DC Weekend 5/20 - 5/22

Day Zero:
It was already midnight by the time I got to Bethesda so there was no chance of going anywhere exclusive. V met me at her door and we proceeded to find a respectable enough bar that was still serving food. American Cafe seemed sparesely populated, but the loud music drew us in and before we knew it, we had sat down on the restaurant's large white couches and had ordered some appetizers. I was pleasantly surprised at how quick the service was, and our food was definetely above average. V's vegetarian pasta with asparagus was quite tantalizing, and after taking in my surroundings, I felt fairly comfortable ordering a drink or two while we waited till my smoked chicken quesadilla arrived. The guacamole was fresh and the salsa tasty. All in all, my expectations for grabbing a quick late night snack were amptly met and I got the warm welcome that I expected!

Day One: Latino DimSum

Cafe Atlantico is now officially my favorite restaurant in DC! Their state of the art cuisine and outstanding ambience really does for me everytime I visit the nation's capital. I stumbled upon it when trying to find good brunch places for Easter Sunday when I last visited, and I simply could not resist not going again. Having studied their website the day before I made my journey made me look forward to their Latino DimSum Brunch held only on Saturdays and Sundays, and I was not disapointed.

Although I had initially expected I'd be in time for the Chef's tasting, V and I didn't quite make the 2pm cutoff, and so we proceeded to order from the brunch menu:

Sweet Potato soup with Mexican Cream alongside the Potato and Vanilla mouse with american caviar.

The Sweet Potato Soup with Mexican Cream was an absolute delight, with its rich flavor soothing our taste buds. Our next sampler, the Jicama-arugula rolls with quinoa, corn pomegranate and cabrales cheese was similar to a very fancy vietnamese summer roll, except without the strong sweet tamarind sauce that usually overwhelms the palate. My Potato and Vanilla mousse with American Caviar had a exotic twist where I tasted the slightly savoury potato over the sweet vanilla flavoring of the cream mixed with the bulbous feel of the caviar. I was grateful my tongue could actually distinguish each ball of the caviar so that I could mix the tastes together. I had hesitated before ordering the duck confit with passion fruit oil, but when Rami joined us, I knew his love for meat and wild fowl would come in handy once I had had enough of the duck. Never disapointing, he obliged my request to finish the duck while I tucked in to my last plate: the salmon-pina ravioli with scallion sauce. Every portion of food was so carefull thought out, that I couldn't help marvelling at the precision at which each plate had be created. I could really get used to nouvelle cuisine, and I am hoping next time, I get there before 2pm to try the Deluxe tasting.

Day One: Jaleo and Mie N Yu

Having joined us later during brunch, Rami was still hungry and he insisted on going to Jaleo for a few more tapas. The food was alright, reasonably priced, but after enjoying the previous meal so much, I just couldn't help thinking how inferior Jaleo was to Cafe Atlantico in almost every way. I made my judgement in guilt, knowing that if I wasn't so full, I probably would have enjoyed the Jaleo prepared tapas with more gusto.




The interior of Mie N Yu: We sat in the Tibetan Lounge
Mie N Yu however was a complete surprise. After having shooed away by the ushers at Neyla, this fancy upscale mediterranean joint in Georgetown, V and I searched persistently for something upscale yet low key. We stumbled upon Mie N Yu at the corner of M street in Georgetown. The interior was fantastic and the particular room we got to sat in was the Tibetan Lounge. Pink walls adorned with beaded curtains and hanging lamps were part of the exotic experience. For an appetizer we shared some banana pesto hummus, and V proceeded to order only a side item for dinner, wheras I went a bit fancier and got the Wild Striped Bass.



Wild Striped Bass with seared chinese long beans, black sticky rice with roasted corn saffron and black truffle sauce.

It was succulent and light. The seared long beans really added a rough texture to the smooth feel of the fish. The black sticky rice was something I had never tried before and was unusually sweet. The roasted corn saffron and black truffle sauce complemented the bass as well. We topped off the meal with a caramel apple "eggroll". This was one of my first adventures trying "Silk Route Cuisine" - which basically encompasses food originating from Morroco to China.




Dessert: A caramel apple "eggroll"