Valdez wine dinner at Eventide

A few weeks ago, we found out that the owner of one of our favorite wineries, Valdez, would be in DC for the week doing several dinners in the area.  I called the winery and their distributor, got the schedule, and immediately called Eventide in Clarendon to book our spot.  We visited Ulises and Adelina Valdez on our trip to Sonoma last August, and fell in love with them and their wines.  

Ulises with Chef Adam Barnett

There were 4 beautiful tables set upstairs in the dinning room at Eventide.  It was almost full with about 30 people in attendance.  We were certainly the youngest in the group, but enjoyed the conversation with the folks at our table.  

Before the dinner began, we each enjoyed a French 75 cocktail while we listened to Ulises talk about his background, vineyards and winery.  He moved from Mexico when he was 16 looking for work, and began to work in the California vineyards.  A few years later, he returned to Mexico to bring his high school sweetheart to the states with him...just a few years after that, he and Adelina were married!  What a great story he shared.  

Chef Adam also spoke a bit about his background and his philosophy at Eventide.  For this evening, he created an amazing 5 course menu paired with the Valdez wines.  

Sweet Corn Veloute paired with 2010 El Diablo, Russian River Sauvignon Blanc.

After each course was served, Chef Adam and Ulises talked about the plate and wine, explaining some of the characteristics of each and why they were put together.

This was M's favorite.  It was a play on the classic peanut butter and jelly.  A grilled foie torchon sandwich with Virginia blackberry jam on toasted challah.  He served this with the 2007 Landy Vineyard, Russian River Zinfandel.  This is my favorite of the Valdez Zins.

Next came the pan roasted monkfish loin with a hominy-coriander puree and chorizo vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette was amazing, and the meat flavor was delicious with the simple flavors of the fish.   This was served with the Valdez 2008 Pinot Noir from the Silver Eagle Vineyard in Russian River.

The char grilled beef culotte steak with a play on mole sauce to honor Ulises' Mexican heritage.  This was served with the 2008 Lancel Creek Zin.

Desert was amazing - probably my favorite dish of the night!  The pastry chef came out and explained it to us - it was so creative!  It's a chocolate 'napoleon' with ganache, chocolate chile mousse and a white chocolate cilantro fluid gel.  It sounds totally weird, and it was, but it was awesome.  There was even a crystallized cilantro leaf on the plate!  This was served with the final zin of the night, the Botticelli Vineyard from Rockpile from 2008. 

In case we weren't stuffed enough, there was one more surprise.  A few more sweets to end the evening.

After the dinner, we enjoyed chatting with Ulises, Adelina and Chef Adam.  They had one more wine event before spending the day sightseeing in DC - neither of them had ever been there!  

If you ever see a bottle of Valdez on a wine list or in a store, get it!  You certainly won't be disappointed - not only is it delicious, but the story and people behind it are fantastic.  

Weekend snapshots

I'm so behind on posts lately!  Y'all probably think I've gone into hibernation.  But it's actually the opposite...I've been here and there and everywhere and just haven't taken the time to 'document' everything we've been doing...but I'm making a conscious effort to get back to (fairly) regular posts.  I have a few in the can that I need to get up too, like my overseas visitor and weekend jaunt in New Orleans!

But for today - it's a little view of our fun weekend in town.

Friday night we braved the wind and rain to go to dinner at one of our favorites, Cashion's Eat Place.  We had purchased a 6 course and wine pairing tasting menu for a great deal on Gilt City and needed to use it before it expired.  Everything was amazing - food, wine and the staff.  We've got to make a point of getting down there more often!

Saturday morning was picture perfect after the storms had cleared.  I made myself a delicious latte, grabbed a magazine and the pup and enjoyed some quiet time on the deck. 

Saturday afternoon we were back in the city, this time up in Eastern Market.  What a fantastic area!  We walked around a bit, I had no idea what a vibrant neighborhood it was.  We went to Matchbox Capitol Hill for beers, sliders and pizza before the Nats game with some friends.  The game was at 4 and followed by a concert with Big & Rich.  We were starving by the end of everything, so we stopped by Mad Fox in Falls Church on the way home.  They also had a band playing, Virginia based Melodime, who was really great.  

Sunday we had a real treat.  One of my best friends Jen and her husband Ian were in town/the country visiting from Dubai!  They moved overseas almost 2 years ago, and I hadn't seen her since then...it had been even longer since I'd last seen Ian.  Lunch at Coastal Flats was wonderful, but just not long enough.  They're trying to get us to visit Dubai, we might just have to move it up the list!

