Hello from the land of omnomnivores!
Hi everybody! Sorry for the lack updates this week. I’ve been wrapped up with the usual ongoings of life, and haven’t had a moment to write up anything. Jen and I will be back in action next Monday, so check back with us then. Hope you’re keeping cool this week as we’re being blasted with fire and brimstone temperatures here in DC.
How about a Friday reader’s open comments post? Have a favorite recipe that you’d like to see done up paleo style? Or maybe a restaurant you’ve wanted to see reviewed? Let us know!
Primal Cauliflower Pizza Recipe
This recipe is a little bit different in that it doesn’t fall into my normal categorization or Paleo or Zone, but Primal. There’s a lot of writing on the Primal Diet out there on the interwebs, but it’s very similar to the Paleo Diet, with the inclusion of some dairy back in.
And guess what? Mozzarella is one of those dairy products. That opens up some interesting cooking techniques, one of which is a grainless pizza dough. I made a few batches of these, testing each one on Jen.
Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I got the recipe from, but I’ll provide my adapted version for you to enjoy.
Ingredients for Crust:
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 cup Cooked Cauliflower
- 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
- 1 Cage Free Egg
- 1 tsp Garlic Salt, Kosher Salt, or Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1/2 tsp Fennel
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Ingredients for Base Toppings:
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 cup Diced or Chopped Tomatoes
Directions for Crust:
- Turn on the oven and set to 350°F.
- Bring 5-6 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt to a boil over high heat.
- Add 2 cups of cauliflower to boiling water, cover, and let cook for 10-15 minutes, until cauliflower becomes slightly translucent and soft.
- Remove cauliflower from water and drain well. Move the cauliflower to a large mixing bowl, and proceed to mash cauliflower to smithereens with whatever you’d like. Potato masher, beer bottle, Playstation 3, or in my case, a large fork will do. The cauliflower doesn’t have to be mashed smooth like potatoes, but you want it to be mashed to where it’s slightly larger than the size of rice. Set aside.
- Add in the egg, coconut flour, and mozzarella cheese. Mix well. I found mixing it with my hands was easiest. Add in fresh basil, garlic salt, oregano, black pepper, and continue to mix.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and flatten the dough on the sheet to about a 1/2″ to 3/4″ crust. If you don’t have parchment paper, well, better stop here, because this recipe just won’t work. Just kidding. You can lightly spray or coat the pan with some olive oil, but parchment paper makes it a lot easier to transfer off the pan later on.
- Place your flattened crust into the oven, and let it cook for about 17-20 minutes. The crust should start to have some brown, crispy spots, but not completely cook all the way through. Remove the baking pan and place it on an oven-safe surface.
Directions for Toppings:
- While waiting for your crust to cook, you can prep your toppings for your pizza. Most pizza sauces are loaded with sugar, so I prefer taking crushed tomatoes and mixing in about a tablespoon of coconut flour to give it some thickness. I also add more oregano and chopped basil to the tomato sauce for that Italian kick (well, after watching the World Cup games this week, I’m not sure the Italians can kick…I kid, I kid!)
- Top your crust with your tomato sauce, and add a layer of mozzarella.
- Add any additional toppings you normally like on your pizza. A couple cloves of fresh chopped garlic, mushrooms, onions, sausage, go nuts! Just remember if you are adding meat to your pizza to use pre-cooked meat.
- Place your pizza back into the oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove pizza and slice.
Makes 1 10″ pizza.
While this doesn’t wholly fit into being Paleo, I’d say the breakout is about 4 blocks of protein, 3 blocks of carbs, and 8 blocks of fat.
Co Co Sala
Co Co Sala is a hotspot among the sweet-toothed night owls, and I’m not talking about the sparkly cast of the Twilight series. The restaurant focuses on small dishes that really explore all corners of your sense of taste. The restaurant offers a 3 course and 5 course tasting dessert menu, but you should expect to order a few dishes in addition to this sugar laden orgy to really get a full meal.
We started out with the Four Cheese Fritters. Served with a creamy dipping sauce that was very reminiscent of a Thousand Island dressing, this appetizer (teaser, as the menu calls it) gets your appetite going. These deep fried morsels contain melted but not quite molten cheese interiors inside a crispy, fried shell. Highly recommended.
The tasting menu Jen and I shared also comes with a cheese plate- four cheeses, a chunk of date pâté (no fowl play), grapes, and crackers. I steered clear of the blue cheese, as we don’t really get along, but the brie came strong with the flavor. We opted to have it served as an appetizer, to which our server happily complied.
Jen’s first dish, the portobello risotto, was a little heavy on the butter, but then again, any good risotto is going to be heavy on the butter, so consider it just about right. Topped with asparagus, mushrooms, mixed greens, and fresh shaved parmesan. This dish won’t win any awards, but it’s a great vegetarian dish, and suited Jen well enough.
Her second dish was the Manchego and Baby Arugula Salad. Tossed with slices of apple, chunks of oranges, caramelized walnuts, dates, and then a strip of coffee vinaigrette, Jen absolutely loved this plate. Which of course, means, I’m going to try and make this for her at some point in the future. Shouldn’t be too hard, except for the coffee vinaigrette, but I’ll figure something out.
My first dish was the trio of Lamb Sliders. How could you not love these? It’s like midget wrestling, with less spandex and more brioche. Three mini organic lamb patties cooked in a coconut and curry sauce, topped with a lime yogurt creme and served with rosemary and parmesan fries. The restaurant also offers a beef or a chicken trio of sliders, but it’s impossible for me to turn down an order of lamb.
Next, I had the Bacon Mac’n'Cheese. A dish of baked mac’n'cheese’n'bacon, topped with a crispy cheesy crust, and topped with a stick of chocolate covered bacon. The combination of sweet and savory really works in favor of the dish here. There’s a Shrimp Mac’n'Cheese option available on the menu, but c’mon. It’s bacon. I’d name my first born child Bacon.
That’s a terrible idea. Why do you people let me come up with this sort of stuff?
Our five course (four, after the cheese) dessert ‘Nutty But Nice’ tasting menu started off with the churro batons, served with a caramel dipping sauce. If I had one complaint about these things, is that they’re entirely too small, but I guess I’ll consider that a good problem to have. The only other place I can think off of the top of my head that sells churros is CostCo, and the ones at Co Co Sala definitely blow those away.
The Rum Caramel Bananas and Chocolate bring a natural combination together, but neither Jen nor I found this one to be very impressive. The shaved chocolate on top of the rum soaked bananas definitely earned points for presentation, but lacked the punch we were expecting.
The peanut butter cheesecake is a huge win for this tasting menu. Rich and creamy like an albino Texas oil tycoon, this one is a must for just about anyone without a peanut allergy. Even then…not a bad way to go.
To finish things off before the final bits of signature Co Co Sala truffles, a small dish of citrus sorbet is brought out to cleanse your palette, perfectly setup for two.
The dishes here at Co Co Sala are at worst, average, and at best, truly a gastronomical adventure that runs from the savory to the utterly sweet. Our server was great with the recommendations and timing, with only a small slip of forgetting to refill our drinks. The ambiance here is definitely on the sexy side, so make it a special night out and wear those monkey print undies you save for occasions like this.
See Co Co Sala on a map here.
Recommended For:
- Girls Night Out
- Chocolate Chasers
- Vegetarians
- First Dates
- Anniversaries
Not Recommended For:
- Guys Night Out
- Frugalistas
- Going Into Labor
- Paleo heads
- Zone Dieters
Founding Farmers
Founding Farmers is another restaurant owned by the same group that operate Agraria Farmers and Fishers in Georgetown. The restaurant uses the same reclaimed olde timey milk bottles for their water and same emphasis on fresh, wholesome ingredients, and the same contemporary-yet-rural design throughout the restaurant, which really like.
