Author Archives: JillianLaffrey

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About JillianLaffrey

Listen - Harmonize - Execute. Communicator with a love of good food, typography, and song. Making a fuss in DC since 2010.

Bring on the Chocolate: Co. Co. Sala

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My job has many perks. Great transportation benefits, onsite credit union, good healthcare coverage. I’m lucky, I know. Those take a backseat to one particular function of my job: I plan private dinners. Over the past few years, this particular perk has taken me to Poste Moderne Brasserie, Acadiana, Bistro D’Oc, Fiola, Art and Soul, Bistro Bis, Zola, and Rasika. Our latest venture was one of the most luxurious meals that I have ever organized—a four-course meal at Co. Co. Sala. If you plan a private function at Co. Co. Sala, prepare to be seated in a quiet side room with gold and chocolate brown walls, swaths of red velvet, low Victorian couches, and heavy slate tables. The darkened, romantic room would be a perfect spot for a bachelorette party or intimate cocktail soirée. It was a bit of a departure from our normal business gathering, but it was really lovely.

Now for a warning: the Co. Co. Sala menu may induce fits of giddiness and child-like glee. As suggested by its name, this boutique restaurant incorporates chocolate into almost every dish, whether in a cocoa bean crust on the steak or a mocha hazelnut dressing coating a delicate salad. It’s very decadent, rich, and inventive food, but for someone with allergies, the menu does require some caution. As I was planning for this event, I made it very clear that peanuts could not come in contact with any of our food, and that it was important that this be made known to all staff involved.

A few of my guests also had dietary restrictions. One, a vegetarian, received a lovely artichoke tart, and a mushroom risotto in place of the regular fixed menu. The more challenging restriction was a guest’s allergy to the allium family. For those of you who aren’t versed in peculiar gastronomic classifications, the allium family contains onions, garlic, chives and leeks. This can be extremely dangerous; many dishes contain these ingredients but they wouldn’t necessarily be listed on a menu! Luckily, I knew about the allergy in advance, and the staff were able to prepare safe, allium-free dishes that looked absolutely extraordinary!

Safety precautions set, it was time to eat. The meal started with a manchego and baby arugula salad with caramelized walnuts, dates, apples, and oranges with a hazelnut and coffee dressing. I wasn’t too crazy about the salad, but I seemed to be the only one—everyone around me was scarfing it down! I commend the portion size though; it was a light and refreshing start to the meal. Next came the blue cheese beef sliders with mole sauce, sautéed spinach, and wild mushrooms. Although sliders often get a bad rap, these specimens were superb and ungodly rich. I may seriously rethink my previous praise of Ray’s Hellburgers as the best burgers in DC. Co. Co. Sala, with their meticulous choices of seasonings and interesting accompaniments, could give Ray a run for his money any day.

The third course literally blew me away. Set before us were two perfect crabcakes with mango salsa, chipotle chocolate tomato glaze, and an avocado cilantro emulsion on the side. The crab cakes were so perfectly creamy and flavorful, with a crispy batter that never bordered on greasy. Add in those crazy chocolate-tomato-cilantro combinations, and you have an astounding plate of food.

Now. Can I have a drum-roll please? It’s dessert time. And you know it’s gonna be good.

I’d like to tell you a bit about dish called “A Raspberry Affair.” Its delightfully glittering, hot-pink heart-shaped shell belies the sinfully rich, creamy center of the mousse. Every bite includes a pop of crispy chocolate pearls embedded in the fluff. Then, you take a spoonful of the tart, bright sorbet, and can almost taste the champagne bubbles tickling your throat. The artful swirls of chocolate with the dish are more than mere adornment—they’re the rich farewell kiss to this brief, but passionate affair.

Ah! But, wait! You thought it was all over. Well, you thought wrong. It wouldn’t be Co. Co. Sala without a final parade of chocolate. Two petit fours arrived—one, a rich but simple 70% dark chocolate truffle, and the other, a mojito-flavored pillow of chocolate with a bubble pattern making craters on the surface. As you can tell from the picture, I was so hasty to try the gorgeous chocolate, that I took a bite before I remembered to whip out my trusty camera!

All in all, this was an extremely delicious and enjoyable meal at Co. Co. Sala. They took great care of us, and were responsive and accommodating to the various dietary restrictions that I presented. I realize that most of my readers don’t have the luxury of executing a dinner contract that includes directives about allergies and other restrictions. But their willingness and ability to accommodate those requests suggests that Co. Co. Sala can be a safe environment for those with restrictions. Because the menu incorporates unexpected elements, I would suggest calling ahead and discussing your needs with the chef. But whatever you do, prepare yourself for a truly delicious meal.

 Co. Co. Sala | 929 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

Guest Post: Vegetarian and Vegan Dining in NYC

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As I have only just returned from the big city, I thought it timely to showcase a fellow blogger and friend who writes a fantastic blog on nutrition, exercise, life in NYC, along with an occasional clothing montage. She’s over at Lilveggiepatch, and I encourage you all to check out her blog. 

Hi Persnickety readers!  My name is Katie and I write a little blog called Lilveggiepatch, where I share my life, loves, and culinary fare here in New York City.  I’m here today to share some of my favorite vegetarian and vegan eats around the city.  Enjoy!

