Who knew you could smoke meat without a smoker? Phil, of course! The shot above is from last weekend’s barbecue – made effortlessly (well, effortlessly for Phil) in his favorite wedding gift of all, our Weber Charcoal Grill. The following day we sent our guests home with the leftovers (lucky ducks) and walked over to Tex’s Barbecue to eat (I’m dead serious) even more barbecue. We ordered a beef brisket sammy – topped with SAUCE, of course! – and a side of slaw. It was incredible! So if you’re in the mood for some BBQ (and Phil’s not around to cook it), check out Tex’s schedule and head on over to Phoenixville. He’s in town one weekend a month, smokin’ up good eats Friday through Sunday.

And I promise to post a shot of Tex’s Barbecue the next time we walk over. We ate it so darn fast

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Ironically, we’ve never actually purchased falafel – together, that is – until today. I don’t know what made today different .. Maybe it was the crisp fall air? Maybe the yummy drinks at 202 gave us the kick we needed?  Who knows. The stars aligned and 20 minutes after business was wrapped up for the day, we found ourselves standing outside Taim Falafel & Smoothie Bar in the West Village.

I went with the traditional green and Phil chose harissa (Where’s the fun if we both get the same thing?). Honestly, it might have been the best falafel I have ever eaten – no lie. And to top off the sheer deliciousness of our lunch, they were perfectly constructed too. This means that I not only bit into freshly fried and perfectly crispy falafel when I started my lunch, but there was also freshly fried and perfectly crispy falafel at the bottom of my pita. Brilliant! Just when I thought I was down to lettuce and dressing, Voila – more freshly fried and perfectly crunchy falafel!

So the next time you’re in the city TALKING about falafel, do yourself a favor and hit up Taim at 222 Waverly Place. It’s so much better than just TALKING about falafel.

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OK, so I’ve never had a birthday cake – well, I’ve never had a traditional birthday cake. For my 29 birthdays, it’s always been ice cream cake, chocolate chip cookie (pizza) pies, even fruit salad, but NEVER cake. Cake is dry and crumbly. Cake is tasteless. Cake is nothing more than a vehicle for icing, and between you and me, there’s too much cake in relation to buttercream!

This is how I felt until I met my husband’s mom, Cheets (I’m still lost on the nickname!). Cheets absolutely adores cake; Actually, the entire family adores cake, making it crucial for me to find something about cake to love. My number of family celebrations where cake is sure to be served has now doubled – It’s sink or swim time!

Back to Momma F. I knew I could trust Cheets to show me the very best that cake has to offer, so I decided to share a slice (baby steps!) when she picked up a cake from The Flour Shop in Bethlehem. The cake was amazing. It was like no other cake I’d ever tasted .. and I’ve tasted a lot of cake over the years. The cake was moist, slightly sticky and tasted like real dark chocolate. The buttercream was velvety and perfectly not-too-sweet. It was true cake perfection.

Since my first Flour Shop experience, I’ve happily indulged in any piece of Flour Shop cake I can get my hands on. Especially the Perfectly Pink Seashell Cake served at our wedding celebration this past Saturday (check out the nice shots my brother-in-law took!). And just to explain how serious I am about this bakery, we dragged this pretty little cake all the way to Cape May, NJ so that I could eat cake at my wedding. Lol! Actually, Cheets dragged it (thanks mom!).

So if you’re one of those people who has sworn of dry, tasteless cake forever, you owe it to yourself to check out The Flour Shop and GIVE CAKE ONE MORE SHOT. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

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We each ordered a Ketel One gimlet to start. There really isn’t a better cocktail at 5:45 on a Friday evening and the friendly bar staff at Edge always serves a delicious one. I went rocks, she went up. Both were stellar.

The happy hour menu they offer is an abbreviated version of there regular bar menu .. but at half price! The solid selections include the likes of oysters on the half, calamari, cavatappi pasta, tuna tartare, crispy pizza and even a pulled pork sandwich. I’m definitely forgetting a few, but you get the idea. We chose the tuna tartare and the cavatappi pasta (we share everything we order). The tuna tartare was lovely and by request you can ask for it a little spicy. We did. It was elegantly presented and equally as elegant in taste. I often see tuna tartare disguised with countless other flavor profiles that ultimately hide the dish and the idea gets lost. This was fresh, delicious and I came close to ordering a second. It was served with crispy wonton chips. Nice touch. The pasta on the other hand was blasted with many different items to compose a ragout of sorts. There was andouille sausage, edamame, chicken and fresh herbs. They were big, powerful flavors (that took us for a ride!) and the olive oil base added a velvety deliciousness. It was awesome. On top of it, cavatappi pastas are on our official Pasta A-List (great texture!).

To sum it up and give the score, two appetizers, two gimlets and two martinis ran us $35. And this is a Monday through Friday 5-7pm happy hour! Not bad at all. Cheers!

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Apparently, according to locals, Ben’s is a D.C. institution of sorts. It is a glowing landmark eatery on U street  that has seen the frequent patronage of Bill Cosby and President Obama. In fact, according to a hand written sign just below the massive menu, these two eat for free. You won’t find white table cloths at Ben’s, but after a 1 AM chili half-smoke  with onions and mustard and a side of chili fries you’ll find yourself in complete understanding why people have flocked to Ben’s for over 50 years. It was tasty, vibrant and probably an absolute “must” have while in the area. I’m thinking a chili half-smoke is in order for my next visit. That’s what I have been told anyhow. Who gets it, will get it. The staff even serves while dancing and singing old school Motown tunes. I thought it was fantastically inviting.

If you are not familiar with half-smokes, they are similar to a hot dog yet larger, spicier  and with more coarsely ground meat. They can often be mistaken for kielbasa. However, the etymology of half-smokes is uncertain. I was just informed of them myself while being in D.C. this past weekend. All I was told was that they were damn good. Very true.

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