By: Cori Sue

I’m not really sure what compelled me to go to Pastis for brunch when in New York last month. The French bistro, located in the Meatpacking District, is frequented by celebrities like Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester and Jessica Zohr, and bajillionaire power couple Beyonce and Jay Z.

Of course, anything Blair Waldorf does I simply must do. I think some acquaintances had raved about it as well. Regardless, I had it in my mind that this was the place to brunch, and I would be dragging poor beau from the Upper East Side to the Meatpacking District to brunch there.

Silly me. I was wrong (a rare admission). Pastis has a good thing going in terms of the space. The enormous restaurant somehow still seems like the quintessential quaint Parisian café. The interior is adorable with typical wooden café seating, mirrors with the menu written on them and big train station style clocks on the wall. The waiters wear white shirts and white aprons like a French garcon. The napkins, remarked beau, are more like dishrags. It’s all supposed to give off this casual, whole-in-the-wall café in Paris vibe, but at steep New York City prices.

The service was good, and our waitress was—you guessed it—French, which makes the quality service all the more surprising.

So, the prices were fairly silly for the taste and quality of the experience. And, yes, I realize this is New York, not Washington. (We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto). The drinks were fine—nothing more, nothing less—and appropriately priced. I ordered an orange juice ($6); beau ordered a cappuccino ($4.50) and a small grapefruit juice ($4.75). The juices were fresh squeezed, as they should be.

I contemplated ordering a basket of fresh bread, since I’m sure it would have been amazing, but it was $18. Eighteen dollars. For bread. Figuring the carbs just go to my thighs anyway, I opted to use that $18 toward shopping that afternoon, which also helped ensure I could still button any pants I tried on. Win-win, for me, readers, but a loss for you as I cannot tell you whether the bread basket was worth $18.

Instead, I ordered pancakes ($16), which were not worth $16 as I’ve had pancakes at IHOP (in a past pre-brunch blogging life) that are better. Boring, cold, mediocre. The syrup was just syrup—not sure it even was maple. Worst of all, the side of fruit wasn’t fresh. You know how I feel about that.

Beau ordered an eighteen dollar bagel—with lox, cream cheese, tomatoes and onions. It was good. It was just a bagel. He has nothing more to report. Two days later, on our way out of town, we picked up bagels, including the same lox-cream cheese-plain bagel order, from a Jewish bakery on the UES. The bagelry bagels were far better and a third of the price.

Brunch at Pastis was boring and overpriced. With the seemingly endless array of dining options in the city, why would you even bother? Perhaps as a non-native New Yorker I’m missing something. If I am, please fill me in.

Pastis
9 Ninth Ave.
New York, New York

By: Cori Sue

I simply adore ACKC Cocoa Bar—what’s not to love? It’s a boutique chocolatier with cards, unique gifts and chocolates that’s perfect for picking up a last-minute birthday or hostess gift. It has amazing desserts, coffee, and hot chocolate, making it perfect for meeting a friend or for studying and reading the newspaper on a lazy afternoon. Best of all, it’s in my neighborhood.

ACKC also offers Sunday brunch. I was slightly unnerved at the idea of eating a full meal at the café, as it is the only meal it offers and it’s more of a dessert and coffee shop. But, if it involves chocolate, I’m willing to give it a try.

I opted for my go-to hangover beverages—tall glass of water, cup of coffee, and orange juice—rather than ACKC’s great bottomless mimosa deal, $10 for all-you-can-drink. While the coffee was stellar, the orange juice was mediocre—definitely not fresh-squeezed and not even as good as Tropicana, either. (I’m a Floridian, we know our OJ, people). Meanwhile, beau had a delicious cappuccino.

For brunch, I chose the lavender chocolate stuffed French toast, which is flavored with paprika and sprinkled with powdered sugar and lavender petals. You choose from white, milk, or dark chocolate filling. I initially opted for white chocolate, but the waitress politely led me the way of dark chocolate, saying the white may be too sweet.

The French toast was decadent and unique—two pieces of fluffy white bread flavored with paprika and oozing with rich dark chocolate. I’d never eaten lavender before (isn’t it more for lotions and eye pillows?) and was surprised how well three unique flavors—paprika, lavender and chocolate paired together.

