Lunchtime Links for December 3rd, 2020

• The Kitchn: Carla Hall's stovetop mac and cheese. 
• Food52: Kabocha, olive oil, and bittersweet chocolate cake.
• Cookies and Cups: Fudge recipe.
• I Heart Naptime: Christmas Chex mix.
• Table for Two: Gingerbread man cookies.

Aggio Restaurant

M, her mom that was visiting, and I had a wonderful time trying out Chef Bryan Voltaggio's new Aggio - which is located inside Range restaurant.

The wine list was extensive, and also pretty funny if you read the different categories and the descriptions.  

We had a great dinner with delicious food, and fantastic service (Gerard was awesome!)  It definitely had a special occasion atmosphere but not stuffy at all.  I look forward to coming again to try out more dishes!

Amuse - Parmesan funnel cake

Chioggia Beets - tonnato sauce, charred rosemary, pine nuts, mullet roe, arugula

Cavatelli and Clams - rye, soffrito, soda crackers toasted in brown butter, prosciutto lardo

Pistachio in Olives - olive oil cake, pistachio cream, cara cara orange sorbet, crispy pomegranate, kumquats

Bonus dessert - Espresso and Campari grapefruit chocolates 

Aggio

5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20015

202.803.8020

Volt - Brunch

I finally got to check off a restaurant that I have wanted to visit for some time now: Chef Bryan Voltaggio's Volt in Frederick, MD! My friend S and met up for brunch there recently, and we were super pumped to be there - literally, I think we were "woo"-ing at the table once we sat down, haha. We opted for the 3-course brunch and it took a while for us to make our decisions as we sipped on mimosas- everything looked great!

The bread service was. Awesome. There were a selection of about 5 housemade breads to choose from, including these bacon-thyme brioche and chive biscuits. The biscuits especially were so fluffy and rich, I probably could've eaten a dozen on my own. 

Calamari Bolognese: Miso, squid ink Cavatelli, Parmigiano Reggiano

This was a no-brainer for me, as Chef Voltaggio had made this dish during his time on Top Chef Masters, and I really wanted to try it out. To say this dish was full of flavor would be an understatement- the components all came together in this decadent plate of savoriness, if that makes any sense.  Delicious!

Scallops, congee, country ham

There are actually more components to this dish but it is no longer on the online menu so I'm just going off my Instagram notes, haha. The scallops were huge, and cooked perfectly.  I loved the congee on the bottom, it reminded me of Japanese okayu (rice porridge).

For dessert, we both ordered the chocolate option- obviously, haha.  This was a really delicious dessert with lots of textures and components.  Chocolate, hazelnut, and marshmallow were the main components here, and clearly you can't go wrong with those! I loved the presentation, so pretty!

Along with our check, we also received these mini cinnamon coffee cakes to take home, which was a lovely touch for the end of the brunch! I tried this the following morning and it was super flavorful and crumbly, just what you would want from a good coffee cake. I am so happy that I got to try out Volt, and I would highly recommend it for brunch! 

Volt

228 North Market Street

Frederick, MD 21701

301.696.8658

Lunchtime Links for January 7th, 2013

• How Sweet It Is: Creamy tomato soup with brown butter garlic croutons. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Dinner at the French Laundry. 
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Roasted cauliflower and cheddar soup. 
• Top Chef: Recap from TVGasm. 
• Cookies & Cups: Peanut butter cup spread. 

Lunchtime Links for September 21st, 2012

• Serious Eats: Peanut butter honey ice cream. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Soft Nutella chocolate cookies.  
• Raspberri Cupcakes: Fudge brownie and cookie dough cake.  
• Top Chef Masters: Recap from TVGasm. 
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Banana Nutella swirl cake with Nutella frosting.