Peacefood Café (460 Amsterdam Avenue) is one of my favorite places to eat, vegetarian or not.  (All of the menu items are 100% vegan.)  The vibe inside is relaxed and tranquil, and all of the staff seems genuinely happy to be working.  They have several killer menu items, most notably the Japanese pumpkin sandwich with caramelized onions, ground walnuts, mixed greens and cashew cheese.  Order this with a side of chickpea fries and Peacefood will be on your mind for weeks. 

Caravan of Dreams (405 East 6th Street) is a vegan and partly raw restaurant in the East Village.  They have really interesting salads, like this omega: kale, sunflower sprouts & mixed field greens, avocado, spiced macadamias & hemp seeds and citrus hemp dressing.

Café Blossom (466 Columbus Avenue) has a few locations around the city; I’ve been to their Upper West Side location a couple times now and it has yet to disappoint.   Both times I’ve ordered garlic herb gnocchi with sautéed Brussels sprouts, white bean puree, and fresh lemon.  And both times, my boyfriend and I have also split a slice of their giant chocolate cake, which will rock your socks off. 

Candle Café (2427 Broadway) has become one of my mom and my go-to spots when we want a nice night out, just the two of us.  I’ve never ordered a dish there I didn’t like; their chili grilled tofu with quinoa-vegetable pilaf and sautéed kale over a black bean sauce comes served with avocado salad and has such an interesting mix of flavors and textures.  They also have a notable organic wine and beer list, if you’re so inclined. 

After your meal, stroll a block East for a scoop at Lula’s Sweet Apothecary (516 East 6th Street), an all-vegan ice cream shop that will make you nostalgic for bowties and barbershop quartets. 

Yum! Gotta plan my next trip!

Vacation Series Part III: Farm to Table

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My vacation was coming to a close, and my wallet was hurting just a bit. Luckily, we had planned a trip to the farm for my last full day in New York. As much as I love dining out, there is an extraordinary amount of value and appeal to picking out ingredients and building a meal from scratch in your own home. Even better? Traveling directly to the source of your food, talking with those that have grown or raised it, and selecting the best specimens from an array of fresh, local foods. Others write much more eloquently than I on the value of slow, local, organic, biodynamic, etc etc. I don’t feel qualified to comment on such a socially-complex and politically-charged arena, but I do know that I, as a consumer, am thoroughly enamored of the idea and, ultimately, my luxury in choosing locally-sourced food literally at the farm where it was grown.

Dane, Nolan and I had a laughably easy, and beautiful, commute out of the city to Blooming Hill Farm—only about an hour away. Blooming Hill is not just a fantastic farm; it represents a truly inspired business model. The on-site shop caters to hip New Yorkers—it’s just rustic enough to seem authentic (the feral cats sleeping in the pile of corn were legitimate), but it has been meticulously designed with subtle touches of “barn-chic.” Vintage milk bottles are lined up behind the prepared foods counter, and reclaimed barn doors provide structure and a bucolic aesthetic. It was well done–visually stunning.

Lining the tables are fresh, ripe and almost ridiculously gorgeous examples of the farm’s produce. An entire table is devoted to fresh herbs—a lush forest that borders crates of deep purple plums and yellow peaches. Bunches of garlic hang from the ceiling, and the gigantic faces of sunflowers cheerfully smile at you while you pick out the perfect kale and heirloom tomatoes.

The trip would not have been complete without an order at the small in-house restaurant; we ordered both the red and white pizza—tomato, mozzarella and basil, and homemade ricotta, fennel and roasted garlic, respectively. One may not expect delicious pizza from a farm, but the freshness of the ingredients made for some damn good eating.

It was not until we returned to the car with our bounty that we started discussing what kind of dishes we would prepare. We had picked out beautiful food, and we wanted to let the ingredients determine our meal. It was decided that we would visit a new butchery on the upper West Side for a perfect slab of ribeye to complement the produce that we had collected. We were not disappointed with Harlem Shambles Butchery, and the bowtie-clad butchers (the art of butchery seems to have gone a bit rogue) chose for us the most perfect cut of meat.

After procuring a few bottles of wine and gin to accompany the meal, we returned to Dane’s apartment. With the ribeye (quickly seared on both sides, just enough to leave a deep pink center) as our main, we decided to roast sweet purple, orange and white carrots with herbs in a cast-iron pan, throw together a reduced kale salad with pecorino, and slice the fat, colorful heirlooms tomatoes to serve with purple basil and a bit of sea salt. After Nolan and I were caught munching on a particular blue cheese we found in the fridge, Dane quickly commandeered it to create a blue cheese butter to accompany the ribeye.

A few gin and tonics, and a couple glasses of wine later, we had laid out the meal. I can only say that though each dish was deceptively simple, the outrageously flavorful ingredients made each dish really luxurious and wildly appetizing. Dane, as always, did most of the cooking, but I made a minor contribution in the form of dessert. We had chosen some midnight blue plums at the farm, and a quick combination of lemon juice, raw sugar and cinnamon with the sliced plums delivered a perfectly tart and sweet plum compote to top vanilla ice cream. One should never skip dessert.

The morning after, I made the trek back to DC. Spying the pathetically empty fridge, I promptly went out to purchase a microwave pot-pie for dinner. It’s really all about balance—one day you’re eating a locally sourced meal, meticulously prepared by your faux-chef brother, and the next, you may just be popping a microwave dinner in. Vacation ends, and the real world sets right back in again.