If you're ever craving pizza, especially if it's extremely late at night, Manny & Olga's just might be your go to spot here in DC. They have a few locations throughout the city.
It’s not the best pizza in town, but it's great for those late night munchies, or for a quick cheap late afternoon bite when you need something on the go too.
You'll get your pizza in this box, even if you just order one slice. To be honest, this felt a little wasteful and my brain started thinking about contaminated boxes at recycling centers and how much more environmentally friendly this place could be.
If you were hoping to sit down and leisurely eat your pizza here, you'll be quickly disappointed once you enter this place. This is the type of place where you order, pay, get your food, and then leave (it's super small).
They have everything from traditional to white to vegetarian pizza, and some sides too.
Happy Easter! Today, I stopped by La Panetteria in Bethesda, Maryland.
This was the only restaurant that was available for a last minute table for a nice Easter Sunday post church lunch, so we came here knowing nothing about this restaurant and crossing our fingers it’ll be a good meal.
They have everything from antipasti, to pizza, to pastas, some sandwiches, and more.
Also, perks of beating the crowd at a restaurant? Being able to take all photos of the interior.
With a side of cheese? Yes please.
The grilled calamari was super fresh and I love how this dish came with veggies and a simple pasta.
You have the option to either choose a cream or tomato base, so I picked tomato. The ravioli was warm, the cheese melted in your mouth, and I (tried) to lick the plate clean because the sauce was so good. It was such a perfect light-creamy sauce.
The veal was tender and almost melted in your mouth. The sauce wasn't greasy making you want to lick this plate clean too.
This was probably the best pasta I've had in a really long time. Everything tasted warm and fresh, and felt like food you would have at your Italian Grandma's home. If you're ever in Bethesda and you're craving good Italian food, I highly recommend this place. Trust me, you won't regret it.
Finally made it here! I've heard so many good things about this place, I couldn't wait to try out their ice-cream (aka one of my favorite foods). Let's get started. Hello, Jeni's.
Since this shop is still fairly new, you will see people lining up for this place, so just make sure you're mentally prepared to wait for your ice cream.
They have limited seating downstairs, but if you're lucky, you just might be able to snag a seat in their vibrant space on the second floor.
I felt like this wall gave the space a cozy home-like feel with the multiple imperfect but strategic photo frames and placements.
I decided to do the three scoop samples to do a little taste testing. I ordered:
Bangkok peanut - you'll get a spicy kick thanks to the pepper.
Coconut cocoa - the cocoa wasn't as prominent as the coconut.
Cookies and cream - I know, this is super basic, but I ended up liking this flavor best out of all three.
So, does that mean you technically can buy me love?
This shop definitely has great ice cream and a vast variety of flavors to select from. It's not the cheapest scoop of ice cream you'll have, but if you're a fan of ice cream, I recommend trying this place out at least once.
The bar area is the first thing you'll see once you enter this restaurant.
P.S. you can check your winter coats at the front desk if you ask.
The vibe of the whole restaurant was set up so you feel like you're at a modern-contemporary-traditional Korean restaurant.
I know, the food is what you're really looking to read about and what you should order, so keep scrolling down for more.
The bartender mixed Korean rice wine and soju. You're probably thinking that's a weird combo, and trust me, I thought so too, but it was surprisingly great.
Also, we're Korean and we ordered a meat dish, so of course we had to have a drink with us.
Korean seafood scallion pancake. This is such a simple dish, but you'd be surprised by how many restaurants go overboard on the oil. Fortunately, Gayeon's "jun" didn't feel greasy and I loved the presentation too.
Spicy stir fried octopus, bean sprouts, vegetables. My spice tolerance isn't that great, so my mouth was burning (a lot), but would I order this dish again? Absolutely. It was refreshing that Gayeon wasn't shy about making this dish spicy, like a true Korean cuisine would.
Braised pork belly, octopus & spicy radish kimchi, aged sesame leaf. Okay, the trick to eating this: wrap everything in the sesame leaf and your taste buds will thank me later.
Fresh salmon, deep fried rice, honey soy, chili mayo. I think this was one of my favorite dishes (I'm also a huge fan of salmon). The salmon was fresh and the deep-fried rice had a nice crunch when you took the first bite. The warm sticky rice with a hint of sweetness would then kick in.
From potato salads to carrots to kimchi. Just your average palate of Korean side dishes.
Wow just look at that meat. This meat would melt in you mouth from the tenderness.
This meat has a thinner texture than the rib eye, but was still tender and would melt in your mouth. This meat is also a bit more flavorful and I actually enjoyed this one a bit more.
Cold noodle soup. I was incredibly full after everything but having a bite of the cold naengmyun was a refreshing way to (almost) end the meal.