Meanwhile, beau opted for the chocolate bacon torta, which was essential a variation on the chocolate French toast with bacon thrown in. He says,

“My torta was a really awesome dessert-as-a-meal entree. It was pretty much french bread, with melted chocolate and bacon mixed in. The bread was moist and fluffy, and the bacon was pretty good and added a much-needed crunch. The fruit cup that that came with it didn’t really go with the torta that well—watermelon and grapes are not a good compliment to chocolate and syrup, in my opinion.”

I concur on the lackluster fruit cup. While it was not as awful as Mei n Yu, I’m a stickler for quality, delicious fresh fruit and this did not meet my standards.

Meanwhile, beau thinks it’s a bit overpriced—after all, the dishes were plastic. He explains,

“I take issue with the pricing. $14 for an entree would be pretty normal at a nicer  sit-down restaurant. This is a chocolate and pastry retail shop that happens to serve brunch on the side. I’m down with drinking from plastic cups and using plastic forks and knives, but don’t charge me a premium.”

The Bitch and Beau say: A-. You go to ACKC for chocolate and carbs, essentially dessert-for-breakfast. If you arrive expecting that, it’s a great experience—and the bottomless mimosas are a great deal. We’d obviously prefer fresher fruit and real silverware, but we quickly forget about that when you put a plate of chocolate-covered deliciousness in our face.

ACKC DC
1529C 14th St. N.W.
Washington, D.C.

ACKC Virginia
2003A Mt. Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA

By: Cori Sue

It’s two in the morning and I’m sleeping in a tent on Playa Blanca, an isolated beach that’s a three-hour boat ride from of Cartagena, Colombia. I’m roused awake by loud rustling outside of our tent.

“Hunnie! Hunnie!” I whisper, shaking beau awake. “It’s the FARC,” I hiss, assuming he had led me into rebel territory and now my favorite band of Marxist rebels was going to kidnap me for ransom.

In a classic example of chivalry, beau grumbled and rolled over, so I quietly peeked out of the tent. Thankfully, the rustling turned out to be a few hapless wild cows—not armed guerillas—who were stumbling through the cut palm fronts used to make the island huts.

I attempted to fall back asleep—trying not to think about the ants, bugs, cows and armed guerillas in my vicinity.

I sprung awake three hours later at 5 a.m. to a horrifying smell (which, based off my new midnight friends, I now assume was cow urine). The smell, combined with some local island cuisine the night before, caused me to spring awake, leap out of the tent, fall into the sand, and vomit. And I continued to vomit, for 15 hours, every time I moved.

I was hot, smelly, and dirty. I’ve never used the restroom outside, much less slept in a tent or lost my lunch in the sand, but, somehow, here I was on my relaxing, tropical vacation in pure misery stuck on a predominantly deserted island. (I guess that’s what happens when you let your boyfriend do the planning.) Between bouts of nausea, I was determined to negotiate myself off the island—and I was not waiting for the 3 p.m. leisurely tourist boat ride to do it.

In comes Herman, a lovely Colombian man with a two-person moto. Herman squished himself, beau, me, and our duffel bag onto his scooter and we embarked on an hour-long joyride through the unpaved, rocky, pot-holed roads of rural Colombia, passing impoverished towns, cows, sheep, pigs, and armed Colombian troops along the way. I did my very best to enjoy the scenery while trying desperately not to become ill and having loads of dirt blow into my face and teeth.

Eventually, Herman pulled over and led us to a river, and I thought to myself, “You have got to be kidding me.” But, no biggie, we just hopped in a wooden canoe and a toothless man ferried us across. After a 30-minute stroll through a pueblito, we located a taxi, and another hour later I was nestled in the bed of a four-star hotel in Cartagena, where I remained for 24 hours, watching the Disney channel in Spanish.

What does this have to do with brunch, you say? Well, just before this adventure, I did find a brunch spot in Cartagena, and it was phenomenal.

We stumbled upon Café Milla, an upscale boutique café and bakery, in the streets of Cartagena before our little beach excursion. Then, we went back twice more, because it’s the only cuisine our very weak stomachs could stand. (Beau eventually met a similar fate—must have been the fish.)

Now, yours truly rarely visits the same restaurant in Washington, and I would never go to the same spot twice, or thrice, on vacation, but now you know why we did.

Cartagena, Colombia, is a charismatic old city with beautiful, brightly colored buildings, cobblestone streets, Spanish colonial architecture, and friendly, vivacious residents.

