Restaurant: The Partisan (Washington, D.C.)

There's been a lot of talk lately about how restaurants are turning their attention more toward vegetables. Vegetables are displacing meat at the center of the dinner plate. Eleven Madison Park replaced beef with carrots in its tartare. Beefsteak, José Andrés restaurant empire's fast-casual expansion, doesn't have a lick of meat in sight.

With all these vegans and vegetarians running around--I count many among my friends and family--loving meat is becoming akin to a quiet embarrassment. Like admitting you still enjoy smoking or reality television. While I'm not into either of those things, and we have cut back on our meat consumption in recent years, I do still sometimes love a good meat dish. For those days, there's The Partisan.

You can fly your meat-loving flag high at this restaurant, an offshoot of Red Apron Butcher, a small local butcher shop and sandwich chain that has expanded from its first location in Union Market to Merrifield and Penn Quarter. It's a great place for lunch: I'm particularly fond of the Butcher's Salad with salami, greens, beans, olives, sundried tomatoes and grana cheese, and the Porkstrami, with its pastrami-style pork and bacon-braised sauerkraut, is a local legend among sandwiches.

A wall of sundries separates the Red Apron Butcher shop from The Partisan, the restaurant space that extends beyond a black curtain in a large rear bar. It's an attractive space decked out in dark wood, exposed brick and red leather. With all those hard surfaces, it's also quite noisy, so be prepared to lean in or raise your voice.

Fried chicken skins

We started with a round of cocktails, both of which were excellent. I immediately fell in love with the  Maybe a Joyful Noise, an inventive cousin of the Manhattan made with Old Forester bourbon, Cocchi Barolo Chianti (an Italian digestif with quinine made from barolo wine), Bonal (a French aperitif, also with quinine) and orange and chocolate bitters. It's a wonderful complex, bitter-sweet drink, among the best cocktails I've had this year (in a year when I've had some pretty amazing cocktails). Chris went with the winning Career Opportunities, a mixture of wheat whiskey, Amaro Montenegro, Dolin Blanc and orange bitters. My initial thought that we'd switch to wine with the meal was axed in favor of another round of these great drinks.

The Partisan menu is divided into themes: snacks, pasta, vegetables, seafood, poultry and small game, beef and lamb, and pork. The meat sections are divided into small-, medium- and large-sized portions, which our server explains allows you to design a small-plates style dinner with lots of options or a family-style meal designed around larger anchors.

Arugula and fig salad

From the snacks selection, who chose the fried chicken skins served with chili powder, a wonderful idea that acknowledges what many of us have known for a long time: when it comes to fried chicken, the skin is the best part. Accompanying such a clearly sinful dish was something more wholesome: a delicious arugula salad with fresh figs, bacon and blue cheese.

Slow-cooked pork shoulder with sides

For our main course, we went the family-style route and ordered the slow-cooked pork shoulder. We chose wisely. The meat was tender and flavorful and, although it didn't need to side of pomegranate reduction, the sauce added a nice sweetness to the meat. The sweet potato puree was also tasty, although I think they may have forgotten the promised ancho chili powder, as we detected zero heat. The Brussels sprouts slaw dressed in mustard was also quite good. Thankfully, there's some buns for soaking up the wonderful juice pooled around the meat.

Fried apple pie

Although we were pretty sated at this point, it was a special occasion, so I didn't want to pass up dessert. We opted for the fried apple pie. On the one hand, this sounds like a unique dessert. On the other, we realized that's what McDonald's used to serve until they starting baking their pies (although I hear they may be bringing the fried version back). Needless to say, this is clearly superior to anything you can get at McDonald's. It doesn't hurt that it's served with candied pecans, whipped cream and salted caramel ice cream.

The Partisan excels at delivering the bold flavors you'd expect from a meat-focused restaurant. This isn't just a glorified butcher shop, but an honest-to-goodness real restaurant with a good menu and service. Despite its location in a particularly competitive neighborhood for good eating, The Partisan has distinguished itself as a worthy destination.

