A Summer Weekend in DC

I love taking that red eye flight from Los Angeles, leave at 10 PM and bam, it’s 6 AM the next day when you arrive in DC. This trip was short and I had 4 missions;

1. Eat at 3 Star (Washingtonian Magazine) French restaurant with foodies, Mom and Aunt

2. Meet with a good friend for drinks and snacks at the hot DC restaurant, Zatinya

3. Cook brunch for my best friends family (see below post)

4. Eat Peking Duck with Dad for Father’s day

I definitely had to nap when I landed, I hardly slept on the plane since my neighbors were yacking the entire night AND my seat was broken and would not recline back. It was an uncomfortable ride but at least Jet Blue has satellite TV and Terra Blue Potato chips. Let me tell you the satellite TV was sweet on the way back televising the US Open! I digress, so, yes, I slept a total, 2 hours since we needed to be in DC by noon to dine at Le Paradou. It was easy though, slipped into a skirt, hopped in the car, and 15 minutes later, we were in the Nation’s capital.

Today’s lunch was a prie fix of $29 for 2 courses or $39 for 3 courses. The menu selection was vast ranging from hot & cold appetizers, Salads, Meat & Poultry and Poisson (Fish in french). Dessert was separate but we were fine with that since none of us really has a sweet tooth. To start, I had a glass of Sancerre along with Lobster Tail sautéed with Grapefruit, Butter, followed by the main entrée, Stuffed Quail with Mushrooms, Pistacchios, Chestnut Gnocchis and Sage jus. Mom shocked us by ordering the Beef Medallion Roast, Leeks and Roasted Shallot Jus (she never eats red meat!) and started off with Morel Mushroom soup with Sea scallops. My aunt chose the Stuffed Squid with Pine Nuts, Olives and Lavender Blossom and then had the Scallops with Crab Stuffed Raviolis, Red Snapper and Lobster jus (yes, detailed indeed) as her entrée.

Out of all appetizers the Morel Mushroom was tastiest, such depth and freshness, the scallops were seared to perfection. My aunt’s squid was well executed, baby squid stuffed with good flavor not to mention the dish was beautiful. I found my entrée to the best, the quail was exquisite, rich in flavor, strong in taste, loved each bite. For dessert, we had Poached pears stuffed with Chocolate and Ice cream. The pear embedded with chocolate was genius, I will attempt it to duplicate!

The service was attentive and the French speaking servers are always a nice touch. Afterwards, my aunt requested for me to meet Chef Yannick Cam who has been in Washington since 1978. To my surprise, my aunt had taken my grandfather to his famed restaurant Le Pavillon back in ’79, why yes, I was only 1 years old! Chef Cam was charming enough to take a picture with us and speak briefly about his years in the area. To many, he is one of the first chefs to put DC on the map for French fine dining. Overall, the meal was one of the best I have had all year putting a totally different light on dining in LA!

Later that evening I met up with Sarah at Zatinya in DC. Still stuffed we shared a mélange of appetizers, Grilled Ocotups, Kibbeh, and Zucchini fritters. The bar was hoppin’ and it was nice to be among fellow East coasters. After, we ventured to the National Gallery of Art- Sculpture Gardens for what look like the tail end of Jazz at the Gardens, the night was gorgeous. As I sat there, I thought about all those muggy summer nights as a kid wondering what my life would be as a grown up. I never dreamt it would be eating at restaurants of all kinds from DC to LA to Paris! When I got back to LA, I emailed my aunt my thoughts, she replied back, ‘yes, you are living the high life at age, 30.’