Just a couple blocks away from George Washington University’s main campus, it’s a very popular location for students to come drop in for brunch, although this is no student dining hall. A huge menu provides a wide variety of tempting dishes, from skillets, french toasts, steaks, eggs, and teas. They even have a rather decent vegan menu selection, which only further displays the restauranteur’s forward thinking of the type of people who live in the city these days.
The Banana Fluffer Nutter instantly stands out on the menu as a great opener to the meal, but in reality, falls a bit short of expectations. Organic Peanut Butter, Banana slices and homemade marshmallow fluff served on half slices of whole wheat bread with crunchy chocolate giblets and peanuts should be absolutely amazing, but the best part of this dish was the presentation. However, I could see this one being an order that knocks it out of the park with the kids because of the simplicity. It’d probably help if our waiter had actually brought it over as a starter instead of having us to remind him to put in the order close to the end of the meal, but it still remains as something fun and different on the menu.
Not to say that there aren’t other dishes that hold their own in fun and different.
How about french toast? But let’s take it up another notch, soaking fresh brioche in a brandy creme anglaise, and then stuffing it with a rich vanilla pastry cream.
Harbingers of Death
BOOM. Tell me those don’t look like a deep fried twinkie at a Texas county fair. My friends who ordered the stuffed french toast both said the same thing while savoring each bite. “Oh, I don’t want this to end.” The dish comes with a pad of fresh whipped butter and syrup (natch), and looks to be a great way to start out any brunch excursion.
Founding Farmers also offers a more tame version of their french toast, still soaked in the same brandy creme anglaise, but without the hot magma core deliciousness of the other. Simple and satisfying, you can’t go wrong with this version, either.
Another interesting pick on the menu is the Fried Chicken, Egg, and Waffles. The meat is actually a free range chicken, served with a side of gravy and whipped butter. This is another dish that seemed to have wholly unexpected strengths and weaknesses. For me, I’d almost expect the proportion of chicken to waffle to be more of along the lines of 1:1, but as you can see here, that’s just not the case. A few chunks of chicken, while very well prepared, seemed diminutive in comparison to the waffle. The gravy was more of a cream, lacking the thickness I was expecting.
The poached eggs I ordered were…well, decidedly not poached. Kinda poached?
All that being said, the waffle was downright amazing. Fluffy and crispy, this is a fantastic waffle, which I’ll attribute to both the batter used as well as the skill of the cook. Any longer on the iron and this waffle would have turned slightly more brown and crunchy, rather than this golden hue of perfection.
The service here is friendly, but a little bit lacking. Our waiter was not available nearly enough to check on our meal, and the the slight gaff of missing one of the items we ordered was an easy enough mistake for anyone to make, but still makes for a staff that I’d completely gush about.
My feelings about Founding Farmers is mixed. There are something things here that really stand out as being spectacular, and then there are some dishes that seem like complete flubs. I commend Founding Farmers for really taking some chances with their offerings, which in the end, will definitely have me coming back for another brunch in the future. There’s also enough on the menu to please just about anybody’s palette, with even an All You Can Drink Water and Ice Cube Crunch Buffet for the anorexics.
On a scale of awesome, I’d rate Founding Farmers as a 3.5/5.
Or if you’re the visual type, it’s about this awesome:
See Founding Farmers on a map here.
Recommended For:
- Brunch with the Out-of-towners
- Vegans
- Vegetarians
- A nice pot of french press coffee after a long day of protesting the IMF or World Bank next door
Not Recommended For:
- Anybody who knows how Chicken ‘n’ Waffles is done.
- Carbophobes
- Speed Dating
- Announcing your candidacy for president of the Golden Girls fan club
Polish Villa
On a recent trip up to Buffalo, NY for a wedding, I was on a quest to take advantage of the strong Polish roots that have been established there. So being the food lover I am, I did a bit of research, and it turns out the place to be (according to the interwebs, and anything on the interwebs HAS to be true) is a little place called the Polish Villa. Not to be confused with the Polish Villa Part Two, which looks to be of the same ownership, but only as a second establishment located 2.5 miles away. I’ll reserve judgement and jokes, and leave that up to you.
