Shoot First Eat Later

Have you tried Dirty potato chips?

No, they’re not really dirty. Those are cracked pepper on the chips. Filipinos love junk food and one of the most loved is potato chips.

There are several local and imported brands of potato chips in the Philippines and they are all selling well. I think the market is big enough for even more brands potato chips.

My friend Blong is the new distributor of Dirty potato chips in the Philippines. She sent me a few bags to try them out.

I tried all the flavors she sent. The salt and vinegar was not as sour as other brands. It had just a light hint of vinegar and a nice balance of sea salt.

The sour cream & onion was pretty mild too. It seems their flavors are on the mild side. The emphasis is on the taste of the potato chip which I really like.

In their web site they proclaim : At “Dirty’s” we don’t wash out the natural potato flavor, so our chips are crunchier and tastier.

My favorite flavor was the cracked pepper & sea salt. The basic spices enhanced the potato flavor of the chip. The chips were very thick and crunchy just the way I like it.

cracked pepper & sea salt potato chips

Dirty potato chips are now sold in Unimart, Landmark and other supermarkets in Manila. I took a picture of the chips in Unimart and they were selling the big bags for P128.50.

Lunch at Bob Evans

I don’t eat gourmet food all the time. More often than not I’m quite happy with good old American comfort food. Next to pizza and burgers my favorites include flaky biscuits and chicken pot pie.

There are several nationwide family chain restaurants in the US like Chili’s, Applebees, Denny’s and many more. They all serve affordable American food. The one I like most is Bob Evans. Bob Evans is also known for their line of frozen sausage found in supermarkets.

There were only 2 of us for lunch and we got carried away ordering so many things I wanted to try.

These yummy and crunchy cheese bites were made with white cheddar cheese instead of the usual mozzarella cheese. They were perfect with the marinara sauce.

country fair cheese bites

Lunch entrees came with a choice of bread and soup, baked potato or garden salad. We chose the fresh garden salad with reduced-fat raspberry vinaigrette. Good choice!

Garden Salad w/ Reduced-Fat Raspberry Vinaigrette

There were so many, many things on the menu that appealed to me. From the burgers to several tempting sandwiches but I have this love affair with chicken pot pie and I even attempted to make it once.

This pie was so much better than the one I made. The crust was super flaky and the chunky chicken filling, veggies and light sauce was very flavorful.

slow-roasted chicken pot pie

My bread choice was definitely the buttermilk biscuits. They were buttery, flaky, fluffy and sooooo good! I would have been happy with just biscuits with butter and jam.

buttermilk biscuits

My friend ordered the pot roast stroganoff. The beef was so tender and the gravy was just delicious with the egg noodles.

pot roast stroganoff

This was really big garlic bread called Texas toast. Good but I loved my biscuits more.

Texas toast

Another time I went to a different branch all by myself to have one last biscuit before I go back to Manila where biscuits don’t exist. Why o why????

For my lunch I had their famous Bob Evans® sausage crumbled into gravy with two biscuits. The gravy wasn’t too rich and thick. I also liked the fact that the gravy was on the side and not poured over the biscuits like some places serve it. This lunch cost less than $5.

Bob Evans® sausage gravy & biscuits

Another reason I like Bob Evans is their food portion isn’t the typical huge American size that has a day’s worth of calories in one order. Their serving size is just right and so is the price. Try it when you are in the USA. They have branches in 19 states.

Dinner at J&G Steakhouse

My day in Washington DC started with a trip to the museum, lunch at Central, drinks at POV and ended with dinner at J&G Steakhouse located at W Hotel.

J&G refers to popular French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. This restaurant combines some of the favorite dishes from his other restaurants in New York as well as simply cooked steak and other grilled items.

I loved this sign on the host’s desk at the entrance.

This is my cousin Sharon with her friend Carmela another foodie who knows all the best places to eat in DC.

me and cousin La

Ladies and gentlemen meet the best calamari in the whole wide world. And that’s no exaggeration.The calamari was the crispiest and softest ever. The batter was impossibly light and coated the squid with a delicate and crisp layer. The yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) dip was just perfect with it.

crispy calamari, pickled chilis, yuzu dip $13

Carmela ordered this gorgeous and generous salad. She was half full after eating it.

baby iceberg salad, crispy bacon, blue cheese dressing $14

She followed the salad with a lean six peppercorn steak. I tried a bite and found it a bit dry.

