Kitchen Progress Report

April 25, 2014 – Kitchen Progress Report

We’ve reached the end of Week 1 of the Kitchen Saga and we already have a new floor.  For those of you who were wondering if Elliott and I were doing all the work ourselves, the answer is “no.”  Elliott and I do whatever we possibly can, as well as some things that we really shouldn’t be doing.  Fortunately, Elliott found a competent and reliable contractor to do most of the labor.  He and Roger make a great team. 

Although we’re making progress, we were quite disappointed to learn that there’s going to be a delay in the delivery of our cabinets, which impacts the schedule for the rest of the project.  Since we’ve adjusted well to semi-subterranean cooking and dining, it won’t be a major hardship.  I can manage pretty well with a toaster oven and microwave, but we’ve also used this disruption as an excuse to eat out a little more often than we normally do.

Our friend Joel’s recent departure for Turkey, where he will resume his Medtrek (a walk around the entire perimeter of the Mediterranean Sea), inspired us to make a return visit to Zaytinya, a fabulous Turkish/Greek/Middle Eastern restaurant in DC. Since there were five of us (Marshall, plus friends Millicent and Andy), we were able to sample nearly a dozen different mezze.  All were delicious and beautifully presented.  The ones that I remember are grilled octopus, fried squid, shrimp in lemon-dill sauce, spanakopita, stuffed grape leaves, zucchini patties, okra with chickpeas, and lamb kebabs.  I washed all of this down with a glass of red wine from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.   

Needless to say, there was plenty to eat, but we couldn’t resist ordering dessert, too.  Fortunately, desserts were offered in mezze portions, which saved me from having to choose just one.  These are the two I ordered:

On the left, you see a mouth-watering mixture of muscat-soaked apricots, vanilla Greek yogurt cream, apricot sorbet and a sprinkling of pistachios.  On the right is the incredible Chocolate Rose – rose ice cream, chocolate custard, and spiced raspberry purée.  By the way, if you plan to eat at Zaytinya, it is imperative to make a reservation, as it is one of the most popular restaurants in DC. 

Our lunchtime dining-out adventures have been closer to home and much more modest. 

However, we were very pleased with a local pizza shop that Matt introduced us to today.  The aptly named Extreme Pizza on Maple Avenue in Vienna, Virginia, is a simple take-out place that’s hard to find but worth seeking out.  You can choose from a wide array of superb toppings, and they even offer a tasty gluten-free crust.  

More later – it’s time for my daily trip to Home Depot.