EF’s first Nats game, taking a baby to Nationals Park
EF has been wanting to go see the Nats for about eight months now. Since her bedtime is about an hour after a 7:05 opening pitch, we took her to a day game. As it turns out, taking a baby to see the Nats is pretty convenient. The stroller parking worked out great, and we got EF a neat First Game Certificate at Guest Services after the game.
I got a beer and a hog dog, and EF got a new lil girl lil girl hat.
As it turns out, EF is good luck; The Nats came back to win. I think Big F might have had more fun than lil.
Unfortunately, EF’s mojo couldn’t do anything for the USMNT, who got whooped by Jamaica. We cried on our beef patties, jerk, etc. from Caribbean Plate.
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Crab on crab on crab
After having some of HB’s soft shell crab pad thai the night before, we went out to Pizzeria Orso and had crab pizza (and a negroni). We did this despite knowing we had plans to get crabs with Lil’ the next afternoon.
Taylors hooked us up as usual.
We went to see the O’Gs before their lil girl was born. Notice HW’s cool hat made specifically for shooting (no nub on the top for when one wears ear protection).
We went to Ted’s Bulletin with Lil’ and then again with CK. I can’t get enough of that place. The chicken and biscuits are delicious.
After watching a little world cup while HB was in Target, we smoked some very interesting cigars that constantly changed. Practically each puff tasted different; it was wild. Later, I made some coconut crusted tilapia, and we had a very delicious rose.
LB was given her first kids menu.
She had her first taste of meat.
While I was doing the stay at home mom thing, we had a picnic.
And I finally got around to hanging the last of her nursery decorations.
Now we’re headed out to Tim’s Rivershore for more crab.
Updated to include more crab:
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Weekend update
This week my Mom had a birthday. We also left LB at home to go out to DC with friends. They recommended Kapnos, which is greek and #24 in the Washingtonian top 100 restaurants.
When in Rome…
The food definitely lived up the hype. We sat in front of the rotisseries, so we had to order the pork, lamb, and baby goat.
Blackened octopus and fried cheese…
It was great to get out and catch up with friends, and the food was amazing. On Friday we enjoyed the lil city.
We went over to sweet rice for dinner. The menu has all our old favorites, but has been updated with some new stuff. The soft shell crab pad thai was killer.
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Peggy Hill’s Frito Chili Pie (with Wolf brand chili), and Apple Brown Betty, Recipes and Pictures
It was nice out, so we had the family over. Despite being a HUGE King of the Hill fan, I’d never considering making any of Peggy’s famous recipes (though, if you’ve had spaghetti and meatballs, you’ve had spa-peggy and meatballs). My wife had to make a pie for work, but wanted it to stand out from all the other pies. I suggested Peggy Hill’s Frito Chili Pie (with Wolf brand chili). You can’t make Frito Chili Pie without Peggy’s Apple Brown Betty for dessert, so I looked up some recipes, and got to cooking.
The beauty of Peggy’s recipes is that they are very simple (but don’t tell her I said so). The apple brown betty is basically 8 or so chopped pieces of white bread, four cored and sliced granny smith apples, brown sugar, butter, and if you’re fancy like Minh, nutmeg (and I also added cinnamon and cardamom).
Frito chili pie is even easier. Canned chili (Hank specifically references Wolf brand), fritos, shredded cheddar, and thats it. The can calls for onions which I didn’t buy, but I did add sour cream which wasn’t suggested.
Since I couldn’t find any Alamo beer, I bought Shiner.
I like simple American food. For instance, I’m all about steak-umms and hamburger helper. Even so, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the chili pie and apple brown betty. I made them as a bit of a gag, but sometimes, you can’t beat simple and easy.
To make Bobby jealous, I have some fruit pies to enjoy with my leftovers…
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Catchup
Over the weekend, HB and I watched the black cats lose over a nice brunch at Public House No.7. Then we got an ice storm. Getting EF to LeBeef and FJ’s was treacherous, but we made it, thanks to their innovative walkway.
After FJ was done with his soak, HB and I had a quick breakfast at OHOP.
Then I took advantage of a slow work day without EF, and put together a jumperoo, and went for a reckless two mile run. It wasn’t ideal conditions, but I needed to get my wind up for the hunt this weekend.
I also made a shotgun patterning board, as explained here.
EF isn’t quite tall enough for it yet, but she loved the jumperoo.
Later in the week, I made some kimchi fried rice with Ryry’s homemade kimchi.
I also thought I’d mention how much I’m digging my new cell phone case from Wm Lamb. I loved my old one so much, I just got the new version.
I’m headed to West By God tomorrow (weather dependent) for a hunting trip with the guys. I’ll post about it when I get back, but in the meantime, follow me on twitter: @bonvivantva
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Snow Day, Saffron Indian Cuisine
We had yet another snowday up here in Virginia. We’d just had a chimney sweeped, so it was the perfect time for a fire.
EF got in a little tummy time by the fire, but mostly just put her feet up and relaxed.
