Returning to My Old Lunch Stomping Grounds at the Downtown DC Palm Steakhouse

            I’ve returned to my old stomping grounds eating lunch at the Palm.  Working in SW instead of NW reduces how much I can frequent my old haunt. Even the maître’s mention this saying that he usually sees me for dinner; but welcomes me anyway. For lunch I order the business lunch menu (mixed green salad, Atlantic salmon [with tartar sauce], linguine marinara, and NY cheesecake). I am so full from the salad and salmon that I have the marinara and cheesecake to go. Here’s a pic:

Palm Steakhouse lunch

My First Cronut

            I know that I haven’t been up on food fads (I don’t religiously go to cupcake stores in DC) so I have no idea what a cronut is.  However, yesterday I had breakfast at the Four Seasons where it had a strawberry cronut.  Though I ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes, I told the waiter to keep the menu on the table because I contemplated ordering it. Well, after telling him that I needed new butter because there was a hair in it, I guessed that the restaurant gave me the cronut as ‘complimentary’. The dessert was delicious! I loved all if its gooeyness. It was so scrumptious and perfect that I would be willing to pay $3 for it again. The Four Seasons Washington had just baked one of the best breakfast pastry I ever tasted!

Pacifico Cantina for Brunch

            I have eaten at Pacifico Cantina for brunch after seeing the restaurant on OpenTable. I want to try something new so I pick it and the breakfast fajita platter. Big mistake because that dish has so much food that it stretches my stomach. (Granted I know that my stomach is a muscle but sheesh, that’s a lot of food.). I haven’t been this full in a very looong time! The hostess arrives inquiring about my experience. I tell her that I like the platter but it is so much food. I tell her that my Puerto Rican grandfather worked at the Ford auto plant and could had eaten the breakfast platter because he was doing hard labor all day. ‘This food was good if you were painting houses all day but I worked in an office.’ Later, I tell the waiter to pack it and order the flan for dessert.  I leave the waiter a $6 tip, take my food and limp back to Eastern metro.  I leave the restaurant at 12:30pm and haven’t stopped leaning sideways until 1:30pm. It is so much food it requires a siesta.

            Below are my Pacifico Cantina photos:

Pacifico Cantina brunch menu

Restaurant Table

Breakfast Fajita Platter with chips and salsa

Seeking Decadence and Ambiance at J and G Steakhouse

Last night I decided to eat dinner at J and G Steakhouse was I needed the hipster ambiance and the W hotel didn’t disappoint.  Dressed in my Adrienne Landau mixed rabbit fur coat, Stuart Weitzman croc embossed over-the-knee boots and Ann Taylor Loft skinny jeans, I walked down 15^th street NW. Once I hit the lobby, there was a female guitarist named Heather Renee serenading in the lobby.  This was a first for me; but, maybe, it was because I probably hadn’t gone there on Friday. At least in recent memory.  I arrived to the maître d’s desk promptly at 9pm but he told me that ‘there would be a small wait because we are cleaning up tables right now’. Small my butt because I sat in the lobby watching March Madness and listening to Heather Renee until 9:27pm!  

He then got me off of the couch taking me to my table.  I was so happy that he put me near the Pennsylvania Avenue NW exit with a nice view of the Washington Monument. My server introduced himself to me.  I ordered the cheese truffled fritters because I had four entrée options in my head.  The fritters appetizers delicious! I loved their cheesiness and wolfed them all down.  Finally, I decided on the 10-ounce hanger steak.  Throughout the wait, I checked espn.com scoreboard to see how Michigan was doing. Me being an Ohio native, I had a very low opinion of ScuM; but, since they were in the same Big Ten conference I begrudgingly rooted for their advancement.  Trey Burke didn’t disappoint. He hit the game-tying shot sending the game into overtime and was the leading catalyst for the Wolverines beating the Kansas Jayhawks 87-85. Okay so with my beloved Buckeyes ScuM advanced to the Elite Eight. Immediately after the win, my steak arrived.  J and G Steakhouse had its own steak sauce which was sweeter than A1.  Nevertheless, it complemented the steak.  I ate all of the fries and nearly all of the steak before getting my waiter for dessert. I naively asked for ice cream.  I didn’t know the steakhouse made boozy ice cream laden with alcohol.  I worked on the mint and chocolate because I refused to get ‘drunk’ over some dessert!  

Below are all of my photos:

W Hotel Lobby

W Hotel Lobby Chandeliers 

W Hotel Lobby

W Hotel Lobby

10-ounce hanger steak with french fries

Cheese truffled fritters

Ice Cream with raspberries and blueberries

The Snowquester That Wasn't

            Last night the weather channel predicted this massive snowstorm and today I only saw 15-30 minutes of snowflakes. Yesterday I went to Bourbon Steak and ate Angus skirt steak and truffled mac and cheese as my last meal before being stuck inside for at least 24 hours. Below is the photo of my meal.  Though the Snowquester was a dud, this meal wasn’t.

Angus skirt steak and Truffled Mac and Cheese

Last Night at El Centro D.F.

            I am back at El Centro DF because I craved Mexican food and familiarity.  Though Opentable.com had Policy reservation, I refused to sit amongst all of those broke hipsters.  I knew that I made more money than they did.  Just ordered my Jalisco shrimp and crab dinner and ate in peace!  I walked up to the restaurant where the hostess initially assigned me to ‘the downstairs dungeon.’  I barfed telling her that I preferred sitting on the ground floor.  The downstairs wouldn’t be bad if the steps were wider.  If someone was going in the opposite direction, you must stop.  That was hard when you were on an incline.  I ain’t breaking my ankle over no food!  Okay so the lady seated me right across from the men’s bathroom.  Whenever it was in use, the bright light hit me.  I felt like a pre-midnight Gremlin, I claimed victory by not being seated in purgatory!         

            When the waitress brought me my Jalisco meal with the plantains and cilantro rice, my eyes expanded liked one of those cartoon characters.  I was in disbelief that I would get all of that food for $15!  It was bigger than the family-sized HungryMan TV dinner.  It was yummy, too!  Also it’s so colorful, I should had brought my camera!  This reminded me to buy the USB cable chord from Amazon ASAP!  Though I could not eat the whole thing, I made a major dent into the plate.  I finished off one soft taco, ½ the plantains and ¾ of the cilantro rice!  I prided myself of consuming that much food!  Major gastronomical feat!  I should had taken a bow of over it!  I had the waitress box the rest of my meal because plantains would be wonderful for tomorrow’s breakfast.  Exiting El Centro D.F. fat and happy and carefree from today’s world wind day. 

Crumbs Bakery New 17th Street NW Opening

I waited 20 minutes in line to get my red velvet cupcake at the new 17th Crumbs Bakery. The line went faster than Bobby’s Burger Palace. Two months ago when it opened I stood in line for 45 minutes before ordering. In 90-degree heat, that took a lot of stamina. I posted the top of my cupcake. The icing was sinfully delicious and luscious. I used a spoon because of its thickness! I ate every single morsel! I knew that Crumbs had a repeat customer!