This wasn't too sweet, which was great, and it was warm and felt like I was taking a bite out of a warm soft fluffy cloud. This was the perfect way to conclude our meal.
One of the best authentic Korean foods I've had in America in a while. You'll definetly see me coming back here for more in the future.
You know I love a good slice(s) of pizza, so when I stopped by New York, I had to stop by a good pizza place. Here's a look into John's Pizzeria.
We came right before the lunch crowd hit, so we didn't have to wait too long, but by the time we were done eating and were heading out, I was surprised to see how many people were waiting and lining up to eat here (aka, try to get here early if you want to miss the crowd).
I loved the interior of this place and how people carved their names to the tables, seats, and walls.
We ordered a medium size pizza with sausages, mushroom, and pepparoni.
I loved the thin crust pizza and how the warm cheese melt in my mouth. We literally inhaled this pizza in 2 - 3 minutes (oops!).
The pizza here was great and if I'm in the area and I'm craving pizza, then I'll probably stop by, but it's not a place I would go out of my way for.
I've heard nothing but great - amazing things about Ippudo, so I knew I had to make this stop a priority when I finally had some free time in New York. Shall we begin?
Luckily, I came here during lunch, so I was able to get seated pretty quickly. If you have a big group, you'll be seated at one of these larger tables, but otherwise, you'll be sharing a large table with a few other people.
I knew what type of ramen I wanted when I sat down, but after examining the menu, I decided to order an appetizer too.
The buns were perfectly warm and soft, they melted in your mouth while the outside layer of the chicken gave a nice crunch. The chicken had a slight sweetness to it and it went well with "Ippudo's original spicy sauce", which gives you the perfect amount of spice kick without it being spicy.
This broth was pork based and I liked how it wasn't too heavy and creamy. I was extremely full (and satisffied) towards the end of this meal.
We added an egg and pork to this dish. The pork was a lot more prominent in this dish and the broth was a bit creamier than the Akamaru Modern.
The ramen here was delicious and because I was starving I ended up inhaling my dish. It was gone in minutes.
Overall, 10 out of 10 out of 10. This place was amazing and I would definitely go here again. I know this place does get crowded, so I highly recommend coming at an off hour so you miss the crowd, coming early, or during lunch.
I've heard about Lab Cafe from a few people for a while now, so I was excited to finally check this place out. Let's go!
Seats were filled with friends playing jenga/cards, which they have available for you to pick up and play, students studying, and family members catching-up.
They have bubble tea and ice-cream waffles, but because I heard their ice-cream waffles aren't as good as other places, I decided to get their Taro Lab Tea Slush instead.
I would've ordered a milk tea, but I can't drink caffeine after a certain hour (it keeps me up at night), so I had to get something caffeine free. Heads up, there aren't that many caffeine free choices.
Such a cute-cheesy phrase.
This is definitely a cozy spot to hangout and talk with friends. I'll be back!
Ah, jjajangmyun (짜장면) aka one of my favorite comfort foods. Here's one of my go to spots here in Annandale, VA. Jang Won doesn't have their own website, so here's a link to their Yelp page.
To be honest, whenever I come here, I already know what I want, so I don't know why I still bother to look at the menu.
This is always a must whenever I get jjajangmyung. Skip getting the chicken and go for the pork or beef instead.
Make sure you get this on the side so your meat doesn't get all soggy from the sauce halfway through your meal.
Half spicy seafood with noodles and soup and half jjajangmyung if you're craving a little bit of both.
Whenever I'm back home in Korea, this is usually my go to delivery food when I'm feeling lazy to go out.
Don't forget to ask your server to cut the noodles for you -- trust me, you'll thank me later.
Such good comfort food.
There's another jjajangmyung place near this area called, Choon Hwa Won, that a lot of people like to go to too. I personally like this place better but if you're leaning more towards Choon Hwa Won, click here for my post about it.
Whenever I have time, I love stopping by The Farm at San Benito in the Philippines. It's about a 2 hour drive from Manila, but it's absolutely worth it (click here to read about for my overall experience at The Farm).
The food is vegan friendly, and I love how light and refreshing everything tastes. I believe if not all, then majority of the ingredients they use is organic, and their chef does a great job in presenting not only an aesthetic food palette but also one that satisfies your stomach. Here are a few photos from our lunch!
They added this mixed nuts - humus like texture - between the vegetables, and topped it off with some pineapple.
The soup was a little watery since no dairy product was used to thicken the soup base, and there was a very hint of spiciness. Overall very refreshing.
Been sprouts, tomato, cashew, and some greens!
Thai mushroom cake with galangal, lamb "Isaan" vegetable, and green curry sauce.
The potato curst wrapped the tofu.
The Farm's raw brownies with mango sorbet on top.
