Food
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Tacombi y El Califa de León
The night after seeing Suki Waterhouse in DC, I saw that there was a Califa de León pop-up in Arlington. Califa de Leon is the first and only taqueria in the world with a Michelin star. After gaining their first star this year, it seems like there have been several pop-ups across the US. I’m lucky enough to have gone to the one at Tacombi!
I ordered a simple meal: an avocado tostada and beef filet tacos. All I knew about these tacos going in was that they are good enough for no toppings. I tried the salsas it came with but preferred it as is. They were simply delicious, but I wouldn’t have waited hours the way some did. The tostada was a nice warm-up to the tacos.
Writing this, I have learned that the meat for the tacos are simply seasoned with salt and lime. It’s all about the quality of the meat and homemade tortillas. I’d like to recreate these at home myself, but also want to make my own version where I make the steak flavorful enough for the no toppings as well.
Overall, I had a great experience and would like to try tacos straight from Califa de León. Would I go out of my way to try Tacombi’s version, no, but I’m still glad I got to try them.
Recent Eats
Two weeks of meals and some party treats!
Breakfast
Chia Pudding and Whipped Coffee
One of my favorite snacks growing up was microwaving frozen berries because it made the fruit juicy and warm. Now, I like to add chia seeds for an easy breakfast or snack. In this picture, I blended plain Greek yogurt and raspberries to try something new. In the future, I would use my favorite, vanilla Yoplait. I think I used a bitter/sour combination which didn’t work great together.
I don’t usually drink coffee, but this week I was very nappy, so I made my own at home. I put instant coffee, brown sugar, vanilla, and water in a cup and used a frother to whip it before adding ice and milk.
Lunch
Brie Toasts and Tomato Salad
I could tell you all the ways my mom would spoil me for all meals growing up, but the easiest one to recreate is her cheese toasts. Usually, she would put gruyere on since that was the only cheese I liked at the time. It’s the most simple breakfast or snack and is just so delicious.
I paired it with a tomato salad with cannellini beans dressed only with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
This is a yummy meal that is put together in just 5 minutes!
Dinner
Bucatini with Sausage
The only brand of pasta I will ever make for myself is De Cecco, so when I saw that Kroger had their bucatini in stock, I knew I had to grab some. One of my favorite easy sauces is homemade tomato sauce (you can find my recipe here), plus a great protein to throw into pasta is Italian sausage. After cooking the sauce down with some pasta water, I like to turn the heat off, add my cheese, and mix until the cheese is gooey and coats the bucatini well. After plating, top it off with a drizzle of olive oil.
Breakfast
Fresh Mangoes
Growing up with both a Filipino mother and nanny, I was well fed in general, but also with the juiciest mangoes you could find. I get so excited when I find these mangoes when I’m grocery shopping, but they’re pretty expensive so I have to limit myself. This is my favorite way to eat these and a great way to start the day!
Lunch
Spicy Salmon and Masago
After discovering the new Asian market near me, I’ve started making sushi variations at home whether it’s spicy tuna and crispy rice or onigiri. Here, I made my spicy salmon and added masago to give it some texture.
I love using different proteins with this combination of seaweed and rice with Maggi seasoning to create the perfect bites! Bulgogi and plain masago are some of my favorites.
Croissant Crack
For a friend's birthday party, I made this snack based on a reel I saw on Instagram and successfully made caramel for the first time. First, I cut store-bought croissants and rolled them out before toasting them in a pan, rolled them again before pouring the caramel on top in a sheet pan, and finished it off with chocolate and salt. It turned out way easier than I anticipated!
I was addicted to eating this all night and days after.
Dinner
Miso Soup with Udon Noodles
Two of my comfort foods, miso soup, and udon noodles, are the perfect cold-weather combination. The chewy noodles and warm broth are irresistible. Miso soup is something that can be whipped up in just a few minutes with water and chicken bouillon or broth, and miso paste. In the background of this picture you can see my first attempt at shrimp tempura as well as some fried green beans that are topped with salt.
This is a quick, simple, but delicious dinner!
Roasted Garlic Hummus
An easy snack that’s great to share or not.
I got some store-bought hummus and two heads of garlic. After roasting the garlic, I mashed the cloves and mixed them on top of the hummus. This could have used a head or two more, but was a hit at the birthday party with some thin pretzels!
Early Bird Biscuit Co.
I’ve walked past this spot several times but haven’t had the chance to try it for a while. As the name says, this spot is for early birds because the hours are limited to mornings/early afternoon, 5 days a week.
The interior has a very cozy vibe with retro decor, a young staff, and a simple yet great menu with a quick turnaround.
I was excited to try the biscuits and gravy, but my favorite part of the meal turned out to be the raspberry peach jam with a plain biscuit. Based on the color of the jam, I had a feeling there wasn’t going to be a ton of peach flavor, and I was right. But it was still great nonetheless. I wish I got more in the small container they gave me, but oh well. The biscuits and gravy were impressively flavorful. The gravy had a kick to it and was one of the best I’ve had.
I’m excited to go back and try more of their menu!
Shyndigz
In the short time I’ve lived in Richmond, I do know that everyone knows about Shyndigz or, at least, The FANcy Biscuit. Their reputation is well earned.
To my knowledge, this location recently reopened after closing due to Covid. It has such a nice atmosphere with a cute market in the back, in front of the window view of the in-house bakery.
There are several things I want to try on their menu, but I was in the mood for a sweet treat and definitely treated myself a bit! I got a crème brûlée , a half-slice of fresh fruit cake, and two caramels covered in milk chocolate. I was impressed that my crème brûlée was torched to order, and I’m so glad because the crispy top was thick and the custard was creamy. Unfortunately, I wouldn't say I liked the caramels. I am a sucker for caramel and milk chocolate together, but there was an odd taste to these caramels that I was not a fan of, oof. By the time I got to the cake, I was a bit stuffed but still managed to eat some. It was heavier than I expected, but it was still good.
I’m excited to go back and try their savory foods and foods from their market!
Pinky’s
After one of my roommates conquered the Richmond Half-Marathon, we headed to brunch at Pinky’s in Scott’s Addition, location in RVA. I had been here once before a couple years ago, but I was excited for the delicious food I remembered!
The food at Pinky’s is one thing, but the experience made it a bit more unpleasant. After calling to see how long it would be for a table for four, I let the guy on the phone know I would be there in 5-10 minutes after he said there was a table available for us already. When we arrived, we had to wait for our table to be cleaned off and set, but another party was also sat before us. We were sitting outside in the shade in the brisk 50-degree weather sitting next to heaters that didn’t have propane tanks. I ordered a coffee to warm myself up because I wasn’t expecting to sit outside, so I didn’t bundle up. The coffee came out cold. It also took our waitress to come up to our table six times before taking our order, and just to put it lightly, we were a little hangry. It took a while for the food to come out after we ordered, which was surprising because it seemed to have cleared out a bit after we arrived. The food was so delicious, I want to say it was worth the wait. And I’ll admit it was. But I’ll also say it didn’t wipe the whole experience from my mind.
I was delighted with the amazing Crispy Chicken Cutlet Bowl. The chicken thigh was perfectly cooked, the potatoes were great, but what really pulled it together was the lemon dill aioli. This was drizzled over both the potatoes and chicken and I needed more! The house greens were dressed with this aioli and it was spectacular.
Goat Cheese and Mushroom French Omelette
Grilled Shiitake Mushroom Bowl
The special, I forgot to write down. But, it had a fried pork chop underneath everything
Recent Eats
While I have had many interests and passions throughout my life, food has been the most consistent one. Food excites me. I love being in the kitchen trying new or old recipes, whether I’m making them for myself or others. I’ve always found comfort in the kitchen, and I can thank my parents for that.
I’m excited to share some new recipes I’ve tried recently!
This was out of my comfort league at the time, but I feel like this dish was a stepping stone for me in my experience. This is crispy rice with spicy tuna, cucumber salad, and kimchi pancakes. The crispy rice was easier than I had expected, because I was lucky enough to have two round pans that are the same size in the kitchen, so it was easy to compact the rice into one of them after lining it with plastic wrap. For spicy tuna or salmon, I’ve been using one by the bottle and adding a little more soy sauce. The cucumber salad consists of small cucumbers, soy sauce, sesame oil, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, and water, so all the cucumbers can be marinated. At the time, I made the batter for the kimchi pancake myself, but have since learned that the mix that comes in a bag is way easier. All you need is ice-cold water and whatever else you’d like to throw in! The dipping sauce was simply soy sauce, sesame oil, and lime juice.
This was the first time I attempted to make a hefty ramen at home, and oh boy was it worth it. First, the ramen base was sesame flavored but was spicier than I expected so I only used ½-¾ of the packet. I cooked the ramen noodles and some pork and shrimp wontons in the broth, as well as the shabu shabu by pouring the hot broth on top in the bowl. The rest of the toppings are green onion, corn, kimchi, and pan-fried enoki mushroom. Hot and filling for the cold weather!
This is one of my easiest dishes! The salad is just romaine lettuce and the dressing is just olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. When I add shrimp to this, it’s necessary to add the oil from the pan after pan-frying them. For the shrimp, the marinade is olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Easily put together in 15 minutes and is so delicious!
This was a recreation of my favorite meals from my study abroad in South Korea. Korean BBQ is one of the biggest blessings to this world. I was housesitting for my parents the week I made this meal, so I was able to use their grill. The spread consists of grilled pork belly, rice (usually mixed with Maggi), minced garlic, soybean paste (Doenjang), and green leaf lettuce. You take all of the toppings and make it a lettuce wrap. I wish I was able to have or make Korean BBQ more often. It’s quite simple but fantastic.
Casa
del
Barco
I recently grabbed lunch with a great friend of mine and she introduced me to Casa del Barco on Canal St in RVA! It was set up for the holidays and the decor was fantastic. The first room was bright and honestly lifted my holiday spirits. I took some pictures to show how fun the decorations are!
I ordered the shrimp fajitas, and I was not disappointed. The sizzling plate was no surprise, but that doesn't mean it wasn’t fun. It came with a great selection of toppings, which allowed me to put new toppings on for every taco I made. Perfectly cooked and just enough food for me!
I find that most Mexican restaurants have generally the same menu, but this was definitely more limited but with even better options! There were plenty of things I wanted to try on that menu, but that just means I need to go back again!
Thanksgiving Dinner
I’m excited to be coming back from a very long break with this faux Thanksgiving menu. The fun thing about this is that since it’s not real, money, energy, and time are not as much of a factor in this project. This has inspired some upcoming meals that I will definitely be trying out soon, 100%.
One of the things you should know about me before you read this menu and their descriptions is that a staple in my dishes is brown butter. I use it in anything that could possibly use it. Also, while food has been my lifelong passion, I’m still learning new dishes and techniques while also exploring new foods in general. I grew up somewhat picky, but not in the way you would think. My favorite food growing up was my dad’s Italian baby octopus dish, but you still to this day will never catch me eating an egg. These are dishes that I believe everyone will enjoy, if not most people.
I had a lot of fun putting this together :) Please enjoy!
Starters
Charcuterie board : For meats, prosciutto, sopressata, and spicy chorizo, paired with cheeses like Gruyére, parmesan, and maybe brie since there is already some in one of the other starters. Stracciatella is my favorite cheese to add to pasta or sandwiches, and I thought this would be a nice spread to put on some grilled crostini before adding fresh bruschetta on top. To add some crunch, I would put pistachios, roasted pumpkin seeds, Trader Joe's rosemary marcona almonds, honey roasted pecans, mini dill pickles, and cheese straws. Some Ritz crackers, pretzel thins, and baguette slices as bases for some great concoctions. For sweetness, chocolate covered raisins, grapes, and strawberries.
Brie and Tart Cherry Bites : My favorite creamy cheese is brie and I’d love to pair this with some tart cherry preserves baked in puff pastry or phyllo dough baked in a muffin tin.
