Category Archives: Food and Drink

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Cork Introduces Fried Chicken and Champagne Sundays


Courtesy of ThreeLockharts Communications

So you need a good date spot. Something that’s more than just a drink but less than an eight course tasting menu while violins play in the background. That’s where Cork Market & Tasting Room comes in. The restaurant on 14th street introduced Sunday fried chicken and champagne dinners this past weekend.

Chef Kristin Hutter serves up her fried chicken (which was named in Bon Appétit magazine’s “Top 10 Places for Fried Chicken”) along with champagne on Sundays* from 6 to 8 PM in the market’s upstairs dining room. You and your date (friend, dining companion, whomever) can feast on half of a crispy fried chicken along with side dishes such as biscuits and asparagus salad and two glasses of the bubbly stuff.

Reservations for the Sunday fried chicken and champagne dinners must be made 24 hours in advance by calling 202-265-2674 or by emailing tastings[at]corkDC.com. The dinner for two is $75, not including tax and gratuity. Cork Market is located at 1805 14th Street, NW.

*Update as of May 21: Cork Market is offering the Sunday fried chicken dinners one Sunday per month (running indefinitely, as of now). The next fried chicken dinner is on June 10th.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: The Garden

Photo courtesy of Jenn Larsen
“The Garden” cocktail
courtesy of Jenn Larsen

After almost two weeks of struggling with being sick and exhausted, my disco nap this past Wednesday night was in danger of becoming an early bedtime. Then the tweet came through from Fedward with the magical phrase, “There is a bottle of Gran Classico behind the bar and a drink including it on the menu. Somebody’s holding out.”

I bolted out of bed and dashed over to American Ice Company. Yes, it was a race of mad cliches. That’s what “bitter love” does to the granddaughter of a Torinese during an aperitivo shortage.

Spirits in Black happens roughly every month at American Ice and has quickly become my favorite recurring event in the city. Patrick Owens just plain rocks as he mixes drinks inspired by heavy metal while head-banging and air-guitaring with abandon, and I’m always impressed by Ashley May’s ability to keep everyone happy and in line. Joined by a guest bartender and a metal DJ, it’s a night that brings out the best in the DC drinks and music scenes – people are talkative, friendly, and enjoying themselves.

And then there are the drinks. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Sebastien Archambault of Blue Duck Tavern (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Salmon with sorrel cream at Blue Duck Tavern
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Sometimes you need to glam things up in the kitchen. Go for something a little elegant. Now, the recipe that follows from Blue Duck Tavern’s executive chef, Sebastien Archambault might look a little overwhelming at first–there’s smoked roe and you might be thinking of emailing me, “Sorrel cream? Child please, how can I make that?” But as I said, this is your chance to glam things up in the kitchen. And if you don’t want to go fancy, you can tweak the recipe here and there (ie: leave out the salmon roe). Knowing how to sear a piece of fish so that the skin is crispy? That’s something useful to keep in your back pocket after you try this recipe.

Or you can head straight to the second part and try your hand at the roasted baby vegetables and farro dish. I’m seeing farro on more and more menus and this is a good recipe that will let you use some of the produce that’s abundant at farmer’s markets around the city this time of year.

Happy cooking this weekend, readers.
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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Sebastien Archambault of Blue Duck Tavern (Part 1)

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Chef Sebastien Archambault of Blue Duck Tavern
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

There’s a school of thought that says specific talents or desires are in our genes or are passed down automatically from generation to generation. Looking at executive chef Sebastien Archambault’s path towards cooking, you might be persuaded to believe just that. Growing up, Sebastien’s father started out as an engineer for Texas Instruments and later became a chef and restauranteur. And while Sebastien initially went the science route himself, majoring in biology in New York, the kitchen came calling when he realized he didn’t want to be a researcher or teacher. “I grew up in the restaurant environment and world,” says the chef, explaining that as he grew older and spent more time helping out at his dad’s restaurant on vacations and holidays, he realized cooking was for him. He adds that both of his grandmothers cooked a lot. “It’s in my blood,” he says.

