Girl Meets Food

Banana Cafe is renowned for its Cuban, Mexican and Puerto Rican cuisine.  This winter, when you’re trudging around in the snow and your ass is colder than Hilary Clinton, stop by Banana Cafe for a big bowl of comfort.

It tastes like they took the ocean and boiled it down to one delicious bowl of perfection. Scallops, clams, mussels and fish in a creamy broth makes me wish the bowl was bigger.

Do body parts in your food bother you? I know some people don’t want to be reminded that their food once walked, swam or frolicked in meadows, but I grew up in a culture where we ate everything.  And I do mean everything.

In the case of soups, heads and bones actually add wonderful flavor.  I was surprised to find the little guy in my soup, and I can’t guarantee you’ll get a head, but do try the seafood soup.  It really is terrific.

Also, Banana Cafe has a great happy hour upstairs in the piano bar.  Three-dollar margaritas.  Yay!

Banana Cafe
500 8th Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
202.543.5906

Lunch Monday to Saturday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Dinner Monday to Thursday 3:00 – 10:30 pm
Friday and Saturday 3:00 – 11:30 pm
Sunday 3:00 – 10:00 pm
Sunday Brunch 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Metro: Green line to Navy Yard

Gorgeous, isn’t it?  This is the most accurate picture out there.

This here my friends, is the often feared and misunderstood thousand-year-old egg, also known as the century.  That to me means that it doesn’t make a difference whether an egg is a hundred or a thousand years old.  It’s still pretty rotten.

How can anyone eat this?  Don’t knock until you try it.  I think it’s delicious.

Growing up, I ate congee with pork and thousand-year-old eggs on cold, wintry days.

It’s a duck egg packed in clay, ash, salt, and lime for up to a few months. I think Italian mobsters do the same to people who cross them.

The egg “white” no longer has a taste, rather, a firm, gelatinous texture.   But the yolk is where it’s at.  It smells pretty pungent and may make your eyelashes curl, but the creamy consistency followed by a sharpness reminds me of some of the finest cheeses I’ve ever tasted. If you’re a fan of cheese, it’s no different from smelly but delicious Époisses de Bourgogne! continue reading… »

Howdy!

My name is Mary, and this is my blog about food.

I grew up in New York City, where the city and my family’s restaurants were my playground.

I used to run around in my dad’s restaurants every week, where I’d watch a half of a pig march from the delivery truck to the kitchen (not by itself, of course); where whole ducks hung on display in the window; and chicken feet and tripe were considered a hearty lunch for a growing girl.

You can read more about me here.

Food is one thing that has always given me good feelings.  Good, warm, joyous, memorable feelings. So for my first post, I naturally have to write about what makes me the happiest.

Bacon! continue reading… »