The Year in Food Porn [Part #1] Top Ten of 2011 #5

Food Porn doesn't mean food you have sex with.  Just stuff that looks good naked.  These are some of the highlights of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sumtain.  Try and control yourself.

Asparagus Macaroni and Cheese

Vegetarian Blood Pudding (Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding)

(No actual blood used)

'Volant Chai Liqueur' Flan

Creamy and just sweet enough

Tabbouleh...yawn

Another in a long line of Tortilla Españolas

Noodles and greens Sicilian Style

Black Mushroom Rice and Boiled Shrimp

Crispy Pancetta a la Michelle Bernstein

Pancetta Chips

Roasted Veal Ribs

Vegetable 'Liver' a la Mildred Ashkenazy

Braised baby Bok Choy and Shrimp

Tuna Bathed in Gingered Mussels

Farm Fresh Eggs over Corned Beef Hash

Shad Roe with Pancetta Chips and Braised Pork Belly

More eggs and hash

'The Lash' Spiced Rum Chocolate Semifreddo

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

For a Crowd

Lemon Mini-Cakes

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcake with Coconut Frosting

Flan with an Automatic Crust a la Michel Richard

Freeform Vegetarian Sheperd's Pie

Brain Power---Top Ten of 2011 #6

Cashion's Eat Place has long since lost its namesake chef, Ann Cashion. But it has not lost lost her daring and inventive take on cutting-edge American food. The perfect example is the crispy lamb's brain appetizer. Three or four crunchy nuggets filled with unctuous, slippery, brain. Served simply with a lemon wedge and a citrus aioli, it's the kind of dish that you won't soon forget, no matter how hard you try. It helps keep the menu fresh, and is also a great conversation starter. You go first....Slurp.

Smoking Roofies---Top Ten of 2011 #7, Best habit you can't break...

Whether you consider it declassé or recherche, smoking goes with drinking like Plymouth goes with Dolin.  There aren't many places left in DC where you can light up these days, but here are three rooftops where you can not only practice your languid looks, but also work on your smoke rings.

At Perry's in Adams Morgan, the menu has been revamped by legendary baker/chef Mark Furstenburg (Marvelous Market, Breadline, G Street Food). Starters like jumbo lump crab cakes with homemade cole slaw; and chicken fritters, crunchy on the outside, light and creamy on the inside, remind me of Gerona. The sushi has also been re-thought, with more emphasis placed on fresh, seasonal ingredients like sockeye salmon and soft-shell crabs. To accompany, the 22-ounce 'silver can' of Sapporo just seems so right.

Also in Adams Morgan, the rooftop at the Reef has a few tasty bites. Try the pork belly sliders, crispy hunks of meaty über-pork on twin mini-brioche buns, with pineapple slaw and fried yucca sticks. Or play it safe with the all-natural grass-fed bison burger-part of a sustainability concept that has been the Reef's menu philosophy since its inception-back before 'green' was cool. It is one of the best burgers in town.

Marvin. Three words: Chicken and Waffles. 'Nuff said.



So remember: when the sun goes down, and the American Spirits are calling, it's time to go up to the roof. And who knows, you might even run into a celebrity or two.

Top Ten of 2011 #8 Best Trend-Pizza and a Pint

Need a drink and a slice but don’t want to spend too much money? Try the chef-driven Radius Pizza in Mt. Pleasant where on Monday nights, all day Saturday and Sunday, and 5-7PM the rest of the week, you can get a satisfying cheese slice and a pint for $5. Try the Silver Spring-brewed Hook and Ladder ‘Backdraft Brown’, and feel free to add toppings to your slice for 50 cents each. Stay alert by watching foodie programming on the big flat screen behind the bar.


In Columbia Heights, Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza serves you a pint of Moretti and a cheese slice for $5-two servings of Italy for the price of one. From 4-6:30, Monday-Friday, you can try the crusty and chewy specialty pronounced a-BEETS, and even sit outside with a smoke. Neighborhood-y decor keeps the prices low.

At Pizzeria Paradiso, the beer’s the thing, although the pizza is damn fine too. At happy hour on Tuesday and Wednesday, from 5-7PM, sample from over a dozen drafts at half-price, including oddities like Flying Dog Gonzo Porter, Victory Hop Wallop, and Yeti; and slurp $10 pizzas (enough for two) like the Bottarga, with a poached egg or two on top of a garlicky parmesan round, or the Genovese, with potato, pesto, and cheese. Good thing you got in that jog this morning, right?