Yayla Bistro is a new (2014) arrival to the East Falls Church neighborhood in the western corner of Arlington County, Virginia, but this family-run establishment has the polished and professional flavor, presentation, and service of a far more established, “celebrity chef” run restaurant. Yet it has the character and personal treatment of your favorite neighborhood…
Month: August 2015
Alpine hospitality in Tirol, Austria
Step back with me to another late August day a few years ago as I share the great experience that is small-town hospitality deep in the Austrian Alps of Tirol, Austria. My friends and I were fortunate enough to see through locals’ eyes the flavors of Austria – hearty pork, Alpine cheese, wine, and homemade…
Voodoo Doughnut-inspired “Memphis Mafia” ice cream
It is quite possibly the most ridiculous ice cream inspired by an equally ridiculous pastry. Here we have a surprisingly elegant but decadent ice cream, inspired by a gluttonous fritter that in turn is a pop food culture to Elvis Presley and his legendary love of (fried) peanut butter and banana sandwiches. What?? Such a…
Blackwood: Trendy Thai fusion in San Francisco
San Francisco is well known for its food culture. Its history of Asian immigration has made Asian cuisine -both traditional and fusion particularly strong. While the city’s Marina/Cow Hollow neighborhood is not exactly the place to go for authentic international dishes, its trendy cafes and enthusiastic crowds are the perfect atmosphere to play with modern…
Recipe Reinterpretation: Salt & Straw’s Strawberry-rhubarb pie coconut ice “cream”
Portland, Oregon’s Salt & Straw makes a killer coconut milk ice cream packed with gooey, tangy chunks of strawberry-rhubarb pie. I recreated it with easy to assemble ingredients. So great you won’t miss the dairy, and non-vegans will miss the fact that it can be vegan. After trying my sister’s scoop of Coconut with Petunia’s Strawberry…
Keeping cool and carrying on with chilled cucumber-avocado soup
Sometimes, salads get to be a bit mundane in the middle of a summer heat wave. That’s when a chilled gazpacho or other cold soup variant is a nice change of pace. My adaptation of a Martha Stewart Living recipe is a summer must-try: Summer-fresh English cucumbers add lightness and volume to the richness and…
Salt and Straw: Portland’s haute ice creamery
Lines stretching far beyond the door are commonplace at each of Portland, Oregon’s Salt and Straw ice cream shops. Locals and visitors alike flock to them – and for good reason. Salt and Straw is an ice cream innovator, concocting dairy and non-dairy ice cream varieties you won’t find anywhere else. By now, you know…
A tale of two cities’ taquerias: Portland vs. San Francisco
Within a week, I visited two taquerias in two American West Coast cities. Both specialize in delicious street style tacos, and both allow for a fast casual order/pay first and tacos are delivered by number to the table. Yet they each bore little resemblance to one another in all other areas. Which wins? Read on…
Stella Tacos – “Austin-style” Street tacos in Portland
Stella Tacos, a new storefront on eclectic Alberta Street in northeast Portland, is a great example of Portland’s vibrant food scene. Fresh ingredients, artful execution, and accessible prices make this Mexican an authentic Portland – if not Mexican – experience. Portland has an amazing food scene. But try to define Portland’s truly “local” or native…
The Culinary Diplomat 