Category Archives: Food and Drink

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Food Tweet of the Week

Photo courtesy of
‘Pulled Pork slider @ Westend Bistro Ritz Carlton’
courtesy of ‘thepresidentwearsprada’
Chefs are doing quite well for themselves in We Love DC’s Food Tweet of the Week Award…or maybe I’m just partial to tweets about engagements for some odd reason. Either way, this week’s Twitter top prize (and all the money that comes with it, ha), goes to the fabulous Joe Palma of Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert at the Ritz-Carlton.

Tweeting under @WestendBistro, Chef Palma has more than 1,110 followers, and Tweets a few times a day updating readers about new recipes: “Ridiculously nice halibut coming in for tomorrow” — and new concepts: “Permit apps pending for the smoker for April BBQ pop up, cross your fingers Making root beer this week with licorice root and sasparilla.” Even better, he gives us a nice look into his personal life, and he is never afraid to highlight other restaurants.
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Business and Money, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, The District
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Homemade Pizza Co. Comes to Georgetown

Although the Homemade Pizza Co. has five other locations in the DC area, I’ll readily admit to never hearing of them or even noticing that I’ve walked by one. That was until they opened their latest shop in my neighborhood and a held three day long celebration featuring free pizza, salad and the owners grilling (yes, grilling) up their za and chatting the locals.

Unlike most pizza joints, Homemade Pizza Co. doesn’t serve you hot out of the oven pizza. Instead they sell bake-at-home pizzas made to order. Yes, that’s right, you’ll be ordering (either in the shop or order your pizza online for delivery or pick up) uncooked pizzas that you then have to (gasp!) cook yourself. The horror!

However, these unbaked pizzas are above and beyond the Whole Foods or Safeway premade pizzas. These pizzas are custom made on-the-spot with the dough is rolled out specifically to meet your needs. They use the freshest, highest quality all-natural ingredients like specialty meats, terrific cheeses, and local produce because we all know that our farmers have greatest fresh-from-the-farm products. Once home, the cooking is simple and every pizza is labelled with the uber simple 5 step instructions, where total cooking time takes about 10-15 minutes.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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This Week in Food

CUP

Photo Courtesy Sprinkles Cupcakes

 Looks like DC’s food scene will keep growing in 2011 with even more pizza, burgers and cupcakes. Going with that third theme: Georgetown’s soon-to-be-open Sprinkles Cupcakes (3015 M St. NW) is putting its mobile truck on the street come Monday and giving away free cupcakes for two weeks. The first week’s schedule is: Franklin Square on Monday, Georgetown on Tuesday, Dupont Circle Wednesday, Gallery Place Thursday, the Capitol on Friday, Friendship Heights on Saturday, and Eastern Market on Sunday. Sprinkles opens Thursday, March 3rd. (h/t Metrocurean) 

Want yet another food truck? With paperwork in hand, Sabor’a Street hit the road on Wednesday. Look for the yellow truck for delicious Latin-inspired street food and follow @SaboraStreet. 

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Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Homebrew Your Own Hard Cider

Start your fermenting!

February may seem like a strange time to think about cider, or even autumn. But when Mother Nature seduces us on a Friday with the sweet smell of spring, then turns her back days later with a sick smack of sleet, I’m happy to exercise a flagrant disregard for the season. More importantly however, we’re about 8 months out from the peak of autumn, the same amount of time it takes to make a seriously strong batch of hard cider, which makes this the perfect time to start brewing.

