Annandale, Virginia has the proud traditions of an established Korean immigrant community – the Asian supermarket, specialty shops, and most importantly, Korean BBQ. A relative new arrival to Annandale, family-run Kogiya has established itself quickly among its multi-ethnic clientele as a high-quality and hip purveyor of barbecued meat and other Korean dishes. Groups both young…
Author: Theculinarydiplomat
100th Post – Sonoma, CA’s Martinelli Winery: Making me a believer in Zinfandel
Welcome to The Culinary Diplomat’s 100th post! Thank you to all of our readers – whether followers, casual readers, or a friend of myself or one of our Ambassadors (guest bloggers) clicking on a Facebook link once in a blue moon. Please keep sharing your comments, stories, and feedback about the blog. Do you have…
Burma Superstar: Proudly sharing Burmese cuisine with the San Francisco Bay Area
This post was written in coordination with guest blogger the mEAT Baron, who is perhaps Burma Superstar’s biggest fan and ardent ambassador. Isolated Burma and its cuisine aren’t well known in the U.S., but one restaurant and its satellites is working to change that. Burma Superstar of San Francisco transports one’s taste buds to the…
CD Ambassador/Guest Post: A tea scam in Shanghai
In today’s CD, our CD Ambassador, Fei-fei, shares one of her adventures in China. A Chinese-American, she never expected that an exciting, authentic experience in a teahouse would teach a valuable lesson for any culinary diplomat or world traveler: Don’t get too comfortable as an outsider; being a guest in someone else’s house doesn’t guarantee…
Yayla Bistro: A Turkish delight in Arlington, Virginia
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…
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…
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