A strike to the heart (and stomach)

Michael Pollan wrote one of my favorite books of all time: Omnivore's Dilemma. When it first came out, I did not do anything for a week while I absorbed his brillant analysis of the food, commodities and energy market of today. If you haven't read it, you should.

So it was with pleasure I opened my Sunday New York Times to see the cover story on the Time Magazine an article written by Michael Pollan. Titled "Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch," he explains how we have evovled from watching cooking shows so we can learn how to cook complicated and imaginative foods to sitting on the couch and watching other makes meals while we, all too often, bring home take-out or easy to microwave items. It is a thoughtful article inspired by the release of the movie Julie & Julia this week.

This movie has fixated the entertainment writers for better then a week now. Directed by Nora Ephron -- who brought you When Harry Met Sally -- and starring the incomparable Meryl Streep as Julia Childs -- so many reviews have been written about her portrayal of a woman who happily passed away at 92 in her sleep, it makes me wonder whether our interests are so diluted and specialized that we will rarely have cultural figures everyone would know.

I'm sure I will watch the movie which will be good for me because this past week of gluttonous eating every night has led to my skirts feeling a bit tighter. Instead of going to a restaurant, I am going to go to the movies. Mental candy as opposed to edible candy.

I took a good run this morning to work off the calories of an unexpectedly delicious meal last night. After having running errands for the better part of all day Saturday (This is the part of being a grown-up I absolutely deplore! I swear I will probably, if I ever get married, be the worst housewife ever because I hate to clean, run errands or do anything remotely domestic!), I settled down to a dinner at Chevy's Mexican Restaurant near Pentagon City.

Chevy's is a chain restaurant so you know the prices are relatively cheap. My chicken chimichanga was $9.99, but what was really delicious was the salsa. In fact, their salsa is so legendary, you can buy a bottle of salsa for $7.99. I'm not sure I will accurately capture the freshness and lightness of the salsa. Not purely tomato based, the completely pureed salsa arrived in a glorious mish-mash of color: a burgundy palate with splices of green and black. The chips were essentially salt-less and so airy I ate an entire basket myself.

I should have sensed the salsa was to-die-for simply by the service of the waiter who brought us our own individual bowls of salsa.

Which reminds me. I wrote a review for NBC Washington nearly a year ago which caused quite the rucus because I said Lauriol Plaza in D.C. was the best Mexican food in the city. I still get amused by the fracus simply because I was only choosing a locale in the city -- as opposed to Virginia or Maryland. I'm just a critic, just one person's opinion, so raising someone's hackles is always interesting.

This week I'm excited to go to Texas and get some real Tex-Mex though!

Food should be a competition

I like how riled up people get about their food. Well ... maybe riled is too harsh a word. Passionate. I like how passionate people are about their food, especially in defending their geographical favorites. They talk in detail, usually with either arms or voices raised (sometimes both), and you can feel how strongly they long for a dish RIGHT THERE while you are talking.

Last night I attended a chili cook-off and, other then burgers and bbq, chili seems easily prone to these types of geographic rivalries. I love watching Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" on the Food Network. He discovers some of the hidden gems around our country, including some excellent chili locales. Check it out.

Of course, an in-house chili contest means (1) it's more intimate, (2) there's more egos and (3) the champion is crowing even more about his -- sorry girls, it was a he who won -- chili crown.

Being from Texas, I like Texas chili the best. Last night's winner was closely akin to ours: not too sweet, with beans and beef. An excellent Mexican cornbread soaked up the right proportion of liquid to solids. Here's the link to Tyler Florence's Texas Chili: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/tylers-texas-chili-recipe2/index.html.

Every state/city does contests and rankings though. The Washingtonian issued their "Best of Washington 2009" recently. Looking through the pages, I can certainly understand some favorites. Naturally, I focused on the burger section. Not sure I agree with all of them but I will say one restaurant which I used to like -- Sonoma -- I will no longer be going to in order to get burgers. One, the beef pattie has gotten smaller but the price is still the small. De-valuization. I don't like it. Two, even though I requested the meat well-done, this one was charred beyond recognition. Three, the lettuce was double the size of my burger. Awkward. Four, I got chewed out by the hostess who was in jeans and a cut-off top. Yes. Me, the customer, got chewed out by the hostess. Never going to go there again.

Otherwise, this weekend I think I'm going to try some receipes at home. I'll let you know how those turn out. This one is one of my favorites from Paula Deen. The total costs of the ingredients is about $20, but the food will last you all week.

BAKED SPAGHETTI

Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons Paula Deen’s House Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Paula Deen’s Seasoned Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Paula Deen’s Sweet Italian Herb Blend
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
2 small bay leaves
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining. Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for 20 more minutes. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with sauce. Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes. Cut into squares before serving.

Yield: 10 servings
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ease of preparation: easy

Maybe frugal is all in the mind ....

Last night I had a scrumptous dinner at Equinox, off the Farragut West metro station. (Exit on the 17th Street side or else you will be walking a long time.) Don't let the picture on the website fool you. The space is not cavenerous but rather very small and very intimate. I honestly think if the bar fit more then 20 people comfortably then they would have to be the skinniest people around!

Aside from the oddly mish-mashed architectural flourishes -- sconces which look like Vidalia onions don't go with the plastered ceiling -- the service is exceptional. Our waitress was charming without being overbearing. Patient. She was patient.

I had along a wine connesiour (of sorts) and a chef (from a competing restaurant) so I was on my best foodie behavior. And the reason for our journey was the $40 "Spring Tasting Menu" below. A great deal for the price but hardly frugal. Tonight will be dinner at Sonoma (on the house) for a going away party for a friend. Now that's my idea of a good meal: FREE!

Too bad D.C. isn't really having any great food deals. I can't remember the last time a restaurant opened which really popped out in my mind. I guess I need to keep on doing some hunting. Sonoma is a good deal though. Meal, without wine, is about $15.

Equinox invites you to enjoy some of Chef Todd Gray's

best-loved dishes with a special 10-YearAnniversary Menu.

For the remainder of July and August, Chef Gray has created tasting menus

that reflect the season's freshest flavors in his favorite preparations.

10th Anniversary July Tasting Menu

Spicy Field Arugula and Sweet Watermelon Salad

Preserved Lemon, Shaved Parmesan and Lingurian Olive Oil

Loosen Bros. "Dr. L" Riesling Mosel , Germany 2008

Chef's Market Middle Course

Silky Egg Fettuccine with Crispy Eastern Shore Soft Shell Crab

Fondued Tomatoes, Pea Shoots and Garden Mint Butter

Heron Pinot Noir , France 2007

"Summer Blueberry"

Vanilla Bean Custard, Path Valley Blueberries and Fresh Bay Leaf Gelato

Elio Perrone "Bigaro" Rose, Italy 2008

$40/with wine pairing $65

*This tasting menu is available every night through the rest of July with a Market Middle Course that changes daily*

Equinox Restaurant

(202) 331-8118

818 Connecticut Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20006

A once a year opportunity

I ate a marvelous dinner at Fogo de Chao last night. Exquisite meats, sides and a plentiful salad bar PLUS a gentle glass (or two) of Cabernet and a Molten Chocolate cake to die for. Price? F-R-E-E. I know!! I'm really lucky. And it wasn't even for an NBC review. Sometimes friends are just that special ...

Some of these excellent restaurants -- which clearly go against my $15 a meal budget -- give a bargain once a year for "DC Restaurant Week." Lunches for $20 and dinners for $35. Week of August 24, 2009. It fills up fast so go to Open Table today and book reservations. They just noticed it!

Liquid Diet

During the day I work for a "company" where there is a lot of free food floating around. Usually I try to go to the cafeteria's salad bar -- since this is the only time during the week my diet will see a green vegetable which isn't plucked, battered and fried beyond recognition ... or isn't a mere garnish to a buttered dish -- but I'm too cheap to always pay the $0.40 per ounce. So, I rely on the network of free "briefing lunches" to fill my daily diet with food.

If all else fails, then I usually have a "liquid diet" for dinner. Is this healthy? Probably not. I don't think merely drinking a glass of orange juice for dinner is all-together healthy, but it is certainly more healthy than having a pint of ice cream for dinner. And it's 100% more healthy then just drinking a glass(es) of alcohol for dinner, which I confess I sometimes do.

One of the more tempting "liquid diets" is the SEI happy hour. Located across the street from the gorgeous National Portrait Gallery in Chinatown, SEI has the most drop-dead, divine Japanese moijito. Liquid sin: sweet, even-tempered with a kick of sake. I downed my first in about 15 minutes and followed it up with a second, which disappeared in nearly the same time. I swear, if ever I found a personal weakness to my one-drink-a-night resolve (don't ask, it's a long story) then this drink is it!! During their happy hour, this drink can be found for a measley $7. Ends at 8 pm.

This sounds like I'm a alcohol bulimic, but I'm not. I drink maybe an alcoholic drink once every two weeks. Just searching for a good bargain wherever I can find it!

But if you are looking for substance, a nice complement to your cheap foodie habits is the pizza at Whole Foods. Now, I'm from Texas so I was intimately familiar with Whole Foods before it exploded into the 600+ store monolith the chain is now. A not-so-good secret is you can buy pizza by the slice there for $3.99 (or two for $5.99). The width of the pizza at the crust is at least five inches, not quite a Jumbo Slice; however, the variety of garnishes are infinitely healthier. Check it out. I like to get a slice at the Clarendon Whole Foods and then walk across the street to the tiny park there and enjoy the gorgeous weather we've been enjoying lately.

Okay. Enough with these chains. The goal for this week is to try and find more neighborhood deals!!

P.S. For those of you who miss the Murky Coffee, here's an interesting article about my least favorite coffee chain from the owner Nicholas Cho.

If it's cheap is it quality?

I was reading through The Washingtonian's Cheap Eats magazine. The volume of information is rather overwhelming, but I guess it's a good-a-start as any to find cheap food. I guess the larger question is "Is it quality?"

If I just wanted cheap food, I would go to any of the Fast Food Nation's highlighted food chains. I mean, even after reading that muckracking book, I still love Chick-fil-A and Sonic (a premium Texas chain). There isn't a Sonic nearby, but there is a Chick-fil-A in the Ballston mall. I'm sure Californians would say the same about In-N-Out Burger, but if I can go to a restaurant and get food for under $15 then that's what I want.

The Washingtonian's Cheap Eats restaurants are, in fact, restaurants so I'm going to really try and eat at most of them since I haven't already.

In the meantime, I got a press release about how Old Ebbitt Grill is hosting their 1st Annual Block Party Labor Day Weekend. "Delicious fare, libations and live music" from 6 pm to 11 pm. For $65 dollars you will get burgers, jumbo lump crab cake sandwiches, beef brisket, shrimp cocktail, bratwurst and more PLUS frozen beverages like White Lemonade, Blue Margaritas and Strawberry Daiquiris. Also, there will be beer and wine.

Old Ebbitt Grill is one of my favorite restaurants. Maybe it's the proximity to The White House -- thus you get great citings of people who work in The West Wing -- but the long LONG line to get a table often disuades me from going. I will say though the wait is usually worth it. They have fresh bread with room-temperature butter for free, beautiful calimari as an excellent appetizer choice and one of the best burgers I have ever eaten in this city (at a bargain basement rate of $8.95).

I don't know if I want to pay $65 for four hours of drinking and eating. I may just turn into a comatose food zombie when I am done, but it's something to consider. It's not being a "frugal foodie" unless you divide the $65 over 4 four hours.

www.ebbittblockparty.com

for those who are so inclined.

Seriously??

Have you ever gotten in a food rut? I do. Sometimes I eat the same foods over-and-over again, mindlessly, without thinking of either the calories or nutritional value. Usually though my old staples include The Italian Store in Clarendon where you can get a relatively healthy sub sandwich for about $7.99 with tax. I always order a large "Milano" on a hard roll, with everything, but lately they always run out of hard rolls! Sadness. The soft roll isn't as good because there is SUCH an abundance of meat, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers and various acrutrements (plus a heavenly dressing which is both sweet and sour) that the bread always ends up soggy at the end.

Maybe this is why I'm growing bored with The Italian Store ... they don't have what I what ... or they have what I want it's just so easy to get. What's the challenge there? Isn't part of being a foodie finding something exclusive and delicious which no one else knows? It's an adventure of sorts.

Frank Bruni with The New York Times is pretty good at this. I enjoy all of his blogs and articles. He usually has an excellent stand alone article in The New York Times' weekly insert "Dining and Wine in New York."

I think I also like him so much because he isn't a thin foodie. Much like Paula Deen (my hero), he has some heft and I like it. It makes you believe them more -- as though their girth justifies their gastronomic critiques. Thin people talking about food makes me think they are just being estoteric because, really, SERIOUSLY, who can eat so much good food and be so thin!?!? Like Giada De Laurentiis with her show on The Food Network. She's so thin and tiny -- notice she never swallows her food just chews -- you wonder if her receipes are actually good. (Some are, but I'm sure I'm just being a Mean Girl since she is so beautiful, very talented and married to the style director of one of my favorite stores Anthropologie.)

Frank had a great article this past Sunday in The New York Times magazine (I do read other newspapers ... I read pretty much all the national ones, I just favor The New York Times the most) about being a "baby bulimic." Check it out. Fascinating.

Which brings me to the best article I read yesterday from USA Today talking about how obesity is being considered in South Carolina as child abuse. How does one get a 14-year-old child to 555 pounds ... is that abuse? Too much cheap food?