Gifts for Sweet Tooth

My wonderful friend just gave me a package of delicious Salty Oat cookies and it reminded me that it's that time again: gift giving season has arrived!

Whether it's a thank you gift, a feel better soon gift, or a happy holidays/birthday gift, I have a ever-growing list of vendors that have surpassed my expectations and that I love to share with my favorite sweet tooths (sweet teeth???)  Whatever.

Chocolate Gourmet: Chicago-based sweet shop selling hand-rolled ugly chocolate truffles, squares, and damn good cookies using all natural ingredients.  I've never tried the squares, but the ugly truffles and damn good cookies are worth the shipping and handling!

John & Kira's:  Philadelphia-based chocolatier makes the most unique chocolate ladybugs and caramel bees!  Great quality and super cute... this one's always a crowd-pleaser.

Kayak Cookies: Maine-based bakery that I just discovered and will definitely be ordering from soon.  The Salty Oat cookies are AMAZING... actually, I'm eating one now.  So good.  My friend picked them up at Teaism in DC (for all you locals) but I'm so glad you can order them online too.

Kron Chocolatier:  Michael and I discovered the famous Budapest crème truffle at Mazza Gallery right across the street from Michael's office when looking for a birthday gift.  These are the most delicate, decedent, and delicious truffles I've ever had.  Mmmmmm....

...and the list keeps on growing.  We love supporting these local bakeries and chocolatiers, instead of Godiva, Vosges, or even See's Candies.  An extra kick of good karma in every delivery.

Town House

Just need to share our incredible dining experience in Chilhowie, Va., en route to the Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire this weekend.

Our friend Michael Falcone read about it over a year ago and suggested Michael and I stop by on our way down to visit Asheville.  Since Michael and I usually drive down after work, we haven't had a chance to stop in for dinner.  Fortunately, our friend Elizabeth carpooled down to the bonfire this weekend so we had to drive during the day and we decided to finally try Town House.

It has been written up in the NY Times and Washingtonian and well worth the drive.  Our dinner experience was amazing.  Better than amazing.  We had the five course chef's tasting menu with local Virginia wine and I'm still thinking about it.  Check out their blog to see a sample of some of their amazing dishes.  Yum.

Incredible Last Meal for our Last Night in Paris

We just got home from the most amazing dinner of our trip.  Le Reminet is a cozy little restaurant around the corner from our flat.  We had the chef's tasting menu and it was totally worth every penny.  Two starters, two main courses, cheese course, and then dessert.  They even comped us a couple glasses of delicious champagne and I finished it all with a "day-cah" espresso.  And the ambiance - perfect.  We were even one of two couples left in the place and attempted to have a meaningful conversation (us with our broken French and them with thier broken English) and they were having us try their special plum wine or brandy (or something) from the southwest of France.  It was wonderful.  We really cannot wait to come visit Paris again and come back to Le Reminet.

And here are our other recommendations if you ever get the pleasure to visit The City of Lights:
Laduree - The famous macaroons are not overly hyped and well worth the wait (in the rain for us).  Just try not to eat them all before you get back to the hotel.
Jean Charles Rochoux - Do you LOVE chocolate the way Michael LOVES chocolate?  If so, this is the place for you.  They not only sculpt amazing chocolate, it's also amazing to eat.  It is expensive though... we got a few gifts for friends/family but also bought a "fresh" chocolate bar that had fresh pineapple in it that HAD to be eaten within two days (twist our arm a little, huh?) and yes, it was as delicous as it sounds.  Didn't even take us an entire day to finish it.
Astier de Villate - Expensive and beautiful china along with some other stuff.  We spent WAY too much money on a place setting here for our collection, but that's the price for one-of-a-kind.  Plus, it's right next to the Louvre so you have no excuse but to check it out.
G. Detou - Mustard.  Buy the most delicious Edmond Fallot brand mustard (for a reasonable price) and smuggle it home.  We're bringing a 2 pound tub home.  It's that good.
Rue de Rennes - good boutique shopping without the hassle of the Champs de Elysee or Les Halles.  In the neighborhood of Jean Charles Rochoux too but lots of cute home good boutiques, tea shops, and other chocolatiers without a huge mark-up.  We picked up a nice set of Peugeot salt and pepper grinders at a shop on this street at least 15 euros less (each!) than previously spotted.

That's it for now.  We need to get packed and back to London in the morning.  We'll be staying at the Landmark for the night before heading back to DC.  Hope it's all that it's cracked up to be!

Brasserie Balzar

We arrived a few hours ago in Paris and checked into our super fabulous and authentic flat and decided to venture out and grab something to eat.  Brasserie Balzar was in our Eating & Drinking in Paris guide and seemed to be bussling with locals so we decided to check it out.  Here's the run down:

Wine: Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes Hermitage “Les Jalets” (Michael picked the perfect wine for our meal - we love their Côtes du Rhône Parallèle 45 in the states, but hadn't yet tried their Crozes Hermitage. Glad we did tonight... Yum!)
Appetizer: Escargot - Très bien!
Main course: Michael had steak and fries; I had roast chicken.  Both were good, but very expensive and on par with our favorite french restaurants in DC.
Dessert: Some sort of éclaire-like dessert with delicious chocolate sauce and I had a decaf espresso (oh, so good!)
Notes: Mustard!  We must find some of this french mustard to bring home... it's the most delicious mustard we've had to date!  Also notable was the cost.  It didn't look very upscale but cost us close to €100.  Yikes.  We'll be hitting the market tomorrow and scaling back on the food costs!

Georgetown Cupcake

My cousin, his girlfriend, me and Michael went to brunch in Georgetown on Monday to celebrate President's Day... and the brunch place was good and super cute... but the stop at Georgetown Cupcake post-brunch took the (cup)cake!

Cupcake stores are super trendy nowadays (read NYTimes article before your start your own business) so we've been to a few little shops, but Georgetown Cupcake is the real deal. Every flavor we've ever tried has been delish!
Red velvet (personal fav)
Honey Banana
Chocolate Strawberry
Peanut Butter Fudge

Whenever you want to get a little sweetness in G-town, give us a call. This post is already making me hungry!

Happy New Year!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Sun Nien Fai Lok!

Michael and I celebrated the Year of the Tiger with dim sum at Mark's Duck House (our favorite dim sum place in the DC metro area) with a couple friends. Delicious, as usual.

And since I'm not familiar with all the Chinese zodiac superstitions, I thought I'd look up the predictions for this year. Hmmm... not too uplifting. According to one website:

The year of the Tiger is traditionally associated with massive changes and social upheaval. Therefore, 2010 is very likely to be a volatile one both on the world scene, as well as on a personal level.

Tigers who thrive on chance and unpredictabilty are best suited to navigating the many upheavals predicted in the year ahead. Those compatible with the Tiger — the Dragon and the Horse in particular — may also find 2010's erratic circumstances inspiring them to ever bolder action, and ultimate success.

Of course, this all depends on what elemental sign you are because since this is a metal tiger year, if you're also a metal element, then this year may not be as bad... you know how it is. But just by browsing the headlines, I don't need a crystal ball (or a chinese zodiac) telling me 2010 is going to be a rough year. Hang in there and let's hope the Year of the Rabbit helps us hop out of this recession in 2011.

Dr. Granville Moore's

Yes, the snow is coming tonight but that is not postponing our plans to eat at Granville Moore's on H St.

Very unassuming on the outside (ladies, I wouldn't walk there after dark by myself), but the Moules are always fresh and frites are to DIE FOR! And although their muscles and fries are what they're known for, any sandwich we've tried has been delicious and their selection of Belgian beer is vast.