The Partisan, 709 D Street NW (between 7th and 8th Streets), Washington, D.C. (Penn Quarter). (202) 524-5322. Reservations: Open Table.

Sautéed Chicken Fajitas

Grilled chicken fajitas are delicious, but now that we're into October, it's probably time to put the grill away. Thankfully, you can make chicken fajitas in your kitchen that are just as tasty.

Chris and I are big fans of chicken fajitas, although sadly, lately we've been unimpressed with what we're getting at Tex-Mex restaurants in our area. Consequently, I've been making them at home more often, perfecting an excellent indoor rendition of this grilled classic.

Key to this recipe are developing good flavor for the chicken, onions and peppers by both using a flavorful mix of spices and by browning both in a sauté pan. For the chicken, I marinate cutlets in a mixture of spices, lime juice and olive oil. An important step in cooking the chicken and the vegetables is to use moderately high heat and let them both take on some color by not moving them around the pan too much. Both should have nicely browned parts, which leaves a brown residue in the pan. A squirt of lime juice at the end of the cooking helps loosen the browned bits in the pan, coating the fajitas and adding further flavor.

You can use any mix of garnishes you like. I'm partial to guacamole and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Sautéed Chicken Fajitas

1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
Seasoned salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 and 1/2 limes
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lb. chicken breast cutlets
1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch wide slivers
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch wide slivers
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch wide slivers
Flour tortillas
Shredded jack or cheddar cheese (optional)
Guacamole (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Combine cumin, oregano, chili powder, seasoned salt, pepper, juice from 1 lime and 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil in a gallon-size Ziplock bag. Add the chicken cutlets, seal the bag, and shake to mix the ingredients and coat the chicken. Place in the refrigerate to marinate for a couple of hours.

2. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the bag and place in the pan (discard the marinade). Cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes, then turn over the chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes until the chicken is nicely browned on both sides and cooked through. Set chicken aside on a cutting board, allow to cool slightly, then cut into 1/2-inch wide strips.

3. Heat remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil in the sauté pan. Add the onions and bell peppers and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and browned around the edges, about 8-10 minutes. Add the cooked chicken back to the pan. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lime into the pan and use a spoon to deglaze and mix in the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

4. Transfer the chicken fajitas to a platter and serve with warmed flour tortillas and any of the optional garnishes.

8-2-Eat: Sandwiches

8-2-Eat is my food-focused list series. A perfect Friday distraction. This week: 8 fantastic sandwiches.

1. Classic Tuna Salad. I love a good tuna sandwich, but unfortunately too many tuna salad sandwiches fall flat. My recipe calls for adding a bit of sweet tartness with sweet pickles, a bit of bite with scallions and horseradish and a bit of crunch with celery.

2. Cuban Sandwich. A Cuban sandwich is a simple affair of ham, cheese and pickles, elevated here with homemade sour pickles.

3. Ultimate Club Sandwich (pictured above). The classic club sandwich reaches "ultimate" status here with oven-dried tomatoes, smoky chipotle mayo and avocado.

4. Grilled Cheese. A true classic among grilled sandwiches, a grilled cheese sandwich offers a lot of flexibility in terms of bread and cheese combinations. This is my favorite.

5. Apple, Arugula and Cheddar. A simple sandwich combination that's vegetarian and perfect for this time of year.

6. Winter Chicken Salad. Classic chicken salad gets a smoky winter twist.

7. Buffalo Chicken Sliders. The spicy flavors of Buffalo chicken wings, but in a sandwich. Perfect for parties.

8. Greek Burgers. The American standard goes Greek.

Vegetable-Stuffed Pocket Pitas

The days of summer produce are definitely waning now. I'm seeing lots of apples and squash at the farmers market. Yet, they still have tomatoes and cucumbers. Consider this a last gasp of summer vegetables.

I made these for Chris and me one day when we were both working from home due to the Pope's visit to D.C. last week. This is a nice spread of typical Mediterranean ingredients pulled together into a tasty pita sandwich.

This is a completely versatile recipe. You could add (green peppers, peperoncini, sliced grapes) or delete as desired.

