‘Eat Bar’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’
So, I was vacationing last week and missed Foodie Round-Up, so here’s a double-hitting and long round-up, just to make up for it! We have women chefs, wine news, a new brunch, and fun happy hours in all the news fit to eat in the District. Cheers!
On Thursday, August 13th, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) is pleased to host the second annual “Unite for a Bite” a national campaign designed to support women in the culinary arts. During “Unite for a Bite,” diners are called to visit participating restaurants, who will donate 5% of their food and beverage sales on August 13th to support WCR’s scholarship and educational programs fostering growth of women in the culinary world. This initiative, spearheaded by WCR President-elect and Washington, DC-based Chef/Owner Jamie Leeds, supports the mission of WCR to promote and enhance the education, advancement and connection of women in the culinary arts. Participating restaurants include Hank’s Oyster Bar DC, 1624 W Street NW, Washington DC; Hank’s Oyster Bar Old Town, 1026 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia; CommonWealth Gastropub, 1400 Irving Street NW, Washington DC; Pizzeria Paradiso, Dupont Circle, 2029 P Street NW, Washington DC; Pizzeria Paradiso, Georgetown, 3282 M Street NW, Washington DC; The Majestic, 911 King Street, Alexandria, VA; Bastille, 1201 N. Royal Street, Alexandria, VA; Argia’s Italian Restaurant, 124 N. Washington Street, Falls Church, VA; More information on the WCR program can be found by visiting www.womenchefs.org.
Main Street will have more to talk about this weekend as Trummer’s On Main in Clifton, Virginia, launches their creative brunch menu on Sunday, August 9th. Executive Chef Clayton Miller and Pastry Chef Chris Ford have come together utilizing their creative American repertoire to craft a menu that showcases down home favorites in flavor and design. Trummer’s On Main will offer two menus: Trummer’s Brunch, a three-course breakfast feast for $28 per person, and the Continental Bar Breakfast, at $12 per person, a perfect start for someone on the go
Art and Soul will be hosting a second homemade toddler food class on Saturday, August 22nd. During the hour-long class, Executive Chef Travis Timberlake will explain the benefits of preparing homemade food for toddlers and will present ways to make mealtime more fun for young children, for example mixing ingredients kids like with something that might not be as appealing, such as cooking carrots in apple juice instead of water. The class will be held at 11:00 a.m. and is priced at $35 per parent.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Equinox will be offering a menu throughout the summer months featuring monthly-changing selections of Chef Todd Gray’s best-loved dishes. The menu features dishes which span Equinox’s 40 seasons of business, and is thus priced at $40 per person.
The Jockey Club at Fairfax Embassy Row in Dupont has introduced a bunch of new happy hour themes for the weeknights. Wednesday night is my favorite, as they call it Taste of Embassy Row. Sommelier Pierre Yves Robin selects four to six wines from a particular appellation. Chef McCreadie creates petit tastes exemplifying the region’s cuisine and perfectly paired to each wine sampling at the price of $25. Upcoming events include:
July 29 Veneto and Trentino
August 5 Piedmont and Lombardy Wines
August 12 Wines of Chile
August 19 Wines of Argentina
August 26 Catalonia Wines
In other wine news, The Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) announced today it will host the 3rd Annual Vintage Crystal with a Latin “accent” that will offer more than 20 wines from Spain and Latin America, several premier tequilas and an array of culinary treats from many notable restaurants and eateries in Crystal City and metropolitan area. The event will be held on Sunday, September 20, 2009 from 2:00 – 6:00 PM at 220 20th Street South. To complement the wine and tequila samplings, many well-known area restaurants, such as Jaleo, King Street Blues, Morton’s the Steakhouse, Café Pizzaiola, Cucina Vivace, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and the new Kora will serve regional cuisine. Additionally, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) will bring many of its popular Latin American restaurants to the festival, accentuating the spicy authentic flair of this year’s themed festivities.
From August 14th through 16th, José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup and the team at Café Atlantico invites Washingtonians to experience a summer getaway through a celebration of the Caribbean’s most famous spirit with the first annual Rum Weekend. Joined by special guest Ed Hamilton of the Ministry of Rum, Café Atlantico will offer rum flights, specialty cocktails and inspired menu items to guests during the Rum Weekend. The celebration also features a complimentary rum tasting on Friday, August 14th and culminates in a rum dinner hosted by Ed Hamilton on Sunday, August 16th. Space is limited for the Rum dinner, so reservations should be made by calling (202) 393-0812.
In case you missed in, around We Love DC in food news – I tell you more about my love for bread and where to find the freshest bread in DC restaurants, Don shows you a new app that lets you get happy hour specials right on your phone, I call out places that are extending Restaurant Week, Don tells you Kora was supposed to open this week (but hasn’t), Kirk discusses the best bets at the upcoming DC Beer Week, Liam tells us Legal Seafood might be closing up shop at Reagan Airport, I tell you all about Momoyama in this week’s We Love Food, and I report that 701 is getting a new chef and a facelift.
