Washington DC

I was recently in Washington DC for a friend's bachelor party (game over, Josh!). 

Of course, amidst the festivities, I was able to check out some of the fine local establishments in our nation's capital!

Ray's Hell Burger

My hotel was in Arlington, and there, I met up with an old friend that I've known since fifth grade. Jessica, a very talented journalist, suggested Ray's Hell Burger, a popular burger joint that gained a lot of renown after President Obama took Russian president Dmitry Medvedev there for a meal in 2010. I have no clue why it is called a "Hell" burger...

Perusing the menu, my eyes continually fixated on the "Fat Joe," a burger featuring some insanely luxurious toppings such as balsamic glazed foie gras (a hefty torchon of it, in fact), crispy shallots, a thick slice of tomato and a drizzle of white truffle oil.  Ultimately, I had to go for it.

My assessment? It's rich... very very rich... Undoubtedly, it is delicious. But it also leaves you with a lingering sense of guilt for the rest of the day. Gluttony, after all, could get you sent to hell.

The Gibson

I love speakeasies. They stand as tributes to the secret drinking establishments that popped up in the 1920s in response to the passage of the 18th Amendment. Often semi-hidden, dark and intimate, speakeasies now stand as tributes to the art of making a proper cocktail, whether it be old-school or new.

We're blessed in Cleveland to have one of the best: Velvet Tango Room. If you're ever in Cleveland, check it out.

Anyway, it was awesome to randomly stumble on the Gibson, which hides behind a non-descript door in the U-Street district, nestled amidst loud bars and clubs. It's a welcome oasis where people can chill, listen to good music, and drink well-crafted libations. While I would give the edge to Velvet Tango Room as they do a better job with the old-school drinks, The Gibson has some really fun new drinks. Moreover, it has a fantastic ambiance... probably one of the best in terms of my tastes.

Ben's Chili Bowl

Of course, no culinary tour of DC would be complete without a pilgrimage to Ben's Chili Bowl. This institution has a long and storied history as a cornerstone of the U Street district, and many luminaries, ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to President Obama.

At this point, I should address the fact that our current President is quite the foodie. If this isn't already evident from the fact that the First Lady's initiatives often revolve around promoting healthy/local eating, one only needs to look at the list of restaurants he has given his approval. He knows his food. And supposedly it has boosted the DC food scene. This NY Times article is a fun read.

Anyhow, Ben's Chili Bowl is a very popular late night destination, and man, those half-smokes hit the spot after a night out on the town. What impressed me most was the quality of the half-smoke itself. Half-beef, half-pork and smoked before getting a nice char on the flat-top, the sausage is meaty, juicy and incredibly satisfying. Most hot dogs probably couldn't compete with strongly flavored condiments like chili, mustard and chopped onions, but the half-smoke dominates the flavor profile and it's wonderful. 

I tend to be a fan of meatier chilis, so the more watery chili served here wasn't as impressive to me.

If you're in DC, be sure to visit this fantastic landmark!

Other

I got to visit some other cool places, including Granville Moore's (a Belgian establishment located in a former physician's office) and DC Brau (a popular local brewery that seems to host weekend cookouts that are well-attended.) However, I didn't have great pics of those places... so sorry for not having more to say about the.

-JK

Cleveland Finds: One Red Door

One Red Door

Fans of "Cleveland Finds" have probably noticed my predilection towards more casual eateries. This will be different.

Cleveland is actually home to a great deal of wonderful higher end dining experience. Off the top of my mind, Lola, Dante and L'Albatros are all fantastic restaurants worth trying. However, my personal favorite place for higher end dining in the Cleveland area has been One Red Door. I think it doesn't get as much press as these other restaurants because it's located in the beautiful town of Hudson, about 40 minutes away from downtown Cleveland. But I think the ambiance and quality of the food is competitive with these other restaurants, if not superior. Also, the prices are better than the afore mentioned restaurants. 

One Red Door offers two ways of eating: you can construct a meal simply from the many appetizers and small plates. Or you can just go for a larger plate. Jane and I split the difference, starting with an appetizer before getting a huge main plate.

 

Crispy Manchego Cheese - So freaking good... Possibly one of the best things I've eaten so far this year. The honey and paprika on top really elevates this dish to incredible heights.

Ribeye - This contends with the rib-eye at Lola as the best steak I've had in Cleveland. Crusted with a porticini mushroom crust and cooked absolutely perfectly, it had a crispy crust and a melt in your mouth tenderness. Moreover, since Jane and I were sharing, they split it in the kitchen, a touch I appreciated. (the pic is of half a steak!!!) Sides of fried brussell sprouts and cannellini beans only added to the greatness of this dish. If you like beef, order this.

The menu changes seasonally, so there's no guarantees these dishes will stay on the menu (though they should). If you find yourself with a bit more cash or wanna impress some special someone, I highly recommend One Red Door. 

- JK

The rest of San Francisco.

Here are some other things I ate in SF.

Quick note: I had no pictures, but Comstock Saloon is excellent. It is an old school saloon that harkens back to the gold rush days. It serves excellent cocktails and has a really cool indoor balcony that has a live ragtime band. Food was OK, but expensive for what it was.

Boulevard

We, being the Khwargs, actually celebrated Jueyoung's graduation with two graduation meals. Celebratory meal #2 (aka Khwargs like eating) was held at Boulevard, a delightful French restaurant with an absolutely gorgeous French Deco interior. 

 Beet salad - served with a local goat cheese that was absolutely delightful.

California Lamb Prime T-Bone - served off bone after being roasted in a wood-fire oven, the lamb was perfectly cooked but lacked the gamy flavor I love in lamb. The ravioli, stuffed with rapini and shredded lamb shoulder, was amazing. Bursting with flavor, I wish they had a dish of just the ravioli!

Warm Maple Sugar-Crusted Angel Food Cake - My favorite dish of the meal. Usually, when the dessert is considered the best course, it doesn't say good things about the overall meal. But in this case, the food was fabulous, but this dessert was one of the best desserts I've ever eaten. Crispy on the outside and silky on the inside, the cake was mind-blowingly good, especially when combined with rhubarb.

Cocobang

Apparently, during his tenure in SF, Jueyoung has become quite the connoisseur of Korean bars. This was one of the establishments that he frequented, and I can understand why. An intimate room with a wall dedicated to screening Korean music videos, this place specializes in crispy, spicy Korean fried chicken that is the perfect thing to accompany the free-flowing soju and makgeoli (Korean moonshine). An awesome late night spot.

 Industrial Light & Magic

George Lucas's studios responsible for the special effects of everything from Star Wars to the Avengers, ILM, in Presidio, has a cafeteria with the best views possibly in SF. With its expansive windows, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge and Palace of Fine Arts as you enjoy one of the many dishes from the cafeteria. 

Thanks Frankie-hyung for hooking up us!

 

Pixar Studios

While perusing the internets, I noticed that an old friend from church was working for Pixar, the studio responsible for some of the best films made in the past decade, including two of my personal top 5 of all time. (Guess which ones?)

I wrote a message of congrats and was surprised with Tim offered me a tour. Of course, I pounced on the possibility. Tim, by the way, gives probably the best tours of all time. The guy's a pro.

Also, quick story... my sister in law almost got run over by John Lasseter, probably the most influential storyteller since Disney. We were a little upset she didn't bite the bullet and get hit lightly so we could meet the guy! (sorry Deborah).

Anyway, here is the fabled fridge filled with milk next to the cereal bar, stocked with about 30 different types of cereal. This is available for employees any time of the day while they are hard at work on the latest instant classic.

And here is a family portrait. I am so excited for Brave!!!

Thanks Tim!

-JK

Incanto (San Francisco, CA)

I can imagine no better way to celebrate any special occasion than with a huge chunk of meat. Law school graduations are no exception.

Inspired mostly by Anthony Bourdain (which should come as no surprise), we decided to check out the flagship restaurant of one of his good friends, Chris Cosentino. A big proponent of the head-to-tail movement and an evangelist of big, Cosentino has recently made news for his vocal protest against the impending foie gras ban in California. (link) 

While I have my own opinions on foie gras and the hypocrisy of targeting one practice that affects a small minority while the majority of animals destined to become food suffer far worse conditions, I don't believe at discussing politics at the table. So on with the meal.

Incanto Leg of the Beast Meal

Here is the set menu. Be forewarned: You need a reservation ahead of time and a party of 6-8 people.

We start off with a delightful salad of bitter greens and parm.

Next comes the antipasti, which Cosentino is well-known for. In fact, it's so good that Cosentino opened a store (Boccalone Salumeria) in the Ferry Building that features it in sandwiches. By the way, if you get a chance to visit the Ferry Building in SF, it's a foodie paradise. The meats were all fantastic.

Next came the accoutrements for the leg of the beast. They included toasted bread, whole grain mustard, and a knob of horseradish with a grater.

Sides include a beautiful dish of cannellini beans and cardoons, a relative of the artichoke that supposedly requires long stewing to get rid of its bitterness. Not a fan of cardoons.

And the star of the meal. A whole beef shank, long roasted, with a side of bone marrow for everyone. Oh man it's beautiful...

And here is the meat falling cleanly off the bone. The meat was absolutely delicious, a tribute to beef and the beauty of slow roasts. Especially when paired with freshly grated horseradish, the meat satisfies in a primal way. Moreover, it's just sexy to look at.

 

Dinner ends with a nice little dessert... though if you have room for it, you probably ate dinner wrong.

