I have been itching to go to New Heights now for months.  In the whispers of foodie land I heard great things about Logan Cox, the chef and the creativity he has brought.  And I wanted to go before everyone realizes he is a genius and you have to make reservations a month in advance.  Can I just say with strong affirmation: now is that time.

I went during Restaurant Week- of all weeks to try out a new fabled legend, Restaurant Week is not it.  Still it was the only interesting place on the list with a reservation.  But man, if ever did a restaurant pull off Restaurant Week while still keeping it high end and creative, New Heights did.

New Heights is in an akward area of Woodley Park, but thankfully they have valet parking.  Downstairs is a small, but glamorous gin bar.  While everyone is touting dark woods and prohibition era cocktails, this bar keeps it really prohibition style with a huge gin list and house made tonics.  No nonsense just good gin.  It is glamorous in that it doesn’t try to hard, but feels particularly delightful to sit at.  It isn’t Gibson or Zaytinya glamorous, it is glamorous for people who don’t need other people to make them perfectly happy.  I particularly recommend the Krahn.

Then you go upstairs to a cozy, warm dining room.  The owner Kavita, is particularly friendly and you can tell she puts a lot of care into the oversight of her restaurant.  The server chilled our wine while we sipped various gins, and the bread basket with warm, moist cornbread gave promise to the rest of our meal.

The appetizer of chicken liver pate was smooth on perfectly crisp toast and eaten with the pickled vegetables had a really nice balance.  The artic char entree was creamy in texture on the tongue; however, the skin was crisp and had just the right amount of salt to balance out the sunchoke puree and broccoli rabe.  However, the real winner was the roasted pork loin that was cooked perfectly with perfect texture- a little crisp on the outside but juicy and incredibly tender on the inside- the smoked apple butter served with it made the bites a refined, homey taste that you could have eaten four plates of, paired with brussel sprouts and buckwheat polenta the dish had a great winter warmness to it.

Desserts were a nice finish to the very composed meal.  Ginger creme brulee had a wonderful taste of real, fresh ginger not something you get in many “ginger” dishes.  The toasted almond biscotti served with it was some of the best biscotti I have had.  I would love that recipe (hmm, this might have a follow up post).  The sugar and masala doughnuts were light cake doughnuts with good spice, but the chocolate dulce de leche sauce served over them was incredibly decadent, and you will want to finish any part not swabbed by your doughnut with a spoon.

The service was professional, not fussy, not too absent, he hit that fine line where he read you just right.  Wine glasses looking a little low, filled, but not after every sip.  Recommendations given when asked and very thoughtful to personal likes.  Courses explained as they arrived, and yet it was never intrusive.

And this was only Restaurant Week… I look forward to seeing what this place can do every other night of the week.  Next time I am bringing my gin loving girls with me.

Sometimes I find buying big huge pieces of meat in the grocery store a bit daunting, especially when there is only Hubby and I to eat it all.

But you can get some wonderful deals on whole tenderloin, ham, chicken, and etc from time to time.  Right now bone in cooked hams are on sale in many places.  So here are some ideas on how to use a whole ham in a relatively healthy and tasty way:

First- cut your ham into manageable sections, leaving the ham hock with a bit of meat, not large sections because you want to be able to thaw and use a piece completely.

First night: Ham, butternut squash and green bean saute.  This is a quick fix because well after breaking down a ham you don’t want to linger hours over a soup, but want something filling.  Either start cooking your rice out ahead of time or cheat and use instant rice.  I suggest brown or wild rice.  Set your over to 350 degrees.  Cut half a peeled medium butternut squash into about 1/2″ cubes,roughly slice/chop a shallot put them in a roasting pan with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon parsley and salt, pepper and mix pieces to coat. Roast about 20 minutes.  While that is roasting cube about 1 1/2 cups of ham into 1″ cubes (Cut about 1 cup extra for future use).  Then snap and cut about 1/2 cup of green beans into 1″ segments.  Remove the roasting pan and add the ham and green beans and stir the mixture.  Roast about 10 more minutes.  Remove and add your rice (however cooked) right to the roasting pot, add about 1 tablespoon of butter and mix gently.  Then serve.

Then slice some ham for sandwiches.  Refridgerate your ham hock and sandwich meat.  Wrap the remaining meat in butcher paper and freeze for a time that you won’t be sick of… ham.