Fast forward through his ten or so years in Paris in cooking school and working in restaurants ranging from bistros to three star Michelin restaurants, to a stint in Mexico and another in Corsica, Sebastien returned to the United States in 2008. After four years working in Los Angeles at RH and L’Epicerie Market, he landed in DC at the end of 2011 to take the helm in the kitchen at the Blue Duck Tavern from previous chef, Brian McBride.The two had worked together in LA when McBride assisted with the opening of RH.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Curbside Cookoff and Truckeroo Come Back for 2012

Photo courtesy of Mr. T in DC
Curbside Cookoff 2010
courtesy of Mr. T in DC

Ah, the start of warmer weather. Flip flops on casual Fridays, the breeze coursing through your hair (read: the smothering smack from the DC humidity) and al fresco dining options galore. What better way to dine outdoors than amongst the food trucks? Curbside Cookoff returns this Saturday, May 5, and Truckeroo gears up for its 2012 season with its first event on next Friday, May 11. Read more details about each food truck festival below.

Curbside Cookoff: Trucko de Mayo

Don your finest sombrero and elastic waistband pantalones–Curbside Cookoff returns after a year off with the theme of “Trucko de Mayo.” More than 40 trucks will come together for an all day feast at RFK Stadium. Besides all of the food options, you can take in some live music, including a performance by School of Rock, sip a cold beer and play a round or two of cornhole.

If you’re lucky, you could win a free lunch from each of the 45 DC Food Truck Association (DCFTA) trucks, a Kindle Fire, a cookbook autographed by José Andrés and more.

Admission and parking (in RFK lots 4 and 5) are free. Curbside Cookoff runs in RFK Stadium lot 3 from 11:30 AM until 9 PM.

Truckeroo

Kicking off on Friday, May 11, Truckeroo is back to fulfill your food truck needs until the end of September. One Friday per month more than 25 trucks set up at the corner of Half and M streets, SE for a day of live music, games (what is it with food trucks and games of cornhole?) and yes, food.

Admission is free and Truckeroo runs from 11 AM until 11 PM. This year’s dates for Truckeroo also include June 8, July 13, August 10 and September 28.

Food and Drink, Homebrewing, The Features
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Homebrew DC: Coffee Porter

Photo courtesy of the little white box
Pause
courtesy of the little white box

Some people associate dark, rich beers with the winter months, but I think this recipe produces a beer that is just as good in the heat of the summer. It’s about 50 shades darker than a cream ale, but still as thirst-quenching and refreshing.

My friend Andy sent me this homebrew recipe after bringing a coffee porter to our homebrewing club. I lost the recipe for a couple months but just discovered it again, thank goodness. It is a dark, rich porter, very malty and with minimal bitterness, as you can see from the half ounce of bittering hops, boiled for only 45 minutes. The two-minute addition of Northern Brewer hops will impart a floral scent and the dry-hopping process will intensify this.

I am going to make this homebrew recipe soon but will deviate from Andy’s version below. I plan to use different coffee pods. Andy used a French style fine-ground coffee. It tasted great, but my coffee preferences lean toward a Vietnamese brand called Trung Nguyen, which you can find at your local Southeast Asian supermarket. The deep, rich flavor of this coffee will work well with the malty character of the porter. I might try another batch with something a little less refined, like coffee with chicory. You can try any coffee you like a lot and think will give you a good flavor.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Chicken Fried Steak Showdown at Black Jack

Photo courtesy of ekelly80
Pearl Dive
courtesy of ekelly80

What are you doing Sunday? Watching a bunch of chefs in DC throw down and eating chicken fried steak, that’s what.

This coming Sunday, Barbara and Jeff Black, along with Nycci and David Nellis of Foodie & The Beast radio show, are hosting a chicken fried steak showdown at Black Jack. You’ll watch Jeff Black, Kyle Bailey of Birch & Barley, Scott Drewno of The Source, Adam Sobel of Bourbon Steak and Victor Albisu, formerly the executive chef of BLT Steak, all go head to head in the kitchen. Don’t arrive peckish–in addition to the chicken fried steak, you’ll also get a sampling of some of Pearl Dive’s brunch dishes, such as the eggs pontchartrain, po’ boys, pastries and cocktails from mixologist brothers, Ari and Micah Wilder. When all is said and done the judges panel of Tim Carman of The Washington Post, Jeff Dufour of Urban Daddy and David Hagedorn of The Washington Post/Washington Flyer, will declare a winner.

Tickets are $35 at the door, not including tax and gratuity. The chicken fried steak showdown goes from  from 10:30 AM til 1:30 PM.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Special-Edition Burial at Sea


One of the many benefits of the recent flourishing of cool small breweries in the area has been the interesting collaborations that result when they put their creative energies together. One such beer, Burial at Sea, came about when DC Brau teamed up with Baltimore’s Oliver Breweries to create an English Dark Mild Ale which was released earlier this year.

