El Sol de America, Washington, D.C.

Last night, Laurent and I went to that place on U Street Robert and I discovered the other day, El Sol de America. Too bad it's in such an out of the way location, cause I like the place a lot.

We had a bit of a false start, however, as both of us ordered iced tea. What they brought had been made in the coffee pot (it's a short cut to use the hot water from the coffee maker), and I could distinctly taste the coffee in the tea. I mentioned it to the waiter and he denied it; he brought me a Diet Coke in replacement, though, and I noticed him talking to other staff members about the problem. When Laurent got a refill of tea some time later, he said that they'd made a new batch and it no longer tasted of coffee.

We started with a plate of three pupusas, one queso (cheese, the white Salvadorean kind), one revueltas (mixed cheese and pork), and one loroco (loroco is a flower native to El Salvador, and the buds are chopped and mixed with cheese for the pupusas). I thought the pupusas were quite good. They brought us two tiny containers of chopped up pickled cabbage to go with them, and I thought it lacked the character and "authenticity" of the big shreds of cabbage I usually get at the more ethnic pupeserias.

Laurent got a burro for his main course. It was filled with lots of grilled steak, plus rice, black beans, and some lettuce. He liked it and found it quite filling.



I had a pork chimichanga. They grill their chimichangas here instead of deep-frying them. It was topped with guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, and pico de gallo, and little sides of black beans and cilantro rice accompanied the plate. I thought the beans were a little on the bland side, but the cilantro rice was very interesting and vibrant.



Laurent wanted dessert. He got the tres leches cake, it looked yummy, and he liked it a lot. I got a flan.

Alero Restaurant, Washington, D.C.

The other night, Ian and I were on Dupont Circle and he wanted to go to Alero for dinner. It was quick and simple. Ian had a chicken chimichanga, bare (though I talked the waiter into bringing me his guacamole). I had the chicken tamales, which were okay but not terribly interesting.

Gloria's Pupeseria, Washington, D.C.

Continuing my exploration of restaurants around the new Target store, tonight I visited Gloria's Pupeseria, a tiny Salvadorean place with a brisk Latino business. This is truly one of those local gems for those who like Salvadorean food, and, at very, very cheap prices, too. I've been twice now, both times being the only non-Latino in the place. Good thing I can still recall some of my rudimentary high school Spanish.

Being a Salvadorean place, they specialize in pupusas, little, round, fried, cornmeal cakes stuffed with cheese or with a mixture of pork and cheese. I got a couple of pupusas revueltas, the mixed kind. They came with the traditional accompaniment of shredded, pickled cabbage and tomato sauce, which is eaten as a part of the pupusa.



I also had a tasty and really big plate of chicharrones con yuca, fried bits of pork ribs with a huge serving of big sticks of deep-fried yucca. Yucca isn't the ornamental, spiky-leaved desert plant popular in many landscapes, but a big, starchy root that is used much like potatoes in many Carribbean and Central American cuisines. The plate also had another serving of the pickled cabbage.

Whitlow's on Wilson, Arlington, Va.

It was half price burger night last night at Whitlow's on Wilson in Arlington just down the street from the Georgetown Clarendon campus, so that's where Kevin and I went for a quick dinner before racing home to watch the Kansas basketball game.

We looked at the full menu, but ended up with burgers anyway. Kevin had "The Yodeler," a burger with Swiss cheese and sauteed mushrooms. I got a regular cheeseburger, though with blue cheese. Both burgers came with really good battered French fries and a pickle spear.




Kevin wanted dessert afterwards, so he ordered a bread pudding. It came with vanilla ice cream, and it was garnished with a little whipped cream and drizzles of honey. I had a couple of bites and it was good as usual.

Ledo Pizza, Washington, D.C.

Last night, Robert invited me up to his place in Tacoma for a visit. We walked over to the Georgia Avenue commercial strip, where he took me to dinner at Ledo Pizza.

Ledo is an 80 restaurant chain of derivative pizzerias located mostly along the mid-Atlantic coast. Maryland and Virginia are full of them, but I've never gone to one before. This particular store is in a former Pizza Hut. The menu also includes pasta entrees, calzone, sandwiches, and salads, in addition to a wide variety of available interesting pizza toppings.

