Ted's Bulletin

I'd been wanting to check out Ted's Bulletin since I read about it on some food blogs a few months ago. Recently it's felt like if a new restaurant wasn't opening in my neighborhood on 14th St., it was opening somewhere on the Hill. This casual, upscale diner is the latest addition to Barracks Row, on 8th St., SE.

I finally got the chance to check out the new restaurant on Sunday evening of Memorial Day Weekend. Upon entry, I was immediately charmed. The art-deco accents, which were taken from an old Philadelphia Convention Center, transported you back in time. The first area you see is the bar -- where plenty of folks had popped in for traditional (or "adult" -- with booze) milkshakes or other old-timey beverages, like a can of Schlitz.  There are a couple small TVs hanging in this area of the restaurant, outfitted to look like retro sets with bunny ear antennas, playing old movies (in this case, it was "Some Like It Hot," which very much pleased my company, the Cangany siblings, who have a soft spot in their hearts for this movie).

Past the bar is the dining area, which is a relatively small space filled with cozy booths. This room boasted a faux-film reel projector that also played "Some Like It Hot" on a bigger wall. The room had a large skylight, which was great while the sun was still out, but the room got fairly dark by later in the evening (which explains my lack of food photos).

For dinner, I ordered the meatloaf, something I'm always drawn to, mostly because I didn't ever have traditional American meatloaf until I was in college so there's still a bit of novelty value when I see it on a menu. The serving size was generous - two large meat patties, probably 3/4" high. The meat itself was tasty - it had a nice spice and flavor accents from a mixture of onion and red peppers, all topped with a classic ketchup glaze. For my sides, I ordered the mac 'n cheese (deliciously creamy) and brussel sprouts with blue cheese & bacon. Both were solid sides to accompany my plate o' meat.

My two diningmates both ordered Ted's famous grilled cheese & tomato soup, because you have to try something that's called famous in a restaurant that's been open less than a month. Also, grilled cheese & tomato soup is delicious.  This one didn't disappoint. The toast was thick, but not greasy, and the tomato soup was slightly creamy and incredibly flavorful (in fact it reminded me a lot of the tomato soup I get from the prepared foods section at Whole Foods...).

We ended the meal by sharing a strawberry milkshake. It was standard, but delicious. Thick enough to spoon, if you wanted to, but liquidy enough to drink through a straw. And in true diner fashion, we were given the entire shaker filled with the leftovers, so it was a huge portion and I was sufficiently stuffed.

All in all, Ted's Bulletin is a nice dining experience - if only for the decor/atmosphere. The food was good, but not outstanding, and it seems like the service still has a few kinks to work out. Upon being seated, rather than being told about daily specials, or recommendations, which one might expect, we were told what they were out of (a handful of entrees) and no longer even offered (the roast chicken, which was still on the menu). Also, many of the blogs I read talked up Ted's "breakfast served all day," which is also prominently stated on the menu, yet the first thing I was told by the hostess was that this was not the case. 

Our server -- when posed with the question about what kind of cheese was in the grilled cheese -- answered with, "I uhhh, yeah, I think it's American blended with something." When he realized he should probably check, he came back to tell us it was, in fact, only American cheese.

Much of this seems like basic new restaurant service stuff, so one can only hope within a few months Ted's will have worked out all these details -- or at least updated their menu to reflect any changes! I'm not sure I'd travel back to the Hill for any particular menu item, but if I lived in the area, I'm sure I'd make more frequent stops into Ted's for a quick bite or to grab a shake.

More images on Flickr.

Vietnamese Stuffed Tomatoes (Tomates Farcie/Cà Chua Nhồi Thịt)

One of my favorite meals growing up was my mom's stuffed tomatoes (more commonly referred to as "Cà Farcie" in our household).  The dish, while Vietnamese, is inspired by France's longstanding influence and relationship with the country (hence "Tomates Farcie"). Usually this is something I eat when going home for a casual family dinner, but this week I finally decided to make it myself!

