Watch out for the Po-Po.

Simple Sesame Noodles

2010-10-05T09:00:00.002-04:00

On Mondays I'm usually feeling either still full from the weekend ("Diet starts on Monday!") or not motivated to cook anything too complicated. I was recently browsing one of my go-to recipe websites, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and under her section of favorites, I came across a recipe for Simple Sesame Noodles, which was the perfect Monday night dish.

It looked easy, delicious, and most importantly -- I already had all the ingredients I needed:

Spaghetti noodles (this recipe is probably better with an Asian-style noodle, but trust me, the spaghetti will do!)
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sugar
4 cloves Garlic, minced (I used only one and it was plenty, but it's up to you!)
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
1/2 teaspoon Hot Chili Oil (ok I lied, I didn't have this ingredient, but I subbed in Sriracha, which is probably even better!)
4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
2 Tablespoons Hot Water
4 whole Green Onions, sliced thin

All I did was mix all the ingredients together (minus the green onions and spaghetti), then after the spaghetti was cooked, I poured the sauce over top, gave it a good mix, then topped it all off with the green onions and a couple extra squirts of Sriracha. Also, since I happened to have some broccoli on hand, I steamed some up and added it to the spaghetti before the sauce went in. It added some nice veggie crunch and made the dish seem more like a complete meal.

I really dig the soy sauce-sugar-rice vinegar-sesame oil, which I've used before in other recipes, but never with noodles. I actually have some unused sauce left over, which I can easily use as a marinade for fish or meat, or to make this dish again!

Chili & Football!

2010-09-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

Though most of last week was still quite summery with temps in the '90s, when I found out it would be in the low '70s and rainy on Sunday, I thought that was enough of a weather change to make my favorite fall/football meal -- chili!

To make things more exciting, the Colts game was actually aired locally, so we set up both our TVs in the living room to convert our place into a sports bar. Great idea, right?

Also, puppy Reilly -- in her new Redskins gear -- made her first visit to our place to enjoy the afternoon (and eat hot dogs for the first time!)

While in the past I've used our crockpot to prepare this chili recipe, I a) woke up too late for the 6 hours of slow cooking it would require, and b) wanted to use the beautiful Le Creuset 5 1/2 quart round dutch oven (in Caribbean teal!) that John got me for my birthday.

I went with Paula Deen's Taco Soup recipe which has always been tasty and involves some nice shortcuts (e.g. Taco seasoning!) that don't sacrifice any flavor or deliciousness.

Huan brought up hot dog supplies and also some pâté chaud (courtesy of My Chau!) to complete the Sunday feast. We ate the chili out of a bowl, with Fritos, for our late lunch/snack portion of the day, then for dinner we finished off the chili on hot dogs.

Despite another disappointing Redskins loss, it was a nice afternoon of football and food... two of my favorite things!

More images available on Flickr.

My Chau's Baby Back Ribs

2010-08-31T09:31:00.001-04:00

One of the great parts about living close to my parents is that my mom always wants to send me home with tons of food, whether leftovers or ingredients for future dishes. As a Costco shopper, she usually has tons of things in bulk that she's more than happy to share with me. This past weekend, in addition to random necessities like crushed red pepper and garlic, she gave me a rack of ribs in a marinade, ready for cooking. How could I turn it down?

As ribs go, these aren't your traditional American BBQ ribs; rather, the use of fish sauce (nuoc mam) makes this a Vietnamese recipe and it is mmm mmm good!

The marinade is prepared as follows (recipe courtesy of My Chau):

dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 1 cup warm water
add 1/3 cup fish sauce (nuoc mam - Squid brand preferred) and 2 tbsp of chopped lemongrass
adjust marinade sauce to your taste (add sugar, water or nuoc mam as needed)
add ribs to marinade and leave overnight
in the morning, flip the rib over to marinate the other sid
before cooking, take ribs out of fridge to allow them to reach room temperature
cook the ribs for one hour at 350 degrees in the oven (flip the rib rack over halfway through cooking)
after an hour, turn the broiler on and broil about 10 minutes or until the ribs have a nice warm brown color

Once the ribs have cooled, slice them up and enjoy with your favorite sides!* The ribs were perfectly cooked: the edges were crisp, but the meat came easily off the bone. This was a perfect Sunday night dinner and I'll be sure to make it again! Thanks, mom!

*my favorite sides would usually consist of white rice or some other carb, but we had some veggies on hand and I decided to be good and eat those instead!

It Must Be Love

2010-08-30T18:53:00.000-04:00

Today marks the official start of the U.S. Open, one of my favorite sporting events ever. The tournament always coincides with Labor Day weekend, and while I haven't made my way up to Flushing Meadows in a few years, at one time it was a family tradition to travel up to New York to catch a few of the live matches. More recently I've been spectating from the couch, but even then, I have plenty of fond memories of watching (or even live-gchatting the matches, as is often the case) this tournament with my family, an avid group of tennis fans.

This year, the NY Times has led into the Open with some great coverage of the men and women's game and some great player profiles. I don't know about you, but I'm rooting for Rafa to get his first Open win this year to complete his career Grand Slam.

Finally, I hate to admit it, but I'm a total sucker for the "It Must Be Love" promo videos they've been showing. I get chills every time I see one! Such a cheeseball.

Rebel Heroes (Banh Mi food truck)

2010-08-29T21:00:00.000-04:00

Rebel Heroes appeared on the scene back in April when I first posted about the food truck frenzy taking over the city. Their tag line, "revolutionizing the sub with our Banh Mi food truck" definitely intrigued me, and I was curious as to how it would measure up to a $2.50 Banh Mi from Eden Center. However, I never followed Rebel Heroes on Twitter because they were based out of Arlington and never came into DC (so what if I'm a city snob?).

Last week, when I was in Clarendon taking my sad MacBook to the Genius Bar, I finally had the chance. Even though my stomach was feeling a little off and I wasn't quite hungry for dinner, as soon as I saw the truck parked, I knew I'd have to make a stop.

The Rebel Heroes menu is divided into two sections: The Old Guard (which includes traditional banh mi offerings, such as roast pork, pork meatball, and chicken), and The Rebels, which are based off banh mi but updated either with different ingredients (as I understand, the main update is the addition of swiss cheese) or preparation (some of the sandwiches can be pressed).

Naturally, I went for what seemed most traditional - the roast pork banh mi from The Old Guard menu, for $5.50. The service, while friendly, did seem to be a little chaotic, but it could have been due to the fact that they were about to close up shop in addition to trying to be quick/rush the food. It turns out I got the second to last sandwich of the evening, so no matter the issues, I was happy to walk away with something to try.

The sandwich itself, while not identical to what you'd find at Eden, was very satisfying and delicious. The combination of the house mayo, cilantro, jalapenos and pickled veggies really came together nicely. I especially enjoyed the addition of scallions, which added extra flavor and crunch to the sandwich. The only thing that seemed lacking was that I could barely taste the meat. The pork was sliced very thinly and there wasn't much in the sandwich, so the meat itself took a back seat to all the supporting ingredients.

I'd be curious to try one of the "Rebel" varieties to see how the basics of banh mi translate to other sandwich varieties. While nothing beats the bang-for-your-buck banh mi from a traditional Vietnamese mom and pop shop, if Rebel Heroes was parked downtown, I could definitely see myself rotating it into my regular set of lunch options.

We, the Pizza

2010-08-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

I'd been pretty excited to try former Top Cheftestant Spike's new pizza joint since I heard it was coming to town, but I also wanted to wait out the hype that comes with any new DC opening (and with "celebrity" chefs in particular). Last night I finally made the trip to the Hill to give his pizza pies a shot.

Upon walking into We, the Pizza, I felt like I could have been in Good Stuff Eatery (which is directly next door). The decor and arrangement and feel is nearly identical. However, the ground floor of We, the Pizza felt hotter than it was outside - perhaps due to the multitude of pizza ovens they have set up. And after finishing the meal upstairs and coming back down to leave, it seemed as though something had been burning because the whole ground floor was smoky and hot.. not ideal.

The good news was, there was hardly a line at all so my dining pals and I ordered immediately. Since I'd reviewed the menu prior to arriving (duh), I already knew what I wanted to try.

I ordered two slices on my inaugural visit: the White Pizza (Today’s ricotta, fontina, roasted garlic, Parmesan, mozz, sea salt, olive oil, fresh Italian parsley) and the Roasted Potato and Pancetta Pie (Roasted local spuds, pancetta, caramelized onions, our tomato sauce, mozz, fresh rosemary). Each came in at $4 a slice, which seemed a little steep, given they weren't astronomically large and that they priced a basic Pepperoni slice (which John picked) at the same rate.

Things didn't start off great when, upon taking the first bite of his Pepperoni slice, John said, "This tastes like Alberto's," which is a late-night basement pizza joint that serves up similarly priced slices (but at least twice the size). I mean, we love Alberto's, but I think We, the Pizza was going for more sophistication.

The potato pie was nothing to write home about. Given it was the first potato pizza I'd ever eaten, I was expecting to be blown away by the flavor, and I felt it lacking in salt or seasoning, which was surprising given that's precisely what you'd expect from pancetta. The only thing that really jumped out was the rosemary, which appeared in sporadically huge chunks and was thus overpowering to the point that I had to take some off the slice.

The white pizza was probably the best of the night. I'm a sucker for that salty, garlicky flavor, and this one really hit the spot. The only complaint I have about it was that by the time I got to it, it was about room temperature. As someone who likes my food piping hot, I felt like they could have reheated the pizzas in the oven for a tad longer. I'd rather have the possibility of burning the roof of my mouth from that first bite than eating lukewarm food.

All told, the pizzas were good, not great, and while most of my issues are minor (pizza not hot enough, no ice in the soda fountain, smoky kitchen area), they add up to just a mediocre experience. It seems like We, the Pizza has a bit of an identity crisis - in its attempt to serve up simple, New York-style slices while also trying to be slightly "gourmet," it gets stuck somewhere in the middle. If I lived on the Hill I could see myself stopping in for a random slice when in search of a quick dinner, but I'm not sure I'll be so quick to travel across town for it again.

Rainy Day Rec: Ray LaMontagne

2010-08-18T19:01:00.001-04:00

For the past week, I've been streaming Ray LaMontagne's latest album, God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise, courtesy of NPR's wonderful First Listen. The album was officially released yesterday, and I finally got around to downloading it from eMusic tonight. The first song I played? "New York City's Killing Me," my current favorite -- and the perfect rainy Wednesday tune for winding down. Now, putting my feet up and pouring a glass of wine... Happy hump day, everyone!

New Music: Arcade Fire

2010-08-04T09:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday marked the release of Arcade Fire's third full-length album, The Suburbs. So far I've only given it a couple distracted listens, but it seems to be worth the attention/critical acclaim it's already received.

At 16 tracks, the album is a wee on the long side, but luckily, the music is much more Arcade Fire lite compared to their previous work, so it doesn't get as overwhelming as you might expect. The arrangements are less heavy-handed, not every song feels like it's trying to achieve epic status, and generally, it's a lot more poppy and fun -- very suitable as a summer release. The abundance of male/female harmonies and synthesizers add to the accessibility of this album. I'm not sure it's their best effort (though it would be tough to top or even compare it to Funeral), but still a great release from a band that's released some of the best music this decade.

Plus, Amazon is offering the full MP3 download at only $3.99, and eMusic is offering it as a "deal" (only 12 credits for the full 16-track album), so there's no reason not to give it a shot!

Happy listening and happy summer, all.

Pâté Chaud (Vietnamese Meat Pies)

2010-07-28T21:34:00.004-04:00

I apologize for my recent disappearance from the blog. After returning from Vietnam I had back-to-back wedding weekends that kept me away and also left me too tired to do much cooking. I'm returning now with one of my favorite comfort snacks that always reminds me of home...

It'd been a while since I'd enjoyed my last Pâté Chaud, which is essentially a buttery puff pastry filled with pork and vegetables. I'm usually able to fulfill my cravings by making a quick visit to my parents' house -- my Mom is known in our family for having the best pâté chaud -- but she just left town for a little over a week, so it was a good chance for me to try to make my own delicious batch at home.

While every family, restaurant or café has their own version of pâté chaud that includes different techniques and ingredients, I'm going to share the version I grew up with and love the most.

Let's start with the ingredients*:

ground pork (about a pound)
peas & carrots (I used about half of a frozen 16 oz. bag, thawed)
one small yellow onion (or half of a medium-sized one), diced
puff pastry sheets (I use one box of Pepperidge Farm brand, which includes 2 big sheets)
salt & pepper
Maggi seasoning (this is a household staple ingredient and is essentially like liquid salt - it makes everything taste better)
one egg, beaten for egg wash

Start by taking your puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw. The box says this takes about 40 minutes, so prepare accordingly -- apparently the secret to delicious pâté chaud is allowing the pastry to fully thaw so that it bakes to crispy and flaky perfection.

While the pastry thaws, prepare the meat filling. Add the peas, carrots and onion to the ground pork. Season generously with salt, pepper and Maggi.

Once the pastry is thawed, it's time to build your pâté chaud. This is the part I got to participate in as a kid, so I always enjoy it. Use a pizza slicer to cut the pastry into even rectangles, about 3.5" x 4" in size. You can also make circles, triangles, or whatever shape you like, but Momma My Chau always made rectangles for us. Just remember whatever size or shape you cut, you need to allow some extra pastry on the outside edge in order to seal down the filling.

Scoop out a little ball of meat onto the center of your base pastry, then cover it with a pastry on top. Use a fork to mash down the edges of the two pastries so that they close and seals tightly over the meat. Once you have all your pâté chaud prepared, it's time for one last important step. Brush the tops of each pastry with your beaten egg, careful not to make a drippy mess everywhere.

Finally, stick your baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the tops are a beautiful golden brown. Try to resist the temptation to eat these as soon as they come out of the oven, because they will be H-O-T. (I've burned the roof of my mouth a few times in my life when I just couldn't wait.)

Growing up, this was always a breakfast snack or appetizer treat. Since I was making it for dinner this week to fulfill my craving, I made a side salad of roasted asparagus, tomato and corn, served cold. Kinda random, but I thought I needed some veggies to balance my 2 (3? 4? I'll never tell!) pâté chaud meal.

*The listed ingredients ended up making 9 meat pies, with a decent amount of meat filling left after I ran out of pastry. I ended up cooking the leftover meat and turning it into a tasty tomato-based pasta sauce. Quite delicious!

More images available on Flickr.

Vietnam Recap

2010-07-11T17:05:00.002-04:00

By now you've probably noticed that I didn't get a chance to update the blog while on vacation in Vietnam. It was an exciting, memorable and jam-packed adventure that left little downtime for updates. But now that I'm back and have been able to decompress and (mostly) recover from the jet lag, it's time for the official recap.

June 21-24: Saigon/Mekong Delta
We began our journey in the south, arriving in Vietnam's most populous city. Saigon (formally known as Ho Chi Minh City) is busy, crowded and noisy at almost all hours of the day. Once the sun rises, you can hear the sounds of horns honking and motorbike traffic. In a city of over 9 million people, almost half the population runs on motorbikes. While there are road signs, traffic lights and marked lanes, the road rules -- or lack thereof -- in Vietnam are basically "anything goes," which makes crossing the street no easy task. As taxi passengers and pedestrians, we had no shortage of close calls to keep us on our toes.

On our second full day, we took a short trip out of Saigon to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an intricate 75-mile network of underground tunnels and bunkers used by the Viet Cong during the war. Parts of the tunnels have been greatly expanded to accomodate tourists' bodies, and we had the chance to crawl through a 50-meter section which proved both a little scary and also exhausting. Our visit here was one of several interesting history lessons we'd get from the Vietnamese government perspective, depicting the American military forces in less-than-stellar light.

On our last full day in Saigon, we took another trip outside the city to visit the Mekong Delta, the region where the Mekong River empties out into the South China Sea. From the town of Cai Be, we took a small boat and toured the river, passing by the floating market with people selling and exchanging various goods, and making stops to see how rice paper, caramel candy, salt, and other local products are made.

June 25-28: Hoi An
After wrapping up our tour of the South, we boarded a short flight to Da Nang, in the central region of the country, where upon arrival we drove a short way to the coastal city of Hoi An, which is one of my favorite destinations in Vietnam.

Hoi An has a very small-town feel and it offers a nice, quiet change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Saigon. The town was a prominent shipping and trading port for Chinese and Japanese merchants in the 16th-17th centuries, and the architecture today still reflects these ancient foreign influences, giving it an old world charm. Add in the traditional colorful paper lanterns that light the streets at night, and the typical Hoi An scene almost feels like it's out of an amusement park. Beautiful, but somewhat surreal.

We spent most of our time at the beach; our ocean-front rooms at the Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort were pretty spectacular and gave us perfect views of the incredible sunrise over the water. On our second day we took a day trip to snorkel and scuba off the Cham Islands (courtesy of Rainbow Divers in Hoi An), a small series of islands about 10 miles offshore. Our group spotted lots of fun creatures in the sea, including pufferfish, stonefish, and barracudas.

We also took a morning visit to the My Son Sanctuary, an area of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples built by the Champa people between the 4th and 14th centuries. At the time of discovery by the French in the late 19th century, there were around 70 structures. During the war, bombs fell in the My Son region, destroying many of the buildings and leaving only around 25 standing in various states of ruin today.

June 29-30, July 6: Hanoi
Our next in-country flight took us to Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, in the northern region of the country. Hanoi is the country's second-biggest city (after Saigon), and while it's still crowded and buzzing with motorbikes, the feel of the city itself feels more organized and developed than its southern counterpart. However, from a personal standpoint, the country itself feels a little less warm and hospitable than Saigon.

At visits to museums and other tourist attractions we faced less friendly people and -- at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in particular -- very, very serious guards. With the strict dress code, no-talking, no arms-crossed policies (among other rules and restrictions), there is a lot of ceremony that goes into the visit to see the embalmed former President's body for only a few seconds. We also visited the "Hanoi Hilton," or the Hoa Lo Prison, where John McCain spent part of his time as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down over Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi.

We also spent a decent amount of time walking around and doing souvenir shopping in the city, close to Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the Hanoi's scenic attractions and a well-known meeting point in the center of the city.

July 1-2: Sapa
Our stay in Hanoi was brief, as we ventured farther north to Sapa, located in the northernmost region of Vietnam, only miles from the China border. This was the one destination on the trip where my family had always wanted to visit, but hadn't gotten a chance to, so we were all pretty excited to get the chance to check it out. The overnight train was an experience in itself -- four of us packed tightly to a room with bunks that barely fit John's 6'+ frame, the train car shaking turbulently enough that I thought we might derail multiple times throughout the night, and being disrupted by loud Vietnamese voices shouting in the hallway and an attempt by some people to enter our bunk. Needless to say, we were happy to arrive at our next destination.

Nestled in the mountains and thus significantly cooler than any other place we'd been, Sapa was a nice change of pace in regard to temperature, terrain, and lifestyle. Known for its tiered rice paddies that cover miles upon miles of the region's mountainous landscape, Sapa is among the most picturesque places I've ever visited, anywhere.

My first surprise came at how easily and closely we were able to interact with the Hmong people, who make up the largest portion of the ethnic minority groups in the region. I thought access to them would be limited, but then I remembered we were the foreigners coming into their territory, so almost immediately we were swarmed by locals who wanted to get to know more about us while trying to sell us their handicrafts.

One of the most amazing and unexpected experiences we had in Sapa was hiking down from the top of the mountain, about 7km down to a Hmong village. It had rained in the morning, which left the terrain muddy, slick and treacherous. There were a handful of slips and falls among our group, but luckily nothing major. We were followed and guided for the duration of the trip by a group of Hmong women, for whom we became extremely grateful. While we awkwardly trudged our way through muddy slopes and creeks and around rice paddies and corn fields, the women -- some with babies strapped to their backs -- casually made their way down in what appeared to be non-gripping plastic sandals, offering a hand or pointing out where we should step to avoid further accidents. It was the by the far an eye-opening experience that gave us the closest view into the daily lives of the local people, and the long and adventurous trek we made with them was both memorable and priceless.

July 3-5: Ha Long Bay
After another overnight train ride back to Hanoi from Sapa, we hopped on the bus again for a 3-hour drive to Ha Long Bay, our last major stop on our long journey through the country. Ha Long Bay is known for its series of nearly 2,000 small islands of various shapes and sizes dotting the water. While a bit of research will tell you more about the 500-million-year evolution of the limestone rock formations (the area was originally mainland that was later flooded before undergoing a series of tectonic plate movements, erosion, and sea movement leaving it in its current state), most people will tell you about the legend of Ha Long (literally meaning "Descending Dragon").

The story goes that long ago, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help them defend their land. The dragons descended upon Ha Long Bay, spitting out jewels and jade, which, upon making contact with the sea, turned into the islands and islets to form a strong fortress against the invaders. The dragons ultimately fell in love with the area and decided to stay, thus creating "Ha Long Bay" as we know it.

We spent two nights and three days aboard a Bhaya cruise boat on the Bay. This was the first time I'd done an overnight trip (versus a day trip) on Ha Long Bay, which turned out to be well worth it. Aside from the usual stops into various tourist-friendly caves, we were able to really experience and explore the area on our own. Our group of 13 was able to board a smaller boat that took us to remote spots on the Bay and we kayaked our way into secret lagoons and through tiny tunnels. It was another moment that felt surreal and the whole day was definitely one of my trip highlights.

As you might imagine, despite all the fun we were pretty pooped from living out of a suitcase during our 16-day South-to-North Vietnam tour. It was definitely a long day of travel back home, and heading back to work the following day was no picnic, but it was all worth it for an amazing vacation with a great group of people. And now, a special shout-out to my parents, and especially my mom, for organizing every last detail and arranging a perfect itinerary for such a huge group! Can't wait for the next time...

For more photos/video, see my Vietnam 2010 photo collection on Flickr.

Time for Vacay!

2010-06-18T18:49:00.000-04:00

After much anticipation and lots of superwoman planning by my wonderful mom, I am off to Vietnam Sunday for a long vacation with my family. If you're lucky, you'll get some brief updates from the other side of the world. If not, expect a full report when I return! Happy summer, everyone! I'll see you in a few weeks...

Sunday night lazy dinner: Homemade Pizza Company

2010-06-13T21:47:00.001-04:00

Back in January, when Homemade Pizza Company opened a new location just around the corner on 14th Street, I was intrigued though I knew nothing about it. But when I mentioned the take-and-bake pizza joint to a couple of friends, they said they swore by it and would travel all the way from Capitol Hill to the Mass. Ave. location just to get their fix. Once I tried my first slice, I understood why.

The concept of Homemade Pizza Co. is unique -- they prepare the pizza with fresh and natural ingredients, then you take it home and pop it in the oven. Most of Homemade Pizza Co.'s critics don't have bad things to say about the taste of the pizza, but about the fact that you shouldn't have to pay so much for pizza that you have to cook yourself at home. While that point may be valid, for about $14 for a large (after you consider the $3-$5 coupons that are almost always available via e-mail subscription), this is leaps and bounds better than any delivery pizza that will cost you the same, if not more. (While the Logan Circle location doesn't deliver yet, since it's literally a two minute walk from my place, going to pick it up is a quicker option anyway.)

Tonight, after browsing the menu and seeing the current seasonal option, Sunday night dinner was decided. The "Backyard Griller" description sounded delicious: The fire-cooked tastes of BBQ Chicken with hickory-smoked bacon, sweet Vidalia onions and the subtle kick of Thai chilies on an olive oil base. We'd enjoyed previous experiences with the traditional BBQ Chicken pizza, but adding spicy thai chili peppers and bacon sounded like an exciting new take on an old favorite.

The online ordering system is user-friendly and links up directly to a personal account, which tracks all your previous orders that apply to future coupons/free pizzas. The staff at our neighborhood Homemade Pizza Co. have always been extremely friendly and helpful, so for that alone, I'll keep coming back.

One of the things I love best about Homemade Pizza Co. is how the dough cooks. The crust has a perfect crunch, and the rest of the pizza is doughy but crisp enough that it doesn't flop or lose all its ingredients when you pick it up. Plus, it tastes fresh and not at all greasy compared to other available options.

John (Mr. "I've never met a pizza I didn't like") and I were very pleased with our decision to order the seasonal special. When I first glanced at the uncooked pizza, I worried that the spice of the thai chilies would overwhelm everything else, but it turns out it was just the right amount -- enough for a kick but not tongue-numbing, flavor-killing spice. The bacon -- which is usually a center stage ingredient -- actually seemed to play second fiddle to the BBQ chicken and sweet onions, but when I had a good bacony bite, it was a nice surprise of crispy pork flavor.

When I'm feeling too lazy to cook, Homemade Pizza Co. is a great go-to for an easy but delicious Sunday night meal!

More images on Flickr.

John's Spicy Lamb Burgers!

2010-06-09T07:55:00.000-04:00

Upon arriving home from a long day of travel back from Georgia, John surprised me with an amazing homecooked dinner - Spicy Lamb Burgers. Surprise describes both the fact that I didn't know whether/what he was going to cook, and also that lamb would probably have been my last guess for what he'd prepare! Anyway, I definitely can't and won't complain about his recent foray back into the meat world.

The meal was delicious... the burger patties were full of lots of flavor (given the variation of ingredients/seasoning added, it was no surprise) and subtle spice. We stuffed the patties into a pita, along with some romaine hearts and sliced tomatoes for some crisp and coolness, and finished it off with some feta cheese.

The burgers didn't need any sauce or dressing, as they were quite juicy and flavorful on their own. Paired with a cold summer beer, this was the perfect meal to come home to. I can't wait to see what else John has up his sleeve!

More images on Flickr.

Southern Comfort

2010-06-08T13:17:00.002-04:00

Last week I spent some time in Athens, Georgia visiting my one-and-only original college roommate and her lovely family. I roadtripped down with my other college buds, making a stop in Charlotte, N.C. on the way. Charlotte is a terrific little city. In many ways - at least downtown - it looks like it was built yesterday, with modern skyscrapers and wide, clean sidewalks. That said, it still gives off a warm vibe, offering plenty of charm and cute streets, perfect for strolling.

Athens was also a delight. Despite moments of immense heat and humidity, we had a great time walking around UGA, downtown Athens and visiting the Terrapin Brewery, which may have been the trip highlight. For just $10, you get a souvenir pint glass and 8 drink tickets, each worth a 4 oz. sample (which really turned out to be more like 8 oz.) of one of many delicious Terrapin brews. We brought a nice little picnic of bread, cheese and other delicious goodies and had a fabulous time!

It sounds silly, but one of the best parts of the visit was that every restaurant (both in Charlotte and Athens) separated our checks, without us even requesting it. Talk about Southern hospitality!

All in all, it was really great to spend some quality time with a group with whom I share so many great college memories. It'd been too long since we were all together. Can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday, Auddie!!

2010-06-01T09:35:00.000-04:00

Happy 17th Birthday to my wonderful sister, Auddie. It's hard to believe she was once actually my "little" sister (as evidenced by the photo below from '93) but today could probably kick my butt. It's crazy how time flies.

Auddie, I'm proud of the mature, funny and charming person you have become! Plus, you are a great personal shopper and anytime-eating buddy. What more could I ask for? Happy Birthday!

Ted's Bulletin

2010-05-31T21:03:00.001-04:00

I'd been wanting to check out Ted's Bulletin since I read about it on some food blogs a few months ago. Recently it's felt like if a new restaurant wasn't opening in my neighborhood on 14th St., it was opening somewhere on the Hill. This casual, upscale diner is the latest addition to Barracks Row, on 8th St., SE.

I finally got the chance to check out the new restaurant on Sunday evening of Memorial Day Weekend. Upon entry, I was immediately charmed. The art-deco accents, which were taken from an old Philadelphia Convention Center, transported you back in time. The first area you see is the bar -- where plenty of folks had popped in for traditional (or "adult" -- with booze) milkshakes or other old-timey beverages, like a can of Schlitz. There are a couple small TVs hanging in this area of the restaurant, outfitted to look like retro sets with bunny ear antennas, playing old movies (in this case, it was "Some Like It Hot," which very much pleased my company, the Cangany siblings, who have a soft spot in their hearts for this movie).

Past the bar is the dining area, which is a relatively small space filled with cozy booths. This room boasted a faux-film reel projector that also played "Some Like It Hot" on a bigger wall. The room had a large skylight, which was great while the sun was still out, but the room got fairly dark by later in the evening (which explains my lack of food photos).

For dinner, I ordered the meatloaf, something I'm always drawn to, mostly because I didn't ever have traditional American meatloaf until I was in college so there's still a bit of novelty value when I see it on a menu. The serving size was generous - two large meat patties, probably 3/4" high. The meat itself was tasty - it had a nice spice and flavor accents from a mixture of onion and red peppers, all topped with a classic ketchup glaze. For my sides, I ordered the mac 'n cheese (deliciously creamy) and brussel sprouts with blue cheese & bacon. Both were solid sides to accompany my plate o' meat.

My two diningmates both ordered Ted's famous grilled cheese & tomato soup, because you have to try something that's called famous in a restaurant that's been open less than a month. Also, grilled cheese & tomato soup is delicious. This one didn't disappoint. The toast was thick, but not greasy, and the tomato soup was slightly creamy and incredibly flavorful (in fact it reminded me a lot of the tomato soup I get from the prepared foods section at Whole Foods...).

We ended the meal by sharing a strawberry milkshake. It was standard, but delicious. Thick enough to spoon, if you wanted to, but liquidy enough to drink through a straw. And in true diner fashion, we were given the entire shaker filled with the leftovers, so it was a huge portion and I was sufficiently stuffed.

All in all, Ted's Bulletin is a nice dining experience - if only for the decor/atmosphere. The food was good, but not outstanding, and it seems like the service still has a few kinks to work out. Upon being seated, rather than being told about daily specials, or recommendations, which one might expect, we were told what they were out of (a handful of entrees) and no longer even offered (the roast chicken, which was still on the menu). Also, many of the blogs I read talked up Ted's "breakfast served all day," which is also prominently stated on the menu, yet the first thing I was told by the hostess was that this was not the case.

Our server -- when posed with the question about what kind of cheese was in the grilled cheese -- answered with, "I uhhh, yeah, I think it's American blended with something." When he realized he should probably check, he came back to tell us it was, in fact, only American cheese.

Much of this seems like basic new restaurant service stuff, so one can only hope within a few months Ted's will have worked out all these details -- or at least updated their menu to reflect any changes! I'm not sure I'd travel back to the Hill for any particular menu item, but if I lived in the area, I'm sure I'd make more frequent stops into Ted's for a quick bite or to grab a shake.

More images on Flickr.

Vietnamese Stuffed Tomatoes (Tomates Farcie/Cà Chua Nhồi Thịt)

2010-05-26T09:00:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite meals growing up was my mom's stuffed tomatoes (more commonly referred to as "Cà Farcie" in our household). The dish, while Vietnamese, is inspired by France's longstanding influence and relationship with the country (hence "Tomates Farcie"). Usually this is something I eat when going home for a casual family dinner, but this week I finally decided to make it myself!

Shopping for the ingredients was very simple: about a pound of ground pork, 3 beefsteak tomatoes (you could probably use vine-ripe or other tomatoes, but I liked beefsteak for their size, which made them easier to stuff), and one yellow onion. All the seasoning I already had in my pantry: salt, black pepper, nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce) and sugar (this is Kim's tip - to offset the tartness of the tomato!).

First, dice the onion into small pieces and add it to the pork in a large bowl. Then season the meat with salt and pepper. If you like, you can add other ingredients to the meat at this step -- other recipes/versions of this dish include cellophane noodles, mushrooms and other seasoning.

Next, halve the tomatoes and remove everything inside, leaving only their shells. Set the filling (seeds, juice, chunks of tomato) aside to use for the sauce.

Fill the tomato halves with the seasoned meat. Heat a large skillet with oil, then cook the tomatoes, meat-side down, over medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes until meat is browned.

As the stuffed tomatoes are cooking, heat the tomato filling in a pot over low heat until the tomato chunks become soft. Depending on how saucy you like your food, you can add a can of tomato sauce (or whole tomatoes, if you prefer a chunkier sauce) at this stage. Add salt, pepper, about a teaspoon of sugar and a few dashes of nuoc mam to the sauce and season to taste.

Flip the stuffed tomatoes once they're cooked, then pour the sauce over them and simmer everything over low heat for another 10 minutes or so.

Serve over white rice* and be sure to scoop enough sauce! For maximum deliciousness, break the stuffed tomato up into bite sized pieces and mix it well with the rice. Trust me, it's worth it.

*The white rice isn't really in line with my healthy eating, but for a dish like this, you really can't skip it. In fact, I scarfed down two bowls before I knew it... oops.

More images on Flickr.

Congrats to the new grad!

2010-05-24T20:20:00.000-04:00

My family spent this past weekend in beautiful Charlottesville to celebrate my brother's graduation from Darden. I love going back to UVA. To me, it's like a little slice of paradise. The quick 2-hour drive down from DC always allows me time to reminisce, and strolling around town always brings back great college memories. I even managed to sneak in two of my favorites -- breakfast from Bodo's and an Ednam sandwich from Bellair Market -- to complete the visit.

Though the weekend's forecast was not ideal, somehow the ridiculous downpour that persisted much of the weekend managed to dodge the lovely graduation ceremony as well as a beautiful post-graduation gathering at DelFosse Winery on Sunday night. Sometimes I think it's so funny how weather works out that way.. like it knows when you need to it be sunny and dry, if even for a moment.

It was a busy but wonderful weekend with family and a great celebration of Huan's new bright and shiny MBA! Congrats, bro.

The New Pornographers love D.C.!

2010-05-20T14:52:00.005-04:00

I was delighted to read in a recent Pitchfork interview that A.C. Newman of the New Pornographers considers our nation's capital his favorite city to play. Sometimes I feel like D.C. and the surrounding region gets a bad rap for its musical fanhood since well, our music scene is not New York's or various other cooler, hipper places. Plus, we have horrible venues with horrible names like ~~Nissan Pavilion~~ Jiffy Lube Live.

So the fact that our city got a special shout out definitely warmed my heart and made me love the New Pornographers a little more today.

I had the pleasure of seeing the band play at the 9:30 Club a couple years ago, with Okkervil River as the opening act. Not a bad lineup, if you ask me. I've never been a diehard NP fan and have actually always thought their members did better things as part of side or solo projects than as a band (for example, I love everything Dan Bejar/Destroyer has done far more than any New Pornographers album) . That said, they always have those handful of songs that stay stuck in my head. And, their power pop is a great soundtrack for summer. Ironically enough, one of my favorite New Pornographers song is not really power pop at all. It's a lovely ballad with a weird and quirky video. I know I should be probably be talking about their new album, "Together," but too bad, I'm plugging "Challengers" instead.

(Image courtesy of Glide Magazine)

Sunday night comfort food: Spaghetti Carbonara

2010-05-17T08:48:00.000-04:00

I've recently committed myself to improving my diet and exercising more, which so far has been working out pretty well (despite the fact that I was feeling the burn after a fairly easy 2-mile run with Molly this morning). However, Sunday nights -- and the weekend in general -- are usually an excuse to fall off the wagon, so I've stuck with hearty and satisfying recipes for Sunday night comfort food dinners. After all, diet starts Monday, right?

This week I decided to make a recipe that Kim sent me a while back -- Tyler Florence's Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Ingredients-wise, I followed the recipe exactly. However, on Kim's suggestion, part of the process was altered in order to account for the egg -- the very essence of a carbonara -- and to prevent the possibility of the dish turning into scrambled egg pasta.

Basically, it went like this: Set up your pot of boiling water for the pasta. As you're waiting for it to heat up, cook the bacon til it's crisp, then add the garlic and set it aside (off the heat). Meanwhile, once the pasta is in the pot, set up the egg mixture -- 2 beaten eggs mixed with the parmesan cheese. Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the bacon mixture and mix well. Finally, add the egg slurry to the pasta. By now, the food will still be hot, but the pan itself should have cooled enough so that the egg won't scramble.

Finally, season with salt and black pepper and garnish with fresh parsley. While the process/timing initially intimidated me (after all, Tyler calls this an "intermediate" recipe! Haha), this was actually an easy meal to prepare. It was my first stab at carbonara and I'll definitely be making this again!

More images on Flickr.

Happy Birthday, Avery!

2010-05-14T09:51:00.001-04:00

Happy 3rd Birthday to my adorable cousin/niece, Avery!

Seems like only yesterday she was a just a little baby...Here's a quick and amateurish (gotta love MS Paint) photo flashback. The always-fashionable Avery really started a trend with her Lincoln Log hat. How time flies!

John's Famous* Honey Whole Wheat Bread

2010-05-13T08:19:00.001-04:00

John received a Cuisinart bread machine for Christmas, and we've since been trying to create the perfect loaf. I have aspirations to make real homemade bread, but the "set it and forget it" setup of this machine makes it pretty convenient and tough to turn down.

However, it's taken some trial and error to get the bread right. I know what you're thinking - if it's set it and forget it, what's there to learn? Well, for starters, the "optional" step of removing the kneading paddle mid-way through the process should be considered mandatory, otherwise it's impossible to remove or cut around once the loaf has solidified. Secondly, slicing the bread is like an art. Use a knife too dull and you won't put a dent in the crust; use one that's too sharp (or serrated) will shred your bread up into chunks more suitable for dipping in olive oil than for constructing a sandwich.

Anyway, the loaf that John prepared recently was the best yet. While the slices weren't perfect, the loaf turned out in a good shape, the bread itself was cooked uniformly, and it kept fairly moist versus some drier loaves we'd ended up with in the past. However, keeping the bread from drying out after a couple days has proved difficult. So what's the secret to perfect bread machine bread? I wish I knew! Anyone have tips or tricks for the perfect loaf, every time?

*This bread is probably only famous in our household.

Stream It: New Band of Horses

2010-05-11T09:41:00.002-04:00

Great news! Band of Horses yesterday advertised via Twitter that their new album, Infinite Arms, is available to stream via the band's own streaming webpage before its official May 18 release.

Infinite Arms is the band's third full-length album, but their first major length debut (Columbia Records), so it should be interesting to see what they've come up with and whether they've lived up to the promise of their first two Sub Pop albums, both of which I loved almost equally. For anyone who loves the echoes and reverb of My Morning Jacket or the hooks and guitars of the Shins will enjoy these guys. Much of it is lush and dreamy, and even if hearing "Funeral" will always make me think of that Ford Edge commercial, I'll forgive these guys because I love their music. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day/The Liberty Tree

2010-05-10T08:20:00.001-04:00

I celebrated Mother's Day by treating my wonderful mom and the family to an early dinner at The Liberty Tree, which opened just recently on H St, NE. It's a homey, casual and surprisingly small restaurant started by two guys who have roots in New England (including the former executive chef of Matchbox). As someone with a weakness for lobster rolls, this place was on the top of my list of new restaurants to try and I'd been excited to check it out since I first read about it.

We started off by ordering a bottle of the Trinity Oaks Pinot Noir. Liberty Tree has a pretty long list of wines, each available at the same rate by the glass ($8) or the bottle ($30). We picked the Trinity Oaks for its footnote that said for every bottle ordered, a tree would be planted. The wine itself was nothing to write home about, but at least the world will get another tree out of it!

The good thing about dining with a larger group (there were 5 of us) is that you can try so many different things, whether it's shared appetizers or exchanging entree bites. We began the meal with four starters: smoked whitefish spread, pigs in a blanket (Auddie's choice :p), littleneck clams in a butter sauce, and fried calamari.

The smoked whitefish was quite delicious -- not too fishy or salty -- and served with crispy crostinis. The pigs in a blanket didn't quite match the kind my mom made for us growing up -- the pastry was less flaky and the meat seemed a little too charred. However, the spicy and slightly sweet mustard it was served with made for a delicious combo. The littleneck clams were a tasty treat and I wished I'd had more bread to sop up the savory butter sauce that appeared to have red pepper flakes for some added kick. The calamari was pretty standard, though we found some of the pieces to be a little soggy rather than crispy and crunchy.

Onto the entrees! I obviously had to get the lobster roll. When I found out "market price" was only $15, I was pleasantly surprised, but when the roll arrived at my table, it made more sense. It seemed slightly smaller than other lobster rolls I've gotten before, though I suppose for the price, it was a respectable portion. The lobster itself was delicious -- large chunks not overly mayo'd and paired perfectly with a buttery bun. The housemade hand-cut fries were crisp and complemented the dish well.

My mom ordered the lobster and scallop pot pie, which was fairly creamy and rich, but with a decent portion of seafood (versus vegetable/other filler). It was a good dish for a few bites, but I think the whole portion may have been a little heavy for one person.

My dad chose the roasted cod on my recommendation. I'd read some good reviews about it, and when it came out, it looked great! Unfortunately, it seemed the cook had a heavy hand with the salt because it was little too salty, for all our tastes. It seemed to be a dish that on most nights is a hit, but wasn't executed perfectly this time around.

John tried out one of the restaurant's non-seafood items with the eggplant lasagna. It was an interesting dish, conceptually -- no actual pasta noodles, simply the eggplant layered with cheese, mushrooms and basil. The tomato sauce could have used a little extra flavor or kick and seemed a little bland up against the rest of the dish's ingredients.

Finally, Auddie had the fried cod sandwich. It was very large as sandwiches go, essentially two big pieces of cod layered between a soft bun. Paired with just the right amount of tartar sauce, a bite of this sandwich really hit the spot for me.

Though everyone was pretty stuffed, we decided to end the meal with a shared dessert of the seasonal fruit crisp - pear & apple, served with vanilla ice cream. A nice ending to a filling meal and a great mother's day celebration!

While Liberty Bell didn't fully live up to all of my expectations (which, admittedly, were high), it was still solid fare in a nice atmosphere and a place I'd recommend if you're ever in the H Street area.

I'll end with another Happy's Mother Day wish to my super mom and all the other moms out there!

More images on Flickr.

Happy Birthday, Gramps!

2010-05-09T15:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my Ong Noi, who just turned the big 9-0! My family celebrated his 90th birthday with a huge and delicious family dinner last night. One secret to his health and happiness? A steady diet of 2 buck Chuck. Cheers to my Gramps!

Happy Friday: Great Day for a Deal!

2010-05-07T08:42:00.001-04:00

I love walking to work (the walking part -- not necessarily the work part!) on a perfect spring morning -- especially when it's Friday. This morning became even better when I opened my inbox to find out today's LivingSocial deal was something I not only wanted for myself, but to share with everyone I know.

I'm assuming those of you who already subscribe to LivingSocial may have seen this already, but today's deal is not to be missed! They're offering $50 worth of food and drink for only $25 at Kushi, a great new spot for Japanese/Sushi over in the CityVista (5th & K NW) area. John and I checked it out recently and really enjoyed our experience. We sat at the grill bar and enjoyed both small, traditional Japanese dishes (Izakaya-style) as well as some sushi while we watched the chefs skewer and grill whole fish and other delectable treats right before our eyes.

The service was efficient and friendly, and the space is huge, so you won't have to wait forever for a table or feel rushed while eating. Anyway, I highly recommend Kushi to anyone looking for a new restaurant to try. Plus, the menu is so big you'll want to try everything... I already bought one coupon but may go back for more!

Click here for today's deal (but act fast - it's only available for 2 days) and have a lovely weekend!

TV preview: Friday Night Lights

2010-05-05T08:51:00.001-04:00

After much anticipation, my most recent favorite TV show, Friday Night Lights, returns to NBC with its fourth season this Friday, May 7. To coincide with the season premiere, volume 2 of the original soundtrack was released yesterday, featuring some great artists like the Avett Brothers, Sufjan Stevens and White Rabbits (and of course the unforgettable FNL theme song).

Though it's now apparent me that a lot of my friends have always loved this show, it wasn't until the holidays that I discovered it for myself. I'd gifted the season one DVD to a couple relatives (based on recommendations alone), and once my brother declared something along the lines of "Friday Night Lights - best show ever" after only a couple episodes, I had no choice but to check it out.

Thanks to Netflix instant streaming, I was able to catch up on all three seasons in no time, all while quickly falling for my favorite characters - Eric & Tami Taylor (the best married couple I've ever seen on TV -- in fact, sometimes it saddens me to think that Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton aren't the Taylors in real life), and of course, my favorite football-playing cowboy, Tim Riggins.

I'm looking forward to this season to meet some new characters (like Michael B. Jordan, better known as Wallace from The Wire!) and to find out what happens with all the old ones. How will Tim fare in college? What's Matt Saracen going to do if he's not going to Chicago anymore? What about Coach Taylor and East Dillon? Eeee, I'm so excited, especially because the summer is usually such a dull time for new TV. Plus, now I'll have an old-lady excuse to stay in and have cozy TV Fridays on the couch!

Sunday night comfort food: Chicken Parmesan

2010-05-02T21:16:00.002-04:00

On Sundays, since I have a few extra hours to think about dinner, I almost always like to make a homecooked dinner and my mind usually strays to comfort food.

This week I decided to return to an old favorite - Chicken Parmesan. I'd prepared this before, but served it on Italian sub rolls to make it into a hearty sandwich. Tonight, I altered my recipe slightly, drawing from what I had available and what I'd read from a number of recipes. I also served the chicken over angel hair pasta instead doing the carb-heavier sub roll.

The main difference in preparation was my use of panko breadcrumbs instead of traditional breadcrumbs. Panko, simply a Japanese breadcrumb, serves the same purpose as your everyday breadcrumb, but is lighter, flakier, and makes whatever you're cooking more crispy and textured. I happened to have a leftover batch of seasoned panko breadcrumbs from a previous recipe I made. The preparation was as follows:

In a small pan, melt 2 T butter over medium heat until foamed. Add in leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 T Dijon mustard, and 1 T finely chopped parsley. Remove from heat and whisk vigorously. Add in breadcrumbs, toss to combine, and set aside.

I threw in some oregano just to add some Italian flavor and that was about all the seasoning I needed. The closest overall recipe to match what I prepared is probably Bobby Flay's - he keeps it very simple and straightforward, and also uses panko.

While this dish involves lots of steps (and plates/bowls/cooking space), it's only comprised of a handful of basic ingredients which makes it an easy meal to prepare. Also, there's a ton of flexibility with how you prepare the dish and what you want to add. Tonight, the only thing I had to get from the store was the chicken breast cutlets; everything else I already had in my kitchen (yes, it was lucky that I already had mozzarella cheese and fresh parsley sitting around). Paired with a glass of wine, this is a perfect Sunday evening meal that leaves you with leftovers for the coming week!

More images/preparation details on Flickr.

Ready for vacay... book recs, anyone?

2010-04-29T09:31:00.003-04:00

This week my family finalized our ticket purchases for the big Vietnam trip at the end of June. Now that it's in the books, I'm officially very excited for it and have already started to think about what to pack and what I can spend my money on as justification for trip expenses.

Do I need new sneakers? Where is my passport fanny pack? Do I want to buy myself a Nook? (John currently has a Nook that I've started "borrowing" on a regular basis. This could become a problem soon.) I didn't think I'd get into the e-readers (but you're looking at the girl who swore she'd never need/want an iPhone and look at me now!), but I've found it very convenient and addicting to have a library of books at your fingertips. Plus, in the past, packing leisure reading for a long vacation has been a pain in the butt, with already limited luggage space when you factor in all the other crap I want to bring along.

Anyway, I'm in the process of reading Andre Agassi's autobiography Open, which I've found to be a compelling (if occasionally poorly written and oftentimes melodramatic) story. I'm not sure how it would read as a regular memoir to non-tennis fans, but for someone who grew up watching tennis religiously with her family right around the time of Agassi's rise, it's a fantastic walk down memory lane to all of the classic Agassi matches and memorable moments in '90s tennis history. I've found myself YouTubing highlights of the old Slams after reading about Agassi's preparation or emotions before/during/after a particular match.

I haven't gotten to the drug drama yet; so far I've just been enjoying the inside scoop on the crazy world of what it takes to be a pro athlete in what is probably, as Agassi describes it, the loneliest sport there is.

Anyone else have good recommendations for light and entertaining vacation reading?

More food to 14th?

2010-04-27T13:00:00.001-04:00

Just a few weeks ago, it was reported that DC's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs would no longer issue building permits for food & drink establishments in the greater 14th & U Street area (formally known as the "Uptown Arts Overlay District" and partially known -- though not by me -- as "Mid City"), due to a rule that only allowed 25% of store fronts to be occupied by restaurants or bars. What's funny is that I would have guessed we'd reached that percentage a while ago, especially with what seemed like a new spot opening every week in the neighborhood.

In any case, the rule was amended this week to increase the percentage to 30%, with the possibility/consideration of an increase to 50%.

Even for a foodie like me, that sounds like a LOT of food and drink real estate. But maybe that means I won't have to wait over an hour to get a seat at one of the hot spots on 14th? And maybe someone will decide to open a good Vietnamese restaurant on P Street, or a decent sushi spot around the corner from my place? One can hope, right?

Never Too Late: My Top Albums of '09

2010-04-25T17:44:00.001-04:00

Though we're almost a third of the way through 2010, I've decided to write a quick post about the music of 2009 -- due in part to popular demand and also a personal need to document it.

2009 was a weird year for me. There was a lot of great music, though nothing jumped out and grabbed me the way it has in other years. Rather than getting super psyched and highly anticipating releases from bands I love, in '09 I was drawn more to debut albums from new bands, or new albums from bands I'd not previously gotten into.

In any case, below follows a loose compilation of what I loved most from 2009. Since this post is over four months overdue, I may have missed some things, but this should give you a pretty good idea of what I liked. Albums are listed in the order of their release dates.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

For whatever reason, I'd never gotten into Animal Collective before this year. But I knew when it was only January and practically every music blog was already calling this the Album of the Year, I had to see what the hype was about (I'm a sucker for hype - so sue me!). Equally accessible while also staying "weird" (a word my brother would surely use to describe this music), the bass beats and electronic-pop sound made every song feel like an attempt at something epic. Also, hearing a song like "Summertime Clothes" in the middle of a January winter was a nice change of pace.

Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

Andrew Bird seems like one of those guys who flies under the radar. His albums get great critic reviews, but then they seem to be quickly forgotten or removed from the musical conversation. That said, he makes very creative but accessible music and this album was no exception. Finger-picked guitars, whimsical lyrics and great melodies make this an easy and enjoyable listen.

M. Ward - Hold Time

One of my favorite things about M. Ward is his ability to sound like he could be from many different eras, while still sounding current. Though this isn't my favorite M. Ward album, it's still fantastic. Once I could accept the fact that he and Zooey Deschanel are obviously friends and will continue to make music together -- even on his solo albums, I really enjoyed it. I can't explain what I have against Zooey. I'm sure she's perfectly nice. But when people start talking about M. Ward only in the context of She & Him, and when Paste magazine names She & Him's album their best album of 2008, it bothers me a little bit because I know how brilliant M. Ward is on his own, and I just want everyone to recognize that. Wow - end rant. Just listen to this album!

Washed Out - Life of Leisure (EP)

I wouldn't usually include a 6-song EP in a Best Albums post, but I enjoyed this one so much that I couldn't bear to leave it out (listen to "New Theory"). Everything about this EP -- from the name of it, to the album cover, to the romantic synth-pop -- makes you want to pack your bags and take a vacation. At the same time, there's something slightly nostalgic about it. For another 6-song EP that is strangely similar to this one, check out Air France's No Way Down EP, which was released in 2008 (and which I often confuse with Washed Out's EP).

The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

A very polished album with high production quality (what else to expect for a major-label debut?) from the bluegrass/folk outfit from North Carolina. While very different from their previous efforts -- less raw and rough around the edges -- it still showcases with the Avetts do best: catchy melodies, strong harmonies, and great storytelling. This is an album that I loved even more after seeing the guys put on an energetic and very memorable show at GW's Lisner Auditorium in June.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes

I can't remember how I stumbled across these guys, but I do remember having their album on repeat for the first week I got my hands on it. Put simply, this music sounds like it was fun to make, and you can't help but love songs with jangly guitars, a rousing horn section and choruses that sound like they're sung by the entire neighborhood.

Thanks for traveling back to 2009 with me. Hope you discovered something you liked!

Happy Friday!

2010-04-23T11:11:00.003-04:00

I started off the week with pre-release streams of new albums from Broken Social Scene and Hold Steady, courtesy of NPR's Exclusive First Listen. And now, what better way to end the week than with another new stream of one of my favorite bands? The National's new album, "High Violet," is available to stream 'til 4/27 (official release date is 5/11), courtesy of the NYTimes. Get psyched, folks! (As an aside, The National has the distinction of being probably the only band John and I completely disagree on. It's fine. Some people just don't "get it.")

Also, if you really want to nerd out, the Times has also offered up a five-page article on the band, their new record, and probably more than you ever wanted or cared to know about them.

Enjoy the weekend, folks.

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T09:45:00.003-04:00

I walked into work today to find the following item sitting on my desk chair:

"Oooh, what's this? A poncho?" I thought. I know - why would it be a poncho? For a moment I forgot it was Earth Day, so when a colleague told me the gift was, in fact, a reusable bag, I thought, "Oooh, of course! Brilliant!"

Here it is in its expanded form:

Kinda great, right? Akridge, the company that manages this building (and incidentally whose offfices are also located in this building), makes it clear that they're "green" and in addition to constantly celebrating the Earth, they also give us chocolate hearts on Valentine's day and freshly-popped popcorn in the lobby when we're really nice. Not bad at all!

Remember to bring your reusable bags to the grocery store, folks! Once you start the habit, it becomes second nature. Plus, if you're in DC, think of all those nickels you're saving (and earning! - if the store offers a bag refund).

Baby* Burritos

2010-04-22T08:00:00.007-04:00

Feeling a little lazy but not frozen-pizza or takeout lazy, I decided to make some homemade burritos for dinner. Truth be told, John and I enjoyed a delicious late night meal at California Tortilla over the weekend after having had a few beers, and I thought this would be a good experiment in recreating that flavor.

Since everyone has their own version of what goes into a proper burrito, I thought I'd wing it by buying the basics (beans!) and using whatever else I had on hand at home for the rest. The filling was basically a mixture of refried beans (with green chiles), black beans, green onion, tomatoes, shredded cheese, hot salsa (Green Mountain Gringo brand - an easy way to get some extra veggies and also jalapenos in there), and either grilled chicken (for me) or scrambled eggs (for part-time veggie, John).

The most exciting ingredient ended up being a special sauce I created as an attempt to replicate J.T. Pappy's Gator sauce -- a deliciously tangy and spicy sauce I discovered by chance during one of my early visits to the overwhelming sauce shelf at California Tortilla. I now realize that the gator sauce is nothing more than selected cracked mustard seed, red ripe tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, worcestershire (no anchovy), blended sugar, triple pepper blend, molasses, soy sauce, natural spices and herbs, though it was more fun to make up my own version.

My sauce consisted of the following: about 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing, about 6 heavy shakes of tabasco sauce, and about a teaspoon of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce. I didn't measure anything; I just grabbed a bowl and mixed in what I thought looked right. After stirring it up and giving it a taste, it turned out my guessed ratios were perfect and just what I wanted - a little sweet, a little spicy, and, well, who doesn't love a little ranch flavor?

The special, now not-so-secret sauce complemented the burritos perfectly and I'll be sure to keep it on hand for the next burrito night... after all, it's a quick, easy, cheap and very tasty homemade dinner!

*I called these baby burritos because I used medium-sized tortillas rather than the recommended jumbo size for real burritos. Once everything got rolled up and tucked in, it made for a pretty small burrito..or more like a giant taquito. It was compact and easy to eat, but I definitely had to go back for seconds!

More images on Flickr.

Diet Starts Monday (or never?)

2010-04-21T10:45:00.001-04:00

Just as I've decided I'm going to eat better/drop some lbs., I see this in my Facebook feed:

Today is your Pay Day! Get to a Popeyes today to get your 8 piece chicken for only $5.99! We love our loyal Popeyes fans!

(Yes, I am a fan of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen on Facebook. Perhaps this is where my problem begins...)

Don't make this harder for me than it already is, Popeyes. You know I can't resist a good deal!

Food Truck Frenzy

2010-04-20T23:15:00.000-04:00

Some time in '09, food trucks started taking DC by storm. Sure, before then there was Delle & Campbell's food cart that made the cover of the Post's Food section in 2007, and then the Korean food cart on 14th & L in addition to a handful of others, but with the advent of Twitter, the scene has changed. What once was a collection of stationary food carts at fixed locations has now become a series of on-the-go mobile restaurants with huge Twitter followings.

For me, the first truck that really started the Twitter hype belonged to the fojol bros., serving a variety of Indian cuisine from a guy wearing a fake moustache. I tried that a while ago and it was a pretty decent on-the-go meal, but nothing that memorable. I'll admit -- the novelty of the Twitter/food truck totally appeals to me and being able to track one down in my neighborhood is always a pleasant treat, so I'm always up for giving something a try.

Tonight, on my way home from Safeway (to pick up some ingredients for dinner), I saw the Saucamobile parked on P Street just outside Whole Foods. The food truck, which describes itself as "DC's most unique international mobile food experience," specializes in a variety of flatbreads featuring the world's cuisine. Among the choices are a Pork Banh Mi (Banh Mi is so trendy now!), a Croque Monsieur and a Mumbai Butter Chicken.

I've seen the truck relatively frequently around my office during lunchtime and even on my walks home but always had other meal plans, so I kept missing chances to try it. Tonight, despite the fact that I'd already planned to cook dinner, I went for it.

I was torn between the Mumbai Butter Chicken and Merguez Frites when I approached the truck, but the decision was made for me when the customer in front of me ordered the last butter chicken of the day. Merguez Frites it was! John, the part-time veggie, opted for the SOB Veggie (Tantalizing South-of-the-Border flavors with Charred Tomato Salsa, saffron rice, cotija cheese, mango pico de gallo and our Chimichurri sauce.). His was quite satisfying for being a veggie meal, but could have used a little hot sauce (or other flavor) to kick it up a notch.

Since I was so hungry to eat, I forgot to take a photo of the actual product before consuming it (rookie blogger FAIL!). Ugh. Sorry folks! But I did manage a couple snaps of the food truck while I was waiting, if it's any consolation (probably not).

The Merguez Frites was described as A swanky, European hot dog worthy of a Tweet. Savory succulence of lamb and beef Merguez sausage with crispy potatoes, Dijon mustard and tangy ketchup. At $7.50 for my sauca, I was actually impressed with the size of the flatbread and how full and satisfied I felt. The sausages were substantial - they actually gave me four links so that I got a piece in every bite (perfect ratio!) and the ketchup was sweet but with a little kick. I will say the "crispy potatoes" was a bit deceiving - when I hear "frites," I'm thinkin' french fries, but these were basically those salty and cheap fried potato sticks you get in a giant cylindrical tub at the grocery store. It certainly didn't take away from the flavor (I did like the crunch factor), but it wasn't a huge bonus, either. The bread was soft, doughy and delicious and definitely a big draw.

All in all, the meal was very tasty and satisfying.

I'll definitely be heading back to the Saucamobile to try some of their other varieties. I forgot to mention that the guy in the truck was friendly and helpful, and I always like to reward good customer service.

Follow the Saucamobile.
Browse the menu.

I'm back (again)!

2010-04-20T20:12:00.001-04:00

After a four month hiatus, I've decided to revive the ol' blog. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record with this stop and go business, but what blogging has taught me, if anything, is that everyone needs a break every now and then in order to return with fresh ideas and new inspiration.

2009 was the year of the self-portrait and a way to ensure I'd be back here at least once a week. Sure, it was a bit of a cop-out since I already had the photos on my Flickr page, but hey - at least there was new content up here.

The beginning of 2010 has been pretty good. The most notable changes/highlights have been the birth of a new baby cousin/pseudo-niece (Penny!) in January whom I simply adore, the most ridiculous DC winter I've ever witnessed in all my years here, the addition of a record player into my life, and finally spending some respectable time in my kitchen (and loving it!).

Looking forward, the inspiration for this blog will be the things that make me happiest: music and food. I hope to discuss more of what I'm listening to and also what I'm cooking (and eating!), in addition to what I'm sure will be some less meaningful posts about ridiculous Internet fodder and other random things I'm enjoying.

So, if you're still around, hope you enjoy what's to come. I look forward to sharing with you and reading comments about what you think!

And, because every comeback post deserves a photo, here is my favorite SP of the year... a shot of me & my pal Penelope from my visit to NYC earlier this month.

Week 52: The End!

2009-12-31T19:45:00.001-05:00

The End: The last weekly SP, the end of 2009, and the end of the Colts' perfect season. Hard to believe I've finally reached week 52 and thus my last SP of the year, but here we are!

I ended the year with a short visit to John's hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. We were lucky enough to be able to attend a Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is a very nice venue, as sports arenas go. We were thankful for its retractable roof since it was a brisk 20 degrees with strong winds and falling snow throughout the day.

Unfortunately, the Colts decided to sit most of their starters for a big chunk of the second half with only a 5 point lead, so I had the disappointing distinction of witnessing their only loss this season, their first regular season loss in 23 games, and the end of their pursuit of perfection, which has been pretty exciting to follow this year. Alas, the playoffs are still ahead so Colts fans needn't dwell for too long.

Either way, it was a great experience and thanks to my new Dallas Clark jersey (received as a Christmas present from the Canganys), I was able to blend right in and support the home team. Don't worry (I'm looking at you, Auddie), I'm no traitor. I was tuned in later to watch the Redskins take on Dallas in their Sunday night game and pretty much seal the deal on a fairly dismal season. I'm already looking forward to 2010 and a fresh start for my hometown team!

Here's to new beginnings and exciting adventures, both in football and in life!

Week 51: SnOMG! It's a Blizzard!

2009-12-24T08:52:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, most of the region was snowed in as we all enjoyed what was DC's biggest-ever December snowstorm. The snow started Friday night and continued to fall in big, fat flakes until Sunday morning. We'd had plans to hang out with my parents in Springfield on Saturday, but after waking up to nothing but white, it was clear we had to postpone. The Whole Foods closed at noon, but not before we were able to squeeze in an emergency snow freak-out trip and stock up on plenty of food (and drink!). Metro was also closed, and I heard tales of car accidents, fishtailing buses, and other general stormy chaos, so I was glad to be safely indoors to enjoy the lazy snow day. Hope everyone else in the storm zone did the same. The big storm was really the perfect prelude to Christmas!

Week 50: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2009-12-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how quickly the holiday season creeped up this year. It feels like summer just ended yesterday, yet here we are only a week and a half away from Christmas! Alas, I guess this is the same feeling every year -- not enough time to prepare for the weather, the madness of holiday shopping, Christmas decorating, and all the other general chaos that comes with the season. I personally love this time of year -- Christmas music, holiday themes at my favorite retail outlets, lights and decorations everywhere, and generally what I see as more joy and a generally improved spirit among friends and even strangers. I spent this past weekend attending two holiday parties, but managed to squeeze in a little time to wrap some gifts to put under our tiny but adorable tree! Happy Holidays, everyone!

Week 49: Congrats Steph & Ron!

2009-12-08T20:49:00.002-05:00

This past weekend my family celebrated the recent engagement of Steph and Ron at Chu Hoan & Co Ti's (Steph's parents) house in Potomac, MD. The party coincided with DC's first snow of the season, which made for an even more eventful and snowy evening! It was great to celebrate with my cousin and her new fiance, who are a couple of my favorite people to hang out with. They're a terrific couple and I can't wait for another fun family wedding!

Week 48: A Shower for Baby Glasser!

2009-12-01T09:53:00.000-05:00

To round out the Thanksgiving weekend, we celebrated on Saturday with a baby shower for Kim, who's due to welcome a family addition in January. In addition to toasting the parents-to-be, it was a great chance to see many family & friends and enjoy more delicious food (like thit nguoi tea sandwiches! love 'em). I'm so excited to meet the new little one, change diapers (no, seriously!), have oooh-zhou-boo-boo cute attacks all the time, and generally be Auntie Pouy to another baby. I couldn't be happier for Kim & Natty, who I know will be terrific parents! Many cheers and congrats to the parents-to-be!

Week 47: Sloppy Joes and the Skins!

2009-11-24T18:14:00.001-05:00

I know it seems like I've had a number of football-related SPs recently. Well, it's due in part to the fact that that's how I spend my Sundays in the fall. That, and I've been doing a horrible job of remembering to take SPs during other, more exciting activities that take place off the couch.

This was a rare NFL week in which we got full coverage of a Colts daytime game on Sunday. Since they were up against the Ravens, they were on CBS at 1, while the Redskins took on the Cowboys on FOX at 1. We seriously considered bringing the bedroom TV out into the living room to watch the games side by side, but realized we didn't have cables long enough or with the right attachments to make it work. In the end, it was Colts on the living room TV, Redskins on the bedroom TV (Tivo'd), and switching back and forth between drives to catch as much live overlap action as possible.

Ultimately, the injury-riddled Skins lost in a low-scoring heartbreaker, while the Colts barely edged out the Ravens in a rather close and dramatic game! We enjoyed the game while eating some homemade crockpot sloppy joes, which were hearty and delicious!

Week 46: Fun with Meg!

2009-11-16T21:46:00.002-05:00

I went out with Meg and a few other folks on Saturday night where we attempted some bar self-portraits. Yes, this was the best of the bunch after at least 5 attempts that I won't post here (SPs late on a Saturday evening are decidedly not the best idea). On Sunday night, I watched the amazing Colts game with both Canganys who are true Indy natives. Due to a text message miscommunication over dinner plans, Meg and I ended up having a macaroni & cheese-off dinner in which we each prepared a huge pan of homemade mac 'n cheese. The final verdict is that Martha Stewart's got nothin' on either of our versions (except that she might have provided the recipe I used - big deal). Needless to say, I'll be eating mac 'n cheese for lunch and dinner for the rest of the week. Let's just call it practice for Thanksgiving!

Week 45: More Football!

2009-11-10T22:06:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, I went out to Skelbs & Erik's new adorable and homey home in Reston, VA for an afternoon of football, chili, delicious snacks (like Heather's Chex Muddy Buddies!) and good company. You'll note in this photo I opted to wear my new Colts tee instead of my Cooley jersey just to change things up. We still did watch and root for the Redskins, and after another disappointing (but not surprising) loss, we decided to head to a nearby field to see if we could practice to be on next year's squad. It was a nice fall day, and despite the dismal state of our DC's football team, we all had a great time!

Pictured here with me is Riley, Skelbs & Erik's lovable black lab, who is enjoying a rubbery UVA football in her mouth.

Week 44: Happy Halloween!

2009-11-03T20:13:00.002-05:00

As of about 3 days before Halloween, neither John nor I knew what we were going to do for Halloween. John came up with the last minute idea to go as the Squirrel Crasher couple, popular among nerds who follow Internet memes, but after some focus group testing/surveying, it occurred to us that not everyone would "get it" and it would also be difficult to pull off with a photo of a squirrel on a stick as our only real prop.

While watching this week's episode of "The Office," I found myself laughing hysterically at Andy Bernard, then immediately looked over at John and realized they had some similarities - not just in wardrobe but in goofy behavior and mannerisms. We decided to abandon Squirrel Crashing and go with John as Andy Bernard, and me as my recycled Alvin costume from Halloween '07 (which turned out well because it was an entirely new group of people).

After heading out in public, it basically appeared like John was coming straight from work and escorting me during trick-or-treating. But the Nard-dog came through with some choice quotes and a few bars of acapella to truly put himself into character. As for me, I got some love from some kids in the street, in addition to having to refresh some 20-something memories as to everyone's favorite childhood chipmunk. Happy Halloween!

Week 43: Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-10-27T23:01:00.001-04:00

Today is my mom's birthday, so this past weekend -- with Huan & Molly in town for the night -- we had a small family dinner to celebrate. We enjoyed a delicious homecooked Vietnamese meal and I brought home a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (clearly a kids' choice!) for dessert. As evidenced by this photo, we all have a pretty great time when we're together. It's nice to know that some things never change (ahem, Huan). Here's wishing a happy birthday to my wonderfully stylish, hip, tech-savvy, top chef, super Mom! We love you!

Week 42: Slow Cookin' Sundays!

2009-10-20T17:37:00.001-04:00

About a month ago, John and I bought a crockpot to see what fun things we could cook up. It's mostly become a Sunday/football meal activity, and so far we've had some decent success. Our first recipe was Paula Deen's "Taco Soup," aka chili, which was delicious. We've also made a mac & cheese, which was tasty but perhaps not exactly a recipe that shines or is enhanced by slow cooking. This week's recipe, however, was perhaps our best yet: Pulled Pork. I googled a few recipes until I found a really simple one that only involved meat, root beer and BBQ sauce. I was intrigued by the simplicity (plus, I'm easily intimidated by complicated recipes) and the reviews were glowing, so we went for it and were very pleased with the results. I'd highly recommend it to anyone! Stay tuned for future episodes of Crockpot Cooking with Pouy & John (sous chef).

Week 41: Annapolis getaway!

2009-10-13T18:20:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, I made the short drive from DC to Annapolis, where John and I strolled around and enjoyed lunch before we headed to nearby Crownsville to relax at the Nguyen Family river house. The Nguyens are very close family friends who have a beautiful house on the water and are always terrific hosts to their guests! I always forget that Annapolis/Crownsville is one of my favorite getaways because you feel like you're on vacation, but really only 30 miles or so outside the city! It was a relaxing friends & family weekend, culminating in a big dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday in addition to my cousin Steph's recent engagement to her boyfriend Ron. Saturday's weather wasn't great, but all was redeemed by a beautiful Sunday sunrise, followed by perfect conditions for a boat ride to Annapolis! It was a great weekend of fantastic food and company. Can't wait to do it again!

Week 40: Congrats to Skelbs & Erik!

2009-10-06T18:21:00.001-04:00

Last weekend my good friend Sarah (aka Skelbs) got married in a lovely ceremony at the Thomas Birkby House in Leesburg, VA. It was a perfect day for a wedding... sunny & pleasant for the outdoor ceremony, and cool and crisp for the evening reception. They had a bluegrass band which was great; it made for a dance floor with tons of energy and lots of fun, once we could figure out how to dance to a bluegrass band (lots of bouncing, kind of like running in place). It was a wonderful celebration and I couldn't be happier for Skelbs & Erik. All the best to this awesome couple!

P.S. Happy Birthday Skelbs!!

Week 39: I am Tiger Woods.

2009-09-28T17:57:00.000-04:00

Okay not really, but when I play Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10 on Wii, I feel like I could be him. Just picked this game up over the weekend and have been having a blast so far. Despite the detailed physical feature character creation, my character doesn't look a thing like me, except that she's wearing cowboy boots on the course. That flaw aside, the game is great - as easy or challenging as you want it to be, which makes it great for entertaining groups or playing on your own. Yes, my form here is terrible, but at least my left arm is straight, right? Hoping to master this one soon. So far, I'm at least slightly better than I am in real life... which unfortunately doesn't say too much.

Week 38: Go Skins!

2009-09-20T20:41:00.002-04:00

Though I was bummed about the end of summer, fall really is one of my favorite seasons if only for the return of NFL football. I've always been a loyal Redskins fan despite the disappointment, frustration, and heartbreak involved, at least in recent years. Last Christmas Auddie got me this Chris Cooley ("Cooooooooley!") jersey, so I'm looking forward to sporting it this season. The good news is, I'm a big fan of the sport in general so I love watching any good match up. Today I also found out that we get the NFL Red Zone channel as part of our cable package, so that keeps things pretty exciting! Sundays are much more bearable when you have football to watch. It's also a great excuse for game-time food, like pizza, wings, and beer. Typs, right? Go Skins!*

*This was first posted to Flickr on September 20, but as of the posting of this blog (Sept. 27), the Redskins have just lost to the abysmal Detroit Lions in an embarrasingly pathetic performance. I know this doesn't sound very loyal, but I may be close to finding a new team, at least for this season. I pick the Colts. I still love you, Redskins, but you really, really suck.

Week 37: Bachelorette Pub Golfing

2009-09-14T18:22:00.001-04:00

I went out on Saturday night for my friend Sarah's bachelorette party. Sarah, aka Skelbs, is a good friend of mine from high school who is getting married in three weeks! The theme of the night was pub golfing. Basically it was a pub crawl but at each bar, you tally points based on what drink you get, whether you complete it, and a host of other rules revolved around the game of golf. It was a pretty fun experience, and with a big group decked out in silly golf gear, we definitely caught some attention at every bar we walked into. Pictured here is me with the bride-to-be, along with Caroline, another good friend from high school, and Dunkey McMule, the evening's mascot. Had a great time and wish Skelbs the best!

Week 36: Happy Birthday John and bye bye summer!

2009-09-08T21:04:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, we took a quick trip down 95 south to Mineral, VA, to spend the day at my friend Heather's family lake house on Lake Anna. It was a perfect day to be outside and on the water. We played some bocce, drank some beer, ate grilled food, went for a boat ride, went tubing and swimming, and basically enjoyed a wonderful day outdoors! Sunday was John's birthday so the celebrating and fun continued. All in all it was a very lovely labor day weekend and a nice way to officially end the summer. I'm bummed about the end of summer but fall is still a great season and gives us much to look forward to: leaves changing color, crisp weather, and of course football!

Week 35: Cookie Time USA!

2009-09-01T10:25:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows I don't exactly have a sweet tooth, but I still enjoy baking every now and then. On Sunday I went over Meg's place to help her bake a bunch of cookies for the office. We made two big batches -- Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip. Who knew how much butter went into baking homemade cookies, not to mention the shortening, too (what IS shortening, really??)! Anyway, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The cookies we made were delicious, and the mimosas were a nice touch, too!

Week 34: Happy Birthday, MaiTai!

2009-08-25T09:44:00.002-04:00

I went out on Friday night to celebrate my cousin Tuti/Mai/Kam's birthday. We started the night at Guajillo, a mexican restaurant where we had delicious margs and tasty food (perhaps too much for the boys, who attempted to eat the giant burrito which ended up being more than two times as large/long as a chipotle burrito!). Afterwards, we headed to Ri Ra to sing and dance along to a cover band playing the usual favorites. It was a great night, despite the fact that I was in my glasses and looked and felt like I had just woken up (I've had bad allergies/itchy eyes all week). Also, pardon the shine in this photo - obviously a little greasy and sweaty from all the bar fun! Happy Birthday and best wishes to Mai!

Week 33: Just a little gelato...

2009-08-18T09:42:00.002-04:00

Nothing too eventful here, so I present a gelato pitch with a grainy iPhone photo, featuring Auddie:

Even though Pitango opened back in May, I didn't get a chance to try it until this past weekend. As we all know, I'm not a huge dessert/sweets person, but I was pleasantly surprised with their gelato. They pride themselves on fresh and local ingredients, and they don't use any artificial colors or flavors. Out of all of combinations, I think John took the prize for best selection with his cup of bourbon vanilla and caffe espresso. It was truly delicious! The store is right across from Whole Foods on P Street, so I'll definitely be heading back. I still have to try their sorbet, too!

Week 32: Poolside with Kenzie & Co.!

2009-08-12T18:54:00.002-04:00

I spent all day Sunday at my friend Kelly's parent's house in Great Falls. They have a beautiful home with a big pool, and going there always feels like a nice and peaceful (albeit brief) vacation. Kelly was my first year college roommate at UVa. Also pictured here are Lo, one of my best college friends, and the little one is Kenzie, Kelly's adorable almost-2-year-old girl and the cutest baby I know! We had a great time splashing around on a ridiculously hot day. I could barely keep up with Kenzie and I think I needed a nap well before she did. It's always a great time catching up with the girls, and I finally got a little much-needed sun!

Week 31: Happy Birthday to me!

2009-08-04T17:52:00.000-04:00

Last week I celebrated my 27th birthday. I took the day off to hang out with my sister Auddie, and when I arrived in Springfield, she and my cousins Mira & Max had surprised me with this wonderful homemade Super Mario Kart-themed birthday cake! It was truly amazing. Mario's face was made out of peanut butter, and his moustache was magic shell. The inside was funfetti. We all know I'm not crazy about sweets, but this cake was delicious and one of the best birthday gifts I could have asked for. Guess this proves that you're only as old as you feel (or act), so I'm obviously not a day over 12! Hahahaha.

Week 30: Cape Cod

2009-07-28T21:24:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I took a mini-vacay to Boston/Cape Cod with my family and some of our close family friends who have a house in Mashpee. On Saturday, we took a ferry to Nantucket and spent the day on the island. We biked somewhere around 25 miles over the entire weekend, the majority around the trails and roads of Nantucket. It was quite the workout but a great way to explore the island! Weekend highlights included: a delicious lobster roll lunch in Boston, a home-cooked surf & turf dinner on Friday, celebrating my birthday early with the fam, introducing Auddie to Settlers of Catan (she loves it! woo!), repeatedly losing to Auddie in foosball (who knew this girl was such a gamer??), and of course some quality time on the beach. All in all, it was a great bonding weekend with my fam and I'm bummed it went by so quickly! Pictured here are Auddie, Molly, and me on the ferry to Nantucket. As evidenced by my wacky hair, we were riding the high-speed ferry, which gets us from Hyannis to Nantucket in only an hour.

Week 29: Orchard Lake

2009-07-21T12:00:00.001-04:00

I spent a few days this past week in Orchard Lake, Michigan, where John's family owns a lovely house on the water. It was a great trip that involved rowboats, regular boats, lots of scrabble & checkers, fireworks, plenty of dogs, delicious food and drink, and generally a very relaxing time with John and some of his family. Pictured with us here is Murphy, who is Uncle Dick's standard poodle and a very sweet pup. Not pictured here are Anna & Kasey, the Cangany German Shephards, as well as Jack the dog and Grace and Charlotte the cats. Also - please don't mind my bangs in this photo - blame the windy boat ride!

All in all, I had a great time exploring another new midwestern state. Can't wait for a return trip!

Week 28: The Wire

2009-07-14T12:05:00.000-04:00

This week I'll take a break form the usual excitement and plug a TV show I've been watching while sitting on my butt. In case you haven't heard of it, The Wire is a police crime drama set in Baltimore, Maryland. It originally aired on HBO for five seasons and has been widely acclaimed as the best TV show ever (or substitute any other similar hyperbolic statement). As one who usually gives in to this type of media hype, I thought I should check it out. A friend of mine was kind enough to lend me the entire series on DVD, so for the past few weeks John and I have been tuning in. The past few days have been particularly productive (or unproductive, depending on how you look at it!). From Thursday night through Sunday, we got through all of season 2 (twelve episodes) and the first three episodes of season 3.

While parts of the show are pretty violent and graphic, and though sometimes I don't understand all of the plot intricacies, the show is pretty addicting, mostly for the well-developed characters. It's definitely interesting and eye-opening to see all the crazy stuff that happens on a day-to-day basis in city that's so close to here. Also, the complexities of the "war on drugs" have always intrigued me, so this is just further education. Anyway, shouldn't be long before we finish all five seasons! Stay tuned for the verdict.

Week 27: Happy Birthday, America!

2009-07-09T21:07:00.001-04:00

To celebrate the fourth of July, I enjoyed a truly all-American weekend. I kicked off the festivities with my first-ever visit to Nationals Stadium. We got some great $10 seats and it was a comfortable and breezy summer night. With a cold beer, some Ben's Chili Bowl (my fave!) and good company, it was the perfect start of the celebration of America's birthday. We even saw a fireworks show after the game! The rest of the weekend continued in similar food/drink fashion. Needless to say, I needed most of the workweek to recover. Not a bad birthday celebration, if you ask me! Hope everyone else celebrated in similar patriotic fashion!

Week 26: Eastern Market Grand Reopening!

2009-07-01T15:32:00.003-04:00

Yikes! I just realized Week 26 marks the halfway point of 2009. Unbelievable how it's flown by! This past Saturday was the grand reopening of Eastern Market after the fire just over two years ago. Hard to believe that my parents have been in the DC area for over 30 years but this was their first trip to Eastern Market! Needless to say, my mom enjoyed the jewelry vendors and found some nice items to take home. After a couple consecutive weekends out of town, it was a great day to stroll around and take in one of my favorite parts of DC. And after mostly straight up SPs, I hope you enjoy this little artsy number!

Week 25: Newest Obsession: Settlers of Catan

2009-06-24T20:45:00.004-04:00

I spent this past weekend in Asbury Park, NJ, visiting my good friends John & Leroy. It rained practically the entire time, so instead of beach time, we were stuck indoors. Luckily, Pepper anticipated this and brought Settlers of Catan, an amazing board game that we ended up getting addicted to very quickly.

Without getting too complicated, it's a strategic game of establishing settlements and cities by acquiring, then trading resources. In two days, we played four very competitive games, and soon forgot that we were even in a beach town at all. With great company and this new form of entertainment, we ended up making the most out of a rainy weekend.

Upon returning home, I've already played the Xbox Live version of Catan, and today I downloaded a new iPhone app called Kolonists, which appears to be a Catan ripoff (but at $2 a total steal!). Clearly I have a problem... That said, I can't wait for the next round of Catan!

Week 24: Happy (Early) Father's Day!

2009-06-16T17:39:00.002-04:00

I spent this past weekend in Ocean City, Maryland with a big group of family and family friends. I know I'm a week early on Father's day, but I'll be out of town next weekend and unable to celebrate with my dad, so this is his early shout out! The beach with the family is always a good time... we enjoyed tons of food (what else is new?), including steamed crab (yum!), and dropped in on the shopping outlets to do some tax-free damage. Despite the cloudy weather, we still squeezed in some great beach time and overall, it was a quality bonding weekend.

Happy Father's Day, pops! You're the best dad ever.

Week 23: Playing hooky

2009-06-09T20:25:00.003-04:00

I took a personal day off Monday of this week to take care of some business. That basically meant getting some things done around the apartment, taking a trip to Target, picking up Auddie from school, treating her (and myself!) to McDonald's, then heading home to plant a flower box of impatiens with my mom. As everyone knows from my Charleston photos, I love flower boxes, and now I have one to spruce up my balcony! Luckily it was a warm and sunny day so we were able to spend time outside before some scary apocalyptic t'storms and more June rain struck!

Week 22: Happy Sweet 16, Auddie!

2009-06-03T20:50:00.004-04:00

On June 1, Auddie reached a big milestone and turned 16! This past weekend, my family celebrated her birthday with a big party at home, complete with a delicious Baskin Robbins mini-cone ice cream cake. I still can't believe my little sister is so grown up! It still feels like yesterday when I used to change her diaper and when she learned to walk and talk. Yet in reality, this week I was a passenger in the car while she took me out for a spin! She's still got some practicing to do before she gets her license, but so far, she's not bad! My, how time flies. The only thing that hasn't changed is that she's still one of my best buddies and we always have a great time together! I'm so happy and thankful to have such a beautiful, funny and mature younger sister. Happy Birthday, Auddie!

Week 21: Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-27T22:03:00.004-04:00

Memorial Day is absolutely one of my favorite weekends of the year. For the past few years I've headed down to Easton, MD, to the house where my sister-in-law Molly & her brother Tim grew up. It's a beautiful place where it's impossible not to relax by the water and feel like you're miles away from home (yet actually only an hour and a half away from DC).

The weekend is always filled with food, drink, sun, boat rides, swimming (though not much this year, due to the windy chill!), sports, outdoor games (cornhole!), and great company. It's basically one long party to kick off the summer.

This week's SP captures one of many fun moments from the weekend. It's a shot of me, Kim, Mai, and part of Billie, hanging out on the dock. Happy Summer, all!

Week 20: Happy Housewarming for a friend!

2009-05-19T16:26:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I went over to my friend Heather's new condo in Alexandria to celebrate her new home and also spend some quality time with my high school buddies Skelbs and Caroline. HC's place has a huge patio on the same level as the pool (which unfortunately was not yet open for business), so we enjoyed some nice outdoor time before yet another crazy May thunderstorm struck. We enjoyed tons of delicious food before getting into an intense and hilarious game of Apples to Apples. Great times! Here's our 4-person SP... I'm improving, right?

Week 19: Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-12T21:30:00.001-04:00

I spent this past Sunday celebrating Mother's Day with my mom and Auddie. We shared a nice lunch at home before partaking in an outdoor photo shoot on what was a truly perfect spring day. Afterwards, we paid our respects to my grandmothers with a visit to their cemetaries, before continuing on to some shopping and general girlie bonding. We ended the day with dinner where my dad joined us. All in all, it was a great day to honor and celebrate my wonderful mother! Happy Mother's Day, Mom. You're the best!

Week 18: Happy 30th, Steph!

2009-05-07T19:07:00.002-04:00

This past weekend my family and I celebrated a big milestone for my near and dear cousin, Steph: her 30th birthday! It turns out this is a big year for birthdays in the family, as my uncle is belatedly celebrating his 50th this coming weekend, and we got together to celebrate my grandpa's 90th on Tuesday of this week. For a family like ours, this means lots of celebrating with tons of food... I'm definitely not going to complain about that! Happy Birthday, all!

Here's a shot of me and Steph before the party got too wild!

Week 17: Spring (or is it Summer?) has finally sprung!

2009-04-26T18:05:00.004-04:00

After some bizarre recent DC weather (hailstorms in April?), it seems we've now skipped entirely over spring and launched right into an early DC summer. It was in the mid-80s all weekend, so I enthusiastically welcomed flip flops and shorts back into my wardrobe, and spent Saturday night grilling outdoors with some cold beers.

Hopefully we'll get some real spring back before the gross and humid summer is here for good. For now, these temps are a welcome change, so I definitely can't complain.

I also forgot to take an SP til today, so this is what you get... me cruisin' in my car with the windows down.

Week 16: Down to the lowcountry!

2009-04-23T17:51:00.000-04:00

From April 19-22, John and I took a mini-vacay down to Charleston, S.C, our first visit down to this beautiful, historic and quaint old city. During our quick getaway, we had a great time thanks to wonderful weather and delicious southern cuisine. Charleston is full of little secrets -- you'll turn a corner and find a mysterious alleyway that opens up into an amazing garden; or stumble upon a street and find a row of gorgeous houses each with its own unique charm. We even took short trips to Folly Beach (on the West side) and Isle of Palms/Sullivan's Island (to the East) to enjoy some beach time, which everyone knows is my favorite thing.

All in all, it was a great trip! Here's an SP taken at the end of the Folly Beach pier.

Week 15: Bonding at the bar

2009-04-16T10:21:00.006-04:00

This week's SP comes courtesy of John's long arms. There was just no way I'd be able to attempt or successfully complete a 6-person portrait. I'm counting it as this week's shot because I was the one who (mis)directed John into cutting half his face out of the photo. He should know better than to take my advice.

Kim & Natty were in town from New York so we all met up at Fado in Chinatown on Friday night for some late-night fun and cousin bonding. Had a great time!

Week 14: Eating my way through NYC

2009-04-08T18:33:00.004-04:00

Auddie's Spring Break started last Friday and she was itching to get out of Springfield. She convinced me to take her up to New York for a few days, and we enjoyed a nice mini-vacay, despite the rainy and cold weather.

The three days consisted of eating, shopping, more eating, visiting Kyle & Avery (cutest kids ever!), more eating, and basically just hanging out with Kim.

Meal highlights included: Bulgogi hot dogs (don't forget the kim chi!), cheap dumplings from Chinatown, mini cupcakes, and a sampling of delicious mac 'n cheese!

It had been over a year since I'd been up to NYC and I was reminded how much I enjoy myself up there! Great food and great company. Can't go wrong!

Week 13: Fashion for Paws / Fancy Night Out!

2009-03-30T19:39:00.007-04:00

On Saturday, March 28, I attended the third annual Fashion for Paws fundraiser for the Washington Humane Society at the Italian Embassy. The event was centered around a fashion show featuring some really cute pups (escorted by human models). Unfortunately Val Kilmer, an honorary chair, did not make an appearance, so the people watching was focused on the rest of the DC "socials" in attendance. This is not the usual way I would spend a Saturday night, but it was a nice way to change up my normal routine, have an excuse to get dressed up for a good cause, and experience a different DC scene for an evening. I had a great time!

Here's this week's portrait, a shiny and glossy shot of me with John & Mai taken toward the end of the evening. My SPs are improving, don't you think?

Here's another non-SP of me & Mai in front of the celeb backdrop looking colorful. We're totes famous, inbd.

Week 12: March Madness!

2009-03-22T18:52:00.005-04:00

This week marked the official start of spring, followed by the official start of one of my favorite sporting events of the year: March Madness!

After Thursday's tip-off, I spent a lot of the time in front of the TV watching the games and tracking my bracket. I look a little silly here, but this week's portrait best captured what I wanted from this week. This is me and John on Saturday night. We had some pizza and beers while enjoying some of the games. Not a bad weekend evening!

Week 11: Happy St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-15T15:16:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, March 14, I went to Kelly's Irish Times near Union Station to celebrate Green Beer Day with a bunch of Miami of Ohio alum. Upon further research, I discovered this is an actual big deal at Miami (Oxford, Ohio) some huge party that's been going on for over 50 years. I'm never one to turn down green beer (yes, John, I like novelty items) so I enjoyed myself even after discovering that Green Beer is just regular beer with green food coloring. I'd hoped there were little leprechauns who came out for St. Patty's to mix up a special recipe or something. Alas, it's not the case. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you, too, can enjoy some Green Beer this week.

Week 10: Spring Forward!

2009-03-09T19:26:00.008-04:00

This week's post will feature three (3), count 'em three self-portraits.

To kick off March, the weirdest weather month ever, DC had its biggest snowfall of the year. This was me on my walk to work last Monday, March 2:

Only a few days later, the snow melted as the temps rose, and here I am on Saturday, March 7:

You can't tell, but I'm wearing flip flops and loving it. That's me with Cleo. She belongs to John's sister, Meg, and is a very cute and lovable german shepherd mix. John was dogsitting Cleo this weekend, and since the weather was so nice, we spent some time on his back patio enjoying some beers and food. It was my personal highlight during what was a very lovely "Spring Forward" weekend. Despite losing an hour on Sunday and waking up to pitch black (again) this morning, it was pretty amazing to see daylight at 7 pm today.

Finally, last night I was home in Springfield for a belated family dinner celebrating Huan & Molly's birthday. Had to throw in this SP for kicks -- add it to the "Classic Pouy face" collection.

Week 9: Happy National Chili Day!

2009-03-01T19:23:00.004-05:00

National Chili Day was on February 26. In years past I have been to Hard Times Cafe since they offer free chili on this important holiday, but since I didn't make out to the burbs this year, I was unable to celebrate on the actual day. I made up for it this weekend with a belated and delicious chili meal, courtesy of Good Stuff Eatery on the Hill. I've been here several times but this past weekend was my first taste of their chili-cheese burger, known as "Uncle D's Chili 'N Cheddar burger." It seems odd that it took me so long to try it since everyone who knows me knows how much I love chili! The burger, while sloppy, did not disappoint. The chili had zest and the scallions added a nice flavor as well. I definitely didn't regret my order.

As an aside, John ordered the "Blazin' Barn," which is Spike's take on a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich, made with carrots, daikon, cilantro, basil, and the delicious Sriracha mayo that is part of what keeps me coming back to this place.

Week 8: Early Bird Dinner & M. Ward

2009-02-23T17:25:00.009-05:00

This past weekend I caught my very first music show at the Sixth & I Synagogue. It was definitely a cool experience to watch a rock concert in a historic and religious building, sitting in pews instead of standing in a sweaty basement.

The show opened with the Vivian Girls, who, despite critical acclaim for their debut album, failed to inspire or move me. Their particular brand of garagey girl punk 1) was already not my speed, sound & genre-wise 2) did not sound good within the walls of the venue, and 3) reminded me of a high school talent show performance.

Luckily, I was there to see M. Ward and he did not disappoint. The show was predominately a mix of songs off his latest release, Hold Time, as well as some of my favorite tunes off of his previous album, Post-War.

While the show felt a bit short, I thought it was a great performance. It was a nice mix of his rollicking, full-band tunes alongside nice, acoustic numbers. M. Ward impressed the crowd with his guitar skills on a John Fahey number, and warmed us with his earnest and gravelly voice on some slower ballads. All in all, a great time with great company. Looking forward to my next chance to come to this venue as it is truly a unique place to enjoy music.

On an unrelated note, this week's SP is from my pre-show dinner at Westend Bistro. Now everyone knows I'm not really a dessert girl at all, but John and I really enjoyed the Apple Cobbler, and more notably the homemade vanilla ice cream that was served alongside it. The delicious meal was a great start to a fun weekend night!

Week 7: Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T19:46:00.007-05:00

This Valentine's Day I spent a lot of quality time with friends and family. I ate and drank too much (mostly ate) and my stomach/body are still recovering, but I had a great time and think that spending Valentine's Day with loved ones like this is just as fulfilling as doing something cheesy and romantic with your s.o. (though we all know that based on my love of chick flicks and hopeless romanticism in general, I am not opposed to such things).

This week's SP includes my cousins Steph, Kim & Natty (Sorry for the face and head cut off, Steph & Natty! I'm still working on my technique, though I'm not sure short arms can be overcome!). We all went out to Fly Lounge on Friday night for an evening of dancing. It was a nice change of pace from my usual venues and nights out, and it was great to bond with the family over it, too!

Week 6: A Beautiful Winter's Day

2009-02-09T20:26:00.011-05:00

This past weekend we enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather in DC, so my cousin Mai and I decided to take advantage of it, motivate each other and go for a nice run downtown. We headed to the national mall as part of our DC funsies day, part 2.

So the run wasn't quite as productive as we would have hoped (net running time ~25 minutes), but we still got our legs moving and broke a sweat, which, in the end, was probably a good warm-up for our out-of-shape winter bodies.

Really the day was about enjoying the weather, taking in more of DC's landmarks, and of course, embarrassing ourselves silly. Give us a couple cameras and that's what we do best!

I'm a giant!! This photo took a zillion takes and a few location changes before I got it just right.

A classic, jumpity self-portrait (courtesy of remote shutter and Mai's new Gorillapod). Just imagine the looks we got from all the other tourists walking by!

*Editor's note: Neither of these photos are self-portraits by me, and thus neither is my actual Flickr self-portrait selection of the week. They were just my favorites of the day.

Week 5: DC Funsies Day!

2009-02-02T19:12:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday I had a fun, touristy DC day with my cousin, Mai (Tuti/Kam). We started the day with a delicious brunch at one of my favorite local spots, Logan Tavern. This is where the cameras came out and we proceeded to embarrass ourselves (Thanks for being seen with us in public, John!).

After enjoying some tasty food and even more delicious bloody marys, Mai and I headed to the National Building Museum (where we posed with the lions outside -- perhaps the first tourists to find this an amazing opportunity for self-portraits), then the National Portrait Gallery. After a quick snack break at Penn Quarter's new TangySweet, we made our way to Eastern Market and strolled around for a while before Mai made the best purchase of the day: 4 pairs of sunglasses for $17 to add to her already huge collection.

It was a rare day of so much touristy DC activity, but I had a great time!

The photo above is this week's "official" self-portrait, but since there were so many great ones and I had a hard time deciding, here a couple more gems from the weekend:

Week 4: Happy New Year!

2009-01-26T17:41:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year, or as they say in Vietnamese, Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Today marks the first day of the year of the Ox in the lunar calendar.

Here's wishing all my family and friends health, happiness and success in the new year!

This week's portrait is of me in my brand new Snuggie, reading a book with my brand new book light. That's right, after talking about Snuggies all winter long, I finally stopped into Bed Bath & Beyond and picked one up this weekend. The only color they had in stock was the Royal Blue, so I really didn't have any problems deciding what to get.

The funniest part was that there was another woman shopping near me, too, and I looked down to see no less than 10 boxes of Snuggies in her cart! Someone was stocking up for the cold winter! Hahaha.

Anyway, here's my honest review:

-fabric is a little cheap, not as thick and plush as one might think
-the fleece comes off and sticks to whatever you're wearing underneath (my white t-shirt was covered in a light coat of blue fleece)
-"one size fits all" is a bit of a stretch. The sleeves are about a foot too long and the length is about 2 feet too long... I can't really walk around in the Snuggie unless I want to be dusting my floor at the same time!
-the Snuggie may cause static problems

-the Snuggie is a really great accessory for playing the Wii. So much free arm movement while staying warm!
-there is definitely Halloween costume potential here... stay tuned...

Haters (you know who you are!), if you are going to say mean things, please use a *, #, @ or $ in the appropriate places. This is a family-friendly space.

Week 3: Happy Inauguration!

2009-01-21T10:10:00.007-05:00

As everyone knows, this was a big week for the country, and especially a little place called Washington, D.C. For the long inaugural weekend, D.C. had a brief shining moment of hype, we felt cool, and everyone was talking about us!

Being here for inauguration weekend was a special experience, but after dealing with the masses, I'm glad to see all the tourists return home and allow D.C. go back to its uncool, normal self.

On Sunday, I headed down to the Mall to see the opening Inaugural celebration concert, "We are One." Despite the cold and crowd, it was a pretty exciting experience to be part of such a big scene. You could feel the excitement in the air that set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

The concert itself was not bad -- it was cool to see some of the big name acts up close and personal (on a jumbotron...), but there were definitely some awkward moments (Bald Eagle, anyone?) sprinkled in, that were as awkward to re-watch on TV as they were to see live.

On Tuesday, due to coming down with my second cold in as many weeks, I watched the Inauguration from indoors rather than battle the estimated 2 million* who braved the cold and congregated on the Mall.

All in all, it felt great to be able to witness such a big part of history right in your own backyard. I think I can speak for lots of people when I say I'm excited to see the Obamas take their place in the White House and am looking forward to what's to come.

Here's a shot of me and John on Sunday, January 18. We were en route to the "We are One" concert and stopped to take in the site of the swearing-in while we could get a close view.

I didn't get any celeb autographs and didn't hit any fancy balls, but I definitely still enjoyed the long, historic weekend! Hope you all did, too.

*If anyone has a more accurate estimate of numbers, please do share!

It must be my lucky day!

2009-01-16T13:31:00.003-05:00

I just returned from a much-needed lunch trip to McDonald's, and I open my box of nuggets to find the following:

"Wow," I thought! A deformed nugget -- how freaky! But wait, it's almost the size of two nuggets, so It's like I got 11 instead of 10! This must be a sign of good things to come...

Thank you for rewarding this loyal Nuggnut, McD's. You just made my day!

Starting anew? week 1 & 2...

2009-01-12T20:46:00.007-05:00

I was recently convinced to participate in a 52-week self-portrait project for Flickr. My cousin, Maitai113, is doing a daily 365-day project but I didn't want to get overly-ambitious just yet. So for now, I'll be posting one photo a week to my 52 weeks/2009 set. The rules are simple: the photo has to be taken by me, and some part of me (however small) must be in the photo. I decided that in conjunction with this project on Flickr, I'll also be blogging the photos here. That way, I'll have some sort of visual and written documentation of my year, and it will at least guarantee a blog post a week! Everyone wins!

For starters I'll post the first two weeks in this post and go from there... Enjoy, all, and Happy New Year! So far, '09 is looking pretty good and I couldn't be more excited about what's ahead.

week 1: 1/1 - Happy New Year!
This is my first selection, taken just seconds after midnight on January 1, 2009. You can see my hand in the left-hand corner of the photo, holding a glass of champagne to toast the new year.

week 2: 1/10 - ski weekend in Seven Springs
This is a shot of me and my sister, Auddie, on the ski lift at Seven Springs. About 20+ of us (family & friends) took over the mountain and spent a nice weekend there.

Stay tuned! We still have 50 weeks to go!

My Top Songs of '08

2008-12-11T08:42:00.000-05:00

10. He Doesn't Know Why - Fleet Foxes

9. Sarah - Ray Lamontagne

8. No One Does It Like You - Department of Eagles

7. I Stand Corrected - Vampire Weekend

6. Lost Coastlines - Okkervil River

5. Head Rolls Off - Frightened Rabbit

4. Flume - Bon Iver

3. Furr - Blitzen Trapper

2. Too Too Too Fast - Ra Ra Riot

1. Family Tree - TV on the Radio

My Top Albums of '08

2008-12-10T08:45:00.001-05:00

Call this the blog that won't quit. Just when you think I've said my last piece, I keep coming back for more! Only about five posts ago I was writing about the music of 2006, and here we are fast approaching 2009.

Not too much has changed between now and then, but I like to think that my musical tastes have broadened and I'm continually discovering and enjoying new genres and styles all the time (Thanks to eMusic and other unnamed influences with good taste).

As for my current musical fixation... well, it's no longer The Shins' album from last year. Let's just say for the past couple months I've been rotating a lot from 2008 to prepare for this post. As always, there is plenty that I missed or albums I didn't have enough time to enjoy, so rather than a "Best" list, I prefer to consider this a "Favorites."

So without further delay, I present my top albums of 2008. A list of my top 10 songs is forthcoming...

10. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
(4AD)

For full disclosure, I'd never heard Grizzly Bear prior to this, so I came in with fresh ears to this particular spin-off/side project. The first time I heard this album, I thought, "This is weird." When I say that it doesn't exactly mean I thought it was weird, but rather... let me explain. It's music that, in contrast to, say, Vampire Weekend, if I blasted on my iPod while in the car with my brother or sister, they'd say, "This is weird," rather than saying, "Hmm what's this? I like it!" (I'm not mocking my siblings -- this just happens to me more than you can imagine.) So I guess what I am saying is, this is not immediately accessible nor particularly "catchy." That said, I kept listening. I couldn't stop listening to "No One Does It Like You" in particular. And I really got into this "psych-pop" (is that what they call it?), in all of its fuzzy, lo-fi glory.

9. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
(Sub Pop)

I heard this album in bits and pieces before it was officially released. Based on the sampling of mp3s I had, I was convinced I would love the rest. While that was eventually true, I didn't love this album immediately. It seemed a little all over the place - funky disco songs like "Saturday Nite" sandwiched between other Dylan-esque acoustic numbers didn't quite work for me. But then that's why I started to like it. I never knew what to expect, and each time it would surprise me. Listening to this album is like a roller coaster ride, but the energy never stops and every song is solid. As a side note, I'd buy the whole thing again just for "Furr."

8. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
(Jagjaguwar)

After this album was released, all the critics jumped on it and adored it, but for some reason I didn't listen to it until way, way after it had come out. And I liked it. I wasn't like "OMG this is the best thing I've ever heard," but I did enjoy it. I'm starting to think of Okkervil River as a simply reliable band. When "Lost Coastlines" starts up with the delayed bass line, and Jonathan Meiburg, with his haunting tenor voice exchanges vocals with Will Sheff, I can't help but tap my feet.

7. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
(Sony)

To me, this album has one of the best Track 1-5 lineups of any listed here. Big bass beats, some synths, hand-clapping, and dramatic multiple-vocalist choruses make for a bunch of really epic and anthemic tunes. I find it to be great walking music. When I leave my house and start down the sidewalk with this on the iPod, it really gets me going, inspires me, and makes me feel like I'm setting out to change the world (even if I'm not - but at 7 am, everyone needs a pick-me-up).

6. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
(XL)

What more is there to say about this album. It's not the best, but it may have been the most enjoyable. I never got fully on board with the Vampire Weekend hype, but listening to this album on any given Friday afternoon definitely got me excited for the weekend. It's the ultimate windows-down, catchy, sing-along summer album, written by a bunch of Ivy League 20-something prepsters. I'll take it.

5. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
(Sub Pop)

Fleet Foxes deserve praise for having the best vocal harmonies of any album on this list. I saw these guys live and the vocals were impeccable, harmonies spot-on. The folksy album makes you feel like taking a hike, or enjoying the great outdoors. Tunes featuring reverb and rollicking guitars and piano are sandwiched between slower acoustic ballads with booming, echoey vocals. An all-around solid effort.

4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
(Jagjaguwar)

Bon Iver's album was one of those with a backstory; in short, Justin Vernon moved into a cabin in the woods for a few months and walked out with this masterpiece debut. With a story like that, you'd expect music that was isolating and lonely, but most importantly, moving. It's haunting, chill-inducing, folk-rock aided by Vernon's falsetto, steel-string guitars, horns, and dramatic crescendos throughout. Perfect for these cold winter nights!

3. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
(Interscope)

This blurb comes from someone who was never a TVOTR fan prior to this record. I'd heard a couple tracks, but never really gotten into them. Then came this release. Unlike some albums that take time to digest, this one hit me immediately and was the only thing playing on my iPod for a week straight. The music is layered with buzzy guitars and vocals upon vocals, the production is crisp and clean (just how I like it), and the songs are to me, a cohesive collection. They belong together and I love them.

2. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
(Fat Cat)

I downloaded this after browsing eMusic, and truth be told, I didn't love it right away. But I got into a couple tracks here and there, and slowly, it grew on me. And then I saw them live at the Backstage of the Black Cat in June, and that changed everything. The small room was filled to capacity, and I was close enough to the stage to see every drop of sweat pouring off the lead singer's face. They claimed it was the best/biggest crowd they'd ever played to, and their enthusiasm was reflected in every song. It was a high-energy, inspired performance that completely sold the band and the album to me.

1. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
(Barsuk)

Sure, this album got props as a good full-length debut, but my guess is that it didn't top many other year-end lists. I struggled with picking my #1 - swapping in other critical darlings and not able to commit to this one, but in the end, it was really no decision at all. This was the album that, from top to bottom, simply pleased me every time I listened. I first heard "Ghost Under Rocks" as part of a mix CD (yes! those still exist), and it had everything I loved in a song. It was, at once, dark and slightly depressing (credit to the cello), but also poppy and upbeat. And from the first time I heard "Too Too Too Fast" -- where did those synths come from!! -- I was hooked. Great melodies paired with wonderful string arrangements make for an easily-accessible and catchy album. And at the end of the day, that's what gets me going.

Say it ain't so...

2008-08-05T15:54:00.008-04:00

Don't get too excited about a blog revival just yet. I was just feeling inspired and even a bit nostalgic during a brief moment this afternoon after re-reading some old '05 posts.

So here I am. After a year and two months of nothing, I return with a farewell post for Huan & Molly, who have one more night as official DC residents before packing up and moving onto greener pastures (Charlottesville, my favorite little town in the country).

For them, the memories from 1441 Rhode Island Avenue are plentiful. From mere strangers who met at the building meet and greet, to newlyweds sharing a condo, and of course the welcoming of their annoying downstairs neighbor who arrived in September '07 and never left them alone (that's me!), it's been nothing but a memorable time.

As I sit in their apartment, which I am soon to inherit, it feels a little bit like the last episode of Friends. Count on me to compare my life to a pop culture television moment.

DC will miss you, Huan & Marge, but we wish you the best in C'ville and we'll be certain to visit often. Just remember you'll always have a spot on the pull-out couch in Apartment 810 ;)

Thanks for everything!

Oops, I did it again.

2007-06-03T20:51:00.000-04:00

Yup, it's been forever... sorry about that.

In case anyone is still checking in here, I just found a link to a great article and wanted to share it. If anything can bring me back to the blog, it's a chance to discuss and promote my beloved alma mater.

Read on. Wahoowa!

Weekend of Surprises!

2007-04-08T23:18:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, I attended back-to-back surprise party events for some people very near and dear to me.

First up was a surprise baby shower for the one-and-only Kelly McMahon, which was an great reunion of most of the people I was closest to in college, all under one roof for the first time in a long time. See party photos here. Note: Macaroni & Cheese baby food is not as appetizing as it should be. Stick to the Mango.

Saturday night was a surprise dinner party event in honor of my parents and some close family friends to celebrate both couples' 30th anniversary. I had the tough role of stalling my parents while we waited for the rest of the party to show up and sneak to the private room, while trying to make up excuses/create a diversion when we had a couple near-spoiler moments! Luckily, all went well and it was a wonderful night of celebration highlighted by great wine and great company. Party photos here.

In the end, both events were big successes and a good time was had by all.

Finally, today we celebrated my grandma's birthday with a lovely family brunch at home. Happy Birthday, Ba! One weekend and so much to celebrate! I think it's time for a diet.

Vegas, Baby!

2007-04-05T19:32:00.000-04:00

What I learned during my first trip to Las Vegas:

- There is an inverse relationship between my enjoyment of gambling and my luck/skill at actually winning. Translation: I loved it but I sucked.

- I don't like being boo'ed at the craps table after I roll a 7. It's pretty demoralizing.

- The Nevada Gaming Commission takes itself rather seriously (for good reason, I suppose). Oh, and FYI: you can't be barefoot in a casino. House rules!

- Though a map will make it appear like the Bellagio is merely a couple blocks away from Treasure Island, it may very well take you an hour to walk there. However, in clear and sunny weather, I could sit in front of that fountain all day long and be happy. See my first Vimeo clip here.

- Vegas is decidedly like Disneyland for adults.

- A visit to the Hoover Dam will result in no less than a thousand "dam" jokes. And they're all hilarious. No matter what.

- Taking the red-eye flight home and going to work on Monday was not as cool as I thought it would be.

- What happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas. Especially when there are fotos involved! (Enjoy!)

To conclude, I'd like to say congratulations to my friends Drew and Mary Quinn and wish them the best for a happy future together!

Listen Immediately: Amy Winehouse

2007-03-25T09:20:00.000-04:00

I should have known that Amy Winehouse was worth listening to when I received two enthusiastic recommendations for her on the same day, then walked by a storefront emblazoned with posters of her on one of the few remaining record stores by my office.

My first thought was, a new female artist who is mainstream enough that she's being promoted front and center at a Kemp Mill Music while also being recommended to me by a couple serious indie music fans?

But as soon as I popped in her CD and heard the first track, I understood. This girl can sing, and not only does she sound well experienced beyond her 23 years, but she also sounds like she's living in the wrong decade. Her new album, Back to Black, is a soulful, jazzy, R&B masterpiece combining the old sounds reminiscent of Billie Holiday with the contemporary sound of someone like Lauryn Hill.

Winehouse, a native of England, has passion and attitude, and it comes through from the first note of her album. It's a bold feat to kick off an album singing, "They tried to make me go to rehab/I said no, no, no" as a defiant response to her previous management company's demands that she get help for her alcohol problems. Winehouse dropped them after that and released this record, which was the highest U.S. chart debut (#7) for any British female artist ever. She certainly proved that despite whatever personal issues she has to deal with, she has a firm grasp of her music career.

Visit MySpace for sample tracks. YouTube also has some excellent music videos. Like I said, listen immediately.

To Love Somebody

2007-03-04T17:51:00.000-05:00

I came across a nice video during some musical websurfing today. Check out two of my favorite artists, Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice, performing a duet of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" at a recent performance in France. Pretty sweet... Enjoy!

Music of 2006.

2007-02-25T21:27:00.000-05:00

I'm long overdue on this post, but I figure it's better late than never. By now many of you music lovers have read countless Best of 2006 lists (Pitchfork, Harp, bloggers, etc.) so I'll spare you my own, especially since it's almost March now.

Rather than call this a true "Best of," or even my own personal Top 10, I'll just consider this post a wrap-up of the best of what I heard in 2006. The reason I say this is because I am well aware that for no good reason at all, there are many new releases that I failed to get my ears on or otherwise was not able to completely absorb (Ray LaMontagne, Damien Rice, and Lily Allen come immediately to mind). Actually, there are probably at least a dozen releases I am certain would qualify as fantastic music had I given myself the chance to hear all of it, and this is what is most frustrating to me.

On the other hand, I was able to hear many other wonderful things that I am happy to plug right now. In no particular order, here follows a quick list of my personal favorites that came out in 2006...

M. Ward :: Post-War

The man with the raspy old school radio-voice found a band to back him up on this album, and with rollicking guitars and some wonderful guest vocalists (Neko Case and My Morning Jacket's Jim James), the result is incredible and possibly my favorite M. Ward effort to date. He has a way of transporting the listener to a different time while keeping a fresh and current sound. Something about his music makes me feel nostalgic and thoughtful. On my first listen, the sense of familiarity and instant connection made me feel as if I'd heard the song years ago and the sound of Ward's voice was bringing me back to an old memory.

Band of Horses :: Everything All The Time

An amazing debut album from a new addition to the Sub Pop family. This one received tons of blogger press, but the hype was worth it in the end. They've got a kinda Shins-y sound with more reverb and big guitars.

The Decemberists :: The Crane Wife

The major label debut from one of my favorite bands was not a disappointment. Sure, it took me a few listens to get into it, and it's definitely not my favorite Decemberists album, but songs like "The Perfect Crime" are ridiculously addicting and I still heart Colin Meloy.

Cat Power :: The Greatest

This was one of the first new albums I heard in 2006, and I was hooked from the first note of the "The Greatest," which for me was hands-down one of the best songs of the year. After learning some background on Chan Marshall and the incredible journey she's been through -- and the state she was in while this album was being made -- I have an immense appreciation for her music and huge respect for her work.

Beirut :: Gulag Orkestar

Speaking of respect for musicians, Zach Condon is the man behind Beirut, and it's important to note that he's still a teenager (19) and he's set the bar high on his debut creation. He sounds like he's a musical veteran with the sounds and melodies he's created on this album, an indescribable blend of gypsy-folk, complete with accordians and horns and every instrument you can imagine except guitars. If you close your eyes you feel like you could be in a completely different time and place, maybe an intimate picnic somewhere in Eastern Europe.

Vetiver :: To Find Me Gone

When I first heard Vetiver's album, the lead vocals reminded me immediately of one of my favorite UK bands, Turin Brakes. This was another album I listened to based on blogger recommendations, and it was an instantly-catchy, no-nonsense folk/rock album with beautiful melodies.

Islands :: Return to the Sea

I played this for the first time with Auddie in the car, and her reaction was to say, "I feel like we're on a beach." Aside from the band name and album title, songs like "Jogging Gorgeous Summer" that feature Jamaican steel drums certainly invoke a beachy mood. It's rare that I'll blindly get an album based mostly on blogger hype, but after not hearing a single note until I first popped it into my CD player, I was pleasantly surprised with this album, which, I should note, is another debut effort (from former members of The Unicorns). It's poppy, fun, and immediately catchy.

Belle & Sebastian :: The Life Pursuit

I don't think I need to describe the B&S sound to anyone. I pretty much love everything they do, and this album was no exception. Sugary sweet as usual with uplifting melodies and bouncing beats, this is perfect summer driving music that is easily repeatable and instantly addicting.

The Tighten Up Report

2007-02-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't been updating WOFTP (new acronym, I guess) as often as I'd like, I thought this would be a good chance to introduce you to a new blog to add to your weekly reads. The Tighten Up Report is the brainchild of my friends Becca and Pepper. It is a wonderfully clever blog forum in which witty and thoughtful persons record "the spectacular failure of individuals and institutions to function at acceptable levels." Please check it out at your leisure... start with the first post to familiarize yourself with the format, and look for continuous updates from a variety of contributors.

Happy Birthday Huan!/Nam Moi

2007-02-19T23:29:00.000-05:00

Any year prior to this one, I'd probably get called out by my dear brother for lumping his birthday shoutout with a Happy New Year (Tet) post. However, this year is different. Huan, who has been known in the past to celebrate in style and shout birthday reminders and announcements from the rooftops, is, by his own admission, "over it." To me, that is a true sign of growth and it means he is well-deserving of a birthday blog post! After all, everyone knows I hate to pass up a chance to post fun childhood photos (this one is circa 1985):

Happy Birthday, big bro!

For Part II of this post, I'd like to wish everyone a happy new year. It's the year of the pig, which, as my wise grandfather told me, means everyone should eat well and sleep well. Sounds like a plan to me! Here's also wishing health and happiness to my fam and friends.