Gee, Street Food?

When a new lunch opens near the White House, it generates a decent amount of buzz, and generally crowds for at least a little while. Lots of folks work around there, and top lunch places are in high demand. As such, there was definite excitement when it was announced that a mediocre lunch place (Ecco Cafe) was being rebranded as a great-sounding “street food” place, featuring street foods from around the world.

As G Street Food (located on G near 17th NW in DC) opened recently, the buzz was still with it, and we quickly decided we needed to make it a priority to go there at lunch to try it out. When we arrived it was moderately crowded, but nothing more than Ecco ever got.

There's a big menu board when you first walk in to G Street Food and get in line. This contains specials, rotating features and staples. All of the stuff looked reasonably interesting, but we all agreed that there were not a lot of jump-off-the-page items and also not much that was very recognizable as street food. They have a sausage of the day with the highly recognizable Chicago hot dog on Tuesday, but the other days had bratwurst with kimchi and chorizo with an Indian-like sauté in a Middle Eastern saj bread. I find it hard to believe that those combinations actually exist somewhere on the street, as they seem a bit too cross-cultural.

There were lots of breakfast pastries, including tiny Montreal bagels, a tatine and pizza of the day, the Vietnamese pork sandwich bahn mi and a variety of other tatines, sandwiches and salads. Again, only several items really seemed like they would lend themselves to being street food (who gets salad on the street?). And absent were street food classics: burrito, quesadilla, crepe, Middle Eastern halal bowl, Asian dumpling and potsticker, Indian curry, samosa, Philly cheesesteak, Po Boy, Korean ba bim bop. I could go on. Instead what was there was eclectic if not esoteric, and just NOT ringing of street food to me. Even the presentation, in awkward paper bowls with no lid made portability – a street food must – very difficult and awkward.

What I ordered – the chorizo in saj – was actually very tasty. The chorizo was spicy and very flavorful, and served in the thin crispy saj bread with a terrific sauté of greens, paneer-like cheese, spices and chickpeas served with very good fries. It was a delicious meal, and the flavors melded together wonderfully in each bite. I was not complaining about that. Nine dollars for a sausage is a bit much, but it was tasty. But even this seemed like a combo of three cultures and a bit contrived for street food. Unfortunately, my compatriots weren't quite so pleased with the taste and preparation of what they ordered.

But for now, I'll say the taste and quality is good at G Street Food, but executing the key design – the design that's going to bring me and many others back again and again – is failing right now. Bring me AUTHENTIC street food treasures that I've never heard of from all around the world and dazzle me, but also keep me coming back with some of the street food that we know, love and identify with. Make me know – and not question – that its “street food” on “G” not just “food” on “G Street.”

Woe is Breadline

I totally foresaw Breadline's tragic fall from fortune. And there are witnesses. Or just the fact that I boycotted one of DC's formerly hottest lunch spots more than four months before its temporary August closure for health code violations. Only 2 months before my boycott, I even endorsed and lauded Breadline on this very site (see below).

My newfound complaints at the time were due to inconsistency in ingredient quality, taste and preparation. Sometimes the ham, turkey and Russian dressing tasted as divine as Breadline's high quality reputation and price tag prescribed. Other times the ham was gelatinous, the turkey full of gristle and the Russian dressing, well, rancid-tasting. I gave it more than enough chances before privately deriding the establishment to all the Breadline fans I knew, and ceased my patronization. But none of the other devout Breadliners (the witnesses I alluded to above) heeded my warnings, and before long I thought I was the crazy one.

Turns out Breadline didn't refrigerate its food properly. Among quite a number of health code violations. Whoops. Crow was eaten. My palette screamed for joy that its reputation was justified. And I was no longer the nut who thought Breadline was not worth its weight in, well, bread.

To Breadline's credit though, it took the wakeup call in stride. Its doors were closed for a month or so, the familiar manager/expediter seemed to have been replaced, and most noticeably, there were no more premade sandwiches and other items lining the prep tables behind the counter. All of the sandwiches are now prepared fresh. What a concept! I feel lucky the improperly-stored meat, cheese and dressing that I had previously eaten hadn't gotten me (or anyone I knew) sick. It sure tasted like it could have.

