D.C. Cheap Eats: Pret a Manger

Pret a Manger is a new sandwich shop imported to the U.S. from Britain.  But don’t let that deter you! (Sorry ) The pilot has already taken off in (notoriously cutthroat) NYC, which now has about 20 restaurants.  Sometime around January 2009, Washington finally got one, too.  I tried Pret yesterday and can happily report [...]

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Have You Met…

…the 99 Cent Chef? The 99 Cent Chef is more than just a goofy guy who loves cheap food and breakdances badly.  He’s also a talented cook who manages to reinvent inexpensive ingredients in dishes you might actually eat (although I won’t go anywhere near those Vienna sausages—gross).  In these times especially,  it pays to think outside the [...]

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D.C. Cheap Eats: $5 Well Spent @ Shawarma King

Today, I reached sandwich nirvana.  Do you ever eat felafel, those little croquettes made of chickpeas, fava beans, bulgur, parsley, and a medley of savory spices?  They’re often done wrong—restaurants typically pre-fry them in big batches and just reheat as needed.  Not surprisingly, this turns them into overcooked, bland, oil-logged little hockey pucks, tolerable only when drowned [...]

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D.C. Cheap Eats: Mussels at Bistrot du Coin

There are a fair number of places to get a good bang for your buck in Washington, D.C.—if you know where to look and how to order. But close to Dupont Circle and certainly downtown, good, cheap food can be hard to find. Tourists in town for Obama’s inauguration are likely to be disappointed if [...]

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S.O.S.

Credit: http://www.kitchencritic.co.uk I have a particular fondness for one-pot, braised meals, both because I don’t have a dishwasher (sigh) and also because these tend to be historically peasant dishes that use inexpensive ingredients. So what’s the problem?  I recently tried to make Arroz con Pollo, and although the flavors were delicious, the rice was soggy.  I’m trying [...]

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