We had a medium pepperoni pizza. The pizzas at Ledo are all rectangular, instead of round. They arrive at the table on rounded-corner plastic trays reminiscent of cafeteria trays. Our pizza was neatly cut into twenty square pieces, with a rather thick slice of pepperoni centered in each piece. I found the pizza to be quite pleasant. They use a fairly sweet tomato sauce, and the crust was flavorful and quite good. We split the pizza, and I was stuffed after eating my half. It was good and economical, too—even with soft drinks, the bill was only $12 for the two of us. I'll be looking forward to trying more flavors on future visits.

After leaving the pizzeria, we walked on up Georgia Avenue, crossing the Maryland line, so Robert could buy some beer and pastries at a Hispanic grocery store. The store had a food counter and a full bakery with a number of interesting Latin American confections, and he says he frequents the place. I'm not quite sure what it's called; the Spanish sign in the window translated merely into "Latin American market."

Florida Avenue Grill, Washington, D.C.

There is an old restaurant just above the U Street Corridor that has been open since the days of the Roosevelt Administration that many consider to be a Washington institution called the Florida Avenue Grill. Saturday afternoon I happened upon it, so I decided to try the place.

It's a very old, small restaurant dominated by a long counter with round, spinning stools affording views of the short order grill. A few booths line the opposite wall along the windows. Photographs of famous patrons and visitors cover the walls. It was mid-afternoon, and yet the place was packed with loud and happy diners, and I just did squeeze onto a stool at the counter. They had a lot of staff, many rather elderly, and I noted from plaques on the wall that a decade ago, several of them had been recognized for over twenty years of service.

The cuisine here can best be described as "soul food" or "Southern cooking," so I ordered the fried chicken platter for $9.95. My waiter brought me two cornbread muffins to start. They were good, though I was surprised how sweet they were. I got a leg quarter that had been fried, but it had been held after cooking, so the limited breading on the chicken was soft from the steam table. For my two side dishes, I got the "fresh cabbage" and the macaroni and cheese. The cabbage had been cooked for such a long time, the pieces were about to fall apart on the fork; it lacked any particular flavor, even when I was searching for hints of butter or maybe a ham hock. The macaroni and cheese was cold and overcooked, both in terms of the pasta internally and the undesirable dry crunchiness of much of the surface. It, too, lacked any real flavor or sense of cheesiness. There was nothing outstanding or even remotely interesting about any of the food. It was, really, a very disappointing meal.

What concerned me more, though, was that from my perch at the counter, I was able to watch a lot of the food preparation going on, and quite a number of their practices caused me to raise an eyebrow, remembering usual food service and health code standards. I watched a cook from the kitchen bring out a big pan of biscuits in one hand and a handful of more biscuits in the other, resting both against the top of her dress as she walked out. I saw the grill that looked like it hadn't been scrubbed down in years. I watched many of the staff grabbing glasses and dipping them into a crushed ice bin to prepare drinks for patrons, with no ice scoops or gloves or hand-washing apparent. I saw many of the waiters going to a common steam table with side dishes and, again with no hand washing, dip out and serve food, oftentimes with the same spoon between dishes. And, all this time, I saw the waiters handling money, wiping down tables, and clearing dishes, again with no gloves or hand-washing in between. In addition to that, judging from the tepid temperatures of my food, I'm not convinced that their steam table keeps cold foods cold and hot foods hot, and I've no idea how long that food has set out.

After I got home, I checked some of the reviews about Florida Avenue Grill, and I am perplexed. Many people rave about the food—and the place certainly had lots of business while I was there. Many also recommend the breakfast foods. None of these were my experience. Perhaps if I ever go again (blindfolded, so I can't see their sanitary practices), I'll try breakfast. But, the question is, will I ever go again?

Tastee Diner, Silver Spring, Md.

It was a rainy, chilly night Friday when Ian, Robert, and I went up to Silver Spring for the evening. Ian had some shopping to tend to, so we tagged along to watch. Then, once the stores closed, we walked over to the Silver Spring location of Tastee Diner. We've been to the Bethesda location many times, but never before to Silver Spring. While relocated, the Silver Spring location is the original store in their three store chain, and it's quite a bit bigger than Bethesda.

Ian and Robert started with appetizers. Ian got a plate of fried green beans (this seems to be a new restaurant trend, especially since T.G.I.Friday started featuring them) with dipping sauces of Ranch dressing and a spicy Ranch. I sampled a few and they were pretty tasty.