I grabbed an ice bucket (courtesy of Pam-l-a and WinnDixie), filled it with some snow, and then popped in a bottle of bubbly (courtesy of Ryry and Jojo).
I took a look at our netflix options, and found out we only had one disc (for those reading in 2016, see wikipedia), which was The Hundred-Foot Journey. You can’t watch a food movie on an empty stomach, so we braved the cold and headed out for some grub.
EF is getting nice and fat off that mommie milk, but we made it to Saffron Indian Cuisine. We had been to the previous restaurant in the same location, and found Saffron to be at least as good, if not better than its predecessor. The decor is unchanged, there seems to have been little staff turnover, and while the menu is different, the food is very good. We had the lunch buffet, but I hear that dinner is also great. My friends over at the NOVA Restaurant Blog had similarly superlative things to say about Saffron.
I’d definitely check out The Hundred-Foot Journey after a nice meal at your favorite Indian or French restaurant (bonus points for Indian-French fusion). It was a great movie, and a great way to end a fun day. As much as EF enjoys walks in the snow and watching the snow fall, I’m about ready for spring.
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Wildfire, How to order a martini
The other day we all went out to Wildfire in McLean. I’m not sure why I like Wildfire so much. The food is good but not great. I think its more because the restaurant feels like stepping into a time machine. It pulls off the 40s supper club vibe that other steak houses can’t. The service is always good, and they know how to make a cocktail. When ordering a cocktail, I usually go for something with bourbon as its base. Growing up, I knew that Bond like martinis. I also mixed some martinis up at Christmas parties Sally Draper style. However, I never really fell in love with the martini. It might be because the Bond style of Martini (vodka, shaken) isn’t really to my taste, but more likely, its because I didn’t really like olives all that much until later in life. Eventually I developed a taste for olives and gin. The martini still isn’t a usual order for me, but at Wildfire, it just feels right.
So let me give credit where credit is due. A while back, I heard a buddy order a martini, and realized I didn’t really know how. Its definitely something every gentleman should know, so I did a little googling, and realized its much easier than I thought. The number of steps in ordering a martini varies, as one can leave some out if its one’s preference. First, you need to decide between vodka and gin. Then, if you want, you can specify how much vermouth you want by ordering it dry, perfect, or wet. Martinis are already typically served pretty dry by historical standards, so by specifying that you want a martini dry, you’ll get a very small amount of vermouth. I prefer not to specify at all. Next, you can specify whether you want the cocktail shaken or stirred. If you opt not to specify, it will likely be stirred. I won’t get into the differences between shaken and stirred martinis here (google has a plethora of information on the subject). I will way that I do not specify when ordering, but do prefer my martini to be stirred. Next you have to decide if you want your martini served up (in a typical martini glass) or on the rocks (in a tumbler with ice). Why anyone would order a martini on the rocks is beyond me, but to each his own. Finally, you can specify the garnish (olive, onions, a twist, etc.). Depending on how elaborate your own personal martini order is, it may serve to impress your guy friends, but alienate business associates and eharmony dates. (consider your company). The martinis pictured were ordered: “Gin martini, up, three olives.” It can be as simple as that.
While on the topic, I’d also like to mention how well Wildfire does the quintessential steakhouse meal: martini, wedge salad, red wine, steak. They offer a bone-in ribeye, which is my favorite cut, and it can be ordered as rare as you want (literally, as they will even cook it blue). When ordered rare, it still comes with a decent char.
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McCormick & Schmick’s private booths, EF’s first restaurant, HB’s first oysters in months
Over the weekend, Candy and Parker came to visit so Parker could get a checkup. While there were up, we went out to McCormick & Schmick’s in McLean (Parker is doing much better). I love M&S’ private booths because they’re intimate and I’m not a big fan of crowds or noisy restaurants. They’re even more convenient when you have a newborn without shots during flu season, but need to entertain out of town guests.
We started out with a couple dozen oysters and a bottle of prosecco. HB got down as she hadn’t indulged since getting pregnant. Parker and I also had our fair share.
EF had the milk. I went with the shark, which CK told me was not sustainable, but it was delicious.
The next day, FJ whipped up a nice breakfast, and we opened some prezzies. I got some beer from Burley Oak Brewing Company which I was very excited about. I decided to try the barleywine.
It was quite delicious, and even better out of my new mug. Thanks again!
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Downton is back
Pour some scotch and kick back.
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New Years Eve Playlists
First off, I’ve got a NYE mix. It starts off with some songs to ring in the new year. You always need some Auld Lang Syne for a midnight kiss and singalong. Then I’ve also got a couple for us Virginians. Then the middle gets a little party-ish. Finally we come back to a more traditional Hogmanay tune.
Then I’ve got a Caviar mix. When I’m feeling bougie around the holidays, I like to pop a bottle of champs, pull some vodka out of the freezer, and have a little caviar. When indulging in the finest roe the caspian/black sea has to offer (or more often than not for me, farmed in Florida or somewhere) I like a little music. I’ll start out with some traditional Russian folk, and then as the vodka starts kicking in, speed things up to get the feel of bottle service at the Moscow discotheque.
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