You could spend weeks wandering the city’s winding streets, buying fruit from the corner stands, and salsa dancing until the sun comes up. The traditional tropical cuisine is rice, plantain chips, and plenty of seafood and ceviches.

Café Milla, nestled on the corner of Calle de la Iglesia and Calle de la Estrella, offers an upscale European twist on traditional Colombian cuisine. Its pastries are beautiful, rich and delicious—cupcakes, flan, rich chocolate cakes with gold-flaked icing, croissants, churros and more. The salads are huge—big enough for three people—and filled with fresh fruits and veggies.

The beverage selection is amazing—coffees and teas are presented in a stunning fashion. They also have tropical Colombian beverages like a mango slushie and a coconut-lime concoction that is pure heaven.

Beyond café fare, Milla serves lunch and dinner. On one of our visits, for lunch, beau had a mouth-watering steak served with a creamy white rice, sun-dried tomatoes, and a sweet balsamic reduction. Meanwhile, I opted for a variation of a Caprese salad (I know, I know, Italian in Colombia) with a similar amazing sweet-yet-tart balsamic dressing.

Best of all, they have brunch. I opted for the Colombian version of pancakes—served with sour cream and dulce de leche—and syrup, if you must. The pancakes were light, fluffy, and perfect (but you may not want to trust me as I hadn’t eaten anything in 36 hours).

If you’re ever in Cartagena, (and you should go, it’s an amazing city), be sure to stop by Café Milla for the best pastries in the city, a delicious dinner, or brunch.

By: Cori Sue

Last weekend, this bitch and her beau had a busy little Saturday. Following my 20-mile training run (donate to help me save the puppies, here), we headed to Veg Fest, where we enjoyed Amsterdam Falafel, Sticky Fingers cupcakes, coconut water and other earth-and-animal friendly foods.

Pretty Vegan desserts. Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Then, to Nationals Stadium to experience some good old American spirit—beer and baseball— in honor of September 11. It was Heroes Day, and a great place to be to remember America’s fallen heroes.

America: beer and baseball. Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Later, Arts on Foot, which was equal parts food and art fair. Chinatown’s wealth of restaurants offered small tasting portions for around $3 each. I love being able to try bite-size bits from lots of places. Some of our samplings included:

Shrimp appetizers from Ping Pong.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Pork banh mi and banana-caramel bread pudding from Oya (I die).

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Delectable desserts from Coco Sala.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Tuna Ceviche from Café Atlantico.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

And, most notably, a giant vat of paella from Jaleo (wow!).

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Looking to celebrate Fall with a fun outdoor festival? The D.C. area has lots coming up, here are our picks:

Sept. 8- Oct. 3: Rosa Mexicana Mexican Chocolate Festival. Do we hear chocolate chip banana cake?
Sept. 18: H Street Festival. H Street rocks. There’s a fashion show, and food, we’re there!
Sept. 18 & 19: Virginia Wine Festival. Two words: wine.festival. We went last year, it was a blast.
Sept. 25: Barracks Row Fall Festival, Capitol Hill. Cotton candy, petting zoo, magic shows! Perhaps we can get our faces painted, too.
Oct. 3: Turkish Festival. I loved the culture and cuisine in Istanbul, this is the next best thing to flying back.
Oct. 23-24. Green Festival. Organic beer and wine tastings, 100% commitment to offset their electricity emissions.

Happy Fall, Bitches!

By: Cori Sue

Now that I’m running at the crack-of-dawn Saturday mornings, my Friday night bedtime is 10 p.m—nixing any late nights out. However, I’ve always said Friday night is date night. And, so, this summer, my beau continues to plan lovely Friday evenings. (Yes, I said, he plans. Please don’t send me hate mail).

Last Friday, we explored Old Town Alexandria. I was zealous with excitement—Trolleys! Cupcakeries! Wine and cheese shops! Antique shops! Vintage boutiques! (Is there a vintage Chanel bag hiding somewhere in there?)  Old Towne is adorably charming and I’m sure I could spend hours, days, or weeks shopping, dining, and strolling through its cobblestone streets.