About a month after its reopening, I was finally convinced to return to Breadline – nearly 6 months since my last visit. I was pleasantly surprised by the changes I noted above. I ordered one of my classic favorites, the French ham and Swiss sandwich on baguette. They made it fresh right then – something I had never seen before with this cold sandwich – and the result was wowing. It was actually good again! Same ingredients – high quality ham, cheese, butter and bread – but completely different story, as these were fresh, plentiful and tasty. I went back again and got the same sandwich a week later and it was good again. What a start!

Now my third time back was just yesterday and I was finally ready to order the fresh turkey sandwich with Russian dressing, a sandwich I once declared a dream sandwich, but also one that nearly made me sick several times prior to my boycott. I believe it is the only food that I am repulsed by due to a bad experience. Unfortunately, while the sandwich was colder than before and did not taste rancid, that once-beautiful, fresh roasted turkey meat still contained ungainly fat and gristle and still REMINDED me of the rancid-tasting turkey sandwiches that I may forever associate with turkey or at least Breadline. The Russian dressing was still awful, though again, not rancid. I'm starting to think they have a bad recipe. The bread was good. As usual.

Breadline didn't lose me this time. I'm all for giving more chances, and I'm convinced that their violations are behind them and that they are still capable of making good food. Their turkey sandwich and its fall from fortune will perhaps be the lasting personal scar that Breadline will never be able to make go away for me. But the bigger scar for Breadline is the scar of the closure itself. Yes, diehard fans may have forgiven and forgotten, but when I've been in there recently the line has been noticeably shorter, the tables not close to the crammed-full of old, the crowd not even close to as dense an hour before or an hour after the main noon rush as it used to be. There used to be a line out the door practically from 11 to 3. No longer. We customers are fickle. Especially when their sky-high prices of old have not fallen a penny. Perhaps Breadline isn't off everyone's list, but it certainly isn't at the top of many anymore either. It's hard to get to the top in the crazily competitive lunchtime market in a large downtown area. Breadline was there in DC and they blew it. But kudos to them for lifting their heads back up and trying to grind away once again, this time the right way. It's what will likely keep them on my list at all in the future.

The Hunt for Brigafood

Every 100 years, out of the deep mist, appears an enchanted Scottish village, or Indian food cart. And if you miss this magical moment, it shall be lost once again for 100 long, foodless turns of the calendar…

Call me Ishmael. Call me Tommy Albright. As long as you can find me Fojol! Fojol Brothers of Merlindia that is: a traveling Indian street food cart that bears the fictional moniker and serves up some incredible Indian grub to the working folks of Washington DC every hundred years when they appear out of the mist. Or so it seems.

This cart frustratingly bounces around DC, seemingly in a longer and more erratic orbit than I originally inferred when I was first told of the wonder of Fojol's food. The only clues as to their whereabouts are their extremely inconsistent and sparse updates of their Twitter page (on the day of only). Yet wherever their colorful truck, blaring hippie anthems to the surrounding streets and their patrons alike, happens to be, the word spreads like wildfire and the patrons arrive in swarms. The line quickly gets 20 or 30 deep or more and stays that way for the duration of that day's lunch.

My buddy Eric and I started searching for Fojol every day at lunchtime at least a month ago after we saw them one day in Farragut Square with an insane line. We were fools enough to bypass this alleged amazing experience and went elsewhere. After realizing our blunder we vowed to keep searching, every day at lunch, until we were as maniacally committed as Captain Ahab was to his quest for Moby Dick. But it would not elude us. Fortune struck just last Thursday when we were least expecting it. Fojol had returned to Farragut! Plus, we had noticed early and were able to get in line even before the word had completely spread. And NOW the magic would finally happen!

So simple though, was this magic. Fojol has four (seemingly variable) Indian dishes. Our day, it was chicken curry, buttered chicken, chickpeas and pumpkin. You can pick 1, pick 2 or pick 3, and they heap large amounts of each over basmati rice in successively larger biodegradable containers (with biodegradable plastic forks even) depending on your selection. I picked all but the pumpkin (sorry, had to play it safe: no gourd today) and was highly satisfied and impressed. It really was high quality Indian food, exploding with flavor, and in this context is just fantastic. It tastes amazing – it's why they're so highly reputed – but it's at least in part due to that sweet taste of victory for even making a Fojol lunch happen.