Vegetable-Stuffed Pocket Pitas

Makes 4

4 whole-wheat pocket pitas (may use white pitas)
8 oz. tzatziki sauce
8 oz. hummus (plain or garlic)
1 red tomato, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
1 cucumber, partially peeled (see note), and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
1/2 red onion, cut into thin slivers
4 oz. feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 oz. Kalamata olives

Note: to partially peel a cucumber, use a vegetable peeler to peel off long stripes of peel.

Cut pitas in half, then carefully use your fingers to split open each half to form a pocket. Spread about 1 tbsp. of tzatziki on one side of the inside of the pita and 1 tbsp. of hummus on the other side. Stuff the pita with a couple of slices of tomato, a couple cucumber slices, a few onion slivers, feta cheese cubes and olives.

Restaurant: DBGB Kitchen and Bar (Washington, D.C.)

It's not uncommon these days for a business's name to be an apparent acronym that doesn't actually stand for anything. In some cases, it once did, but not anymore. These are "pseudo-acronyms"--a string of letters that once stood for words but have been redefined to sever the acronym from its original meaning. For example, the former American Association of Retired Persons just goes by "AARP" now, probably because as people are working later in life, many of its members aren't actually retired. Similarly, "AT&T" was once the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, but the telegraph is no more and even the telephone has evolved far from what it once was.

Similarly, "DBGB," Chef Daniel Boulud's return to the D.C. market, doesn't apparently stand for anything. When the original DBGB opened in New York in 2007, it was widely reported that DBGB stood for "Daniel Boulud Good Burger," but that name is nowhere to be found in the restaurant's marketing or website. It's apparently a nod to CBGB, the famed music venue that was located in the same neighborhood as the New York DBGB and that closed about a year before that restaurant's opening.

When DBGB opened in D.C. last year, I was definitely curious. Daniel Boulud is one of the country's best-known chefs, famous for his restaurant Daniel and a slate of other more casual eateries, including New York's DB Bistro Moderne, home of the famed (but, to us, disappointing) Original DB Burger. That burger's striking feature is its massive patty, a meat-lover's dream of sirloin stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffles. Despite all those ingredients, we found it to be surprisingly lacking in flavor. It was a lesson that, when it comes to burgers, we prefer something traditional.

That's exactly what I was hoping to get at DBGB. Whether "good burger" is actually part of the name or not, burgers stand out on the menu, a mix of French and American influences: coq au vin sits next to fried chicken, for example. There's also a selection of sausage options.

As for the burgers, there are two choices: The Frenchie, a beef patty with pork belly, arugula tomato-onion compote, morbier cheese on a potato bun, and The Yankee, a more traditional offering of beef patty with Vidalia onion, iceberg lettuce and tomato served on a sesame bun with a pickle. While The Frenchie sounds interesting, I stuck to my plan and ordered the Yankee. Although our favorite D.C. burger remains the grilled burger with cheese at Buck's Fishing and Camping, this burger was quite good and certainly better than the "fancy" one we ate at DB Bistro Moderne. The patty was flavorful and cooked just right. Plus, I appreciate that they served it on a traditional hamburger bun. I'm really getting tired of things like brioche used as burger buns. The fries that accompanied the burger were decent, although they weren't uniformly crispy (they were better the day I stopped in for lunch--more on that below).

One of the best parts of our dinner at DBGB was the cocktail. It was a very good mixture of rye whiskey, apple brandy, rum, sugar and tiki bitters called the "Colonial" for its mixture of "new world" ingredients. Chris, in particular, loved this drink. Cheers to head bartender Eric Jeffus.

Dessert was another highlight, a key lime pie refashioned as a zesty ice cream sundae, a delicious confection of tart lime ice cream, whipped cream, miniature meringues and bits of graham cracker.

We also enjoyed our salad, an interesting mix of grilled kale, black figs and oyster mushrooms with a buttermilk dressing. We particularly liked the salad's pickled chestnuts and the grilled kale was interesting. These are unusual ingredients to bring together in a salad but they work.

