Eat, Play, Run

Capitol Hill: Anchovies and Olives

 When GQ magazine called Anchovies and Olives the fifth best new restaurant in the country in 2009, I made it a priority to visit it the first chance I had. Located in a nondescript Capitol Hill building, the vibe has a serious New York feel. It's a little small, the tables are a little too close together, and the chatter is a little too loud. I loved it.

In all, we ordered four dishes, plus dessert. The first dish to arrive was soft boiled eggs topped with anchovies. The eggs were perfectly cooked... just hard enough to keep their form, yet soft enough to run down my chin. The anchovies did what anchovies do best, adding a salty/fishy flavor to the eggs. These were a real treat. Thankfully my friend only ate two of them, leaving me with four.

 Our next dish was a simple plate of prosciutto. I'm not going to wax on too much about the prosciutto. It was very good, with ample fat (this is a good thing). Thinly sliced, it was an appetizer.

 Our first 'main' course was potato gnocchi with pork and cauliflower. I much prefer ricotta gnocchi to potato, but it was fine. The pork was cooked in a style reminiscent of kalua pork. It was shredded, with a nice smoky/salty flavor, and very tender. Together, the sweetness of the cauliflower and saltiness of the pork mixed well with neutral flavor of the gnocchi.

We ended with probably the best dish of the night, the seafood risotto. This dish had so much flavor it made me break out in a giant smile on the first bite. The risotto was nice and tender, without being overcooked. The seafood was chopped small and did not overpower the dish at all. It's a very plate, and very good.

For dessert, we had a "molten" chocolate cake. It was good, but not great. Would've been nice to end the meal a little better. But, the four dishes that preceded it were excellent. I won't hesitate to eat here again.

Capitol Hill: Poppy

 One year after being told I needed to eat here, I finally ate at Poppy. It didn't disappoint!

My friend and each ordered the Large Thali. As you can see from the picture, the Large Thali is a lot of food.

Dishes ranged from celery root and chestnut soup to mushroom risotto to quail to shrimp. Veggie dishes included beets, cabbage and blood oranges.

Of the dishes, the quail was mind-blowing. Just wish it was bigger. Why do those birds have to be so damn small? The risotto was also delicious, while the beets were some of the best I've ever had (though not as good as the beets from Lupa, my favorite NY restaurant).

New York: Blue Hill New York

This past summer, I visited the Stone Barns, home of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agricuture and the world famous restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The farm was beautiful with livestock and gardens. What I didn't do was eat there.

Fast forward to a recent trip to New York. My friend made a reservation to Blue Hill in the Village. This Blue Hill gets all of its food from the farm, so it's still very fresh.

Here are the foods we sampled, with a brief description:

Seems weird, but the highlight of the meal was probably the "This Morning's Farm Fresh Egg"... an egg served over mushroom and lamb quarters. I don't like eggs all that much. But, wow, this was so good.

This dish was simply titled "Fall Fruits and Vegetables." And, uh, that's what it was. Obviously, it was fresh. But, it was 90% veggies, and personally, I'm more of a fruit guy.

These are called Jerusalem Artichokes. But, as a root vegetable, they share more in common with potatoes than artichokes. They're a little crunchier and sweeter than potatoes.

Anzela ordered the "Klaas Marten's Emmer and Quinoa"... basically, chicken served two ways over butternut squash and pancetta. I liked this one quite a bit, probably more than Anzela.

For my main course, I had the Stone Barns Berkshire Pig. I know you're shocked I went with the pork. The pork was served over a bed of "Last Chance" string beans, curry and tomatoes. The pork was delicious, but I was less of a fan of the bed of veggies. The curry was very subtle.

For dessert we ordered a caramel apple. This was a seriously deconstructed caramel apple. The caramel in the form of a salted caramel sauce, the apple was served three ways, a terrine, dried chips and diced. I really loved how all the flavors came together. A fancy pants dessert, to be sure.