And the buzz was certainly in force. As the line grew and grew, we were hearing the whispers on the street, in our building, everywhere. Everyone wanted some of that hype. Did they desperately want one of their famous mango lassi popsicles? Did they yearn for some of the delicately flavored Indian fare, piled high? Or were they secretly and perhaps insanely obsessed with finding that little, musical street food truck before it faded into the mist of Farragut Square for another 100 years, or possibly forever? Or perhaps their nickname was Ahab and that was enough?

Severely mixed literary metaphors or not, there IS something to get excited about this lunchtime experience. So hunt with me. Mine starts again today.

…Or you could miss out on THE experience of well, the next HUNDRED years.

Metro Sushi Answers

In the mood for a light sushi lunch? Well often times I am. And it can be very tricky finding good sushi anywhere in the DC Metro area, let alone affordable, high quality, interesting, (in walking distance from work) and delicious sushi. Most people don't often want to spend any more than $10 for lunch, and usually the cheaper the better. That's tough at nearly any sit-down sushi restaurant and unfortunately knocks out even pre-made/pick-up sushi places, which are either still quite expensive or just not tasty enough.

So lost cause? Not quite. There is one place that does lunchtime sushi right – Met Cafe in the inner courtyard area off G street between 17th and 18th NW. I've been aware of it for a while but only have tried it a couple times recently. The place has a hot buffet for Asian-inspired lunches but the real gem is the sushi buffet. It is manned by an authentic sushi chef who really seems to care about the bar being clean, fresh, beautiful and stocked throughout the lunch service.

So how does it work? You go through the bar and get as much or as little as you want for $10.99 per pound. You're given your own personal pair of tongs – that are cleaned between usages – to take the sushi that are laid on beautiful, wooden sushi boards behind some half-glass. The rolls are big, vibrant and deluxe. Plus, the sushi chef is replenishing constantly, so the sushi is always extremely fresh.

So what was on the bar? You name it. Big pieces of tuna, salmon, shrimp and whitefish nigiri, along with countless large rolls. Not just basic tuna or California rolls, but spicy rolls, avocado rolls and even rolls topped with raw tuna or salmon as an added, luxe sushi garnish. These are rolls that would cost $7-$13+ each at any restaurant are sold here at weight. You can take one piece of each, or 10 pieces of one, and it's all the same. It's great!

And how IS this dream sushi? Superb. As good as any restaurant sushi I've had lately in this area. The fish was fresh and cut very well. The rice was flavorful, and each roll piece was loaded with flavor, and no sushi filler (i.e. cucumber) could be found. It was almost addictingly good. Just couldn't wait to go back. I was thrilled!

So how much did I pay for this? I was so excited that I loaded up and got certainly enough to be a dinner portion. And yet – it was still under a pound and cost under $10 for the sushi. On a normal day (like my second visit), a lunch portion for me only cost $6 or $7. Now THAT is a place to know. Great taste, great quality, great variety, great price. Great sushi! Met cafe: go there, but leave a little sushi for me.

Ham and Cheese War

Two popular DC lunchtime eateries that I've mentioned and touted before: The Breadline and Cafe Phillips. One sandwich, the classic ham and cheese – one of my absolute favorites. Who wins the ham and cheese war? We shall see.

In general, both places can be fantastic, but both definitely have their down days, so this is not a battle of the establishments. That would have to be a longer discussion.

The Ham: Breadline's is Madrange French ham, a thinly-sliced, deli-style ham with a lot of smoky, savory flavor. However, once or twice the the ham tasted old, and that's a real turn off. Usually it's moist and very flavorful though. Phillips' ham is made in-house, fresh-daily along with their turkey and roast beef, and is carved thickly and generously as you order it. It is moist and very flavorful but is not sweet at all and still has that deli smokiness. This is a must. ADVANTAGE? Phillips.