For dinner, we decided on equally charming Southern tavern Jackson 20 in the Hotel Monaco. It was a perfect summer evening so we sat outside in the courtyard drinking summer ales as the sun set.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Sadly, I’m a pescetarian, so half the pork-fueled menu was off limits. However, for you carnivores, I’ve heard the ribs are life-changing. We had the Smoked Caesar—which had great flavor, but very heavy on the dressing. The Oyster Po’Boy was delicious—fried oysters, thick squishy Texas toast, great cole slaw, and an amazing chipotle sauce.  The entrée, the Trout Marguery, was a crispy grilled filet of trout on a bed of steamed spinach topped with a lemon oyster sauce. It was yummy, but very heavy on the butter. But, it is southern cuisine so I assume that is intentional.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Jackson 20’s food was solidly good, but not amazing. However, the staff was wonderful and the ambiance lovely. I love the décor in both Hotel Monacos. (The other Hotel Monaco is at Gallery Place and its restaurant, Poste, also has mediocre food). I even snapped a photo in the bathroom because I thought it was too cute.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

I’ll report back on more restaurant options in Alexandria in the near future. But, if you’re looking for an evening of Southern charm, head to Alexandria to explore for yourself.

By: Cori Sue

My perfect recipe for a date-night-in: take pizza, wine, and a good book; then mix it all with a cozy couch and a thoughtful boyfriend. This week, we hopped over to 14th Street to two recently opened businesses, Homemade Pizza Co. and Cork & Fork.

First to Homemade Pizza Co., where you pick from different pizza creations, or choose your own ingredients, and take the pizza home to bake it (hence the “homemade”). It’s affordable if you pick one of the pizzas off the menu (they range from $14.75 to $16.75). But we wanted lots of fresh veggies so we made our own, and it was about $24. That’s a little steep for a pizza, if you ask me.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Although they give you baking directions, everyone’s oven is different, and baking is the tricky part. Luckily, our pizza turned out well. It was delicious, but not exceptional. When you’re in a hurry for a “home-cooked” meal, Homemade Pizza Co. is a safe bet to fill you up. But, next time, I’ll probably buy the ingredients and dough from Whole Foods and make a “homemade” pizza myself.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

After collecting our pizza, we strolled to Cork & Fork to pick up some wine. Hopefully Cork & Fork is still prepping the store, because they were very low on inventory and much of the product was unlabeled (they may not be fully opened yet). However, the clerk was helpful—he let us try some wine before we purchased. Compared to its competitor down the street, Cork Market, Cork & Fork offers a wide range of affordable wines (less than $50) for a budding oenophile to sample and not break the bank.

By: Cori Sue

The view from the rooftop was, naturally, amazing.  The restaurant is a large, open space filled with hundreds of close-together tables and lots of yapping tourists—not a very intimate dining experience.  As this was a “jazz brunch” there was a slightly cheesy, but talented musician singing his heart out at the keyboard.  Our waitress was lovely and very agreeable. For starters, the bottomless brunch comes with one mimosa and endless coffee.

The view from the Kennedy Center Rooftop

This brunch is gluttony at its finest. Oddly, the buffet was set-up in the kitchen and included everything you could imagine. In the dining room there was an omelet station and there’s a separate dessert room. In the name of blogging, we went back three times each + dessert (I told you it was gluttonous!)

Round 1, Breakfast items: dozens of types of muffins, fruit, French toast, pancakes, waffles, breakfast potatoes, Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine, toast, bagels and lox and all the fixin’s. 

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Round 2, Lunch items: Cheese and cracker spread, Asian pasta salad, marinated portabella mushrooms, broccoli rabe in a yummy cream sauce, salads, insalata caprese, deviled eggs, and more.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Round 3, Seafood: Snow crab legs, stone crab legs, shrimp, oysters, herring, salmon and more that I’m sure I was forgetting.  Being a seafood snob from Florida, I found the caliber of the seafood to be sub-par.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Lastly, the dessert room was a sight to behold.  Dozens of mini-cupcakes of all types of flavors, key lime pie, cheese cake, chocolate cake, cream puffs, crème brulee, flan, and chocolate mousse. 

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

The quality of the food was mediocre—the cheese selection, breakfast fare, and desserts were the best.  (The French toast with fresh whipped cream and berries wins!) The lunch items were eh, and the seafood was sub-par.  However, with multiple rooms full of endless options you’re sure to leave satisfied.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

The bitches say: B+ for mediocre food, lots and lots of selection, good value, great view, good service.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
(202) 416-8555

By: Cori Sue

Kiawah Island  is a charming oasis outside of Charleston, S.C.,  lined by 10 miles of beaches and filled with golf courses, marshes, ponds, and bike paths.  Before entering Kiawah, it is key to stock up on groceries, beach toys, and sunscreen as this residential community offers nothing in the way of grocery stores, restaurants, bars, or civilization other than a singular quickie mart, the Kiawah General Store. 

