"List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location."
TAFKA PP has rudely tagged me with the above demand in my temporary address in the States which I'm not happy about but seeing as she said such lovely things about me and I'm being nagged and haven't written for ever....
Disclaimer: In comparison with Israel, everywhere in this part of the States is really rubbish. Generally expensive rubbish too. I'm going to utilise a little bit of poetic license in my choices. There is one exception so far in terms of places to eat, namely my first choice:
1) David Chu's, Baltimore. Baltimore is a 40 minute drive late at night which is when I usually make my return journey. David Chu's takeaway closes at 10:00 - they don't like people like me who come in at 9:55 but still serve with grace. Run by Chinese, everything I've had off the extensive menu so far is tasty and comes in huge portions which are good value for money. A lot better than any of the other kosher Asian places that I've eaten at (albeit that's a limited list). Worth a drive to get to.
2) I'm a big fan of the Deli sandwich. Stuffed full of meat, served with mustard and pickle, the rye bread sandwich is something which Americans do well. Although Eli's in DC has an atmosphere, the grill section in Kosher Mart, Rockville, the kosher Supermarket around the corner from my office trumps them. The 3 meat sub with fries and coleslaw works for me, as does the corned beef on rye or chopped liver sandwiches. No style, plenty of overstuffed substance.
3) We've eaten plenty of pizza whilst we've been here. Ben Yehuda is closest and the owner is a lovely guy who is shortly making Aliyah. Mama Leah (again, close to the office in Rockville) probably takes the taste and originality test.
4) Now here's where I'm diverting from the script; not a restaraunt (quite frankly I've finished with anything worth mentioning) but a very honorable mention goes to Trader Joe's. The funkiest market you can imagine, with very reasonable prices with so much kosher stuff that they actually have a guide to Kashrut symbols on their website. Kosher meat, bread, pickles, cereals, olives, cheeses, chili lime tortillas, sun dried tomato Humus (great idea, tastes like glue but "A" for effort) - you get the idea. My very favourite product line from this store is their pizza dough - you buy a bag of dough (regular, whole wheat or garlic and herbs) which is enough to make a 10 inch pizza at the princely cost of .99c - this brings me neatly on to my last choice - the best place to eat in this part of the world.....
5) Chez Gilly - this (soon to be) Mom and Pop outfit, sources the best, freshest ingredients (including home grown herbs) according to what's in season and depending on what takes their fancy on any given evening. From roast beef to sushi, meatballs to moroccan fish (trying a new recipe for shavuot), the pizza with 2 cheeses, fresh mushrooms, sun-dried tomatos and marinated artichokes is a Sunday night staple. Baked goods by Mrs Gilly have to be tasted to be believed. Recently fresh asparagus has been on the menu along with a variety of fish experiments. Shabbat invitations liberally extended if you're in the area.
Other memes in this series:
Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Kat (Ontario, Canada)
Cheezy (London, England)
tafka PP (Jerusalem, Israel)
Gilly (Maryland, USA)
Chag Sameach,
Gilly
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sunday, December 10, 2006
The Aroma of Coffee
This article about where to go for coffee in Jerusalem on Ynet made me feel rather home sick. Some of the older places that it mentions tend to get overlooked for the flash of the new. Duvshanit always takes me back a few years with it's old fashioned (and delicious) cakes. They may not know from skinny, soy, fat-free, pumpkin spiced lattes but for a nostalgia trip you can't beat them.
My personal favourite place to go for coffee is Cafe Kalo which gets a good mention in the article. Situated on Derech Beit Lechem, close to our apartment, it's a favourite when we have the time to go for brunch on a Friday. When Mrs G senior is visiting we also tend to gravitate towards it and Mr Gilly Junior and his missus have adopted it enthusiastically. Sandwiches and salads named after local streets and imaginative breakfasts in particular, together with it's collection of mismatched furniture make it worth a look.
Derech Beit Lechem has plenty of enthusiasts - it even has a Facebook group dedicated to it. Whether you want to sit out in the garden at Cafe BeGina, enjoy homecooking Moroccan style at Rachel's Sandwich bar or go for the old staple Felafel at Ovadia (and various other options inbetween) it can't be beaten.
