April 2015 – ChefsGirl

Atomic Burger vs. Mooyah Burger

Posted on April 28, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

This past week I have been craving burgers like crazy! I found two burger joints off of Veterans Memorial that are both delicious and similar, but which burger had the best bite??

The Atomic Burger. Fresh ground beef. Special A.B. sauce. American Cheese. Dressed.

When I have a stressful day at work, I get into my car and drive home thinking “burgerrrr…”. A coworker recommended Atomic Burger as her favorite fast food burger joint so I drove straight to it. The patty was really fresh…even fresher tasting than some local, restaurant burgers. This is a neater-eating burger and doesn’t cause much of a mess. Atomic Burger’s menu is a lot more simplified and sometimes you just don’t want to complicate a burger. Every now and then, I just want my beef patty on burger buns with a side of fries and in that case Atomic Burger has my vote!

Rating: 3.5/5 spoons

Mooyah Burger. Double meat. Swiss. Dressed. Fried Onions. Mushrooms.

Mooyah isn’t too far from Atomic Burger and is located right next to World of Beer, where they have probably THE widest selection of beer. Unfortunately, the burger joint itself doesn’t sell beer so I couldn’t enjoy a cold one while I ate my burger, but that’s okay. That’s what the bar next door is for! Anyways, back to my burger, there’s the option for a double patty burger and on this particular day, I definitely needed a double. I have to mention that the service at Mooyah is a little lacking. The cashier at the counter wasn’t helpful or friendly at all. It wasn’t busy and there was only one person behind me. Regardless, the menu is easy to figure out. Mooyah also offers a variety of toppings. I ordered my classic swiss, fried onions, mushrooms burger. Everything was great, but I will say that the bottom bun is thicker and more pillowy than most burgers. The Mooyah Burger is a lot messier, but probably a result of adding a double patty and a multitude of toppings. I like the variety and options that Mooyah offers.

Rating: 3/5 spoons

So it comes down to, who has the better burger???

In this battle of the burger, Atomic Burger wins! Both burgers are great, but when it comes down to flavor and eatability, Atomic Burger’s patties are clearly fresher tasting and ergonomically pleasing.

French Quarter Festival 2015

Posted on April 22, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

French Quarter Festival has to be one of favorite food festivals of the year. This year, the weather wasn’t as optimal since it rained most of the weekend. Regardless, my cousin and I decided to trek our way through the wet, muggy weather for delicious food. Luckily, it wasn’t crowded and there were no lines…

Jacques-Imo’s Cafe: Slow Roasted Duck Poboy

This was the first thing that caught my eye as we approached the park in front of the St. Louis Cathedral. There’s usually more food tents setup near Woldenburg Park for the rest of the festival, but it was a Sunday and the rain was just unrelenting. I love Jacques-Imo’s Duck Poboys. It’s messy. It’s sloppy. But oh so good! They also have another restaurant called Crabby Jack’s, which falls under he Jacques-Imo’s family, that offers the same poboy in a more casual setting and in an industrial part of town.

GW Fins: Ponchatoula Strawberry Shortcake.

GW Fins is one of my top 10 seafood restaurants in New Orleans. However, on this Sunday afternoon at the FQF, they only had dessert options. Their desserts are always very classic and exactly what you’re looking for. They’re never “deconstructing” anything or trying to revamp any old classic recipes, which I love and miss. Too many places are “trying something different/new”.

Haydel’s Bakery: White Chocolate Kingcake Bread Pudding.

Oh my, what can I say about this except phenomenal! It doesn’t look like much, but it’s so moist and flavorful. My cousin and I shared this small little bowl no larger than the size of my palm. We should have each gotten our own. Good job Haydel! I’ll definitely be back and order a whole tray of this!