It wasn't the first salad I'd had at DBGB. About a month before our dinner, I stopped in for lunch and enjoyed the chop-chop salad with grilled chicken. The salad is a refreshing blend of romaine lettuce, avocado, asian pear and radishes mixed with just the right amount of a zipping ginger-sesame dressing. We also couldn't resist getting a side of fries, which went perfectly with the salad (well, fries could probably go perfectly with just about anything).

As for what "DBGB" actually stands for? I tried to find out, but was unsuccessful. My multiple inquiries to the restaurant's media relations team were never answered. I was also hoping to get more information from them about the restaurant's striking architectural design. Perhaps they have been on vacation. We had a much better response from the staff in the restaurant, who were friendly and struck that wonderful balance of being attentive and available but not "in your face."

If the name remains a mystery, what isn't mysterious is the result: a decent place for lunch or dinner in the emergent D.C. City Center development.

DBGB Kitchen and Bar, 931 H Street NW (between 9th and 10th Streets), Washington, D.C. (City Center). (202) 695-7660. Reservations: Open Table. 

September 2015 Digest

Digest is a summary of all the articles from the previous month.

Goodbye to Summer Produce

In late September, we said "goodbye" to summer and "hello" to fall. Thus, wonderful summer produce was still plentiful throughout the month. My favorite late summer produce items are tomatoes and sweet corn. The former showed up in my Summer Kale Chicken Caesar Salad, an update of one of the first recipes I posted on my blog made with leafy kale, seasonal sungold cherry tomatoes and fresh-bread croutons.

When it comes to sweet corn, I turned my attention to soups this month. Of course, corn-on-the-cob is a wonderful way to enjoy really good sweet corn, but corn soup is one of my favorites, and it's good served hot or cold. Corn-Leek Soup is a delicious corn-based variation on the classic Potato-Leek Soup, and Mexican Corn Soup adds both kick and cool with chipotle chili powder and fresh avocado.

A simple frittata is another good use for late summer / early fall produce. I made mine with onion, zucchini, red pepper and rainbow chard, plus mild Italian chicken sausage and gruyere cheese.

The Road to Happiness Is...Littered with Good Recipes

Dallas actress Linda Gray published her memoirs this week: The Road to Happiness Is Always Under  Construction. My husband's blog, Dallas Decoder, celebrated the book's release with a review and an exclusive interview with the star. I got in the game by cooking one of the delicious recipes that punctuate Linda's book: a Mexican Meat Pie she stockpiled in the freezer for her family just before embarking to film what would become the first of many seasons of the classic 1978-1991 dramatic series.

¡Salud! - Agave-Spirit Cocktails at Mayahuel

It may sound like hyperbole to declare Mayahuel our new favorite bar, but I cannot imagine finding a cocktail bar I would like better. This small East Village bar, not too far from Death & Co., features incredibly good cocktails made from Mexican spirits such as tequila, mezcal and sotol. I shared the recipe for one of the drinks we tried, a mezcal concoction known as The Division Bell.

Cooking with Ottolenghi

It's unfortunately easy to acquire beautiful cookbooks...and then rarely use them. I pulled out my copy of Ottolenghi: The Cookbook to make a beautiful meal of Beef and Lamb Meatballs Baked in Tahini and Fennel, Corn and Cherry Tomato Gratin.

Go Back to Beach After Labor Day

Rehoboth Beach is busiest during the summer. All the more reason to go after Labor Day when the weather is still nice and the beach and restaurants are less crowded. This year's dining guide recaps delicious dinners we enjoyed at Bramble & Brine, Dos Locos, Papa Grande's, Salt Air and Zebra Ristorante, plus amazing omelets, pancakes and ice cream at The Royal Treat.

Visualize a Good Cocktail

For a special edition of 8-2-Eat, I created 8 graphics that illustrate various things--recipes, facts, opinions--about cocktails.

Enlivening a Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is very popular, but frankly not that flavorful. But it's an excellent canvas for other flavors. In this healthful salad (pictured above), it sets the stage for a delicious dish of chicken, quick-pickled onion, cashews, cucumbers, avocado, feta and mint. This dish was inspired by a similar salad I had for lunch recently at Spring Street Natural in New York's Soho neighborhood.