Missing home!
Gilly
My personal favourite place to go for coffee is Cafe Kalo which gets a good mention in the article. Situated on Derech Beit Lechem, close to our apartment, it's a favourite when we have the time to go for brunch on a Friday. When Mrs G senior is visiting we also tend to gravitate towards it and Mr Gilly Junior and his missus have adopted it enthusiastically. Sandwiches and salads named after local streets and imaginative breakfasts in particular, together with it's collection of mismatched furniture make it worth a look.
Derech Beit Lechem has plenty of enthusiasts - it even has a Facebook group dedicated to it. Whether you want to sit out in the garden at Cafe BeGina, enjoy homecooking Moroccan style at Rachel's Sandwich bar or go for the old staple Felafel at Ovadia (and various other options inbetween) it can't be beaten.
Missing home!
Gilly
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Inspiration from a familiar source
This week, Mrs G and I hit a milestone - 2 years of marriage have gone by in a whirlwind - it's hard to believe that it's been so long already.
One of the most obvious differences between Israel and DC is that we can't walk out of our front door to a choice of top notch kosher restaurants in a 5 minute radius. DC does have some fairly good eateries (including a drive-thru kosher Krispy Kreme - Mmmm!) but the conventional wisdom around the city is that you have to head to Baltimore (a 45 minute drive away) in order to really have a good meal.
True to form, Mrs G managed to locate the most exclusive place in town for our anniversary, found the menu to her liking and booked a table for two. I also liked the content of the menu, if not the prices, but a generous gift from my in-laws meant that we could splurge and not have to worry too much.
When I mentioned that I enjoyed food, quite a few of the locals had mentioned this establishment in hushed tones, and I was looking forward to giving it a shot. Its diverse and imaginative menu gave me pause for thought upon ordering and the extremely polite young waiter seemed very knowledgeable in recommending the various types of steaks (after we made it clear that we weren't interested in the fish specials). Ordering my sweetbreads I was salivating at the thought of my last outing at Gabriel's and hoping that I'd be similarly impressed.
During the short wait until our starters were ready, we cast our eyes over the slightly dated decor - very different to the ultra-trendy dark wood and steel which we are used to. The space there is however large enough to allow for not having to worry about knocking into the next table upon getting up to wash - a distance which was to be to our advantage as had we been forced to listen to any more than the occasionally louder snatches of gossip emanating from the party of married, expensive-sheitel-bought-by-their-mother-in-laws, shopping, exercise and children obsessed women on the next table, it would have certainly spoiled our evening.
The first courses were somewhat disappointing; the heavy sauce on the sweetbreads pretty much killed off their flavour and no matter how fancy a name you give the smoked salmon it still looks odd on a bed of canned sweet corn kernels. I did have high hopes for the main course however - the note at the bottom of the menu that they "are not responsible for well-done steaks" suggesting that the chefs know what they are doing.
The offering that emerged from the kitchen was an impressive looking 24 ounces of meat on the bone draped langurously over a plate which was also loaded down with chips and cooked vegetables. Presentation would have been better either on a larger plate or with smaller portions of the latter which, with a steak that size are clearly going to be pretty much overlooked. The steak was well cooked - a little bit too well cooked than the medium rare that I had requested but delicious nonetheless. Mrs G's Lady Steak was as rare as she loves (were raw to be an option she wouldn't hesitate) and though it appeared that she was struggling, she got her second wind and did it justice.
Dessert was out of the question - we were both well stuffed so we asked for the bill. Thanks to my very favourite waiter, I was aware that tipping rates in the US are a little higher than Israel!
So how does it stack up to what we have in Jerusalem? Despite being a good effort, I can think of at least half a dozen places in Jerusalem off the top of my head which can wipe the floor with The Brasserie at 1/2 - 2/3 the price. If I thought for 30 seconds I could probably come up with another half dozen. That's not to say that The Brasserie is bad; rather that Jerusalem has undergone a renaissance in the last few years. Gone are the days when you were limited to El Gaucho and Norman's. Increased competition has led to higher standards so that Eluna.com is inundated with a wealth of possibilities - reason enough to make Aliyah I think. The wonderful Baltimore Jewish community can't sustain a wide variety of kosher eateries in the same way as Jerusalem.
Were it in Israel, I wouldn't make a trip from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv for La Brasserie and if Eli's steaks turn out to be comparable we won't be going back in a hurry. Nevertheless, we'll give them a B for effort, for the varied menu and for the attentive service.
Gilly
One of the most obvious differences between Israel and DC is that we can't walk out of our front door to a choice of top notch kosher restaurants in a 5 minute radius. DC does have some fairly good eateries (including a drive-thru kosher Krispy Kreme - Mmmm!) but the conventional wisdom around the city is that you have to head to Baltimore (a 45 minute drive away) in order to really have a good meal.
True to form, Mrs G managed to locate the most exclusive place in town for our anniversary, found the menu to her liking and booked a table for two. I also liked the content of the menu, if not the prices, but a generous gift from my in-laws meant that we could splurge and not have to worry too much.
When I mentioned that I enjoyed food, quite a few of the locals had mentioned this establishment in hushed tones, and I was looking forward to giving it a shot. Its diverse and imaginative menu gave me pause for thought upon ordering and the extremely polite young waiter seemed very knowledgeable in recommending the various types of steaks (after we made it clear that we weren't interested in the fish specials). Ordering my sweetbreads I was salivating at the thought of my last outing at Gabriel's and hoping that I'd be similarly impressed.
During the short wait until our starters were ready, we cast our eyes over the slightly dated decor - very different to the ultra-trendy dark wood and steel which we are used to. The space there is however large enough to allow for not having to worry about knocking into the next table upon getting up to wash - a distance which was to be to our advantage as had we been forced to listen to any more than the occasionally louder snatches of gossip emanating from the party of married, expensive-sheitel-bought-by-their-mother-in-laws, shopping, exercise and children obsessed women on the next table, it would have certainly spoiled our evening.
The first courses were somewhat disappointing; the heavy sauce on the sweetbreads pretty much killed off their flavour and no matter how fancy a name you give the smoked salmon it still looks odd on a bed of canned sweet corn kernels. I did have high hopes for the main course however - the note at the bottom of the menu that they "are not responsible for well-done steaks" suggesting that the chefs know what they are doing.
The offering that emerged from the kitchen was an impressive looking 24 ounces of meat on the bone draped langurously over a plate which was also loaded down with chips and cooked vegetables. Presentation would have been better either on a larger plate or with smaller portions of the latter which, with a steak that size are clearly going to be pretty much overlooked. The steak was well cooked - a little bit too well cooked than the medium rare that I had requested but delicious nonetheless. Mrs G's Lady Steak was as rare as she loves (were raw to be an option she wouldn't hesitate) and though it appeared that she was struggling, she got her second wind and did it justice.
Dessert was out of the question - we were both well stuffed so we asked for the bill. Thanks to my very favourite waiter, I was aware that tipping rates in the US are a little higher than Israel!
So how does it stack up to what we have in Jerusalem? Despite being a good effort, I can think of at least half a dozen places in Jerusalem off the top of my head which can wipe the floor with The Brasserie at 1/2 - 2/3 the price. If I thought for 30 seconds I could probably come up with another half dozen. That's not to say that The Brasserie is bad; rather that Jerusalem has undergone a renaissance in the last few years. Gone are the days when you were limited to El Gaucho and Norman's. Increased competition has led to higher standards so that Eluna.com is inundated with a wealth of possibilities - reason enough to make Aliyah I think. The wonderful Baltimore Jewish community can't sustain a wide variety of kosher eateries in the same way as Jerusalem.
Were it in Israel, I wouldn't make a trip from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv for La Brasserie and if Eli's steaks turn out to be comparable we won't be going back in a hurry. Nevertheless, we'll give them a B for effort, for the varied menu and for the attentive service.
Gilly
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)