California Pizza Kitchen, Arlington, Va.

Last night was a quick meal sandwiched in between shopping stops. Leo needed to get a couple of things at Pentagon City—more specifically from the center across the street and the center behind—so away we went. After making some purchases across the street, we decided to stop in California Pizza Kitchen for a quick bite to eat.

While I had my usual iced tea, I tried to talk Leo into having a Top Shelf Long Island Iced Tea, but he wouldn't do it. Instead, he got an appleberry sangria. The dark, deep burgundy drink served in a large wine glass and garnished with a big lime slice was pretty tart and very fruity.

Leo chose the Thai linguini with shrimp for his supper. The linguini was covered in a spicy peanut-ginger sauce and was topped with scallions, carrot shreds, minced cilantro, peanuts, and bean sprouts. He pronounced it "consistent" with CPK's type of restaurant.



After consulting with our very helpful waitress, I selected the chicken Waldorf salad, with the change of having regular walnuts instead of their standard candied walnuts. The classic Waldorf was dressed up with crumbles of Gorgonzola cheese and thin slices of juicy chicken breast, then tossed with a large bowl of mixed salad greens and a light dijon dressing. I actually liked it quite a bit.



For dessert, we split a chocolate banana royale cake with a scoop of Haagen-Daz vanilla bean ice cream. This was an interesting chocolate cake, split and filled with banana cream, frosted in a sort of chocolate ganache, and then the cake and ice cream were drizzled with banana crean and hot fudge sauces. Half was just right.



After eating, we went across the street behind the mall to the World Market, where the shelves are packed with pink champagne and sparkling wines. Do you get the impression that wine marketers might be pushing pink bubbles for St. Valentine's Day?

Cafe Deluxe, Bethesda, Md.

My friend Kevin took me to a late lunch yesterday after I played for his grandmother's memorial service up in Maryland. We had to go to several places trying to find something open in that limbo between 2 and 5 in the afternoon when so many restaurant kitchens close. Eventually, we ended up in Bethesda at the Cafe Deluxe. It was delightful! I've been to the Cafe Deluxe across from the National Cathedral, and I really liked the Bethesda store a whole lot better (there's also one at Tyson's Corner, but I've not yet been there).

Kevin started with the golden carrot soup, a nice, thick carrot purée that served as the soup du jour. I had a simple salad of mixed greens with tiny little teardrop tomatoes and shavings of parmesan cheese.

For main courses, Kevin, being straight from his grandmother's funeral, wanted comfort food and chose the grilled meatloaf with creole sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was a big, juicy-looking chunk of beef that looked quite good, and I noticed Kevin didn't let any of it go to waste.



I had the roasted lamb shank with mashed potatoes and some of the biggest asparagus spears I think I've ever seen. All was great. I absolutely love their mashed potatoes! They are made from new, red potatoes and mashed with the skins. When I first saw the half dozen thumb-thick asparagus spears on my plate, my first reaction was disappointment, knowing they'd be woody and nearly inedible, but to my great surprise, the asparagus spears were tender all the way through and it was obvious where the kitchen had pared off some of the less-desirable parts of the vegetable—I've seen some high-dollar restaurants that didn't even do that. My lamb was a big leg shank with lots of meat, all tender and well-flavored; a sage leaf garnished the joint.



We were both stuffed, but we ordered dessert anyway, Kevin a crème brulée in a large, flat ramekin and garnished with a couple of fresh raspberries, and I the strawberry cobbler à la mode. My cobbler came in an individual casserole nearly six inches in diameter and had the virtues of flaky crust and a not-too-sweet strawberry filling.

(Photos by Kevin and his cell phone.)

IHOP and the Kennedy Center Canteen

Did I mention that Ian and I went to IHOP in Ballston Wednesday night? He had the chicken fingers dinner (surprise, surprise), but I took advantage of the all-you-can-eat pancake special they are running right now through mid-February. For $4.99, I got two eggs, two strips of bacon, hash browns, and pancakes. They started off bringing me two pancakes, and then just because I could, I ordered a refill and they brought me three more. Needless to say, I couldn't finish the last three, but I was really already full after the first two. This is one of the reasons I hate all-you-can-eat places: I feel compelled to do just that!

IHOP isn't the only place for cheap food, though. I forgot to mention last week that I ate in the Kennedy Center Canteen while I was performing with the Kirov Ballet. The canteen is the little cafeteria in the basement for cast and crew. I had a plate of jambalaya that broke the bank....it cost $3.82! I probably should have taken advantage of my cast discount last week—30%—and gone to the Roof Terrace Restaurant. That's their very pricey white-tablecloth place overlooking the river where I've not eaten in decades. There was no sense in spending my entire ballet salary on one meal, though, even with the discount! LOL