Cinco De Mayo

Cinco De Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day, which is actually on September 16. It is actually a celebration to commemorate victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla. In Mexico, this holiday is primarily celebrated in Puebla, but as a California native deeply influenced by Mexican-American culture, I celebrate every year! The food, music, dancing...did I mention the food?

Street tacos are my favorite Mexican fare and in case you cannot get to this authentic, tasty experience the recipe below will make up for it ten fold!

Carne Asada Tacos
Courtesy of Aaron Sanchez for Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce jar sliced pickled jalapenos, drained
• 1 1 3/4-pound flank steak,trimmed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges, for serving
• 2-4 tablespoons salsa (homemade or store-bought)
• Corn tortillas (homemade or store-bought)

(Homemade in my current transient state has meant Whole Foods made it...that's the same thing right?)

Directions

1. Make tortillas, if you're using Homemade Tortillas
2. Marinate the steak: Spread the jalapenos in a baking dish and press the steak on top. Cover and set aside at room temperature, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat a grill or grill pan to high. Brush the jalapenos off the steak, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Grill the steak for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest 10 minutes, then slice.
4. Assemble the tacos: For each taco, stack 2 tortillas and lay a few pieces of steak in the middle. Top with onion, salsa and cilantro. Top with lime wedges.

*To make your own salsa, use Aaron's recipe for Salsa de Arbol (or store-bought salsa).
Photograph by Tina Rupp

Here are several mouth-watering Cinco De Mayo recipes and I hope you will add them to your table this year! And in case you cannot be bothered to cook, or you are a quasi-transient like me, below are a few places to get stuffed that we've tried:

• Lonestar Taqueria- Cottonwood Heights, UT
• El Taco Nazo- Chino Hills, CA
• Any Rick Bayless restaurant- Chicago, IL Las Vegas, NV
• Cafe Habana (The Grilled Mexican Corn is finger-licking good!)- New York, NY
• Oyamel- Washington, D.C.
• Lauriol Plaza- Washington, D.C.
• Frida-- Beverly Hills, CA

Long Tasty Road Ahead

Whenever I think I have had the best meal at the best restaurant, a list comes along to remind me how much I have yet to eat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining... I'm so excited about 50 more places to discover across the world. Last week, San Peligrino released it's list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants for 2010. That's right...THE WORLD!

Here is the great news: eight of the restaurants on the list are in the United States with New York City snagging six spots. The highest ranked U.S. restaurant on the list is Alinea in Chicago moving up three spots from #10 in 2009 to #7 (go here to see photos of its award winning food). American chef Wylie Dufresne debuts on the list at #45 with New York City's wd~50 and its New American cuisine. Congratulations to everyone on the list! It looks like we have some reservations to make and traveling to do!

Now that you're salivating, here is list:

1. Noma Denmark The S.Pellegrino Best Restaurant in the World, The Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in Europe
2. El Bulli Spain Restaurant Magazine Chef of the Decade
3. The Fat Duck UK The Chef's Choice sponsored by Electrolux
4. El Celler de Can Roca Spain
5. Mugaritz Spain
6. Osteria Francescana Italy
7. Alinea USA (Chicago) The Acqua Panna Best Restaurant In N.America
8. Daniel USA (NYC) The Highest Climber sponsored by Cocoa Barry
9. Arzak Spain
10. Per Se USA (NYC)
11. Le Chateaubriand France
12. La Colombe South Africa The Acqua Panna Best Restautant in South Africa
13. Pierre Gagnaire France
14. L'Hotel de Ville - Philippe Rochat Switzerland
15. Le Bernardin USA (NYC)
16. L'Astrance France
17. Hof Van Cleve Belgium
18. D.O.M. Brazil The Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in South America
19. Oud Sluis Holland
20. Le Calendre Italy
21. Steirereck Austria
22. Vendome Germany
23. Chef Dominique Finland
24. Les Creations de Narisawa Japan The Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in Asia
25. Mathias Dahlgren Sweden
26. Momofuku Ssam Bar USA (NYC)
27. Quay Australia The Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in Australasia
28. Iggy's Singapore
29. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon France
30. Schloss Schauenstein Switzerland
31. Le Quartier Francais South Africa
32. The French Laundry USA (Yountville, CA)
33. Martin Berasategui Spain
34. Aqua UK
35. Combal Zero Italy
36. Dal Pescatore Italy
37. De Librije Netherlands
38. Tetsuya's Australia
39. Jaan Par Andre Singapore
40. Il Canto Italy
41. Alain Ducasse Au Plaza Athenee France
42. Oaxen Krog Sweden
43. St John UK
44. La Maison Troisgros France
45. wd~50 USA (NYC)
46. Biko Mexico
47. Die Schwarzwaldstub; Germany
48. Nihonryori RyuGin Japan
49. Hibiscus UK
50. Eleven Madison Park USA (NYC)

Who Loves This Commercial As Much As We Do?!