Next day: Ham and swiss panini with mustard, mayo and bread and butter pickles, a faux cuban if you will.  If you don’t have a panini maker at work you could use a toaster oven to melt your cheese for the desired goodness.

Next evening: Ham Hock White Bean Cabbage Soup, well it’s more like a stew really.  Put the ham hock in a large stock pot with about 3 pints of water, bring to a boil then down to a simmer for an hour.  Use that time to dice 3 potatoes, 3 cups of cabbage, half a cooking onion and 3 cloves of garlic and drain and rinse a can of cannelli beans.  Add those to the pot with 1 large bay leaf, 2-3 tablespoons dried parsley and 1 tablespoon dried thyme and let simmer for about 20 minutes.  Let simmer for about 5 minutes and remove the ham hock let it cool and shred the meat to add back to the pot.  Add a couple dashes of Old Bay to the pot.  Then remove the bay leaf and serve.  It is excellent with a few dashes of Old Bay.

Next day or two if you are full of ham.  It is time for a ham and brie sandwich on pretzel roll.  I first discovered this sandwich at the Greenbrier and have loved it ever since.  Put some spicy grainy mustard on it to cut the richness and enjoy.

Then use your left over dice to make breakfast with a ham, cheddar and jalapeno (or spinach or mushroom with swiss) scramble.

That should do quite well for about half or more of your ham.  I suggest waiting a little while before using the rest.

Last night I met up with a few girlfriends at Overwood.  The space is tucked away on North Lee Street, in a little brick building full of shops with La Bergerie right next door.  The inside is warm and casual, with an open kitchen in the back, just the right place for a cold winter night.  There is a nice small bar space with TVs showing news and sports.  We had a nice booth in the back of the restaurant near the wood grill.

We happened to be there on half price bottle of wine night, and considering how reasonable their bottles of wine are anyway, this was a particularly good deal.  As a note they have very nice wine list, with a lot of affordable, but good bottles.   We had two bottles of Tepana, Tempranillo for $26.  It was a nice red that was mildly fruity with a nice balance, which is good for us ladies as we can have some very different taste in wine.

We were waiting for our last friend stuck in traffic and our server was really fantastic about letting us take our time and wait for her to arrive while enjoying our wine, but checking in to make sure we didn’t need something.  Then when our friend arrived she was wonderful about letting us take our time to catch up.  The service really was wonderful, the server read us so well, she anticipated our needs and had perfect timing.

All of us on best New Year Resolution behavior ordered salads, although the Blackened Mahi Mahi on grits, and steak going by to other tables smelled amazingly good.  I really like places that offer interesting dinner salads, as sometimes for whatever reason a big dinner salad is really needed.  And I really liked that they understood that a salad isn’t just iceberg or romaine with tomatoes, red onion and a couple cucumber slices.  Rachel had a nice looking ceaser salad with wood grilled salmon, I had the arugula salad with chicken instead of duck (I know it can be rather lean and it looked beautiful, but doctors recommendations are to eat more fish and white meat so I am trying.).  The salad was really lovely with spicy arugula lightly tossed with vinagrette with oranges, hearts of palm and a few fried onions.  the chicken was sliced thinner than normal grilled chicken in a salad which made it easier to eat.  Next time will get it with duck.

We all split a brownie sundae to give us time to finish our second bottle of wine, and to splurge a little.  Sometimes after all the fancy desserts you just need something simple.  I have to comment that many places have one or two desserts on their list that are tempting, but the whole list at Overwood looked quite good: Godiva chocolate bread pudding, key lime pie, the Elvis, Sweet potato cheesecake… it all looked great.

Between the reasonable prices ($84 for three huge salads and two bottles of wine), the wonderful service, and the very good food (and very good smells eminating from all directions) we will be back, and I think I might have to take Hubby for a date here.  It is a perfect low key, but nice spot which tends to be my favorite.

So if you haven’t been, GO!  It is really a great place that I wish I had discovered long before I did.  And if you are abiding by your New Years Resolutions too, they have a lot of healthy options other than salad to help you stay on track even when eating out.

So I have to be bathing suit ready by the last weekend in January- ugg.  But now and then even on the best of diets you must splurge.  I crave pizza, a lot, and lately American Flatbread has been there to coddle my obsession.  They strive to be local, organic and sustainable, which I really honestly think equates to better pizza mainly because the ingredients are superior to so many other places.  And they are community friendly, here they are at a soaked Clarendon Day.

I have had their Virginia Country Ham with Apples and Cheddar and their Revolution Flatbread with additions and variations.  I love their tangy red sauce, it has the distinct taste of real tomatoes without being too thick nor to thin.  They have a terrific spice blend on the cheese, and just the right amount of cheese (although anyone who is a NY pizza fan will find it lacking).  I think their pepperoni is really fantastic.  It is savory and spicy and just tastes fresh to me.  Now the crust isn’t as thin as you would suspect a place called American Flatbreads to be, but I would argue that it doesn’t matter because it is excellent.  It has nice crunch while still being soft and balanced in terms of testure and flavor.  I think there is nice salt to the dough without being salty.  It has a wonderful texture of real bread- homemade bread- bread made with care.  They have a wood fired earthen oven lovingly built by staff and volunteers that just puts out lovely lovely bread.

I also like that their pies are cut in small squares which makes it easier to share and easier to portion.

It is in the Zoso building off Fillmore Street in Clarendon and boasts very helpful staff and free parking.  The interior is a little stark, but it is a pizza place.  They have happy hour with $3 draft and $5 house wine.  They also have a personal pizza at the bar (why isn’t this restaurant wide?).  They have a TV at the bar often showing sports and games to keep you or your little ones occupied.

Note: They also have an Ashburn location for those of you who live way the heck out there.

There are a couple caveats: The wine list, especially wines by the glass need some work.  They need purse hooks badly.  And the diet soda tastes, well, very diet.  But these are minor details I am sure they will address in time.

So this report has been a long time in the making…

Melbourne

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Where to stay: The Park Hyatt.

As you might know from previous posts or just happen to realize for me to rave about a hotel it must be pretty nice.  Well the Park Hyatt Melbourne rates up there in terms of even the hotels I like.  I don’t need a huge superior room, what I need is a clean, comfortable, quiet room with a nice view, a great bathroom and nice amenities.

We went to Australia in May, which is their fall, but it meant off season rates in Melbourne and Sydney, not a ton of tourists and nice crisp, but warm weather.  We got a great deal at the Park Hyatt at less than $200 a night.

For that we got a really nice comfortable king size bed, valet attendants that helped us figure out how to work our GPS system, a hotel that was a close walk to most of the attractions in Melbourne, a huge bathroom with a shower that had a tv and speakers, a electric tea kettle with good tea and nice toiletries that I actually used.

Also the breakfast served here was wonderful. There was a really nice a la carte menu, but we normally went for the buffet with a huge selection of fruits, breads, cereals, juices, cheeses, charcuterie and hot items including the traditional English breakfast of course.  We normally had long days of walking or exploring ahead of us so a nice big breakfast really hit the spot.

What to do:  The very top of your to do list should be the Queen Victoria Market.  This is a huge market.  They have some little restaurants, fish market, meat market, a deli section with stalls selling breads, meats, cheeses, olives, dried goods, eggs, honey, teas and everything else you could imagine.  Then outside they have fresh produce.  They have a lot of produce that is hard to find here like Nooshi a fruit that is like a small juicy apple and very fresh ripe Passionfruit.  Also outside are bins of flour and other grains and people selling wines and other homemade goods.  Then in back of that is a huge flea market.  My favorites were a cracked black pepper meat pie sold at a deli in the bottom left section.  The crust was flaky, it was piping hot and fresh and the fresh cracked black pepper made it the best meat pie of the trip.  Hubby and I also picked up some kangaroo salami, cheese, bread and fruits to take with us on our adventure out to the country that afternoon.

If you are adventurous- and you should be this is Australia for God’s sake- I highly suggest renting a car and driving down to Philips Island.  Now I went mainly for my obsession with non-flying birds of the black and white variety, which you can see nightly.  We got the “Ultimate Penguin Experience” which was really great.  You were taken to a separate area for viewing and walked down the beach to a small break in the dunes where we sat for probably about an hour and fifteen minutes watching with night vision googles little penguins teetering all around you within feet.  Then you hike back along the road spotting little Philips Island Penguins running and nesting all about you.  We were unfortunate and fortunate enough to be able to touch a penguin that was rescued by our ranger when we saw him injured and floundering on the beach in front of us.  I am sure they took good care of him.

Also on Philips Island is a koala sanctuary where you can view koalas a couple feet away doing there thing aka sleeping or eating, I think that’s all they do honestly.  They are cute as can be!  Also if you are lucky like us you will also see some wandering wallabies throughout the park grazing on grasses.

