Eggsellent Brunch: Graffiato

My favorite meal during our anniversary weekend in the Northeast was brunch with Mr. and Mrs. Yeah4Me at Graffiato in D.C.

Graffiato is Chef Mike Isabella's ode to his Italian-American heritage, sprinkled with Mediterranean and Latin notes from his previous life as executive chef at Zaytinya and sous chef at Alma de Cuba.  Some of you may recognize Chef Isabella's name from Top Chef.

Consider me a huge fan now.  Huge.  Every single thing we had was absolutely fantastic.  If Graffiato had existed back when I lived in D.C., maybe I wouldn't hate D.C. so much.

Housemade five-spice ginger beer and housemade watermelon and lemongrass soda ($5 each).

I love when places have fresh juices or homemade sodas.  These were the best of both worlds.

The four of us decided to do the "booze and bites" deal.  For $25, you choose any three dishes and/or cocktails.  We opted for three dishes each and added drinks and desserts on top of that.  Prices listed are what you'd pay without participating in "booze and bites."

Burrata, Heirloom tomatoes, melon, saba ($12).

Fresh and sweet and creamy.

Hand-cut spaghetti, olive oil poached cherry tomatoes, basil ($9).

A fancy childhood favorite.

Risotto, soft egg, pancetta, mushroom ($12).

Rich, starchy, eggy.

Crab scramble, arugula, ricotta salata ($13).

The eggs were ever so light and mixed wonderfully with plenty of crab.

Meatballs, creamy polenta, farmed egg ($10).

So tender and meaty and cradled in a sunny egg-infused, grits-like porridge.

Crispy potato gnocchi, summer squash, pine nuts ($11).

This dish convinced me that all gnocchi should be fried golden brown. Crunchy!  Pillowy!  Yummy!

Skirt steak, potatoes, corn, ricotta salata, salsa verde ($13).

Meat!  Meat!  Meat!  Yeah!

Wood oven baked eggs, spicy sausage, tomatoes, peppers ($12).

Underneath those beautiful yolks were delectable, spicy, juicy sausages!

Crispy lamb, yogurt, cucumber, tapenade ($13).

Easily the best meat at the table.  Perfectly charred.  Just fatty enough.  Luscious.  Wondrous.

Sweet corn agnolotti, Chanterelles, pine nuts ($11).

Everybody's favorite non-meat dish!  We got two of these!  Sweet, delicate, and dreamy!  Must get!

Roasted chicken thigh, braised Romano beans, tomato, Parmesan ($10).

I feel like this is something that an Italian-American grandma might make.  Good job, Grandma.

Market berry pizza, ricotta, hazelnut ($8).

I had only a tiny bite because there were blackberries in the mix, but the one tiny bite I had was very good.  If I'm ever in town again, I'd love to try the actual non-dessert pizzas here.  I bet they're awesome.

Cinnamon knots, Nutella ($6).

We didn't actually order these, but fried dough drizzled with Nutella is always a welcome complimentary error.  It should be noted that the service at Graffiato is quite impressive.  Our server was really friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

Pistachio cake, cherries, balsamic, orange gelato ($7).

Tiny but dense, moist, and lovely.

I highly highly highly recommend that you visit Graffiato when you're in D.C.  Better yet, grab two happy, hungry friends like Mr. and Mrs. Yeah4Me, so you can try as much food as you possibly can.  Thanks for sharing this meal with us!

A Bold Brunch: Volt

During our Northeast quasi-road trip, we took a detour to eat at Volt, Chef Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant in Frederick, Maryland.  If you are a Top Chef fan, this may be as exciting to you as it was to me.

Unlike his brother's restaurant, Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant is airy, bright, and somewhat more formal, although not to the point of stuffy.  Servers are clad in suits but rock Chucks on their feet.  And you eat while listening to Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Death Cab for Cutie, and The Shins.  I loved the music.

Amuse bouche -- celeriac macaron with foie gras.

This light salty meringue-like cookie was a great start.  Mr. Monkey gave me the macaron with the larger dollop of foie.  Yay for me!

Cheddar-jalapeno biscuit and bourbon pecan sticky bun.

The bread basket was nothing short of incredible, and it kept coming!  Piping hot and glorious!  I only had these two, but Mr. Monkey indulged.  The biscuit was so perfectly flaky and cheesy with just a bit of kick.  The sticky bun was like candy.  I can't believe I'm raving about complimentary bread, but it was seriously rave-worthy.

We got the five-course brunch tasting menu for $55 -- a great bargain for food of this caliber.

Kampachi, ginger, chive, green apple.

Fresh and brilliant.  Do you know what brilliant tastes like?  Have this, and you will.

Ravioli, garlic scapes, Marcona almond, goat cheese.

Dreamy.  Creamy.  Garlicky.  Fab.

Halibut, asparagus, hen yolk, caper.

Possibly the best halibut I've had in recent memory.  Meaty yet delicate.

Beef, Kennebeck potatoes, green garlic, English pea.

A terrible miss.  Yes, you read that right.  This sucked.  The meat was full of chewy tendon.  We both left an ample portion on our plates.  Really disappointing after the previous excellent dishes.

Chocolate marshmallow, caramel, peanut.

This reminded me of the dessert that my friend had when we went to ink.  Deconstructed and delicious.  Good comeback.

Crumb cake to take home.