Lunchtime Links for September 11th, 2012

• Kirbie's Cravings: Avocado ranch dip. 
• The Pioneer Woman: Surf & turf Cajun pasta. 
• How Sweet It Is: Smoky sweet potato burgers with roasted garlic cream and avocado.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: 50 pumpkin recipes. 
• Top Chef Masters: Recap from TVGasm.

Lunchtime Links for September 10th, 2012

• Top Chef Masters: Recap from TVGasm.
• Eat, Live, Run: Scallop linguine.
• The Kitchn: 15 apple recipes. 
• How Sweet It Is: S'mores ice cream cake. 
• Serious Eats: Caprese chicken pasta.

Lunchtime Links for August 17th, 2012

• Top Chef Masters: Recap from TVGasm.
• How Sweet It Is: Sweet potato breakfast biscuits.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: No-bake peanut butter pretzel chocolate chip granola bars.
• Big Girls Small Kitchen: Homemade sun-dried tomatoes. 
• Picky Palate: Top 12 favorite Oreo cookie recipes.

Lunchtime Links for August 13th, 2012

• Top Chef Masters: Recap from TVGasm.
• Lauren Conrad: DIY accent pillows.
• Serious Eats: Nutella panini at Pounds & Ounces in NYC.
• Steamy Kitchen: Grilled Asian flank steak.
• The Pioneer Woman: Patty melts. 

Graffiato - Sweet Corn Agnolotti + Blue Crab Fettuccini

If you ask a bunch of Graffiato fans what dishes they would recommend in the summer, I bet the Sweet Corn Agnolotti would come up at least 90% of the time, haha.  The end of June marked the return of this popular dish, and as soon as I saw it posted on Twitter, I knew I had to make a reservation ASAP.

N and I both really enjoyed the sweet corn Agnolotti - I could definitely see what all the hype was about with this dish.  It was creamy yet light, with a punch of corn that was sweet, but not cloying.  I was also excited to see a crab dish on the menu - Fettuccini with blue crab, prosciutto, and leeks.  I was hoping that this pasta dish would be delicious as well, but it wound up being really salty.  And I enjoy my salt, and even I couldn't get over how salty it tasted.  The chunks of crab were still tasty, and the saltiness did offset the sweetness of the Agnolotti, so that was somewhat of a positive twist on things, haha.

Graffiato remains one of my favorite restaurants to frequent in DC, and I love that they offer many seasonal dishes.  It certainly makes going at different times of the year a lot more interesting!

Graffiato Brunch

I've yet to have a disappointing meal at Graffiato - and their brunch was no exception!  A group of lovely food blogger friends and I got together a few months ago to check it out soon after the brunch menu debut, and it was a delicious and fun time had by all :o)

Some coffee to start

The brunch menu

Cinnamon knots with Nutella.  These were good but not an absolute must-have dish, even as a huge fan of Nutella.

Apple Calzone - this wasn't my favorite, but that's mainly because I'm not a fan of fruit pies in general, and this was basically a giant fruit hand pie, haha.  If you like apple pies I'm sure you will love this.

Breakfast pizza with bacon, potato, broccolini, cheddar.  The addition of the barely-cooked egg on top really made this a rich and delicious pizza.

Roasted Sirloin with scrambled eggs and focaccia - the sirloin was tender and delicious, but a pretty small portion for sharing with others, just FYI.

Jersey Shore pizza - this is on the regular menu, but it's always a crowd favorite any time of the day, haha.

Spaghetti Carbonara with pancetta, parmesan, egg - I thought this was delicious, especially with the salty pancetta pieces cutting through the creamy sauce.

Not pictured is the Meatballs with creamy polenta and farmed egg - the combination of the three components made for a very soft plate altogether, but the meatballs were quite tasty.

Overall, this was a great brunch with some wonderful company, and I can't wait to go back to try their new brunch offerings!

Lunchtime Links for May 15th, 2012

• Real Housewives of OC: Recap from TVGasm.
• Serious Eats: Kevin Gillespie's Atlanta food guide. 
• How Sweet It Is: Mini brown butter vanilla pound cakes. 
• Blondie and Brownie: Treats Truck shop in NYC.
• Washingtonian: Stachowski's in Georgetown.

Bandolero DC Takeover

I love it when restaurants (or people in general, haha) take advantage of a bad situation and turn it into a great one.  Case in point - Chef Mike Isabella's Bandolero restaurant is currently under construction in Georgetown.  However, with construction delays, it wasn't going to open any time soon.  So what do they do? Use a recently vacated restaurant space in Cleveland Park and create a two-week pop up restaurant so people can preview the Bandolero menu! 

Last night N and I checked out the preview ($65/person including tax and gratuity) - here's the menu below:

 

The first course was the same for everyone:

Guacamole served with salsa pasilla

Sikil Pak - pumpkin seed, jalapeno, orange, cilantro

Chicharrones & chips

Chips and guacamole will always be great in my book - but this Sikil Pak was really something else.  Great texture and flavor, definitely different from anything I've eaten with chips before.  The orange added a brightness to the dip that I really enjoyed.  I could see this being spread on a sandwich or a pita too and being delicious, haha.  Oh and the addition of Chicharrones to the basket of chips was a rich and tasty bonus.  

Blue Crab Taquitos - coconut, red chile, lime

In addition to the 3 (each) dishes we picked out, the restaurant graciously sent over a few dishes, these taquitos being one of them.  These were small and super cute, with fresh crab and radish-based slaw on top that really went well together.  I have to ask though - I always though taquitos were rolled up like cigars? Or is that just how other places have done it and that's all I've seen before?  Or is taquito also a word for "little taco"?  So many questions, haha.

Sopes - Lamb picadillo, chipotle goat cheese, pickled jalapeno

At first these reminded me of little Sloppy Joes, and I guess it's not too far off in terms of the texture of the lamb, haha.  I have to say- I am SO glad we ordered these.  The sope was crisp and worked as a great base for the meaty topping.  I loved the jalapenos, pickled in-house, that added a spot of color and flavor to the dish.

Mahi Mahi Tacos - Basil, avocado, lime

These fish tacos reminded me of fish sticks, but thankfully they tasted much better than regular fish sticks haha.  The fish is coated in the crushed tortilla chips which made these super crunchy.  The slaw which is not mentioned in the description was red cabbage based and I liked that a lot as well.

Nachos - Crispy goat, white beans, goat cheese, chile de arbol, epazote

This was sort of a last-minute decision when we were deciding which dishes to order - the idea of nachos with goat sounded really interesting and definitely not something you'd see everywhere.  The goat was tasty, but my problem with these is the problem I always have with nachos - it's so hard to get the perfect bite with a little bit of everything! Either you get a bite with 50% of the cheese, or just some of the sauce, or in the worst case, a chip off to the side with nothing at all, haha.

Suckling Pig Tacos - apple, habanero mustard

I wasn't really sure how these tacos would be, but turns out I looooooooooooooooooooved them, haha.  The combination of the tender pork with the apple slaw on top was delicious.  The mustard tasted almost like a honey mustard to me, and not spicy at all considering the "habanero" in the menu.

Mole Negro - short ribs, sesame

I'm not even close to being a mole expert, but this one had a lot of rich flavor and complexity that I think makes it a good mole.  You'd have to ask maybe Chef Rick Bayless to really know if it's a "good" mole or not, haha.  I prefer fatter cuts of meat and this particular piece seemed a little dry to me, even if it was fork tender.

Enchilada Rojo - Chicken, cascabel chile, mexican chocolate

Alambres - Spiced hanger steak, chimmichurri

The Enchiladas (there were two in the plate) was filled with tender chicken and sauce.  For some reason the taste reminded me of a Thai sweet potato soup I had just had for lunch.  It's not mentioned on the menu but I wonder if there's any coconut milk in the sauce? 

The Alambres was the other gratis dish sent out to us, and they were bites of YUMMMMMMMMMM.  I would order multiple orders of these myself.  Which isn't too surprising because I love chimmichurri and could put it on anything and it would taste good, haha.  

Cookies - Coconut

Coconut Flan - Pineapple, rum

We had initially ordered the Tres Leches Parfait and the Flan when we ordered the rest of our meal, but I guess there was a miscommunication because our server asked again what we'd like for dessert when we were done with our other dishes, and then told us they were out of the Tres Leches Parfait.  The Coconut cookies were pretty basic macaroons, and I assume you all know how I feel about these, haha.  The Coconut Flan though was not coconut-y at all and therefore I liked it haha.  

If anyone is interested in trying out Bandolero during this preview period, you can make reservations through City Eats here.  I'm excited to check out the Georgetown location when it's finished!

Lunchtime Links for February 23rd, 2012

• Picky Palate: 5-minute mac and cheese. 
• The Budget Babe: Health and wellness at Target. 
• Eat Yourself Skinny: Thai peanut noodles with chicken. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Low-fat peanut butter mug cake.
• Top Chef: Recap from TVGasm.

Lunchtime Links for December 28th, 2011

• Serious Eats: Bryan Voltaggio's new Lunchbox. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella lava brownie mug cake.
• I Wanna Be A Domestic Goddess: Love Actually cupcakes. 
• The Pioneer Woman: Hot chocolate recipes.
• Picky Palate: Pumpkin pie French toast bake.

Lunchtime Links for December 2nd, 2011

• Kirbie's Cravings: Turtle breads.
• In Good Taste: Mexican style baked eggs.
• The Budget Babe: Sally Hansen salon effects real nail polish strips for the holidays.
• Top Chef: Recap from TVGasm. 
• Eat Drink Pretty: Turkey pot pie.

Lunchtime Links for November 9th, 2011

• Metrocurean: Komi's new Thai restaurant.
• The Kitchn: Baked apple cider doughnuts. 
• Top Chef: Recap from NYMag.  
• Martha Stewart: Pumpkin-swirl brownies.  
• Just Bento: Japanese sandwiches. 

Dessert Happy Hour at Art & Soul Restaurant

On October 10th, a group of bloggers got together for the monthly dessert happy hour- this time it was at Art & Soul restaurant in DC!  Once again a great group of ladies met up: 

- Brunch and the City

- Cupcakes for Breakfast

- French Twist DC

- My DC

- Thrifty DC Cook

We all split the following desserts:

Seasonal fruit cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream

Chocolate pecan tart with pecan caramel, manjari ganache, bourbon whipped cream

Rosemary scented pavlova with lemon curd, crème fraiche, local berries

Sweet potato-ricotta beignets with bourbon chocolate sauce, spiced anglaise

 

Art & Soul Babycakes 

(I believe there was a carrot cake, white chocolate cake, and a chocolate tart in the bunch?)

It was a great night of catching up with some lovely ladies and trying out the delicious Art & Soul dessert menu.  My favorite was definitely the piping hot beignets with the pecan tart coming in a close second!

Art & Soul

415 New Jersey Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20001

202.393.7777 and on Open Table

Lunchtime Links for October 10th, 2011

• Serious Eats: 15 pumpkin recipes.
• Top Chef Just Desserts: Recap from TVGasm.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Pumpkin chocolate chip bars.
• Real Housewives of NJ: Recap from Jay Mohr.  
• Gossip Girl: Recap from NYMag.

Lunchtime Links for September 28th, 2011

• Tasty Kitchen: Pumpkin cream Oreo tart.
• Top Chef Just Desserts: Recap from TVGasm.
• Tales from Rupert's Kitchen: Salted caramel chocolate torte pie.
• The Kitchn: Gobs from Gobba Gobba Hey.
• Createlive: Pumpkin sage orzo risotto.