Shopping for the ingredients was very simple: about a pound of ground pork, 3 beefsteak tomatoes (you could probably use vine-ripe or other tomatoes, but I liked beefsteak for their size, which made them easier to stuff), and one yellow onion. All the seasoning I already had in my pantry: salt, black pepper, nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce) and sugar (this is Kim's tip - to offset the tartness of the tomato!).

First, dice the onion into small pieces and add it to the pork in a large bowl. Then season the meat with salt and pepper. If you like, you can add other ingredients to the meat at this step -- other recipes/versions of this dish include cellophane noodles, mushrooms and other seasoning.

Next, halve the tomatoes and remove everything inside, leaving only their shells. Set the filling (seeds, juice, chunks of tomato) aside to use for the sauce.

Fill the tomato halves with the seasoned meat. Heat a large skillet with oil, then cook the tomatoes, meat-side down, over medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes until meat is browned.

As the stuffed tomatoes are cooking, heat the tomato filling in a pot over low heat until the tomato chunks become soft. Depending on how saucy you like your food, you can add a can of tomato sauce (or whole tomatoes, if you prefer a chunkier sauce) at this stage. Add salt, pepper, about a teaspoon of sugar and a few dashes of nuoc mam to the sauce and season to taste.

Flip the stuffed tomatoes once they're cooked, then pour the sauce over them and simmer everything over low heat for another 10 minutes or so.

Serve over white rice* and be sure to scoop enough sauce! For maximum deliciousness, break the stuffed tomato up into bite sized pieces and mix it well with the rice. Trust me, it's worth it.

*The white rice isn't really in line with my healthy eating, but for a dish like this, you really can't skip it. In fact, I scarfed down two bowls before I knew it... oops.

More images on Flickr.

Congrats to the new grad!

My family spent this past weekend in beautiful Charlottesville to celebrate my brother's graduation from Darden. I love going back to UVA. To me, it's like a little slice of paradise. The quick 2-hour drive down from DC always allows me time to reminisce, and strolling around town always brings back great college memories. I even managed to sneak in two of my favorites -- breakfast from Bodo's and an Ednam sandwich from Bellair Market -- to complete the visit.

Though the weekend's forecast was not ideal, somehow the ridiculous downpour that persisted much of the weekend managed to dodge the lovely graduation ceremony as well as a beautiful post-graduation gathering at DelFosse Winery on Sunday night. Sometimes I think it's so funny how weather works out that way.. like it knows when you need to it be sunny and dry, if even for a moment.

It was a busy but wonderful weekend with family and a great celebration of Huan's new bright and shiny MBA! Congrats, bro.

The New Pornographers love D.C.!

I was delighted to read in a recent Pitchfork interview that A.C. Newman of the New Pornographers considers our nation's capital his favorite city to play. Sometimes I feel like D.C. and the surrounding region gets a bad rap for its musical fanhood since well, our music scene is not New York's or various other cooler, hipper places. Plus, we have horrible venues with horrible names like Nissan Pavilion Jiffy Lube Live.

So the fact that our city got a special shout out definitely warmed my heart and made me love the New Pornographers a little more today.

I had the pleasure of seeing the band play at the 9:30 Club a couple years ago, with Okkervil River as the opening act. Not a bad lineup, if you ask me. I've never been a diehard NP fan and have actually always thought their members did better things as part of side or solo projects than as a band (for example, I love everything Dan Bejar/Destroyer has done far more than any New Pornographers album) . That said, they always have those handful of songs that stay stuck in my head. And, their power pop is a great soundtrack for summer. Ironically enough, one of my favorite New Pornographers song is not really power pop at all. It's a lovely ballad with a weird and quirky video. I know I should be probably be talking about their new album, "Together," but too bad, I'm plugging "Challengers" instead.

