Shake Shack @ Dupont Circle

The famous Shake Shack have been opened for over 1 year now in DC. I have passed by it couple of times but never had the chance to try it, and finally did over the weekend.   

I had a single Shack Burger and the BF had the Shack Stack.  Let's talk about the Shack Burger first.  It comes with American Cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and topped with Shack Sauce.  To be honest, I didn't really taste the Shack Sauce that much, and also don't know what is so special about the sauce.  The patty was good, the lettuce and tomatoes was also fresh, and the best thing I like about it is the hinged bun which helps hold the burger together so it didn't get messy at all.  The hinged bun is probably the only advantage I see Shack Shake over Five Guys, otherwise I would rather save myself $1 and get the little cheeseburger from Five Guys with unlimited free toppings which I think taste comparable to the Shack Burger.  I am speaking from memory since the last time I had a Five Guys burger was probably over a year ago, so maybe it's only fair if I do a side by side comparison.  But I did eat a lot of Five Guys burger in my life since there is one right under my office. 

While the Shack Burger didn't make a deep impression, the Shack Stack Burger made quite a noise.  The Shack Stack is a cheeseburger with a fried Portobello Mushroom filled with melted cheese topped with lettuce, tomato, and Shack Sauce.  The fried Portobello with melted cheese is fantastic, I would say that it's the highlight of the burger, and it definitely bumped it up to the star level.  You can also get the Shroom burger which is your vegetarian option with the Portobello Mushroom as your burger patty.  This is also a cheaper option to the Shack Stack which cost almost $9.  It is kind of pricey but if I were to go to Shake Shack, I would definitely order this with no hesitation. 

We also ordered the fries and a chocolate malt shake.  The fries were excellent.  It was not greasy at all, but I still like Five Guys greasy Cajun Fries a little more.  On the other hand, even though it is called "Shake" Shack, the shakes were a little disappointing, I could not taste the malt at all.  Johnny Rocket and Potbelly's malted shakes are way better than Shake Shack's.  Next time, instead of getting the shake, I will get the ShakeMeister, which is brewed by Brooklyn Brewery exclusively for Shake Shack.      

BTW-feel free to comment if you think Shake Shack is better than Five Guys or vice versa, I want to know what everyone thinks.

Graffiato by Mike Isabella

Last week, one of my food buddies took me out to Top Chef Mike Isabella's (also former Executive Chef of Zaytinya) Italian restaurant - Graffiato.  Initially, I was given three choices, but I chose Graffiato at last and I am glad I made that choice because Top Chef Mike Isabella definitely lives up to the hype.

Roasted Pistachio

These Roasted Pistachio was a free snack, something for us to nibble on while waiting for our food. Pistachio lightly roasted with salt and old bay.

Flat Bread with Pepperoni Sauce

The famous pepperoni sauce which was featured in the actually Top Chef Show paired with soft pizza dough made into flat bread makes a perfect appetizer. When I watch these cooking show, I have always wondered if what they cooked was as good as they said, now here's your chance to see if Mike Isabella's pepperoni sauce is as good as Gail Simmons said it was.

Prosecco on tap

When I saw the Prosecco on the tap menu, I thought it must be a beer called "Prosecco" and they have it on tap..but when I asked the server and he said it really is Prosecco - your Italian sparking wine, ON TAP! Prosecco on tap is so good, the bubbles won't stop rising to the top, I wish I can get all my Prosecco on tap now.

Countryman Pizza

My bad for not taking the picture before the server smeared the egg all over the pizza, he was too quick.  The Countryman is a black truffle pizza with fontina cheese topped with a poached egg; it was delicious. I love truffle, and I love egg, and would never imagine to combine both of them on a pizza.  I highly recommend this if you like truffle.  The only complaint I have is the pizza dough, which was not as crispy as I would like it to be.

Crispy Lamb

The lamb was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, which makes the perfect texture.  The favas, olives, cucumbers, red onions, and yogurt combined to make an excellent seasoning for the dish.  I love this dish and here's my complaint for the dish: the portion was too small!

Blue Crab Fettuccini

Homemade fettuccini with blue crab, summer squash and arugula pesto.  The pasta was literally swimming in crabs.  In every bite you take, you will taste al-dente pasta with delicious crab.  Every ingredients on the plate was in harmony and I would love to have this alone as the entree, but I will probably have to get two orders to fill me up.

