Yearly Archives: 2009

Carlyle

CARLYLE
AMERICAN
http://www.greatamericanrestaurants.com/carlyle
Food Decor Service Cost
23 21 21 $30

February 14th, 2009
Carlyle is one of my favorite Great American Restaurants. The only reason we don’t go there more often is its location and price. It’s located in Shirlington, an area that is not that accessible from where we live, and the price-point is a little bit higher than we like to spend on a regular out-to-eat establishment. I’ve been here three times, and 2 out of 3 times were absolute wonderful dining experiences. Where Carlyle shines the most is at brunch, and I had the opportunity to dine there for a delicious Valentine’s Brunch recently. You’ll probably want to eat upstairs, since its a little more quite and nicer than below. I had french toast and coffee and my boyfriend had poached eggs with asparagus and steak. The coffee is very strong and bitter, I could only manage to take a few sips. The good thing about Carlyle is that they are right next door to the Great American Restaurants’ bakery: Best Buns. For brunch, instead of the normal rolls, we got sugar-rolled donuts. Yummy! (In fact, everything was yummy here!) The only small bumps on the culinary journey was the fact that they second-guessed the temperature of the steak (Medium: Thats a cool red center. Is that okay?) and they did not put the hollandaise sauce on the side for the poached eggs.

carlyle3

From Zagat

“Year after year”, this Shirlington New American “inspires intense loyalty” thanks to “delicious”, “creative” food that’s “nothing too fancy” but a “great value”; it’s all delivered by “enthusiastic” servers in a “lively” bistro setting, but while “contented fans” attest “you can’t go wrong” for a “first date” or “before a show at the Signature”, be sure to “call ahead” as “no reservations are taken.”

Food: 24, Decor: 22, Service: 23, Cost: $36
Shirlington | 4000 S. 28th St. (Quincy St.) | 703-931-0777

Yogen Fruz

YOGEN FRUZ
FROZEN YOGURT
http://www.yogenfruz.com
Food Decor Service Cost
13 8 8 $6

I’ve gone to Yogen Fruz twice. I do not recommend them, as much better yogurt is to be had at other places. There are a few different options (low-fat, no-fat, no-fat/no-sugar), but they all start out as a frozen yogurt bar. For some reason, it really bothers me how they make their yogurt. As you can see by the promotional image below, I was really excited about the Matcha-Lychee flavor because I envisioned green tea yogurt with fresh lychee on top. No, it’s a hard block of frozen yogurt, pre-labeled, mixed with a few dashes of green tea powder, and then all blended together with frozen, peeled lychee. I think that since they blend the ingredients together at the last minute, they don’t really, well, blend. I tasted the yogurt, then the chalky matcha hit as a totally separate flavor. The lychee contributed only texture, not flavor. Have you ever made a smoothie with grapes or strawberries and had to deal with the crunchy seeds or un-blendable grape skins? That is exactly how this tastes (texture wise). If you can’t guess by my description, that means it tastes bad. Not only that, but the yogurt is also slightly watery when it comes out.

I’ve tried the chocolate and tried the a fore mentioned combo with and without mochi slices. I’ve had much better for less. Also, I do not like the service there. While waiting in like the first time, I asked if they took credit cards. When I got up to check out, their machine “magically” went out and instead of letting us get our yogurt free, they made us wait there for about ten minutes! Finally we were able to scrounge enough change and pay the tab, but still! There’s a level of service here that lacks in comparison to places like Starbucks, or other establishments that have no reason to offer complimentary coupons. The second time I went here I decided to try the seemingly-newly-added no fat/no sugar vanilla yogurt as a base. When I asked for this yogurt, the yogurt-eer immediately asked if I was diabetic. I felt as if I had to have one of those necklaces or bracelets identifying me as someone with blood sugar problems, and somehow felt violated by the question. Not to mention they were sold out of the topping I wanted.

There are locations in Tysons Corner Mall and newly, Reston Town Center. The Tysons location is a kiosk on the lower level by Starbucks and H&M. Save your money and go to the Starbucks.

yogenfruz

Continue reading →

Peach-Lacquered Chicken Wings

peachlacq

This recipe is adapted from the most recent Gourmet magazine issue (June 2009). I personally think that the name “Peach-Lacquered” comes from the way these wings are cooked–you have to continually tend to them and coat them for about 20-25 minutes. But, I’d say they were pretty worth it.

The ideal side dish to this would probably be a light, dill-laden potato salad, but we started making ours too late to serve with this dish. If making potato salad, either make earlier in the day or the day before (or buy it!). We instead ate it with some delicious sweet corn-on-the-cob (boiled for about 10 minutes), though a light salad, fries, or a pasta salad would work as well.

Ginger People Hot Coffee Ginger Chews

http://www.gingerpeople.com

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

bag_clippedI bought this packet of chews yesterday for $1.99 at World Market. They had a whole display of ginger-themed items and I’ve got to admit that the real initial draw to these was the interesting mascot. It’s a knob of ginger chewing ginger chews. He’s cure, but it just seems wrong to me.

It only took me reading the back of this and surrounding Ginger People packages and finding out that these chews will not only give you a jolt of energy, but that they’ll also sooth any turbulent tummies.

The first one I ate was interesting. I wasn’t prepared for the snappiness of the ginger, and I had to chew and chew to get them down while an explosion was going on in my mouth. The second one I had (as I’m writing this) was much better. Smooth yet chewy, the bitter coffee melds into the sugary spicy sweetness of the ginger and just tastes amazing. The best thing about these little snacks is the fact that they’re travel friendly! They’re individually wrapped and just the right size.

Ginger Chews come in Original, Apple, and Peanut flavor as well. They can be found at local Whole Foods and World Markets, but you can also order them online. I look forward to trying their other treats, and also bought a small pack of “Travelers Chews” for my soon-to-be-starting-college little sister.