14 oz. six peppercorn prime NY steak $46

Sha ordered fries for all of us to share. It wasn’t anything special. Just expensive for $10!

french fries $10

Sha is the carnivore among us cousin and she proved it by ordering the wagyu sirloin. It was a good choice. It was tender and juicier than Carmela’s peppercorn steak.

10 oz. Snake River Farm Wagyu sirloin $49

Sha chose a bernaise sauce to go with her steak.

bernaise sauce

La and I ordered the pre-theater menu which had a starter, entree & dessert for $35 and was available from 5:00-6:30 pm only. We ordered all the choices so we could share and try it all.

I was actually still full from lunch so I chose the lighter options. It was my first time to try a savory watermelon salad and I must say I loved it! The tangy goat cheese complemented the sweet and refreshing watermelon.

watermelon & goat cheese, cracked white pepper & olive oil

I really loved my halibut. It was cooked to perfection. The Asian inspired chili bean sauce provided ooomph to the plainly seasoned fish.

seared halibut, scallion-chili sauce, basil & celery

La chose the sweat pea soup to start with. My first taste reminded of the wheat grass juice that I drink everyday. It tasted so green. But after a while the flavor mellowed on my tongue and I appreciated the complex flavors. The soup was topped with a delicious Parmesan foam.

sweet pea soup, Parmesan

La’s main course was a small serving of filet mignon. It wasn’t as good as Sha’s wagyu sirloin.

6 oz. petit filet mignon

For my dessert, I chose the sweet, sweet strawberries with yummy meringue and topped with a scoop of sour cream-poppy seed sorbet that was tangy and creamy. My dessert was the perfect end to my meal.

strawberries, sour cream-poppy seed sorbet

The ice cream and sorbet were delicious except for one flavor we couldn’t identify. It had a unique and peculiar flavor.

ice cream and sorbet

Sha and Carmela shared a grand marnier souffle. They said it was good. I loved the mandarin sorbet much, much more.

grand marnier souffle w/ mandarin sorbet $9

dessert wipe out!

Thanks for dinner Sha! It was the perfect end to a perfect day. I didn’t even feel tired with all the walking I did but my tummy definitely needed a break after a whole day of rich food.

When we arrived at W hotel the lobby was a lobby. When we left the lobby was transformed into a bar complete with a dj and music.

J&G Steakhouse menu
pre-theater menu, tasting menu
simply raw, soups & salads, appetizers
entrees, from the grill, sides, sauces
desserts

J&G Steakhouse
515 15th Street Northwest
Washington D.C., DC 20004
telephone: (202) 661-2440

The View from POV Roof Terrace

My cousin Sharon who works in DC wanted me to see the view from POV, a rooftop bar in W Hotel. I was to meet them there at 5:30 pm.

After my super satisfying and filling lunch at Central I walked around the area and shopped a bit. I enjoyed the sights along the way but the heat was horrible.

lobby of W hotel

POV was a very hip looking bar.

my cousins who work in DC

The view was indeed spectacular.

The first thing you can see from POV is the Treasury building.

Behind the Treasury building is the White House.

On the other side of POV you can see the Washington Monument.

Washington Monument

My cousins and I only stayed for a drink because we were starting to glisten from the heat.

POV also had an air-conditioned lounge bar but the view wasn’t as good as the one at the rooftop terrace.

POV lounge bar

POV menu
bellini brunch, cocktails, wines & beer, lounge food

POV Roof Terrace and Lounge
515 15th St NW
Washington, DC 20004

The best thing I ever ate in the USA – Central Michel Richard

Yes this lovely fried beauty was the best thing I ever ate on my recent 7 week US vacation where I ate my way from the west to the east coast.

The night before my trip to the museum I did some research on Yelp on where I could walk to for lunch. One of the names that came up was Central. The rave reviews were mostly 4 to 5 stars so I decided to go there. I checked OpenTable and the earliest available seat was at 2:30 pm.

It was after 1:00 pm when I left the museum. After going the wrong direction I finally got to the restaurant around 1:30 pm. It was supposed to be a quick 10 minute walk.

I was so happy that I was given a table right away. Central served traditional American food with a French twist.

My meal was off to a great start. The bread was one of the best I’ve eaten. It was hot, crusty and the texture was fantastic. I forced myself to stop after one slice when I could have eaten it all.

