Krik's Picks

I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but it was a victory lunch … celebrating the hiring of a new staff person who will open a Washington office for Land O'Lakes . She picked Art & Soul , and I eagerly agreed. Art & Soul is in the ‘new’ Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel . The hotel is part of a boutique chain called Affinia. They have hotels in DC, Chicago, and New York City. I’ve never stayed at one. The décor is flashy and cool. Lots of art, creative lighting, bold color. I’m told it’s becoming the hot new venue for political events in DC. Jen, my new employee, ordered the fried chicken. She said it’s her favorite and a rare indulgence. I didn’t try a bite. (After all, I just hired her. I’m not going to start picking food off her plate … yet.) The menu calls it ‘Maryland style’ which I suppose refers to the breading on the chicken. It looked very good. Crisp but not at all greasy. It came with a serving of potato salad. That really looked good. I thought the starters on the menu ...

While waiting for a patio table to open up at “It’s Greek to Me,” my wife and I spied a rooftop bar across the street. It was a beautiful early September evening (Labor Day weekend). So we decided to give it a try. The name of the establishment was moto-i . It bills itself as the first sake brewery restaurant outside of Japan. It describes itself as a Japanese pub, serving small plates, noodles, rice, and of course, sake. The restaurant makes draft sake or namazake. We saw some glasses being served, and it looked interesting. We opted for a couple of sake cocktails. I had a Cucumber Cooler. It was nigori sake, Hendricks gin, and vodka. I like the cucumber infused flavor of Hendricks and usually have a bottle in my freezer at home. The sake in this martini was reminiscent of vermouth, but had a distinct sake flavor. It was served with a slice of cumber. My wife had Lychee Lovedrop. It had futsuu sake, lychee syrup, and Yazi Ginger Vodka. The server said it would have a pear flavor, and...

By Vicki Hicks (Krik's Note: You've seen my friend Vicki Hicks in a previous post. She jets off regularly to Paris and then regales me with tales of her culinary ventures. After our dinner at Founding Fathers earlier this year, I asked her to write a guest post about her visits to Paris chocolate shops. Read on ...) During my most recent trip to Paris in February I was only on the ground for four days. I have visited Paris many times and have hit most of the tourist highlights and a few obscure places as well. What to do with such little time? We decided to take a tour of some of the best chocolate shops Paris has to offer. To begin our search for the ultimate in chocolate decadence, we referred to an article in last December's New York Times. While we did not visit each of the shops mentioned in the Times, we did manage to identify two standouts from our tour. It just happened that our chocolate tour was conducted on Valentine's Day. Our first stop was Patrick Roger...

In March, I promised a review of Agraria in Washington, DC. Sorry that it’s taken so long. I’ve actually been there twice since the March post on its sister restaurant Founding Farmers . As I write this, I was there with a group of grassroots farm activists last night. The farmers who I bring to DC really like the concept. Agraria is intended to help consumers connect with the farmers who grow the food. The restaurant grew out of a concept by the North Dakota Farmers Union , and there are a lot of individual farmers who are investors in the venture. I have to admit that I was not an early fan of Agraria. On my first visit for dinner, I was frankly unimpressed. A follow-up lunch, I felt it was better but not anything worth raving about. It wasn’t until I started using it as a venue for group dinners that I became an enthusiastic fan. I think it just took a while for them to hit their stride and really start to refine the concept. Now, I couldn’t imagine bringing a group to DC without ...

I don’t really consider myself to be a ‘ Francophile .’ I mean really. Who doesn’t love French cooking and who doesn’t find Paris to be the most romantic city in the world? But does that necessarily make you a Francophile? Still, I must admit to being quite intrigued by the French Revolution. When you think about the support that the French gave to the American revolutionaries – I mean, without them, our revolution probably wouldn’t have succeeded – you’ve gotta wonder: How did the French Revolution go so off-kilter? The ideals of “Liberte, Fraternite, Egalite” ring so true to the American Revolution. So how it all end up with a ‘reign of terror,’ mechanized execution ala the guillotine, and eventually the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as a megalomaniac, emperor, and would-be world conqueror? So that’s sort of a roundabout way of saying that I always pay attention to July 14 – Bastille Day. This year, I found myself home alone on Bastille Day. Linda is in Duluth at her sister’s cabin on ...

12 oz. orzo pasta 2 Tbsp. + ½ c. olive oil 1½ c. (6 oz.) seasoned feta cheese, crumbled 1 c. chopped red bell pepper 1 c. chopped yellow bell pepper ¾ c. Kalamata olives, pitted 4 green onions, chopped 2 Tbsp. drained capers 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. minced garlic 1½ tsp. dried oregano 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1 tsp. ground cumin 3 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted Cool orzo according to package directions, until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain and transfer to large bowl. Toss w/ 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Add feta, peppers, olives, onions, and capers. Combine lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard, and cumin in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil; season w/ salt and pepper. Add dressing to orzo and toss. Cover and refrigerate; can be made 6 hours in advance. Garnish with pine nuts and serve.

My sister-in-law and her husband have a lake cabin north of Duluth. It happens to be the cabin that their family had when they were growing up. Every summer, we have a big extended family get-together at the cabin. That started this weekend. Food becomes a big part of the celebration. Nothing fancy, you understand. Actually, this is one of those occasions when the meals get judged on quantity, not necessarily quality. One year, when I burned the chicken almost beyond recognition, the meal was still a success because everyone got enough to eat. Krik’s Picks gets mentioned from time to time. It’s usually in the context of, “Steve, you should write about this in your blog.” That happened on Saturday night. Blake (Linda’s brother) grilled burgers and Cindy (Blake’s wife) made a pasta salad. It was great! By the time the meal was over, people were complimenting the salad and someone said, “Steve, you should write about this on your blog.” As luck would have it, I had my camera. So Cindy and...