Sushi Ono hillcrest

A return To sushi Ono, a vibrant sushi spot in hillcrest, welcomed a casual dinner.

Was in for an interesting surprise. Some time ago, had visited and requested a rare tuna steak. It was served with some veggies of which were not satisfying the crunch factor. So sliced taro root potatoe chips were requested. After all, raw tuna with salty fried crisps is a fantastic combination. And guess what? It's now on the menu!



Seared ahi tuna serve with fresh spinach and crisps was fantastically prepared.

The seaweed salad was definately giving me the fiber and cellulose needed for the day:



Crisp and vinagrettey.. Delicious.

The triple fantastic roll: a triple whammy of tuna was topped with that spicy mayo type sauce. It was tasty and filling but the sauce flavors masked the fish.



The volcano roll, the mini mountain in the pic, had crab, lobster and crunchy tempura wrapped in avocado. It was also fantastic.

The creative rolls are good, ambience usually liveley, but not the best raw place for that fresh fish cravings. Still, the food was enjoyable and satisfying. Come here for the creative flair for the rolls.... But the martini and sashimi diet is to be had elsewhere.

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Lamb and feta-- homecooked PS style

What a treat it was to visit DC and have dinner with PS and MG. A feast was definately prepared. Juicy medium rare lamb was prepared with a spring pea and mint feta salad. The flavors went fantastically well with the Rosemary potatoes and the French wine import








A fantastic meal finished with an Eric roos port


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Ping pong dim sum DC

This modern dim sum house offers a variety of steamed, baked and fried goodies in baskets.

The power lunch, a 30 min dim sum experence brings out a mushroom topped salad, 2 pastry dim sum stuffed with veggies and meat, served with a spicy oil chili sauce:






Out come the little baskets, filled with white and translucent dim sum all containig either crab, pork or veggies


Pretty good for a quick convention lunch..

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Ulah bistro DC

A happening spot, filled with trendy vibes, lots of energy an across the street from the washinton monument: the great chili bowl (with lines like you couldn't believe)

The American plates with global influence are tasty. The tuna tartare with sweet tangy sauce and intermixed with wasabi was a healthy portion, topped with lightly vinagrette drenched seaweed:



The tuna was good, though not the big eyed Tuna chunks we're use to in California and they didn't provide crisps! We were craving the taro root chips!

The pita bread and olive tapenade was ok, filling carbs and good presentation.


The Maryland crab cake was delicious: nice chunky crab sprinkled with citrus splash and complemented with pickled cucumbers was fantastic:



Though the smearing action was a tad much, the crab cake was fantastic.

The grilled prawn and potatoe app was also great:


The red snapper dish, a healthy pprtioned baked fish with an orangy tangy sauce was satisfying



Across the table, scallops and shrimp linguine looked delicaticably coated in a pesto sauce:


The pork chops and mashed potatoes/grits looked well cooked. In a glance there was nothing left but bones!



The Parma coated pizza looked fantastic as well:



Local spot with a varied selection of bites.

Becks brasserie-DC

Belgian richness presented in a sophisticated yet friendly atmosphere. That's the experience you have At Becks brasserie in DC.

The menu is full of flavored foods, fantastic wine list as well as an extensive beer List. The beers here were meant to be paired with the meals.

To start, the Special of the Day included foie gras. A personal favorite, seared duck liver presented on top of pâté duck liver, decorated with a raspberry and cherry sauce was sinfully tasty. The warm toasted brioche bread scooped up the foie and gras in ever so tastfully bites to bring a berry infused moment of happiness to your mouth:








A hearty portion nonetheless. Worth All the calories.
The baguette bread, baked on the premises was crunchy and toasty, with the non salted butter that was served At a melted temperature so you can actually spread it (butter served at frozen temps is a no).

The spring whitened green asparagus topped with a baked prosciutto piece and drizzled with egg white and Green pepper sprinkles of a light dressing was remarkably distinct:




But the piece of resistance was the rabbit loin. Succulent, tender loin baked with arugulas, roasted eggplants and carrots All drizzled With a cabernet reduction.. Phenomenal. Sweet tender loin always does the body good:






Across the table, American bison was being served. Topped With shredded frittes and mashed potatoes, the gamy red meat was bloody good :






All that With a bottle of failla pinot noir, pungent and spicy with mildly robust flavor brought out the rabbit and bison into a friendly jungle fever.

At that point the batteries were overloaded and the iPhone just couldnt digest anymore!

The general Manager, an appointed knight of the belgian monarchy, came out to serve a pear tart tartine.. Baked pears With cinnamon vanilla ice cream and sprinkled powder sugar. This he paired With a canadian beer brewed With maple syrup. An interesting interplay of sweet, tart, attenuated Bitter but yet desserty in nature. A play on sensations and perceptions, almost a delictable experiment in and of itself.



The richness of the flavors and entertaining qualities of our french algerian host give this place 5 stars. Global influenced indeed.

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Quintessential quiché

What goes into a quiché? Just about anything really. From blackened forest ham to gruyere cheese to roasted veggies to whatever you have leftover in your fridge (sometimes you just have to keep it real!), quichés aré a fantastic egg based food product.

But Will they have you woking out. The crumbly flaky crust and molten cheese dont come calorie free. Especially the Rich and delicious quichés at Tartine in SF or the flaky crusted ones at Pastis in NY, the SD scene has bleu boheme on a sunday but not that many surprising.

Summer is coming and its time to trim the fat. Roasted veggies and potatoes sauteed in rich Virgin olive oil with fresh thyme, orégano and cracked pepper sizzle the flavors and goodness of a healthy start. A little plump broccoli and onions for your vitamins and a little whipped egg, a crustless quiché is born:



Oozing with flavor and sprinkled with just the right amount of pecorino cheese (have to have some dairy!), it californifys the quiché concept:



Some roasted veggies:



Feel free to get overserved...

Purple potatoe delight

Spring is in the Air and the purple potatoes were especially taunting down the grocery isle. Ever wonder why they're purple?

Here's a food fact. They contain the same antioxidant as blueberries!! That's right.. Anthocyanin. These little purple starch babies have radical fighting antioxidants. How much, who knows...lol

Prepared with a variety of herbs and cooked to a browned perfection, fabulously sprinkled With truffle salt, they set the appetite.

Veggie couscous was prepared: italian squash, carmelized onions, dill and thyme with grassy olive oil (yes the deep Green unfiltered kind). Served With garlic and dill coated tuna.. The little purple potatoes came alive:




Why dont we have purple french fries? Totally missed marketing opportunity.

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Bamboo lounge hillcrest

Bottomless mimosas is definately a way to advertise. Bamboo lounge was serving up a storm for brunch. A renaissance decor inspired place with old films playing in the background, its definately got a bit of everything (includig sushi).

Onto the plates. The huevos rancheros were two fríed eggs topped with sauteed tomatoes and onions served on cooked tortillas with a side of tapatio:



Tasty and hearty, the sauteed tomatoe and onion stew was good. The rice was a bit bland and the refríed beans were not my favorite, but for 10 bucks and endless mimosas, the rosarito beans were easily forgotten.

The chilaquiles were interesting:



The tortilla strips seemed to be cooked in chorizo with two fríed eggs on the side.

The bacon and spinach omelette was tasty with chunky bacon bites:



An inexpensive brunch spot that has the crowd in by noon and rolling out by 3p, bamboo lounge has a relaxed atmosphere for a casual sunday.


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Panini grill off..

Cravings for a good salad and sandwich spot landed us at bread & cie. This place has fresh bread and a variety of sandwiches and salads in a cafe influenced atmosphere.

The grilled turkey pesto panini was crispified to a hot melted bite, served with sweet pickles was pretty good:



The chopped salad with avocado, bacon bits, gorgonzola cheese was dressed with a spicy and lite vinagrette:


Although tasty, seared chicken strips would have been preferred.

For those of you who know about Intermezzo in Berkeley, that's what Is missing in SD.

The sandwiches from sandwhich emporium are good contestors and very satisfying, but no grilling action:




The hunt goes on..


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Make my bowels happy!

Crazy fridays and hectic lifestyles call for a scheduling of comfort. Thats right, scrap the events, the appointments and schedule in a little personal time..lol

Home cooked pizza's were in order. Starting with a trader joes olympian Greek pizza, baked with chives, chopped fresh basil and fresh pecorina cheese transformed it into a molten crisp of kalamata olive, sharp pecorino and tantalizing herb pizza


Accompanied with a spinach leaf and heirloom tomatoe salad dancing in a tarragon and Dijon balsamic vinagrette (yes indeed French spring time influenced), punchy, powerful and ever so complemented the pecorino and basil:






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Einsteins bagels done the Toca way

Science fridays always include a host of bagels and All kinds of New cream cheeses to explore.

Our gracious host Maria brings out a plethora of bagels: salt, cinnamon, asiago cheese, chocolate, poppy, sesame and jalepeno cheese:



Yes folks, jalepeno cheese Covered bagels is a whole New way to say "hello" this morning.

To accompany the carb overloads, a fantastic selection of spreads was provided. Blueberry, bacon and scallion, jalepeno, veggie and plain cream cheese was provided.





Toast away!

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The mighty pollo!

Creative energies circled the stove today, embracing some new flavors that synegized well.




Basil, garlic, onions were brought to a sizzling beat and sauteed in olive oil with two organic chicken breasts till they were a golden Brown.

Adding tumeric, cinnamon and oregano, the broth married the bismati rice into a bubbling cauldron of sweet and spice:



The chicken meat marinaded with a little milk tenderized to the point of being similar to pulled pork.




The basil cinnamon and tumeric combination went phenomenally well with a robert stemmer russian river valley 06 pinot...
Velvety, sparkling ruby color but oh so potent in flavor with a peppery spice



A new spice combo was born today :)

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Alladin- hillcrest

This little Mediterranean spot just keeps on rocking. The iced mint tea is perfect on a hot day.

The lamb shwarma plate, served with tahini and rice (i'm sure this last side is an american influence) and some fresh hummous was cooked well with onion and pickled beets to compliment the flavors:



The off-menu ítem to order is the lebneh.. A thick garlic yogurt paste that is fantastic for those pita dippers out there:



The crisp roasted chicken salads and light lemon vinagrette with sprinkled sumac is refreshingly good:



The baba ganoosh is freshly roasted eggplant delicious. With neighboring hummous of course:





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Omelettes.. The egg thing

So how many ways can one prepare omelettes? Eggs are a highly versatile food product, from scambled to boiled to poached and fried. Omelettes almost allow for the imagination to go wild as you can practically cook anything into them.

The garden omelette: sauteed veggies including onions, mushrooms and tomatoes.

The Italian omelette: basil, prosciutto and a little mozarella.

The Spanish omelette: some Andalusian sausage, spinach, pepppers

The classic American: tomatoes, Cheese and whatever veggie is a available.

The Denver omelette: ham, onions, peppers and cheese.

The Mexican: fried tortilla strips, beans, hot salsa and cheddar cheese.

The Greek omelette: bell peppers, feta, kalamata olives

The french omelette: cooked ham, brie and herbs du provence.

Can you tell these egg dishes apart:





















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