Whenever I come to Korea, this is one place I love to stop by. Getting my sujaebi fix at Samcheong-dong. Sujaebi is a traditional Korean dish and the noodles are a bit thicker and doughy. We also ordered potato pancakes as a side.
Make sure you get here a bit early to avoid the lines. Seats gets filled up pretty quickly.
Address to get here: 102 Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
I can't believe it took me as long as it did to finally make my way over here. My family and I decided to take a day trip up to Korea's Chinatown in Incheon. If you're ever in this area, you have to go to this jjajangmyun place I wrote about; it will change your world. Also, walk around this small town and go find the red bean dessert pictured below. Since they make this on the spot, you'll get to take a bite out of a fresh, steaming hot, red bean bun. There might be people waiting in line, I waited about 30 minutes, but it was worth it.
I'm so incredibly excited to share this post with you. Out of all the jjajangmyun places I've been to, this is one of the best places I've ever been to. Right in the heart of Chinatown, Incheon, Korea, if you're ever in the area, make sure you come here for the jjajangmyun! We also ordered the pork tangsooyook and fried dumplings all of which I highly recommend.
Need directions? Click here.
Literally, that's the direct translation of this restaurant: Seoul's Second Best Shop (link here for directions) and they have the best red bean soup, aka "danpatjuk". The space is really small, so you'll be getting cozy with the friends you go with and others eating here too. It's not a place you'll want to sit around for hours, but rather, a place where you go in, eat, and leave; but trust me when I say this, they have great - no, amazing, danpatjuk, so it will be worth the wait and coziness.
Pub at night, restaurant during the day.
They also have a brunch menu.
This placed had a bit of a quirkiness ambiance that I liked.
Whenever I eat out with friends or family, I try to avoid looking at my phone as much as possible to enjoy their company.
Thin pizza with a nice crunchy crust.
They had a few lunch set menu options. The one we ordered off of gave us the pizza, pasta, and a small salad (not pictured).
Red Sauce Pasta with mozzarella balls. This was part of their lunch set menu.
Hamburger, with eggs, rice, tater totts, and a side of salad.
The lettuce and salmon was fresh and I loved the pineapple addition, it gave it a refreshing taste.
Overall, I liked the chill-quirky, but not overly quirky, ambiance of this restaurant. The food was good, the price was great, and this restaurant was forgiving with their portion size -- I mean look at that hamburger dish from their brunch menu! We probably didn't need to order the extra salmon salad, but my mom didn't know the lunch set menu was for two instead of one, but don't worry, we were able to finish everything and didn't leave any food to waste.
This is a place I definitely would visit again.
My grandma kept talking about how there's a great bibimbap with crab meat-place, so we decided to stop by MooHwaJam for lunch. Let's start.
Update: this restaurant is now closed.
Live and healthy right in front of your eyes too.
With soft warm tofu that melts in your mouth.
Just your typical complimentary Korean side dishes.
A simple dish but always a good one.
Just look at all that color, I was excited to finally dig in to this dish.
Unlike your traditional bibimbap dishes, the rice came on the side, so you could control how much rice you wanted to add.
Because this dish didn't taste like your traditional bibimbap, it took me a while to formulate my thoughts and figure out whether I liked it or not, but once I got rid of the thought that this dish isn't supposed to taste like your warm traditional bibimbap, the more I enjoyed and craved each bite for more.
They weren't shy with their portions and I loved how fresh every ingredient was.
Overall, the ingredients they used was incredibly fresh, so I see why my grandma wouldn't stop raving about this place. Highly recommended if you're looking for a not so traditional Korean bibimbap and if you like crabs.
I was bummed I couldn't visit the Mr. Holme's Bakehouse when I was in SF last summer, so when I found out they opened up a shop in Korea, I knew I had to stat the hype was about.
Let's get started.
We came here during the weekday, so the place was fairly quiet. I also appreciated how they had a lot of open space and natural light entering the building.
They had two flavors: Vanilla & Hazelnut Brioche Donuts. We ended up getting the vanilla.
I can't remember the different flavors they had, but we got the red bean cruffin, which I highly recommend.
Some drinks to complement all the sweets.
This place is known for their Cruffin, so make sure you order one when you stop by. I highly recommend the red bean cruffin for those red bean fans.
Need directions? Click here.
One thing I love about Korea is how there's an endless list of cafes you can explore. They have everything from book/study cafes, cat/dog cafes, themed cafes, etc. I wanted to go somewhere that was fairly quiet after lunch, but still had a nice ambiance, so Gabie in Hongdae was the perfect fit.
I appreciated the calm atmosphere and being surrounded by books. The cafe gave a nice studious-vibe. If I was a student living in this area, I think this is one cafe I would hit up. I also believe this place is opened 24 hours, so it would be perfect for those who are notorious all-nighters.
A friend and I decided to stop by the Bethesda Crab House for lunch. We ordered the medium 1/2 dozen crabs and corn. The crabs were really fresh and we ended up spending about 2 hours here since it took us a while to pull everything apart.
If you're in the area and you're craving crabs, make sure you stop by this area. Oh, and ask for a bib too so your food doesn't get on your clothes when you're hammering the crabs.
I know I don't post a lot of Indian cuisine on my blog, so this might come as a surprise, but I actually love Indian food, specifically curry. There was a period of time when I would have to eat curry at least once a week because I loved it so much and ate Paratha with jam for breakfast almost every day for a few years when I was in high school. And so, here's my trip to Tandoori Nights in Bethesda, MD.
I'm getting hungry for more Indian food just writing about this post.
Crispy spinach leaves w/ yogurt & tamarind chutney.
Make sure you get some sauce whenever you take a bite out of this dish.
100%
I honestly had no idea what I wanted but knew I wanted chicken in my dish. Our server recommended this for me and I'm glad I went with it!
Cubes of cottage cheese cooked in an exquisite creamy tomato sauce. I feel like I always say this about any cheese dish: I'm not a huge fan of cheese, especially not cubes of cheese, but this was one I enjoyed. I even might get this next time.
Boneless cubes of chicken breast marinated in yogurt and spices, finished in the clay oven. Also, just look at that presentation.
I don't know what "real-authentic Indian food" tastes like since I only have restaurants to restaurants to compare them too, but in my opinion, I thought this place was pretty good. The place was clean, the service was great, and the food was good too.
I've been itching to check this place out for a while. Let's get started!
Great first impression.
My friend and I didn't participate in their bottomless brunch, but for those who are hungry and ready to drink, they have a great deal for $40.
I loved the caramel and peach pairing with this french toast. I (not so literally but almost literally) licked the plate clean.
Shaved fennel, citrus, avocado, marinated shrimp, pine nut. If you're looking for something more light and refreshing for lunch, this dish is a great choice.
aka Churros with Nutella, must I say more?
After the french toast and churros, I had a huge sugar rush, which isn't a bad problem to have. The food, vibe, and service was great. The next time I visit, I plan to participate in their bottomless brunch deal. Either that or I'll be back for their churros! Yum.
Okay, so I'm not going to spend too much time writing about this place because I want to make another trip here to give this place another shot by trying their breakfast food/deli. I came here for dinner and ordered a burger (my mistake) while my friend ordered the falafel. I did like the vibe and interior and heard good things about this place, so keep a lookout for a follow-up post!
A few old friends of mine were visiting DC from out of town, and they were craving Thai food, so we decided to make our way towards Bangkok Joe's on K Street near Georgetown.
Just prefacing.
I appreciated that they weren't shy with the amount of peanuts they served with this dish.
You really can't go wrong with this dish.
I know these dishes aren't the most exciting and you can't go wrong with them, but hey, they were still good and because the weather was nice outside, we got to enjoy the cool fall weather as we enjoyed our meal outside.
I'm kind of embarrassed that it took me this long to finally check Duke's Grocery off my list, but hey, better late than never, right?
If you're coming here for dinner on the weekend, I highly recommend getting here early so you don't end up waiting with the rest of the crowd for a seat.
I was debating between this and their "local corn ‘elote locos" dish, but this was a solid choice. I'm pretty picky when it comes to mac & cheese, but this is one I'd go back for. The texture of the top layer had a bit of a crunch while the rest of the layers would melt in your mouth.
I now see why so many people rave about this burger. This burger is flavorful and the ingredients complements each other so well. The burger was tender and I'm guessing their thai sweet chili gave the burger a bit of a sweet kick to it too. 100% recommend.
If you're looking for a dish that's a bit more light, a friend of mine noted that their Avocado Toast was a really good too. But in my opinion, if you're coming to Duke's Grocery, you should go for their burger. This place will not disappoint.
Here's my DBGB Kitchen & Bar experience part 2! During my first visit, which you can read about here, I ended up ordering a burger, but this time around, I decided to order something a bit more "brunch-like".
Pastries! We had 2 scones, 1 chocolate croissant and 1 regular croissant with a side of honey butter and jam.
Warm sandwich of ham & gruyère (option to add egg). I love crunchy food (when appropriate), so I appreciated that the ends of this croque was nicely cooked.
Roasted apple, apple butter, maple syrup. You could definitely taste the sweet apple and each bite felt like you were tasting a bit of fall each time.
I know I gave pretty strong ratings last year, but this place didn't leave me with the same level of satisfaction this time around. This doesn't mean the food was bad though, I just wasn't as impressed.