I had never seriously considered brewing my own hard cider, let alone any sort of alcohol, until last September on a trip to Denver. I visited with my buddy, Nick, who is an avid homebrewer and we spent a day-hike discussing the ins-and-outs of brewing; I became very excited by the idea. He suggested cider as a good first step. Before I was on my way back to DC, I’d already ordered some supplies to get started.
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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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Where to Eat Breakfast When You’re Up With the Sun

Photo courtesy of
‘new morning ritual’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’
So I know this might not be the coolest thing to admit, but it’s high time I got something off my chest — I’m an early riser. And not just in a I-go-to-the-gym-before-work way. (Because I don’t!) I am usually up and ready to rock before 8am on the weekends, and let’s be honest, I’m usually hungry. Herein lies an issue — most restaurants don’t open for weekend brunch until 11am or later, which is way past the point of a low blood sugar induced meltdown. I always have a hard time coming up with restaurants that serve actual breakfast (not brunch), especially in my pre-coffee, early morning haze. So for me and my early morning brethren, I have compiled a list of all the worthy restaurants in town that serve you coffee when you really, really need it.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Coming Up Soon on H St.

Photo courtesy of
‘steak and kidney pie @ als cafe’
courtesy of ‘rjw1’
I love walking up H St NE. There’s always a storefront getting redone, a new restaurant opening up, or just some sort of action catching my attention in general. I went there yesterday to track the development of three restaurants I’ve had my eyes on recently.

We all know that a target opening date is often missed in DC, but I’m still hoping to see these three establishments open in March.

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Eat Like Me, Food and Drink
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Dining One Year Later: Bistro Cacao

DSCN0542

All Photos by Author

The snapshot verdict: Quaint, cozy, charming French restaurant with food so good you won’t be able to stop raving about it for weeks.

Entering Bistro Cacao can be a bit of a puzzle in itself. Located next to the Mexican restaurant, La Loma, and at the site of the old Two Quail, Bistro Cacao has you walk through an almost unmarked door, make a weird left, and then navigate a flight of steps to get inside. All this makes sense given that once you’ve walked in, you feel far removed from the bustle on Massachusetts Ave.

Like many Capitol Hill restaurants, Bistro Cacao calls a townhouse home, and the design is something to be admired. It looks thrown together, but it works because it comes off as unique and not manufactured. You’ll see antique lamps, huge chairs, and thick, red drapes. It accurately describes itself as “Old-style Hill Venue meets New-style French Cuisine.”

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Food and Drink, The Features
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First Look: PORCmobile

Photo courtesy of
‘PORC Mobile’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

I can’t yet claim to be a BBQ expert. But I do know good food, and I have tried many a food truck. For your next lunch stop at the food trucks, I suggest you briskly head out for some brisket and try the PORC Mobile.

Back in the summer, We Love DC reported on the Purveyors of Rolling Cuisine (aka PORC Mobile) and their gradual start to get rolling in an environmentally friendly manner. At long last, they’re out on the streets purveying what I would call one of the tastiest pulled pork sandwiches I’ve had.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Food & Friends 15th Annual Dining out for Life

Dining Out for Life Logo
Courtesy of Gold Standard PR on behalf of Food & Friends

The 15th Annual Dining out for Life on March 10th is right around the corner. More than 150 restaurants across the DC-area will donate portions of the day’s proceeds to Food & Friends. And all you have to do is eat at one of the restaurants.

For those who don’t know, Food & Friends delivers meals to DC residents who are living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other debilitating illnesses. Last year, they raised $27o,000 from Dining out for Life. Participating restaurants can donate anywhere from 25 percent to 100 percent of the day’s proceeds. And if you can’t dine out that day, you can always give a donation.

Some of the restaurants donating 100 percent of their proceeds include Ristorante Tosca, Posto, Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse and Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant in Arlington, which is donating 110 percent of the day’s proceeds. For a complete list of participating restaurants, click here.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Jack Rose Cocktail

It’s time for Friday Happy Hour, highlighting a drink we’ve recently enjoyed, every Friday at 4pm! Please share your favorites as well.

My friend Kirk (pictured above) has been reading Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises specifically, which got him thinking about the Jack Rose cocktail. In the 1926 novel, the narrator sips one in a Parisian boîte and the drink has benefitted from that bit of product placement ever since. When I asked him what I should drink for the column this week (after a spate of fairly unremarkable imbibition) he had a clear answer: a Jack Rose at The Gibson.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Food Tweet of the Week: Baked & Wired

Photo courtesy of
‘Baked & Wired, Georgetown’
courtesy of ‘allisonkirchner’
Nice profile from Georgetown’s Baked & Wired:

Born on 4:20, we celebrate the art of getting baked daily. From handcrafted baked goods to our amazing coffee bar…you’re never too old or young to get baked!