Tujague’s Restaurant: Chicken & Andouille Jambalaya

I’ve never actually been to Tujague’s, but I’ve heard great things. Unfortunately, this jambalaya was just OK. There was just too much “flavor” but not enough depth. I could taste all the wonderful herbs thrown into the mix, but possibly not the right proportion. I’d give this jambalaya 2.5/5 spoons because it was almost there. It just needs some improvement…

Mrs. Wheat’s Louisiana Foods: Crawfish Pie & Meat Pie

This was probably one of my favorite items at the Food Fest. Anything empanada-like or meat pie like just attracts me and this one in particular has the perfect flaky crust. It’s not too greasy and the filling is so well-seasoned. Other meat pies that you usually find in small convenience stores or gas stations tend to be dry with subpar filling, but this was amazing. Another plus is that I decided to order some to-go and it reheats very well. Where can you actually find it’s brick and mortar? It’s located in the St. Roch area of New Orleans, but the website isn’t working and there aren’t any photos on Yelp and I couldn’t find info on Urbanspoon. I’m speculating the place is very new, but I’ll come back for more and keep you posted!

DC Coast (Downtown, Washington D.C.)

Posted on April 21, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

Years ago, an uncle of mine visited Maryland and brought home THE freshest and most delicious crabcakes. I can’t remember where they were from, but while I was in DC, I had to try DC Coast…

Bottomless Mini Ciabatta Bread.

Seasonal Salad.

Crab Cakes. Comes with choice of sauce and sides. I ordered the Spicy Remoulade.

The building itself looks pretty fancy, but once inside, it’s more casual to dressy casual. Very fine service to go with the decor and quality of the food. The pictures don’t show it, but the bread was little mini ciabattas. Cute and buttery…mMmmm! It doesn’t look like much that we ordered, but the whole trip was just one restaurant after another. We at at maybe 3-4 restaurants per day so all I could fit were the crabcakes, but they were so worth it! Purely crab with minimal breading and hardy enough to finish the day off as dinner. One order of crab cakes costs $35 with choice of sauce and side. It’s a little on the pricier side, but well worth the bottomless basket and quality crab cakes. I’d definitely visit again for great service and good food!

Rating: 4/5 spoons

Toki Underground (Atlas District, Washington D.C.)

Posted on April 12, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

Toki Underground is one of the TOP ramen shops in Washington D.C.. I’ve heard so many great things, but I’ve also heard the wait can be up to 2+ hours. We went on a Friday at 11:30…probably not the most optimal time if you’re looking to avoid the wait, but we were craving ramen! The wait was about 1.5 hours and they setup a text message so that you’ll receive a text 5 minutes before they are ready for you. There’s not much to do around there and the neighborhood is slightly shady , but there are a few bars and places where you can grab a small bite (ha!) while you wait. We decided to hang out at a nearby Bagel shop and bar: Bullfrog Bagel.

1.5 hours later…

Limited Seating, but cool decor!

Fried Chicken Steamed Buns. Japanese Mayo. Sweet Chili Sauce. Seasonal Pickles. Herbs.

Special: Chicken Wings in a Vietnamese Fish Sauce Glaze.

Kimchi Ramen. Kimchi Infusion. Pulled Pork. Greens. Sous vide egg. Kimchi. Pickled Ginger.

For appetizers we had the Fried Chicken Banh Baos and Special Vietnamese Chicken Wings. The sides were great and made great bar food, but the ramen definitely was the highlight of it all…

I really enjoyed the depth and richness of the broth. There was more to this soup than a bowl of broth and noodles. I could taste the time and effort that was put in to create these multi-dimensional flavors. There were hints of ginger that I would occasionally taste with every other bite. Very refreshing. A unique feature was the sous vide egg. The egg is cracked perfectly poached into your bowl. If you request an extra egg, you can actually crack it into your bowl yourself. Instead of a normal hard-boiled egg, you get a soft-poached burst of yolky goodness into your ramen bowl!

Was it worth the wait? I’d say so! The wait can be definitely long, but I’ve had friends who have been seated immediately. I hear Tuesday through Thursdays are the slower days in case you don’t have 2 hours to wait.

Rating: 4.5/5 spoons

Cosi (Dupont Circle, Washington D.C.)

Posted on April 9, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

Cosi Club Squagel Breakfast Sandwich . Eggs. Ham. Tomato. Bacon. Cosi Squagel. Jalapeno Cheddar Squagel.

A local friend told me that Cosi had an awesome breakfast item…the Squagel. A square bagel. I didn’t think much of it when I heard about it, but when my fiance brought one back to the hotel one morning, I couldn’t help but want my own. The bagel or “squagel” is the perfect thickness for a breakfast sandwich. It’s not too thick and easy to bite into. He ordered the Jalapeno Cheese bagel and it was perfect. Be careful, because I bit into the bagel at a wrong angle and for a whole half hour, my upper lip was burning from the jalapeno spice. Besides that, it’s delicious!

Some reviews mention this restaurant having poor service, however, my fiance and I noticed they were friendly on both occasions.

I didn’t have a chance to try the rest of the menu, but it looked very similar to Panera Bread, with the exception of their delicious bagel/squagels…

Rating: 3/5 spoons (I’d go back!)

Bodega Spanish Tapas & Lounge (Georgetown, Washington D.C.)

Posted on April 5, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

A group of us were planning on going to eat someplace in Georgetown, however, they didn’t open late so Bodega was perfect! We had a fairly large group of 6 and it was about 10 o’clock on a Friday night. They were very accommodating with barely a 5-10 minute wait…

Plato Marinera de la Casa. Seafood Stew of Clams. Mussels. Shrimp. Monkfish. Saffron Broth.

Calamares Fritos con Ali-Oli. Fried Calamari.

Croquetas de Pollo. Crispy, Golden Chicken Croquettes.

Gambas al Ajillo. Shrimp. Garlic. Piri Piri Peppers. Olive Oil.

Patatas Bravas. Potatoes. Spicy Ali-Oli.

Fritura de Cazon Adobado. Crispy Shark Nuggets. Smoked Paprika Ali-Oli.

Bacalao a la Bilbaina con Lentejas de Leon. Sauteed Cod Filet. Leon Lentils. Garlic. Parsley. Piri Piri Pepper Sauce.

Mejillones al Vapor. Steamed Mussels. White Wine. Saffron Broth.

Paella de Pollo y Chorizo. Chicken and Chorizo Paella.

Squid Ink Paella.

I have to mention that on this Friday night, the service was a bit lacking. We didn’t get any recommendations and our waitress was just anxious to put our order in. Secondly, little things were constantly forgotten such as water refills and drink orders. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say she was having a bad night…

The menus were a bit extensive with a wide variety of tapas so some suggestions would have been helpful. In general, our tapas were just “okay”. We ordered the Mussels, Cod Filet, Crispy Shark Nuggets, Potatoes, Shrimp with Garlic and Olive Oil, Chicken Croquettes, and Calamari. Of those my favorites were the Calamari and Croquettes. Otherwise, everything else was just average.

Although some of the tapas were underwhelming, I have to say that the Paellas were amazing! My favorite and probably even the best paella I’ve had was the Squid Ink Paella. (I’ve seen some item posted on their online menu called the Sauteed Calamari over rice, but I believe this was under the Paella section when I dined in so be sure to clarify with your waitress.) From the pictures and description, it doesn’t seem very appetizing, but WOW it was so great that people were fighting to have more. The Chicken and Chorizo Paella was pretty good was well, but was overshadowed by the amazing Squid Ink Paella.

Bodega was definitely a good option for late night dining and decent tapas and the Squid Ink is a MUST have, but be careful of the sketchy service.

Rating: 4/5 (I would give a 3 for service, but the paella made gave it an extra spoon!)

Luke’s Lobster (Georgetown, Washington D.C.)

Posted on April 4, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

One of my last days in D.C. we decided to visit Georgetown and a friend in the group mentioned a great little place that had delicious lobster rolls. Why not right? The place isn’t much to look at from the outside. It’s just a hidden white building off of a side street. Once you’re inside, you immediately feel like you’re out to catch the lobster and crabs yourself! Very nautical! It’s a very small restaurant, but very well-decorated. It’s not the best for large groups, but they easily had enough space for the 5 of us upstairs since it was a Monday afternoon. I’m not quite sure what it’s like any other day…

Menu.

Welcoming and friendly face at the counter!

Chips and Allagash White Beer.

Lobster Roll.

Lobster Mac & Cheese. Maine Lobster. Maine-made white bread. Melted Gruyere.

We were greeted with a fresh face at the counter and she was extremely helpful. We ordered the Lobster Roll and the Crab Bisque (normally Lobster Bisque). I don’t know why, but “The Chef” and I ordered one roll thinking we could share it. We had been munching on small things from other restaurants all day (Cosi breakfast, DC cupcakes, etc.). We didn’t realize how AH-mazing the little “roll” would be! Maybe my expectations were low, but one bite of that roll and I was amazed at how you can have such a simple little sandwich and it just explode with so much flavor and freshness all at once. The lobster was fresh and the mayo was light and complimented it so well. To complete it all was the lightly toasted bun. Yum. Some of our friends felt they liked a more mayo-ey dressed lobster roll that they’ve tried at other restaurants, but I actually enjoyed the freshness of Luke’s Lobster Roll. Afterwards “The Chef” and I had to order something else so we ordered another Lobster roll to go and the Lobster Mac & Cheese to finish off the meal. It was pretty delicious as well. I mean, Lobster and Cheese! They chose Gruyere and I felt that was the perfect pairing…the lobster bisque made a great dipping sauce for it! Haha…

One item worth mentioning (not pictured) is the Clam Chowder. Best I’ve ever had! Fresh, chunky clams in a smooth, creamy chowder.

If you’re looking for a great snack or meal, Luke’s Lobster. Honestly, there was not a single miss. That’s all I have to say! There’s different locations so be sure to look for on near you!

Rating: 5/5 spoons

Shake Shack (Golden Triangle, Washington D.C.)

Posted on April 3, 2015 by chefsgirlnola@gmail.com

I’ve heard so much about this notorious Shake Shack with it’s delicious little burgers, originally from New York’s Madison Square Park, but there just so happens to be a few locations in D.C.!

Shake Stack. Cheeseburger with Shroom Burger all-in-one. Cheese fries.

ShakeMeister Dog. Shack cheddar and American Cheese Sauce. Crispy Shakemeister Ale Marinated Shallots.

I was initially confused when I bit into the Shake Stack and realized the first patty was a whole fried mushroom. It was juicy and lightly battered, but had such a great *crisp* in it’s bite. What makes a Shake Shack burger so delicious is their neat, yet hearty burger drenched in their Shake Shack cheddar and sauce. I ordered non-cheese fries thinking I wouldn’t miss out since cheese is just cheese…but boy was I wrong! I kept eating our friend’s cheese fries instead…

As for the hot dog, it was so good. I loved it’s smokiness and the marinated shallots on top. I debated on getting a Shakemeister burger instead, but my fiance and I decided to share a dog and burger instead to get a little variety. The shallots were so good…I could even eat those fried shallots if they offered it as a side.

Great service. Yummy burgers and hot dogs. Some of our friends did mention that the Shake Shack in NYC was more flavorful and juicy, but I believe it’s all subjective…Is it worth the hype? I’m not quite sure I’d travel far and wide for the burger, but I just might have to journey to NYC to try the original…

Rating: 4/5 spoons

ChefsGirl

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Atomic Burger vs. Mooyah Burger

French Quarter Festival 2015

DC Coast (Downtown, Washington D.C.)

Toki Underground (Atlas District, Washington D.C.)

Cosi (Dupont Circle, Washington D.C.)

Bodega Spanish Tapas & Lounge (Georgetown, Washington D.C.)

Luke’s Lobster (Georgetown, Washington D.C.)

Shake Shack (Golden Triangle, Washington D.C.)

Pages

Archives

Categories

WordPress

Subscribe