Who is the person baking stuff here?  I really want to know because that person deserves a medal.  I ate this the next morning and mmm-mmm-mmmed.

This meal was great, even with the sad meat.  You should take this detour, too.

Not Quite Top Thai: Kin Shop

Kin Shop is Chef Harold Dieterle's contemporary homage to Thai food.  I know, I know.  Why am I doing this to myself again?  (By "this," I mean eating at an "elevated" Asian place run by a non-Asian dude.)

Because it's Harold, people!  I couldn't pass up a chance to eat at the very first Top Chef winner's restaurant.  Plus, we couldn't score a reservation at Torrisi on such short notice.  Plus, the Mayor suggested Kin Shop, and she has great taste.

The place wasn't this empty when we met the Mayor and her beau for dinner.  I snapped this at the end of our meal.  We shut the place down on a Sunday night.

The Typhoon -- mekhong, calamansi, aperol, Thai basil, Fever Tree Ginger Beer ($12).

Sensational cocktail!  Really loved this!

Spicy duck laab salad, toasted rice, ground chili, Romaine hearts ($13).

Actually spicy!  But not as spicy as our beloved Pa-Ord at home.

Fried pork and crispy oyster salad, celery, peanuts, mint, chili-lime vinaigrette ($13).

Far more tasty protein than salad, and that was just fine with us.

Grilled prawns, fresh lime, Phuket-style black pepper sauce ($4 each).

Good but way too expensive for what it was.

Pan-seared black sea bass, bamboo, bok choy, chu chee curry ($26).

This may sound crazy, but this reminded me of the crispy sea bass we had at Le Bernardin three years ago, except Asian-ified.

Northern Thai-style curry noodle, braised brisket, cucumber, peanuts, fresh herbs ($24).

Very enjoyable.  Spiced.  Creamy.  Solid.

Peekytoe crab and pork Chiang Mai sausage, jackfruit congee, green onions, fried garlic ($28).

My personal favorite of the night.  I found it very soothing and comforting.  I had flashbacks of my childhood and our Saturday morning rice porridge.  I'd love to eat this on a sick day.

Root beer float with galangal ice cream ($8).

I opted to get my dessert in a gingery beverage form.  Great.

Thai coffee-chocolate ice cream ($3).

My one bite was lovely.  Beautifully bitter in a good way.

Thai iced tea ice cream ($3).

Tasted just like it sounds -- your favorite creamy orange tea, frozen.

Passion fruit and lemongrass panna cotta, fresh mango, toasted coconut, sesame cookies ($9).

Refreshing, fruity, and light.

Complimentary cookies.

Nice tasty touch.

Kin Shop was pleasant.  I liked my meal, and I loved catching up with the Mayor and meeting her boyfriend.  But Mr. Monkey was not as blinded as I was by my reunion with my old friend.  As we rode the subway back to our hotel, he said, "We can get better food like this for a lot less at a ton of places at home."

He's right.  Valiant effort, but sorry, Harold.  Please pack your knives and go [do something else].

High-Voltage Tasting: ink.

Ever since Chef Michael Voltaggio left the now-shuttered Dining Room at the Langham Hotel, Los Angelenos have been waiting for him to open his own restaurant.

Wait no more. We now have ink.

Chef Voltaggio is a culinary wizard. With all of the tattoos in the kitchen, ink. is an apt name for his restaurant. It does have a better ring than Hogwarts.

Spiced rum, pomegranate, pineapple, clove, lemon bitters ($11).
Vodka, lime, ginger, soda ($10).

ink.'s mixologist is none other than Devon Espinosa, whom some of you may know from Marcel's Quantum Kitchen. You should definitely sample his libations.

If any members of your party have dietary restrictions, simply voice them when you make your reservation. ink. will accommodate most needs, although vegan requests are politely declined.

My companions and I each opted for the five-course tasting ($80).

Tuna, dashi sponge, radish, grapefruit.

What a way to start! Fresh and clean and bright! We all loved this sashimi fruit salad! I know this characterization sounds kind of gross, but trust me on this one.

Foie gras, waffle, smoked maple, hot sauce.

Another crazy combo that worked! Sweet syrup essence and Sriracha accompanying foie gras? Really? Really? Yes, really. Really really wonderful. I am weeping inside already in anticipation of California's foie gras ban.

Skate wing, mushroom oatmeal, mushroom hay.

I am shedding a tear now for a completely different reason. That golden brown perfection! An amazing savory oatmeal! So good that I forgot I was eating my fungus nemesis!

Beef cheek, carrots, tofu mustard, nasturtium.

Oh, meat. Mmmmmeat. The flavors. The textures. Glorious.

Dessert Option 1: Chocolate, coffee cream, sesame cake.

Amber seemed to love this. She ate the plate clean.

Dessert Option 2: Grapefruit, curd, cilantro sorbet, lime meringue, avocado.

insomniac enjoyed this tart delight. I was impressed by the bite that I had.

Dessert Option 3: Apple, caramel, burnt wood ice cream.

Ann Marie and I each opted for this deconstructed apple masterpiece. I'm sure I'm biased, but I thought our dessert was most impressive and interesting -- so many different elements and techniques. Smoky!

Ann Marie had the good sense to bring her cookbook along for an autograph.

I didn't think it was possible, but this little doodle made me love Michael Voltaggio even more. Bravo, Chef! Thanks for a fabulous evening!