a dinner party from a chef in Brookyln. Honey, if you are wondering, is the secret ingrediant here.

  1. 1.  Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Actually, I like to cook this in my wok so I can make bigger batches.
  2. 2. Add chopped garlic and a shake or two of red pepper flakes. Saute.
  3. 3. Add two squirts of honey (hopefully your honey comes in a bear squeezy bottle like mine does)
  4. 4. Make sure the pan is really hot. Put handful of kale in pan, and pour about 1/4 of a cup of chicken broth over the kale. The broth should steam immediately upon hitting the hot pan.
  5. When the kale start to wilt,  add more kale and chicken broth as needed. When you have the desired amount, cook for 3-5 minutes.
  6. Eat.