A taste of Peru

I'll admit it - I'm a sucker for design. Smart packaging is important to me for its own sake. (Though it certainly helps if the thing inside the package is actually good...see Ciao Bella post below, for example.) Perhaps because of my bias toward all things pretty, I was sold on Adams Morgan's Peruvian outpost, Las Canteras, from the moment I set foot in in the intimate and charmingly decorated space. With walls painted a festive vermillion hue, accented by colonial era cast and wrought iron chandeliers and sconces, Las Canteras' beautiful dining room had me at "Hello." Or rather, "Dinner for two?"

Dinner for two, indeed, and what a dinner it was. Perhaps having undermined my own culinary journalism integrity by admitting my predilection for such frivolities as a restaurant's interior design, I shall have to be extra vigilant about my description of its food (the stuff inside the package), lest I succumb to aforementioned schoolgirl crush on the restaurant's good looks and start raving madly about the virtues of the creative Peruvian cuisine being served up in this looker of an eatery.

But, um, I'm going to rave anyway because, well, the food at Las Canteras is just that good.

You'll want to start your meal with the restaurant's coolly sophisticated take on a Pisco Sour, served in a slender flute and topped with a dollop of whipped egg white foam and a sprinkle of cinnamon. As Jason observed, the warm spicy notes of the cinnamon register more strongly as scent than taste, providing a multi-sensory foil to the cool citrus tang of the drink.

To begin the meal, our server brought us a basket of freshly baked bread, an arrival made even more welcome by the accompanying green chile spread, at once creamy, garlicky, and tear-inducingly spicy. Now, I've yet to encounter a bread basket that I didn't like, but with the addition of that smooth, yet spicy green chile spread, Robert C. Atkins himself would've wolfed the stuff down. The piquant spread was but a prelude, however, for the delights that await the palate at Las Canteras. As a serious shellfish lover, I swooned over our appetizer, the Choros a la Chalaca - sweet, plump mussels (nearly twice as large as any I've seen in a restaurant recently), topped with a mix of juicy chopped tomatoes, corn, and cilantro, all dressed in lemon juice, and elegantly served atop the incandescent mussel shells.

Those gorgeous mussels made me happy I'd gone with the Parihuela - a Peruvian bouillabaisse - for my main course, and the aromatic seafood soup did not disappoint. With generous portions of jumbo shrimp, mussels, clams, white fish, and calamari bathed in a steaming broth of wine, lime juice, and cilantro, the Parihuela had me begging our obliging server for another basket of bread with which to sop up every last drop of the spicy, briny juices. Equally worthy was Jason's entree, the Trio de Anticuchos, tender pieces of chicken, beef, and heart of beef, served with a side of garlicky mashed potatoes, corn, and lime-marinated red onion. As Jason noted, the starchy neutrality of the corn kernals served as a vessel to prolongue the other more aggressive flavors on the palate.

Alas, we were too full to order dessert, although the couple next to us ordered a Guava Flan that will definitely be on my short list for my next visit. Even with dozens more places in the neighborhood to check out, I have a feeling my next visit will be sooner than later.

Good to know:
Las Canteras is located at 2307 18th Street, NW. It's not a far walk from the Dupont Metro stop if you walk north from the circle on Connecticut Ave., cut right on Florida Ave., and then swing a left when you get to 18th Street. It's well worth the walk.

Photos taken from Las Canteras' website.

Ciao Bella, delicioso

Ciao Bella gelato: every bit as good as the cheerfully colored package design would suggest. Jason and I tried the wonderful Chocolate Hazelnut flavor the other night. Available at Whole Foods.

Photo by Flickr user Ji the Pee.

A tale of two cheese shops

So enamored am I with the decidedly delightful addition to the Penn Quarter neighborhood, Cowgirl Creamery, that I've had to actually restrain myself from blogging about it. The reason for my self-imposed delay? I decided that the only responsible thing to do would be to scope out Alexandria's Cheesetique in the Del Ray neighborhood for a bit of comparative due diligence. Well, as I suspected, both of the artisan cheese shops are veritable gourmet playgrounds, and I am now pretty equally enamored with both. Below are some vital stats.