The Cheese: A deep, pungent and high-quality Swiss cheese is the only option they give you for this sandwich at the Breadline, and it is a very nice one. The powerful flavor of the cheese works well with the tang and smoke of the ham. At Phillips, the cheese is your choice of a menagerie of pre-sliced, deli varieties including Swiss, Provolone and Muenster. None are too exciting, flavorful or memorable. ADVANTAGE? Breadline.

The Bread: The most underrated portion of a great sandwich, Breadline realizes this, and true to its namesake bakes a great assortment of breads fresh each day. The ham sandwich comes on half of a French baguette. Crusty and flavorful outside with a moist, fresh inside, it is a great bread. It's never stale and plays well as a house for the rest of the sandwich. You have to be ready for a lot of bread though, as the bread-to-innards ratio is pretty high. At Phillips, the bread is not baked fresh there, but it is usually fresh and not packaged-tasting if you choose the right one. The hoagie roll, sub roll and Ciabatta are a sampling of the good bets. I get it on the Ciabatta, and it was surprisingly good bread, crusty and tasty. Plus it packs its punch while still being only a thin layer compared to the rest of the sandwich. ADVANTAGE? Breadline.

The Condiments: The Breadline keeps it simple and French and serves it to you with a small amount of some high quality butter. And that's all. This is certainly a tasty and rich addition, but not something I look to eat all the time. At Phillips, they offer to cover your sandwich with any of probably 20 toppings, but only a few usually look that enticing. I like the hot, whole-grain mustard. Theirs isn't that hot, but it’s a nice calorie-free complement to the ham. ADVANTAGE? Phillips.

The Cost: Breadline's notoriously high prices do not bypass the ham and cheese. At roughly $9, that can be a little steep for a sandwich, no matter how good. Phillips' ham and cheese runs around $7, which seems like an overall more reasonable price for a sandwich, especially considering they do their own ham. ADVANTAGE? Phillips.

The Size: Both sandwiches are huge. Big enough for two lunches, and I'm not just saying that. I almost always save the other half of either for another meal. ADVANTAGE? Push, but with a slight lean toward Phillips due to theirs costing less.

The Verdict: While both are terrific sandwiches that do the ham and cheese proud, Breadline's occasional dud (due to non-fresh ham) and higher cost despite overall slightly higher quality is enough for Phillips the Underdog to pull ahead and squeak out a win in the Ham and Cheese war. Ham & Cheese ADVANTAGE? Café Phillips over The Breadline for the title.

A Tale of Two Half-Sandwiches

I went to Heidi's, a New York-esque deli on H street near 17th in DC, and ordered the salami and provolone sandwich on fresh ciabatta with red onions, spicy mustard and lettuce. I had been here before and knew they made good sized, good quality, good tasting sandwiches. I had even gotten the salami before and quite enjoyed it. I actually eat salami and related meats quite rarely, but quite enjoyed my Heidi's version enough about 6 months ago that I randomly decided to get it again. Plus all of their sandwiches are easily large enough to really be two lunches, so in a cash and calorie saving move, I already had the second half wrapped up and in the office fridge for the next day's lunch before I even cracked the first half.

Somewhat unfortunately, this sandwich was not quite as memorable as the first. The bread was crusty but quite brittle and stale, and didn't even seem like the same bread as the pillowy, chewy “fresh” ciabatta I had had last time. The lettuce was kind of wilty and added nothing to the sandwich, and they forgot the provolone. They also went way too heavy on the mustard. The salami was generous and nice and tangy, and red onions make everything better, but the complements were not making this a truly enjoyable half-sandwich. I dreaded the next day's lunch a little and knocked Heidi's down my list of lunch places near the White House.

When it came down to eating the other half of the sandwich the next day, I was none too excited. I decided that it really could not be messed up too much more than Heidi's already had, so I decided to go out on a limb and try to make this sandwich better using my limited resources at work.

First I needed to make that bread moister – it was barely even edible the day prior. I also needed to bring out some lacking flavors and lose a little of the mustard. So I discarded the lame lettuce and with it about a third of the mustard. I also sprinkled a little water on each side of the sandwich bread and decided to go for a hot sandwich to help the bread moisten with this added water and draw out the flavors of the salami more by heating the sandwich. So I wrapped this now-wetted hunk of weird sandwich in its paper and stuck it in the microwave on high for over a minute. When it was done, it was hot and sizzling. I let it cool and opened the paper....

To my delight, the bread was nice and moist, and the now-cooked salami and onions were as well, with the help of the added moisture that sort of steamed and sizzled the sandwich within the confines of its paper cooking vessel. The salami tasted richer, tangier and deeper and played great with the tender and flavorful onions, the remaining mustard and the way-less-stale bread. It tasted more decadent now, even though the only thing I added was water. It actually turned into a really tasty half-sandwich. Really tasty! And the texture was nice as well – it even appeared quite appetizing after the mangling it went through.

While my “MacGuyver” cooking tactics might have been a little low-brow, the ultimate sandwich reminded of something of a much higher quality, but at the very least was far more edible and enjoyable than the “fresher” first half from Heidi's the day before. Sometimes you do what you have to do to enjoy your lunch. Or maybe I'm just weird and got lucky this time.

Dream Sandwich

Every once in a while I come across a dish at a restaurant or other eatery that literally impresses me to the point of sheer happiness. Something as simple as an incredible soup or inventive pizza can make me remember a place for a lifetime. A dream dish, so to speak.

Take Bread Line, a popular soup, sandwich and salad joint near the White House (near Penn and H). They use fresh, top line ingredients in creative uses and have different menu items each day. However, the place is overwhelming to say the least, as its always packed and zooey, yet the order taker seems to only be focused on you as soon as you're within his eyesight and he's barking for your order ten people back. Some people don't have the heart for it. Or the wallet, with most orders coming to at least ten if not fifteen dollars for lunch.

Needless to say there is still a lot of hype around it and it is one of the best lunch places around. But to this point I've never been all that impressed. The soups seem lazy, the salads heavy and most of the special sandwiches a little overdone. So lately when I have ended up there, I've found my niche in their regular menu items. Often overlooked, this section contains some of the finer and simpler sandwiches than their far more hyped "special" brethren.

Which gets us to the turkey. The very first regular sandwich on the menu is so hidden away by all the specials and other garbage that my colleague, who has been going there for years, was unaware of the existence of the turkey until my recent discovery of it.

And oh what a discovery! It is so simple, so well done and so mouthwatering. It is a sandwich I'll be craving for a long time, and I'll have to restrain myself with lunches brought from home so as not to go and order it for 8 or more dollars several times per week.

Just imagine. Moist, fresh turkey, roasted daily in house – white and dark meat, piled high on Bread Line's own freshly baked, soft and pillowy ciabatta. Add a big pile of wild greens and a squirt of flavorful, delectable Russian dressing (no cheese needed) and it's done and perfect. It is a simple, delicious and masterful delight. The perfect meld of flavors and textures. Unparalleled in turkey sandwiches I've ever had before.

So now I can believe a little of the Bread Line hype, as long as they never get rid of the turkey sandwich. My dream sandwich. It's not every day I find a dish anywhere I'd be willing to dream about. So Bread Line deserves the credit – finally.

Ten From Bottom

It's hard to imagine going to a place enough times in five months to have had ten distinct dishes there. But then again, if a little lunchy pub with pretty decent, not-too-expensive food was around the corner from your work, making for a perfect Friday sit-down lunch spot for a group of you and your coworkers, then I'm sure you would have a much easier time believing that ten dishes is possible. And it is, at least at The Bottom Line near Eye Street and 17th Street NW in DC.

Soups, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, quesadillas, plates. Very lunchy. Very standard. Very dimly lit. But it has a unique charm and quality about it for its price that apparently keeps drawing me and my coworkers back on many Fridays. So now that you get the gist, without any further adieu, let's see if I can really get to ten.

1. Cheddar Burger: Their burgers are what they are known for, and I can't disagree. They're a bit awkward, as they are served on wide hot dog buns and thus shaped a little oblongly, but I think that actually gets you more burger. Plus, it's a great burger – always cooked to perfection with flavor and succulence. The mass of cheddar cheese they put on top, along with the standard burger toppings, makes this an awesome midday treat every so often.