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

That being said, it was lovely to step away from hectic city life for a weekend of bicycle riding and reading on the beach.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

I was, however, startled several times out of my relaxed stupor by the appearance of dozens of alligators in the ponds amid the golf courses and bike trails.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Our first night there, we left the island to head to nearby Freshfields Village for dinner at La Tela Pizzeria, by far the best dining option in the village.   We had the mushroom, argula, romano, and truffle oil pizza. And…

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

The best salad I’ve had in my life: warm butternut squash, balsamic, watercress, shaved fennel, candied pecans, and truffle honey vinaigrette. I die.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

The rest of our evenings were filled with lovely wedding festivities. (Kiawah is the ideal wedding spot). Congratulations to Kara and Tyler Cole!

By: Cori Sue

On our way down to Kiawah Island, S.C., this weekend, the boyfriend and I stopped for the night in Raleigh, N.C., to visit one of my best college friends.  It felt great to be back in the great state of North Carolina and we were just in time for the opening of the tiki bar at Humble Pie, a charming restaurant in downtown Raleigh.  

Photo credit: Humble Pie

The weather was perfect for dining on the porch (low ’70s and breezy) with lots of summer brews and a varied arrangement of tapas.  Humble Pie‘s ecclectic menu consists of small plates of varrying cuisines– Asian, Italian, seafood, and more.  We shared a goat cheese mushroom Napoleon, coconut shrimp with pineapple chutney, sesame seared ahi tuna, finished with chocolate cake with peanut butter ganache and complemented by lots of Carolina Pale Ales.

Up early in the morning, we stopped by another Raleigh gem, Cafe Helios, for a speedy, healthy breakfast-to-go.  Cafe Helios serves delicious coffee from Counter Culture Coffee based in nearby Durham.  I consider an ordinary, healthy, breakfast– coffee, yogurt and granola, whole-wheat toast and fresh-squeezed OJ– an exceptional treat when found at 7 a.m., in a rush, on a roadtrip.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

For the Raleigh crowd, however, Cafe Helios is more than just a breakfast spot.  The cafe serves a great beer and wine selection (they rotate beer selections regularly), and features  artwork by a local artist each month.   And, it appears to be the place for some epic late-night dance parties.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Next time you find yourself cruising down I-95, you’d be well-served to check out these two spots in downtown Raliegh, and head over to Cameron Village for some great shopping.

By: Cori Sue

After a terrible week at work, I was really looking forward to a nice, relaxing meal with the boyfriend. And what better to cook than truffle risotto. I had been dreaming about truffle risotto since I saw it featured on Deux Maisons, an adorable blog on decorating, cooking and such by two lovely ladies in Texas.

I am somewhat of a neophyte when it comes to cooking, and had never made risotto from  scratch.  (Based on my love for cupcakes, it probably does not suprise you that I love to bake).  Because I am a vegetarian (pescetarian to be specific), I substituted vegetable stock for chicken stock, which put me at a disadvantage right away because it is darker and not as pretty. Also, I do not excel at chopping– julienned? minced?  I’m just trying to chop all the herbs and spices in less than two hours. Then, the risotto took forever and I was constantly terrified the vegetable stock wouldn’t absorb and I would fail at cooking dinner for boyfriend. (Even the wine didn’t help!). Luckily, it may not have turned out beautifully, but it was delicious.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

We paired the truffle risotto with even more parmesan– roasted broccoli, with a recipe I snagged off the Food Network Web site.  The recipe made boring broccoli delicious and uses basic ingredients that I always have on hand in the kitchen– garlic, olive oil, pepper, basil, parmesan and lemon. Basically, pine nuts and broccoli are the only items you’ll need to grab at the grocery store. I will definitely be using this recipe again to get my veggies in in a good way.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

For added sustenance, I whipped up some balsamic chicken for him  and salmon  for me and dinner was hot, delicious and satisfying, if not a little messily done.  Success.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris

Dinner was paired with a Pinot Noir by Wine by Joe, a light delicious red with notes of blackberry.

Photo credit: Cori Sue Morris