Mintwood Place, Washington, D.C.

A slate of hot new restaurants in D.C. have already opened since the year began a few months ago. None are hotter than Mintwood Place, the new first-floor space in the Adams-Morgan building occupied by Perry's, best known for its drag queen brunches.

There are no gimmicks in Mintwood Place, just really good food. It was the best restaurant meal I've had in months.

We started dinner with cocktails. I had the rather potent Woodrow Wilson, a mixture of genever gin, elderflower liqueur, champagne and hum liquor (botanical-infused rum). Chris had the Scrooge, also with rum plus a rather potent spiced ginger ale, molasses and lime. Both were good, particularly the Scrooge. In addition to a creative list of cocktails, the restaurant has a nicely varied wine list, covering European and domestic options at a range of prices. Although I was intrigued by a Sicilian Nero d'Avola, after conferring with the server, we opted instead for the hearty Annabella Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa's Michael Pozzan winery.

Rather than go for high-concept, Mintwood Place's entrees cover familiar territory, but do so with style. The menu includes a selection of seafood dishes plus simple, familiar classics like a burger with fries, hangar steak and cast-iron chicken. The menu's simplicity reminds me of Central Michel Richard, so it comes as no surprise to find out that Mintwood Place's chef, Cedric Maupillier, is a Central kitchen alum.

We shared the roasted pork for two, which was divine, cooked to perfection with a coating of rosemary and salt and served with a mouth-watering charcutiere sauce (the little bit we had leftover made great sandwiches the next day). We had the option of any two sides, a list that included roasted mushrooms and cauliflower, whole grain risotto and fries. We opted for the garlicky grilled broccolini, which came out nicely charred, and the braised puy lentils, which were just magnificent. According to Washington Post's First Bite preview by Tom Sietsema, the dish includes miso, olive oil and mashed potatoes.

The starters list is where Maupillier shows particular creativity. Chris had the goat cheese & beet mountain pie, a sinfully delicious slab of roasted beet encased in goat cheese and fried with a crispy coating served with additional roasted beets and lettuce. Mine was good too: grilled fresh asparagus served with cool, creamy burrata and garlic.

We had dessert waiting for us at home, so we skipped the last course, but hopefully they'll still have the Baked Alaska flambé next time we go (here's a picture from DCist).

Adams-Morgan has a lot of restaurants, but few really good ones. Mintwood Place definitely helps tip that balance in a favorable direction.

Cocktail: Indochine Bee's Knees

There's a lot of fusion going on in this drink.

First, I was inspired to make this based on my birthday cake: lemon cake with honey frosting and ginger ice cream. If those flavors could work in a dessert, I figured they could work in a drink too. I already had the honey syrup on hand from the Honey-Nut Old Fashioned cocktail.

Second, I discovered there's already a similar cocktail, the prohibition-era Bee's Knees made with gin, lemon juice and honey. My drink is not as potent and has Domaine de Canton (ginger liqueur) as an addition

Indochine Bee's Knees

1 oz. gin (Hendrick's)
1 oz. ginger liqueur (Domaine de Canton)
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
3/4 oz. honey syrup*
2 oz. club soda
lemon wedge (optional garnish)

Combine gin, ginger liqueur, lemon juice and honey syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until cold. Pour into a rocks glass with ice. Top with club soda and stir. Garnish with lemon wedge.

*For honey syrup recipe, see Honey-Nut Old Fashioned Cocktail.

Food (Section) Fight!: Week 13

Food (Section) Fight! is my weekly look at The Washington Post's Food section and The New York Times' Dining section with my verdict on which section had the better content for the week.

New York Times
(Due to The New York Times' choice to cut back nonsubscribers' access to only 10 articles per month, I will no longer be linking to all Dining section stories--just select favorites.)


I'm not really into undercooked eggs, but they do make a lovely cover photo, accompanying Julia Moskin's cover story about how consumers are increasingly getting their eggs not from their grocery store's refrigerated case but from the backyard.

Surprisingly, I was much more interested in Steven Kurutz's expose on the vanishing act of pickled relish. He's right; you really don't see it much anymore. I'm not really a relish fan, but he makes a good case for it, pointing out that relish is a pretty versatile dish with potential uses beyond hot dogs.

I really enjoyed Cathy Barrow's discussion and recipe for how to make your own citrus liqueur. It sounds pretty easy. You can make Cara Cara orange liqueur, for example--not something you'd find at the liquor store.