(Image courtesy of Glide Magazine)

Sunday night comfort food: Spaghetti Carbonara

I've recently committed myself to improving my diet and exercising more, which so far has been working out pretty well (despite the fact that I was feeling the burn after a fairly easy 2-mile run with Molly this morning). However, Sunday nights -- and the weekend in general -- are usually an excuse to fall off the wagon, so I've stuck with hearty and satisfying recipes for Sunday night comfort food dinners. After all, diet starts Monday, right?

This week I decided to make a recipe that Kim sent me a while back -- Tyler Florence's Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Ingredients-wise, I followed the recipe exactly. However, on Kim's suggestion, part of the process was altered in order to account for the egg -- the very essence of a carbonara -- and to prevent the possibility of the dish turning into scrambled egg pasta.

Basically, it went like this: Set up your pot of boiling water for the pasta. As you're waiting for it to heat up, cook the bacon til it's crisp, then add the garlic and set it aside (off the heat). Meanwhile, once the pasta is in the pot, set up the egg mixture -- 2 beaten eggs mixed with the parmesan cheese. Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the bacon mixture and mix well.  Finally, add the egg slurry to the pasta.  By now, the food will still be hot, but the pan itself should have cooled enough so that the egg won't scramble.

Finally, season with salt and black pepper and garnish with fresh parsley.  While the process/timing initially intimidated me (after all, Tyler calls this an "intermediate" recipe! Haha), this was actually an easy meal to prepare. It was my first stab at carbonara and I'll definitely be making this again!

More images on Flickr.

Happy Birthday, Avery!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my adorable cousin/niece, Avery!

Seems like only yesterday she was a just a little baby...Here's a quick and amateurish (gotta love MS Paint) photo flashback. The always-fashionable Avery really started a trend with her Lincoln Log hat. How time flies!

John's Famous* Honey Whole Wheat Bread

John received a Cuisinart bread machine for Christmas, and we've since been trying to create the perfect loaf. I have aspirations to make real homemade bread, but the "set it and forget it" setup of this machine makes it pretty convenient and tough to turn down.

However, it's taken some trial and error to get the bread right. I know what you're thinking - if it's set it and forget it, what's there to learn? Well, for starters, the "optional" step of removing the kneading paddle mid-way through the process should be considered mandatory, otherwise it's impossible to remove or cut around once the loaf has solidified.  Secondly, slicing the bread is like an art. Use a knife too dull and you won't put a dent in the crust; use one that's too sharp (or serrated) will shred your bread up into chunks more suitable for dipping in olive oil than for constructing a sandwich. 

Anyway, the loaf that John prepared recently was the best yet. While the slices weren't perfect, the loaf turned out in a good shape, the bread itself was cooked uniformly, and it kept fairly moist versus some drier loaves we'd ended up with in the past. However, keeping the bread from drying out after a couple days has proved difficult. So what's the secret to perfect bread machine bread? I wish I knew! Anyone have tips or tricks for the perfect loaf, every time?

  

*This bread is probably only famous in our household.

Stream It: New Band of Horses

Great news! Band of Horses yesterday advertised via Twitter that their new album, Infinite Arms, is available to stream via the band's own streaming webpage before its official May 18 release.

Infinite Arms is the band's third full-length album, but their first major length debut (Columbia Records), so it should be interesting to see what they've come up with and whether they've lived up to the promise of their first two Sub Pop albums, both of which I loved almost equally. For anyone who loves the echoes and reverb of My Morning Jacket or the hooks and guitars of the Shins will enjoy these guys. Much of it is lush and dreamy, and even if hearing "Funeral" will always make me think of that Ford Edge commercial, I'll forgive these guys because I love their music. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day/The Liberty Tree

I celebrated Mother's Day by treating my wonderful mom and the family to an early dinner at The Liberty Tree, which opened just recently on H St, NE.  It's a homey, casual and surprisingly small restaurant started by two guys who have roots in New England (including the former executive chef of Matchbox). As someone with a weakness for lobster rolls, this place was on the top of my list of new restaurants to try and I'd been excited to check it out since I first read about it.

