Category Archives: Food and Drink

Food and Drink, Interviews, People, We Love Drinks
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A Round With … Katie Nelson

Katie Nelson
Katie Nelson
Photo by the author.

The drinks team decided that this concept from the Flickr blog would be a fun way to get to know some local bartenders. So we stole it. We’re passionate about spotlighting D.C.’s finest behind the bar. Our first round is with Katie Nelson from the Columbia Room.

1. Introduce yourself. What’s your current position and how’d you get where you are today?

Katie Nelson, Service Manager and Bartender at the Columbia Room, a 10-seat private bar within the Passenger.

In a literal sense, I got my current job because I had been a regular at the Gibson, which was my neighborhood bar and, of course, where my boss, Derek Brown, worked for over a year. I was in the right place at the right time when he asked me to take a job working for him, and I’m a lucky lady. Beyond that, though, I come from a family that relishes food and unique experiences. I grew up mostly in North Carolina, but I’d also lived overseas in Saudi Arabia and traveled from a young age, which I reckon helped me to develop a wider palate. After college, I took on a bartending position in a restaurant where I’d worked as a server, and I loved taking care of the customers and making drinks, but I was under the impression at the time that the job wasn’t meant to be a permanent position. I moved to D.C., worked a few different jobs and moved around a bit more before coming back finally to the beverage/hospitality industry. I’d noticed that all of the things I’d liked about all of my previous jobs had in some way to do with aspects of this field, and considered culinary school, but realized that the immediacy of working in a bar — crafting drinks in addition to being able to personally serve and talk to the customers — made bartending a more ideal position for me. My Southern-ness comes out — I really enjoy making people feel happy, so it’s a natural fit. My particular role at the Columbia Room brings my joys to the forefront: constantly experimenting with flavor, learning from the cocktail greats of the past and present, educating my palate and passing on information to others when I can, and helping to create a hospitable experience for our guests.

2. What’s the first drink you remember learning to make (or the first drink you remember drinking)?

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Study of DC Restaurant Workers Shows Widespread Abuse and Health Risks

Photo courtesy of
‘kitchen’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular nights for dining out in the United States. Many of the professionals involved in creating those restaurant experiences in the front and back of house love restaurants and find real fulfillment in helping diners create positive memories. Hidden from the average diner’s view, however, are a variety of challenges facing restaurant workers.

The Restaurant Opportunity Council of DC held a meeting this morning to discuss the findings of their report, Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality and Opportunity in Washington, DC’s Thriving Restaurant Industry, delving into racial inequalities, employee mistreatment, low wages, and risks to worker safety and public health. Many diners may understand that working in a restaurant kitchen or even waiting tables are far from lucrative or glamourous occupations, but the findings of the report include widespread wage theft (workers being pressured to clock out hours before being allowed to leave work to avoid overtime payments) and tip theft, verbal abuse by managers, and gender and racial disparities in hiring and promotions – even at fine dining establishments.

Of particular concern to public health officials and policy makers presenting at the meeting were the very small number of food service workers who have paid sick days from their jobs. Almost 60% of the 562 surveyed restaurant workers in DC said they had come in to work and handled food served to customers while they were sick and potentially contagious. DC Councilmember Phil Mendelson compared the campaign to get paid time off for sick workers to the campaign for a smoking ban, both in terms of public health importance and the push-back from some industry and consumer groups.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Burnt Sugar Old Fashioned

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

Tuesday was my rad friend Julie’s birthday. Julie does really important work at a really important non-profit and is always surrounded by super cool activist types, musicians, and the like. I showed up to her impromptu party at Haydees in Columbia Heights straight from a meeting, dressed like someone who has to get up early to take the train to work on Wednesday mornings; I was the only one so attired. Pitchers and pitchers of margaritas came as the group swelled in size and grew louder to try to compete with the blaring music. As it got later, I realized I was going to have to be that loser who leaves the party first – thus confirming everything the cool kids probably thought of me and my sell-out job all along.

