Co Co Sala- Penn Quarter, DC

Last week was me and the bf's 5 year anniversary, so we decided to use the LivingSocial deal I bought a few months ago for Co Co Sala. It's located in Penn Quarter with metered street parking, hourly garages and metro access. The closest metro stop is Metro Center, which connects the red, orange, and blue lines.

There are some tables outside for eating during warmer weather.

The 1st thing I would say about the interior is that it's DARK in there. My camera was on an indoor setting, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see anything.
The 1st room we were in (left) was so cold because of a vent, so we asked to move. It seemed to be a hassle to move us (not sure why, it wasn't that crowded), but eventually we were moved into another room which looked like it seated 3+ person parties (right). The original room we were in was very cramped as it mostly sat tables of 2. We were literally a foot away from the next table.

This was the room we ended up staying in, and there was so much more room and light. The decor is really beautiful and modern. It looks like a lounge/club. The picture on the left is of the bar, and the picture on the right is of the kitchen.
As I was walking to the bathroom, I saw there's another room behind where we were sitting that seemed to have even larger tables for bigger groups.

After finally getting our menus (they forgot for a while), I decided I needed a drink. Our server said this was their most popular drink, 'Cocojito- chocolate vodka, lime, mint, dark chocolate shavings' for $13. It tasted like a regular mojito, with a slight hint of chocolate.

This is a tapas-style restaurant, so the portions are very small. For dinner we ordered 2 types of mac & cheese. 'Bacon Mac & Cheese- Orechiette, four cheeses, crispy bacon' for $7 (left). The strip on top is chocolate covered bacon. 'Shrimp Mac & Cheese- mini penne, jack & cheddar, garlic shrimp, jalapenos' for $7 (right). They were both amazing and so flavorful! I enjoyed both but preferred the shrimp one, and the bf preferred the bacon one.

The bf wanted to try the 'Tandoori Chicken Slider- cardamom carrots & greens' for $7 (left). I thought it was really good and flavorful as well. We also ordered the 'Italian Cheese Course- parmigiano reggiano three ways, fig & pesto toast' for $10 (right). This included a foam with a cheese crisp, chunks of cheese, and slices of cheese on top of the fig & pesto toast. I ate all of the foam because the bf thought it tasted like foie gras. The combination of cheese, fig and pesto was really delicious.

The main attraction at Co Co Sala are its chocolate desserts. We decided to go with the 'Xocolatyl- Aztec expirence' for $22. This is a three course tasting with an amuse bouche, main dessert and petit fours. The amuse was 'churros, cinnamon cream, dulce de leche dip' (top). The churros were really nice and warm and the cinnamon gave the cream a nice surprising flavor.
Then the main desert came out with 4 different items 'hot chocolate soufflé with fiery chocolate center, espresso gelato, chipotle truffle, kahlua soother'. The kahlua soother and chipotle truffle were cool (bottom) because the chiptole gave the chocolate a hot sensation, and the kahlua cooling.

Next was the 'espresso gelato and chocolate soufflé with fiery chocolate center'. Gelato is always so good and smooth in texture. The chocolate souffle was really interesting as they used jalepenos to make it spicy.
The petit fours was a 'chocolate infused horchata and mexican wedding cookie'. The horchata was a rice drink with sesame in it. The mexican wedding cookie was almond flavored, which was delicious.

Us on the metro on our way to dinner. Why does he always make faces in pics?

Overall I had an ok time at dinner. This is definitely a place for those that like chocolate, enjoy trying new flavor combinations, tasting a lot of different dishes and hanging out with friends. I enjoy places like this, where as my bf would be happy with traditional American food in large portions. The entrees were very flavorful, and the desserts were light and not too rich. The service however was a little "all over the place." I was expecting better after reading all of the great reviews. You should also be prepared to pay a lot of $$ if you're hungry.

929 F Street NW
(between N 9th St & N 10th St)
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 347-4265
Website

Mon-Wed. 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Rolls N Rice- Rockville, MD

My coworker recommended that I try this new sushi place in Rockville called Rolls 'n Rice. It's been open for around 2-3 months. It's located in the old Lemon Tree space, which is in the Congressional Village shopping center. There are 2 entrances, but the one in the back has all of the free parking. The closest metro station would be Twinbrook on the red line.

The inside is so nice! It's a large space with tons of lighting, colors, beautiful wood, and just an open feeling that I like. There are a lot of tables too. This is the side with the sushi bar and register.

Picture on the left: The opposite wall from the sushi bar that has lots of cool Japanese decorations.
Picture on the right: The tiny section that has the fountain drink machine and the entrance from the road.

This is a casual place where you order food at a register, get a number, and someone delivers the food to your table. There are a lot of items like special rolls, bento boxes, daily specials, a la carte sushi, rice bowls and combos.

Our meals came with a free salad with ginger dressing. My meal came with a miso soup.

The bf ordered the 'Sashimi, Sushi & Roll Combo- 6 pcs. Sashimi, 3 pcs. Sushi, & California Roll' for $12.95. He really liked it because they gave huge pieces of fish and it was a good price.

Don't kill me, but I don't remember the exact name or price of my order. It was a special written on a white board. It was a 'Salmon combo' that had 4 pcs Sashimi, 3 pcs. Sushi and 6 roll pcs. The only fish was salmon, and it was all really good, fresh and huge. If you don't like a lot of fish, ordering a roll would be better than sushi or sashimi because the slices are big. I thought the presentation was nice (cool plates) and believe it was around $12 something.

