the roundup: january 2023
Favorite Foodie Things:
January is one of my favorite months because it is my birthday and I feel like it is a breath of fresh air, getting to start your year anew. Speaking of my birthday, I got some over-the-top and delicious treats to celebrate!
On my actual birthday, my husband and I went to Sushi Taro and had the most delicious meal. If you are looking for amazing sushi in DC, Sushi Taro is one of my top choices. Everything was perfect!
To kick off my birthday weekend festivities, we went to our favorite, Incheon, with my sister, brother in law and his girlfriend who were visiting from LA and NYC. To no one’s surprise, we had an incredible meal and amazing service. I cannot stress it enough- GO TO INCHEON.
While my sister was in town, I made us some delicious Spam kimbap for lunch and it really hit the spot. If you haven’t tried kimbap before, it is delicious and also a great way to use up leftovers or things in your fridge as there are no rules of what goes inside!
Another lunch I made for my sister and I was Naengmyeon, or Korean cold noodles. They were super easy to make with a noodle and cold broth kit I get from H Mart and then I just added some random things I had in my refrigerator.
We also went to a classic favorite, Le Diplomate, for a cozy meal on an absolutely freezing meal. I always crave some French onion soup when it is that freezing out.
This month I made Kay Chun’s Cheesy Chicken Parmesan Meatball recipe on New York Times Cooking and I was blown away. First of all, the recipe calls for tofu in the meatballs, and at first I was confused, but wow do they contribute to texture and moisture. This is such an easy weeknight meal (that also made great leftovers) that can be served over pasta or with bread!
I know you are sick of the birthday celebration talk but we also went to the new spot, L’avante-Garde, in Georgetown and we had an unreal meal. L’avante-Garde is a French restaurant in a cozy spot (with a real wood-burning fire place) with just incredible and decadent food. We started with the two duck foie gras appetizers and then we all got our own entrees. Don’t forget to save space for dessert, because their dessert selection was one of the highlights of the meal.
This month we were able to try Qui Qui DC which is a new-ish Puerto Rican spot above the Shaw bar, the Passenger. We had such a fun meal, with great service and delicious tropical drinks. Such a fun spot to try!
I got Eric Wareheim’s cookbook Foodheim for my birthday and I am honesty so impressed! The first recipe I made was the beef bourguignon and it was incredible. The recipe was very easy to follow and it turned out amazing. I am excited to cook more from this book!
We were also able to try out QuiQui which is a newish Puerto Rican place located on the 2nd floor of the bar, The Passenger, in Shaw! Everything was delicious, the music and service were great and the cocktails were top notch! If you go, you definitely have to try the Chuleta Kan Kan which is a fried tomahawk pork chop.
Other Things That Made Me Happy:
January is my birthday month, so obviously that was one of my favorites! I turned 30 years old this year which feels like a super big deal!
I have been weirdly into classic red nails this month, which is not super abnormal but I usually go for a darker red or maroon-y color.
I have been loving @cultflav on Instagram (website here). They are a couple that review cookbooks, which, as a cookbook obsessor, I think is absolutely genius. When I buy a new book, the things I really wish I knew is 1) is this book cookable/usable? 2) are the ingredients accessible and/or easy to find at a normal grocery store and 3) are the instructions easy enough to make on a weeknight (e.g. not every recipe takes 7 hours). I think what they are doing is amazing!
For my birthday, my friend got me this incredible personalized sweater with Lenny on it! I am obsessed!!!
I was recently introduced to the podcast SmartLess which is hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett and it is just so so good. They have wonderful guests on and are funny and ask great questions!
What’s Up with Len:
