The Washington Experience

a historical moment occurred in American politics today. a new generation in American leadership has been forged with the passing of the guard from historical inspiration to the future of hope in tomorrow's generation.

with my potential first full day at work standing in between me and this historical moment, i was pretty disappointed at the position of either missing this watershed moment or risking a bad impression with my potential benefactors. so there was no more joyous moment on this day when my bosses now only allowed me to skip part of the day, but encouraged it for me to gain the true washington experience...which allowed me to stand amid the thousands, waiting in the 30 degree cold of a DC morning, waiting to see this:


so with this endorsement, we look to that one day in february that only happens every four years...no, no, not leap year...but super tuesday, february 5th. and then hopefully onto november 4th and 8 years into the future of inspiration and hope.

then hopefully, as a veteran staffer (in my second day) in the hallowed halls of congress, i will be able to catapult myself to a position to possibly shake this great man's hands...wait.... :P

Georgia Brown's

continuing down the line of reservations i have made for restaurant week puts us at Georgia Brown's for some good ol' homestyle southern food. and on a frigid monday evening, some hearty country cuisine sounded perfect to keep inner body temperatures high.

double dating with ting and matt allowed the four of us (nam stayed the extra day to eat dinner) to indulge in multiple dishes...though somehow matt and nam ended up with the exact same orders. turning attention to my own decisions...

fried green tomatoes stuffed with cheeses sitting on top of a lemon-cayenne mayo...and it definitely tasted as good as it sounded. though it wasn't what i imagined it to be...hearing the word 'stuffed' conjures images of something plump and oversaturated (like the shrimp crépe mentioned before), but this was more of a slice of green tomato layered in cheese and deep-fried. but if you're like me, cheese and deep-fried is really all that matter.

my entrée choice was a toss-up until the moment of truth. droplets of sweat...okay, more likely drool...were splattering the table top as our kind waiter swung his gaze toward me. but finally, i chose the low country shrimp and grits w/ andouille sausages over a heap of veal fetticini. and though the veal was a specialty item, i couldn't have been happier upon seeing my dish placed in front of me. the shrimp was perfectly cooked and sat atop well-flavored grits, all absorbing the flavors of shrimp and andouille jus.

for dessert, a red velvet mini bundt...still nothing topping the decadent flavors and appeal of extraordinary desserts...this cupcake-isque cake did satisfy my sweet tooth after the two hearty dishes before it.

the large portions and quick service, if not just the unlimited cornbread and biscuts...would definitely draw me back to Georgia Brown's. with our country food craving quenched, the four of us begrudgingly rolled out of our seats and back into the blistering cold of the DC night...but at least with stomachs full of southern soul.

Cafe Bonaparte

with nam visiting for the weekend, it was fitting to enjoy restaurant week together, and that is what we did. with dc being one of those old historical cities with its cobblestone roads and its old brick row houses in quaint little areas like georgetown, it is fitting that there are small, home-y, old european-isque cafes sprinkled among the commercialized h&m's and banana republics.

and such a cafe can be found in Café Bonaparte. however, even with it's dimly lit, hole-in-the-wall, french inspired decor...it still exudes a sense of mainstream. probably because it is now filled by the clichéd artist or the snobby east coast prestige of georgetown undergrads...or just mainstream because food-loving folk like myself invade its private underground mystique. with all that said, this joint is definitely in need of reservations, or else be prepared to be outside for quite some time.

but we shall let the food speak for itself. my apologizes for not thinking about snapping a few pictures, but i hope you readers will take my word for it. having planned on a restaurant week style lunch/dinner...we went at 3pm so it was a little in between...but their dinner menu (which is extremely appetizing) wasn't available until after 5pm. taking a gander at their lunch set for restaurant week, we decided it might be more enjoyable to just order á la carte.

our opening french onion soup wasn't particularly spectacular, though moderately priced. nam's steak sandwich, however, probably isn't the best dish to order in a french crêperie, but we didn't want to overwhelm our senses with crêpes sense i was ordering a shrimp filled stuffed crêpe with a saffron cream sauce that was too decadent to pass up. but if there was a problem with the dish, the too much shrimp did factor into the over-saturation of seafood into an otherwise delicious meal.

sadly, service was not up to par. filled with perhaps room for only 60 or so patrons, there were only 2 overworked servers and being restaurant week, were probably a little overwhelmed. the wait for our waiter to stop by and inquire about desserts made the desserts themselves sound unappetizing and we left without enjoy the sweet side to balance the savory.

so a recommendation to you fellow dc-restaurateurs, Café Bonaparte is definitely worth a try. perhaps on a weekday where the attention of being "cool" doesn't attract such a crowd and you and a delightful french cuisine are the only two members of the party.

Vidalia

yes, it is once again restaurant week in dc. which invariably means that i will be indulging myself at restaurants eating foods created by masterful chefs with bon appetit stars next to their names. where i would normally have my face plastered against the windows staring at the meals that others are enjoying, this week...i will be putting fork to mouth and gorging on my twice a year chance to feed my hunger for 5-star cuisine.

and typical of me...my urge to contribute to ting and my failed food-blog created last restaurant week, has been growing inside my stomach with each morsel of fois gras i feed it. but i will not succumb to that urge, and will obligingly place my words here, for your enjoyment.

my first foray into restaurant week (rw) was at vidalia...serving a glamor version of american southern cuisine. located in the midst of construction on 19th street next to a cvs pharmacy and illuminated with a sign comparable to the local quizno's, it does not strike you as high-class as i almost nearly walked past it and had to do a double-take and follow another group in to be certain. but upon entering and winding down the stairs, you are greeted with a chic, mood-lit, tiered dining room with sitting area, bar, coat check and all.

complementing the decor was the food. those unfamiliar with rw standards, the diner is allowed a choice of one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert from typically an abridged menu. however, vidalia was generous to offer its full menu, with mark-ups on certain dishes to be fair.

deciding to be more adventurous on my first round, i chose the veal tongue to start (as pictured above)...before moving onto the duck breast...and ending with a vanilla bean cake. with my conscience screaming at the inhumanity of eating veal, i was quickly overcome by my urge to try all types of food...and again, stomach 3 (1 being the sheep's lung consumed in tibet and 2 being the pig's brain in chengdu) - conscience 0.

and unlike the lungs, this tongue was nothing to boast about...though it was a little more tender than normal beef's tongue, i guess appropriate being it was veal. the duck breasts, ordered to a perfect medium, is always a favorite dish of mine and i can't seem to escape it wherever i go, and this occasion was no different and definitely not a disappointment with its perfectly crisped layer of fat on top of the succulent protein portion of the dish. the vanilla bean cake, though tasty and served with a nice white chocolate covered strawberry, did nothing to excite me...as is normally difficult with desserts after having been spoiled for 5 years with the immaculate creations of extraordinary desserts in san diego.

but all in all, a good first restaurant in my thus far 4 restaurant meal through rw. tune in for continuous updates of my ever insatiable appetite.

Best of 2007

As we crossed another arbitrary threshold of time, people all around the world are signing up for gym memberships where they will unsuccessfully bind themselves to their resolutions, only to actually be bound to the ironclad contracts they will blindly sign…are installing GTD (getting-things-done) applications to their respective computers/phones/pdas in the hopes that this year, they won’t miss that deadline that would’ve promised them the big promotion or oversleep the final that would’ve been the final step toward graduation…are dreading the fact that adding that extra year will already even make their ‘socially relevant’ age cross over toward one’s ‘distinguished’ period.

Typically around this time, the internet is bombarded by ‘best of’ lists and series. Being part of the blogosphere and net-environment as a whole, I decided to create my own list…the best moments of MY 2007 (working backwards based on months):

December
Finishing semester one of year one of my MPP with my most impressive report card since Mrs. Faulk gave me all smiley faces back in kindergarten, all the while concluding my groundbreaking emeritus state-affairs position with NACHC.
November
Impressing my elders with my unexpected knife skills in the kitchen as I exhausted my entire culinary prowess to put mashed potatoes and candied yams on the Thanksgiving meal table.
October
Seemingly an uneventful month, I was able to recharge my batteries with an opening weekend spent with nam.
September
A celebration of my 23rd birthday, where my wonderful girlfriend gladly came to visit and we enjoyed our first New York experience together.
August
Concluding my first term with NACHC with a prolonged Restaurant Week extravaganza where I emptied my entire summer’s stipend of good food whilst awaiting the first day of my first semester of my first year of my MPP.
July
Another seemingly uneventful month, though this one with a more prolonged visit from nam, ending her month long stay in casa de hu.
June
Coupled with visits by an old friend and nam, was moving into my own house and the beginning of my first term with NACHC.
May
The beginning of the next step of my life began on some mid-May day when I flew away from my west coast roots and planted myself into the soil of the east coast.
April
My triumphant return to the states after a prolonged ‘finding-myself’ trip to shanghai was only trumped by the celebration of a milestone…nam’s first one-year anniversary…and luckily it was with me.
March
Coming towards the end of my stay in china, I became the second Hu of the Hu-clan to step foot on the hallowed lands of Tibet.
February
A wash of relief as I was surprisingly awoken one morning by my dad with the news that some school in DC had accidentally sent the acceptance letter for Andre Hue to me instead. That chump…bet he ended up somewhere lame like SDSU.
January
My exodus from xanga to blogger and the birth of…huspot.

And with a brief, terrible quality video...you can all revel in my cuteness: