Photo by María Helena Carey
Hello there, Capitol Hill! I was all set to write a post this week about making a wonderful meal from scratch with fresh ingredients you can find in any of our awesome grocery stores, community plots, farmers’ markets or fancy stores.
And then, life got in the way.
While I have had a great cilantro crop in my little community plot that led to some delicious experimentation and which culminated in my master opus — Cilantro Pesto; and while it is true that I’ve eaten an amount close to my body weight in arugula this spring; the truth is that I’ve had a lot on my plate– not just food. (Ba Dum Bum!) While I’ve had the best of intentions — after all I have a fridgeful of rotting produce to show for my lack of culinary accomplishments — a girl and her brood gotta eat, especially when things are stressful. And in the quick-meal procurement department I’ve also fallen woefully short on occasion, indulging far too often in that evil overlord of gastronomic endeavor I like to refer to as Scottish cuisine, a.k.a. Them There Golden Arches.
There: I just said I eat at McDonald’s… on occasion. Once you’ve recovered your breath and/or you’ve delighted enough in your schadenfreude, you may keep reading, because this is going to be an audience-participation-type column at the end. And while I know many of you are downright ornery when it comes to voicing your political opinions on here, it seems that some of the less glamorous aspects of our daily Hill living render you mute or make you rail at things as innocent as, Heaven forbid, opinions on milkshakes. However most of you have busy lives and I figure most of you have to eat.
So out with it: what’s your favorite place to get some tasty feels-like-homemade carryout? What is that place you have programmed into your (ha!) landline and into your beloved iPhone? What’s that restaurant that makes your heart sing and your saddlebags sag? Tell us about the place you got the really good food and which you artfully arranged on plates and took the credit for? Curious and hungry minds would like to know, so we can add the number to our own phones and stave off the Mickey D’s madness one more day.
I love this idea Maria, even though, don’t hate me, I cook 7 days a week while working 6, but there are a few local faves I totally take credit for.
1.) Marvelous Market Spinach Salad. It’s got roasted red pepper, goat cheese, slivered almonds and a white balsamic vinaigrette. Its huge so I have split it for an app size salad for 3 or add a protein for a dinner. (all for $5.50)
2.) Rotisserie Chicken from Canales. Pick up a potato or pasta salad with it and your picnic dinner is set!
3.) For delivery, I use Thai Orchid Kitchen in the heart of Ward 7. They were recently written up in the post (Thai Me a River) and deliver really amazing cheap Thai to the hill, hill east, and my hood, Hillcrest!
Your covered for 3 days, hope others can fill out your week!
After moving to the Hill I found I have a lot more time to cook, so I haven’t explored many of the carryout options yet. Usually we just grab some burritos from Tortilla Cafe around the corner. Also, it sounds crazy but Tunicliff’s makes a good pizza (much better than 7th Hill). But I want to ask, did you do anything special to get your cilantro to grow? I’ve had success with the other herbs, but the cilantro plant always gets leggy and dies off quickly.
Cilantro does bolt quickly especially in heat. I just keep planting new batches and harvest frequently. For any surplus I like this recipe from a native of Burma:
Not very precise measurements (definitely on spicy side), but it is good for chicken, fish, rice, noodles, samosas, etc. I’ve never tried it, but I bet it would freeze OK.
Green Cilantro Sauce, 1. In a blender, add bunch of cilantro with stems, jalepeno peppers to taste (starting point: 6 hot, 8 medium, 10 mild), half a head of garlic, 1 can coconut milk, 1 ½ Tablesoons sugar. 2. Blend 3. Slowly add vinegar (1/4 to 1/3 cup) and fish sauce to taste. (Fish sauce really adds a lot to finished product).
I’ll have to try Thai Orchard since Old Siam is generally where we go for Thai take out. Matchbox pizza is so much better when eaten in the restaurant, but its decent for carry out — just open the top of the box so the pizza doesn’t steam itself to death on the way home!
i buy pizza dough from 7th hill all the time ($3.30), mozz, and the occasional prosciutto from the market – dinner in a flash
Thanks for the comments, everyone! And it looks like I’m going to have to try Thai Orchard, too…. mmm! And, oh, rotisserie chicken… mmm. And Matchbox pizza and 7th Hill dough!! I could kiss you all!
