Obama checks out the DG

Obama went to the Dairy Godmother with his daughters today! According to the DG's twitter feed, I was running past there RIGHT before he got there. Maybe he WAS there...the sidewalks were pretty crowded.

How cool is that??

http://wtop.com/?nid=596&sid=1701094

Italian festival in Baltimore

I've heard a lot about the St. Anthony Italian festival in Baltimore and its happening this weekend! I'm REALLY excited. I'm picturing copious amounts of homemade Italian food made by old ladies. I also hope there is tiramisu and cannolis :D

Info on the internets is scarce, but here's what I got from http://www.littleitalymd.com/:

Annual Saint Anthony Festival
June 13th and 14th 2009
12:00 pm to 8:00 pm each day
Come and experience good Italian food, music and many activities.
$1.00 admission/donation
SAINT LEO THE GREAT ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH is located on the corner of Exeter and Stiles St. at 227 South Exeter Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Greek Festival!

Last night I checked out the Greek Festival at St. Sophia's church to learn about Greek culture. Just kidding! I went to eat Greek food :D

I had a delicious gyro - with lots of tzatziki sauce and feta cheese :D I also had a BAKLAVA SUNDAE! Vanilla ice cream, crushed up baklava and honey syrup! It was fantastic. There was also Greek entrees available inside the church, but I found out about it after devouring my gyro :)

They were getting the lambs ready last night for grilling today - I saw them chop the head off of a skinned lamb and then put it on a skewer :-O

Festival is at 36th and Massachusetts Ave NW and runs 12-9pm today and Sunday. Check it out!

http://www.saintsophiawashington.org/involved/festival.php

Ray's Hell Burger

So...I think I've discussed the pure joy that comes from eating at Ray's Hell Burger, right?
Turns out Obama and Joe Biden went to check it out! They probably read about it on my blog.... :)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/05/05/us/politics/AP-US-Obama-Burgers.html?_r=1

Burger night at Shooter McGee's

Tonight I needed chicken wings, so I went to Shooter McGee's on Duke St in Alexandria near the Landmark Mall. Unfortunately, it was also half price burger night...so I needed both!

They had a list of about 10 half-pound burgers with various combination of toppings - most of them including both cheese AND bacon. I got a blue cheese and bacon burger, without the bacon, cooked medium. My friend got a burger with jack cheese, sauteed mushrooms and bacon cooked medium rare. Both of our burgers came cooked as requested :) They were served with fries, cole slaw or baked beans (gross!). I got the coleslaw, but I wish I got the fries - they looked delicious!

To get the special, you need to order a drink. Burgers were regularly listed for $9.50, so this was a great deal. The waiter was excellent - my Sprite was refilled as soon as it was empty :) I've gone a few times, mostly for wing night, and have never left disappointed. Check it out!

Turkey Hill's Fried Ice Cream is back!

Just a little public service announcement that Turkey Hill's Limited Edition Fried Ice Cream is back in stores! This wonderful flavor is only available once a year, so I recommend you go out and pick some up soon. It is sure to be your new favorite ice cream flavor! I picked some up on Friday and it's half gone. Mmmm....

carrot french fries

The last several months were spent eating a glorious diet that consisted of fat and simple carbs (bagels with cream cheese, cookies, crackers,cake, waffles with peanut butter and dinners from the vending machine at work)....and a few steaks. NOTHING has been blog-worthy...

I slept more than 50% of the day this weekend and was still tired. Combine that with my failed attempts to start running again in the past week, and I concluded that I must be suffering from a terrible disease...or my abysmal eating habits have caught up with me.

So I went to the grocery store and bought vegetables and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Today, I had high hopes and bought a GIANT carrot at lunch (half pound!). I promptly decided I couldn't possibly eat it like that... So, I made carrot french fries for dinner! And it was actually good - tasted like sweet potato fries :) To make: Slice the carrot into fry-shapes, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, seasoned salt and pepper and baked it at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

I also ate salad. A dinner of fresh vegetables! I feel better already, but I give this 3 days til I'm back at the snack machine....