Philips Island also has an area called the nobbies that has beautiful rock outcropping.  Sometimes they have seals, but we didn’t see any on our visit (apparently they sometimes have Great Whites too).  And a working farm.  What we enjoyed most was the beautiful scenery and quiet beaches.

For eclectic shopping and some really good casual restaurants check out Brunswick Street.  This was my favorite area in all Melbourne.  The cute store signs and shop fronts give way to cute fashions, home goods, amazing coffee and tea shops.

Where to eat:

Now we didn’t do a lot of fancy eating in Melbourne, there are so many great casual restaurants to check out and the market was just so tasty, but we had a really great dinner at Movida- Bar de Tapas.  The atmosphere is laid back with nice low lighting.  The croquettes were just like what you get in Madrid.  We also sampled the San Jacobo de Cordonice a quail stuffed with cheese and ham, Pimientio de Piquuillo hickory smoked peppers with potato and salt cod and some other small plates while Hubby had a Bees Knees Beer and I drank some good Australian wine.

While exploring Brunswick we check out the Real Greek Souvlaki Bar where we had huge gyros and lamb platters filled with juicy and flavorful lamb, ripe tomatoes and tasty pita.  Hubby laughed at the size of my gyro, it was a food as big as your head moment.

We also stopped on our way back from Philips Island at a co-op fish and chippery.  I think getting some fresh fish and chips and a meat pie is kind of one of those quid essential things to do, just make sure you have lots of napkins.

In  Sum: Melbourne we love you to death and really we do want more time with you.  You are a dirty mistress to our love of Barcelona and Melbourne, and while we might not be able to work you into our regular rotation, you will be on our mind.  So keep stylin.

My very generous Husband decided to share his cold with me, so today I am stuck in the house, again.  In this condition there is no way I would subject anyone (except my generous Husband, of course) to my grossness, so I have been perusing and I found something helpful for you frantic gift buyers:

Williams Sonoma can still guarantee standard shipping in time for Christmas if you order by 9am on Tuesday.

They even have some good deals still like this:

I know so many people who could use a decent knife in their kitchen.  So many people have knives that just don’t cut it, literally.  Wusthof knives are classics that stand the test of time.  And a sanotoku knife is really a handy knife.  I prefer chopping a lot of my veggies with a sanatoku over a chef’s knife.

Or EVEN better: Cutlery and More has FREE delivery until midnight on many wonderful items, like these:

I love Chef’s Choice, it is the knife sharpener that I have and use for everything, but my Shun and Global knives.  It keeps your knives nice and sharp.  This one not only comes FREE, but it comes with a free 7″ sanaktoku knife, as well.  That is 2 gifts with free delivery for $150, not bad.

Or not one, but two Calaphalon skillets for $50.  I have this skillet in a smaller size and can attest that it works very well.

Last, but not least the mini-keg dispenser.  My husband would have really liked this, and at $100 it is a real steal, since it originally listed for $400, but alas Honey, sorry I already ordered your gifts.  I don’t know many men that would be disappointed to open this gift.  Again with FREE shipping guaranteed by Christmas from Cutlery and More.  They have lots of other great gifts like an electric water kettle, or stove top smoker, so if you are still looking for that great gift and like me hate paying for shipping, give this place a browse.  I have always found their prices to be the most competitive for really great products.

Hubby and I have some really dear friends who treated us to dinner at Trummer’s on Main a few weeks ago.  I was excited to go as it was just recently in the Washington Post’s Fall Dining Guide and I had heard good things.  Walking in to the bar area downstairs I was blown away by how different it looks.  So modern, but warm and inviting.

The onyx bar makes you want to stay at the bar all night.  It is lit from underneath so the lighter onyx glows and gives the room a warm and really pleasant feeling.  I might be back as Adam the line cook has assured me the burgers are worth the trip.  One thing that really impressed me was when we ordered glasses of wine at the bar we were offered small tastes to make sure we liked the wine before given a full pour.  I often like to try new things, so it is nice to be able to taste before you commit.

Our friends arrived and we had our cocktails before heading upstairs to dinner.  We got to look at the beautiful wine cellar and private rooms downstairs before heading up, and let’s just say when I make partner this is where I will be taking our friends as a return trip to celebrate.  (Note to Trummer’s on Main, this might be a while so keep up the good work.)  The cellar is enclosed in glass and hosts an impressive selection of domestic and foreign wines including some local Virginia wines from Barboursville, Kluge and Pearamund.

We headed upstairs to the beautiful open dining room.  Now this room still resembles the former space, with it’s huge open windows and lofty ceiling, but it has been upgraded.  Out the back there is a lovely lit area which is slightly reminiscent of dining at 2941 with such nice outdoor views, but on a smaller scale.  The bamboo fans keep it casual, but really classy.

We started out with a Cakebread Chardonnay and some very good bread, warm and crusty, but tender.  I started with the Vanilla Belly.  A vanilla pork brisket with rhubarb, spinach and grenadine.  This was luscious, but not overwhelmingly rich, the rhubarb really balanced the vanilla.  I also stole a taste of the oxtail ravioli, which was really rich, but the pasta was really well made and the meat was tender as can be.  Based on the multiple entrees I got to sample the best thing to order is fish, although everyone’s entrees tasted good my favorite was my Cobia really tasted wonderful.

But dessert really stole the show.  I ordered the sweet potato, which was sweet potato ice cream over a gingerbread poundcake, maple and fluff, which really tasted like fall to me and was really comforting.  But the concord grape stole the show. The soft cake with the tangy grape sorbet and cognac cream was so refreshing I was a little jealous I didn’t order it myself.

Overall it was a great meal in a beautiful setting and I can’t wait until I can go back.  It truly is worth the drive for the city and if you are looking for a romantic special occasion dinner this place is a wower.  And now I have to try to get back out for the burger.  I was told it is special, they better be right.

One thing I have always been good at is making food last.  I am not sure if it is a left-over mentality from my Grandfather growing up in West Virginia, poor with a family with so many siblings everything counted, or my Amish nanny who preserved everything she could.

Even my Mother used to say that I ate like it was the Great Depression.  That might have been because when I told my Mother I didn’t want school lunch she said that was fine, but she wasn’t packing my lunch.  This was a true statement because not only did I have to pack my own lunch we often didn’t have the traditional sandwich making ingredients or other lunch staples (Not to mention the poor bus lady who waited and honked her horn as I would go flying out the door with who knows what in my bag).   And when my parents divorced my Father did no better.  So I learned to make due with all the wonders that were left in the refridgerator.  This mentality has really paid off now when like so many people coping with the recession my food budget has been slashed.  Here are some things I do that may help you keep down your food bills, but not feel like you have given up everything:

1. I save my leftovers, even if small, to use for something else. Leftover cooked spinach from this morning and BBQ from dinner the other night get combined with onions and peppers cooked in some Worcestershire sauce, to which I added some chili pepper, cumin and basil to make some rockin fajitas for dinner.  On sites like Epicurious, Food Network or Allrecipes you can type in ingredients you have leftover and see all the recipes that use all those ingredients.  And there are so many things that you can freeze if you can’t eat them soon.

2. I also plan out my menus and buy only what I need.  I know which vegetables turn first- asparagus and green beans- which ones seem to last inevitably- broccoli and green peppers.  So I plan to make meals with those veggies accordingly.  Some people say they have no idea what they will want to eat, but if you browse through some cookbooks (or those awesome food blogs like 101 cookbooks permalinked to the right in my favorites) and get lots of ideas they look so good you want to eat them and they can be interchanged.  I really like recipes from Everyday Food, they are simple, healthy and quick, and often very economical. I get the magazine, but if you don’t get it, no big deal, they are online too.

3. Limit the meat, go for the veggies.  I try to make sure that most of my cart is filled with veggies.  I know sometimes they seem expensive, but cooking with a lot of fresh vegetables is healthy and ends up being more economical than boxed or prepared meals, even if you buy a few things like fennel, leeks or butternut squash.  Also if you cook 1-2 meatless meals a week it really cuts down on your meat costs which tend to be the biggest purchases.

4. Splurge where appropriate.  I love good cheese, so I still buy a couple pieces of nice cheese, but I look at the prices compared to ounces and try new types that are slightly more economical,  but still better than your typical cheddar.

5. Look at prices and compare prices.  Look at the tub of cut butternut squash, is it close to the weight of a butternut squash and the price?  Well then it might have more usable squash than the real deal and might be a better deal.  Buying packaged lemon juice when lemons are 3/$1?  Lemons last a fairly long time and you can juice them yourself?  I look at the prices of everything I buy and compare it with other brands or other substitutable goods.  Yes, I would like to buy Organic milk but when it is triple the price I just can’t justify that expense right now.