The page 2 recipes both look tasty today. David Tanis' Parmesan Lamb Chops sound like an ideal spring entree, which he suggests serving with garlicky greens or broccoli rabe. Melissa Clark's Vermouth-Braised Short Ribs with Spring Herbs and Honeyed Shallots also sound tasty, although time-intensive. It might be worth it though.

My enjoyment of this week's restaurant reviews varies inversely with their prices. Florence Fabricant reviews the ridiculously pricy new Times Square chain Chinese restaurant, Hakkasan, which includes Japanese abalone with black truffle for $888 (although most are $22 to $88, but still). Pete Wells samples Brooklyn's Gwynnett St., which sounds delightful. I'm impressed that Chef Justin Hilbert, a WD-50 alum, also makes the pastries (and really, why is this not more common? Do kitchens employ separately soup chefs? Salad chefs? There's no reason good chefs can't be as devoted to a meal's last course as they are to all its others). What gets my appetite going the most though is Ligaya Mishan's review of grilled cheese food trucks. Now that's a meal worth paying for.

Washington Post
Not the most exciting week for the Food section. Predictably, it has an Easter focus, with an essay on ham  and a cover story on updated holiday recipes, like Cold Poached Salmon with Lemon-Tarragon Dressing. The Farro with Pea Shoots and Spring Onions recipe sounds interesting, as I've been wanting to try farro and haven't found good uses for pea shoots.


Tim Carman takes a thoughtful look at papusas, but I'm just not that into them. For her Dinner in Minutes recipe, Bonnie Benwick offers Drunken Noodles in Cashew-Shiitake Broth, which doesn't sound bad, but it's pretty similar to the Chicken-Udon Soup I made recently (the recipe seems pretty teetotaling to be "drunken"; at least the soup I made had sherry in it).


Lastly, I'll mention that Beer Madness is down to the final two: the rather exotic sounding Maui Coconut Porter and Flying Fish Exit #4. Such suspense! Shame the beer I was rooting for, DC Brau's The Public, was eliminated against the porter. And the annual BBQ sauce contest is on! Get your entry in by May 2.


Verdict
The New York Times. It's not a really strong week for either section, but a few articles in the Times interested me, whereas the Post's feature stories really didn't do it for me today.


Score
The New York Times: 7
The Washington Post: 6

Birthday Cake

Today, I turn 35. Here's a picture of my birthday cake: a lemon cake with honey-mascarpone frosting, which I served with ginger-brown sugar ice cream. It was delicious. I'll tell you all about it this weekend.

Apple, Arugula & Cheddar Sandwich

Sunday evenings at our house is often a very simple meal of cheese, crackers, apple slices and wine.

Because I had some leftover baguette recently, I decided to turn up the volume a bit and make a sandwich--a vegetarian sandwich no less (a nice contrast to all these burgers).

This is pretty simple: slice the baguette open in half, leaving one edge of the crust connected to hold it together. Spread honey on one side and dijon mustard on the other. Place a few arugula leaves in the middle.

Place two thin slices of apple in a medium frying pan over medium-low heat. Top each apple slice with a slice of cheddar cheese. Heat about 10 minutes until the apple softens and the cheese melts. Use a spatula to transfer the apples and cheese to the middle of the sandwich. Pass the pepper grinder over the top, if desired.

Southwestern Salmon with Black-Eyed Pea Succotash and Yellow Pepper Sauce

In my ongoing search for new and original ways to serve fish on Monday nights, I hit a homerun this week with this dish.

For some reason, I got the idea that broiled salmon and succotash might make an interesting combination. Certainly salmon and corn go together. Searching the web, I found this recipe for salmon with fresh black-eyed peas, although I liked better this recipe for black-eyed pea succotash. And, in the America's Test Kitchen cookbook Restaurant Favorites at Home, there was an intriguing recipe for Chile-Rubbed Salmon with Smoked Yellow Pepper Sauce. I decided to combine elements from all these sources to come up with my own dish.

One of the things that drew me to these recipes was the combination of flavors: the spicy/savory fish, the sweet pepper sauce and the hearty succotash. I decided that I wanted a good dose of smoky flavor to unite these elements, so I added some bacon to the succotash, chipotle chili powder to the salmon and smoked sea salt to all three components.

