August 21st 2014: Visiting the Gallery of African Art, Clinton

For lunch today, I decided to treat my interns who are about to leave for school, bringing them to Meze Greek Tapas Bar and Grille. We got several small plates, including the Meze Pikilia Plate I got the last time I was here, this time including the Tzatziki (Homemade authentic Greek spread with Greek yogurt, cucumber and roasted garlic) and the Tyrokafteri (Homemade authentic Greek spread with feta cheese and hot peppers).

I still like the caviar the best though.

We also got the Tiganites Patates / Greek Fries (Hand cut potatoes, golden fried, sprinkled with Greek oregano and shredded Romano cheese),

the Paidakia / Greek Grilled Lamb Chops (Grilled and seasoned lamb chops, served on a bed of white rice with a side of homemade house dip),

and the Ksifias Souvlaki / Swordfish Souvlaki (Grilled skewered Swordfish with olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon. Served on a bed of white rice),

and the Loukaniko / Greek Sausage (Grilled homemade sausage on top of a bed of red onions, drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon, olive oil and a side of tzatziki for dipping).

Unfortunately, only the lamb was up to standard, as was the rice. The fries were just normal fries, while there wasn't anything special about the sausage. The fish was the worst of all, being bland, dry, and even bitter because of the grill. At least my interns enjoyed their meal.

After work, I decided to check out the Gallery of African Art in the town of Clinton,

Corcoran House

as it is open later on Thursdays.

This place is actually part of the Sunrise Boutique next door, with one having to walk through the shop to get to the museum. A pretty nice arrangements of African art pieces though.

After leaving the museum, I headed next door to Zaytoon to check out what desserts they had as I did not have any the last time I was here, coming away with a small box of different Iraqi desserts.

Pretty good, although I don't know if dates are for me.

I headed to Sterling for dinner at the Chocksett Inn, where the restaurant, the Chocksett Cellar Grille, is located in the basement of the place. Pretty upscale looking, and I had high hopes for the food.

I got the Duck Confit Potstickers (duck confit lightly seasoned and steamed in wonton wrappers served over Asian Slaw),

which did not look like much, and tasted even worse, or rather having no taste at all. The worst was to come though, as I decided to get the Blood Orange Scallops (Sea Scallops lightly dusted with coriander and served over rice noodles sauteed in a tamarind ginger sauce, drizzled with a blood orange gastrique and garnished with a blood orange salad) for my main dish.

The scallops themselves were alright, but the noodles were flavorless, and the orange parts of the dish did not jive well at all with anything else.

I could only hope that the Frozen Chocolate Souffle (with a warm berry compote and creme anglaise) that I got for dessert would be outstanding, but as you could expect by now, it was only just average, even in presentation.

Can't believe I spent $50 here. Oh well.