Rural Society

Fugazza

Rural Society,
1177, 15th Street, NW Washington DC 20005
Argentinian cuisine.

We went to the Rural Society in DC to try Argentinian cuisine. We mainly picked this place because we wanted to try a non-traditional (i.e. not Italian or American-style) pizza. We ordered  the fugazza, their traditional pizza. It was cheesy with lots of onion. The portion was small, appropriate as an appetizer. I enjoyed it and would not have minded if it was larger in size.

For starters, we also tried their empanada de espinaca. The empanadas were filled with cheese, spinach and was freshly made. We lucked out and were served with an additional complementary helping of empanadas (why?).

For the main course, we tried their steak and organic roast chicken.  The steak was good, while the chicken was pretty mediocre, especially for the price.

This was my first time at an Argentinian restaurant. Pricey and not worth it given the level of quality. Nice ambience overlooking an open kitchen. Although I do not have a benchmark to compare this place against, I would not recommend it.

A visit to Annapolis

Traditional lamb stew

Annapolis is both Maryland's capital and a great place to visit if you are a fan of simple but well executed American comfort food. By the virtue of its location on the Chesapeake Bay, lovers of seafood have a variety of options.

Annapolis is famous for its crab cakes, so they they were a priority when deciding among the many traditional southern dishes on the menu of Chick and Ruths Deli. The presentation was quite mediocre but the crab meat was worth trying for its freshness. Their pies were also popular, although we didn't try one ourselves.
We also visited two local Irish pubs. While I was personally not a fan of the chicken cottage pie and a traditional lamb stew at the Galway Bay Irish pub, it was certainly edible and seemed very authentic.

On a more positive note, the steamed mussels and mini-crab cakes served at Castlebay Irish pub on the main street was one of the best I have had in the United States.

Uyghur and Sushi fare in Northern Virginia

Spicy chicken

Queen Amannisa, 320, 23rd Street, South, Arlington, VA. 22202.

My first exposure to Uyghur cuisine. We tried their lamb stew, a big plate of spicy chicken with homemade noodles, and their traditional bread. Portions were large and easily shared by two. The bread was especially good. Both the dishes were well executed. Tolerable levels of spice - similar to Indian or Chinese cuisine. Reasonably priced for the location.

Takumi, 310-B South Washington Street, Falls Church, VA 22046. 

This is a sushi restaurant recently opened in Falls Church. Without claiming to be much of an expert on Japanese cuisine, I can say that the sashimi was fresh and best I have ever had. We tried their  tuna and scallop sushi rolls along with sake salmon rolls with mango puree. They were delicious. If I were to be critical, it would be of the small portions. However, I have found this to be true of sushi in general. Recommended for fans of sushi.

The spicy Marathi fare

Misal Pao

If you are traveling along the Konkan coast and in mood for some spicy cuisine, do yourself a favor and visit the city of Kolhapur.

Kolhapuri Mutton Curry

There you will find some of the spiciest dishes along the west coast of India. A reasonably priced restaurant of Hotel Opal will give you an authentic and non-pretentious Kolhapuri dining experience. I tried several  specialty dishes including mutton (goat) curry, mutton pickle, chicken and mutton fry, chicken malvani and pandra rassa (white curry). There were all outstanding.

If you want to test your tolerance for high levels of spice, I would recommend trying Misal Pao, another common dish found in the city's quick service establishments. This dish is prepared with a local bhel mixture, sprouts and a spicy red curry and is usually had with pao (bread). I tried this on several occasions, but my most fond memories are those served in dhabas (road side food-stalls).

The Mediterranean flavors

Seafood Paella

Panache restaurant, Washington DC
This restaurant specializes in French and Spanish tapas. The tapas menu is extensive, and includes both hot and cold tapas. My experience was opposite to the reviews I had read - I found the food disappointing relative to similar establishments in the DC region.

We tried several items - garlic shrimp and Manchego cheese, lamb rack and seafood risotto. I would not try any of it again. The lamb was probably the best of the lot - hard to go wrong if cooked well. The main courses had no flavor, just bulky portions that fill your plate.

Moving on to desserts, the creme brulee was good but tiramisu was sugar-laden and, similar to the entrees, bulky. Not recommended.

Ser, Arlington, VA

Garlic Shrimp at Ser

In contrast, Ser, an upscale Spanish restaurant, was fabulous. The food struck me as authentic to similar dishes that I had tried in Spain. The menu was not very large, but everything we tried was good.

With respect to appetizers, I tried their shrimp covered in olive oil along with manchego cheese and loved them. For the main course, we ordered the seafood paella. The quantity was such that it was easily shared by two people. This dish was delicious, and I could tell that it was cooked in a high quality olive oil. A little pricey but worth it. Definitely recommended.

Shrimp Sandorini

Shrimp Sandorini is one of my favorite Greek dishes that I tried making at home. A fairly easy dish to prepare.

Ingredients
1/2 pound wild caught shrimp
2 teaspoons diced garlic
1/2 finely diced onion
3 small diced tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup feta cheese
Fresh olives
Olive oil
Chopped cilantro (coriander)
2 tablespoons of lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Bay leaves (optional)
Green peas (optional)
Basil leaves (optional)
1 small cinnamon stick (optional)

Step 1: Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, olives and let them cook for 5-10 minutes in the white wine. If you would like to add some spice, throw in some bay leaves and a cinnamon stick.

Step 2: Add the shrimp, feta, lime juice and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste.

Step 3: Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Serve hot with rice or bread.

The rich flavors of South India

Chicken kebabs

Indian cuisine is as diverse as its population, a point which was driven home during a recent visit to Bangalore and Secunderabad, two metro cities of Southern India. During this trip, we partook in traditional breakfast fare such as masala dosa, idli, vada sambhar with a wide spread of different chutneys (coriander, peanut,tomato, and mint). 

At the Amanyana Spa resort in Coorg- a coffee-growing region of Southern India, a few hours from Bangalore, we dined on traditional Coorgi fare, including dark pandhi (pork) curry, coconut-based koli (chicken) curry, accompanied with akki roti (bread made of rice flour). The experience did not meet expectations. It was edible but not outstanding. However, to be fair, we really did not have a point of reference to compare this to any other Coorgi cuisine.  On a more positive note, we got to try steamed chicken momos (dumplings) at a food stall outside the Tibetan monastery in Kushalanagar. This is a pretty rare find in the South, so if you are in Coorg and curious to try momos, this might be worth your while.

Coorgi pork and chicken curry

Another Southern city we visited was Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad. Here, I tried the region's most famous Hyderabadi Biryani and kebabs - traditional dishes that incorporate Mughal, Persian, and Andhra flavors. Our culinary tour of the city included stops  at Royal Reve Hotel, where we enjoyed local takes on chicken kababs, and chicken dum biryani. These dishes were very well done and also reasonably priced, as compared to food in other metros. If you are here on leisure or work, you owe it to yourself to pay this establishment a visit.