Before he was “the most powerful activist in America,” Ady Barkan was, above all else, a loyal reader of this blog. OK, he did some other stuff too. But he did read this blog, and comment on the recipes, and even, once, send me a recipe – for pistachio pesto, which I made and thought was delicious, but never blogged about. I don’t know why. It was 2012. Maybe I was too busy humming Call Me Maybe. Anyway, I was thinking about that pesto, and Ady, the other day, for no particular reason...| The Pasta Man
Note: this is an updated version of the most popular Pasta Man post of all time. Oysters are special occasion food. You can’t have them any old day. They’re bought and sold in the shell. Alive. And they’re so expensive. A dollar a bite, at least. And if you don’t live on a coast, just forget it completely. There is no way you are having oysters cheaply and deliciously on a weeknight. Everything you know is a lie. Smoked oysters are pretty cheap (three dollars for a can o...| The Pasta Man
The best Chinese noodles you aren’t eating There is a Sichuan noodle dish that is wildly popular in Chengdu, extremely delicious, easy to make… and yet (as far as I can tell) unknown in the United States and to the English-speaking Internet. Thick, toothy noodles smothered in chili oil with sesame and a bit of sugar, topped with a mess of peanuts – these noodles are spicy, savory, nutty, chewy, rich, sweet. In a word, mind-blowing. And yet the only way that you can have them is by (a) h...| The Pasta Man
Here’s my personal favorite way of serving dumplings – a rich, spicy, complex, astoundingly delicious Sichuan sauce. This is called zhong shui jiao or just “dumplings in hot chili oil.” But that understates the depth of the sauce: chili oil is just one ingredient, along with fresh garlic, which is “spicy” in its own way, as well as so-called concocted soy sauce (soy sauce boiled down with brown sugar and warming spices), which lends a caramely yet also deep and earthy flavor. I al...| The Pasta Man
Hey, I made it to one of the hottest new places in DC: Bad Saint, a chefy take on Filipino food. This was really good! Bold, original flavors, reasonable prices, fun cocktails, and a cool atmosphere with an open kitchen. Some favorites: sweet potato fritters with whole head-on shrimp mixed into the batter, deliciously crunchy with an unexpected mix of flavors and deep-fried goodness, combined with a tangy fish sauce-sauce. An incredible black bean and bitter melon salad that was funky, sa...| The Pasta Man
I made it to Maketto here in DC over Labor Day weekend. Great space, small on the inside with lovely outdoor seating, and pretty incredible food. They say it is Taiwanese-Cambodian, which sounds a little hipster obnoxious (the place is a little hipster obnoxious), but who cares when the food is this good. Hipster on: The restaurant is on H street… Probably the best thing we had was this Taiwenese fried chicken, which was perfectly crunchy with a tart citrus sauce that all gets piled ont...| The Pasta Man
I once read a book about a high school where an alumnus was obsessed with fried zucchini and the students hated fried zucchini, but the alumnus was a really nice guy and no one wanted to offend him so everyone buried the zucchini under the football bleachers, but then hamsters started eating the zucchini, which made them breed rapidly, which made the alumnus provide even more fried zucchini, which made the problem worse, until it reached the point where hundreds of hamsters flooded the footba...| The Pasta Man
I was in Philly a few weeks ago with some old friends and we ended up gorging ourselves on pho the whole time. In other words, it turned into… a pho-eekend. Philly: a great place for pho. Who knew? Pho-reaking awesome. There was also a tripe sandwich:| The Pasta Man
There’s a new Chinese place in the 14th street corridor here in DC, called 14th Street Cafe Asian Bistro. It’s actually just a block down from Great Wall Szechuan House, at 14th and P NW. Hey, it’s pretty good! Not quite on par with some of the places in the suburbs, but it gives Great Wall a run for its money, and the menu of “authentic” Chinese food is significantly bigger. Here we had a really tasty cumin lamb dish, beef with “hot oil” (really nice, with lots of vegeta...| The Pasta Man
A few months ago, I told you how to make not-creamy Caesar salad dressing. I know, you have been waking up in the middle of every night since then, your heart pounding, thinking: What if I want my dressing creamy?! Is that even possible?! The answer is yes and it’s even easier to make than not-creamy dressing. To wit: The secret to not-creamy dressing: you use a whole egg, not just an egg yolk. That’s it! If it seems like it should be more complicated than that, I have this for you: not...| The Pasta Man
THE SUPER BOWL IS COMING. Ok, so maybe such enthusiasm isn’t warranted, what with cheaters gonna cheat, cheat cheat cheat and all, but make like Tom Brady and don’t fumble the Super Bowl snacks. Hmmm. To wit, here’s a great variation on typical buffalo wings, easy to make for a crowd and mighty spicy and delicious: a tasty blend of one of my favorite ingredients, gochujang (fermented pepper paste), with garlic and ginger to make a sauce that you serve with crispy roasted chicken wings. ...| The Pasta Man
I was recently in Mexico and man, do they do meats right there. You may think that the best thing about tacos is the innovation of stuffing meats in a delicious tortilla, but you’d be mistaken: the best thing about tacos en México is the incredible fillings, such as succulent salty beef, earthy stewed turkey with egg, or pork cooked for fifty-seven hours. For this truly delicious taco filling, I cut the cooking from fifty-seven hours to six in a slow cooker, and used some clever Mexican-st...| The Pasta Man
You may or may not know that Connecticut is the best state in the country for pizza. And if you do know that Connecticut is the best state in the country for pizza, you may or may not know that Pepe’s and Sally’s (and maybe Modern) are the famously best places for pizza (though I’m actually partial to Bar). In any event, even if you know that Connecticut is the best state in the country for pizza, and even if you know about Pepe’s (and Sally’s and Modern and Bar), you may or may...| The Pasta Man
One of the many things that I like about banana bread is the way it rewards procrastination. Oh, you left a bunch of bananas on the counter until they were overripe and started to attract fruit flies? Usually, this kind of situation would end badly for our hero: you snooze, you lose; the early bird gets the worm; etc. But not with banana bread. No, banana bread rewards our hero with a rich, delicious treat that can only be made once those bananas get a little gross. Banana Bread Man?...| The Pasta Man
House guests brought us fresh pumpkin pasta from Eastern Market and black truffle oil. I fried up some sage and topped it all with some parmesan. Yum. Recipe: FRESH PASTA WITH FRIED SAGE, TRUFFLE OIL, PARMESAN 1 lb fresh pasta (store bought or homemade) ½ bunch fresh sage, stems removed and discarded truffle oil, to taste parmesan, to taste olive oil for frying 1. Add two large glugs of oil to pan over medium-high heat. When beginning to shimmer, add sage and cook until starting to c...| The Pasta Man
Some things are just a flash in the pan (cough Jeremy Lin cough), and other things stay with you through the years. I’ve done this dish (Jeremy Linguine) several times on this blog, and there’s a reason: it’s crazy good and easy. Rich, tangy, salty, peanut buttery, mildly spicy, twenty minutes or less. I crave this dish about every two weeks and have a post-it note of the recipe in my kitchen. Next to post-its with recipes for… well, that’s a secret, now isn’t it? In o...| The Pasta Man
I remember the first time I ever ate at Thai Tanic, our local neighborhood thai place. I remember thinking: this is… good! I mean, not best pad thai of your life on the streets of Bangkok good, but much better than you’d expect from the truly terrible name. Put this in the category of other things you don’t expect: Tsunami Sushi, the related place upstairs, randomly added a “traditional” Thai menu. In a neighborhood that already has Little Serow (not to mention Doi Moi), I...| The Pasta Man
Mark Bittman has a new cookbook out: How to Cook Everything Fast. Which is funny, because his recipes were always pretty fast. Maybe he should have called it “How to Cook Everything (Still Quickly After All These Years).” Or: “I Still Cook in Addition to Writing Op-Ed Columns.” Anyway, a lot of the pasta recipes look really good, but especially this pasta with squid and tomatoes. What’s amazing is how little cooking is required – this is really a six ingredient dish – ...| The Pasta Man
Up in Adams Morgan, Johnny Pistolas celebrates a Taco Tuesday of its own. Two dollar tacos, cheap Corona, and a lively happy hour atmosphere. The price is right, but the tacos, while creative, are hit-or-miss in the flavor department. Hmm. The Experience Johnny Pistola’s is a real sit-down restaurant with a full menu of Mexican food and cocktails, as well as pizza and some Asian food. Hmm. The most remarkable features of the dining room are the large window looking out on Adams Morga...| The Pasta Man
Hey, what if I told you there's a restaurant in downtown DC that does terrific versions of Jewish deli standards, and also mighty good more elaborate fine dining? I think you'd say, "Maybe there's a...| Tumblr