Best Donuts and Brunch in DC - Same Place

Nick and Whitney (two of my favorite friends) were in DC this weekend and we made plans to meet up for brunch on Saturday.  Nick suggested Tabard Inn and I was able to find the last remaining reservation for 2 pm.  Apparently, I told Nick about this place over a year ago, he ate here, and has been wanting the donuts since.  I look for any opportunity to eat at Tabard Inn.

The kitchen closes at 2:30 pm and we all cut it very close to arriving before then.  I arrived first at 2:20 and ordered for the table.  

These donuts are incredible.  Especially with the fresh cream.  

Nick was much happier than he appears.

I'm sad that I forgot to take any pictures of Whitney but I promise she was there.

Pictures of brunch food -

Eggs benedict with ham

Pumpkin Pancakes

Pork Cubano sandwich with the best fried plantain chips I've ever eaten.

A savory tart with goat cheese, onions and other really good vegetables.  I think this was our favorite after the donuts.

My French Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Rose Bakery is one of my favorite cafes in Paris.  I even bought the recipe book which I've documented the use of here in previous posts.  I went to a bbq tonight and put some thought in to what I would take.

My cookies are always flat and chewy.  I love them but I've aspired to make thicker cookies.  I've heard all the tips and this time I actually put the effort into putting it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  It kind of worked but they still turned out to be the best chocolate chip cookies that I've ever made.

Next time though I'll make it with better chocolate and add a little more salt.

Chocolate Chip Biscuits

They use 70 per cent cocoa solids.

Makes about 25 biscuits.
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
Generous 1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Generous 2 1/3 cups plain all-purpose flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
9 ounces chopped chocolate

Beat the butter with the sugar till light and fluffy, then add the vanilla extract.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Mix together the salt and baking soda, and fold into the mixture with the flour.

Finally fold in the chocolate and mix till smooth.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a log shape 1 1/2 inches wide, and chill in the fridge for about 2 hours until hard.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Butter the baking tray and line it with parchment paper.

Cut the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place them well apart on the prepared tray.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

Try not to eat all of them immediately.

Cowgirls Love Cheese

When you are in DC visiting me, I will take you here.

Where we will eat lots and lots of cheese.  Hard cheese.

Soft cheese.

And jams and crackers to eat with our cheese.

And you will love me for taking you here.

The Only Beef Shoulder in DC

Jenica and I went to Hill Country on Saturday night and the server actually told us that this was the only restaurant in DC where we could eat beef shoulder.  She was proud of us for eating this particular cut.  It was a funny reaction to our food but one that I appreciate.

I had wanted to try the Hill Country in NYC but I found out one was opening here as well so I pushed it off that list. 

It's set up so we take our meal ticket to the food stations and order what we want.  One of the guys behind the meat counter was so excited about the cheddar and jalapeno sausage which made us that much more excited to eat it. 

Our meat was supplemented with the mac & cheese (very good), corn bread (the kind I wish I knew how to make), cucumber salad (I liked it) and potato salad (too much mayo).  

The meat - it was glorious.  My friend at work started saying glorious today and then I realized it is a great adjective for meat.

I was deeply disappointed that they were all out of there 15 different dessert options.  We went across the street so I could introduce Jenica to Pitango. 

10,000 Views

Today I reached my 10,000th view.  I have no idea how many of them are from my mom but I imagine she accounts for much of them. 

Thank you for checking this site out to find out what I love.  It strangely means a lot to me.

To celebrate, a song and a version of the song that I love the most.

Love for the 930 Club and Grizzly Bear

Returning to the 930 Club was one of the things I was most looking forward to in moving back to DC.  This is my favorite music venue ever hands down.  It's small enough to retain some intimacy but large enough to draw the more popular bands.  I remember visiting the club back in its original location at 930 F St. when the only thing open nearby was a Popeye's.  It was much smaller than but DC became a grown up city and a bigger club was needed.

I was excited that Phor was able to buy us tickets to see Grizzly Bear on Friday night.  The last time I saw them was at Governor's Island which is fun but it is not an intimate club.  The sound was better here and I was able to resume my favorite location in the balcony.

I just bought their new album on Tuesday so I haven't formed an opinion of it yet but I liked what I heard that night.

I was very happy to hear Colorado and Knife live.  The harmony is beautiful.  And Two Weeks and While You Wait For The Others had the crowd as excited as they were that night.

If you don't know Grizzly Bear, please have a listen.  I also think the videos are pretty incredible.

Knife

Two Weeks

A City of Food, Music and Shoes

I love Chicago.  I haven't been there during the crazy winters but I have been stuck at the airport at two different occasions because of bad fog and storms.  And I still really like the city.  I just try not to fly through it anymore.

I try to visit every other year or so because there is so much to see and do and eat.  My friend Kim is a wonder at guiding me to the very best places to eat.

The last two times I've visited have especially been remarkable for what I was able to see and do. 

I love walking through Grant Park to The Art Institute of Chicago.  The new modern wing is especially lovely and this is the museum to have that Ferris Bueller's Day Off moment with Georges Seurat's Sunday in the Park.

I also loved taking an architecture tour of the city on a boat.  I recommend not doing it on a really hot day like I did but it was still worth it.

I'm looking forward to exploring more of Oak Park and Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings in that area when I return.

I attended the Pitchfork Music Fest in 2010 with the lovely Jess and Jendar.  The line up was perfect with St. Vincent, Pavement, and LCD Soundsystem.  Seeing this also made me very happy.

Places I love to eat in Chicago in no particular order -

Avec
Xoco
Blackbird
Publican
Bongo Room - brunch
Hot Chocolate
Girl and the Goat

I was so happy at Girl and the Goat because Kim and I had the best seats in the entire restaurant.  We met Stephanie Izard and her kitchen staff.  They fed us so much more than we ordered and completely awed us with the food.  We were in food heaven.

I also seem to find the best shoes in Chicago at this store in Wicker Park called Niche.  I love wandering around that neighborhood and shopping at Penelope's, Marc Jacobs (an enormous store), and some of the other clothing stores in that area.  I always stop by the The Goddess and Grocer for great sandwiches and food gifts to take back to friends.

A Baby & Bricks

I met up with Heather this last week and it was so wonderful to catch up with her.  I hadn't seen her since before her wedding.

But it was that much more fun because of this little girl that came with Heather.  She is adorable.

Heather kept her happy with the promise of seeing ducks.  There were no ducks. But I did find my bricks on GW campus.

My undergrad is in this vicinity.

And this is my law school brick.

We walked around the Quad and I thought about how much money those bricks cost me.  Oh GW.

The Storyteller

Last night I went to Busboys and Poets to attend a Story Tournament.  I met this very funny person on Saturday night and I knew that I wanted to hear more of her stories.  

Sit back.  Push play. Enjoy.

This is the story that convinced me to see her last night. 

The Realist

DC is rich with museums.  They all seem just down the block from where I live now so I ran to the National Gallery of Art on Saturday to see the George Bellows exhibit.  I always think of him as the painter of boxers.  I feel like I completely underestimated him.  His art is gorgeous, saturated with color and feeling, and strong.

I remember coming to DC for the first time in 8th grade and loving all of the grand white buildings.  DC really knows how to build large white powerful buildings.

One of the fountains in the National Gallery.  I did not take pictures of the paintings in the exhibit but these were some of my favorites.  The exhibit will be at the Met in November and I hope my NY friends will take advantage of it.

I can feel the power in his boxing series.

The portrait of his wife with his two daughters.  Bellows died in his forties which is so young. He was incredibly prolific though which is wonderful for his admirers.

This was part of a series he painted about World War 1, specifically about Belgium.  It is incredible to go into the room surrounded by the misery and violence being portrayed.

And then I walked around downtown DC only to be so excited that I found a Pitango close to my home.  This is one of the two top gelaterias in DC.  I had rhubarb and it reminded me of eating at Roman's in Brooklyn with Nick and Whitney for her birthday three years ago.

H St NE Fest And One Great T-Shirt

Saturday was a gorgeous day and I made my way to NE to meet up with the Blaylocks and one of the Ricks at the H St Festival.  This was my first year attending and I was hoping for a laid back kind of street festival.  That wasn't what I found. 

I did find this guy doing lots of amazing tricks on his pogo stick.

Apparently this pickle maker won 2nd at the Intl Pickle Festival but I just don't like pickles enough to buy one.  I thought the packaging looked very Brooklyn-like.

Shaved ice in lots of rainbow colors.  I wanted one so much but I knew I needed real food first.

I loved seeing the Joy of Motion school putting on a show.

Can you see all the people in the background?  This was a hectic, crowded affair.

One of the very large bbq pits set up on the street.

I loved seeing these guys on the top of Rock & Roll Hotel and it reminds me the episode of It's All Sunny when they buy a boat.  It's a brilliant episode.

I finally found a place to buy some food and was kind of excited when this was my view from the line.  It was just parked there but people took advantage of the photo opportunity.

And then we all found each other.  So great to see Nancy, Andrea and Ben.  These are some of the reasons why the move to DC is a wonderful move.

We moved off the street and these kids were so excited to see us lemonade.  And then it hit me that I would probably have not bought lemonade at a stand in NYC but I will in DC.  

And the best sighting at the festival is this guy.  I love that there is a whole population of people that I've never even considered that this man belongs to.