I wanted to try so many things on the menu. I read that beef or lobster burgers were excellent. The mussels were tempting too. I asked the super friendly server what she recommended. She suggested that I try their fried chicken since it was my first time to eat there. She said it was their number one dish.

I followed her suggestion even though I had doubts. $21 for fried chicken? That’s P900 for a quarter of a chicken. For that price you could get a couple of buckets of chicken at your nearby fast food.

fried chicken with mustard sauce $21

When I took the first bite I knew I made the right decision. This was NOT your ordinary fried chicken. I only eat white meat and often it’s tough and over cooked. This boneless chicken breast was the most tender and tastiest chicken I’ve ever eaten in my life. I didn’t even need a knife to cut it.

I later learned from the server that the chicken was cooked in the sous-vide method. The chicken was poached in precise temperature for 24 hours in a plastic bag then covered with curry mousse, coated with French bread crumbs and fried. This was the secret to the flavor and juices oozing out of the chicken.

Each bite was an assault on my senses. The tender chicken, the delicate curry flavor, the crunchy exterior and then the finish with a smooth, spicy, sharp mustard sauce. The mashed potatoes were disguised as soft butter. That almost pushed over the top. The simply dressed salad greens were there to pull me back from the abyss I was sinking in.

Did I lick my plate? I took home the chicken leg for my nephew Ethan. It that was white meat too you would see a clean white plate in the picture.

I was already full but I had to try their dessert. When I saw the pictures of the banana split on Yelp I thought the ice cream were small, cute scoops but to my horror they were full sized scoops.

The banana split was made with malted vanilla ice cream, strawberry sorbet, malted chocolate ice cream that was almost like gelato in it’s consistency. The bananas were enrobed with vanilla bean creme anglaise, chocolate sauce, pistachio, almonds, hazlenuts whipped cream, and dried pineapple. This was the fanciest and most decadent banana split ever!

banana split $12

It was good for 3-5 people to share. I really tried my best but I had to wave my white flag and surrender. There’s a banana left under all that whipped cream.

Chef Michel Richard is a true genius! He was able to transform something as ordinary as fried chicken and banana split into creations that bear little resemblance in taste and flavor to anything that I thought was good.

It was not cheap but I didn’t regret my meal. It was truly a wonderful experience. One that I will not forget. I can’t wait to go back and try the lobster burger and other desserts.

Central Michel Richard Lunch Menu

seafood, charcuterie, appetizers, soups & salads, dessert
sandwiches, entrees, sides
cocktails & beer
port & sweet wines, beverage list
wine by the glass

Central Michel Richard

1001 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest

Washington D.C., DC 20004-2550

telephone: (202) 626-0015

Museum of Natural History

Does this look familiar? Remember the movie “Night at the Museum” starring Ben Stiller? That was shot at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

I’ve been to DC several times and have visited a lot of museums there. I went back to this particular museum just for the special “Rare Encounter” of a couple of diamonds. More on that later.

main entrance

back entrance

The museum showcases specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites and human cultural artifacts. I took so many pictures and chose the most interesting ones to share with you.

One of the guys working in the lab opened the door so I can take pictures. Thank you sir!

Fossil Lab

(click to enlarge and read)

I spent most of my time in the Harry Winston Gallery. If I can’t have diamonds at least I can look and drool.

Marie Antoinette Earrings

Napoleon Diamond Necklace

Inquisition Necklace

Logan Sapphire

Hall Sapphire and Diamond Necklace

Hooker Yellow Diamonds

Mackay Emerald and Diamond Necklace

Indian Emerald Necklace

Hazen Diamond Necklace

Victoria-Transvaal Diamond Necklace

This special exhibit was the reason I went to the museum.
On public exhibition for the first time in more than 50 years, the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond will join the Hope Diamond in the Harry S. Winston Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History from January 29 through September 1, 2010.

Hope Diamond

It’s supposed to be a deep blue color but my camera didn’t capture the depth and color of this diamond.

Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond

Fascinating collection right?

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
10th Street and Constitution Ave.,
NW in Washington, D.C. 20560

Museum Hours:
The museum is open every day of the year except December 25.
Regular hours are 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM.

New Products at Amici

I’m interrupting my US blog entries with this important announcement. To all my readers in Manila you have 3 more days to get a free pizza or pasta from Amici. Hurry!

Ever since I saw photos of Amici’s 13 new products on Facebook c/o my friends who were the photographer and stylist I started planning when to try them.

I finally went to lunch at Amici Megamall yesterday with my co-workers. We took advantage of their promotion called “Amici Celebrates Friendship” wherein every two orders of their new pizza or pasta gets you a FREE classic pizza or pasta. This promotion is until October 31, 2010 only so go to your nearest branch now! Good news! I just found out that the promo has been extended to Nov. 14, 2010.

My office mates just love Amici’s Caesar salad and they never fail to order it. I really appreciated that the fresh Parmesan cheese didn’t come from a green can. It really made a big difference on the salad.

insalata di Cesare P140

I ordered the new chorizo and spinach pizza hoping it would be similar to La Nuova Pastileria’s pizza topped with generous amounts of spinach.

Alas this pizza had very, very few spinach leaves that you could actually count. Nevertheless, the star of the pizza was the single, solitary thin slice of chorizo that burst with flavor enough for a whole slice. The chorizo was strategically placed in the middle of each slice to provide enough flavor and saltiness for the slice. I wish they can add more spinach though. More chorizo would be good too.

chorizo e spinaci pizza P385

Mascarpone is basically a mild flavored cheese. Together with the mushrooms it made a relatively bland pizza. I did enjoy the flavors of the fresh mushrooms but there wasn’t enough of it. If they added a bolder cheese then this pizza would have been even better.

Even though the new toppings didn’t make me swoon I still loved the super thin, crunchy crust of the pizzas. They have perfected the crust exactly the way I like it. Thumbs up!

mascarpone e funghi pizza P385

The mushroom pasta was our third new dish. The pasta was very fragrant and very tasty. The flavors of the different mushrooms were evident in the pasta. A great vegetarian dish!

fettucine al tartufo classico P240

For our classic freebie I chose the fettucine with clams, shrimp and olive oil sauce. My all time favorite pasta dish in Amici is the aglio olio or garlic and oil. Every time I go to Amici I have to order that. Yesterday I made the conscious effort to try something new. I’m glad I chose this because now I have a new favorite.

For only P260 the pasta came with fresh prawns, clams and scallops in the shell. The sauce was made with olive oil and a flavorful, concentrated seafood stock which made the pasta taste better than anything I’ve ordered in a hotel or maybe even abroad.

spaghetti white vongole e gamberetti P260

Since my diet was already thrown out of the door with all these delicious carbs what’s another slice of cake, right?

The first thing I tried was the frosting on top. Funny but it was salty. When I got over that I tasted coffee and chocolate. Good thing the actual frosting on the cake wasn’t salty. The cake was very rich, fudgy and had a strong hazlenut flavor. Think Nutella. It was just enough for 4 of us to share.

tentazione cake P65

cakes

We also shared a scoop of the new flavor of gelato, toffee almond roca. Major swoon here. Not too sweet toffee ice cream with chunks of almond roca. Yum, yum, yum!!!!

I’m ashamed to admit it but I’ve already tried all their flavors of gelato cakes. I often bring a gelato cake to a party and it’s always a big hit. My favorites are the mango sans rival and merry berries. One of these days I have to try the new flavors – mango symphony and peach walnut passion.

gelato cakes

gelati

Amici has a beautiful new printed menu. I hope this means that they will be moving to a conventional way of ordering through a waiter instead of having to look at the menu and ordering and paying at the counter.

With more items in their menu I need more time to look at the menu and decide. When I was in the counter looking at the menu I felt stressed and basically ordered whatever caught my eye first. I didn’t regret what I ordered but I wish they would change the system.

Amici’s new menu
salad & soup, antipasti & panini, pizza, more pizza
pasta tomato based, pasta cream & olive oil based, new items
house favorites, gelati, affogato & shakes, gelato cakes
cakes & pastries, wines, beverages

Amici
Atrium, 3rd Level SM Megamall
Edsa cor. Julia Vargas Ave.
Mandaluyong, Metro Manila
telephone: 636-1341

Lunch at Chipotle Mexican Grill

I found a new love. A fast food love. I discovered Chipotle and fell head over heels in love with their tacos. In fact I ate at Chipotle twice and in 2 different states.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is chain of restaurants that sell gourmet burritos and tacos. Just that.

They are known for having a simple, straightforward menu with only 5 items and 5 kinds of fillings. They also put a strong emphasis on using organic and natural ingredients.

Choose your vessel: burrito, taco, bowl, fajita burrito or salad
Choose your filling: chicken, steak, carnitas, barbacoa or vegetarian

It’s that simple.

Your choice of salsas from mild to hot.

They make your order right in front of you in an assembly line that’s fast and efficient. I ordered the crunchy tacos and chose 3 different fillings – barbacoa, carnitas and chicken.

I chose the roasted chili corn salsa for all 3 tacos.

Top it with sour cream, cheese and lettuce and it’s done.

The shredded beef barbacoa was incredibly tender and a little spicy. The pork carnitas was a little bland but smoky. The chicken had a very nice grilled taste. The taco shell was super thin and crisp and was the perfect vessel for the super tasty meat fillings and corn salsa.

I ate this same combination of tacos both times I went to Chipotle. Why mess with perfection? I wish Chipotle would come to the Philippines.

crunchy tacos $6.35

Dinner from Wegmans Supermarket

It was another busy day for my cousin La. She had to ferry her kids from piano class to gymnastics to the dentist and many more. She didn’t have time to prepare dinner so before driving all around town she dropped me off at Wegmans supermarket and tasked me with buying our dinner.

Wegmans is a supermarket chain in the east coast. It’s my favorite supermarket. They had a huge prepared food section. From salad bars, Asian food buffet selections, soup bars, sandwiches, a full bakery, deli and many more. I really, really had a hard time choosing what to feed 3 adults and 2 kids. Two hours went by so fast.

My first stop was the Mediterranean Olive Bar where they had all kinds of dips, spreads, olives and antipasto. You choose a container and fill it up with whatever you like and have it weighed and priced.

I chose this grilled mushroom antipasto to go with the baguette I bought from their bakery. Unfortunately we all found it too sour. I added some soy sauce and it tasted much better.

grilled mushroom antipasto

Wegmans had a selection of hot entrees and two sides of your choice for only $6 or $10. I chose the coconut crusted tilapia w/ fresh mango salsa. And for the sides I got the rosemary garlic roast potatoes and bread pudding. The fish was actually quite pleasant. I can’t say the same for the dry bread pudding.

coconut crusted tilapia w/ mango salsa $6

My best buy were the seafood sausages.

seafood sausage

We simply pan fried the sausages.

I’ve never had seafood sausage before and these were so good albeit a bit too salty. I could taste the chunks of salmon, shrimp and herbs that delicately flavored the sausage. The next day La added the leftover sausages to pasta and said it tasted even better.

For dessert I bought 2 packs of cookies for $5! That was a great deal for such yummy cookies.

chewy choco chip cookies

These bite sized cookies were really chewy and had a rich chocolate flavor. Erin and La’s hubby loved them too.

peanut butter choco chip cookies

Wegmans is really a great place for busy people who don’t have time to cook. The only problem is deciding what to buy. Nutritional values for all the prepared foods are on their web site.

Lunch at Coastal Flats

I’m not much of a seafood eater. I like it enough but it’s not my first choice when I eat out. That’s ironic since seafood is affordable and bountiful in the Philippines. My favorite seafood is lobster but I hardly see it in the menus in Manila because it’s very expensive.

I was in Tysons Corner, an upscale mall in McLean, Virginia, with my cousin La. I was there to shop while she worked on her laptop. We met up for lunch at Coastal Flats, a restaurant which part of the Great American Restaurants chain which has several restaurants all over Virginia.

It was a popular place for people who worked in nearby offices.

I couldn’t resist trying the warm bread. The small brown bread was melt-in-your mouth good. I later found out those were fried donut holes without glaze. I wish I asked for more.

The last time I ate a lobster roll was in Maine many, many years ago. When I saw it on the menu I immediately knew I had to order it. The menu described it as: lobster salad from the meat of a 1 1/4 pound lobster on a grilled roll with fries & roasted corn on the cob… while it lasts

Lobster Roll $19.95

As you can see from the picture 1 1/4 pounds of lobster is a lot of lobster to stuff in a roll. $19.95 for all that sweet, succulent lobster in a light mayonnaise dressing was a great, great deal! This is my kind of seafood. The grilled corn was also yummy.

La ordered the grilled fish of the day served with creamy polenta and veggies. I tried it and it was good too but nowhere near as heavenly as my lobster roll.

Hickory Grilled Absolutely Fresh Fish

Coastal Flats
7860-L Tysons Corner Center
McLean, VA 22102
Telephone: (703) 356-1440