june.
June tasted like your second-favorite sandwich place. It wasn't absolutely show-stopping; it involved far too much acclimation to solo living, workplace cafeteria food, and poorly-placed grocery choices for that. But it was certainly fantastic a few times each week, and it was certainly dependable the rest of the time. I don't think I had a bad meal in June. I also didn't have a bad day. In fact, for the first time in a while, I think that I had more good moments this month than good forkfulls. That's a good thing, because the culinary highs of the month were pretty damn high.
CUPS Cafe in the Russell Senate Office Building
Going into the Senate internship, I was planning to buy food in the building for lunch only once per week. CUPS derailed that plan. CUPS is a coffee shop/deli/lunch spot with a buffet full of mostly Asian cuisine. They always have orange chicken, Mongolian beef noodles, and the like; sometimes they have quesadillas; and all of the time they have just the right ever-so-slightly greasy meal to satiate my mid-day hunger. If you go to CUPS, do a few things:
Know it's not gourmet. Dude, it's a Senate cafeteria, not The French Laundry.
Get the ceasar salad and orange chicken. It's greasy, filling, and (in my opinion) guarenteed to improve your day.
Take out your headphones while you eat, because it's pretty damn exciting to just sit and listen to the energy of the workplace you're in.
Amal
A trip to Miami to visit my friend Ryan was long-anticipated and well worth the wait. In DC, the fun you have occurs in spite of the oppressive heat. In Miami, the fun seems to occur because of it. Miami is exciting, and the food is too-- particularly the Lebanese meal that we enjoyed from Amal.
Amal tastes and feels luxurious, but the food comes surprisingly fast, making for a meal with an energy that rivals the city it calls home. All the food was delicious; the hummus and pita were incredible, along with some great sauce add-ons. The Muhamara was absolutely fuego. The lamb chops were very tender (which, as must be obvious at this point, is my primary litmus test). But the best part of the meal was by far the fried seabream with parsley tahini-- it was sweet, fragrant, and had an incredibly crunchy exterior.
Some Bratwurst With Sauteed Veggies
Jack (my close friend and housemate) and I have been trying to cook some good grub, but we're limited by space and time. We've found that hot dogs, bratwurst, or pre-marinated chicken with a side of well-prepared veggies are manageable options for satiating our desire for good food. This meal was simple, but with some good plating and a careful approach to the veggie prep (honey, as it turns out, does wonders in this domain), we made an enjoyable meal.
Of course, the taste didn't matter-- we're in a new house, so cooking is less an effort at nailing flavors and more an effort and making a home. There's a ton of ways to try and make a home. Cooking is the only one I know of that guarentees a positive return.
