Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

With all of this cold weather we have been having, I was really in the mood for cooking something in the slow cooker. My girlfriend and I found this recipe for slow cooker pepper steak. The recipe can be found here.

Here’s what you need:

2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips
garlic powder to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cube beef bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place the bouillon cube in the slow cooker. Add hot water, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved.
Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
Cover, and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

We actually started too late and only had time to cook it for about 2 hours. Even so, it still turned out delicious and the meat was nice and tender. I can only imagine how could this would be if you cooked it the full 6-8 hours.

Piratz Tavern – The Good and the Bad

I feel like I need to add my two cents being that I’ve been to Piratz Tavern countless of times. I’ve been to Rock Hall’s Pirate and Wenches Fantasy Weekend twice. My review of Piratz Tavern can be found here.

Here are my pros and cons of the bar.

Pros:
- Located right on Georgia Avenue in Downtown Silver Spring, right next to a parking garage and the Metro.
- Good food. Despite what I read in the reviews, the food is actually pretty good.
- Strong drinks. The absolute best bang for your buck here is the Grog. A huge mug only costs $11 and you can sip it all night.
- People watching. Piratz Tavern attracts an interesting clientele. I know a huge draw for me is just sitting at the bar and seeing who comes and goes. There is never a normal, quiet night here.
- Staff. I’ll address the service in the Con’s, but for every unpleasant staff member are some extremely nice and helpful staff members. Unfortunately, the person tending the bar that night can greatly impact your experience.
- Space. Although its kind of like a giant hallway, they do have pretty good space. The patio out back is a really nice area to hang out and have a couple of drinks.
- Entertainment. They have gone out of there way to do theme nights to encourage business, which shows that they are trying to bring more people in. Pirates for Sail are a lot of fun, the fire dancing (which takes place in the alley behind the bar) is entertaining, and it’s cool that they have belly dancing.

Cons:
- Prices. We love coming here for drinks, but if you try and do food and drinks you will break the bank. They need to find a way to make it more affordable.
- Service. I’ve had some really unpleasant experiences with the staff here. I’ve been asked to provide my ID multiple times in same night. I’ve had staff grumpily drop a plate of food in front of me as if I had greatly inconvenienced them. As I mentioned above, some people working here are great and they do what they can to ensure you have a good time. However, the bad attitudes of a select few here can really ruin the experience for some.

I think if they were able to find a better balance between food and drinks as well as get rid of some of the unpleasant staff members, they could take Piratz Tavern to the next level.

Chicken Basket – Wheaton, MD

Hey everybody! I’m sorry that I haven’t had much time to post. I’ve been extremely busy with school and work.

Last week, I stopped in to Chicken Basket to get some food for the Super Bowl. I’ve been going to Chicken Basket for some time, although the management has changed within the last year. We always affectionately referred to it as Chicken Casket. There used to be a disturbing mural on the wall of a chicken pushing a wheelbarrow full of friend chicken.

Well, that mural is gone and the food is still really good. You can get a good meal and it’s nice and cheap. Some of my favorite things to order are the steak and cheese, the burger, and the gyro.

This last visit, I ordered 10 buffalo wings and a steak and cheese with fries and a soda. This set me back about $13.00. The steak and cheese was delicious and the crinkle-cut fries are just crispy enough and seasoned well. Truthfully, the buffalo wings were not all that exciting. I thought they used a little too much breading.

As I was heading to my car, somebody stopped me and asked if the food was still good after the change in management. Although I don’t eat here a ton, the food is definitely good, the prices are low, and the staff are extremely friendly. The woman taking my order was very friendly and seemed to know everybody that was coming in and out of the restaurant.

Chicken Basket is a great place to grab some quick food without any fuss. The staff are very nice and the prices are excellent.

Mitsitam Café – Washington, D.C.

Last week, I had a chance to eat at Mitsitam Café at the National Museum of the American Indian. I’ve been once before and loved it so I was excited to eat there again.

The restaurant is set up cafeteria-style, and you go around to the different stations to get your food. We arrived around 3pm, and all of the stations were closed except one.

This did not matter at all. We ordered the buffalo chili with fry bread, pulled buffalo sandwich with squash, and a chicken taco. We also grabbed a couple beers.

There are plenty of places to sit, and we were able to sit right by the waterfall.