I also wanted a good herbal flavor. I thought about cilantro, but decided to experiment with fresh oregano, another herb common to southwestern dishes. I use dried oregano frequently, but rarely have I used it fresh. Now I can see why: it's kind of a pain. The stems are thick and the leaves are small. Getting the leaves off the stems is almost as much fun as picking off individual leaves of thyme. I had planned on adding fresh oregano leaves to the succotash as it cooked, but I lost patience after peeling off the 2 tablespoons I needed for the garnish and just added two whole sprigs instead.

I couldn't have been happier with this dish. And Chris, who sometimes complains about having to eat fish every Monday, was raving about it. That's a win in my book.

Southwestern Salmon with Black-Eyed Succotash and Yellow Pepper Sauce
Inspired by Red Chile-Rubbed Salmon with Smoked Yellow Pepper Sauce from America's Test Kitchen's Restaurant Favorites at Home and Nathan Lyon's Corn and Black Eyed Pea Succotash

Makes 4 servings

Yellow pepper sauce:

1 yellow pepper
1 tbsp. red onion, minced (*see onion instruction in succotash ingredients below)
1 tbsp. lime juice (juice from 1/2 lime)
1 tsp. honey
Smoked sea salt to taste
1-2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves

Black-eyed pea succotash:

2 strips of bacon, sliced into 1/2-inch strips (lardons)
1 medium red onion, diced (*reserve about 1 tbsp. of the diced onion and mince it more finely to use in the yellow pepper sauce, see yellow pepper sauce ingredients above)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Smoked sea salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
2 sprigs of fresh oregano
1 16 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. white vinegar

Chili-rubbed salmon:

2 tsp. ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked sea salt
1 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 lb. salmon fillets

Olive oil spray

(In terms of preparation, I recommend starting by broiling the yellow pepper and prepping the ingredients for the succotash. The salmon is easy to prepare and cooks in just 10 minutes, so plan to do that last.)

To make the yellow pepper sauce:

1. Adjust oven rack about 6 inches from broiler and preheat. 

2. Cut pepper to lay flat on a baking sheet. Broil until blackened, about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

3. Once cooled, use your fingers to peel off the charred skin. Coarsely chop the pepper and add to food processor with minced onion, lime juice, honey and smoked salt. Process until pureed. With the machine running, use the feed tube to add olive oil in a slow stream to emulsify the mixture. Set aside until ready to use.

To make the succotash:

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and sauté until fat renders and bacon crisps. Remove cooked bacon with a slotted spoon. Pour off any fat in excess of about 2 tablespoons.

2. Add onion, garlic, smoked salt and black pepper and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add corn, tomatoes and oregano. Cook about 5 minutes. Add peas and vinegar. Stir to combine and cook another 2 minutes to heat through. Turn off heat. Remove oregano sprigs before serving.

To make the salmon:

1. Adjust oven rack about 4 inches from the broiler and preheat (it may still be hot from the yellow pepper). 

2. Stir together the chili powders, cumin, smoked salt and pepper. Place fillets skin side down on a baking sheet sprayed with olive oil. Rub the chili mixture onto the flesh side of the fillets. Spray fillets with olive oil.

3. Place salmon under broiler and broil about 5 minutes. Flip fillets and broil another 5 minutes. Remove and discard crisped skin and checked for doneness. Cut salmon fillets to make four servings.

Assemble the dish:

Mound succotash on plate. Top with a salmon fillet then a few spoonfuls of the yellow pepper sauce and finally a sprinkling of fresh oregano.

Recipe of the Month: March

The year is a third over and we're entering spring. I'm seeing more asparagus in the market now, including white asparagus, which I've never cooked but would like to try. Also, I'm excited that peas of all forms will soon be in season and I'm looking forward to making (and sharing with you) my favorite spring pasta recipe that uses a risotto-like technique to make a creamy sauce without any added cream.

The most popular recipe for March was a cocktail: The Whore's Bath inspired by the television sitcom Happy Endings. It's a tart-sweet concoction with an herbal undertone featuring gin, Benedictine liqueur, Cointreau and grapefruit juice topped with club soda. The recipe is far and away the most popular thing I've done so far on Cook In / Dine Out; it's been accessed about 6 times more than Kale "Caesar" Salad, the next most popular recipe.

March's most popular food recipe was the Crispy Pizza, my attempt to make pizza with a crispy, charred pizzeria-like crust. The Turkey and Butternut Squash Meatloaf was also pretty popular, as was the Updated Chicken Marbella, although that doesn't really count as a recipe, since I wrote about making it and didn't include instructions (there is a link to the America's Test Kitchen subscription site).