Hello my friends!
This week in the life of Joy the Baker:
I learned that homemade eggnog is essentially chilled ice cream base with rum and nutmeg and if someone would have told me that unchurned ice cream was acceptable to drink a long time ago, I’d be in a heap of trouble.
Homemade eggnog recipe coming up soon.
I traveled up to New York again to teach a quick cooking class which has me brainstorming all the way I want to real-life gather with you in 2017. I’m thinking classes and workshops and really so much brunch.
I’ll be in Washington DC for a few moments early next week and if you know of a place I should have dinner in the city I would love to hear it.
It’s Sunday and I hope you are well and comfortable. Here’s some life this week:
• This Oakland tragedy is on my heart most prominently.
• These are the strong words of the week. “Now is the time to counter lies with facts, repeatedly and unflaggingly, while also proclaiming the greater truths: of our equal humanity, of decency, of compassion. Every precious ideal must be reiterated, every obvious argument made, because an ugly idea left unchallenged begins to turn the color of normal.” Now is the time to talk about what we’re actually talking about.
• We are constantly pivoting in the world we’ve created for ourselves. The Attorney Fighting Revenge Porn
• In some ways we’ve tossed the concept of ‘home’ up in the air like confetti and it’s liberating and exciting, but as the pieces fall to the floor, we want to reorganize them in a way that feels familiar to us. I think we can do it. Nobody is Home. ”
• It’s important: Mashable shows up what it feels like to live below the poverty line in San Francisco.
• In my daydreams I wander around crisp Autumn Notting Hill, honestly one of my real-life highlights of my 2016. Here’s my friend Jessica’s Notting Hill Neighborhood Guide.
• David Blaine totally freaks out Drake with small frogs. That’s a totally normal sentence to type. Follow up: this might be even more crazy.
• Currently reading: The Liars Club by Mary Karr
• The New York Times list of The 10 Best Books of 2016, which, if you scroll through… is really a list of the way we are in the world right now.
• I’m fussing around with making my own Embroidery Necklaces as gifts for Christmas.
• You had me at Sugar Buns.
• The dark (though delicious) history of gingerbread men. And here’s a vegan version of gingerbread men for holiday inspiration.
• Man Who Baked Banana Bread Spends Entire Party Anxiously Watching It Go Uneaten. We’ve all been there, buddy.
• Why are we the worst? (Actual question)
• This week I donated to the Skid Row Housing Trust in Los Angeles. Think about it.
We’re in this together.
xo Joy
45 Responses
Head to Eden Center (just outside DC) for amazing Vietnamese at Paper Moon
I love these lists, Joy. Always good, inspiring, and informative,
DC picks: Ted’s Bulletin for breakfast.Everything is great, but it’s really all about the homemade Pop-Tarts. They are amazing. Good Stuff for the best burgers and shakes ever. Red Velvet Cupcakery has hands down the best red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting I’ve ever had.
Here’s another vote for Bad Saint (if you have plenty of line-waiting time).
xx Hannah // http://www.HomemadeBanana.com
Joy, Definitely go eat at Tail Up Goat while in DC. SOOOo soo soooo gooooood.
So many places to recommend in D.C.! If you want to explore a lot of different tastes in one place, check out Union Market. I also second the recommendations for Donburi and Red Hen. A Baked Joint is also awesome for sandwiches, awesome bread and hot coffee.
Highly recommend Zaytinya for a fab Mediterranean “tapas” dinner in DC!
The Red Hen in DC! (sit at the bar if you’re able because it’s always packed)
Bad Saint or Rose’s Luxury. Enjoy D.C.!
If you have time (not likely with these great recommendations!) swing by Union Market to check out some of the latest food pop-ups and amazing permanent stalls. Kinda like the Ferry Building but smaller scale.
I always look forward to your Sunday posts! I think we are kindred spirits in many ways! I have tried, however, to open the recipe post for the Very Versatile Orecchietti with Sausage + Parmesan and it will not open–I’ve tried both the iPad and laptop.
RE: DC Restaurants
1. All Purpose (get the meatballs!)
2. The Fainting Goat (Eclectic)
3. Daikaya (Ramen) (be sure to get the dumpling too!)
4. Fiola Mare (incredible seafood and service)
Oh my sugar buns!!!
Definitely making the sugar buns this weekend! I’ve only been to DC once, stayed in the Woodley Park so my only dining experiences were at Open City(I think we ate there at least 4 times) and the Lebanese Taverna.
https://www.lebanesetaverna.com/restaurant-locations/lebanese-restaurant-washington-dc/##group-private-dining-info
I look forward to your posts. The “Now is the time ……” is so powerful and so true. I hope people really start being vocal about injustices, etc., as we really need it now more than ever. <3
Acqua al 2!! Incredible Italian food and great atmosphere. If I’m working when you come in I will completely freak out/hook you up with some great Italian wines :) Pitango gelato, near eastern market, is also always great
DC recommendations are spot on! i second bad saint and thip khao for sure. kyirisan in shaw in delicious. maple on 11th street is, by now, not super trendy, but is a prime example of a delicious neighborhood italian spot with a bit of elegance (try the lamb bolognese). maketto on h street ne is phenomenal. dram and grain (inside jack rose in adam’s morgan) has delicious cocktails. enjoy your time here!
