Pho Hiep Noa!

In the interest of research, the missus and I ventured to the 2nd floor of downtown SS for lunch today. It was against my better judgement, but in the interest of research...

Anyway, we tried Pho Hiep Hoa, and while neither of us were hungry after we finished, we really can't say much about our lunch. We started with the garden rolls ($4.95). We ordered the veggie rolls which came with wrapped with tofu, veggies, greens, etc and were pretty good. It was served with peanut sauce and really anything served with that stuff cannot be all that bad. Let's admit it, the item we are dipping is essentially a delivery system to get the peanut sauce into our pie hole, i.e., summer rolls, old shoes, cardboard, c'mon, you dip anything in there and it ends up being pretty damn good.

Given it was like 99 degrees outside we didn't want something piping hot for lunch so we both ordered vermicelli noodles. We had one with shrimp and the other with tofu (although tofu is not on the menu they did make it for me - I liked that). What came to the table was pretty straightforward, vermicelli noodles with some veggies and bean sprouts and fish sauce on the side. However the shrimp served with the one dish were perhaps the worst I have ever tasted in my life. I am not sure what they did, or if maybe the shrimp was from like 1998, but man, it was not good. And I am not one to pass up on shrimpies, but these things were not acceptable at all!

I know, it does look pretty good, but trust me, it was not!!

Thankfully the kitchen was confused by my order and they ended up adding tofu to my dish and then cooking up another order for some reason. The waiter brought out the extra tofu and asked if we wanted it - on the house - so we said sure. I am glad we did since the shrimp were inedible.

I guess all in all this place is not the worst of the worst, but overall the setting is bland and sterile - I know, Ellsworth, I'm really telling you something you don't already know - and the food is completely uninspiring. And the prices were more than I thought they should be too. No lunch specials and most of the lunch dishes were about $9 and up. What about something for $6.99 that comes with a spring roll?

If you are jonesing for Vietnamese and can walk a bit, do yourself a favor and head south on Georgie to Lotus Cafe. While this is not fine dining, I am confident you will have a better meal and you'll be dining in a place with a little character. And the folks who run it are great too.

Now I will juxtapose our lunch with a great dinner at Thai Derm. Again, this place is not the be all and end all of Thai restaurants, but it is a wonderful place to have in the 'hood. They are consistent, the people are wonderful and the prices are good. And I must say it helps that I can walk there. But I for one would not be a happy camper if TD was not around.

And although the deep-fried whole fish (tilapia) is usually reserved on for Fridays, they served me up one tonight. Mmmm, it was yummy. And what a site it is. I mean, look at this thing.

If you are there on a Friday night (or perhaps a Thurs) I would recommend you try it.

OK, my next post will be focused on lobster as we head to paradise in the morning for some needed time off. Maine -- vacationland!

Can someone pass me the butter?

Life without electricity...

Really sucks! We are now pushing 72 hours with no power at our SoCo casa. Everything in the fridge is shot. But with the uncomfortable temperatures in the house, we cannot bring ourselves to do a fridge clean out. I imagine we'll do one later tonight to get all the rotten food out for trash pick up in the morning. I pray that this clean up happens with cold air blowing on me.

Feeding ourselves has certainly been a challenge. We actually had friends over Sunday evening, but things worked out on the grill. I had already made a nice cous cous salad (that luckily is served room temperature) and we combined that with some happy beef and pork sausages that were thrown on the grill with some lovely yellow squash from our neighbor's garden. And the beer stayed cool enough to keep everyone happy.

After that, things started to get dicey. We ate our remaining eggs and more sausage on Monday morning, but after that we had misgivings on what else to eat. To get some work done during the day we camped out at the bar at 8407 (which is where we did work on Tues, and where we are right now), but it's not the best place to actually be productive. But we were able to commandeer an electrical outlet all to ourselves, which is more than we could accomplish at Panera. That however is offset by a higher tab at 8407 than Panera. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. And Pedro, Nancy and staff have been extremely accommodating, so we very much appreciate that.

