BACK TO DC: MARVIN & TANGYSWEET

Returning from a “Summer” long-weekend escape from the DC area always leaves me with a mix of emotions. As usual, I am back in L.A. absolutely missing my family and friends; especially my niece and nephew, who are both extremely adorable. Yet at the same time, it has been a blessing to return to SoCal weather, which is unabashedly humidity-free… well, it was actually a little humid when I flew in last night, but it definitely doesn’t come nearly as close to the humidity of the East Coast. My feelings about family and weather aside, I definitely had a great time nonetheless.

I couldn’t visit the city without a trip down “Foodie Lane.” My buddy, Leah, was (of course) on hand to share in the foodie-festivities. Originally, the plans were to visit Todd English’s Olives restaurant in DC. While we had planned to meet up for an early dinner on Labor Day Monday, we found out later that Mr. English’s spot isn’t actually open on Mondays. Boo on that. Next on the list: Michel Richard’s Central. But of course, as many celeb chef spots go, it was pretty much impossible to get a reservation in at the last minute. Instead, Leah made the suggestion to try out a place in the U Street corridor called Marvin.

Luckily, Leah had been to Marvin before. I, on the other hand, was to experience it for the first time. The restaurant is situated in the very trendy area where U and 14th streets collide; an area known for it’s hip furniture shops, hot clothing boutiques, and excellent restaurants and bars. Marvin is a spot that fits into the mold quite perfectly. Its specialty is Belgian fare, but the place itself is an homage (of sorts) to Marvin Gaye (I found out later that Mr. Gaye went to Belgium on a personal retreat when things were going a little ‘crazy’ for him in the States…); an interesting mix to say the least. The restaurant is small, yet roomy, and filled with dark furniture reminiscent of a classic prohibition era brasserie. The room is decorated lightly; the main focus being a large portrait of Marvin himself. The front of the room welcomes you with a fully-stacked bar, and tables fill the inside dining area, with booths situated on both sides.

The menu offers classic Belgian fare, with the highlight being their moules et frites. We quickly decided that we had to have that as our starter, and we chose the mussels in a curry sauce. The frites were nicely crisp, and not overly greasy. They were accompanied by three dipping sauces: a wasabi mayo, ketchup, and another sauce – if I recall correctly, it was a garlic aioli sauce… all three complimented the frites nicely. The mussels were cooked in a very flavorful sauce, however a good number of them were undercooked, which worried us a little. But despite that, we were fairly satisfied since we had more food to come. I decided to try their take on the Chicken and Waffles dish, which was truly worlds away from Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. A plump “Belgian” waffle was placed on top of cooked, saucy collard greens. And on top of that was a golden-brown free-range chicken breast; its skin fried to a "southern-style" crisp. The dish came with a side of maple syrup, and made up a culinary masterpiece that only I could appreciate (well, between Leah and I). Leah ordered a side of cheese grits with shrimp, and a dandelion salad – which was a little too bitter. It probably would’ve worked more if it were mixed with more greens. Her meal was definitely more on the “interesting” side. Our meal was capped with wine and cocktails, and then we were off to find dessert elsewhere.

Our first choice for dessert happened to close early because of the holiday, so we missed out on that. But then we headed towards Dupont Circle to hit up Tangysweet, The District’s answer to Pinkberry. Located in a conspicuous spot almost directly across from Café Japone, and doors down from DC Café, Tangysweet is a chic, little place that offers a simple and no-nonsense menu of Pinkberry-esque frozen yogurt. As we entered the shop, we found ourselves in a minimalist room with stone floors and walls, with little table-tops extending from the left side of the wall. Along part of the right side of the space were a few tables lined up in what looked like a well-lit space where customers could gather around and hang out. The menu had three staple flavors: classic, green tea, and raspberry-pomegranate. They also featured a “flavor of the month,” which was a peachy-something (it escapes me). Toppings ranged from granola and other dry cereals (including something that looked like Trix), to freshly cut fruit. As we had our little taste test, I kept referring to it as “Pinkberry,” and the owner kept correcting me… I had to profusely apologize for messing up that way! I ended up getting a small classic with raspberries, and Leah got the peachy flavored one with raspberries, too. It was a nice way to cleanse our palate after a delicious dinner, and perfect to help us cool off despite the humidity that lingered way into the evening.

Thankfully, I enjoyed another taste of the ever-changing foodie landscape of the DC area. It’s definitely one that I am proud of.

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The real highlight of my trip, however, was visiting my family... most especially my adorable niece, Lexi, and her new-born baby brother, Noah. These two are truly my hearts.