6. Buy cheaper cuts of meat.  There are some phenomenal meals to be had with cheaps cuts of meat.  And with the ease of getting recipes online here is what I suggest.  Look at what the specials in stores are then look up recipes for those meats.

7. Make a couple splurge meals.  Since Hubby and I aren’t eating out as much I have on the menu a braised veal shank and carrot risotto for this week.  It is much cheaper than eating out, but is fun and satisfying. (And set the table, light some candles, open a bottle of wine, play some music and make it special!)

8. Pack your lunch, pack your lunch, pack your lunch.  Whether it is a sandwich, leftover spaghetti and meatballs, or yogurt with granola and some fresh fruit and honey make it creative so you don’t feel the urge not to eat it when lunch time rolls around.  Make some pesto or some interesting mayo, buy a couple gourmet ingredients.  Even if you have to buy a couple jars of pricier items in the store it is still much cheaper than buying out.

Many of you might already do these things,  but if not they really can add up. So go forth and be frugal foodies.

So have I told you how much I absolutely love the fact that my in laws live in Charlottesville?  And they have totally embraced my passion for wonderful food and wine.  Really readers, in so many ways, I am a spoiled woman.

On a past fall weekend to my delight the Hubby and I ventured down for a fun packed weekend in Charlottesville.  Saturday started with a trip to Bread Works Bakery and Deli where we picked up some tasty sandwiches on really good bread and some excellent molasses cookies (previously endorsed by hungry Bachelorettes after a good amount of wine). I highly recommend both the veggie and chicken salad sandwich.

We then ventured across the street to Mona Lisa Pasta to pick up some cheese and crackers, it is so nice in the back refrigerated section they have small pieces of cheese that are just the right size to pack for a day trip to the wineries and really nice gourmet crackers.  Now be forewarned the pizza here smells really good and is pretty darn tempting.  And to make it even worse they have a variety of homemade pastas that are fresh.  You can get their pasta in many different cuts and flavors so they really have a nice selection.  I picked up some garlic rosemary angel hair for dinner in the coming nights.

We then went out to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples.  With all the fall festivities this place was packed.  There were wagon rides, live music, crafts and so on.  We picked up some great apple cake doughnuts, apples and cider.

As the place was a little packed for their fall festival and we had other fruits to sample we moved on to Barboursville Vineyards who by chance were having their twice annual bottle tastings, which allows you to have tastings of different vintages of many of their best wines and their normal tastings, plus tours and special tastings of Octagon. Before tasting the wines we ate our sandwiches and cookies and people watched as urbanites, families and couples enjoyed the day. My favorites of the wines offered for tasting were Octagon 1999, 2004 and 2005, Cabernet Franc from 2001, Barbera Reserve 2006 which had hints of honey with a good balance of tannins, and the Rose 2007 which really surprised me.  I normally don’t care for many of the sweeter varieties of wine, but this Rose had great flavor and balance. There was so much wine to sample that if you tasted everything you would have drank a whole bottle of wine, and believe me did the cheese and crackers we picked up earlier hit the spot. They had shady trees at the bottom of the hill that were a perfect place to relax and listen to the live music.  The sheer amount of wine offered at this event and discounts on rare vintages made it a really great destination for a wine lover.

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After drinking our fill and purchasing a few bottles of Octagon 2005 and 2006 we took a stroll up to the Barbour Manor designed by Thomas Jefferson himself. It was fun to watch the kids and dogs play in the grass as people picnicked and enjoyed what was an absolutely beautiful day in Jefferson’s eden.

That night we had a great dinner at Zocalo.  Located right downtown on the mall Zocalo has Latin American inspired food.  I appreciated the balance on their menu between meat, fish, chicken and vegetarian entrees.  There was something for everyone and all our entrees were satisfying.  I had Grouper with a pea risotto that was homey, but fresh at the same time.  There was a nice acidic balances to the fish, which a nice fresh pea flavor in the risotto.  Hubby had a really tasty strip steak with chipotle demi-glace that I stole multiple bites of.