My friend Jeffrey agreed to leave at the same time, but as soon as we got out of the loud, loud restaurant, he made clear he was not actually ready to go home. He knew our friend Iris was working over at Room 11 and so we made our way there. I may be giving away a secret here, but around midnight on a Tuesday night is the perfect time to go to Room 11. The snug, warm bar had only a few other patrons and the atmosphere is extra cozy. Room 11 is generally open until at least 1:00 – part of the owners’ commitment to creating a “neighborhood bar” feel.

On the chalkboard was a Burnt Sugar Old Fashioned which, Iris told me, was one of the first special cocktails the staff created upon the bar’s opening but which is sometimes unavailable when they cannot get the special sugar in question. When prepping a syrup of it, the bartenders burn the sugar to caramelize it and add extra molasses. This creates a dark, opaque cocktail with a depth of flavor. Iris added Maker’s Mark bourbon, Fee Brothers Bitters – and a peel of orange which took a bit of effort as she was working with one injured hand. The drink was rich and delightful and a perfect way to end the evening. It was even better than the sticky, bright green margaritas in huge cups I had been drinking all night (which is shocking, I know.)

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Food Tweet of the Week: Chef Geoff Tracy

Photo courtesy of
‘shrimp n grits’
courtesy of ‘@heylovedc’
New (and even old-time) Tweeters can learn a thing or two from Chef Geoff Tracy.  With @chegeoffs, Tracy might not hold the record for the most tweets per day, but all the messages he sends out are either informative (specials of the day), enticing (pictures from the kitchen), or funny (as you will see below).

The famed chef from Chef Geoff’s and Lia’s writes on his Twitter profile “Don’t get pissy here.” Love it. Tracy has about 1,700 followers and is constantly telling them what’s on his mind and what’s coming up at his restaurants. His account is unique and personal.

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Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Georgetown Love Potions

Photo courtesy of
‘Cinn City’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

I may not care a fig for Valentine’s Day (of course having said that, I fully expect a boatload of lilies delivered to my door, please) but I do love cocktails! So does the Georgetown BID, which has pulled together a bunch of restaurants to provide you with enough aphrodisiac concoctions to seduce even the hardest of hearts. Starting tonight, these selections (“Love Potions,” natch) will be available through Valentine’s Day all across the Georgetown circuit at 19 spots including Mie N Yu, Neyla, and 1789. Drinks are 2 for $14, for couples or friends.

Now, I rarely get to Georgetown these days but two of the sips I sampled earlier this week were tempting enough to get me to return (that and the cocktail shaker shaped like a dumbbell that I spied in an antiques window – ahem, gift?). The standout was created by Bourbon Steak’s very talented Duane Sylvestre. As you can probably guess from the name – Cinn City – it has the red hot spice of cinnamon as its top note, with the other ingredients being Four Roses bourbon and Peychaud’s bitters (First reaction? “It really does taste like a Red Hot! But not in a candy way.”). Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Thursday Bonus Happy Hour: The Bitter End


‘Campari’
courtesy of ‘bionicteaching’

I consider Jeff Faile, bar manager at Palena, a friend. This Modern Luxury article on the expanded restaurant is great on the food, but does some injustice to one of Jeff’s brilliant cocktails (vodka?!). And since he has shared the recipe with me, I can now both correct the record and share it with you.

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Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Todd Thrasher’s Preserved Cherries

Prepared Jars
Prepared Jars by Don Feduardo
All photos courtesy of the author

We Love Drinks embarks on a series where we attempt to make our favorite cocktails and essential drinks ingredients from around town. If there’s something you’d like us to feature, please let us know!

The proper garnish is a critical part of some cocktails. DC has no shortage of bars where you can get a craft cocktail, and if you watch the bartenders at work at one of these establishments (and I have) you can see (and taste) how the garnish really can finish a drink, either emphasizing or complementing certain flavors in the liquid ingredients.

My first craft cocktail experience in the area came at PX, where the craft most definitely extends to the garnish. One of the cocktails I had on my first visit was listed on the menu as not just a Manhattan, but “My Wife’s Manhattan.” How could I pass that up? So I was very pleased when the Washington Post ran the recipe for Todd Thrasher’s preserved cherries. I made my first batch of them as soon as I could round up a cherry pitter and some cherries, based on the vagaries of supply and demand at Giant. And they were good, but they were salty. I had done something wrong.

It didn’t matter that they were too salty, though, because the Social Chair and I polished them off with some dispatch. We had three problems, really: 1) that first batch was too salty; 2) supply is unpredictable and the cherry season is short; 3) the recipe says they’ll last for two weeks in the fridge, nowhere near as long as our own Manhattan season. So I decided the next batch would solve all three of those problems. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Calling All Chocolate Lovers

Photo courtesy of
‘Chocolate Molleaux – Koko Black Carlton AUD13’
courtesy of ‘avlxyz’
Do you like chocolate and champagne? If so, February might just be the right month for you to head to the city’s Ritz-Carlton because the Chocolate Decadence Buffet is back.

Executive Chef David Serus is turning the Lobby Lounge into a chocolate paradise with candy, cakes and tarts. You will also find a “Champagne Sommelier” if you fancy a flight of champagne.

All you chocolate connoisseurs can get 5 items for $35: Tiramisu cheese cake, Cherry jubilee, Chocolate raspberry tart, Chocolate Panacotta, White chocolate macaroons thanks to the macaroons UK delivery, Brownie Sunday martini, Vanilla Chocolate Pudding, Strawberry Champagne, and more. Additional pieces are $5, and the Champagne Flights of Fancy is priced at $38 per flight.

Chocoholics can also enjoy The Ultimate Indulgence, a blend of Crème de Cocoa, Godiva dark chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, Bailey’s Irish crème, and a splash of heavy cream.

So, trying to impress a first date or just looking to gorge on treats with best friends? The Chocolate Decadence Buffet and Champagne Flights are available February 11 through the 14th.  Reservations are required for seatings at 6, 8, and 10 p.m.

The Lobby Lounge is located in The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. at 1150 22nd Street, NW. The closest metro is Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue/orange lines). For more information, contact 202-835-0500.

Food and Drink, Special Events
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Valentine’s Day Options for Singles

Photo courtesy of
‘Valentine’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Yep, it’s that time a year again: Valentine’s Day. And if you’re single, you might be moping about wondering why there’s no one to take you to a nice pre-fixe, four course dinner with truffles and free champagne. So in order to prevent yourself from being a shut-in, listening to sad Fiona Apple songs while you down a bottle of red wine, let’s buck up and get out there. Sure, it can be a tough holiday if you’re not in a relationship, but I am a firm believer that just because you’re single on Valentine’s day does not mean you have to be morbidly bitter or that you have to eat frozen pizza while all the couples in the city enjoy their fancy dinners.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Lamb: The Other Red Meat

Photo courtesy of
‘Rack of lamb’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

My dinner routine at home can get a little boring every now and then as I rotate between steak and chicken with the occasional pork chop thrown into the mix. So last week I expanded my palate a little and went to a lamb dinner at Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca, where I learned some basics about butchering a lamb (not that I’m trying that at home anytime soon…) and tried some great lamb dishes.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Food Truck Tracker

Photo courtesy of
‘20100825_fojol_0018’
courtesy of ‘Amber Wilkie Photography’
Happy Hump Day! Just think, in two days it will be the weekend. Until then, maybe you should reward yourself with lunch from a food truck. What else beats standing outside in the cold?

Yesterday we told you that Fojol Bros earned spot on Eater’s “List of Top Twenty Food Trucks in America.” So maybe try that truck out if you haven’t been before; it’s “Indian with flair.”

Click on through for our ThestrEATS-powered lunch map!
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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First Look: Vento

ventooo

Photo Courtesy Vento

Go to Vento.

There was only one downside to my Saturday night visit to the new Italian trattoria: I couldn’t help but to chastise myself over the fact that it had taken me almost three months to head there in the first place.

From the second I walked in, Vento passed my first test: ambience. The Dupont Circle restaurant is unpretentious, beautiful, classy and chic. I absolutely love the lighting.  The noise level is energetic, but somehow you don’t have to yell for your dining companions to hear you.

Second test is service. A lot of people disagree with me, but I’m a firm believer that service has to be up to par with the food in order for the establishment to be considered a good restaurant. Our server greeted me from the moment I sat down and my wine and water glasses stayed pleasantly full during the meal. Drinks-wise there is a nice selection of wine, but not the annoying “let me throw a phone book down on your table.”

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Adventures, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, History, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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Eater Names Fojol Bros To Top 20 Food Truck List

Photo courtesy of
‘Fojol Bros. of Merlindia’
courtesy of ‘Dave Kleinschmidt’

Ahhhh…Fojol Brothers. You make lunch in DC so strange, wonderful and delicious. You are well worthy of your newly bestowed spot on Eater’s “List of Top Twenty Food Trucks in America.” Represent DC baby! Represent!

If you have yet to experience the cuisine and showmanship of this food truck, you are clearly living an unfulfilled DC life. Staffed by mustachioed, Sgt. Pepper costumed order takers and cooks, this clown car-esque truck roams DC streets serving up Indian fare (both veggie and non-veggie) to the office bound, weary masses.

Congratulations Fojol Brothers. We salute you!

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup
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Dining One Year Later: Ping Pong Dim Sum

DSCN4675

All photos by author

Snap-shot verdict: Wonderful decor and ambience, but some dishes are winners while others leave something to be desired.

Here’s the thing about small plates. I love them, but I hate them. You see, I love to eat, and 99% of the time I leave a tapas/small plates restaurant still hungry — at least I do when I’m out with people whom I can’t risk frightening. Anyway, this is my long-winded way of telling you that Ping Pong Dim Sum is (to me) one of those places. But, with the reasonable prices I can thankfully keep eating until I’m full.

Ping Pong opened up back in December 2009 and serves on average 3,200-4,000 guests per week. The best part of the restaurant is the design — think cool light fixtures, round tables, wooden benches, and mood lighting of sorts. There’s definitely a coolness factor here, especially if you’re in that young professional crowd.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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We Love DC & SeamlessWeb Giveaway

Photo courtesy of
‘After all, coffee is bitter…….’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

Do you like coffee? Do you like freebies? Well, we have both for you. SeamlessWeb, a website that lets you order delivery and takeout from 5,000 plus restaurants in 27 cities, is bringing its Free Coffee Days promotion to DC.

From February 7th to 27th SeamlessWeb will hand out out more than 75,000 free cups of coffee all over the city from a SeamlessWeb branded truck (Feb. 7-10) and partner restaurants (Feb. 14-27).

To coincide with this promotion, SeamlessWeb is giving us two $25 gift cards to give two of our lucky readers. Comment below telling us why you love coffee, and we’ll choose two winners using random.org.

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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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Valentine’s Day for Every Couple: The Problem Solving Edition

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

It’s t minus one week until Valentine’s Day, and if you’re reading this, you’ve got problems. You haven’t decided on the year’s most romantic meal that will impress not only your significant other, but every person you’ve ever met. There’s a lot of pressure when it comes to Valentine’s plans, and there are way too many choices. So this year, we’ve shortcut it for you. For every stage or annoyance in your relationship, there is a Valentine’s Day option for it.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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New Chef at Buddha-Bar

Photo courtesy of
‘Buddha Bar 16’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

Downtown Buddha-Bar has announced a new executive chef, Simon Volante, who officially joined the restaurant last week.

While Volante most recently worked as the executive chef at RED Restaurant & Bar in Los Angeles, he has also worked at DC’s Willard Room Restaurant, Jeffrey’s at the Watergate, Aquarelle and The Jefferson Hotel. At RED, Volante focused on an Asian-fusion dining concept, which he’ll undoubtedly carry over to Buddha-Bar.

Mikhail Don, co-owner of Buddha-Bar said in a statement, “Chef Volante is a natural fit to lead Buddha-Bar DC’s culinary team, and we are thrilled that he accepted our offer. You can expect inspiring things from us this year, as I’m confident that Chef Volante will take our innovative, fresh cuisine to even greater heights.”

Buddha-Bar’s previous executive chef, Greg Fortunato, left on good terms with Buddha-Bar and moved back to Las Vegas to be closer to his family, according to a public relations representative for the restaurant.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Goose Island Dominique

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

I may be against eating meat but I am totally in favor of day drinking. When Addison arranged a ChurchKey for brunch on Sunday, I asked to tag along. As a vegetarian, I wanted nothing to do with the Luther – I just wanted to socialize and drink beers at noon.

Noon seem early for a bourbon-barrel aged wild ale – but by the time we wrapped up the multi-hour brunch session, several glasses of Goose Island Dominique had made their way to our table. I think everybody ordering beer at the table had at least a small glass.

Goose Island produces the very delicious Bourbon County Stout, which is aged in used bourbon barrels. After they age the stout in those barrels, they recycle them again to age a wild-yeast farmhouse style ale to produce the Dominique. The barrel-aging infuses the beer with a bourbony, spirituous quality and vanilla note, which blends perfectly with the more tart, sour, and rustic flavors.

The fascinating thing about this beer is that it seems to be so balanced that it really appeals to a wide variety of tastes. Everybody with whom I have sampled this seems to enjoy it. When I found myself at ChurchKey again with another beer nerd, his sip of mine turned into him ordering himself another glass. (I forced myself to have something else and ordered a different Goose Island, the Pepe Nero, for my next drink.)

It does not go overboard in any single direction which may not impress the heads who want something really intense or distinctive. Instead, the beer has a certain elegance and subtlety – without being boring.

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Tom Marr of Pete’s Apizza (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of
‘squash’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

So I didn’t manage to obtain the secrets behind making New Haven style pizza (besides, would it even compare to the real thing if you made it at home?) But, I did get a great recipe for one of Pete’s Apizza’s antipasti: carmelized winter squash, sundried cherries and apple crisps with a cider vinaigrette. According to Chef Marr, you can use a variety of squash for this recipe–butternut squash, acorn squash–depending on your preferences and what’s available or in season. For those of you wary about stepping in the kitchen, fear not. The dish is an easy, but impressive, appetizer to serve to your friends the next time they come over for dinner. The recipe is for a large amount, so feel free to scale it down if you’re not cooking for a crowd.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Tom Marr of Pete’s Apizza (Part 1)

Photo courtesy of


‘Chef Tom Marr, Pete’s Apizza’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

Walking into the Pete’s Apizza location in Tenleytown, I approached the counter and asked for Chef Thomas Marr. “Chef who?” said the cashier. Suddenly I was afraid that I had gotten the location wrong. Was I supposed to go to the one in Columbia Heights? Did I get the time wrong? “Uhh, let me go check for you,” he said. No sooner did the jovial chef come out to greet me, the cashier laughed, “Sorry, when you said ‘chef’ I got confused. He’s known as one of the owners around here.”

Photo courtesy of

Wearing multiple hats is exactly what Marr does–he’s a chef, but he’s also one of the co-founders of Pete’s Apizza and is often busy managing the restaurant and talking with familiar customers. “Restaurant people are restaurant people,” he says, adding that once they start working in the restaurant business, they stay. For Marr, he always enjoyed the hospitality aspect and getting satisfaction out of making customers happy. Now, he’s got a restaurant of his own, and even invested in a POS system, e.g., Revel Systems, so he can have better customer transactions. Marr entered the restaurant world as a dishwasher, graduated to doing prep work and eventually trained at the Culinary Institute of America. He’s worked in restaurants across the world, including DC’s own National Gallery of Art.

‘Pizza at Pete’s Apizza’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

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