I was completely satisfy with our dinner at Graffiato, their food is definitely of high quality, and Top Chef Mike Isabella has all my respect.  There are other items on the menu that I wanted to try, so I will definitely come back another time.  I recommend Graffiato to everyone but make sure you bring enough money to pay the bill, it will be expensive.  With that remark, special shout out to my food buddy for taking me out, it was a wonderful meal :)

José Andrés' PEPE Food Truck

I know it has been a while since I have updated....my apologies for slacking, but I am here now, and I have an update!

Today, my usual lunch buddy ditched me for a lunch meeting, so therefore I decided to go out and try a food truck I haven't tried before.  This is the beauty of working right in downtown DC, everyday at the intersection of F St and 12 St near Metro Center, a troop of food trucks will hangout in that area during lunch time. Usually there are about 6-7 different food trucks parked in that area, and what a pleasant surprise, the famous Jose Andres' new food truck PEPE was one of them.

I initially heard about this food truck from one of my food buddies, then after reading a lot of good reviews online, I added it to my "To Try" list.  I don't know if it was because of the great selection of food trucks available at that spot today or if it was because of the higher prices of PEPE, there was no lines when I got there, so picking PEPE was a no-brainer.  I was curious what PEPE means in Spanish, so I did a quick search and found out that Pepe is actually a nick name for the Spanish name Jose.  So it make sense why Jose Andres named his food truck Pepe.

PEPE has a selection of Spanish influenced sandwiches, and some side items like daily soup and dessert. The average prices for the sandwiches are around $8-$11 but the one sandwich that gets everybody rumbling is the famous $20 sandwich - Iberico Pork, and the typical me will order that and not let the idea of spending $20 on a sandwich bothering me that much, but I read online that the Iberico Pork is extremely greasy (not that I would mind either), but my stomach wasn't at the best shape for greasy food today, so I decided to get something else and come back for the Iberico Pork at a later date.

I went with the Club Barcelona and Gazpacho.  On the menu it says that The Club Barcelona comes with bacon, sliced chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo, very typical ingredients, wasn't anything special, and I picked it solely because of the name...yes, I miss you Barcelona!  Anyways, I didn't really expect much from the sandwich, I just wanted to see what Jose Andres' version of chicken sandwich would taste like.  Now when I took my first bite, the first thing I noticed was how crunchy the baguette was, I would say almost like it was fresh from the oven. This sucks, because now I know if I ever get a baguette sandwich again, and it is not as crunchy and fresh as this one, I am going to be upset. I loved the baguette so much that I would eat it plain!  In fact, the gazpacho came with a plain baguette, kinda like bread-sticks, and it was drizzle with olive oil, and it was still super crunchy. So I am here eating this sandwich, and I just can't believe it only has chicken, bacon, lettuce and tomatoes...why? because it tastes so good and I know for a fact if I take all those ingredients and make the same sandwich, it's not going to taste anything like this.  So I started eating each ingredients by itself to find out what made the difference. The tomatoes and lettuce tastes like normal tomatoes and lettuce, I never expected more.  The bacon was very crunchy, maybe slightly thicker than your normal bacon.  Then I realized the sliced chicken and the mayo is the key.  The chicken was definitely marinated or seasoned with garlic and onion and whatever I can't tell, but it was very flavorful and tender.  The mayo was also mixed with something else, which I also can't tell, but it was not your typical mayo.  But I was just amazed how one can take such simple ingredients, layer them on a piece of bread, and the combination can be this tasty.  I am definitely in love with PEPE, and yes Jose Andres, I am going to spend $20 on your Iberico Pork sandwich, and probably everything else on the menu.  Actually other than the Iberico Pork which is ridiculously expensive, and I probably won't get it more than once, the other sandwiches are decent priced if they taste as good as the Club Barcelona.  It's decent priced consider other delis in DC sells their sandwiches for $7-$8 and no, they don't taste this good. So I will definitely return to PEPE and I will let everyone know how the rest of the sandwiches are.  Oh and the gazpacho was just ok, I have had better, in fact, the gazpacho from the Big Cheese Food Truck tasted better, BUT it doesn't come with the crunchy baguette...hmm...that's a tough decision for me to make...       

A&J @ Rockville

I wanted to write a review about A&J mostly because after all these years of going there, I have finally tried their breakfast menu which is only served on the weekend and with limited supplies only!

Sweet Soybean Milk

Other than coffee, soybean milk is definitely my favorite breakfast beverage.  I only like the sweet soybean milk, but the menu also offers a salty version.

Sticky Rice Roll

Just like the soybean milk, the sticky rice roll also comes in sweet or salty.  While I like my soybean milk sweet, I like my sticky rice roll salty (they balance the tastes of each other).  The salty version of sticky rice roll is made of Chinese bread-stick and pork or fish floss, wrapped with seasoned sticky rice.  The A&J version is good enough to suppress the craving but it's nowhere close to what I had before in HK or Taiwan. The sticky rice roll I love usually comes with egg and pickled mustard.  But other than making my own (which I have tried before), this is probably the easiest way of tasting one.   

Egg Wrap

Sesame Biscuit

The egg wraps and sesame biscuits are the other two breakfast entrees we ordered.  I was not a big fan of either one, especially the American version of egg wraps.

Beef Tripe with Hot Sauce

Let's talk about some of the regular dishes I always get at A&J, the spicy beef tripe is a MUST, and I am not even a big fan of spicy food.  The tripe are thinly sliced, tender yet still has the nice chewy texture to it. You will find yourself slowly picking at the dish and the next thing you know, it's gone already.

Pot Stickers

The pork dumpling is another dish I always get.  The skins are crisp pan seared, and the meat are juicy and well seasoned.  I dip mine in white vinegar but it's good on its own.

 

Bean Noodle & Chicken Salad with Sesame Sauce

Another typical Taiwanese small plate which I love, however I don't like the A&J version. Very disappointing.

Fried Pork Chop Noodle Soup

Their pork chop noodle soup is pretty good, and the large portion is definitely worth your money. This is one of the noodle soups I would recommend, my other favorites are all their beef/tendon noodle soup and their Dan Dan Mian (noodles in spicy and sesame sauce topped with peanuts).

Noodles with Ground Pork& Bean Paste Sauce

Not a fan of this one, it's a little bland to my taste.  It looks healthier than the other noodle soup though.

Biergarten Haus @ DC

I am sorry I have been neglecting this place, I have been focusing my energy on other aspects of life rather than blogging.  I really didn't come across any very memorable (worth blogging) food experience recently, but there are a few that I think have really good potentials, where I did have an enjoyable meal.  So I am just going to be really brief with these, I just don't want these hidden pearls to be forgotten!

This is Biergarten Haus on H ST, DC, they serve authentic German food and beer, even though I have never visited Germany personally, and I don't know how close the quality of food is to what's in Germany, but even if it's not as good, it must be pretty close!

Braised Pork Shank in Spicy Mustard Sauce

The pork shank is excellent, definitely one of the best pork shank I have ever had, it's tender and the mustard sauce goes very well with it.  For less than $20, you get this giant delicious pork shank, pretty good deal I would say. We actually ordered another round of pork shank at the end of the night, we just can't have enough of this shank!

Cured Fish platter

 A selection of their smoked and cured fish with capers, red unions, sour cream and bread.  A refreshing appetizer, perfect for group setting, especially when you are just hanging out with your good friends and good beer.

Three Wurst Platter

You can choose any one, two or three of their wurst for this platter, they serve it with potatoes cakes and Sauerkraut which is sour cabbage.  Unfortunately I can't remember which one I like the most, I just remember they were gone before I got a chance to see which one I was eating.

House Pretzel

The server recommended the house pretzel, and I trusted him and ordered it, however it turned out to be the weakest dish of the night.

German cheese dip

The German cheese dip was pretty decent, worth a try if you are looking for something different than your typical cheese dip.

If you are looking for a cool bar with awesome food and beer to hangout, Biergarten Haus is the place to go.

Biergarten Haus

Omakase Counter @ Sushi Taro

According to Wikipedia, Omakase means "I'll leave it to you" in Japanese.  The Omakase counter at Sushi Taro, hosted by the owner and chef of Sushi Taro - Nobu Yamazaki. Throughout this three hours long meal, Chef Yamazaki serves you his best dishes in his kitchen with elaborated explanation of the preparation and ingredients of the dish which makes it the most interactive and unforgettable food experience I have ever had.