Overall, a fantastic meal that carried a wonderful sense of occasion!

Congrats Jueyoung!

-JK

Mission Chinese Food (San Francisco, CA)

My dear brother, Jueyoung, graduated from law school this summer, making him the first of us to finish his education. Of course, I had to be there to help him celebrate! It was a wonderful weekend for the Khwarg family, and naturally, it involved some epic meals. Here is one of the most memorable:

Mission Chinese Food

The first pop-up restaurant, Mission Chinese Food is the brainchild of chef Danny Bowien. Not having the resources to open his own restaurant, he made a deal with a random out-of-the-way Chinese restaurant to use their facilities for a limited time during the day. The staff shares the kitchen with the old, more traditional staff, who make mainly take-out food. It's frankly a pretty fantastic idea that along with food trucks have really expanded the possibilities for talented young chefs. To read more, here's a NYT article.

Mission Chinese Food specializes in modern Chinese food that is equal parts a celebration and subversion of the Chinese-American joints that can be found all over America. Applying Western cooking techniques, more impactful flavors and fresh ingredients to Chinese classic, this restaurant offers unique and powerful cuisine that challenged my views on what modern Chinese food can be. As an added bonus, a portion of all profits go to charity. 

Ma po tofu - One of my favorite Chinese dishes. Mission's take on this spicy tofu stew was unlike any version I've ever had... Generous use of tongue-numbing Schezuan peppercorn elevated this dish to new heights, making it spicier and more pungent.

Cumin lamb - a Schezuan classic that is another personal favorite. Here they use chopped up lamb belly with bones still in rather than the usual fillet. The cut of meat is perfect, as it gives the dish a meatier and fattier flavor than usual that is tempered with a heavy dose of cumin. Delicious.

Pork belly - crispy and unctuous. This was as delicious as can be expected, though it wasn't as unique to me as other dishes.

White person taking a picture of an asian taking a picture of food.

Here, I will mention the smoked veal ribs, which were so amazing that I forgot to take a picture. These were easily the best thing I ate during my entire trip to SF. Imagine the best Southern BBQ beef ribs you've ever had, then make it more tender and fatty and douse it in a Chinese sweet&sour sauce... and you'd have only part of an idea of how delicious these were.

Thrice-cooked bacon - This struck me as a Chinese-take on the traditional Korean rice-cake stir fry. Surprisingly, rice-cakes were the star of this dish over the bacon, which was not crispy like I expected.

Kung-pao pastrami - I'm not sure how I feel about the use of potato slices. On the one hand, it gives the dish more body and texture, yet it also causes a loss of focus from the idea of parodying "kung-pao." Pastrami isn't very assertive, which also affects the power of this dish.

Overall, I think this is a must-try in San Francisco, a city filled with "must-tries." Mission Chinese Food offers a unique vision for the future of Chinese food that is innovative and delicious without sacrificing the essential Chinese quality of iconic dishes.

One note - some in my family felt the food was too greasy. I personally believe it goes with the whole idea of playing off of the Chinese-American food genre, but you've been warned. I am craving smoked veal ribs now.

-JK

Cleveland Finds: Fat Casual BBQ

Fat Casual BBQ

Sometimes, photos just don't do justice. I can think of no more of an egregious example than here. Simply put, despite the crappy picture, Fat Casual BBQ is the best BBQ I've ever had, and I've eaten a lot of BBQ in my life.

This is the real thing. Everything is smoked slowly in a hickory wood fueled apparatus till the meat is so tender, it seems to melt. The guys in charge of the establishment clearly take their art very seriously, and seem to still be exploring their boundaries. They will essentially BBQ whatever they are interested in at the moment that tastes good. They've smoked lamb, venison, alligator, etc.

For example, the last time we visited, it was near St. Patrick's Day. So corned beef was on the menu. The smoking process gave the usually blunt saltiness of the meat a more rounded depth that made it much more palatable, even when eaten without bread. Also available were newer additions like chicken salad (hand pulled BBQ'd chicken made into salad form).

Better though are the standards: brisket, turkey, pulled pork and sausage. My favorite is most likely the turkey. Turkey! I never would've dreamed turkey could beat pulled pork and brisket, yet it does here. Tender and moist, the meat exudes a strong turkey flavor like I've never tasted before. But honestly, everything here is amazing. Definitely try it.

Oh, and the sauces. There's like 10 of them, all home-made. All delicious. The sides are also made from scratch. Definitely get the beans. Amazing.

It is a bit far from downtown Cleveland... about a 30 minute drive south to Macedonia, OH. But it's worth it. I myself have made the drive many times to get one pound containers of brisket, pulled pork and turkey. Pack them up with some ramkins of sauce and a side of coleslaw and you have the makings of the best sandwiches ever.

-JK