The buffalo chili was amazing. It’s got a nice kick and has plenty of meat. We also bought fry bread to dip into the chili. The bread was also extremely tasty.

The pulled buffalo sandwich was also really delicious. It comes on a bun with squash served on the side. I put the squash on my sandwich and it went together perfectly.

We also got the chicken taco, which was served on a piece of fry bread. This was my least favorite of the three things we tried, but it was still pretty good. I would have preferred it to come in a hard shell instead of the fry bread which is better suited for dipping into the chili.

The prices here are a little high, but the food is amazing and I can’t wait to go back when more stations are open.

Odds and Ends

Here’s a few various things from the last couple weeks:

• Hollywood East Cafe is having a 14-dish meal to celebrate Chinese New Year, complete with Lion Dance. More information can be found here.
• Wheaton Patch posted a story about the second generation at Los Chorros trying to increase their visibility. That story is here. My review of Los Chorros is here.
• Eatin’ in Wheaton recently reviewed K Town Bistro in Kensington. The review can be found here.
• Been There, Eaten That loves the spicy food at Nava Thai. The review is here.
• Recently, while surfing the Internet I came across a condiment called Mike’s Hot Honey.

  

  It’s essentially honey infused with chilies. I highly recommend ordering some. I’ve put it on roast duck, bagel with butter, and chicken. The possibilities are endless. You can find out more about it here.

I’ve been able to try some great beers in the past couple of weeks. Some of my favorites are as follows:

• I was recently at Woodmoor Supermarket and was blown away by their beer selection. I found a bottle of Baying Hound Angel’s Nectar.

  

  I’m a big fan of Baying Hound because they make good beers and they are local. This particular beer is a chamomile honey wheat beer.

• While at Arrowine a few weeks back, I came across Bell’s Winter White Ale.

  

  This is a nice change of pace from the usual heavy winter ales. It’s a nice, light witbier. I highly recommend this beer.

• I finally got around to trying Newcastle’s Winter IPA.

  

  I liked it, but it did not have any kind of bite to it. I like my IPA’s to be hoppier. However, this beer did taste good and I would definitely drink it again. It won’t blow you away but you’ll most likely grab another one.

• Last week I stopped at Beers and Cheers and picked myself up a six-pack of Tröegs Hopback Amber Ale.

  

  I’ve never tried a beer from Tröegs that I didn’t like, and this one was no different. This is an Amber ale which a nice hoppy aftertaste. Pick this up if you come across it.

• I went to Gilly’s recently and decided to make my own 6-pack. One of the beers I chose was a Scrimshaw Pilsner by North Coast Brewing Company.

  

  My initial instinct was that this beer almost had a salty flavor, in a good way. This was a fantastic beer.

  I also tried the new Flying Dog Wileman Farmhouse IPA.

  

  This beer just debuted this month. It was one of the best Flying Dog beers that I have ever tried. It’s a nice, crisp beer that packs a punch (7.5% ABV).

  Also in the 6-pack, I had a a Long Trail Harvest.

  

  Addmittedly, I was drawn to it because of the label. This is a brown ale from Vermont brewed with maple syrup. Truthfully, there is not a lot of flavor to this beer.

  I also tried a Slam Dunkel from Weyerbacher.

  

  I loved this beer. It’s a Weizenbock with a very balanced taste.

  Another beer I tried was Full Sail’s Amber.

  

  This was a very tasty, amber ale. It didn’t blow me away, but good none the less.

  In addition to the 6-pack, I picked up a bomber of Amber Dog by Pub Dog.

  

  I bought this mainly because it’s brewed in Maryland. I’ve tried Pub Dog beers before, and they are pretty good but nothing amazing. I liked this beer, but as I drank it I forgot I was drinking it. It’s a middle of the road beer.

• Recently, I also tried the new Sam Adams Alpine Spring.

  

  I’m not sure why I bought a Spring beer so early, but I did, and I wasn’t crazy about it. This beer tastes way too citrusy. After a few sips, I slightly adjusted but I didn’t really enjoy it much. I’d be open to trying it again in the actual Spring time.

• Speaking of beer, I was in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago visiting a friend and we were looking for a place to watch some NFL playoffs. Our options were slim, so we decided to go to Uno’s in Hamilton, NJ. I have not been to Uno’s since I was a kid, and I remember it used to be a treat when my family would go. Normally, we’d get Little Cesars or Pizza Hut.

