regent thai

regent thai
1910 18th street NW, washington dc 20009
tel: 202) 232-1781
hours: lunch (noon-ish-3pm) monday-saturday, dinner (5pm-10ish) daily

what was consumed: delicious thai food! goong sarong, tom yum goong, pad see ew, red curry~

thai food is delicious. i don't remember who turned me on to it the first time, but whoever it was - thank you so much! the combination of flavors, the mix between sweet and salty and spicy, the prominence of rice noodles (i love rice noodles!), the presence of coconut milk, the fragrance of jasmine rice, the scent of lemongrass ... ahhhh~

i got the chance to visit thailand a number of years back. with my friend tina, we stayed in bangkok for a couple of days to see 'the sights' of the city, then head out to koh samui for some time on the beach. we also made it out to koh penyang for a night and spent time in a hut! my goodness, the glorious memories are floating back to me ... and, of course, the thai food (or, just "food" in thailand, i guess) was spectacular.

so, now in DC, i was looking for good thai food (there are lots of thai restaurants in DC - i wasn't sure what was good or not) and mentioned it to kera (my old boss at the restaurant). in almost an instant, she recommended 'regent thai' and continued to speak about the delicious flavors that come out of their kitchen ... soon after, my friend, angelina, came to visit DC. I took this as a sign to try out some tasty treats. hooray!

on a fresh pre-spring evening, we made the long trek to adams morgan (long because we're on foot - a preferred way of transportation). so, by the time we head made it out to regent thai, we were both famished (ok, ok, so i'm often feeling famished). we waited a little bit (just a little bit) and then were seated at a nice outside table. with a singha beer in hand, we began to leaf through the menu, salivating. everything sounded so so good! in the end, we decided on a few appetizers and a few entrees for sharing.

angelina and i shared good conversation and great food! the delicious scents that wafted from other tables definitely whet our appetites. when our food arrived (in timely fashions, of course) the savory combination of flavors definitely were pleasing to my (albeit self-proclaimed unrefined) palate. the service was good, the prices were not extraordinary, and the ambiance was good. i can see friends coming for a fun dinner, families coming for some yummy eats, a representative place for curious individuals new to thai food (warning - other places will disappoint post regent thai) - a great place for all walks of life!

yay thai food!

online: http://www.regentthai.com/

julia's empanadas

julia's empanadas
1221 connecticut avenue NW, washington, dc 20036 (i've only been to this location there are others - one in adams morgan, one in columbia heights)
tel: 202) 861-8828
hours: daily 10am-8pm-ish, friday-saturday until 4 am

what was consumed: empanadas (jamaican style, saltenas, spinach, etc.)

julia's is a place that i had on my list of "to go" for a long time (here and ben's chili bowl. as of right now, i have still not visited the DC local favorite that is ben's chili bowl - soon!!). when my friend, angelina, was in town, i finally got my chance to go (mind you, this was after a few hours at cafe citron. i was the designated driver (yay - we were responsible, boo - i had to be the responsible one (haha)) and ended up driving around a car-full of drunk folks. oh well~). in the least, i wanted to grab some good late night eatin'. the car-full of folks had no objections.

it was an early night, so the line wasn't too long (i've heard people tell me that they've had to wait a long while). it looks like, though, that julia's prepares for late night visitors, so their oven is packed full with empanadas. because there were lots of people with me during my first visit, we purchased a smorgasboard of flavors and then raced home to cut the varieties into smaller pieces in order to taste them all.

since then, i've visited julia's on a number of different occasions, none of which were during moments of inebriation. i've had the empanadas as snacks, as meals, as in-between-meals. always, i've been pleasantly surprised with my decisions. these days, i find myself ordering the 'saltenas' empanada. the combination of chicken, potatoes, and other veggies in a slightly spicy reddish sauce (i think it's slightly spicy; others may think otherwise) with the light and thin-ish flour wrapper makes for easy eating whether you're on the go or sitting down for a quick (or not so quick) bite. there isn't any seating at julia's (at least not the one off connecticut avenue), but that area of downtown is filled with outdoor seating options (e.g. farragut square). and because julia's makes the empanadas fresh and keeps them warm in a nice oven, the empanadas are warm, not dry, and always delicious.

all of this writing is making me hungry. maybe i'll swing by julia's for a little late afternoon snack (lucky for me, i work walking distance away - woohoo!).

on a side note: julia's is cash only. luckily, the empanadas aren't super expensive ... but way delicious!

online: http://www.juliasempanadas.com/

carmine's

carmine's
2450 broadway new york, NY 10024-1103
tel: 212) 362-2200
hours: sunday-thursday 11:30am - 11pm, friday-saturday 11:30am - midnight

what was consumed: salad, pasta, bread ...

there are lots of great eats in NYC. additionally, there are lots of great italian places in NYC. but how do you know what is good and what is not? my solution? ask. haha ...

the first time i went to carmine's, it was to meet my friend, paul, who is a long time NYC-er. christine was in school at the time and she didn't venture down anywhere south of midtown (she was in the upper westside). i was on holiday in nyc, on holiday in the states in fact (i was in seoul at the time). while i had had lots of good (a relative good, of course) korean-ized italian food, i could always use some GOOD italian food (especially italian food that was not sprinkled with kernals of corn - long story). paul suggested carmine's - and i'm glad he did.

there's something about italian food - pasta, pizza, etc. angela hair, spaghetti, linguie, etc. there's nothing like a large portion of pasta with a delicious sauce, coupled with some sort of protein-ous greatness. there's also something about consuming large mouthfuls as at time - the joy of the taste, the sense of it going to your stomach, the feel of contentment as it fills your empty belly. i often leaving such meals longing for more and looking forward to my next visit.

now, don't think about going to carmine's with a small group. their portions are large (family style) and you, for sure, want to try lots of different things (unless, of course, you're looking into massive amounts of leftovers, which still taste great by the way). yum ... let's go eat italian!

online: http://www.carminesnyc.com/