2010: Best Bites in DC

Ok, ok, enough with the far-away-restos... here were my fave bites that I snapped in 2010 right here in Washington, DC (in chronological order):

Cucumber Martini at Blue Duck Tavern

Lobster Cobb Salad at Smith & Wollensky (tastes better the first weekend the patio is open in Spring!)

District Taco on Saturdays at Courthouse Farmers Market

Mussels & Frites at Belga Cafe

 Many more after the jump...

2010: A Year In Food Travel

I travelled a lot in 2010 - and luckily it was to some food lovin' towns. Here's a chronological photo recap of my most memorable bites from around the USA.

Soft Shell Crab and Bananas Foster French Toast at Stanley in New Orleans, LA

Snickers Pancakes at Hash-a-Go-Go in Las Vegas, NV

Butter Radishes with Sea Salt at the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland, OH

Beef Cheek Pierogies at Lola in Cleveland, OH

Breakfast Tacos at Jo's Coffee in Austin, TX

Lavender Cocktail at East Side Showroom in Austin, TX

Duck Fat Fried Boiled Peanuts at Breslin in New York, NY

More pics & picks after the jump...

Butternut Squash, Mushroom & Gruyere Tart

I found this recipe in Food & Wine and am smitten. I've made it twice for parties this month, so if you're looking for the missing item in your New Years Eve menu, consider this Butternut Squash, Mushroom & Gruyere Tart. It's fairly easy, fast and hits both your sweet and savory taste buds. Oh, and it pairs fantastically with a Cabernet Savignon.

You can cook the squash and mushrooms ahead of time (with butter & shallot!).  Then mix them with some Gruyere cheese, creme fraiche, two egg yolks, a splash of vinegar and herbs. When you are ready to bake, you just lay out puff pastry dough (yep, just the kind from the grocery store) and spread the cheesy mixture over the top. Full recipe at Food & Wine.

DC Best Blogger: Pretty Please, Would You Vote for Me?

[NOTE: Voting has now closed. Thanks to everyone who voted for my blog!  - Tammy]

I feel totally self-serving asking you to do this... but I got nominated for DC's Best Blogger in the Washington Post's #DCTweeps contest. And as much as I can kick the dirt and say I don't care... winning it would be pretty cool. Would you mind clicking through and voting for me (listed as @floridagirlindc) here? (If you love me, love me, say that you love me, you could also post this on your Facebook, Twitter and ask your friends to help vote for me also... just sayin... *sheepishly*)

Cardigans "Lovefool"

PS. If you are looking for great folks to follow on Twitter, the other nominees in all of the categories are fantastic as well.

My 2010 Christmas Gift to You: Bacon Knots

I know I say this often, but these just might change your life. Bacon knots came to me through my old roomie Cat (the evil one that also brought you famous sausage dip). They are inexpensive, easy and will be the only thing your brunch guests will still be talking about a year later (ok, maybe they will also still talk about the Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding.)

Bacon Knots on Christmas morning 2010 (Photo: Tammy Gordon)

You need two things: bacon and brown sugar.

Directions after the jump:

What I've Been Eating: Brunch at Pinky's in Tampa

The first thing I read on the menu this morning was "Pancake Sandwich"... was there really a need to go further? (Though if I had, I might have made it to the Breakfast Quesadilla Kimbril had... or the Breakfast Cuban that my brother picked... Have I mentioned that I'm still full from yesterday's soul-foodgasm?)

I mean, of all of the times I've been to Pinky's, how have I missed this?

Kimbril's Breakfast Quesadilla

Stephen's Breakfast Cuban

Pinky's is located at 3203 West Bay to Bay Blvd. in Tampa, FL. Like 'em on Facebook to get the latest specials and new menu items.

What I've Been Eating: Carter's BBQ in Mulberry, FL

Today, I went on an epic soul food quest with my fellow food-obsessed pal, Jeff Houck of the Tampa Tribune.  He'd noticed that a few of his old Southern standbys had gone under recently (effing recession) and was researching a column on soul food standouts that survived. (I'll link to it as soon as it's live and won't scoop all of the great things we ate today.)

My favorite experience of the day was Carter's Bar-b-que in Mulberry, FL. If you like quirky road food, you'll agree this joint is worth the drive from Tampa.  First of all, you either walk up and place your order or drive thru. After that, you stand or sit in your car, because there are no tables at Carter's.

Luckily, Jeff's truck had a tailgate that held the substantial heft of our order. My favorites were the Rib Dogg and the corn fritters.

What is a Rib Dogg, you ask?  (And why does it have two "g"s...)  It's a rib, slathered in Carter's tangy mustard BBQ sauce and then wrapped with a piece of white bread.  The meat just fell off the bone making the seemingly daunting task of eating it appear easy... as you can tell by this series of photos, I enjoyed it.

Corn fritter porn after the jump...

I Love Ike

That is all.

It All Started With One Flip-Flop Ornament...

I love seeing Washington, DC all decked out for the holidays. Especially with this smattering of early snow that we got. My parents were visiting for Thanksgiving and before they left, Mom insisted that we get a Christmas tree (she knows me and knows I'd probably slack on doing this myself.) We piled in the car and plucked this one straight off of the truck at Eastern Market. They even put it in the stand for us, so all we had to do was add water. (And, yes, I remembered to keep watering it. You people don't trust me with anything...)

Being a new homeowner, I didn't have a lot of ornaments yet for my very own tree. I started out with this one... which is pretty "me".

I picked up three strands of white lights from Walgreens, a donated spool of ribbon and one 12 pack of pink frosted ornaments by Martha Stewart that were on sale at Macy's for just $4.99.  Old pink sheets became my tree skirt, and voila! Holiday homey-ness!

(Oh yeah, and the "fireplace" DVD came as a freebie in a winter stay at the W Hotel a few years ago...)  What do you think? Not bad for spending less than $25.00 on decorations! Link to or tweet me pics of your decorations - I love to see how creative everyone gets.

What I've Been Eating: Lunch at Ella's Wood Fired Pizza

I tend to forget about Ella's Wood Fired Pizza. It's just a *tad* farther than I usually travel for lunch during the work week. But, braving the cold this week rewarded me with this seasonal cozy meal:

Roasted Beet Ravioli

Butternut Squash Risotto

White Bean Puree, Mozzarella, Bacon, Tomato & Arugula Pizza

Don't judge... I split it with someone!

Ella's is located at 9th & F Street, right across from Gallery Place Metro - and close to the Penn Quarter Holiday Market. Though I didn't have it, they also have a hot chocolate on their specials which sounds like a perfect post-market warm up!

Exclusive DC Discount: Cool, Custom Pillows by Uptown Artworks

I saw these eco-friendly, created-in-the-USA Uptown Artworks pillows a few months ago, but there weren't any from places I connected with so I reached out to customize my own. A few emails back and forth with designer Lori Blum and voila! we now have not one but two Washington, DC options that I am so excited to have worked to create!

You can order any of the pillows at Uptown Artworks (in addition to these new DC pillows, they have NY, CA & New Orleans or customize your own) and get 15% off as a Florida Girl in DC reader. Just enter code UPTOWN15 at checkout.

Don't forget, if you love them but don't see one for your town, you can customize your own. Check out the one I made for my new condo that represents all of the places I lived in DC before finding my home:

Mine!

It's in the mail on the way here. I'll snap pics of my living room as it comes together and show you how the pillow personalizes my place.