Yerba Buena

don't ask any questions.  just go there.  SERIOUSLY.  eat a lot.  drink a lot.  it's allllll good.

this has become an instant new favorite. 

Rome Drinks and Eats

I'm going to Italy in the not too distant future, so I asked my Milanese friend who has lived in Rome where to go there and here's what he suggested:

Cocktails:

*Freni & Frizioni, Via del Politeama, 4 - 6
Shabby chic bar in Trastevere where people enjoy drinks on a huge terrace. It has been a huge hit for years.

*Salotto 42, Piazza di Pietra 42
Cool bar on one of the nicest square of Rome in front of the Temple of Adriano.

*Bar della Pace, Via della Pace
It's a roman institution. Have a look.

Restaurants:

*Santa Cristina la Quirinale, Via della Cordonata 21-22
Tiny, sweet and very good. Cooking from the south. One of his favorites in Rome

*La Pace del Palato, Via del Teatro Pace, 42a/43
Delicious.

*Enoteca Ferrara, Via del Moro 1
Really high quality food in this winery

*Taverna Trilussa, Via Politeama
One of the real "Roman" restaurants in Rome

*Also have pizza al trancio anywhere. It's awesome.

Thanks, Ema. You're awesome.

adventures in egypt: cairo religious day

day 3 was what we deemed our religious day.

we took the metro to Coptic Cairo in the morning. from what i've been able to piece together, "Coptic" is what you call egyptian christians. coptic cairo is a walled, fortress-like area that contains a museum, several churches and a synagogue (Ben Ezra Synagogue)! the story is that the christians needed money so they sold an old church to the jews. this is funny to me.

after walking the streets that mary, joseph and baby jesus walked, we went to islamic cairo. the Al-Azhar Mosque is beautiful and peaceful, as all houses of worship are, but this place is also a learning center that attracts islam scholars from all over. in addition to locals, i saw many southeast asians there.

the mosque is across the street from the labrynth of streets and vendors known as Khan Al-Khalili, which is a huge bazaar. i normally LOVE bazaars and flea markets because you can find really cool and wacky stuff or, in asia, great knock-offs for cheap prices. so it's significant that i really hated this place. this is nothing but a huge tourist trap. most of the stuff for sale is total crap.

there are a number of ahwas (cafes) in Khan Al-Khalili where you can smoke sheesha and drink tea and other tasty beverages (i really like limoon - fresh lemonade - and karkadai - a hibiscus drink). the most famous one is El Fishawy, which i thought would have become a cheesey touristy spot by now but is suprisingly cool. somehow, despite the busloads of tourists that come here, the locals also hang here, too. once the mid-day sun has passed and the breeze is blowing, it is such a great spot to relax. i think my favorite thing about egypt, other than the big sites, is the ahwa culture. men (some women, but mostly men) gather for hours in awhas to chat, drink, smoke, read, etc. no one ever rushes you to leave. i like places where people go to doing nothing but chill for as long as they want.

bar quirks

oddly enough, there are funky, quirky things going on in some d.c. bars. and what makes them cool is that these bars are making no attempt whatsoever to be cool.

my two favorite bar quirks so far are:

(1) hard boiled eggs at BOBBY VAN'S - the first time i went to bobby van's for drinks, i noticed a rack of hard boiled eggs with a salt shaker sitting on the bar next to a group of people and thought, "wow! someone likes hard boiled eggs as much as i do." so, of course, i was fixated on the rack of eggs sitting untouched before me. finally, it occurred to me that maybe those eggs were up for grabs. hesitantly, i asked a guy in the group, "you guys gonna eat those?" nope. it turned out that bobby van's has racks hard boiled eggs out on the bar like other places have peanuts. they are for everyone!! i've since learned that this is a very old, traditional bar snack but i can't seem to find any info about it on-line. if anyone knows the real history behind hard boiled eggs as bar snacks, please educate me.

(2) drink mixing at DAN'S - in general, i don't go out to bars and restaurants so i can prepare my own food and drinks. i want someone else to do it for me and do it well. that's why i'm paying. duh. when it comes dive bars, though, i take what i can get. despite being on the nasty strip of 18th in adams morgan, dan's is a chill little space with no pretense and, on the night i went, no frat boys. they also take a do-it-yourself approach to mixed drinks. let's say you ordered a vodka tonic. instead of getting the usual glass of ice with a little vodka, a lot of tonic and a lime wedged on the top of your glass, the bartender at dan's gives you a mini-bucket of ice, a glass full of vodka, a 10oz bottle of tonic, a small bowl of lime wedges and empty glasses. you mix your own drink as you like! dan's rocks.

the wonderland ballroom

think "ballroom" in the most ironic way. for any philly peeps out there, the wonderland's upstairs "ballroom" reminds me a lot of the 700 club's upstairs "dance floor". when you're there, you feel like you dancing in someone's basement and, at any moment, someone is going to pass you a big bong. 10 years ago or maybe if i did have a bong, i would have loved it. last night, i just felt old. it's a great place, though.

wonderland is exactly the kind of divey joint i dig. if i lived nearby, i'd be a fixture there. the downstairs gets really loud but i imagine it's more mellow on the weekdays. the bartenders are kinda gritty. and the outside biergarten-esque yard is perfect for warm weather.

18th street lounge

there's no pimms rangoon but there's a nice roof deck. they're into the shabby chic decor, which is carried out pathetically but focus on the chandeliers outside and enjoy the fact that a citron and tonic cost five bucks.

d.c. has space. despite all the smack i talk about this town, i have to admit that the space is nice.
outdoor places aren't as rare as they are in nyc. when you get out of work, you can look forward having a drink in the sun instead of going into another interior.

memorial day weekend

memorial day weekend meant three days of eating and drinking and playing in new york. dang, i miss that city. i covered a lot of ground this past weekend and here are the highlights:

friday
- kang suh: like most of its peers on the k-town block, this place has crappy service but i keep going back because it's one of the few places on that block that serves both korean and chinese-korean food. after dinner, i had pat-bingsoo across the street at the bakery. despite the brain-freeze, shaved ice with red bean paste, fruit, ice cream and condensed milk is one of my favorite summer treats.

- pdt: new speakeasy bar next to (within) crif dogs. i appreciate the new genre of new york bars - chic speakeasy with high-end cocktails. pdt is serious competition for death & co. they have a great cocktail menu; each drink is $1 less that the drinks at death & co.; and they maintain the same tight control over the number of patrons, which is what i love the most. it's simply uncivilized to have to stand and drink. i had the pimms rangoon - pimms, mint, cucumber, muddled strawberries and ginger ale. this was yummy. as long as it doesn't have gin, i'm a sucker for a drink with cucumbers and ginger.

saturday
- 'inoteca: truffle egg toast! not as good as 'ino but good enough when i'm going through withdrawal. why does 'inoteca cook the asparagus? please stop. 2 carafes of strawberry bellinis and mounds of cured meats and cheese rounded out my brunch. i had a gorganzola-esque cheese which had an amazing kick. if anyone knows the name, write me.

- little frankie's: one slice immediately following brunch because it was there. chloe sevigny came in with some peeps too.

- balthazar: chocolate madeleine and cappuccino. duh.

- little owl: soft-shell crabs again and duck breast salad. the dishes here are simple and elegant in a no-fuss kind of way. the staff is kind. yes, in new york and kind. i would want to own a place like this. it would make me proud.

- death & co.: after having a prickly pear margarita at dos caminos and trying to find a good outdoor space for a drink, i ended up in this dark space. it's still good.

sunday
- di fara's: brooklyn institution in midwood. long waits. i got there an hour before it opened but, somehow, still wasn't first. three cheeses on the pizza and a ton of extra virgin olive oil. fresh basil cut with a rusty old pair of scissors whether you like it or not, damn it. this place has a cult following, and i may get hate mail for saying this, but i don't think it's the best pizza in the city. it is good but there are too many strong flavors competing with each other without harmonizing. you can hardly taste the tomato sauce. the crust is good.

- daisy may's bbq usa: this deserves its own posting. see next.

monday
- soba ya: fresh handmade soba with zuke-don. after pig, i needed light and cleansing food.