Black's Bar and Kitchen

After three days of binge eating while visiting my friend in the greater Washington DC area, I am going to need a month of dieting to counter this gluttonous President's Day weekend.

On Sunday morning, we had a glorious brunch in Bethesda at Black's Bar and Kitchen. Their seafood buffet was one of the nicest brunch's I have had. This includes New York and Las Vegas. The quality of the food was unlike a typical buffet of mediocre food that is perpetually refilled. All of it had good flavors and fresh ingredients.

They had a wonderful raw bar that was full of oysters and clams, seasoned shrimp cocktail, and assorted seafood salads. The mignonette sauce that went with the oysters/clams was subpar compared to my favorite at Fish. I prefer the vinegar to be more prominent; the sauce should be tangy so it adds freshness to the seafood, not weigh it down. They had a nice smoked salmon with a spread of creme fraiche, cream cheese, capers, onions, and even caviar. My favorite from the cold section of the buffet was the duck liver pate with caramelized onions, spread across their parsley toast point... yum!

Around the corner from the raw bar was the hot food; grits, applewood smoked bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs Pontchartrain. Their omelet station was made to everyone's taste and my friend's omelet was perfectly light and fluffy. Grilled asparagus topped with a beet and grape salad, charcuterie, pasta salad, grilled mushrooms in balsamic vinaigrette, and assorted grilled vegetables were all delicious sides to the craving station. Thick juicy cuts of molasses-peppercorn crusted prime rib with the usual accompaniments - au jus, horseradish cream, caramelized onions; the horseradish cream was divine.

$36 for the buffet only and $48 if you want unlimited champagne cocktails with brunch. A little pricier than I usually aim for brunch but well worth it.

Winegasm

My "go-to" bar in the neighborhood of Astoria, Queens - Winegasm. This quaint little bar which seats about 25 people has an note-worthy selection of wines from all around the world. Their staff is knowledgeable and enjoy conversing and educating their customers. Their candle-lit cozy atmosphere is perfect for dates and the long bar-height table in the middle of the bar is perfect for larger groups.

 Cucumber Martini

They also have a very classic cocktail list; sidecars and vesper martinis included. Their new chef, Brian, hails from a two-Michelin star restaurant and has transformed their menu. Some of my favorites off the menu: Chicken liver pate, chick pea fries, cheese fondue, mushroom panini, and many more. Happy hour at my local watering hold is until 8:00pm and they also have a great prix-fixe three-course menu during that time for only $19. MUST TRY IF YOU'RE EVER IN ASTORIA!

The Spotted Pig

There are many famous restaurants in New York City. The best chefs hope to work in the 'big apple' at some point or other and the lucky few end up with a successful restaurants in  Manhattan. Word of mouth used to be how a restaurant became known to the public, but nowadays there's the Internet, magazines, television, and movies to provide publicity and this next restaurant is no exception. Co-owned by Jay-Z and Bono, frequented by Drew Barrymore, Spike Jonze, and Beyonce, given the stamp of approval from Anthony Bourdain, The Spotted Pig is no stranger to being in the spotlight.

I was lucky enough to have lunch with a few friends in town for a visit. They don't take reservations so you'll just have to suck it up and wait for a table. They have a great selection of beers to keep you and your friends occupied during the wait. We happened to coming around two in the afternoon so we didn't have any trouble getting a table.

My friend, Danny, had the renowned roquefort burger. He simply put it as 'the best burger I've ever had' which is quite a statement from a guy who avoids absolutes. Though he felt that the blue cheese was a bit intense by the end of his meal, he fully enjoyed it and has written me about craving the Spotted Pig burger since his return to San Francisco.

Char-grilled burger w/ Roquefort ($17)

My other friend, Christine, was not in love with her grilled cheese. She thought it was a perfectly fine sandwich but not anything to write home about. The mixture of Fontina, taleggio, and goat cheese on the inside while the bread itself was crusted with Parmesan cheese made this a hefty grilled cheese but the onion marmalade and mustard helped cut through the richness.

Parmesan crusted grilled cheese with onion marmalade and mustard ($16)

I got the Ricotta gnudi. After going to an event previewing the summer menu for the Little Owl, I have become obsessed with fresh ricotta cheese. Like the other two dishes we had at lunch that day, this was also VERY heavy. I ate a little more than half of my plate before Danny finished off the rest. Word of the wise, all male friends become a human food disposal for leftovers and they are more than happy to play their part.

Ricotta gnudi with brown butter and fried sage ($16)

But the best thing we had that lunch was not our main course. Liver has been another obsession of mine. Any restaurant menu I look at, if there is a pate or liver spread, it usually ends up on my table. So of course seeing the chicken liver toast on the menu, it was immediately ordered as our appetizer. This is the dish that keeps me coming back to The Spotted Pig time and time again. Their rich liver spread is velvety in texture and drizzled with the best olive oil. It is just the best and most luscious thing I've had the pleasure of eating.

Chicken liver toast ($6)