Baked & Wired has been serving popular handcrafted coffee drinks in Georgetown since 2001, and it’s been on Twitter (@bakedandwiredDC) for two years. The coffee shop has more than 2,000 followers, and tweets about everything from a new expresso machine at the store, to employee birthdays, to a new coffee flavor.  About a week ago there even seemed to be a fun Sega Genesis conversation going on.

Baked & Wired wins this week because of its hilarious Valentine’s Tweets…loved when the store asked “me” if it could “be the fruity pebbles” to my bam-bam. The winner:

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Adam Sobel of Bourbon Steak (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of
‘Venison, Bourbon Steak’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

It’s 70 degrees out today. But it’s still February, and that tricky March will probably make its entrance with a roar that will force all of us to bundle up once again. And chances are when it gets cold again, you’ll want to snuggle up with a nice big bowl of hot chili.

Here’s a recipe for venison chili (read: you can substitute plenty of other proteins) from Chef Adam Sobel. When I tried the chili, I believe my exact words to Adam were: “I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Do yourself a favor–don’t put cheese or sour cream on it; just enjoy it the way it is. Or you can do as they do at Bourbon Steak, put it on a half-smoke or on a monster of a burger.  Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Adam Sobel of Bourbon Steak (Part 1)

Photo courtesy of
‘Adam Sobel of Bourbon Steak’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

Chef Adam Sobel describes his journey to the restaurant industry as one that came about naturally. He was drawn to cooking “like a moth to a light,” he says. “I was 4 or 5 years old and I would be messing around in the kitchen, making nasty concoctions as a joke,” he said. While I’m imagining a miniature Sobel standing over a mixing bowl combining ingredients from his parent’s pantry, he adds that he did indeed grow up to train at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Sobel says he was 18-years-old when he really got passionate and serious about cooking.

Prior to moving to DC to replace David Varley as executive chef at Bourbon Steak, Sobel worked in Las Vegas as executive chef at Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. “DC is like a different planet. It’s very unique–the feel, the people, the way things operate” he says. Frankly, I’m surprised Sobel isn’t more shell-shocked by the move (then again, maybe a cross-country move after living and working in Vegas is a breeze). Before accepting the role fo executive chef at Bourbon Steak, Sobel had several conversations with Varley, “I asked him, ‘Can I make an impact?’ I don’t want to just carry a torch that was already lit.”

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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This Week in Food

Photo courtesy of
‘Pork Loin with Kumquat Marmalade @ Ardeo’
courtesy of ‘jimcollins’

Talk about an empire. DCMud.com reports that restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, the man behind Bombay Club, 701, Rasika, and Ardeo + Bardeo could soon sign a lease for the retail space at 22 West in West End. Bajaj somewhat hinted at a new project in a chat last month with my fave food critic, Tom Sietsema.

My favorite news of the week comes via The Washington Post: Whole Foods Market and a D.C. real estate firm want to build a new store in Navy Yard, “but the developer says that luring the grocer would require $8 million in tax breaks.”  WaPo reports that William C. Smith and Co. is proposing a 39,000-square-foot Whole Foods in the 800 block of New Jersey Ave. SE as part of a building that would also include 375 apartments.

In other Navy Yard news, JDLand writes that a beer garden might soon be on its way to Southeast. The ANC6D (Advisory Neighborhood Commission) voted 6-0 “to support the Bullpen’s plans to open an additional 632-seat beer garden at Half and M, across from the Navy Yard Metro station’s west entrance just north of Nationals Park.”