The decor inside is, as I was warned, a bit on the cheesy side. The theme seems to be, as honest as the name of the restaurant implies, what you’d expect to find in a Polish villa in Poland. Thick wood beams, lattice colored windows, and well, let’s say it’s not the Four Seasons.
More like the set of Sesame Street.
Regardless, this is a proud heritage from a proud people. People who gave us gifts such as …uh…polka. And Weird Al Yankovic, of which the latter was an embarrassing and not often talked about phase of my childhood.
Let me tell you something, a little therapy goes a long way.
Ah, but we’re getting off track here. What about the delicious food? Polish cuisine has spawned such fantastic dishes such as the pierogi, the galumpki, and the potato pancake. So what better way to experience all of that deliciousness other than ordering the Polish Platter here at the ‘Villa?
Man, these people just do not pull any punches.
To start, I was offered either the salad or the soup of the day, which happened to be Borscht that day. I’m still working on getting over my traumatizing childhood experiences with beets, but what the hell. This whole meal was going to be a risk, so I went all in.
A hot soup mixed with sour cream and chunks of beet, this was decidedly chowdah-ish, and surprisingly good. Not a huge bowl but rather a cup, but a perfect appetizer to start the meal.
Next up, a potato pancake with a very generous portion of butter, which I had no reservations of slathering on top. The pancake itself was very good if not a bit bland, but the butter here made all the difference. The potato is very smooth, to the point that it seems like it’s a giant fried pancake of mashed potatoes. Healthy? Probably not. Tasty? Definitely. I made quick work of the pancake and put it to rest.
Now, Polish food isn’t exactly going to ever get nominated for prom queen, but what it lacks for in looks, it makes up for in taste. I ordered both the regular and smoked kielbasa, which came with a galumki (picture on the left), two pierogies (one potato and one cheese), and a small dish of cabbage cooked in vinegar. The galumki is a large ball of ground beef and rice wrapped in cabbage, then covered in a rich and creamy tomato sauce. It does look a bit daunting, but think of it as a European version of meatloaf.
The kielbasa are about what you’d expect. Giant hunks of meat, although I didn’t care too much for the smoked kielbasa, preferring the regular kielbasa instead.
The shredded cabbage was less tangy than sauerkraut, but had a sweeter side to it, which paired rather well with the kielbasa. A nice little side, and obviously a staple of polish dining.
But let’s talk about the real crowd pleaser here.
Oh pierogi. Oh just look. LOOK AT YOU. I don’t think the photo above fully does these any justice, but imagine a giant dumpling about 5-6 inches long, filled with potato or cheese, and given a nice pan fry for maximum delectableness. If these things were any better tasting, they’d be illegal in every city except for Amsterdam.
I’m sure there’s a way to make that happen.
It’s probably a good thing there aren’t Polish restaurants as good as this in the area, or I’d likely have my diet wrecked. Service here is fair and friendly, and the atmosphere is more casual, like the type of place Tiger Woods would pick up his Friday night romp after yet another dismal showing on the green. As an added bonus, Canadia, America’s Hat, is just a half hour drive away, where you can do all the things you can’t do in America, like ending every sentence with “eh” without ridicule. Although I don’t think you’d get too much guff saying that sort of thing here in Buffalo, either.
See Polish Villa on a map here.
Recommended For:
- Pierogiepalooza
- Sausage Swallowers
- Frugalistas
- ‘tatophiles
Not Recommended For:
- Vegetarians
- Carbaphobes
- Zone Dieters
- Paleo heads
Affogato
I only recently heard about the affogato, which as exotic as the Italian name sounds, can be a very accessible and easy dessert to make. Or if you’re someone like me, as a mid-day defense against the heat and humidity that is dropping DC to its knees.
Affogato means ‘drowned’ in Italian, and is simply a scoop of ice cream or some sort of ice cream variant, topped with a shot of espresso. I took this along the paleo route, using the coconut milk based ice cream I stock my freezer with. It’s questionable just how ‘paleo’ this ice cream can be when it’s still using organic agave nectar, but it’s far better than the type made with your typical milk and sugar.
I’ve also seen recipes calling for espresso powder, which certainly work in a pinch. But I think every home that has a coffee drinker should have their own Bialetti espresso maker. Make sure you spring for the stainless steel version and not the traditional aluminum ones.
Ingredients:
- Espresso beans or freshly ground espresso
- Ice cream of your choice
- Filtered Water
Directions:
- Take your Bialetti Espresso maker apart, and fill the bottom chamber with filtered water, but just below the hole in the side. You don’t need to completely fill this chamber with water.
- Place the espresso in the funnel filter that tops the bottom chamber. The espresso doesn’t need to be hard packed in, but it should be completely full.
-
Screw up on the top, and place your espresso maker on a stove. Turn on to medium high heat, and let your Bialetti do what it does best. Makin’ coffee espresso. You’ll hear it steam and bubble into the top container. Once you no longer hear it steaming, it’s probably done. I’d guess this takes anywhere between 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your Bialetti.
- Prepare a small espresso cup, and place a medium sized scoop of ice cream in the cup. I used my coconut milk ice cream here.
- Pour in a shot of espresso over your ice cream.
- Stir if you’d like, and enjoy.
The one downside of using the coconut milk based ice cream is that you’ll often have coconut shreds inside, so be prepared to find that in your espresso, as well, but this doesn’t end up bothering me too much. If it does, I believe that the other flavors of coconut milk based ice cream don’t have the same coconut shreds, and will likely give you a smoother result. Either way, this is a perfect rescue from those hot summer days in the city. Really try and use fresh ground espresso beans or ones you’ve had stored in an airtight container, and filtered water when preparing espresso. As with so many things we consume, it’s the attention to quality that really makes things better.
Genki Sushi
The pure novelty of automated sushi cuisine fascinates me. Machines that cut perfect sheets of rice, conveyor belts that serve as a moving feed trough, and Japanese animatronic robots that creepily sing and dance for you like in your childhood nightmares, all of these listed can be found at Genki Sushi. Well, maybe I went a little bit overboard there. No robots.
The setup at Genki is simple. You have your option of sitting at a booth and ordering from a menu, or you can sit at the rectangular bar, where a large conveyor belt snakes around with plates of various plates of sushi. Each plate has a specific color, which corresponds to its price. The prices vary, but remain much lower than any place I can think of having eaten on the mainland.
Every sushi dish here isn’t going to be the most amazing roll you’ve ever had, or something that completely blows you away…but the rolls they do serve here are definitely palatable for anybody that loves their sushi in copious quantity.
And I do mean copious.
There aren’t too many options here for vegetarians, unfortunately. From what I saw on the menu, there were only two rolls, the avocado roll and the inside out vegetarian roll, that someone Jen could eat. Luckily for her, she wasn’t terribly hungry that day…and luckily for me, I was.
The best part of Genki? It’s GOT to be their logo.
I mean really. WTF is that? Other than completely awesome. I want my own angry face logo.
The service here is friendly and accommodating, and we didn’t have to fight for a table for lunch. It turns out that Genki, with over 150 restaurants in Japan, is one of the largest sushi chains in the land of the rising sun. The chain has nine restaurants spread out over the Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and the Big Isand, as well as a restaurant open in Seattle on the mainland. With steep prices for restaurants being the norm at most places you’d find yourself eating at in Hawaii, this is one place you simply cannot miss out on.
See Genki Sushi in Kapolei on a map here.
Recommended For:
- Frugalistas
- >:(
- Sushiwhores
- Pescado Aficionados
Not Recommended For:
- Vegetarians
- Paleoheads
- Zone Dieters
- Carbaphobes
Pinky’s Pupu Bar & Grill
Pinky’s is just a short drive from Kailua’s beaches, and has a reputation for being the local hangout for the military. The parking lot is usually filled with trucks, trucks, and the occasional Chevy Malibu rental, much like the one we arrived in.
Everything about this establishment down to the name screams out at you. Pinky’s. I understand that it’s a nickname for someone, likely the owner, but what do you think of when you think of the color? Loud. Over the top. Which the proprietor here has taken to great lengths to carry through every aspect of this place. The brightly painted walls, the backlit panels of glass of every color, and a guy on a mic running contests throughout the evening. A night at the Ritz-Carlton this is not.
But you’re at the beach. And for the most part, if you’re near the beach, you’re going to want to be comfortable, relaxed, and not be treated as a total mutant rolling in wearing a bikini or boardshorts. That is, unless you’re a guy wearing a bikini, in which case, you’re on your own.
Attire is casual, and so is the food. Pinky’s takes the things you like to eat, and slowly kill you with it by adding an extra heaping portion of delicious. Take Exhibit A:
A basket of edamame is, for those of you who aren’t on the Paleo diet, a nice healthy protein packed appetizer. Douse it with garlic and a sweet thai chili sauce, and you’re teetering slightly more towards the unhealthy side of the scale. These things were pretty tasty, and a nice change from the typical dusting of sea salt.
What’s that you say? Still a pretty healthy choice? Those are fighting words, my friend. Exhibit B:
I can’t seem to find the descriptioon of this on the menu, so I’m going to call this the Nacho Platter of Armageddon. A large cruise ship of a plate of nachos covered in pulled pork, jalapenos, olives, diced tomatoes, and enough cheese to feed the city of Paris for a day, this dish is not for the faint of heart. Pinky’s does not shortchange you on the ingredients, and this something worth sharing with friends. Little did I know that nobody else at the table would be assisting me in taking down this ship, so I put the best dent in it as I could.
Exhibit C:
Again, another dish that’s not on Pinky’s menu online, but I’d like to call this the Bey Cattle Disaster. A thick 500 lb. all beef patty, topped with two types of cheese, Sharp Awesome and Swiss Delicious, sandwiched between two slabs of buttered Texas toast and for your healthy serving of vegetables, a deep golden onion ring on top. For some reason, all I can think of it, “If you liked it, you should have put a ring on it.”
And there you go.
Exhibit D:
The Kalua Pig Plate. Pinky’s keeps it simple here. An agglomeration of pulled pork, diced tomatoes, and rice on your plate. Pork lovers rejoice, the pork here is as tender and delicious as you could want. It’s a shame that this wasn’t served with a side of guacamole and tortillas, but the pork alone was still a fantastic dish.
Service here is good, but the kitchen seems to have issues getting their line orders right. Our waitress was about as pleasant as could be (typical Midwest manners), but our food took an eon to arrive. I’m willing to call it a fluke, and that they’re not always that disorganized in the back. You’re not going to keep that six pack eating here, but you will find that you’ll have a wide array of delicious choices to fit just about anybody’s cheat meal craving.
See Pinky’s Pupu Bar and Grill on a map here.
Recommended For:
- All the single ladies
- Watching the game with your bros. Brahs. Bromosexuals. Broseph Stalins.
- For those about to pork
- Paleoheads
Not Recommended For:
- Zone Dieters
- A meal before heading to the opera
- An eHarmony first date
Buzz’s Original Steakhouse
While out and about in the area of Kailua on the east coast of Oahu, we were lucky enough to have a friend who’s very familiar with the local places to eat and grab a drink. Our guide took us over to Buzz’s Original Steakhouse, which doesn’t look like much more than a crab shack from the outside.
In fact, it doesn’t look like much more than a crab shack on the inside, either. What does a crab shack even look like? Imagine dim lights, wooden walls, wood tables, and an emphasis on the seafood and drinks. BOOM. To be fair, this place is a very nice lookin’ shack. The outdoor seating has a view of the Pacific just within eyesight but not within earshot, about a quarter of a mile away. The interior is decorated with lots of branded merchandise, etched glass of an Aloha Friday shirt.
Wait, what?
Let’s get something straight. If I were the owner of a restaurant, and I was thinking to myself, “Man, you know I’ve got a glut of cash in the bank, and I’d really like to blow it one BADASS etched glass panel to class up the place a bit. What should I get?”
Acceptable Answers:
- Two dragons, breathing fire and ‘melting’ a corner of the glass
- A ninja and a pirate, with swords at each others throats, suspended on a wire over a lagoon full of alligators with laser sights attached to their heads
- Bea Arthur, all nude, but tastefully done
Upon reviewing my list, it is clear this is why I am not allowed to be the owner of a restaurant.
Back to Buzz’s. Let’s get to the brass tacks.
The menu’s come out on giant fraternity like paddles of wood. Totally random, but a little bit awesome. Making up for the Aloha Friday etched glass shirt, I’m liking this place a bit more. People, famous people, visiting Hawaii, would approve of these very manly menus. Tom Selleck would approve of these menus.
While Jen and our friends were busy ordering drinks and anticipating the carnage from some of the strongest drinks in Oahu, I ordered the food to go with it. Sauteed Mushrooms, Tuna Sashimi, Artichoke Surprise, and the Calamari Steak. Unfortunately, the restaurant is a dark cabin on the beach, so the indoor lighting was at a minimum here. The Artichoke Surprise was ………astonishingly* good. A bit of manual labor is needed, as the whole artichoke comes out, but the dish itself is good, and not too heavy on the sauce. This is a great dish if you’re looking for something slightly on the healthier side. The sauteed mushrooms came in a small bowl, and weren’t really too discernible from something you’d see on top of a burger with some swiss cheese and bacon.
The calamari steak was…well, to put it without hyperbole, LITERALLY THE BEST CALAMARI I’VE EVER HAD.
I stand by that claim. If you enjoy calamari, you know what to expect. Rubbery deep fried rings. Chewy, vaguely seafood tasting dishes you get at a sushi restaurant. Giant, girthy, shafts of rubber nonsense. We’re still talking about calamari here, so let’s stay focused, okay?
The Calamari Steak here, however, is none of the above. It’s a flavorful, ubertender and amazing dish. This calamari has changed the way I think of fresh calamari being, and in retrospect, wish I had put in an order for a second dish. Let me say this one more time. If you think you love calamari, you must come here and order it.
The tuna sashimi, despite being oddly served on a small mountain of lettuce, is also very, very good. The thinly sliced fish melts in your mouth. It’s a shame there wasn’t a greater assortment of sashimi available, as I would have no doubt that the kitchen can do just as well of a job with it.
Make sure you have a cab company’s number on hand, or that you can walk back to wherever you’re going, if you’re going to get a little wet with the mixed drinks.
Overall, my opinion of this place is neither good or bad. It’s got some really nice selections of seafood, although I didn’t try the steak, and for a steakhouse, would like to make the hypothesis that the steaks are pretty good, too. The drinks will flip your wig, not for their creativity or display,but for the amount of alcohol they dump into these treats for you to imbibe. Service is average, and while I normally say that this isn’t the greatest place you could take a girl on a first date but, if you don’t live on Oahu already and you fly a girl over to Hawaii for a dinner here, well, damn, go on with your bad self.
Buzz’s has two locations, one in Kailua and one in Pearl city. See Buzz’s Original Steakhouse in Kailua on a map here.
*You thought I was going to say surprise again, didn’t you? HA!
Recommeded For:
- Calamariphiles
- Drinks at the Beach
- Hanging out with the locals, but with the ones that don’t want you dead
- Zone Dieters
- Paleo Heads
Not Recommended For:
- First Dates (exclusions apply, see above)
- Claustrophobics
- People with Traumatic Fraternity Experiences
- People Who Don’t Appreciate Tom Selleck
Urbana
The Kimpton boutique hotels can be found scattered all over DC and the surrounding suburbs. It’s likely that you might have seen one of their hotels and not known it belongs to the Kimpton empire. Hotel Helix. Hotel Rouge. The Topaz Hotel. Hotel Monaco. Hotel Palomar. I’ve long been impressed with their locations and accommodations after having a great berfday party being thrown for me in the Hotel Monaco in Alexandria a couple of years ago. So it was only natural that my curiosity was piqued when the opportunity to eat at Urbana presented itself. The restaurant is part of the Hotel Palomar in Dupont Circle, easily passable during the day because of its subterranean entrance, but less so in the evenings when luminescent blue lights mark its entrance.
The interior is clean, very modern, and very tastefully done. Dim lights and wood tables provide a comforting atmosphere, while marble serving tables strewn about loudly speak to the ‘no cost spared’ belief in outfitting the restaurant. Etched glass and illuminated panels serve as wall panels and decoration everywhere.
To start, I ordered a quartet of raw oysters. I’m no mollusk aficionado, but the two varieties that I tried were nothing short of perfect to me. An entire dozen would have been too much for me to tackle on my own, but something more manageable and recommended for a larger party than two, especially when one’s a vegetarian.
The cheese and charcuterie plate come correct with some strong contenders. Jen and I sampled Manchego from Spain; the Rosselino from Italy; the Midnight Moon from the US; the Amish Cheddar from the US; and I happily devoured the Mortadella sausage from Italy. The Manchego was the definitive winner of the lot, but all of the cheeses and meat were equally as appetizing.
Jen also ordered the Smoked Tomato and Cannellini Bean Soup. The dish comes with a fried goat cheese island in the middle, and defied her expectations, to say the least. Rather than a full-sized bean soup, the tomatoes and cannellini beans were carefully pureed and strained to produce a creamy and fragrant dish. Topped with the cheese to mix in and add an extra layer of creaminess, I barely could keep her from licking the bowl.
So being the good boyfriend, I did that for her.
Tough job.
Our entrees arrived shortly thereafter. Jen’s main course, the Pappardelle, served in a morel mushroom cream sauce with sugar snap peas and pecorino romano shavings to match, this would have been my choice as well if I were a vegetarian, too.
Not a terribly large dish, but the combination of the cream sauce used with the appetizers we had prior to this made up for it. That’s not to say that Jen didn’t struggle to finish it and call me in as reinforcements to take out the rest, but something to keep in mind. Still, the ingredients and presentation were well balanced, and nary a complaint from the woman about this place yet. The noodles were fresh, not over or under cooked, and the small bits of morel mushroom gave this dish a bit of an exotic flair.
My peasant-ish dish, roasted organic chicken with a ragout of gnocchi, english peas and baby carrots, were also equally as good as every other one that been presented thus far. The gnocchi was a very good accompaniment to the chicken, which in my opinion could have only been improved if it were a free range one. At least to me, organic does not equate to free range when it comes to chicken. My english peas were so fresh, they spoke unintelligible Cockney Rhyming to me before I put each to their demise.
“Oi, ‘ats a bit of Jackson Pollocks eatin’ us like that, innit?”
Stupid limey peas.
I probably couldn’t gush anymore about this place. I’d easily put this as a place I’d like to revisit for dinner, or possibly even brunch. I felt remiss having not tried the pork belly, roasted lamb loin, or the various pizzas available. The restaurant also has a very reasonable wine menu, and the service is good enough to leave your redheaded step childen in their care while you’re out busy for a Melvin in the Karsey.
See Urbana on a map here.
Recommended For:
- Anniversaries
- Vegetarians
- Fans of the Mollusk
- Girls Night Out
Not Recommended For:
- Frugalistas
- Zone Dieters
- World Cup Celebration Parties
- Proposing to Your Japanese Body-Pillow Girlfriend