Bob's Shabu Shabu 88

I went to Bob's Shabu Shabu 88 in Rockville a few weeks ago. It's apparently owned by the owners of Bob's Noodle 66 down the road (which was featured in a stunning review).

What's shabu shabu? Chinese hot pot - kind of like fondue! Basically, you get some RAW MEAT!, vegetables and pot of hot broth put in front of you and a selection of ~15 DIPPING SAUCES and you're set! I do not look excited in this picture because I'm almost done and about to burst! Trust me, its good!

How it works? You pick your meat (or there's a vegetarian option with an extra plate of veggies). The server will bring out a pot of hot broth for each person and put it on the burner in front of you. You cook the food! Then you can dip it in the dipping sauces, eat as a soup, or ADD DIPPING SAUCE TO THE SOUP :-O

It's good and way cheaper than fondue at the melting pot :) Each entree ran about $15, depending on what meat got. I got beef :D They had combinations and crazy things like tripe (STOMACH). I was full. Go there.

316 N Washington St
Rockville, MD 20850

(301) 294-5888

Sweet Potato Gratin

Am I happy? Of course I'm happy! It was THANKSGIVING my favorite day of the year! The other week we had a pre-Thanksgiving potluck and it was awesome! Everyone brought a traditional Thanksgiving dish. I signed up for sweet potatoes :D

I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website, but they've since deleted it....good thing I printed it!

Sweet Potato Gratin
Serves 10

2 tsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Barbados molasses
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
1/2 small red onion, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch rounds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quartcasserole dish with the butter. Whisk cream, molasses, eggs,salt, pepper, and thyme in a bowl. Added sweet potatoes and onions and toss to coat. Pour into the buttered casserole so that they're mostly covered with sauce. Place in the over and bake for 45 minutes or until custard is set. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes or so before serving.

Notes: I don't know what Barbados molasses is, but I just used regular molasses. I added a quarter stick of butter to the sauce :D And I used half a sweet onion, not red :D

It turned out well - recipe recommended!

Ray's Hell Burger

Tried for round 2 at Ray's the Steaks tonight, but the wait was almost 2 hours! So, we headed down the strip mall to Ray's Hell Burger. Wow!

We walked in and didn't really know what was going on, but a man who seemed like he could have been the owner told us how it worked: order at the counter, then take a number and grab a table and a server will bring you your food :) Burgers came a few different ways - plain, rolled in peppercorns, cajun-seasoned. And they had lots of toppings - very wide variety of cheeses, gauc, veggies. There was a list of about 10 suggested combinations, but I just opted for my own: a plain grilled burger with blue cheese, roasted garlic and sherried, sauteed mushrooms. It also came with lettuce and tomato.

There was also a list of sides: corn on the cob, coleslaw, mac and cheese, chips.....that's all I can remember. I got mac and cheese :D We also got a pitcher of rootbeer.

I hate it when a menu brags that their burgers are loaded with TEN OUNCES OF BEEF WAHAHAHAHA MEAT MEAT ALMOST AN ENTIRE COW MEAT MEAT MOO!!!!!!!!!1 But that's all Ray's had, so that's what I got. Our food came in about 5-10 minutes, I think. It was much faster than expected. And it was spectacular!! The burger was huge, dripping delicious juices and perfectly seasoned. It had an amazing flavor and I managed to eat it without hesitation until I was nine ounces in. But I finished it ALL :D I like a lot of bread (and hence hate 10 OUNCES OF BEEF), but I think the bun was strong enough to stand up to all the meat and juices dropping out of it. It was a great experience. I loved the mac and cheese! Reminded me mac and cheese I ate in Pennsylvania as a kid. I've been trying to recreate it ever since, but mine always sucks. I sampled a friend's coleslaw. I thought it was unremarkable.

There's hot chocolate for free on your way out, but it was empty, so we went to ACKC in Del Ray for some hot chocolate. Was tonight a little over the top? Probably :D

Ok, Ray's Hellburger - it's really good! Go there! There was no one waiting to sit when we got there around 6:30, but filled up pretty quickly after that. It's cheap too. I forget how cheap, but even the topped burgers run about $8, which especially considering the quality is a really good deal! Sides were less than $2. :D 1713 Wilson Blvd, Arlington