Recipes

Corn-Leek Soup - A variation on classic Potato-Leek soup made with fresh summer sweet corn.

Beef and Lamb Meatballs Baked in Tahini - A recipe from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook of meatballs baked in a deliciously nutty tahini sauce.

Division Bell Cocktail - A Mayahuel recipe featuring mezcal, Aperol, maraschino liqueur and lime.

Fennel, Corn and Cherry Tomato Gratin - I adapted this easy gratin recipe from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by adding sweet corn.

Mexican Corn Soup - Another sweet corn soup recipe, this time with the spicy kick of chipotle and cool richness of fresh avocado.

Mexican Meat Pie - An adaptation of actress Linda Gray's recipe: a layered casserole of tortillas, ground turkey, vegetables, cheese and spices.

Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Vegetables - A healthful mix of quinoa, chicken, quick-picked onion, cashews, avocado, cucumber, pepitas, mint, feta and arugula.

Summer Kale Chicken Caesar Salad - The ubiquitous kale Caesar gets a late summer variation with fresh sungold cherry tomatoes and fresh-bread croutons.

Restaurants and Bars

Mayahuel (New York City cocktail bar) - This bar, specializing in drinks made with Mexican spirits, captured our hearts during a recent visit.

Rehoboth Beach 2015 Dining Guide (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) - An overview of where we ate this year, including Bramble & Brine, Dos Locos, Papa Grande's, Salt Air and Zebra Ristorante, plus amazing omelets, pancakes and ice cream at The Royal Treat.

8-2-Eat

Cocktail Graphics - 8 things about cocktails explained visually.

Restaurants with Great Pasta - 8 restaurants in the D.C. area and New York where you can get a delicious bowl of pasta.

Sausage, Vegetable and Gruyere Frittata

If your mom is like mine, you should listen to her more often, as she probably has good ideas. Like the recipe for this frittata, the Italian answer to the French omelet. Unlike an omelet, which is cooked quickly with the fillings added last, frittatas are cooked slowly with the eggs added to the already cooked fillings and then broiled to set the eggs.

A few weeks ago, my mom emailed me about a frittata recipe she made. I thought it sounded really good, but I didn't make it right away. Then a couple weeks later she made it again and I thought, yes, I should really make this.

So this time I did. I don't know where she got the recipe, but I made some adjustments, so I feel comfortable calling it my own (with credit to Mom, of course). This is a simple dish that comes together fairly quickly. It's also quite flexible. You could easily omit the sausage to make it vegetarian, substitute a different meat (bacon, ham, chicken, turkey) and use a different combination of vegetables or a different cheese. I went with mild Italian chicken sausage, onion, zucchini, red pepper and rainbow chard with gruyere cheese, but you could use just about any green, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower. Just be mindful of the total quantity. A 12-inch frying pan is ideal for this, and it should be about half-full of cooked ingredients before you add the egg and cheese mixture.

Sausage, Vegetable and Gruyere Frittata

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 lb. mild Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 green zucchini, diced
1 punch chard (may use rainbow or Swiss), leaves removed from stems and cut into 2-inch pieces (stems discarded)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

1. Preheat oven broiler with rack 4 inches below the broiler.

2. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick oven-safe frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until cooked through. Remove sausage from pan. Add another tbsp. olive oil to the pan and increase heat to medium-high. Add the onion, bell pepper and zucchini and cook until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the chard, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until the chard wilts, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Return the sausage to the pan and spread the ingredients evenly on the bottom of the pan. Whisk together the eggs and half the cheese in a large bowl. Pour the eggs and cheese over the vegetable-sausage mixture. Continue to cook on the stove to set the bottom of the eggs, about 3 minutes.

4. Transfer pan to the oven and broil until the top is firm, about 3 minutes. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top and broil an additional minute to melt and brown the cheese (watch to make sure it doesn't burn). Remove from oven and cut into wedges for serving.