I cannot get enough of this commercial. Maybe it's Morgan Freeman's wise calming voice over a catchy song. Maybe it's the classic brick oven pizza with the showman pizza tossing. The message of this commercial is exactly what I love about going out! You never know when you'll have a magical night out. So, watch this video and tell me about your last surprisingly great meal out!

note: you're going to want to turn off the player on the side of this blog and turn up your sound. 
disclaimer: This is not an endorsement for Visa; you may use whatever card you would like, you may even use cash! Just eat out! 

2 Amys...Finally!

After years of prompting from friends, newspapers, and blogs to go to 2Amys, I have finally made the trip up to Cleveland Park here in Washington, DC and tasted one of these famous pies. I was skeptical that after all the pushing and prodding I would be disappointed by what I tasted, however this cozy and intimate authentically Neopolitan eatery held up against its larger than life reputation.

2Amys is one of the few American pizzerias that has received certification from the D.O.C. or the Denominazione di Origine Controllata, an Italian government entity which is a quality assurance label for food products and wines. In this case the D.O.C. certified products that can be used to create an authentic Neopolitan Pizza. At 2Amys, dough is made from only soft-grain flour, fresh yeast, water, and sea salt. Only Italian plum tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh basil or dried oregano may be used for the toppings. As if the fresh and authentic ingredients we not enough, these pies are baked in a the D.O.C. required wood-burning oven. The attention to detail and commitment to authenticity yield crisp crusts, deep old-world flavors, and aromas that just won't quit!

Do not underestimate the abilities of 2Amys; they do more than just pizza well. We started our meal with Suppli a telefono (pictured below), a crispy deep-fried rice croquette filled with mozzarella. The mouth-watering combination of crunchy golden exterior and hot cheesy center were so satisfying and perfectly primed us for the artisan pizza. We ordered a classic margherita pizza (standard pizza test), and by staff member recommendation the Abruzzese (a pie with polpettine, garlic, parsley, and pecorino) and added mozzarella. Between the two pizzas, we ate like kings queens! The pizzas were baked to golden perfection and flavors were balanced perfectly; each ingredient was perfectly balanced creating a flavorful bite every time!

Do not be like me. Do not wait to try 2Amys. Do not let the wait discourage you. Along with the pizza staples, 2Amys dominates desserts, serves doughnuts on weekends, and offers classic sfogliatelle on Friday nights.

A special shout out to Sarah Wirthlin and Seth Johnson who have advocated for a review of 2Amys on Diane Can Cook for over a year.

Ray's Hell Burger

The Cupcake Crawl has all but trickled to a stop due to life changes with these humble bloggers, but that does not mean we have not been eating! Below are D.C. eateries that we have been enjoying in lieu of crawling! (We have made it through about half the cupcakeries and those reviews will be forthcoming.)

Ray's Hell Burger This D.C. area favorite is definitely worth standing in out-the-door line! The menus in baskets along the wall so you can be ready with your order when you get to the register, because they are not too keen on waiting for your indecisiveness.

I ordered my burger au-poivre (definition at Ray's: crushed peppercorns coating the patty) and I am so glad I did! The style added a heat to my perfect medium-temperature all beef burger. We sat in the noisy dining room trying to find a balance between devouring our burgers and keeping the messy sandwich together.
I know you thought I was going to think of a pun about raising hell, but just go to Ray's!

DC Metro Cupcake Crawl

It seems like every time I turn around, there is a new cupcakery being hailed as the "best ever" and it's time we (Laura and I) decide for ourselves. We expect that our friends in DC will help us discover which spot is really is the best! Each cupcake is a little bit different and we intend to find out how. Here is where we plan to go (in no particular order):

• Le Cupcake
• Baked & Wired
• Something Sweet
• Georgetown Cupcake
• Cakelove
• Best Buns Bread Co.
• Hello Cupcake
• Sticky Fingers Bakery
• Curbside Cupcake
• Alexandria Cupcake
• Bittersweet Bakery
• Red Velvet Cupcakery

Disclaimer: With new cupcakeries popping up all over, it's tough to keep up,

but we will do our best. If you know of a place that is not included,

put it in the comments and we'll add it to our list!

The Omnivore's 100 Revisited

Over a year ago I posted the Omnivore's 100 and moving to the big city feels like a good time to revisit the list and see if I've made some headway and maybe even complete the list here in D.C. I first saw the list on the blog Very Good Taste; they have come up with a list of 100 items that every omnivore should try in his or her life. It later appeared on one of my favorite food blogs, Serious Eats and now I'm copying it again here. This is a great list to post because you can get in on this too and test your food chops! Copy the list from Very Good Taste's The Omnivore's 100 and post it to your blog or just entertain yourself with the review, then bold the items you've tried and strike through any you would never try. I've gone one step further and linked to some lesser known or rare foods. So check this list out and let us know what you think should be added on the Omnivore's list!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
(Diane's allergic to eggs)
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (ummm...sick)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu or shaojiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (does glue count?)
90. Criollo chocolate--> not sure?
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor --have you seen this?
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake