Food and more food

As Thom has noted, last weekend we went on another Restaurant Week outing, this time to Butterfield 9, a smartly elegant establishment across the street from Red Sage, where we had dinner the previous evening. It was okay. I had a salad, the Herb Roasted Baby Lamb Chops (a little disappointing, mostly because it was cooked rarer than I would have liked), and chocolate espresso cheesecake (very good).

At least one restaurant is extending its Restaurant Week prices, and that’s David Greggory, on M between 20th and 21st Streets. We’ll probably check it out this weekend. They also recently started serving a Sunday brunch menu that looks divine.

Speaking of food, despite my well-intentioned plan of bringing lunch to work, I’ve eaten out a lot lately. Twice in the past several days I’ve gone to Tako Grill, a Japanese restaurant on Wisconsin Ave. a few blocks from my office. It feels like a trek to get to, especially in the cold, but it’s worth it. One of their lunch specials includes miso soup, a bean-sprout salad, a California roll, and a choice of entrée with rice, all for $6.95. A pretty sweet deal.

As for dinner at home, go ahead and laugh, but a couple of times I’ve made Pasta Roni, and damn it, I’m proud. Yes, I suppose given some planning I’m capable of more than boxed meals with names ending in “Roni” or “Helper”–I’ll return to the haute-cuisine Jacques Pépin recipes one day, I promise–but still, there is something satisfying about following simple directions, adding your own ingredients, and having it turn out okay. And receiving compliments from your man is nice. Oh, god. What a housewife am I. Just throw a pearl choker and an A-line dress on me, and I’ll start vacuuming the living room. (That image reminds me, you have to see Girls Will Be Girls. Hilarious.)

Anyway, now on to drink. Kevin Brauch, host of Fine Living‘s The Thirsty Traveler, is one of those people whose job I’d love to have. (One of the others is, of course, Samantha Brown of Great Hotels.) Okay, so maybe I’m not cut out to be a TV host, but I’d love to be at least Kevin’s PA (and other things too, ahem, I’m sure Thom will say). He circles the globe, exploring the best in alcoholic libations. Travel with a twist. I love it. It feeds our wanderlust. Last night we watched two TiVo’d episodes. During the one on port, in which the show travels to Oporto and the Douro Valley, Thom said, “Let’s go to Portugal.” And in another episode, on Scandinavian aquavit, Thom added, “We may need to go to Sweden too.” Add them to the list, baby.