gcdc

gcdc

1730 pennsylvania avenue NW, 20006
tel: 202) 393-4232

what was consumed: the kim-cheese-steak, the mediterranean, loaded tator tots

in the vein of food trucks turned brick and mortar establishments, gcdc is another example. an eatery that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches? what's not to like? yes please!

bjl and i were lucky with our timing as we nabbed a seat right before the hordes of worker bees descended upon gcdc for lunch; the line was out the door and around the block. and once our selection arrived, we were happy to devour our grilled cheese sandwiches.

gcdc has come up with some creative grilled cheese sandwich varieties. gone are the days of only cheese between two slices of bread (that still exists as well, don't worry). different meats, veggies, spices, and sauces have been added. like kimchee! i want to tell them that i've been eating sandwiches with kimchee since i was a kid, but i wasn't the first person to make it a thing. drat!

gcdc is also liberal with their cheese, maybe to a fault. but let's be honest - i loved that the cheese was oozing out of my sandwich and i could later pick it off my plate when it cooled. YUM.

re: tator tots. they reminded me of the delicious tator tots i used to enjoy when having weekend breakfasts with mom at carl's jr. it also gave me some good ideas on how to make some delicious loaded tator tots. tator tot bar, anyone

nom nom nom ... YUM.

online: http://grilledcheesedc.com/

astro donuts and fried chicken

astro donuts and fried chicken

1308 G street NW, 20004
tel: 202) 809-5565

what was consumed: sriracha wings (we went on a tuesday!), and donuts. lots of them. my favorite? creme brûlée

yay, donuts and fried chicken! may the trend continue.

friend brandon once mentioned to me that he wanted to get astro's. it had been some time since i'd fallen off the wdc food world, so i wasn't sure what he was talking about. turns out, astro's popped up during the time i was away. point is, now that i knew about it, he and i were determined to go, both for the chicken wings and for the donuts. note: sadly, we were not able to go together, but did end up going separately. we compared notes and both of us are fans fans fans!

after a day of walking around the mall, bjl and i took the fact that we were downtown-ish to check out astro's. that it was a tuesday (sriracha wings day!) was also a total draw.

once we neared the location, we saw a small storefront that already seemed to have a short line outside it. yes, astro's. we hemmed and hawed (for 2 seconds) before getting in line. the line moved quickly and, lucky for us, an even longer and faster growing line appeared behind us before our very eyes. we were able to secure one of the few seats in front of astro's. and because it was such a great day, we couldn't not!

we ordered a few of the wings and donuts for trying as well as a few more for sharing (later). the wings were delicious - spicy, not sweet, and crispy! oh, and 1 wing order includes a wing and drummette. and the donuts? oh my goodness. so many different and unique flavors, where to begin? i had heard that the creme brûlée was delicious, so that was a must. along with so many others. the donuts were light, sweet (as they should be), not overly fried, totally delicious. we may have started eating the ones we had intended on sharing with friends later that day. with no regret. yes, the donuts were that delicious. 

i hear astro's started as a food truck. and while i was a follower of food trucks at some point, i'm glad they now have a brick and mortar option. i know when they open, when they close, and where they are. and now, i can go more frequently. i wanna eat their luther. i'm gonna get so fat. hehehe.

online: http://astrodoughnuts.com/

le diplomate

le diplomate

1601 14th street nw, 20009

tel: 202) 332-3333

what was consumed: mussels, steak, chicken liver mousse

le diplomate has been on my list (as it has been on everyone's list) as soon as it opened. and despite invites time and time again, i turned them down to wait for bjl to get in to town. bjl has his own story with le diplomate (i'll let you hear it from him) and i was happy to save my visit to le diplomate so that i could go with him.

we walked in, reservations in hand. we were quickly engrossed by images of delicious bread being cut, a bar overflowing with food and drink, and food passing by as the staff prepared our seat. bjl knew what he was going to order, but i kept going back and forth between so many delicious options. i was distracted! our server placed a delicious basket of bread with quite a variety along with a healthy scoop of butter. which, turns out, i couldn't get enough of it as i slathered the butter on as much of the bread as i could. and they bring you more!

we started with the chicken liver mousse, a large serving of creamy mousse which arrived with deliciously toasted bread. we then quickly moved to mussels that were perfectly cooked in broth that i wanted to slurp up. and the steak frites! the frites were so crispy! salted and seasoned with such balance! and the steak was cooked so deliciously - seared so well on the outside, juicy and medium rare on the inside.

some comment on the frenchie-ness of the service, but we had a great experience. our server was well versed in the different dishes and able to ask all of our questions, our dishes brought with an air of pride for their tastiness, and everything cleaned up in good time. wonderful!

my frenchie foodie friends also really like le diplomate. that's a good sign, eh?

oh, just thinking about their chicken liver mousse is making me mouth water. i want to go to there and eat, eat, eat!

online: http://lediplomatedc.com/menu