It's a casual place to get sushi that is quite cute on the inside. The staff was very helpful since it was our 1st time in there. Food came out pretty quickly, and everything tasted fresh. They were also playing Stevie Wonder the whole, which was awesome. They do have some interesting rolls like the 'Club Sandwich Roll- Turkey, Ham, Lettuce, Mayo, Tomato, Cheese".

17001 Rockville Pike B-1
Rockville, MD 20852
301-770-4030

Morton's- Bethesda, MD

Hi Everyone! I told myself I wasn't going to write about national restaurant chains, but I had a great experience at Morton's Steakhouse and thought "oh what the heck" so I'll blog about it anyway.

The bf and I were trying to decide on a place for our 5 year anniversary (we're going to Co Co Sala), and I came across a deal at Morton's for $99 for two people, which includes 2 appetizers, 2 surf and turf entrees, 2 sides, and 2 desserts. Such a good deal!

Located in Bethesda attached to the Hyatt Regency hotel, they offer valet parking and expensive garage parking. Since the Bethesda metro stop (red line) is pretty much across the street, there are a lot of metro parking garages.

The interior of Morton's is very classy. Lots of wood, low lighting and wine bottles everywhere.

The prices I'm listing are the actual a la carte prices. The bf got the 'Sliced Beefsteak Tomato- Purple onion, and Vinaigrette'($11). He thought it meant there was steak on there =) I ordered the 'Chopped Salad- Iceberg lettuce, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, bacon, blue cheese, chopped egg, purple onion, tomato, and avocado with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette'($11.50). I thought it was mediocre. Perhaps not enough flavor.

The bf ordered the 'Cajun Ribeye Steak'($43) with a 'Jumbo Lump Crab Cake'. I tried his steak and it was AMAZING! Very juicy and flavorful. The crab cake wasn't anything special though.

I ordered the 'Filet Mignon'($39) with 'Bacon-wrapped Scallops'. My filet mignon wasn't too flavorful and is a leaner cut of meat, so I actually prefered the ribeye. The scallops were very good since I love scallops and bacon, so together is the perfect pair.

For our sides we ordered 'Creamed Spinach'($11) and 'Macaroni & Cheese'($11). They were both delicious. There was probably a ton of butter in each of the sides, but it gave them so much flavor.

For dessert the bf got the 'Chocolate Lava Cake' and I ordered the 'Key Lime Pie'($10). We actually only ate the lava cake in the restaurant and took the pie home since we were stuffed. Both were great choices and yummy.

Overall most of the food was amazing. Some items were mediocre, but nothing was bad. The onion bread they gave is as we were waiting for our food was really good and fresh. The service was IMPECCABLE! Someone was always asking how we were doing, water glasses were constantly being filled (the bf is a camel), our server was so helpful with the menu...just everything. Our server even noticed that I had my camera with me and asked if it was for a special occasion, and it was kind of an early anniversary dinner, so they offered to take a picture of us and put it in a cardboard frame. It was so nice of them! Morton's is a very expensive place, but definitely worth it for a special occasion.

7400 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301-657-2650
Website

Monday - Thursday 5:30pm - 11pm
Friday - Saturday 5pm - 11pm
Sunday 5pm - 10pm

One Year/Capital Food Fight/Metropolitan Cooking Show

Time flies! I almost forgot today has been my first full year of Lunching in the DMV! It's been such a fun year doing what I enjoy.
A little history behind it: I used to have a makeup blog and realized that all of my money was actually going towards food. When going out to eat, I was taking pictures of my food anyway because I loved how it looked. I then decided to blog about where I was eating in order to help other people decide on places to try.
Thank you everyone so much for your comments, suggestions, and just stopping by to read. Thank you Cindy at RockvilleCentral.com for featuring my Rockville posts on your site, and to everyone that has linked me on their site.


The Capital Food Fight is an event I'd LOVE to go to, but it's a bit expensive. I'm still debating. 5 chefs are battling against one another, there is an auction going on, as well as 60 local restaurants participating in a tasting buffet for those attending. This is to raise money for DC's Central Kitchen.

Capitol Food Fight 2009
November 11, 2009
6pm-8:30pm
The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20004
$175

Battling Chefs:
Barton Seaver (Hook, TackleBox)
Michael Mina (Bourboun Steak)
Mike Isabella (Zaytinya)
Tracy O'Grady (Willow)
Bryan Voltaggio (Volt)

Hosts:
José Andrés (Café Atlantico, Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel)
Anthony Bourdain (Travel Channel's No Reservations)
Ted Leonsis (America Online)

Judges:
Ted Allen (Food Network's Chopped)
Eric Ripert (multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation)
Carla Hall (Alchemy Caterers)
Jonathan Umbel (Hook, TackleBox)

I will be going to The 2009 Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show. 200 vendors, local and celebrity chefs doing live cooking demonstrations, seminars, tastings, etc! I got tickets to go Saturday, and will be seeing Giada De Laurentiis cooking!

2009 Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show
Saturday November 7, 2009 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday November 8, 2009 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
$20 General Admission
$45 - $74.50 for celebrity demonstrations (includes general admission)
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001

Food Network Stars:
Paula Dean
Giada De Laurentiis
Guy Fieri
The Neely's
Tylar Florance
Jamie & Bobby Dean