Cowgirl Creamery
Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Easily accessible via Metro Center or Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stops
Selection: Cowgirl Creamery boasts the more extensive selection of the two shops. You can find everything from Nubian goat Alleghany Chevre, to the creamy sheep's milk Cave Aged Marisa, to cow's milk Marin French Triple Creme (as decadent as it sounds). Also, if you're looking for a particular cheese, their website offers a search function, allowing you to input milk type, treatment, etc. Cowgirl beats out Cheesetique if you're looking for a rare or very specific type of cheese.
Staff: Cowgirl Creamery was the better staffed of the two shops, with a whole host of friendly cheese enthusiasts ready to assist us with any questions or requests for samples. The staff at Cowgirl appeared truly passionate about the cheeses. When we asked one staff member about good fondue cheeses, she helpfully pointed us toward their pre-assembled fondue kits, and she made suggestions about what kind of wine would work well in the fondue.

Cheesetique
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Cheesetique is not quite as accessible as Cowgirl Creamery, but it's easily reachable by car.
Selection: Cheesetique has a perfectly respectable selection of artisan cheeses, including the ever-wondrous Humboldt Fog (pictured above). It's not quite as extensive as Cowgirl's selection, however. On the other hand, Cheesetique offers a broader array of complimentary non-cheese items, most notably a nice wine selection, as well as imported beer, gourmet salts, artisan honey, jams, crackers, cookies, and even serving dishes.
Staff: The salesperson who was working at Cheesetique was perfectly nice and helpful, although I noticed with amusement that she seemed a bit taken aback at the amount of cheese and cured meat we ordered. "Are you having a party?" I believe were her exact words. Um, no, we weren't having a party. We were, however, gathering ingredients to make this inarguably festive sandwich.

Depending on what kind of cheese shop experience you're looking for, both Cowgirl Creamery and Cheesetique offer much to recommend. Thankfully, there seems to be ample room in this town - and on my plate - for the both of 'em.

Photo of Humboldt Fog cheese by Flickr user Cheezemaster.

Vapiano, andiamo!

After enduring one too many disappointing happy hour experiences at the pan-Asian cafe/sushi spot/bar across the street from our office, my co-workers and I decided that it was time to branch out. In search of a suitable alternative, we wandered around the nightlife-challenged no-man's land that surrounds our office building, and were about to give up and go to Mackey's after collectively rejecting both Rumors and Sign of the Whale, where you can get hit on by aging frat boys wearing Ralph Lauren polo shirts in almost any hue in the color spectrum, or lose a slingback to the interminably sticky, beer-stained floor, respectively.

And then we stumbled upon the airy, casual-yet-sophisticated Vapiano, and after a quick peek inside revealed a refreshingly spacious layout, fresh rosemary growing in terracotta pots on each table, and a welcoming ceramic bowl of Gummi Bears, it was determined that Mackey's would have to wait.

Vapiano is actually a German-owned chain that serves upscale, but surprisingly affordable Italian-ish fare, and has a habit of opening locations in urban neighborhoods densely populated by, ahem, yuppies hungry for a slightly more grown-up iteration of your typical happy hour. (Area locations include M Street, Ballston, and - soon - Chinatown). Essentially, my co-workers and I are their target demographic, an observation confirmed by the scores of other post-work young professionals already populating Vapiano's space when we arrived at approximately 5:07 p.m.

It soon became clear why Vapiano has been consistently crowded since it opened the M Street location. From the cheerful, contemporary decor to the wide selection of build-your-own pasta and pizza to the nicely varied wine list (available by the bottle or the glass), Vapiano distinguishes itself amid a sometimes indistinguishable mass of preppy DC watering holes.

Another unique aspect of Vapiano is that every patron receieves a card upon entering (pictured above) on which you keep track of your purchases. At first, I was skeptical of the idea, as it seemed like it was just adding another step to the payment process, but in truth, it was pretty nice not to deal with cash all night, and to bypass the whole divvying-up-the-bill mess that sometimes accompanies happy hour with a group of people.

We ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a bottle of Malbec (which turned into several bottles of each as the evening progressed). We were also charmed by Vapiano's food menu, featuring thin-crust pizza (try the Capricciosa with ham, mushrooms, artichokes, olives, and mozzarella or the Rucola with parmesan and arugula - pictured above). At $7.25 to $10.25 per pie, it feels like a steal. Our order of bruschetta was also notable for the toasted garlic bread that stayed crisp even as it sagged under a bright pile of garlicky tomato and basil with olive oil.

Several hours later, we were happily full of aforementioned wine and pizza, and we left Vapiano already discussing our plans to return. The handfuls of Gummi Bears that we snagged on our way out seemed like the perfect ending to a thoroughly delightful evening. Indeed, Mackey's may have to wait a long, long time.

Good to know:
Vapiano is located at 1800 M Street, NW, an easy walk from either the Dupont Circle Metro or Farragut North Metro on the Red Line.

Photo by Flickr user Liquidx.