We haven't been starving, we've been cooking

When this little blog started a few scant months ago, we intended to write up as many of our shared meals as we could- both cooked and cooked for us. Then we changed tack, instead focusing on our restaurant experiences because, we believe, that it's a lot more fun to read about a place you can visit than read about some stranger's perfect lamb loins they made last night. And it's probably the change in the season, but we've been cooking a lot lately. In fact, I feel like I spend just as much time washing dishes as I do cooking and eating. I have an intimate relationship with dishpan hands, I really do. Point is, dear readers, We're around, we're eating, we just haven't been writing a ton. So here, to get us back in gear, is a little summary of our recent food conquests and discoveries:

Got Pho:
It was a fantastically cold Sunday afternoon and we wanted soup. Even better, we wanted Pho. I'm a pho newbie, but I've been doing my research, and the research was pointing us right towards a mini-mall tucked into a sad stretch of Sandy Blvd. Got Pho is supposed to have the best Vietmanese Beef Noodle Soup in town, and so we went. It was everything I had heard about on the outside- nowhere I would have gone if the blogosphere hadn't directed me there. Desolate and eerily quiet, just about all the tables empty. There was a lot of parking, however. We sat down to a pot of tea and began to pore over the expansive menu. Overwhelming. Every possible combination of the ingredients they had on hand. There's a note at the bottom proclamining "no substitions," but I couldn't imagine any way you could alter the dishes that they hadn't thought of and listed already!

We ordered salad rolls with pork loin, a pork loin Bahn Mi and two bowls of the standard beef pho. Ooh what fun! It was too bad the salad rolls came first, because they weren't that great. I think the pork loin overwhelms the delicate flavors and textures of the rest of the roll. And the vinegar dipping sauce didn't add much. Next time, I'd try the shrimp.

This was our first Bahn Mi, and it was lovely. A crusty white roll with a few savory bites of pork and crisp veggies. A study in contrasts and a new perfect sandwich for me.

I think there's a learning curve with Pho, and unless someone's there to show you the way, you're not going to get the most out of the Pho experience. I went straight- soaking a couple of basil leaves, snacking on the bean sprouts for refreshment. Noneifbysea was busy mixing and tearing and slurping and adding and stirring. I was curious. My god, what good work he did! So much more flavor with just a few additions! I learned. I'm humbled.

We'll be back for more Pho, for certain. There are just too many things on the menu not to try.

Other notable meals:
We were hungry and tired and couldn't decide where in NW to eat. We sat down at Callalloo to find it too pricy and not what we wanted. We wandered up to 23rd for crappy chinese, but the lack of no-MSG mention turned us away. We balked at pizza and "deli" and ended up on 21st for, well crappy chinese. I had gone to Ling Garden a couple times before. I know what it is. I know it's bad. I didn't realize how bad it could be. Cashew chicken, twice-cooked pork, dumplings and something else that was horrible. Honestly, we should have gone to Panda Express.

We also had a less than stellar meal at clarklewis, of all places. The food blogs had been a-chatter with good things about CL, so we went with a large group. Most were impressed, but we found everything to just be, well, ok. I wanted something better, something amazing. We ended up at Le Pigeon later than week so I could get the fucking fantastic food fix I had been looking for. One order of fois gras and the Cheeks and Cheeks (halibut & beef) later, and I was a happy satiated customer.