How Weekends Should Always Be: Part 1, Chocolate Caliente

Last weekend I 'ran' a marathon of fantastic food. An endurance challenge that, like actual running, was made even more enjoyable - appreciated for its length and more humorously mused over - by the presence of a fellow participant: My best friend was visiting from NY for the weekend and I had planned for us to visit an assortment of food destinations that I had been meaning to share/try. My friend (whom I shall refer to as "J" only because it makes me giggle to not use her full name - as if this were a top secret document of utmost importance) and I have shared many a good dish and bottle (or 2, or more) of wine. From our visits to small, grilled-llama-serving homes in Argentina to Muppet-filled German bars in NYC to playing "guess the wine" with Restaurant Eve's sommelier, I know she'll always be up for whatever I can find!

We kicked off the weekend by meeting another friend for dinner at Oyamel. While I love Mexican food, I have to be honest and say that I wasn't particularly interested in this restaurant (which I walk past on my way to work) until I saw the Washingtonian's review of their spiced hot chocolate. As raving fans of Haagen Dazs' Mayan Chocolate ice cream, I thought J and I should most definitely review the hot chocolate ourselves.

The restaurant itself is fun and beautiful. The different levels between the main entrance/bar, lower seating area and back room give the relatively small space an open feel (even with the hanging butterfly mobiles, arched corridor-like ceiling in front of the bar and glass partitions to the back room). Various hues of orange and dramatic candelabras dripping with melted max, give the Day of the Dead theme a warm spotlight in front of the windowed store front.
(I particularly loved the shadow-box tile in the unisex bathroom - thanks to the blogger who had a picture for me to share.)

Oyamel's menu consists mostly of antojitos, or 'small plates'. Being particularly hungry, J and I had already bookmarked an assortment of 5 plates that we wanted to try when our on-time friend arrived. We all agreed on our choices, ordered the food and some drinks. Being at a Mexican restaurant that offered more types of tequila than I'd ever seen, the list of tequila concoctions looked amazing. I went with our waitress' recommendation: the Oyamel Pomegranate Margarita w/ pomegranate, agave nectar, Cointreau, Jose Cuervo, and lime. The best part of the nicely shaken drink was the "salt air" - a thick layer of salty foam floating on top. (Totally made me think of Marcel and his concoctions on Top Chef.) J went with the "Old Fashion" cocktail. A twist on the traditional, Oyamel's is made with Siembra Azul Reposado, pomegranate, mango, orange bitters and agave. Both were fantastic.

Without question, we started our meal with the table-side preparation of guacamole. The traditional ingredients were super fresh and chunky. Green tomatillo, serrano chili and crumbled queso fresco were delicious additions. We were very sad when our chips could no longer wipe more green deliciousness from the bottom of the stone bowl.

From there we enjoyed a red snapper ceviche, steamed mussels in a delicious tequila-based sauce, a grilled skirt steak with guajillo chili and crushed peanuts, and albóndigas (meatballs) in chipotle sauce with crumbled ‘double cream’ cheese and cilantro. The snapper gave the ceviche a rich texture, the mussels were small, tender and their sauce was made sweeter by shaved onions, the skirt steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the meatballs were well-marbled and very flavorful. Over all of these wonderful dishes, however, my favorite was the "Sopes de Frijol Con Hoja de Aguacate": Traditional corn flour cake topped with refried black beans, ground avocado leaf, queso fresco cheese and a salsa negra of chipotle chiles and piloncillo sugar. The dense texture of the small round cakes gave the slightly-sweet, moist topping a perfect platform. The touch of sugar balanced and enhanced the smokiness of the chipotle and the 'brightness' of the cheese. I love sharing small plates! You have the opportunity to try a whole assortment of delicious dishes.

For dessert, I had only one thing on my mind - Chocolate Caliente. The waitress brought out a clay pitcher of hot milk and a small bag of the secret chocolate mix (cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla beans and cloves). She used an interesting wooden utensil to incorporate the powered mix: the plunger/stave/dash-like instrument had a hollow carved base and ornate rings that swirled the milk when rolled between your palms. We all "ahhh-ed" at the delicious smell of the cocoa mix and the warm milk as the prepared drink was poured into our cups. It was just so delicious! The resulting beverage didn't taste like a powder had been mixed into it at all. It was perfectly blended, rich and fragrant (but not overpowering). It was like a more comforting, less-chocolate-y version of Mayan Chocolate ice cream.

J's and my hot chocolate verdict? Definitely go have some!

Domasoteca: Chocolate and Wine

Yesterday, I returned back to my apartment in Northern VA after taking my first vacation from my full-time job. I went skiing in Colorado with three friends - we cooked some fantastic meals and drank 9 of the 10 bottles of wine that we brought with us.

After spending some time on washingtonian.com and thelistareyouonit.com (two of my favorite sites for finding great food news around DC), I found a listing for a free event at Domaso Trattoria's new goumet shop, Domasoteca. Located in the lobby of Hotel Palomar in Arlington, this "global wine experience" opened last month and offers fresh breads and various wine goodies. Today they were hosting a free chocolate and wine tasting. The VA Wine Showcase was happening out in Dulles, but it was $35 and I knew I'd want to drink more than I should with the drive.

I arrived at Hotel Palomar about 45min early for the 3-6pm event with the intention of picking up a 'gourmet' sandwich for lunch. I met one of Domaso's chefs in the shop; he made me my sandwich of choice as I gushed my excitement for potentially finding a new dessert wine that compared to the Harvest Moon 2007 Late Harvest Zin I had when visiting the Russian River Valley last winter. (That Late Harvest means a lot to me and, when I tasted it for the first time, the owner of the winery, Randy, served us with perfectly-matched dark chocolate. I promptly bought the wine and the chocolate.) The Domaso chef happened to know of Harvest Moon Winery and I thought that was pretty awesome.

I went back into the small hotel lobby and asked the doorman if there was a more appropriate place for me to eat my sandwich (as the small arrangement of curvy stools by the window didn't seem the place to unwrap my lunch.) He smiled and said he had the perfect place. I was lead up to the 4th floor "living room" where the most chill music and retro granite-clad two-sided fireplaces were waiting. The doorman, Gareth, welcomed me to choose any seat, to put my feet up and enjoy the fire. I was very glad to have worn nice jeans, and nicer shoes to the tasting - the space was incredible.

The 'living room' was located outside the entrance to Domaso Trattoria. I took a glance at the menu and made a mental note to definitely make reservations sometime soon with a person I know would love the space.

I went back down to Domasoteca at 3 for the tasting. I was in the first group - 5 of us stood at a counter with 5 red wines and a box of 7 different-cocoa-percentage chocolates. We each took a piece of each percentage, ranging from 37% to 99% cocoa. The first two wines were dinner (vs. dessert) wines. I didn't make note of the first, but it was good to experience how its dryness was balanced by the sweeter chocolate and how the higher-percentage chocolates brought out too much acidity of the wine.

The second wine was a sparkling red shiraz from south Australia called Paringa. I had never had a sparkling red before it was chilled and very fun on the tongue. It is fruity but dry and almost bubbled the lovely chocolate taste off my tongue. When asked, the sommelier said that it was best alone before a meal, or paired with a chilled duck/steak salad. At $9.99 (the cheapest of the offerings, by far) I bought 3 bottles. One for my wine shelf, one for the meal I'm planning to cook for a friend, and one for my father who's grilled duck salad recipe I'm planning to steal for the meal I'm cooking for my friend :) I knew it was a bag idea to bring my wine bag.

The third offering was a Portuguese Madeira - which I've never had before. (The Rare Wine Co. Historic Series Madeira, New York Malmsey Special Reserve, to be more specific.) Needlesstosay, the smoky espresso-like taste of it was so pleasant that I immediately smiled. The 60% and 70% (midrange) chocolates balanced the sweetness best. I don't have a good knowledge of what qualifies a 'fortified' wine , but the fact that this white-grape made wine will last on my shelf opened gave me good reason to pay $50 for the bottle.

The fourth wine was a port. I've had a few ports (tawny, vintage and this late bottled vintage) and I guess I'm just not a fan. I always feel like there is too much alcohol in the taste and cannot drink more than a sip or two. The chocolate still tasted good.

I was most excited for the final offering, a Late Harvest 100% Monstrell wine from Jumilla, Spain. I've only had one other wine from Jumilla, called Pico Madama, at the restaurant Lima in DC. (Both the wine and the restaurant were incredible.) This Late Harvest was just amazing. It made me so so happy. It is super deep in color, and sweet enough to stand alone as dessert, but best paired with very high-percentage cocoa. It is called 2004 Olivares, Dulce Monastrell. At $33/bottle, it was comparable to my Harvest Moon favorite. I bought a 70% cocoa bar to accompany the bottle.

Overall, the event was wonderful. The new store lost power in the middle of the pairing, but it didn't stop people from coming in or the employees from continuing the tasting. The owner of the store, Christianna Sarget rang-up my order and gave me a 10% discount for coming. There is another discount if I go to dinner at Domaso before Sunday. I plan on trying to get in on a hotel-guest-only tasting that Gareth told me about on Saturday afternoon, then staying to enjoy a meal later that night. It will be my first restaurant review :)