The Dabney in DC. Its right up your alley.. and actually down an alley. :)
So excited to hear you’re going to be in DC!!! I moved here almost 3 years ago and the food culture here is phenomenal! It’s so inspiring to see chefs try new things out, like incorporating classic french training with their family backgrounds (e.g. Kyirisan where its asian cuisine with french techniques – think scallop risotto with basil ICE CREAM that you stir in when you eat it). I also love Tail Up Goat (any of their bread dishes is amazing… and the lamb ribs will have you licking the plate clean). For something low-key check out Keren – it’s a small Eritrean (a lot like Ethiopian) restaurant owned by a friendly guy who will tell you all about his family (his sister owns a coffee shop in DC called Ebenezer) while you attempt to make a dent in your huge pile of food! And you can’t forget about Thip Khao (go for the Jungle menu)!
And if you want a baked good (of course you do) check out Buttercream Bakeshop, Bread Furst (a freshly baked loaf of bread is a way better plane snack than those stale pretzels) and Baked and Wired (ginormous cupcakes and delicious scones).
I hope you enjoy DC and wish you could stay longer! I hope you come back and do an event here – it’d be great to meet you in person!
I wish you would send some love to Gatlinbhrg TN and the Great Smoky Mountains national park – 1000 homes lost, 14 lives lost and 17,000 acre burned
Thank you for linking to my necklace. It’s not every day that I check my phone and find thousands of new Etsy views! :)
I’m going to make a biased recommendation for DC, which is The Red Hen (theredhendc.com). Great housemade pastas, interesting wines, and banging desserts in a great atmosphere. Biased because I’m the pastry chef there, and you’ve been inspiring me for years. (I’ve been reading your blog for over 6 years, before I even went to pastry school!) If not Red Hen, I would also suggest All Purpose Pizzeria or Tail Up Goat. So glad you’re making a stop in DC, regardless of where you end up!
Early welcome to DC! For excellent food you can’t go wrong with Tail Up Goat, Convivial, Ethiopian (various joints across DC, our fave is Ethiopic), The Partisan, The Dabney, Daikaya, and/or Rasika. Enjoy your time here and thanks for all the delicious recipes over the years!
Just wanted to say that this roundup of links is wonderfully well done pretty much every Sunday. I always find something thoughtful and smart and inspiring and occasionally maddening (but in a good way) to read here. Thanks for doing it.
Joy! The pasta link is a dead link for me, just fyi! It routed me back to your homepage.
A few DC faves: Thip Khao (Laotian in Columbia Heights), Bar Civita (a little neighborhood spot in Woodley Park – totally overlooked, but never fails to be delicious), Florida Avenue Grill (for classic diner food with a side of history), barmini (the cocktail tasting is AMAZING and I’m not even a cocktail person. And the snacks include the El Bulli olives), and ANXO (cider and pinxos from northern Spain), Zaytinya (Jose Andres mediterranean small plates – the tasting menu is a pretty good value).
Thank you for sharing that piece by Chimamanda, I’ve lovedette everything of hers I’ve read.
Can anyone see what this week’s pasta dinner is? I’m getting “page not found”. Thanks!
thank you as always. Love reading your Let It Be Sunday posts! I look forward to them. Thanks for posting The New Yorker article. Very powerful.
I love Convivial in DC!
Strong words of the week- so true! Always enjoy “Let It Be Sunday”, a perfect blend of inspiration and wisdom. Thank-you for your marvelous blog. Another Ellen
Thank you for posting the New Yorker article. Every word is essential.
Hope you read the other two Karr’s, Cherry and Lit. What a life!
I agree with all the DC recommendations, especially Tail Up Goat. You may not want to wait in line for Rose’s Luxury or Bad Saint since it’s so cold, but they are good. Downtown: ramen, I suggest Daikaya, Cuba Libra, Smoked and Stacked have really good pastrami sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. Petworth//Shaw: Convivial, Kinship, and La Jambe (French wine bar). If you really want to splurge, Masseria at Union Market.
My short list of DC fav: donburi. Yep that’s it. Please please please try it and recreate it. We would all be the better for it. And if you have time for brunch tabard inn.
Oh and have you ever tried boiled custard? Yum.
Books not cooks but I was curious foe the best cooks!
I second Ethiopian (DC has the largest Ethiopian population outside of Addis Ababa). For a restaurant pick I’m partial to Keren at 1780 Florida Ave NW.
I came down just to say Keren! Unpretentious and delicious and family-run. Rose’s Luxury is the opposite end of the spectrum but also makes my heart sing.
In DC, consider Tail Up Goat, Red Hen and All Purpose. Also check the Washington Post Fall Dining Guide. Bad Saint is one of the hottest restaurants in town and has amazing Filipino food, but one must wait in line, given they do not take reservations.
I didn’t know that either about the eggnog, but I don’t drink so rum I couldn’t do, but I love eggnog, my son who is 39 has always loved it
I was also going to say Bad Saint but you beat me to it!
I know the place! The only tricky part is that they do not take reservations. So, we arrived at 4:45 and stood in line. I think you would love the atmosphere and you can’t help but love the food. The service is friendly, etc. Look up the reviews! https://www.rosesluxury.com
Uh, it’s actually The 10 Best Books…..not Cooks, though that greatly interested me.
D.C. has some great ethnic restos, especially for cuisines that can be hard to find, like Ethiopian. The one I went to probably isn’t around anymore, but you can surely find one. My favorite dish is gored gored (it’s raw beef, but I live in France and love steak tartare).
Can’t wait for your eggnog recipe; it isn’t commercially available here.
Oh No! It is worse what happed in that Nike Shop.
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com