For dinner Monday we rolled the dice and cooked some ground pork we had in the freezer. Earlier in the day I threw an 8 pound bag of ice in the freezer so I figured that would help keep some of the items in decent shape for a few hours longer. It seemed to work OK. I did a nice dish using my peppers from the garden - stuffing them with the pork and onions (cooked on the gas stove). I gave it an Asian twist adding fish sauce, Asian spices and soy sauce to mixture. I then threw all that on the grill to cook and served it over some jasmine rice. All things considered I felt pretty good about the dinner. And eating it al fresco wasn't all that bad. We certainly didn't want to go back into the kitchen since it heated up even more with my cooking.

And as you know, we woke up Tuesday still with no power. Another restless night of sleep (or lack thereof) and another few hours at 8407. But our frustration, sleep deprivation and irritation levels were continuing to rise so our productivity certainly suffered.

The evening called for dulling our senses. So we hit Olazzo for their $5 martini night and dinner. Was nice just to chill in there for 2+ hours and try to regain some of our civility back. We milked the AC as long as we could and then took in a couple more hours of AC at the AFI - saw the Kids are All Right, good movie. And even though the temp outside was quite nice, inside the house upon our return was still uncomfortable.

Three nights straight without a good night's sleep. Not good for us. I know readers who have raised kids will have little sympathy for us on the lack of sleep, but this is something we were not used to.

Now, back at 8407 hoping that when we return home the gods from PEPCO will have finally smiled on us. Though I'm not holding my breath.

A Return to Pacci's and Ramen Redux

I know, my posts have been pretty infrequent lately. I'll blame my new job and their expectations that I actually do work. How dare they!

Anyway, I did want to jump back into the blogosphere but didn't really have a lot to say. I can however review a lunch last week at Pacci's and another LA ramen experience. I'll start with Pacci's.

It had been at least a couple months since we had eaten there. I think we did 3 visits in the first couple wks after they opened. We then tried to go back with a friend a few wks ago on a Friday night and could not bring ourselves to go in. You want to talk about crawling with kids. Wow! My single buddy trekking to SS from Adams Morgan was a bit aghast when he surveyed Pacci's. We agreed to come back another time.

So the missus and I walked up for a quick lunch last week to see how things were going. It was pretty quiet, just a few tables were full. Rosario, the pizzaiolo at the restaurant told us the lunch business had been a little slow. But we were definitely interested to see if they had worked out some of their initial kinks.

And granted I know this was not gonna be easy to tell over a lunch with just 2 people, but we still could get a general sense. Since it was working hours we passed on anything alcoholic and asked for tea -- but they only offered sweet tea. Where am I, McDonald's? At least the server pointed this out. He also said most folks are disappointed to hear they only serve sweet tea, so perhaps a non-sugar option will appear soon.

We shared a simple salad to start -- romaine, cherry tomatoes, olives, some fresh mozz, in oil and vinegar. Was good, not great. Perhaps the dressing could have been a bit more flavorful. But we came for the pizza, not the salad.

For our lunch we shared la verace -- tomato sauce, buffalo mozz, parmesan, basil, and extra virgin olive oil. While we both agreed the sauce was tasty, the pizza itself was a bit too limp for us. If you had picked it with one hand to try to eat, the tip of the slice would have been very droopy. You needed to use a knife and fork for the first bite and then hands-only would have been OK. I think next time we'll have to ask for it to be extra crispy. I've been making my own pies at home for a couple years now so we're certainly used to having a crispier dough.

I guess all in all it was a good experience, but it did not meet our expectations. But we'll be back to throw them some more business. However we'll definitely ask for our pies to be cooked a little longer than what they would normally do.

All right, on to ramen. So on the suggestion of Tina & Drew, a couple readers, I visited an LA ramen institution in Little Tokyo called Daikokuya a couple wks ago when I was out on the west coast for work. I had eaten at a well-known ramen place the week before, but Tina & Drew said I had to eat here. So I did.

Got to the restaurant after work, arriving about 8:00. I knew there would be a long wait so I was prepared with reading materials. After checking up some on the place on Yelp I knew to go in to write my name on the list. And while there were plenty of folks ahead of me, I thought, how long can it take to seat one person? Right?

Well, it can take almost an hour. It was a lively crowd of mostly young folks, mostly Japanese (descent at least) waiting to chow down. I seem to have been the only solo diner. Woe is me. Yes, was a long wait out there by myself. It was just before 9:00 when I got the OK to take a seat at the bar. Needless to say I was quite thirsty and famished. I quickly ordered a big Asahi and settled in to survey the menu.

I was told the tempura was a good way to start things and of course, I knew I was gonna have some ramen. There were other choices for dinner, but hey, if I'm waiting an hour because they have the best ramen in town - maybe the country - I am damn sure ordering ramen.

The service was friendly, but pretty no-nonsense. I got my beer fast and didn't have to wait long at all till one of the servers returned for my dinner order. I did try the tempura and also the Daikoku Ramen. The tempura was mix of shrimp and veggies. The batter was light, but not that flavorful. It came with a dipping sauce that also lacked any real character. It was a bit bland, so I added some Ichimi Togarashi -- Japanese red pepper -- to spice up the sauce a bit and it did help. But still, I was not wowed by the tempura.

My main course arrived and it was quite a dish. This pic really doesn't do it justice. It was a large bowl filled with lovely egg noodles, pork belly (yes, I cheated), bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, scallion and an egg. Of course it is surrounded by their special broth -- pork bones and joints that have been simmered to a wonderful concentration and then added to their special soy sauce. And yes, wow was the first word that came to my mouth when I tasted this broth. This was something special.

For a while I only sipped on the broth since it was so good. Then I finally got down to business and started slurping down the noodles - nicely cooked with a little bite, and then the veggies and pork. And to be honest, I could have done without the pork belly in the ramen. I know the broth is a pork broth, but I really didn't need the belly too. I would have been happy with some tofu thrown in there. And while I tried my best I could not finish all the broth. I did eat all the noodles, pork and veggies, but the broth was too much after starting with the tempura.

My final conclusion, while I really liked the Daikoku Ramen, I'm not sure how interested I'd be in waiting another hour - or longer - on a subsequent visit. One thing quite different than the ramen I ate the previous week was that this broth had no spiciness at all. I kinda missed that. I like my broth to have a good kick to it. At least for me, that is something I look for.

And while I probably won't have to get ramen my next trip out to LA, if I do start craving it, I'm likely to go back to Orochon Ramen where I can much more easily get a table and have my butt kicked with the spice. I know it's not right, but I like it when my nose runs when I eat ramen. What can I say?

Ramen!

All right, I'm not in the hood. The new job took me out to LA for the week so I thought I'd post a short report. Had my second meal of the week tonight in LT -- yes you're right, that's Little Tokyo. Even though I come from Italian and Mexican stock, Japanese food is way up there for me.

My first LT meal of the week was a bit disappointing, was good, not great. I had some izakaya at a place called Izayoi. Was a lot better the last time I was in town. Was gonna try another izakaya place tonight, but when I walked up the place was dead. So I thought, what are my options? I knew there would be ramen places nearby, so I pulled out my phone and surveyed the scene.

Lo and behold, what did I find -- Orochon Ramen! This place has a bit of a following since it is both really good, but it was also highlighted on a Travel Channel show called Man v. Food not that long ago. A main draw for the show was the Special 2 ramen.

This is an extremely spicy ramen. And I think if you actually finish an entire bowl you get some kind of special prize. I am not that loco, but I did want to push it a bit and I ordered Impact - Orochon 3. It would have been better if I didn't start with a couple small dishes -- the spicy scallops and the cucumber with miso -- but hey, I was hungry. Both dishes were good, but the ramen is very filling. Especially when all the broth is combined with a couple big Sapporo's.

You can choose from 3 styles, miso, soy sauce and salty. I chose miso.
I can't imagine what salty would have been like. I'm already gonna have to double up on my blood pressure medicine after that meal.

And all the prices are cheap, around $6 to $7. Same for the small plates; mine were less than $4 each. I also added tofu to the ramen ($2 extra), but it obviously comes with ramen noodles and veggies. I thought it also might come with pork - since the menu said that - but mine didn't. Just as well since I know it was not happy pork.

Now doesn't that look good?

And the spice level didn't kill me. It was hot, but not so much it wasn't enjoyable, But for sure, as I made my way down to the bottom of the bowl it did get hotter - or liquid lava as my fellow ramen eater next to me called it.

And even though I tried my best, I could not get all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It was a bit of heaven and hell, agony and ecstasy. I was so full, but the ramen was so good. I didn't want to stop, but I had to. I did make it pretty far. I would highly recommend this place if you're out in LA for any reason. It's on the 3rd floor of a little mall called Sutton Court - has a lot of other restaurants - at the corner of 2nd Ave and San Pedro.

I wish I knew of a place in the metro area that did ramen like this. Given the low price of serving ramen, I bet it would do well. I read the other day in SS Singular that Langano is losing its lease. Is there any way a ramen place could take it over?? If so, I would be one happy man.

Two quick items of note

First off, some news outside the 'hood but still pretty close -- a very good vegetarian eatery in Langley Park, Udupi Palace has lost its lease and is shutting down. I believe this may be taking place at the end of the month. If you need a fix from Udupi you only have a couple weeks to get this done with a short drive, otherwise you'll have to haul yourself out to Chicagoland where they have two other locations. Or if you're just jonesing for Indian cuisine in general, you can always hit the vegetarian Woodlands or Udupi's sister restaurant, Tiffin, both located in Langley Park. And let's not forget Ghar-E-Kabab right here in SoCo.

Next, wanted to alert folks that Charlie Koiner, our local SS farmer is being showcased in a short film at Silverdocs this year. Charlie was actually on the front cover of the Montgomery Gazette today talking about his big screen debut. The short will air three times, the first one Tuesday night, June 22 at 9:00 pm outside at the Silver Plaza on Ellsworth. If you miss this one you can also catch it on either June 25 or 26.

Glad to see Charlie is gaining some notoriety, just hope it doesn't go to his head and he raises his prices. I just can't pay more than $1.50 for green onions. OK, see you there.

Taking one for the team - my lunch at FS1

Well, that sums it up pretty good. And I know I am not alone in thinking this given all the chatter about Fire Station 1 on ThayerAve.com.

I concur with many people who are seriously disappointed about our new addition to the neighborhood. Some of it is forgivable -- waiters who seem unclear on beer/food, the service perhaps being a little slow, and the kitchen not getting things quite right yet. But others are not in my book. First, FS1 still calls itself a brewing company when it is not brewing anything, and worse than that, a lot of what they are serving is some of the most generic beer around. Here's what was being offered today in bottle: Coors, Miller, Bud, Michelob, Heineken, and Corona. They also had Newcastle Brown Ale, but I don't find that very interesting anymore. As one might expect they did have H&L to offer too, but that along doesn't cut it for me. The taps were not that different -- Bud, Stella, Yuengling, and then two H&L varieties. My assessment of the beer selection: boring!!

My hope was that at least I'd have good beer to drink since I was not expecting great food, but now we have the mix of average food and boring beer. As people have already complained the menu is generic and very uninspiring. I know this place is not a chain, but man, it really does feel like it. What else can you say about chicken wings, queso sticks, wraps, pizza, burgers and sandwiches.

These dishes could be somewhat interesting if done right, but it appears FS1 is trying not to offend anyone with its dishes. I'm guessing these meals would fit in without anyone blinking their eyes at Ruby Tuesdays or TGIF. It's like they had a formula and they followed it without letting any creativity get in the way. This restaurant is a business plain and simple. To me it primary mission is to make money, not serve good food or provide good brews.

