Taqueria Poblano, Del Ray

Tonight I went to Taqueria Plabano in Del Ray for dinner. I've been meaning to check it out for years (literally!) but the combination of my laziness, their weird hours, and it always looking super crowded...it just never happened. Tonight the stars aligned and it was great! It was different than other Mexican restaurants I've been to, and based on the reviews I've read, I think that's because its considered Cal-Mex, rather than Tex-Mex or Mexican/Salvadorean.

The menu consists of mostly tacos/appetizers and only a handful of platters. I got chorizo and potato tacos (on special) and they were delicious! If anything, they were a little heavy on the potato and light on the chorizo, but covered with just the right about of cheese and some pico de gallo. Most tacos are a la carte, but this was a platter and I got extra rice and no beans (because I hate them) and it also came with gauc!
Check it out!

Bob's Noodle 66

People love Bob's Noodle 66!! A Taiwanese restaurant located in strip mall in Rockville - it's always crowded, and for good reason :)

We went on Saturday and arrived around 7:15 pm and waited about 25 minutes for a table. About 5 minutes after ordering, our food rapidly began to arrive! Do you see the joy?!


First to arrive was the spinach (on the left in the picture below). It was boiled and sauteed with some garlic. I ate some of the whole cloves :D Next was the chicken and bamboo (in the back) - very flavorful and a little spicy. Then the oyster pancake (in the front)! Then the beef with noodles and broccoli (on the right)!!! The noodles were very thick and had some bite to them - very delicious!! Then the wonton soup...wow, would it end? I was in heaven!!
At this point, I'm overcome with joy....we had been eating for awhile and I was approaching food coma when they brought out the ginger chicken casserole! Wow.....this is also a very good dish.

Obviously, we had tons of leftovers!

Bob's has an awesome shaved ice dessert that you should definitely get! A big bowl of shaved ice with some sort of syrup and sweetened condensed milk poured over top, and then topped with your choice of three items. We had red beans (gross!), lychee and taro.....so very good!!

And the best part? This place is super cheap! For all this food, we each only paid $15 per person, with tip!

Bob's Noodle 66, 305 N Washington St, Rockville MD, 301-315-6668. Bob's gets my approval. I'd recommend it for: cheap, delicious food!!, ordering lots of random stuff, reasonably sized groups, and as a food destination.

Bittersweet Cafe

Bittersweet Cafe, on King St in Old Town Alexandria, has the biggest, greatest, most delicious cupcakes in the area.

My favorite is the spice cupcake with cream cheese frosting. A friend recommended the PB&J cupcake (white cupcake with strawberry filling and peanut butter buttercream).

Their selection seems to be sporadic - every time I go, they have a different selection, so I wouldn't count on your favorite always being there. This weekend, I had a carrot cake cupcake! Mmmm....



I think one of the biggest reasons I like Bittersweet's cupcakes so much is their size. Most cupcakes are too small, but Bittersweet really does it right.




Bittersweet Cafe, 823 King St, Alexandria. Bittersweet Cafe gets my approval. I recommend this place mostly for: cupcakes!! and other baked goods. They seem do a great lunch business too, mostly sandwiches and they have a small by-the-pound salad bar that looks delicious.

Saturday of eating!

After lots of hype, I finally got a chance to check out ACKC: Artfully Chocolate Kingsbury Confections and their cocoa bar! I think the name is dumb, but the hot cocoa was so ridiculously awesome!!! I had the Judy (I think): Milk chocolate with hazelnut syrup and whipped cream....wow!! It was the best hot cocoa I ever drank.

ACKC is a combination of a chocolate shop and cafe. They have several cases of decadent truffles. They also had a ton of baked goods from Buzz in Alexandria: cookies, cupcakes, muffins, brownies, chocolate dipped pretzels. Chocolate gifts, prepackaged chocolates from other places, and more!! They also had plenty of seating.

The way the hot cocoa works is: pick a chocolate (white, milk, dark....I think), pick some milk (whole, 2%, maybe even soy?), and then pick what you want mixed in: they have various syrups, and herbs like lavender, cinnamon, chilies and then they make it up good. They also have about 10 different suggested varieties. I stayed on the beaten path when order my Judy :)

You absolutely need to go here because it is so good. I had the five-dollar hot chocolate from Murky Coffee, and it was good, but it wasn't sweet enough for my taste, though it was almost as thick as a dipping chocolate. The cocoa from ACKC was thinner, but sweeter and more wonderful than anything I've had before.

Also, if you need someone to go with you, I will go :D

After my stop at ACKC,, I realized I did not eat all day. I ended up at Naan & Beyond, which I had also heard a lot about, but since I don't work downtown, I've never seen it open. Today was my day.

I got the chicken tikka wrap. To make it, the naan man threw some dough into the oven and made fresh bread just for me!! After taking it out, he threw on some mayo (really? I know), tomatoes, and shredded cabbage and chunks of hot, delicious chicken. I was expecting the chicken to be red, but it was white, but still good. It was served with mint and mango chutney. I love dipping sauces! It must have been pretty filling because I only ate half....more for tomorrow!!

It has been a great 24 hours of food :D

Utopia on U St

Back to eating non-prepackaged foods!!

Utopia is on U and 14th St. It was great! When we walked in, the atmosphere was very relaxed. It was 8:30 pm on a Friday night and the bar was full, but not crowded and there were plenty of open tables. I was not overwhelmed :D

Getting seated seemed to take a bit longer than necessary, but after that, everything was smooth. As for drinks: there was no beer on tap, but they had a good bottled selection. They also had lots of wine and martinis. We had some beer. Next, we were served some fantastic, fresh, warm rolls. For dinner, I ordered vegetable couscous curry. The menu had no description for this dish, so I had no idea what to expect. I don't usually like food surprises but this curry was better than anything I could ever imagined! There were zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers, onions, broccoli and carrots served in ample amounts of creamy curry sauce. Was it coconut? I'm not sure but it was delicious! It was served with a mound of couscous on the side. The portions were large - I couldn't eat it all....but I ate most of it :D

Later, around 11pm, they had live jazz. I don't know much about jazz, but I enjoyed it. We were pretty close to the front, so it was a bit loud, but I think in other parts of the restaurant the noise level was perfect. I liked that we weren't rushed out - it was very laid back.

Utopia gets my approval. I recommend this place mostly for: good food, eating slowly, and lounging afterwards. I think the bar would have been good as well, but it was too crowded for me :P