The Omakase counter only serves up to six people every night, we made reservation a month ago to guarantee our spots.  The counter is actually behind the main dining room, separated from the rest of the restaurant.  We walked pass the noren curtain into the hidden counter next to the kitchen and there is Chef Yamazaki and his assistant waiting for us.

Plum Wine

Right when we sat down, Chef gave us their home made plum wine.  The plum wine was served with ice, it was sweet and refreshing. While we were enjoying our plum wine, we can't help but notice the fresh shellfish on the counter - abalones, scallops, whelks and oysters, we were so excited!

Sesame tofu served with sea urchin

The sesame tofu is freshly made everyday in the morning.   Sesame was used to make this tofu in order to create a unique texture and flavor.  It's more nutty and rich than your typical tofu.  The sesame tofu paired with the silky sea urchin was a perfect harmony.  I did mention before how Sushi Taro has the best sea urchin I have ever had right?

sea eel and sweet pepper tempura

Sea eel from Kyoto, Chef Yamazaki said that even though Kyoto is more inland than where this sea eel is caught, and usually the seafood that are caught near the sea were either sold or eaten near the cities on the shore, but this sea eel is one of the seafood that can survive the long ride to Kyoto and still retains its freshness, so this sea eel is very popular in Kyoto.  The sea eel was marinated with miso before it was fried, and it's really flaky.

Octopus Shabu Shabu

Wild Japanese octopus which has legs that are as tall as a person, the slices of octopus on the plate are actually the cross sectional cut of one of its leg.  For this type of octopus, even after it's dead, the nervous system still lives for another 3-4 days, so that's why even though sometimes octopus is cut up into pieces, they still moves.  The octopus can be served as sashimi, but for this time it was recommended to cook it for 5 seconds in the broth before we eat it.  This was one of my favorite dishes, the octopus was so crunchy yet tender, it's the crunchiest octopus I have ever tasted.

Chef's fruit plate

This delicately prepared fruit plate is full of surprises. Starting from the top left, we have marinated tuna cheeks in the small bowl, next to it is a real fresh chestnut in fake chestnut shell recreated with noodles and fish cake.  Right under the chestnut starting from the right is one of the plums from the house plum wine, steamed and coated with syrup.  Then we have the fake persimmon which is really a half poached egg yolk in miso with edamame paste and dry fish eggs on top.  To the left of the persimmon, is a cured salmon roll, in the front, the water melon looking thing is really spicy fish roe on Japanese lime skin.  On the left of that is a duck sandwich with tofu cheese in between.  Last but not least, we have three ginkgo on the stick, stuffed with fish eggs and crispy crackers.  I really enjoyed all the items on the plate except for the plum, because of personal preferences.  My favorites are definitely the duck sandwich, the chestnut and tuna cheeks. 

Chef cleaning abalone

fresh abalone

Guess what time it is? It's sashimi time.  Chef Yamazaki showcased six full boxes of all the fish available for us today, over 30 types of fish, including a few types of salmon, tuna, white fish, shrimp, mackerel, and all the fresh shell fish on the counter. You name it, they have it. Chef patiently explained the different types of fish to us, where they came from, how they are special.  Then he asks each of us to tell him all the fish we wanted to try for the sashimi part. 

Sashimi set up: soy sauce with ginger, snow salt, and regular soy sauce with wasabi

Chef usually tells us what he recommends us to dip our sashimi in, depending on the type of fish, but it's up to us whether we listen to his recommendation or not.

Red Snapper

White Salmon

This is my first time having white salmon, apparently only 1/20,000 salmon has this genetic abnormality, therefore it's extremely rare.  It tastes different than traditional salmon, and the texture is more like toro.

Sea urchin

Second sea urchin of the meal, and trust me, it's not the last one. This time is dressed with sea salt, therefore no need to dip in soy sauce.

Buttery Saba

There were six types of saba offered to us, and this one is the most buttery one, so I decided to give it a try.  I love the fishiness of saba, this looks small in picture, but it's actually the biggest cut of saba I have ever had, I was surprised how much meat is under it once I picked it up with my chop sticks. 

Sweet shrimp

Hands down, the best sweet shrimp ever.  It's so fresh and sweet I  thought it's coated with sugar, but it's actually the natural sweetness of the shrimp.  Imagine the regular sweet shrimp we get at sushi taro which is really good already but 3 times better. The sweet shrimp was one of my favorite sashimi cut of the night.

Saba

Another cut of a different type of saba, this one is more firm than the one I had earlier.

Toro

Three types of tuna was offered to us, the lean meat which is your typical tuna, from the side of the fish, then there's the medium tuna slightly fattier from the back of the fish and toro, which is the fattest part from the fish's belly.  It's more marbleized than the other two types and melts right in your mouth.

fresh scallop

It's really amazing to see Chef Yamazaki takes one of the scallop from the shellfish bowl on the counter, opens it, guts it, clean it, seasoned it, and then put it right on your plate.

Bonito

Bonito sashimi grilled to medium rare, topped with radish, green onions with ponzu sauce.

Deep fried shrimp head

While we were enjoying our sashimi, Chef took the head of the sweet shrimp we ate earlier and deep fried it. It was so delicious, I can eat like five of these.

 

That concluded our Sashimi course, and Chef Yamazaki reminded us that at the last course of the meal, we will come back and do sushi, where we will get to pick our sashimi for the sushi part again. But for now, we are moving on.

Eel and pine mushroom soup

Soup served in a tea pot, the last time I had it was at Morimoto's restaurant in PA.  Chef Yamazaki said that the reason why he cooked the soup in a tea pot was to make sure the aroma of the soup can stay inside the soup.  This is a matsutake soup with sea eel, the broth is made with the bone of the sea eel, and the meat is used in the soup with the pine mushroom.  This is a perfect dish to follow the sashimi course, I really enjoyed it and it was really fun to drink as well.

Salmon jaw

salmon jaw with ponzu sauce and sweet pepper and garlic chip

Chef Yamazaki took two metal spoons and scoped out the fish meat from the salmon jaw and placed them in the bowl.  The jaw meat was really tendered, and only cooked to medium rare.  

Scampi on the grill

Grilled scampi

I enjoy eating all the shrimp that was served during our meal, it's so fresh, sweet, and perfect texture.

raw salmon roe still in the sac

It's still in the sac, so you can pick up all the fish roes at once

I admit, when this dish was served, it was really scary looking, it looked like blood.  Then Chef Yamazaki explained that this is salmon roe extracted from a fresh salmon, and he didn't remove it from the sac, and took the whole thing and marinated in sake then of course, served to us.  I have had salmon roe before, but never had salmon sac, the texture it's very different, the sac is chewy, it's actually pretty good, I liked it.

Chef Yamazaki

hand slicing fresh ginger for our sushi course

Sushi course set up

It's our second to last course - sushi.  The wet nap is for our fingers, because we are suppose to eat sushi with our hands.  The soy sauce and brush is for us to brush the soy sauce on the sushi so we don't have to dip our fingers in the soy sauce.  Before we start, Chef Yamazaki told us that this is the last course (before dessert) of the meal, so we can eat as much as we want until we are satisfied.  He brought out the six boxes of sashimi and asks us to tell him whatever we want to try, and he prepares them as we go.

Chef Yamazaki making my salmon sushi

King salmon

brushing on the soy sauce

flonder

Sea Eel

Japanese whelk with chopped liver on top

Wild Japanese Snapper

Sea urchin

Sweet shrimp

Abalone

tuna

I ate and ate until I can't put anymore food in my stomach, and I tried every fish I wanted to try.  I wasn't satisfied, I was beyond satisfied.  Looking at Chef Yamazaki delicately prepared every piece of sushi right in front of our eyes is truly a remarkable experience. 

Green tea pudding with dark caramel

fruit jello

For dessert, you can pick any dessert from the regular sushi taro menu, I decided to go with the green tea pudding and it was delicious.   It's not as sweet as your typical green tea pudding, because it's roasted green tea, and the dark caramel goes in harmony with the tea flavor.  I am glad it was dark caramel not regular caramel, other wise, it would be too sweet.

This is not a meal, it was a culinary experience. Thank you Chef Yamazaki for such an educational, eye-opening and mouth-watering dinner.  It was definitely every Japanese food enthusiast's dream come true.  Chef Yamazaki also gave us his personal business card at the end of the meal, and said if we want to come back next time, make the reservation through him, so he knows who it is, and we can request anything we want.  We are already thinking of coming back next year for another food ride of our life.    

Sushi Taro