We started off by ordering a bottle of the Trinity Oaks Pinot Noir. Liberty Tree has a pretty long list of wines, each available at the same rate by the glass ($8) or the bottle ($30). We picked the Trinity Oaks for its footnote that said for every bottle ordered, a tree would be planted. The wine itself was nothing to write home about, but at least the world will get another tree out of it!

The good thing about dining with a larger group (there were 5 of us) is that you can try so many different things, whether it's shared appetizers or exchanging entree bites. We began the meal with four starters: smoked whitefish spread, pigs in a blanket (Auddie's choice :p), littleneck clams in a butter sauce, and fried calamari.

The smoked whitefish was quite delicious -- not too fishy or salty -- and served with crispy crostinis. The pigs in a blanket didn't quite match the kind my mom made for us growing up -- the pastry was less flaky and the meat seemed a little too charred. However, the spicy and slightly sweet mustard it was served with made for a delicious combo. The littleneck clams were a tasty treat and I wished I'd had more bread to sop up the savory butter sauce that appeared to have red pepper flakes for some added kick. The calamari was pretty standard, though we found some of the pieces to be a little soggy rather than crispy and crunchy.

Onto the entrees! I obviously had to get the lobster roll. When I found out "market price" was only $15, I was pleasantly surprised, but when the roll arrived at my table, it made more sense. It seemed slightly smaller than other lobster rolls I've gotten before, though I suppose for the price, it was a respectable portion. The lobster itself was delicious -- large chunks not overly mayo'd and paired perfectly with a buttery bun. The housemade hand-cut fries were crisp and complemented the dish well.

My mom ordered the lobster and scallop pot pie, which was fairly creamy and rich, but with a decent portion of seafood (versus vegetable/other filler). It was a good dish for a few bites, but I think the whole portion may have been a little heavy for one person.

My dad chose the roasted cod on my recommendation. I'd read some good reviews about it, and when it came out, it looked great! Unfortunately, it seemed the cook had a heavy hand with the salt because it was little too salty, for all our tastes. It seemed to be a dish that on most nights is a hit, but wasn't executed perfectly this time around.

John tried out one of the restaurant's non-seafood items with the eggplant lasagna. It was an interesting dish, conceptually -- no actual pasta noodles, simply the eggplant layered with cheese, mushrooms and basil. The tomato sauce could have used a little extra flavor or kick and seemed a little bland up against the rest of the dish's ingredients.

Finally, Auddie had the fried cod sandwich. It was very large as sandwiches go, essentially two big pieces of cod layered between a soft bun. Paired with just the right amount of tartar sauce, a bite of this sandwich really hit the spot for me.

Though everyone was pretty stuffed, we decided to end the meal with a shared dessert of the seasonal fruit crisp - pear & apple, served with vanilla ice cream. A nice ending to a filling meal and a great mother's day celebration!

While Liberty Bell didn't fully live up to all of my expectations (which, admittedly, were high), it was still solid fare in a nice atmosphere and a place I'd recommend if you're ever in the H Street area.

I'll end with another Happy's Mother Day wish to my super mom and all the other moms out there!

More images on Flickr. 

Happy Birthday, Gramps!

Happy Birthday to my Ong Noi, who just turned the big 9-0! My family celebrated his 90th birthday with a huge and delicious family dinner last night. One secret to his health and happiness? A steady diet of 2 buck Chuck. Cheers to my Gramps!

Happy Friday: Great Day for a Deal!

I love walking to work (the walking part -- not necessarily the work part!) on a perfect spring morning -- especially when it's Friday. This morning became even better when I opened my inbox to find out today's LivingSocial deal was something I not only wanted for myself, but to share with everyone I know.