And to bring this long night to a close we stopped by Splendora’s for gelato.  This time of year I really crave pumpkin flavored anything and especially pumpkin gelato.  I had a small half maple half pumpkin that I really enjoyed.  They feature seasonal flavors along with your old standbys in a cozy, but fun atmosphere.  They also have espresso and cappuccino for those who prefer to have a toasty refreshment. It was a wonderful day to check out all the fall flavored goodness in the area and enjoy some down time with family.

Right now is the time of year where people inevitably attend fall festivities or host their own parties celebrating the reaping of the harvest.

I once again missed what may be the best celebration of Fall, culture and community support: The Pleasant Valley Harvest Sale in Garrett County, Maryland.  An auction is held in a beautiful little Amish community each Fall to support the school in their district the Swan Meadow Elementary School.  The auction has gargantuan mushrooms and produce, breads and baked goods and other auction items, the big ticket item being the Black Forest Cake.

During the sale you can wander over to the counter to buy homemade caramels, no bake cookies, fresh yeast glazed doughnuts and coffee and cider to satiate you during the sale.  Also for sale is a collection of recipes from the community made into a cookbook.  This cookbook is a big deal, as it normally has the heavy hitting favorites from each family.

But I will make up for it by attending what MSN rates as one of the top Fall Festivals: The Autumn Glory festival.  Also located in Garrett County, Maryland (an area that happens to be where I am from).  This festival begins this week and events continue until Sunday.  A sampling of the events:

Fireman’s Parade- Thursday night a parade of mostly fire trucks and engines, with the occasional truck of football players and cheerleaders rolls down Second Street and up Route 219 to the firehouse.

Oktoberfest- Thursday night after the Fireman’s parade at the fire hall an Oktoberfest dinner complete with Polca music, dancing and lots of beer takes place, an event that is mainly attended by locals, but any person who attends will be feeling the love.

Grand Feature Parade- Saturday is the main parade a video of a past parade I found on YouTube! (Not the most professional screening, but you get the picture)

Also during this weekend there is an Amish breakfast at the Pleasant Valley Community Center, a 5k run/walk, craft shows, antique shows, classic car shows, the Maryland State Fiddle and Banjo contest, The Liars Festival, No-hands ice cream eating contest at Lakeside Creamery and so much more!  You can see a few of my photos here, I will post more after next weekend.

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And while I have family that lives in the area, we tend to overload our capacity so we normally rent a house from Railey Mountain Vacations, who right now has a buy two get a third night for free special (very handy since Monday is Columbus Day).

Now if you are lucky enough to be invited to a Fall celebration, or just need a taste of Germany,  look no further than Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in Arlington, Virginia (Their site seems to be temporarily down).  A big box of soft pretzels, a Black Forest Cake or wursts would get you an invite back to any party.

No invites?  Well check out the Washingtonian’s list of Oktoberfests. You could also join Rustico on October 10 from noon to six for Oktoberfest where they will have nearly 25 different beers on tap, with live musicand dishes prepared by Rustico, Buzz The Evening Star Cafe, Vermilion, Tallula, EatBar, Columbia Firehouse & Star Catering.Admission is free and tickets will be sold for beer, food, activities and a mighty raffle featuring a beautiful 1997 Harley Davidson Softail – along with three other fantastic prizes. The proceeds from this year’s raffle will be given to DC Central Kitchen to help combat hunger and create opportunity right here in our own backyard.  If this doesn’t get you there,

then this might:

Although please note- kids are absolutely welcome. In fact, there will be many activities just for the kids throughout the day – including a moon bounce, face painting, pumpkin tossing and more.  So choose your reason to go.

Or hop on over to Heidelberg for a delicious grilled wurst prepared on their outside grill.  They have brautwurst, knauckwurst, weisswurst and others for you to try before ordering.  If you need some carb loading before all those tasty German brews order the ultimate combo which comes with a soft pretzel, warm German potato salad, drink and apple strudel.

You can also get your Fall on at Buzz Bakery in Alexandria, VA.  They are selling  Steamed Cider and Pumpkin Lattes. The cider is local and they use a homemade spiced pumpkin puree for the pumpkin goodies. Tempting me most has to be the Candy Apple Martini, made with housemade caramel sauce, apple schnapps and Stoli. They are also stocking seasonal beers, including Dogfish Head Punkin’ and Epheremere.

Order a batch of cupcakes, including out classic Guinness Cupcake, the Caramel Apple Cupcake and the Pumpkin Cupcake with Candied Pepitas and you will surely be a hit.

Fall is glorious, isn’t it?