Never Turn Down A Cupcake: Chipotle

I've been to ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen in DC twice now, and I can't wait to go back again! The concept is derived from Chipotle, which makes for a streamlined ordering process and the line moves fairly quickly. The only thing stopping the line somewhat is that the various menu items/toppings are not listed on the overhead board, so if you haven't been before you'll need to ask the person behind the counter what everything is. Hopefully they'll have some signage up or menus that people can peruse while they're waiting in line at some point.

Here we have my friend B's brown rice bowl with grilled steak, Chinese broccoli, green curry, green papaya slaw, pickles, herb salad, toasted rice, crispy garlic, and crushed peanuts.

And here's my brown rice bowl with pork and chicken meatballs, long beans, spicy red curry, green papaya slaw, herb salad, toasted rice, crispy garlic, and crushed peanuts.

Both bowls were pretty similar so they both tasted great to me, haha. But I have to say, those meatballs were soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. Crunchy on the outside, super moist on the inside, and really flavorful on their own.

On my second visit, I went with a banh mi instead of a bowl. I got the aforementioned bomb meatballs, green papaya slaw, herb salad, and crushed peanuts. The bread was great but maybe a touch too thick for me - there were some bites where I got pretty much all bread and no filling. Once again the meatballs stole the show for me - as much as I'd love to try the other protein options I'm not sure if I'd be able to stray from these on my next visits, haha.

Overall I think this is a great concept with some fresh, tasty offerings. At peak times it may be difficult to find a table but it's definitely worth trying out the food here.

ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen

1516 Connecticut Avenue NW

Washington, DC

202.232.4141

Friday, September 30, 2011

Lunchtime Links for September 30th, 2011

Serious Eats: ShopHouse in DC.
Blondie & Brownie: Shake Shack concrete at Citi Field.
Sassy Radish: Applesauce cake with caramel glaze.
Real Housewives of NJ: Recap from TVGasm.
Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Lunchtime Links for July 18th, 2011

Serious Eats: Nutella dream cookies.
Mango & Tomato: Goat cheese ice cream.
Picky Palate: Chocolate chip and peanut butter truffle swirled cookies.
Sassy Radish: Classic fried chicken.
Washingtonian: Kaz Okochi's new sushi "Chipotle".

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Lunchtime Links for November 10th, 2010

The Kitchn: Cute mug & coaster/lid set from West Elm.
Gossip Girl: Recap from NYMag.
Serious Eats: Kin Shop restaurant in NYC.
Tasty Kitchen: Thai honey peanut chicken recipe.
Chipotle: Soon to be Asia-fied? Haha.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Review: Qdoba's Craft 2 Meal

Many people are v. adamant about what camp they are in, in terms of fast-food Mexican options. Qdoba, Chipotle, Baja Fresh, and California Tortilla are just a few of the options in the DC metro area, and each one has its rabid fans/haters alike. Me personally? Besides Baja Fresh, I love them all! I think Chipotle, Qdoba, and CalTort all bring different things to the table (so to speak) and I've pretty much always loved all three places since I moved here.

That being said, Qdoba is winning major brownie points (slash burrito points?) with me once they started their Qdoba Craft Your Life contest to promote their new Craft 2 menu options. Basically you play a fun game of M/A/S/H online, then try to win a variety of prizes every time you enter (1x/day). It can be a free Craft 2 entree, Free drink with purchase, Buy one get one free, etc. Luckily for me, the first time playing resulted in a Free Craft 2 with Drink Purchase- Woo!!

Tortilla Soup, Naked Burrito Bowl

As you can see, the Craft 2 options are much smaller than their regular menu options. The bowls that the soup and Naked Burrito are in are roughly the size of ice cream/cereal bowls you might find in a cafeteria. Despite the small size, they literally will let you pack in as many additional toppings as they would for a regular-size entree, which is pretty nice. I got the soup with chicken added, and the Naked Burrito with chicken, almost all the salsas, and lettuce. I had the Naked Burrito for dinner that night, and saved the soup for lunch the next day. The size is perfect for me- normally if I eat a regular Naked Burrito, it's so good that I can't leave anything on the plate and I feel like I might die (happily, I might add) for the rest of the night, haha. This is just the right amount for me to get my Qdoba fix without overstuffing myself. The soup was also v. good- I wasn't sure what to expect since I'd never had their Tortilla soup before. it was spicy and great for lunch the next day.

There are lots of different combinations that you can have with the Craft 2 menu - including a quesadilla, salad, taco, etc. I will definitely be back to try more Craft 2 meal options v. soon!

And, just because I was super excited about getting the free meal slash proof that the coupons work:

Total $1.59. BOOYAH.