@Caroline: I had the craziest thing happen: seeds from the prior growth season started sprouting really early in my plot, so by April I had two enormous cilantro bushes! Cilantro is a Mediterranean plant, so it can withstand a little bit of cold and frost (and mine even handled SNOW with poise). My advice would be to try planting it with your peas one year and see how it goes. Now if I can only coax enough for that awesome recipe, we are so in business!
Ditto Tortilla Cafe, and the Italian Sandwich at 7th Hill is my second favorite after Mangialardo’s.
I also dig on the steak & cheese and wings at Lucky Carryout. And when I can make it up to Northeast, the crabcake at Sullivans Seafood and the reuben at Deli City. Best in town.
I second the 7th Hill Pizza dough idea! Such an easy way to get a homemade dinner on the table quickly.
i can make my own pizza dough in under 10 minutes, but, of course, it has to rest for at least an hour…but that’s usually my weekend go-to supper. i also cook almost 7 days a week (easier than wrestling with my toddler to go out, and then NOT enjoying a meal b/c he might go rogue).
however, i found a menu for bistro med on my door recently (located in china town). they deliver to the hill. had some pretty tasty kebabs at a good price. would definitely go that route again, in a pinch.
When I’m starving and weak of will I will walk the one block for some Taylor gourmet Fried ravioli. Tasty and actually better than what I’ve had in Jersey.
I’m a fan of Tortilla Cafe for quick eats, but Canales (same folks right) has great heat and eat tamales, carne asada etc. Grab a tub of their jalepeno sauce for the complete package.
Out of nowhere I get cravings for meatball subs. It’s hard to believe I had never tried one until I was in my mid thirties. Meatball subs with extra provolone. Some days the ones at Prego are just right, other days the more tangy ‘gravy’ at Mangialardo’s takes the cake.
@Hungry nailed it with the jalapeno sauce. I serve it with their Carne Asada, red pepper & onion over rice. The whole meal takes a long as it takes the rice to steam!
I eat protein bars, fruit, and vegetables and will outlive you all..
Oh, and does it bother anyone else that firefighters get meals for free… I see them at Safeway all the time loading up.. They’re unskilled laborers that rarely have to deal with significant fires.. Firefighters and cops abuse overtime pay and effectively steal from the taxpayer in every major American municipality..
They give firemen free food at Safeway? Why hasn’t Safeway told us this before? Every time I have gone there, they have charged me and my fire company full price, from our own wallets. We have to wait in line and everything. To be fair, occasionally when we have to eat out we may get an employee discount, but not usually.
Firefighting is definitely a labor job, but it is far from unskilled. The reason we rarely fight “significant” fires is because we usually put them out before they spread far enough to become “significant.” Most fires in DC are out before the news cameras can get there, so they don’t air stories on those. Not that you care, but it isn’t unusual for firemen to get injured on fires that you would not consider “significant” because we are searching for people and attacking the fire in almost zero visibility and heat that can burn through our gear.
There is mandated minimum staffing, for the public’s safety as well as ours. This means someone has to work, it is the law. If enough regular on duty guys are working, there is no OT. Personally, I rarely work it.
I would like to know how we are stealing from the tax payer. I do have a retirement, and I contribute to that retirement. Look up the disability retirement DC Firemen have, it is atrocious.
Your comments make me believe you are one of the drivers that refuses to get out of our way when we have our lights and sirens on. Then when we show up at your house when you call us, the first words out of your mouth are, “what took you so long?”
Is it hard to eat a protein bar riding around on a high horse?
My childhood house, on the Hill, suffered from a really bad electrical fire when I was a kid and the firemen you call “unskilled” were able to prevent it from spreading to neighboring houses while getting my family out safely. I’ll never forget watching one of them save and carry out my dog who had been trapped in an upstairs bedroom. So yeah, I’m cool with them getting free meals for risking their own lives for others.
Back on topic, my current favorite carryout is sandwiches from Seventh Hill. Such a yummy treat!
I’m very happy that a fireman responded to this drivel, despite my own belief that you don’t feed the trolls. They only get dumber the more you feed them, and you’ve clearly been over fed.
My childhood house, on the Hill, suffered from a really bad electrical fire when I was a kid and the firemen you call “unskilled” were able to prevent it from spreading to neighboring houses while getting my family out safely. I’ll never forget watching one of them save and carry out my dog who had been trapped in an upstairs bedroom. So yeah, I’m cool with them getting free meals for risking their own lives for others.
Back on topic, my current favorite carryout is sandwiches from Seventh Hill. Such a yummy treat!