Friday, June 15, 2007

My Favorite Restaurants

So Katie "tagged" me to share my top 5 restaurants more than a week ago. Sorry for the procrastination. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Afterwords Cafe/Kramerbooks, DC (Dupont Circle) http://www.kramers.com/menu.cfm It's a bookstore on one side and delicious cafe on the other. My favorites are the Butternut Squash Ravioli and Grilled Filet Mignon. The menu items remind me of "California cuisine" Not only is the food delicious, the atmosphere is very hip. They serve food until all hours of the night and have live music several nights a week.

2. Zaytina, DC (Gallery Place) http://zaytinya.com/ Chef Jose Andres owns this restaurant. Zaytina serves Greek, Turkish, and Lebanese style tapas. I have actually only been here once before, but it was absolutely phenomenal. We had a wonderful pomegranate sangria drink, dishes that practically danced in our mouths, and this absolutely divine apricot dessert. I can't wait to return. And just so you know, Chef Jose Andres recently beat Bobby Flay in Iron Chef America. Lane and I also love Jaleo, his Spanish tapas restaurant http://jaleo.com/ It's connected to our apartment, and these two brothers, who sound just like the Gipsy Kings, play there every Friday night.

3. Kabob Palace, Arlington (Right across the street from my apartment) http://www.mykabobpalace.com/ Kabob Palace has out of this world Kubideh and insane mango lassie drinks. When we first went, Lane and David scoped out the restaurant beforehand. You know it's good when all the Pakistani cab drivers hang out and eat here. The server was so sweet, he gave us a special table and served us additional dishes for free so we could try them. David can't get enough of Kabob Palace and makes Kubideh runs whenever he's here visiting. In fact, he was recently at a kabob place in NY and when he told his server about the kabob place in DC, they immediately knew it was Kabob Palace. Kabob Palace also has an all you can eat lunch buffet on the weekdays.

4. Thai Place, DC (Foggy Bottom) http://www.thaiplacerestaurant.com/ Lane and I accidentally stumbled upon this place in DC. Hands down, they have the best green curry of all the thai places we've ever been. Our Thai Place visit isn't complete without having mango and sticky rice for dessert. We have brought Jen & Chris, David, Annie, and my dad here for dinner.

5. Gaeta's Taqueria, Gilroy, CA One thing I sorely miss about Gilroy, well California, are the wonderful taquerias where you can get authentic, pure heaven burritos. Gaeta's is a tiny place in Gilroy, run by the Gaeta family. The burrito deluxe is fantastic, made with the biggest tortillas known to man. It's the perfect mixture of carne asada, guacamole, rice, beans, authentic salsa, and lots of other burrito essentials. They just don't make burritos like that out here.

Anyone else up for sharing your faves? I can't wait to hear about them

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Los Pericos in Gilroy.
OMG the carne asada tacos are soooooooooooooooooo good. ecpecially with hot sauce.

Scott said...

I love your blog. I'll throw in a few favorites.

Saigon Bowl - Denver, Co
the menu has like 320 items, but the best are the vietnamese pancake, and the #57 Rice Noodle Bowl (Bun). SOOO Good.

Wow Bao! - Lots of places
I love Bao and first tried this place when we went to Chicago. If there is one by you, try the cashew chicken bao.

Spicy Pickle - Great Paninis and the only place in Colorado that I can get Sausilito Turkey.

Super Taqueria - Nothing else reminds me of home quite like super taq.

Noodles and Co. - It started in Boulder, and is coming to a town near you. Pesto Cavatappi with Shrimp, and Japanese Pan Noodles are the best.

Pho 79 - Denver, Co.
This is the best Pho I've had, and believe me, I've tried a lot.

The Dusty Boot - Beaver Creek, Co.
You can't beat 6.95 for a rack of the most perfect ribs.

kljackson15 said...

Excellent, excellent choices. I had meant to ask you who won the contest - I love that show!!!! We need to visit some of these places soon :)