Corn Chowder Cups : I thought this menu was lacking a soup, and growing up I loved when my mom would serve soup that would warm your whole body as an appetizer or breakfast. Whether it was broth or a yummy porridge, it definitely hit the spot. Corn chowder is a great soup that everyone is bound to love. Filled with bacon, corn, potatoes and onions, what’s not to like?
Sides
Milk Bread Rolls topped w/ Honey Butter : I thought a sweet roll would be a nice addition to such a savory spread.
Caesar Salad : The crunch of the menu. I think it’s time to bless this blog with my mother’s Caesar Dressing. It consists of my father’s worcestershire sauce, Jonno’s, which really pulls it together. You can definitely count on people coming back for thirds on this one.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes : When I was running Pastabilities my senior year at VT, I bought a potato ricer for making gnocchi. Since then, I have been pining for an occasion to make mashed potatoes through that ricer. The smallest size the ricer came with makes the potato so smooth. Got to add heavy cream and garlic, but I would also finish it off with crispy sage and garlic in brown butter.
Brussel Sprouts Roasted w/ Bacon : My traditional contribution to Thanksgiving has always been brussel sprouts roasted with bacon. Such a simple dish, but so delicious. Just need the brussel sprouts and bacon, toss it with some salt and pepper, and throw it into the oven until it’s all crispy. Rather than cooking it in oil, I love for the brussel sprouts to cook in the bacon fat. Top it off with balsamic vinegar/glaze or lemon juice!
Tini’s Mac and Cheese : If you’re on any side of TikTok, you’ve probably seen Tini whether you’ve known it or not. She is widely known for her mac and cheese recipe, which is pretty iconic. I have always wanted to try it. Join me and millions of others who drool over this video here.
Sausage and Rice Stuffing : One of my favorite dishes I can count on every year is my dads sausage stuffing which consists of italian sausage, rice, parsley and whatever his big heart desires!
Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary in Duck Fat : A favorite of mine that I discovered last year and was very excited to try out. It didn’t turn out quite the way I wanted to, but over time I learned that small batches in the air fryer get them perfectly crispy. Here is the video that I based them on.
Entrees
Citrus and Honey Glazed Turkey : Orange and lemon juice give it some sweetness, but dijon mustard, paprika, garlic and some herbs would really bring the whole things together. A tangy glaze to go with the rich and savory lamb.
Curry Rosemary Rack of Lamb : One of my favorite ‘rubs’ my dad does on chicken or leg of lamb for Easter, is the easiest thing to make. All you need is melted butter, curry powder, chopped rosemary, flour, and salt. The flour crisps up so well and coats the meat beautifully.
Dessert
Pecan Pie : Thanksgiving dessert staple #1. For this mock dinner, I wholeheartedly believe that there needs to be two pie options for this kind of occasion. Everyone’s in a different mood after a huge meal, whether it’s nutty or fruit. I debated between this pie and a German chocolate pie, but wanted a classic.
Apple Crumble Pie : Thanksgiving dessert staple #2. I categorize any apple pie that doesn’t have a crumble top as a crime. It’s a necessity. A shoutout to Stribling Orchard in Markham, VA - I have one of their Apple pies with a crumble top in my freezer, and it’s absolutely perfect!
Brown Butter Chocolate Cherry Cookies : Honestly, I would have these to snack on after everything. So yum.
Drinks
Cranberry Ginger Sparkle with Orange Ice Cubes : A refreshing drink to pair with tonight’s rich food. Cranberry and orange juice was my favorite combination as a kid and has stayed with me throughout my life. For some fizz, I figured ginger ale was a nice addition. Add prosecco.
Thanksgiving Mule : A cinnamon brown sugar syrup, ginger beer, and lime juice for a spiced twist on a classic. Add vodka.
Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider : A holiday classic.