We ended our busy weekend with some quiet couch time at home.  A small cheese plate and delicious bottle of wine plus a mini-Grey's marathon was just the ticket.  We opened a bottle of Loring Pinot, the first one that we've had since our trip to Santa Barbara in 2010.  It's awesome that some of our older wines (this one's just an '08, so older is relative) are finally ready to drink!

With so many fun summer plans, we won't be home too many weekends for the next couple of months, so it's always nice when we are able to enjoy a fun DC weekend!

Graffiato and Chef Isabella

A couple of weeks ago, husband and I finally made it downtown to Graffiato, the new (kinda new) restaurant by Top Chef star Mike Isabella.  We are huge Top Chef fans, and were so excited to go there.  The evening definitely did not disappoint. 

The place was absolutely packed.  The bar and the restaurant were mobbed - always a good sign!  M was excited to see DC Brau on the draft line, and I had their draft prosecco, which was very good!

We've been to several other restaurants with 'celebrity chefs' and have always had bum luck that the chef wasn't there that night.  WELL!  My bad streak has ended!!  

M went to the bathroom while I got drinks, and when he got back he told me I needed to go too, with a little grin on his face.  So, I worked my way through the crowd and as I got to the back of the restaurant  where the final line is...there he was!

My stalker cell phone picture!

I happened to literally almost bump into him, and took that opportunity to say hi!  Not know for my shyness, I knew I had to introduce myself.  And I'm pretty sure I giggled like a school girl, I was so excited to actually be meeting him!  

He was absolutely as nice and genuine as could be.  We chatted for a few minutes about Graffiato and his new Mexican place to open this coming spring.  We talked about Bryan and Spike, some of the other Top Chefs who are in DC, and how great it is to have so many awesome up and coming chefs in this area.  He was so gracious and nice, it was so great to talk with him for a few minutes.  

I finally said goodbye and let him get back to work...

After a few more minutes back in the bar, our buzzer rang and we followed the hostess upstairs to another very crowded dinning room.  The idea of the menu is big tapas to share.  We had a hard time narrowing it down!  The waitress was very nice and helpful.  

The wine list is pretty interesting with several different regions and varietals represented.  It is though, in my opinion, a little pricey.  M opted to stick with the DC Brau, and I had a couple of glasses of a nice Dolcetto from Piedmont, Italy. 

For dinner, we went with the famous peperoni sauce, 2 cheeses and 1 meat, the broccolini, the Chestnut Agnolotti with butternut squash, the wild boar, and one of the specials - spaghetti carbonara of sorts with pork belly.  Everything was just delicious. 

Plus the playlist was a great mix of 90's rock music - we both found ourselves singing along!

We had a great time at Graffiato and can't wait to go back.  

If I have one piece of advice for you - don't order everything at once.  Our waitress assured us that even if we did, it would come out spaced with enough time between dishes...that didn't happen.  We felt like we were scarfing down things to make room for the next plate.  So next time we'll just be sure to order a dish and wait a bit, maybe until it comes, before ordering the next one.  With the pace of dishes, it felt a bit rushed, but otherwise everything was delicious! 

Put it on your list for next time you're looking for a great, fun and delicious restaurant in Gallery Place.  And be watching for his next restaurant in Georgetown, Bandolera.  

Cashions Eat Place

Living Social and Groupon have definitely been a welcome addition to our life here in DC - restaurants, activities, stores, and more at a greatly discounted price.  But, that said, there have definitely been times where we've bought one with the best of intentions and months to use it...and we find ourselves remembering it a week (or month) too late.

In an attempt to use a deal that was expiring, a few weeks ago M and I ventured into Adams Morgan for dinner.  Going downtown on a Friday night for dinner is not unusual for us...but going into Adams Morgan is.  I can't remember the last time we were up there, except for a bachelorette brunch at Perry's over the summer.

When the Cashion's Eat Place deal came out, I was a little hesitant...I didn't really know much about the restaurant and was worried we wouldn't get up there and yet another would go unused.  I think because of their casual exterior, I thought it was more of a diner.


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Luckily I let M talk me into it, because it was a fantastic evening and dinner!

We had a beautiful little table right up in the window, which was really nice - we could see the whole restaurant!  The waitress was very nice and chatty, but didn't hover.  They have an interesting and accessible wine list - lots of good options and good prices.



