Saturday, September 8, 2012

end of summer


I approached Labor Day weekend with mixed feelings- excited to meet up with my husband in Maryland, but sad to say goodbye to summer Fridays and lots of sunshine. . . nonetheless, it was a spectacular weekend of catching up with loved ones, delectable dining- and oh yes, sleeping on the NY-DC bus both ways!

The husband and I decided to make our first restaurant stop MOA, a nondescript- have to go out of your way to find, Korean restaurant in Rockville Maryland.   Why Korean? Because it's one of my favorite foods and my poor husband has been sorely lacking in food variety in Ohio!  The banchan came out pretty immediately- pretty decent kim chi and the waitress kindly told us to let her know if we need refills.  A nice change from the sometimes stinginess I encounter in NY restaurants.  We ordered seafood pajun (pancake), yook gae jang (spicy beef stew), and ojingeo boekkum (spicy stir fried squid) .  I pride myself in being an expert in pajun and I have to say, that Moa's was literally one of the BEST I've ever had.  The other two dishes were good but not remarkable, and I was disappointed by the toned down spice level (but giving them the benefit of the doubt and that they are catering to the general clientele?).  Nonetheless, all in all worthwhile and a repeatable eating experience!





The next notable meal was an early Sunday dinner at Founding Farmers with the sister and brother-in-law and our two adorable nieces.  It was our second time returning and now is officially tied as "favorite" Maryland restaurant (the other is Brewer's Art in Baltimore who's herbed fries I dream about!).  

We started with cocktails and shared appetizers for the table: Dogs & Rolls (you pick 3 types of essentially mini hot dogs of which we chose the Chow-Chow Relish Dog, Bacon Cheddar Dog and Chili Cheese Dog); Smears, Dips and Table Spreads, and Mussels with Sausage and Pesto.  The best dog was the chili cheese variety which was more of a sausage that had a smart bite and the chili actually held its own against the sausage.  The variety of dips includes an addictive romesco sauce and which I blame for always being too full before I even start my entree.  The mussels, a last minute request from the husband, should not be missed. The broth is wonderfully savory and begs to be sopped up with the crusty bread and devoured.  Entree for me was the Spicy Ahi Tuna Poke Salad and for the boy the Prime Rib Dip.  My dish was the perfect summer meal- fresh, light and flavorful (note: combination of cilantro lime dressing and kung pao sauce is genius).  The boy's is comfort food was comfort food at it's best- succulent pieces of already flavorful meat paired with gruyere and onions on  ciabatta. 



Oh Maryland, so many treasures to revisit and discover. . . until next time.

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