01.31.08
Posted in food & drink, randomness, travel at 4:39 pm by eighty5original
It’s been a little over a year since I was in Lesotho and South Africa. There was an article today in the New York Times about ongoing electricity outages in South Africa. Apparently the company that powers the country doesn’t have enough power grids, so they are scheduling rolling blackouts where each town takes a turn without electricity. Lesotho, which is an independent country within the borders of South Africa, is most likely effected by this situation as well. I emailed my host family to find out more about the situation. Ironic though, considering they might not get the email since they don’t have power!
This article got me reminiscing about my trip. I was actually able to find the town that my host family lives in on google earth. None of the roads or neighborhoods are labeled (not that I would recognize them anyway), so I just searched for landmarks that I recognized. I wasn’t able to find the actual house that I stayed in, but here is downtown Maseru. I recognized it by the distinctive shape of an art museum roof, that is large and round and made of straw material.
Location of Maseru within South Africa
Downtown Maseru, Lesotho, Art Museum is marked
There was a lot to do in South Africa for the few days that we were there. One night we went to a 24 hour bar called The Cat’z Pyjamas. Another night, on my birthday, we went to a restaurant in Sandton that was amaaazing. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name and can’t seem to find it online. I do remember that we all signed the guestbook and basically got all of our food for free! Here is a photo of us with the chef.
It was basically the best night ever!
Permalink
Posted in food & drink at 1:38 pm by eighty5original
I know I know, i’m two weeks late. But I still wanted to put in my two cent review on Restaurant Week! This event is great; for a week, restaurants in the DC metro area put together a special Prix Fix menu for restaurant goers for a steal. This year, it was $20.08 for lunch, and $30.08 for dinner. So, I made three reservations:
On Wednesday I went to The Caucus Room which is a steakhouse by the capital. I went with my friend Jacki who works in Georgetown, so she likes the DC scene. Apparently this place is known to have politicians since it’s so close to the capitol. We had dinner reservations at 730 on Wednesday. I had read reviews on the place and they had said that they might treat us rudely because we are there for the (cheap) restaurant week. But actually, we were treated very nicely and our waiter was great.
- We both ordered the split pea soup for the first course. It had maple smoked bacon and garlic croûtons and was absolutely delicious. I’ve never had split pea soup before, i thought that the pea flavor would be really strong but it actually wasn’t at all.
- For the second course I ordered the salmon and Jacki ordered a steak with a bleu cheese and peppers. Then the waiter comes to tell us that they are out of salmon! He is really nice and not rude at all, he was joking around about how the restaurant didn’t even warn the staff that they were running out when they still have three more days and are already out of the fish choice. It was no big deal though because they were subbing crab claws for the salmon. The crab was very good but of course took forever to get the meat out of the shell, although they were already broken open so that was nice. Jacki didn’t like her steak that much but I tried it and thought it was yummy.
- Then for the third and last course I got a Mango Sorbet dessert inside of a dark chocolate shell with raspberry sauce. It was delish. Jacki got a fruit tort. Mine was better.
- All in all I would say that I liked the pea soup the best. Just because I’ve had crab before so I wasn’t blown away. I thought that the service was great, unlike the reviews i read. The atmosphere was not my style. It was dark, and most of the customer’s were over 40. I was pretty much the only person in the restaurant wearing color. Apparently DC is only black and white. I would not go back again. I would recommend it for a business lunch or dinner where you want to impress them with a professional political atmosphere.
Then the very next day I made a date with Gaby for Ceviche, which is a Peruvian place in Silver Spring. I had read up on their menu online and it sounded great. I am usually not a very adventurous eater so I was taking a chance. Their main specialty is raw seafood marinated in lime or lemon juice, which “cooks” the fish without heating it. The small squares of marinated fish (or shrimp or mixed seafood) are mixed with other ingredients to make a “fish salad.” This didn’t sound very appetizing to me but Gaby says it’s good!
- For the first course I ordered the Causa de Pollo, which is a Peruvian potato salad seasoned with Aji amarillo and served with chicken salad, avocado and tomato. It was delicious. The potato was really good I don’t know how they made it the way the did. And the chicken salad was good too but nothing special. We also ordered fried plantains, or Chifles.
- The second course was also very very good. I asked for the Papa rellena de Aji de pollo. That is a stuffed potato with pulled chicken in an aji cream sauce. I don’t know how they made this but wow was it great. I must find someplace close to me that I can get this dish again!
- For the third dessert course I ordered the Mis dos Chocolates. It was basically a rich chocolate cake. Gaby ordered the Tres Leches, which is a soft cake soaked in three kinds of cream or milk. I have tried this dessert before and I didn’t like it.
- This place was really, really good, I would definately go back again. The atmosphere was great, lively, bright, and young. It’s a good thing it’s a bit of a drive or I would be there every weekend. The service was also really great. If you are looking for a fun dinner with friends and good food and drink, this is the place to go. I couldn’t find a photo of the interior, but this place is definitely very cool!
On Sunday we had made lunch reservations for four at Bistro Bis, a French restaurant at The Hotel George in DC. Chris and I were going with his cousin and his wife (David & Missy), but unfortunately I had to cancel. It was the day after my birthday, and needless to say, I wasn’t awake. It’s a shame though because David & Missy didn’t end up going either, we had read reviews on the chef and he is supposed to be really good. Maybe we will go back another time.
Yum just writing about all of this food is making me hungry for lunch. Oh and, don’t wait up for a review of restaurant week Baltimore because we are trying to cut back, haha.
Permalink
01.18.08
Posted in randomness at 10:52 am by eighty5original
and go to Catalog Choice to stop delivery of those triplicate Victoria Secret catalogs and others. Most catalogs nowadays are available to view online, so you won’t miss out by not having it in print.
Permalink
01.11.08
Posted in randomness at 10:44 am by eighty5original
The New NYC Public Restrooms
Seems a little excessive, but what do I know?
Permalink
01.04.08
Posted in design at 10:27 am by eighty5original
I love wrapping gifts, but sometimes the wrapping paper and accessories that I want are out of my price range. So this year I found some cheaper solutions. How much would you guess this designer wrapping paper set me back? Actually, it was free! I downloaded it from Blueprint Magazine and printed it out myself. For the top box I wrapped the lid and bottom separately so it can be re-used again (a gift in itself!). The lid is wrapped in Swirly Wrapping Paper, while for the bottom I used the Graphic Wrapping Paper. The bottom box is the Striped Paper. Then I used the Fancy Cummerbund Wrapping Paper as a belly band, and the ornamental plaque as a gift tag to bring it all together. I would recommend using 11×17 inch paper, if you have access to one, to print out the designs, as this will give you the most to work with. I love this paper because it is festive without being obviously holiday-oriented. It can be used any day of the year to wrap a christmas or birthday gift. You could even try making some new designs yourself.
Another great (and economical) gift wrapping idea is to use plain brown packaging paper, and then add little touches to personalize. The best part about this idea is that you’re not stuck with that snowman wrapping paper year round. After wrapping your gift, dress it up for the occasion, use ornaments or tiny jingle bells for the holidays. For a birthday, be creative and use objects that relate to the giftee, they will notice and appreciate your efforts. Try creating a geometric pattern with stencils or sponge-paint. I love the idea of using gimp, that plastic string that everyone used to make keychains out of when they were kids, but as ribbon. It creates a modern look. For my holiday gift wrapping this year, I used lime green string, something different from the usual hunter green classic christmas color. I found an assortment of 3d snowflake stickers at a craft store for only $1, and used monogrammed post-its in the same green color as gift tags. What do you think?
Permalink