We opted for a beautiful Perrin & Fils, excited to find a Cote du Rhone Villages and even more excited that after our Provence wine adventure, we knew what this was! 

We shared the three traditional Greek spreads and the delicious rustic bread - each spread was better than the last.  Then I had the salmon and M had a soup and salad.  Everything was very fresh and just delicious. 

I met and chatted with one of the owners, Justin, who was just delightful.  He was explaining to me all of the amazing photos along the walls and in the restrooms - they are baby pictures and family members of the owners and staff.  What a unique and personal touch!

We really loved Cashions and are so glad we ventured in.  This is one of my favorite new finds, and I can't wait to go back!

And, on that note, Adams Morgan was not nearly as far as we had in our minds - and actually, from VA quite easy to get to!  We recognized the names of lots of restaurants and bars that we'd heard of, but shied away because of their location.  We can't wait to get back up there and check out more new places!

State Theater

Last Sunday evening, one of my favorite local bands returned to the State Theater, and we of course had to go!  It was 'date night' with a good friend of mine - we hadn't seen each other without a huge group in a while, and wanted to spend some time together.


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The State Theater is a popular, small live music venue in Falls Church.  Built in 1936, the theater operated as a movie theater until the late 1980s.  After a multi million dollar renovation, it reopened in the late 1990s for concerts and events. 

Sons of Bill is one of my favorite bands.  The same friend introduced me to them a couple of years ago.  They are a local group from Charlottesville, and get up to this area usually a couple times per year.  They've played at Iota Club in Clarendon, State Theater, and a couple of other smaller venues.  Made up of 3 brothers and 2 good friends, they play mostly country rock.

Whenever they're in town, we try to go see them.  We always get a chance to say hi to James, the lead singer, who's just such a great guy.  We love going to see people who really appreciate you coming and speaking to them.  It's always a great time.  They put on a fantastic show full of lots of energy.

They were the 2nd of 3 groups to play on Sunday.  It was perfect - we had time to grab a drink before the show and we weren't out too late on a school night!  This time, we ate dinner at the theater, and were plesantly surprised!  The food was pretty good!  We shared the hummus and chips with the Italian Beef sub.  It all went great with our Blue Moons!  We stayed for a few songs by the headlining band, but were ready to head home after that.


The State Theater is one of my favorite venues - if you haven't been there for a show before, put it on your list! 

This is us from one of the other shows we've been to - please excuse the awful blurry cell phone quality!

I love it when we have our 'date nights,' and especially when they involve going to see Sons of Bill.  

Weeknight date night

Last Thursday, husband and I went on a fun weeknight date!  The puppy's at camp at the grandparents' houses for a few weeks because we have so many out of town weddings this month, so we are taking advantage of being able to both go out after work! 

First we headed to We the Pizza, one of the 2 relatively new DC restaurants by Spike Mendelsohn.  Spike was a contestant on both Top Chef and Top Chef All-Stars, and was one of my favorites!  We've been wanting to go up to Capitol Hill and try it out for a while and finally got there.  I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it.  It's very small, and you walk up and order at a counter.  The pizzas on display as you walk in are enormous, and all looked fantastic.  We ordered a slice of the "Forest Shroomin with wild forest mushrooms, truffles, mozzorella and fresh thyme" and a slice of the "Roasted Potato and Pancetta with roasted spuds, pancetta, caramelized onions, our tomato sauce, mozz, fresh rosemary."  The mushroom one was amazing - so good.  I didn't care too much for the potato one, but husband liked it.  We also got an order of the sweet and spicy La Bomba wings - they were delicious. 

We even caught a really quick glance of Spike!  We were sitting upstairs in the window, waiting for our pager to go off, and I happened to glance outside and saw him!  Of all of the famous chef restaurants we've been to, the chef is never there - Bryan Voltaggio, Thomas Keller, Tom Douglas, Michael Chiarello...you name it, we're bad luck.  Even if it was just a quick glance, it was still very exciting to see Chef Spike!

After dinner, we headed down to Nats Park for my first game of the season.  We've had season tickets since the team came to DC.  This year we moved from the first base side across the park to the 3rd base side.  We have always had great seats - just now they're both in the shade and under the overhang! 

After a while we decided to wander around, and watch the last couple of innings standing down in the main concourse behind the dugout.  It was a beautiful evening, and the Nationals won!