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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More Chef Awards News: James Beard 2011 Semifinalists

Photo courtesy of
‘Julia’s stove’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

By now, you’re all abuzz about the James Beard Foundation’s 2011 Restaurants and Chefs Awards Semifinalists list. The final list of nominees will be announced on March 21, 2011 and the winners will be selected in May. Read on for the breakdown of which DC restaurants and chefs made the cut.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Gin and Tonic Throwdown?

Here is another of my gin y tonic..... on Twitpic
“Here is another of my gin y tonic”
via @chefjoseandres

Who doesn’t love a little smack talk?

After Adam Bernbach’s recipe got a little love from the Post (and, for what it’s worth, from Katie Nelson in these pages) Chef José Andrés Took matters into his own hands, or at least his own twitter account, posting “thats a great drink, agree! and i love estadio but aint a gin and tonic! let me post my gin&tonic(love controversy)”.

Now Derek Brown has offered to host such a showdown at the Columbia Room. I said it to him on twitter, and now I’ll say it here: Jenn and I will be happy to assist with any judging. Just make sure that Todd Thrasher is included too, since Adam said his gin and tonic was the inspiration.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Food & Wine’s People’s Best New Chefs of 2011

Photo courtesy of
‘The Proper Way to Use a Knife’
courtesy of ‘Sprezzatura Images’

Washingtonians should feel a swell of pride: four DC chefs are represented in Food & Wine’s People’s Best New Chefs list.

Kyle Bailey of Birch & Barley, Daniel Giusti of 1789, David Guas of Bayou Bakery and Nicholas Stefanelli of Bibiana are all nominated in the Mid-Atlantic region. While I would argue that these chefs are hardly “new,” since they’ve all received previous accolades, it’s still great to see them all nominated, repping DC.

The way the contest works is you get to pick the winner by voting online. I’ll be sorely disappointed if we get beaten by someone in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, so go vote now. Voting runs until March 1, 2011.

Congratulations to the chefs!

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Haute Pizza at POV

POV Mushroom Pizza
Mushroom pizza at POV
Courtesy of BrandLinkDC/POV

It’s not often that pizza is regarded as a beacon for haute cuisine. But when it’s served under Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s name while you take in a view of DC from POV’s rooftop, you’ll see why their new pizza is a far cry from delivery.

 The W Hotel’s POV recently added three gourmet, individually-sized pizza options to their menu, including a traditional mozzarella, basil and tomato pie, wild mushroom and goat cheese pie and a truffle and fontina pie. The pizza made with black truffle peelings and truffle oil has been available at other Jean-Georges restaurants, in case it sounded familiar to you. And if the new pizzas aren’t enough for you, POV is also adding a creme fraiche cheesecake with kumquat marmalade and a walnut fudge brownie with a salted caramel ice cream.

Sounds like a good option for entertaining those fancy clients who are in town. A little haute pizza and a cocktail should be all they need to unwind after a day of meetings.

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Vace Italian Delicatessen

Photo courtesy of
‘Vace Italian Deli’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Vace in Cleveland Park isn’t just an Italian market, it’s a way of life. The best way to explain this is with this little story. A friend of mine loved the pizza from Vace so much that every time he ordered it, he never made it home without eating a good portion of his order mid-commute. Not so interesting? Well, let me set the actual scene. He would order a large pizza while on the train at Metro Center, head up to Cleveland Park and spend the walk down Connecticut Avenue to his place in Woodley Park chowing down on half his pizza. I certainly hope some tourists leaving the zoo snapped a picture of this crazy dude, box top askew with pizza down his face. Now THAT is love.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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DC’s Coconut Cake Challenge

Photo courtesy of
‘Whole Foods Cakes -5856’
courtesy of ‘Joe Tresh’

Contests come and go in this city, but this is one I can really get behind. Eatonville and Church Lady Cake Diaries are teaming up to host a coconut cake challenge. Fire up the KitchenAid mixer, call your grandma and pry the family recipe out of her, use the entire 72-hours of your holiday weekend to craft the perfect cake–it’s time for a bake-off.  Continue reading →