Robert got a plate of chicken wings; he was not impressed. When he ordered, the waitress specifically asked if he wanted the sauce on the wings or on the side; he said on the wings; she brought it on the side.



I abstained from an appetizer because of the entree I ordered: smothered chicken. Two big, fried chicken breasts were covered in grilled onion and mushrooms, and then covered with melted cheeses. They were quite tasty! But, with all those fat grams, they should have been. A side of cole slaw and mashed potatoes and gravy came with the meal. I'd specifically asked the waitress for white gravy on the potatoes and she brought brown instead; I sent the potatoes back and she brought the proper item. One would think that it would be common knowledge that brown gravy goes with beef and white gravy with chicken.



Robert had a bacon cheeseburger that he said was good.



Ian just ordered a bowl of chicken noodle soup. By the time we all had finished and were ready for dessert, though, he decided he was still hungry and ordered a fried egg sandwich.




Meanwhile, the waitress brought dessert for Robert and me. He had the cherry pie à la mode. This is, alas, not one of those diners that specializes in pies like many of the places I like in small town Oklahoma, but Robert was able to eat all he was served (he thought the serving size "small").



I had a piece of chocolate cake with ice cream. I was expecting a layer cake, but they served thick pieces of sheet cake with a light chocolate glaze on top.


After we were all finished, Ian ordered his dessert, getting the rice pudding. It looked pretty good, although I didn't try it.

Logan at The Heights, Washington, D.C.

As we continue to enjoy our new Target store (plus BestBuy, Marshall's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples, et al.) by the Columbia Heights Metro stop in the District, we are exploring some of the restaurants in the area. There's a Pizza Hut Express inside Target, as well as a Starbucks, but we wanted to get used to the greater neighborhood. So, this past week, Robert and I made a lunch run to the neighborhood and decided to catch lunch across the street at Logan at The Heights, a part of the group that also owns Logan Tavern, Grillfish, and Merkado.

It was late and a rainy afternoon, so the place was not busy. We were immediately seated in the center of the main dining area, near the very large, room-long bar. I thought the place looked fairly new, but our waitress informed us that they'd been open nearly two years. Not surprisingly, the menu reminded me a lot of the menu at Logan Tavern.

Robert got the shrimp po'boy sandwich. What a presentation! The shrimp came in little battered and deep-fried balls, making a striking presentation. Robert said it was quite good. A spicy cole slaw accompanied the big sandwich.



I had the "Big Chopped Salad" with chicken. Interesting name, especially since I didn't find the salad to be big at all by local entree salad standards. The salad was okay and had all the usual suspects amongst the ingredients. I found the salad to be less than totally satisfying, though, because it lacked "saiety value"—ingredients that make the eater feel full. It could have used a bit more cheese and avocado, but, the biggest issue, I think, was their dressing. They served it with a light "Szechuan vinaigrette," which was fine for the hard-core dieters, but I think they missed an opportunity by not using a heartier dressing like the remoulade that was on Robert's sandwich, or maybe a chipotle Ranch, or perhaps even a standard blue cheese.



The Heights will be a fun place, I think, for weekend brunches. They also have some of my favorites from Logan Tavern, such as the crab and shrimp macaroni and cheese and the wasabi-crusted meatloaf with mashed potatoes and caramelized onion gravy.

Chinatown Express, Washington, D.C.

We were in Chinatown the other night and wanted a quick and inexpensive meal, so we stopped in at Chinatown Express, where we always can get a plate or bowl of food for about $5 or $6. Usually when we walk by, there is a Chinese chef making noodles in the front window, but this time, there was a non-Asian woman standing there making pork-leek dumplings.

That inspired me to order some steamed dumplings for the table to share. I usually prefer fried dumplings, but the steamed are healthier, and we are all supposed to be watching our waistlines. The only problem is that the steamed version tends to be a little bland, but, hey, it's a cheap appetizer, what with a dozen fresh, handmade dumplings for only $4.

Naturally, for our main courses, we all ordered either a bowl of the fresh noodle soup or the fresh noodles, fried. In the pictures below, the soup is chicken noodle soup and the fried noodles are with beef. I ordered the fried noodles with barbecued pork. It was good as always, though I find that the food usually tends towards the bland side, so I use lots of garlic and condiments to spice things up. Then again, it's cheap. LOL