episode six: chai, caesar salad, and sean evans
in this episode we discuss the origins of chai, Italian food, hot ones, and more!
death to the neon sign!!!
if one more restaurant, bar, or club opens up with a fake grass wall and a neon sign with something cutesy on it…imma LOSE IT! sidman did this washingtonian piece about the fake flower aesthetic taking over a bunch of DC restaurants and it totally exposes the whole trend: spend a lot of time and effort into making something look good for instagram to get more customers — but there’s (obvi) a catch: is the same effort being put into the quality of food and drink at these places? the answer is probably not! look, I embrace maximalism, but maximalism only works if it comes with a sense of originality and authenticity. being loud just to be loud just comes off fake! as fake as those plastic flowers! okay rant over.
hot ones <3 <3 <3
and now, for an ode to my favorite YouTube show, Hot Ones. I loved this piece NYT did about the show, it really outlines how well-executed this simple and silly concept is, and how it has been so successful for so long. I appreciate that the piece highlights how spot-on the journalistic quality is, with the description of the intense research process the show’s team undergoes. I am an absolute sucker for funny celebrity interviews and there’s really something unmatched about Sean Evans’ charm that has kept this show going for 300+ episodes, and I think this quote describes it so well:
Evans uses his affable, unassuming approach to his advantage, with his deep-cut questions disarming guests, as the wings set them ablaze. Often visibly suffering, the guests are swiftly won over by Evans’s knowledge of their careers and his uncanny ability to keep conversations on track, even when they come dangerously close to going sideways.
and for anyone wondering if the hot sauces they eat on the show are actually that hot - yes they are. my friends and I did our own version of the Hot Ones challenge during covid - documented here - and I absolutely lost my mind, I don’t know how all these celebrities have done it and stayed somewhat presentable on camera!
date night baby!
if you are unfortunate enough to be single in the hellish world of single DC you likely have an arsenal of first date spots ready to go - but if you don’t, you’re in luck! my girl j sidman did a good roundup in the Washingtonian about first date bars in the city, and there’s a lot of interesting places on the list. Board Room and Players Club are the sweet spot of activity + drinks, both are just filled with people on first dates so take that for what you will. totally agree that ChurchKey is suuuper cool and a great date vibe, along with No Kisses (just check what days they’re open!) and All Souls, a perfect neighborhood cocktail bar. stay tuned to see how many of us single girlies run into each other on hinge dates at All Souls….
fancy fancy fast food
Eater DC recently did a roundup of upscale fast food around the city, the concept of which I find very interesting. it does feel a little funny and kind of sacrilegious to take away the hallmarks of fast food (being cheap and accessible) and making it expensive and exclusive but hey, maybe that’s also in the spirit of fast food really being For Everyone too? these tots at Silver Lyan look literally heavenly and I can’t lie I am curious about the fancy crunch wrap at Pop Fizz. if you’ve had any of these, lmk what you think!
tomato szn 🍅🍅🍅🍅
I am informing you all that trader joe’s has a dupe of the loewe $110 tomato candle for $10. people have Feelings about whether it smells good or not but that is up to your nose! I will buy this and report back!
would you drink this tomato lacroix?? I think I would…..but maybe it’s a contender for f*cked up foods you tell me!
(don’t) got milk?
it seems like no one is drinking milk these days, and the dairy industry is NOT happy! fewer people than ever are drinking traditional dairy milk - which the milk industry blames gen Z and government nutritional standards for. so, the dairy industry is attempting to win back the lost generation of milk drinkers though their Milk Processor Education Program. the program is supporting female athletes and promoting gender equity in sports - MilkPeP, the marketing and education arm of the dairy industry is hoping to change peoples minds.
dairy milk is clearly losing its battle against plant-based alternative milks, like oat, almond, and soy — they even lost a battle with the FDA, which ruled that drinks made from oat/almond/plants can be called “milk”. so, will its entrance into the fight for gender equality and feminism revive the brand? you can read more in this NYT piece here.
savory martinis
as I declared earlier this year, espresso martinis are out! dirty martinis are in! well, if you’re somehow sick of a classic dirty martini (which, I have absolutely noooo clue why you would be) Washingtonian has a list of some cool savory martinis around the area. I neeeeed someone to try the Tonari sesame martini and report back, the truffle martini honestly just sounds silly to me, but z’aatar martini at Kirby Club…….im running there now!
seed and a pit
at this point I should just start a new segment called “my friends and I were talking about this and then I had to look it up and now I’m telling y’all about it" lol. on this edition - we talk seeds and pits. basically we were talking about avocados and were thinking - is it a seed? a pit? both? what is the difference?
the answer is the following, “A seed is an ovule containing an embryo while a pit is the part of the fruit that protects the seed until growth time. Seeds can be many or one in a fruit while pits are always one.” SO! the pit contains the seed (cherry, mango, peach) but it wouldn’t be called a pit if the fruit contains multiple seeds or if the seed doesn’t need a pit to to develop, and not all seeds have pits. the more you know!
the history of chai time
chai has been a part of Indian culture for hundreds and hundreds of years - but no doubt the use of tea proliferated across the world due to trade and colonialism. turns out there’s a variety of factors that impact tea’s long-standing legacy in India. toplines: the British basically got the idea for drinking tea from China, the British then got India to mass produce tea leaves for other countries, the British did a huuuuuge marketing campaign to make tea popular in India, and the Indians combined British tea with milk with more spices and flavor. for more nuance and accuracy, read this piece from the Juggernaut!!
restaurant highlight: grazie nonna
finally got to try this Italian spot with
a few weeks ago and really it did not disappoint! for a restaurant in a very boring part of downtown, I liked the gallery wall funky candle decor on the inside. we had suchhhhh a solid caesar salad, a prosciutto and pea pasta, the spicy vodka pizza and a LOVELY tiramisu! they had multiple negronis on the menu (my dream) and overall this was a great upscale Italian spot, check it out!d.c. happenings
andy’s pizza on 9th closing - soft opening in new space!
2nd location of chercer!
new food hall for the downtown office girlies
new tatte on 14th (finally?) opening in May
maman bakery coming to DuPont
new rose ave is OPEN!!!!!!
f*cked up food
and as a treat - you get two f*cked up foods today because I couldn’t decide and both of these made me chuckle.
recipe highlight: warm brussels sprouts salad
this is the first time I shaved brussels sprouts and DANG it was worth it! of course we all saw this tiktok of a girl who had a warm brussels sprouts salad at a restaurant and recreated it at home. following the recipe, I shaved the brussels sprouts with a mandolin (and I didn’t hurt myself! pls clap!) and cooked some quinoa, and roasted both on 450. the dressing was a tahini-mustard situation, and the whole combo went so well I ate it three times last week hehe. if you are feeling bored with quinoa, this recipe is for you!!
that’s all for this one - see y’all next time!