I'm assuming those of you who already subscribe to LivingSocial may have seen this already, but today's deal is not to be missed! They're offering $50 worth of food and drink for only $25 at Kushi, a great new spot for Japanese/Sushi over in the CityVista (5th & K NW) area. John and I checked it out recently and really enjoyed our experience. We sat at the grill bar and enjoyed both small, traditional Japanese dishes (Izakaya-style) as well as some sushi while we watched the chefs skewer and grill whole fish and other delectable treats right before our eyes.

The service was efficient and friendly, and the space is huge, so you won't have to wait forever for a table or feel rushed while eating. Anyway, I highly recommend Kushi to anyone looking for a new restaurant to try. Plus, the menu is so big you'll want to try everything... I already bought one coupon but may go back for more!

Click here for today's deal (but act fast - it's only available for 2 days) and have a lovely weekend!

TV preview: Friday Night Lights

After much anticipation, my most recent favorite TV show, Friday Night Lights, returns to NBC with its fourth season this Friday, May 7. To coincide with the season premiere, volume 2 of the original soundtrack was released yesterday, featuring some great artists like the Avett Brothers, Sufjan Stevens and White Rabbits (and of course the unforgettable FNL theme song).

Though it's now apparent me that a lot of my friends have always loved this show, it wasn't until the holidays that I discovered it for myself. I'd gifted the season one DVD to a couple relatives (based on recommendations alone), and once my brother declared something along the lines of "Friday Night Lights - best show ever" after only a couple episodes, I had no choice but to check it out.

Thanks to Netflix instant streaming, I was able to catch up on all three seasons in no time, all while quickly falling for my favorite characters - Eric & Tami Taylor (the best married couple I've ever seen on TV -- in fact, sometimes it saddens me to think that Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton aren't the Taylors in real life), and of course, my favorite football-playing cowboy, Tim Riggins.

I'm looking forward to this season to meet some new characters (like Michael B. Jordan, better known as Wallace from The Wire!) and to find out what happens with all the old ones. How will Tim fare in college? What's Matt Saracen going to do if he's not going to Chicago anymore? What about Coach Taylor and East Dillon? Eeee, I'm so excited, especially because the summer is usually such a dull time for new TV. Plus, now I'll have an old-lady excuse to stay in and have cozy TV Fridays on the couch!

Sunday night comfort food: Chicken Parmesan

On Sundays, since I have a few extra hours to think about dinner, I almost always like to make a homecooked dinner and my mind usually strays to comfort food.

This week I decided to return to an old favorite - Chicken Parmesan. I'd prepared this before, but served it on Italian sub rolls to make it into a hearty sandwich.  Tonight, I altered my recipe slightly, drawing from what I had available and what I'd read from a number of recipes.  I also served the chicken over angel hair pasta instead doing the carb-heavier sub roll.

The main difference in preparation was my use of panko breadcrumbs instead of traditional breadcrumbs. Panko, simply a Japanese breadcrumb, serves the same purpose as your everyday breadcrumb, but is lighter, flakier, and makes whatever you're cooking more crispy and textured. I happened to have a leftover batch of seasoned panko breadcrumbs from a previous recipe I made. The preparation was as follows:

In a small pan, melt 2 T butter over medium heat until foamed. Add in leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 T Dijon mustard, and 1 T finely chopped parsley. Remove from heat and whisk vigorously. Add in breadcrumbs, toss to combine, and set aside.

I threw in some oregano just to add some Italian flavor and that was about all the seasoning I needed. The closest overall recipe to match what I prepared is probably Bobby Flay's - he keeps it very simple and straightforward, and also uses panko.

While this dish involves lots of steps (and plates/bowls/cooking space), it's only comprised of a handful of basic ingredients which makes it an easy meal to prepare. Also, there's a ton of flexibility with how you prepare the dish and what you want to add. Tonight, the only thing I had to get from the store was the chicken breast cutlets; everything else I already had in my kitchen (yes, it was lucky that I already had mozzarella cheese and fresh parsley sitting around). Paired with a glass of wine, this is a perfect Sunday evening meal that leaves you with leftovers for the coming week!

More images/preparation details on Flickr.