Busboys & Poets

Busboys and Poets ($$) is one of the must-sees in all of the D.C. tour books, so I thought I would give it a try to see what all of the fuss was about. This U St. restaurant is known for its clientele of writers and artists. There is a book store in the restaurant, with books pertaining to black history and culture. The restaurant is surprisingly spacious. There is a stage in the back of the restaurant where poets, authors, and musicians read or perform.

Hot Chocolate

Now for the good part..the food! I ordered a mixed green salad with poached pear, caramelized onions, pecans, goat cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette. It was delicious! I would definitely order it again. My only critique is that it was over-dressed, so maybe next time I will order the dressing on the side.

Poached Pear Salad with Goat Cheese, Pecans, Caramelized Onions, & Balsamic Vinaigrette

A friend ordered the Oaxaca Omelet, with black beans, cheese, pico de gallo, and guacamole. It looked very appetizing! Next time I visit, I want to try the avocado and havarti cheese panini or the peanut butter and banana with agave nectar sandwich. Agave nectar is one of my new favorites- it is similar to honey, but even better!

Busboys & Poets is an eclectic hang out spot that is definitely worth stopping by, whether it is for a coffee, a book reading, or a complete meal.

Week in California

My Spring break was this past week, so I decided to go home to visit family and friends in California. I went to two new restaurants-Three Seasons and Calafia.

Three Seasons is an upscale Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Palo Alto, which I wanted to go to for years but never had the opportunity. My dad and I went and split a number of different dishes. To start, we ordered the Summer Roll Spring Roll. This Vietnamese roll comes with crab, avocado, a ginger soy vinaigrette, mint, cilantro, and lettuce. It was a cross between a California Sushi Roll and a traditional spring roll. It was light and refreshing- perfect for an appetizer. We also ordered a Honey Quail Satay, which was seasoned with lime juice and pepper. I thought it would be fun to try something new, but alas quail tastes exactly like chicken. Nonetheless, the satay plate was very tasty!

Summer Spring Roll with Crab, Avocado, and a Ginger Soy Vinaigrette
Honey Quail Satay

For the entree, we split Pork Ribs and Tamarind Prawns. The pork ribs were small and fried, with a thick tamarind and green onion sauce. They were crispy and covered in the sweet but tangy sauce. The prawns were sauteed with pineapple, scallions, chili peppers, and a special tamarind sauce. They came with brown rice, and were crunchy and succulent although the sauce was on the sweeter side which was slightly overwhelming. The pineapple and shrimp went very well together.

Pork Ribs with Tamarind Sauce Tamarind Prawns with Pineapple and Brown Rice

Overall, Three Seasons lived up to my expectations. I hope to go back to try their famous Roasted Crab with a side of garlic noodles.

I also had the chance to go to Calafia, which recently opened in Palo Alto. I was excited because it was started by the former Google chef, so eating at Calafia partially fulfilled my dream of eating at the famous Google cafeteria. This restaurant prides itself with its "slow food" cuisine, which is quality local organic food. Calafia was adorable, with wooden floors and clean white tables. My little sister and I went for lunch, and we ordered Duck Dumplings, a Chinese Chicken Salad, and the Daily Omelette.

The Duck Dumplings were recommended by the waiter, and they exceeded our expectations. We enjoyed them so much that we ordered a second plate to split. The dumplings were fried, and were filled with shredded duck, shitake mushrooms, scallions, garlic, ginger, sake and tamarin.

Duck Dumplings with Special Sauce

We split the Chinese Chicken Salad, which was a deviation from the typical Chinese Chicken Salad. It came with a five spice chicken, toasted almonds, crispy rice noodles, pea shoots, and shredded lettuce. The dressing was a very light rice wine vinaigrette. The salad was light and crunchy, with the nuts and rice noodles. The dressing was very plain, so the focus of the salad was on the fresh ingredients.

Chinese Chicken Salad

We also split the Daily Omelette, which came with ham, mushrooms, and swiss cheese. The omelette hit the spot, as it was packed with the creamy cheese which complemented the smokey ham. The omelette came with a side citrus salad, with blood oranges and a tangy vinaigrette.

Swiss Cheese, Ham, and Mushroom Omelette with Side Citrus Salad

Calafia was great from the ambiance to the fresh food. It is a great option for lunch.
Overall, my week in California was a success!

Cafe Deluxe..not so deluxe

Today, Ruth and I had our weekly brunch at Cafe Deluxe in Bethesda. It was like any other restaurant, but we decided it was nothing special. It's a fine place to take the family because they have paper table cloths to draw on and a menu that will appeal to most. Our food was fine, and the atmosphere was fine- but we were not blown away. Overall, not a must-go.

They had a breakfast menu, but we both decided to stick with lunch items. Ruth got the Ahi Tuna Tacos and I had a cherry tomato Parmesan salad.

Ahi Tuna Tacos with Side Salad

Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese