Wherein I Meet An Ambassador

Last week I was a guest at an educational event at an ambassador's residence in DC, which I know for DC people is all "Oh, I go to those things all the time," but when I was a DC intern, I didn't get to go to these types of soirees. I went to entertainment industry events and, yeah, meeting movie stars is pretty awesome; but meeting an ambassador and talking to him about his meeting movie stars was somehow WAY COOLER. We also talked about cheese.

Leave it to the girl from Baltimore to get an Important Political Official on a topic like cheese. It was my Wallis Simpson moment.

While I'm talking about cheese, I should probably mention that the food at the event was mind-blowing. The first taste I had was my first sampling ever of escargot. It was yummy and unctuous and swimming in a chilled basil frothy soupy thing. So delicious! I also sampled tiny foie gras, tiny creme brulee, tiny tuna tartare with beets, tiny salmon carpaccio, and tiny gazpacho. Best passed hors d'oeuvres service EVER! (I should mention here that spell check does not recognize any of the food words in this paragraph at all, so I apologize for any misspellings).

Anyhow, I know this post should be far more diplomatic and insightful about international relations after hearing the an ambassador speak about diplomacy and international relations, but I really do try to keep politics off this blog...and keep it as much about the food as possible. Truthfully, though, it was an incredibly engaging and interesting experience for me - even beyond the mention of cheese.

I love these little surprises in life, they are what make the adventure all that much more interesting!

Summer Food

I feel like all I have done this summer is eat. From fresh grilled branzino in Vernazza, Italy to sweet corn and crab soup last night at Acadiana in Washington, DC - this has been a summer of culinary delights!

So far, the summer travel itinerary has included: Vernazza, Milan, Pisa, and Florence Italy; Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC; and New York, NY...not to mention a brief stop in Cairo.

The highlight of my recent trip to New York was seeing La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway. I've never seen a show on Broadway where all the stars showed up to play their roles (in this case Kelsey Grammar and Douglas Hodge). Douglas Hodge, who played Albert, won the Tony and it was easy to see why - the show was so much fun (and the audience was so involved) that I didn't want to leave the theatre.

Beside the dash-of-drag on my trip, the food was amazing. I went again to Perilla and had some incredible skate wing that was perfectly cooked. I went to Craftbar and had some great pork. But the culinary gem on this trip was an accidental find - a tapas restaurant called Casa Mono on Irving Place near Union Square.

I present you my lunch:

First, Quail with figs..

I've come to love quail since moving to Egypt where it is on the menu of my favorite restaurant Abu El Sid. This quail was meaty, perfectly cooked, and the figs were amazing along side.

Next, the croquettes of pumpkin and goat cheese.

I don't usually like pumpkin, but the herbed goat cheese in the middle and delicate fried casing of the creamy creamy pumpkin was so good I ordered it two days in a row.

That's right - the food was so good, I went back again the next day to try more tapas! (Lobster salad, skirt steak over a cous-cous salsa, goat, fideos with clams and chorizo, and the Spanish take on creme brulee).

There was so much *good* food that my visitor and I couldn't eat a big meal again for days!

Fortunately, NYC and DC have provided lots of walking opportunities to work off all of the deep fried, grilled, poached, braised, broiled, and boiled goodness!

Next stop: Florida!