  My expectations were extremely low, but to be honest it wasn’t all that bad. We were quickly seated, and our waitress handed us a beer menu. I couldn’t believe it – a whole page of craft beers on tap. I ordered a 20oz Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA for $7.50! I paid the same amount for a glass half that size at Dogfish Head Alehouse. Not only did they have great beers on tap, you could even buy growlers. Granted, the prices were awful but just the fact that you could do so blew me away.

  The food was definitely quantity over quality. We tried the wings, and I found it weird that they did not have hot wings. However, our waitress brought us a bottle of Tobasco. The service was quick, and again, the beer selections were great. They had Dogfish Head 90 Minute, Old Rasputin, and countless other great beers on draft and even more in bottles. While I won’t go out of my way to eat at Uno’s, if they all have this beer selection, I’ll certainly stop in for a beer.

• Speaking of pizza, I recently ordered again from Big Papa Pizza and Wings in Arlington, VA. We ordered a Hawaiian pizza, a chicken parmesean sub, and an order of fries. The food came FAST which we really liked. Also, the pizza is definitely better then average. The crust is really good. The sub was pretty good, but nothing to go out of your way for. The fries came soggy so we had to crisp them up in the stove. I still want to try the wings. However, the draw here is definitely the pizza. Great pizza, fast service, and good prices make this place a winner.

El Chilango – Arlington, VA

Last week at this time, I had not experienced El Chilango for myself. I had driven past it longingly on more then one occasion.

Finally, the stars aligned and I was able to try it out.

El Chilango is a food truck located off of Route 50 in Arlington, VA.

We drove up to the truck and found a parking spot across the street. I approached the truck and the smell was amazing. On the side of the truck, they list the different types of tacos that they have, all for $2 each. They have beef, pork, chorizo, tongue, and chicken. These are some of the freshest tacos that I have ever had.

The truck is run by two brothers, who could not be nicer. They are known for handing out free tacos to people as they wait.

The tacos are outstanding. They are served with lime, picked onions and habanero, cucumber, radishes, and two different types of salsa. The steak is my favorite, but they are all delicious.

Those who are scared off by the tongue need not be afraid. You will be surprised by how tender and tasty the meat is. Do yourself a favor and check this place out. Not also is the food cheap and delicious, the owners are extremely nice.

A Chocolate Feast in Spain at Cocova (formerly Biagio’s) – Washington, D.C.

Earlier this month, some friends and I went to a chocolate and wine tasting hosted by the International Club of D.C. My buddy is a member, so we were able to get tickets at the member rate. We weren’t entirely sure what to expect, but we were very excited.

The event took place at Cocova, which recently changed its name from Biagio’s. It’s located in Dupont Circle, down a flight of steps.

We walked in and did not see anybody inside. All of a sudden, we were greeted by the store’s employee’s and were told that the event was taking place in the back room.

We headed to the back, and the room was packed while the owner of the shop, Biagio Abbatiello, was explaining how to sample chocolate. According to him, the best way is to crack the chocolate in half and then smell it. You then coat the inside of your mouth with the chocolate. The more cocoa butter that was used to make it, the quicker it will melt.

They had small bowls placed around the room with labels showing what it was and how much cocoa it contains. The more cocoa it has, the stronger it tastes. The ones with 70% or higher tasted very strong and bitter. There were about nine different chocolates to taste.

To pair with the chocolate, there were a variety of different wines to sample. The wines were a selection brought by Tradewinds Specialty Imports which imports wines from Spain. They had about six bottles to sample. The wines were really great, and paired well with the chocolate.

After a brief explanation about how chocolate is made, we were given the opportunity to try a selection of truffles. The truffles were true works of art.

The truffles were amazing. We all bought some to take home. I bought one made with whisky from Isle, one made with beer from Victory, one made with ghost chilis, a green lime truffle, and one cappuccino truffle. These truffles were expensive, but worth it. You can even order them online.

Overall, this was a fun event and were were stuffed full of chocolate and wine.

Cava Mezze – Arlington, VA

My girlfriend and I decided to try Cava Mezze, a Greek restauraunt in Clarendon. We have walked past it many times and never paid it much mind, but it gets pretty good reviews and we liked the idea of ordering a bunch of small plates.

It’s located on Clarendon Boulevard just down the road from the metro.

We walked in and were told there would be a 15-20 minute wait for a table. The restaurant is bigger then it looks from the outside. The lighting was very dim and you can tell they are trying to have a trendy atmosphere.

We grabbed a seat at the bar and were happy with the beer selection. I ordered the Face Plant IPA from Lost Rhino and my girlfriend got the Raging Bitch from Flying Dog. I really liked my IPA, and will definitely keep an eye out for it again.

We were quickly seated after grabbing our beers. The place was pretty crowded for a weekday night, but luckily we got a good table off to the side. The crowd seemed to be mostly people in their 20′s and 30′s, and slightly dressy.

For appetizers, they brought out pita bread with tzaiki, olives, and a spicy dipping sauce. For dinner, we ordered the lamb souvlaki, fried calamari, and the braised pork.

The lam souvlaki was far and away the best part of the meal. The lamb was tender, and paired perfectly with the pita and greek yogurt.

We also really liked the fried calamari, which was also served with tzatziki. The breading was not too heavy on the calamari, which really allowed you to taste the squid.

We felt slightly robbed because of the braised pork. It didn’t taste bad, but it was almost as if they just cooked it in a slow cooker and did not braise it. I don’t claim to be an expert on braising meat, but both my girlfriend and I agreed that it didn’t taste as it should. Again, it wasn’t bad but I would probably not order it again.

To wash down our meal, we both ordered some Delirium Tremens which I had never had on draft. It went perfectly with our meal.

Overall, we were happy with the meal and the prices were reasonable, especially for Clarendon.

That Food Truck Behind the Laundromat on Georgia Avenue – Wheaton, MD

Located behind the Wheaton Laundromat on Georgia Avenue is a nameless taco truck serving up the best tacos that I have ever had.

I was really starving and it was a beautiful day, so I took the short walk to the taco truck. It’s located in the parking lot behind Wheaton Laundromat and directly across from Legends.

The truck does not have a name, just the menu items on the side of it. You will be able to smell the delicious food cooking once you approach.

Wheaton Patch got some great photos of the truck and the food.

According to Wheaton Patch, the truck is owned by Ulizes who used to work at Jaleo and Austin Grill. I was quickly greeted at the window and pointed to the picture of the steak/chicken/pork taco combination. The three tacos will set you back $6.

The woman working in the truck told me it would be about ten minutes so I took a seat at a table they set up out front. After about five minutes or so, she called me over to pick up my tacos. I also grabbed a mandarin Jarrito.

When I opened up my styrofoam container, I realized she had made me three chicken tacos by mistake. However, I was hungry and was still really excited to try these tacos. They come wrapped in two soft corn tortillas. The chicken was perfectly cooked and seasoned just right. They are also served with onions, cilantro, green salsa, and a lime.

I don’t have a picture of my meal, but Wheaton Patch posted one of the three taco combination:

If that doesn’t make you hungry, nothing will.

Full Key Restaurant – Wheaton, MD

My girlfriend and I were craving Chinese food, so we decided to have dinner at Full Key. It’s located on University Boulevard in the same strip mall as Max’s and Pho Hiep Hoa. We found a spot right out front and headed inside.

We really liked how well they are using the space. Although small, it’s very comfortable and inviting. There is a counter at the back of the restaurant for picking up carry-out orders.

They brought us out a pot of tea. I wanted a beer, but they do not have their alcohol license. For food, we ordered half a roast duck, two bowls of shrimp wonton soup, and an order of the baby clams in black bean sauce.

The roast duck comes out on a platter with a side of soy sauce and rice. The skin is nice and crispy. The duck itself was cooked to perfection. We did find a few bites to be salty, but overall this is excellent roast duck.

The shrimp wonton soup was absolutely delicious. This was my favorite part of the meal. The broth was piping hot, the wonton’s were light yet filling and stuffed with delicious shrimp, and the noodles really hit the spot. The portion size is also great. I highly recommend this soup.

The baby clams in black bean sauce were also delicious. The portion was huge, and we really enjoyed the flavors. The black bean sauce perfectly complimented the clams.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal and the prices were more then reasonable. The atmosphere was comfortable, the portions were great, and the food was delicious.