Many people spent this past weekend celebrating the Chinese new year with, well, Chinese food. Despite this being the year of the rat and being a rat myself, I did not celebrate with Chinese food. But I did have some "Asian" food.
I'm not typically a fan of using the word "Asian" as a blanket descriptor, but that's the term they use at Basil Asian Bistro, where the SO and I dined Friday night. I started out with vegetarian spring rolls and a few bites of the SO's coconut tofu soup and had tofu vegetables for dinner with a side of brown rice. Everything was delicious, but I was particularly pleased with the soup. I wished I'd ordered a cup for myself instead of having to bogart the SO's.
The restaurant itself was dimly lit for a nice, romantic dinner. Despite its openness, the tables were well-spaced for a reasonable amount of privacy. The service was attentive but may have been a little overworked that night as it was a tad slow at first. I'd heard good things about the restaurant, but really knew I'd made a good choice when I was spotted by Claudia of cook eat Fret. She said it's one of her favorite places in the area and she knows her food, so that's quite an endorsement.
Saturday afternoon, the weather was lovely for February and it made me want to eat al fresco. Given that there aren't a lot of patios open this time of year, we decided to get take-out and head for a park. I got a falafel plate from up the street at Gyros International (the SO got beef gyros--yuck). The falafel is prepared (by an ever-so-friendly and accommodating man) when you order it so you have time to pop in next door at the African grocery and get some plantain chips and ginger cookies. Unfortunately for me, that day the grocery was also filled with what appeared to be boxes of charred chickens or ducks. The smell of crispy fowl was not pleasant. But the people who work there are pleasant, so I smiled, paid for my desserts and got out ASAP.
Saturday night, we ate out yet again. This time, we were in my neighborhood since we had plans to see a show at the Exit/In later. So we opted for a healthy but filling dinner at Miss Saigon. I got one of my two usual favorites, the #10 mixed tofu with vegetables over vermicelli and convinced the SO to try the lemongrass tofu. The #10 was good as always and the lemongrass tofu was roughly the same dish except that the vegetables are topped with the tofu and a sauce rather than just mixed (shredded) tofu and peanuts. It was very good, but had a kick. There was still some lemongrass stinging the SO's lips for a while after dinner.
Dinner didn't take long, so we got down to Elliston Place a little earlier than expected. So we headed over to Cafe Coco for some caffeinated beverages to help our old bodies stay awake past 10pm. And much to my amazed delight, there were still several pieces of Italian wedding cake in the cooler. The SO had never had it before, so I talked him into sharing a piece.
If you've never had Italian wedding cake, I am very sorry. Because it's amazing stuff. Years ago, I had it and was so taken with it, I decided to make it myself. And then I read the recipe. So I have never made it and only rarely eat it. Take a look at the recipe and you'll see why. But I will occasionally calorie-splurge when I see it available in an establishment with trusted desserts (such as Cafe Coco). Needless to say, after eating half that piece of cake plus a small soy chai latte, I was rarin' to go for the next few hours. I think I finally settled down (read: crashed) around 1am. I can hardly fit in my jeans today, but that cake was oh so worth it.
As for Sunday night, I cooked at home. Vegetables and cornbread. It was the beginning of the detox from the excesses of the weekend. More on that later.
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