Can Opener

For a minute, I truly contemplated okra tacos. But I flinched, in a moment of lame vegetable aisle wimpiness, and so sweet corn became the taco night headliner. "Sweet corn is an emotional food when you eat it picked fresh from the field, just full of feelings, you just sit and you weep" (A Prairie Home Companion). Perhaps at Lake Wobegon. Here in DC, the most I can say is it sure is cheap and crunchy.
   

Speaking of corn, I was excited to see Open City (2331 Calvert St. NW), the overrated Woodley Park cousin of Adams Morgan's underrated 24-hour Diner (2453 18th St. NW) and Tryst (next door to The Diner) trying to work some magic with creamed corn. You see, creamed corn was a childhood staple in our house, served with Heinz vegetarian baked beans and grated Parmesan. Open City's version? A concocted coconut creamed corn side sold for $3.50 a bowl. I'd hate to hate on the yellowy, gooey, crunchy gruel, since I'm a pretty nostalgic fellow, but I'm going to stick with the Gedan corn-and-beans recipe.

There are a few things that I can recommend. The beer flight at Meridian Pint (3400 11th St. NW, opposite RedRocks); the family style lunch specials at the shadowy Magic Gourd (528 23rd St NW, in Foggy Bottom); everything at Pho 14 (1436 Park Rd. NW, in Columbia Heights), the biggest food bargain in DC, and that's including the deeply discounted Morningstar products at the nearby Target; the happy hour cocktails at Bar Dupont (1500 New Hampshire Av. NW), but only out on the patio; the phoenix roll (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna and avocado) ($12), a nice mix of mushy mashed tuna and crunchy fried shrimp, at Perry's (1811 Columbia Rd. NW, in Adam's Morgan), but only up on the roof; the Texas Burger ($11), slathered with smoky chipotle BBQ sauce and topped by pickles, fried onion straws and coleslaw, but with the upper bun brilliantly held aloft by a toothpick, keeping it blissfully unsoggy, served alongside gimmicky but tasty Tater Tots, at Tonic (2036 G St. NW, in Foggy Bottom); and finally, arguably the best meal in South Dupont Circle (other than the once-a-year free burgers and hot dogs and pizza served up in the Circle by the DC police), the barbacoa burrito at Tomatillo Taqueria, the Mexican takeout lunch stand at The Big Hunt (1347 Connecticut Ave. NW), served best with the spicy tomatillo sauce, fresh pico de gallo and guacamole (it's an extra $1 for the avocado) and sauteed onions, but it's cash only and closed from August 9-13.

Zakuski

Let me preface this post by saying that I in no way blame Lynne Rossetto Kasper for my many missteps on New Year's Eve. For the most part, the problems were, as ever, those of execution. That said, I'm really not sure what I could possibly have been thinking when I listened to an interview with food writer Diana Henry on The Splendid Table and decided to make Zakuski, or Russian small plates, for our New Year's Eve party. After all, I had no cayenne pepper, a surprisingly common ingredient in the recipes I dug up; I had no experience preparing Eastern European eats; and I had no idea how unforgiving these dishes could be.


I'll spare you the gruesome details and offer only the learned-it-the-hard-way lessons:

1. If you're skipping the sour cream, dill and sauteed mushrooms and scallions are better served hot. (Saddled with fridge-cramping leftovers, I resuscitated the mushrooms the next evening in a risotto.)
2. Smoked fish is too expensive to buy for 25 people.
3. Not even the most refreshing squirt of lemon juice can induce guests to dig into cold, partially mashed kidney beans served with stewed prunes, red wine vinegar, mint and cilantro.

In the end, even the platters of canned sauerkraut and pickled beets sat mostly untouched. (My brother, in town for New Year's Eve, referred to the entire spread as condiments in search of a hot dog.) Fortunately, I had bought cheese and pita, whipped up some spinach-and-artichoke dip and brown-sugared roasted sweet potato slices, persuaded a friend to bake a few pecan pies and received homemade rugelach from an adventurous South Asian guest. Those snacks, washed down with my wife's fruity champagne punch and my sister-in-law's Puerto Rican coquitos, managed to keep spirits high all night. But I'll say this: No one was begging me for recipes as they headed out the door.

Costa Rica 1

My wife, a biologist who has spent time in Costa Rica, warned me that every día it's the same plato del día, typically gallo pinto, or black beans and rice.


After one day here, it seems she is on to something. Breakfast by the Río Sarapiquí: following a glass of chilled, fresh fruit juice and a selection of papaya and watermelon, a plate of gallo pinto accompanied by roasted plantains and scrambled eggs.


Lunch, at the Pozo Azul restaurant: a buffet featuring red beans, rice, steak and chicken.


Dinner, in an outdoor mall in downtown San José: casado, essentially a kicked-up version of gallo pinto, paired with steak, fried egg, roasted plantains (maduros) and a small salad.

Slow cooking in the Jewelry District

I'm no expert on the Providence barbecue scene. I went to LJ's BBQ once, and I was less than wowed, and not just because it's in a shopping center on the Pawtucket line. (After all, Providence's best Indian restaurant, Rasoi, is next door.) Since then, I haven't even gotten around to trying Wes' Rib House, known mostly for being open until 4 a.m. on weekends, or United BBQ, even though it's a few blocks from my apartment and its delivery vehicle is a hip, little Smart Car.


As of tonight, however, I can say that I have finally hit up Rick’s Roadhouse, at the site of the old Big Fish in the Jewelry District.


It was not life-changing, surely not remarkable enough to set me off replicating the pace of red meat binging I kept up last year while living in Uruguay. But the preposterously large Chicken Grande Nachos appetizer ($9) was tasty and colorful (though the BBQ chicken was more chopped than pulled); the Steak on a Stick skewered, marinated and grilled beef appetizer ($7), served with a homemade bourbon steak sauce, was light and perfectly cooked; and the Texas Beef Brisket & BBQ Pulled Pork plate ($15), served with two sides (I recommend the Cole Slaw and the All World Baked Beans) was super tender and pleasantly sweet.

But don't take my word for any of this. The Providence Journal, my employer, has reviewed all these BBQ joints. Read about Rick's here, United here, LJ's here and Wes' here.