A Restaurant Meme

Okay, y'all ... the [and I sort-of quote] "Wicked Cool Chilihead" [because she is!!] has tagged me for a rather cool meme ... of course it would be cool, since its coming from the Wicked Cool Chilihead ... and really, on Chilihead's tag for me, I think she should have said... "...because GiBee loves to eat." Note the period at the end of the sentence. And, if you remove the "because" part, it's a complete sentence, and there really is no need to go any further than that!

Rules:
1. Link to name of person that tagged you. [Of course, if you haven't figured it out by now, it's Chilihead]
2. Include state and country you live in.
3. List top 5 favorite local restaurants.
4. Tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged.

Where I live: ...yeah ... I'm a little bit freaked out about this one -- so, please -- I don't want to prove my Law and Order loving husband right by having someone stalk me, so I'll give you a choice, and you can fill in the blank, m'kay?? If you really need to know (because you want to send me free products to review, or you just want to lavish me with free gifts), I'm sure you could Google the restaurants, but why don't you just email me and we'll take the conversation off line. So, here are the choices of where I might could live, which can all fall under the nice, neat category of "the suburbs of Washington, D.C." -- Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, or Pennsylvania. I will, however, promise you that I live in the grand, ol' US of A, and that's the gosh-honest truth.

Top Five Local Restaurants --

Well, if anyone has ever visited the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, then you know that there are a bazillion restaurants to choose from... and they cover every single ethnic flavor you might ever have a hankering to choose from! So, without further to-do, here are my favorites:

1) Latin American: Cacique. This restaurant's name, when translated from Spanish, means Chief, or Indian. You will not find your typical Mexican fare here. Rather, they serve a delicious mix of gourmet Mexican and Latin American food that totally leaves your taste buds dancing as you walk out of their restaurant. I totally love it!

2) Italian: Cafe Mileto. This is our absolute favorite Italian restaurant, hands down. In the Zagat Survey for 2005, they were named as America's Top Italian Restaurant, and they said that it's "a minor miracle," a "taste like...Florence." It was also included in the Washingtonian's Top 100 Best Restaurants." Their food is the closest to a home cooked meal by your jolly Italian Nonna.

3) Liberty Road Seafood: The best place outside of the Eastern Shore in Maryland that will serve you an A-#1 crab cake a la Maryland style -- all blue crab, no filler. And hush puppies to.die.for. Also, how many restaurants do you know that serve orange soda??? Huh, huh, huh?

4) Japanese Steak House. Any ol' Japanese Steak House will do ... GOODNESS! ... where else can you go and get great food, and actually be able to enjoy it because your 20-month old is enraptured... enraptured, I tell you ... by the all the chefs tossing knives up in the air, setting stuff on fire, slamming and banging their Ginsu knives on the flat grill, and delivering bad jokes with bad English ... and NOT in a stage whisper, either. What little boy wouldn't love that, and what Mama would be foolish enough not to take advantage of it, either?

5) Pollo a la Brasa (grilled rotisserie chicken): Crisp & Juicy. Oh.My.Heavens. This Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken is simply to.die.for. It just melts in your mouth, and the spicy yellow mayo-based sauce (made with Peruvian peppers) they serve with it is so stinking finger-lickin'-good that you could literally dip your finger in it and lick it. They serve it with many different side dishes, but our favorites (mine and hubby) are fried yuca, plantains, and black beans and rice. Heart attack on a platter, but ever so yummy. Oh, and don't even get me started on the alfajores. They are a buttery cookie sandwich with caramel in between, and rolled in powder sugar goodness. Oh, my word!

BONUS: High tea: The Inn at Perry Cabin or Four Seasons Hotel. At least once in your life time, you simply must splurge on high tea. It's a true experience that you're not likely to forget in your lifetime, and will find yourself talking about the little sandwiches, cookies, crumpets, miniature mousse desserts, and delicious tea selections. Mind you, it isn't for the faint at heart, because you'll be shelling out a hefty price for tea at these restaurants, but go ahead ... throw caution to the wind!

There you have it! Five of my favorites, plus a bonus... And, since my mom is an Italian from Peru (figure that one out!), I would be remiss if I didn't include both an Italian and a Peruvian restaurant on my favorite 5!!! I also love a Brazilian restaurant, many sushi restaurants, a Thai restaurant, several other Mexican restaurants (although, sadly - we don't have any Taco Bueno's around us) and many, many American restaurants around here!

So, if you ever come out to the Washington, D.C. area ... make sure you let me know so we can meet and eat!

Tags:
1) TOTALLY BooMama ... because who wouldn't want to know where she eats! And, my double-dawg dare still stands ... you know which one ... (ummmm...taggingbethmoore...shhh...shhh)
2) Barb at A New Chelsea Morning, because she also loves to cook, and I'm just curious like that!
3) Susanne at Living To Tell The Story, because us "quasi" Southerners wanna know what Canada has to offer us (don't be all that impressed by my "big word" because I have no clue how to spell it)
4) Carol at She Lives, because there's nothing close to her, and since I know she loves to eat healthy, I'd love to know what's in her wallet I mean, what's on her plate.
5) Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer -- yeah -- I'm throwing caution into the wind and tagging her, even though I know she's slammed daily with stuff, and is as busy as ... well ... as any mom of four at home (with one tryin', but scared to potty train) could be! And since Chili didn't, I will! Wouldja please, Shannon? Please???

Okay, y'all -- have at it! And just so you know ... today will probably be a two-poster day! Oh, yes! All the bloggetygoodness will be shared right here, for a limited time only! Eat it up!