2. Chalatenango Burger: They have about fifteen great burgers, but this is one of the more unique ones. It's the same great cheddar burger but with jalapenos and salsa on top. It sounds like a bit much at first, but it's not overwhelming and actually has a great flavor. The salt and spice really make it memorable for a burger.

3. Veggie Burger: Julia really likes their veggie burger, I think mostly because it's actually not a frozen one, a rare thing to find. They say it is made out of oats, brown rice and mushrooms, so that itself is interesting. It always looks very pretty, with a single slice of Provolone cheese melted over the top. I tried a couple bites, and for a veggie burger, is actually quite nice.

4. Roast Turkey Sandwich: Bottom Line's deli sandwiches leave much to be desired. The only one I ever ordered was supposedly roasted turkey on rye. It was actually bland, lunchmeat style turkey on the least rye-like, most Wonderbread-like pieces of bread I have had in quite sometime. Enough said. Not impressive.

5. French Onion Soup: I think I had seen every single one of my coworkers order this soup at least twice before I finally ordered it myself. It's Bottom Line’s house soup, and I am a huge French onion soup fan, so it was only a matter of time. The soup itself was pretty tasty, but not nearly as rich and hearty and deep-flavored as other great onion soups. The other problem was it was shrouded in an obscenely thick layer of cheese. I am all about cheese and croutons on the French onion soup but this was pushing it towards more cheese than soup. Plus, it wasn't an interesting French cheese like gruyere or fontina. I swear it was mozzarella.

6. Chicken and Almond Salad: Bottom Line actually has a fair amount of things that try to be healthy on the “lighter fare” section of the menu. The fact that that section contains the aforementioned French Onion Soup and Half A Sandwich makes me seriously wonder though. One of the healthiest items is actually not on that menu, but is the chicken and almond salad. It is hunks of barbecued chicken breast over salad with almonds, mandarin oranges, a little hard-boiled egg and tomatoes. With a light oil and vinegar, the salad was tasty, fresh and loaded with healthy components. A real winner for me.

7. Buffalo Chicken Sandwich: The grilled chicken sandwiches at Bottom Line seem to be quite popular. I bought into it once and ordered the Buffalo sandwich, a Buffalo-flavored grilled breast with some bleu cheese and Buffalo sauce. While it kind of tasted like Buffalo, it seemed a little forced. The flavor was pretty ordinary and the sandwich itself was a bit on the anemic side. The chicken was only like a quarter inch thick tops.

8. Cobb Salad: A pretty standard Cobb, how could they really go wrong? Well they didn't except for forgetting my bleu cheese, which is kind of crucial to a Cobb. It did have nice thick pieces of bacon and avocado and egg and a nice light dressing that made the salad enjoyable and not too heavy. The bleu would have been nice, but I suppose it made the salad a little healthier that they forgot and it was still tasty.

9. Mexican Wrap: My coworkers are also quite fond of the Bottom Line quesadillas, although I have never actually ordered one myself. I did try from their Mexican-inspired section, a Mexican wrap sandwich. It kind of had all the elements of a burrito, but in a wrap – grilled chicken, cheese, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado. I guess that's it, but in retrospect that sounds only mildly Mexican or burrito-like. In truth it could have been a really good sandwich, but the cheese was shredded and unmelted, which gave it kind of a chalkiness, and the chicken was over-marinated in some sort of vinaigrette, which really took away from the Mexican mentality of this wrap. Not horrible by any means, but frankly I could do better.

10. Blackened Tuna Steak Sandwich: I was a little surprised when I saw this on their menu, but when I asked the waiter, he said the sandwich was great blackened or grilled and that the tuna was fresh and high grade. So I ordered the sandwich medium rare and they cooked it to perfection, with a great blackened spice crust on the outside and the perfect pink in the middle. For only $10, this was quite a bargain, in my opinion, for one of the better fish sandwiches I have had in a while, and probably one of the better pieces of tuna I've had in a while.

Check out my reviews of these places in even more detail at Menuism.com!