While food-wise I can only comment on my lunch and it was mediocre at best. A Caesar salad and a fried mahi-mahi wrap. The salad was fine, but not worth $7.99. The wrap was pretty much tasteless - not sure where the cajun aioli was or the pico de gallo. In addition, the tortilla which wrapped the sandwich was not that hot - even cold in some places. And check out the McCormick salt and pepper. Wow, this places takes their food serious!! Also my pint of Sam Adams was $5.50, a little too steep in my opinion. I could see $5.00, but would prefer $4.50. It is only Sam Adams. To accompany my beer I had a glass of soda water -- $2.39! Not acceptable for carbonated water.

The office worker who was sitting next to me asked how my wrap was and I told him. I think I convinced him to get something else, but he never had the chance since no one wanted to take his order. He waited patiently and then finally left. I bet he ate better elsewhere. Maybe he got a gyro!

Not sure what else to say about the place. I do not expect to be back unless the place gets a serious makeover. I typically grade on a sometimes pretty easy curve when restaurants are walking distance to my house, but this place still gets a failing grade.

And for those interested in the World Cup, FS1 does have 4 big TVs behind the bar, but not surprisingly the bartenders did not know if the games would be televised. Even if they are, I bet the muzak will not go away, so no volume on the games. Just head a block north on the Avenue to Olazzo. They already have their World schedule out on the street.

All right, I need a $1.25 pupusa to make things right again.

Hay pupusas en el barrio! Ole!

After a prolonged hiatus I am back. Had a good trip - spent part of it in Spain and will blog about that later - but am glad to be back in the hood. Even though I write this email from the west coast (another work trip).

Looks like I missed a lot in my absence -- the Nicaro fire, wonder what's going on there? Also a lot of pollo news with Nando's on the way and Mr. Chicken planning to roost right next to Velatis on Georgia Ave. We also have FS1 getting pretty close to throwing its doors open to serve us beer and some grub. Certainly a lot of chatter on this place. Will anyone go once they do open? People seem to have already formed serious opinions even before they've had a sip of beer or a bite of a burger. While my hopes are not sky high, I will certainly give them the benefit of the doubt and give them a try to see what they have to offer. Hope I can do that this weekend.

But in other SS food news, wanted to let folks know that Charlie Koiner's downtown farm has plenty to offer at always good prices. If you don't know Charlie, his little farm is at the corner of Easley St and Grove St -- just one block east of Fenton. While my pic of his signage to alert folks what he's offering at the moment leaves a bit to be desired, I will tell you he has kale, spring onions, lettuce, bok choy and if you get lucky - strawberries! While walking the dogs the other night we happen to notice Charlie had strawberries for sale ($5 per quart) so we high-tailed it over there and picked some up. Talk about sweet and good. Topped them with a little whip cream and it was an excellent dessert. Hope you can tell how good they look.

And since I haven't mentioned anything as it concerns pupusas, I did want to make sure you all were aware about the pupusa truck we now have in the hood. It is called El Salvadorena Pupusa. They have set up shop in the county parking lot right across from SS Towers in between Easley and Bonifant.

I will say the ladies who run this truck are not at this location all the time. We tried to get a handle on their hours and thought we were told they are there - todos los dias - from about noon to ten. But we've walked by a couple times this week during those hours and no truck. So, not really sure what to tell you. But if you're in the hood in the evening and can easily walk by, or swing by in the car, it is worth it if you'd like a good -- and inexpensive -- pupusa or tamale. And also don't mind eating in the parking lot or your car (aqui), or maybe taking it home if you live close by (para llevar).

Our first trip landed us one cheese pupusa and four bean tamales. All good. I have not often seen bean tamales and these were very tasty. Also, the cheese pupusa was not greasy at all. The items were served with some nice salsa and latin slaw. All this came to $6.50. Can you believe it? I wasn't planning on having this for dinner that night, but hey, you can't argue with good Salvadoran food. And for those looking for beef, chicken or tongue, they had that too. Hope you can find them and throw them a little business. Just be aware, little to no English is spoken. But food speaks for itself, right?

OK, that's all I have for now. Will be back soon with a review of Jackie's and her new chef. Maybe see you at FS1 this weekend!