Squid Ink Campanelle with Cherry Tomatoes and Garlic
Recently, I was in the Stella’s Grocery in Scott’s Addition (RVA) and a friend and I both grabbed the squid ink campanelle made by Scratch Pasta Co.! The following week, I spent my lunch break at the 2024 VA Food & Beverage Expo in Richmond and was lucky enough to meet Retail Manager and Director of Operations of Scratch. Having the intention of making this pasta for dinner, I looked up sauces that go well with squid ink pasta and ended up making a simple sauce that takes less than 15 minutes to make! I’m so happy with how it turned out, but there are definitely ways to elevate this dish whether it’s vegetables, protein, cheese (my fav, stracciatella), or whatever you’d like!
Check out the other yummy pasta’s from Scratch!
1 cup and 1/2 of Scratch’s Squid Ink Campanelle
1/3 cup of olive oil + drizzle when plated
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
large handful / 10-14 grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
salt / black pepper
cheese for topping (pecorino romano, burrata, stracciatella)
Heat up the olive oil in a pan while you begin to boil water. Throw your garlic into the olive oil and when it begins to brown, toss in the tomatoes and cover. I like to add my pasta to the water after the tomatoes have cooked down a bit because it cooks quickly (4ish minutes). Remember to save about a cup of pasta water for your sauce before you drain the pasta. Add some of that water to your tomatoes to thicken the base. Throw in the lemon juice and s/p to taste. After the sauce has cooked down and thickened, add the pasta and mix well to make sure it’s all coated. After you serve yourself, top it with the cheese of your choice and drizzle olive oil on top, then enjoy!
My Comfort Meal
Easy. Simple. Delicious.
This meal is quick to throw together any night!
Ingredients
1 cup (4 oz, one serving size) of pasta (linguine, fusilli, etc), cooked a little under al dente
olive oil
1/2 - 1 small white or sweet onion, diced
As much garlic as your heart desires (4-7 cloves)
5-6 basil leaves, ripped up
28 oz of tomato puree
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder to taste
1/2 - 1 ball of burrata or stracciatella
Cook pasta a little before it’s al dente and save some pasta water.
Start by heating up olive oil in a medium pot or saucepan. When it’s hot enough, throw in the onion and garlic. When it starts to brown, throw in the basil.
When the onion, garlic, and basil has crisped up, add the tomato puree.
Add seasonings to your liking. Simmer for as long as you’d like.
Put a spoonful of sauce, the cooked pasta, and add pasta water as needed. I like to add it to loosen up the sauce and cook the pasta a little more in it.
When the sauce is cooked down and thicker, add it to a bowl. I rip my pieces of burrata and spread the pieces around then drizzle olive oil on top. If I’m treating myself, I stir stracciatella into the sauce. Toss the cheese and olive oil together into the sauce.
Add the leftover sauce to a container. It’s so quick and easy to just cook the pasta and add the sauce!
Food Review : FanBoy
You know a restaurant is hip when you can’t really read the menu due to the lighting and the only reservations available for the next two weeks are at the most inconvenient times. Richmond’s new FanBoy located in The Fan is low-key, vibey and delicious! I first noticed this place when I was picking up takeout from Sabai and saw it packed inside even without a sign on the outside. My best friend, Madison, and I quickly got a reservation a week or two ahead of time.
Walking in, all you can really see is red light emerging from the windows. We were debriefed on all the drinks, although you already know I looked at the menu ahead of time (I always decide what I want before I arrive). I got a lovely prosecco and Madison got the OnlyFans Martini which was fabulous! To split, we got the truffle fries which had the perfect balance of truffle and garlic with the black garlic aioli. Madison got a cheeseburger which she said was good but it felt like the cheese was a little overpowering. I got the lobster tail corn dogs which came with three! These corn dogs were fried in a cornmeal tempura batter that was thicker than I expected but not in a bad way. I wouldn’t say that the tails were a good size, but they weren’t bad either.The lemon tarragon aioli was my favorite out of the two and was a great pairing for the corndogs. For me, all three corn dogs plus the fries filled me up to the perfect level.
Overall, I enjoyed FanBoy! I appreciated how lowkey it was and the atmosphere was very chill. The food was yummy and there are a few more things I want to try on the menu, so I’ll definitely be back!