Market Cafe, Washington, D.C.

My visiting Indian-Canadian friend Baj had never had grits before, so we wandered down to Market Cafe at the Eastern Market and got little tiny bowls of grits with a huge dollop of butter. I showed him how to put salt and pepper on them and stir in the butter.....I think he actually liked it! Of course, he's always very polite, so he might have hated them and was just being gracious.

Bread and Chocolate, Washington, D.C.

My friend Baj and I had brunch at Bread and Chocolate on Capitol Hill, eating al fresco and braving the risk of additional downpours, but luckily, none happened. Baj had a huge bowl of muesli with walnuts and fresh fruits and I had an avocado and cream cheese omelette with some rosemary new potatoes and a slice of canteloupe. He had a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and I had a cafe au lait. I had a refill on my cafe au lait, and the waitress charged me for it.

Pan Am Cafeteria, Fairfax, VA

While I was in Virginia yesterday, I had an interesting lunch at a place in Fairfax called Pan Am Cafeteria. I was kind of tired of all the Asian food we've been eating lately, so I thought that the Pan Am would probably be Mexican or South American or something. One look at the menu, though, with its roast lamb, spanikopita, and moussaka, and I knew I was in a Greek place.

I ordered the calf liver and onions special. The waitress brought me a great big green tossed salad with house bleu cheese dressing that was very tasty. Then the liver arrived, and I was very pleasantly surprised. The liver was not heavily breaded, had been gently sauteed on both sides, and was still tender and juicy when served. One ordinarily doesn't expect such cooking delicacy in a diner-type restaurant, but this was really good. There was an ample supply of cooked onions, and the rest of the plate was mounded with hot, fresh, hand-cut French fries.

I shouldn't have, but I endulged in a piece of coconut cream pie for dessert. The pie had a thick layer of whipped cream with commercial coconut sprinkled on top. It was ok, but I did notice that the pastry was the frozen commercial variety.

From the looks of other tables around the cafe, it looks like they do a lot of good blue plate specials here. If I'm ever in the neighborhood again, I might just have to pop in again.

Panda Cafe, Washington, D.C.

After I danced another show tonight, Leo dragged me out to dinner at the Panda Cafe near us at 22nd and Pennsylvania. I had a big bowl of seaweed salad and the salt pepper squid with white rice, washed down with a couple of Tsing Tao beers. My squid was very nice. The squid was decoratively scored, very lightly battered, and then flash deep fried, after which it was dry cooked in the wok with sea salt and lots of pepper (very spicy!) and some cooked pieces of white onion and green scallions. then presented on a large leaf-shaped plate. Even though the squid was twice cooked, it was still tender and didn't get that rubbery overcooked tooth to it.

Leo was drinking almond bubble teas and had a plateful of half a dozen huge chicken dumplings for an appetizer and for his main course had a sushi and sushi roll assortment platter that was served on a pretty celadon rectangular platter.

The restaurant was very comfortable. It was a deep, narrow space, with little two-top booths on one side of the room and on the other, a room long banquette in black vinyl with triple-level backrests accommodated a series of black laquered four top tables.

Time to go elevate and ice my foot.