Add to that collaboration a third level: Aging that beer in barrels from various distilleries including, though the work of the staff of Jack Rose and Boubon in Adams Morgan, a special edition version of Burial at Sea aged in Bulleit Rye barrels. This aged batch of the beer was released at Bourbon this week during a special event with Mr. Tom Bulleit himself from the distillery on hand – as well as the founders of DC Brau and a festive crowd that turned out on a Wednesday night to enjoy the limited offering.
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Food and Drink, Homebrewing, The Features
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Homebrew DC: American Cream Ale

Photo courtesy of Kevin H.
Liquid Light and Gold
courtesy of Kevin H.

This is another in a series of articles about homebrewing in the DC area by Carl Weaver of RealHomebrew.com. Want to learn about making your own beer? Keep an eye out for Friday homebrew features.

I recently decided to try a homebrew recipe for American cream ale. It reminded me of a guy I worked with who would walk from desk to desk in the office every afternoon and say, “It’s almost Genny time,” humorously referring to Genesee Cream Ale. Bob was fun to drink with. He was an older guy and naturally charming to everyone he met. He also had a penchant for drinking out of ten-ounce glasses, which I found interesting, if odd. “Give me a shorty,” he would tell the bartender.

Bob drank Genesee quite often and I drank it with him on occasion, so this beer kit I bought is more about reminiscing than it is about the particular style. Even if it is not my favorite, Genesee is an American original.

This style is light and slightly malty, not very bitter at all. It is an easy-drinking beer but has a good amount of alcohol, measuring in probably between five and six percent. That is a little high for what you might call a session beer, but not terribly so. I can imagine knocking out a couple of these with Hank Hill and the boys. A slight sweetness comes from the corn sugar, but the sugar is really there to boost the alcohol, so you get to taste what the hungry yeast cells never got to before they gave up the ghost. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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DC Food Bloggers Bake Sale for Share Our Strength

Across the country, nearly one in five children will struggle with hunger this year, according to Share Our Strength. That’s more than 16 million children in the U.S. who do not get enough to eat. In DC alone from 2009 to 2010, 37.4 percent of households with children said they couldn’t afford enough food, according to DC Hunger Solutions.

To help drive down these statistics and child hunger, some of the DC bloggers are hosting a bake sale today as part of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. All you have to do is stop by and purchase some baked goods to help a good cause.

Here are the details:

Who: DC Food Bloggers and Share Our Strength
What: A bake sale with all proceeds going to the No Kid Hungry Campaign
When: Thursday, April 26, 2-6 PM
Where: 1150 15th Street NW, Washington Post building on the first floor

Food and Drink
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Cast Your Vote for the 2012 RAMMY Awards


2012 RAMMY’s Theme: Hats Off to the Restaurants
Photo courtesy of the author

Hey DC, here’s something you actually get to cast a vote on!

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) lets the public choose the winner for three categories at the RAMMY awards: Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene, Neighborhood Gathering Place and Power Spot. All you have to do is click and cast your vote before 11:59 PM on April 29th on the Washington City Paper’s site. One vote is permitted in each category per valid individual e-mail address, according to a press release.

The nominees in each category are:

Neighborhood Gathering Place

Power Spot of the Year

Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene of the Year

RAMMY winners are announced at the ceremony on June 24th and you can bet We Love DC will be live-tweeting the whole thing again this year.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Bar Pilar Unveils New Upstairs Dining Room, Menu, Drinks

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Bar Pilar Mural
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

It’s a moment you’ve been waiting for on 14th street–Bar Pilar is back, in action and with an entire new upstairs, expanded menu and cocktails. The renovated space reopened several weeks ago and We Love DC finally snapped some pictures at a media preview last week.

Don’t get nervous about the menu changes–the downstairs section will still serve the small plates the restaurant built its reputation on, but now you’ll get to choose from either small plates or an expanded menu with appetizers, entrees and desserts upstairs. With 98 seats total, you’re also more likely to snag a table during the dinner rush.

“We’re excited to offer some larger plates upstairs for people who want a full dining experience,” said Executive Chef Justin Bittner in a press release. “We’ll offer a selection of entrees using a lot more whole animals, we’re getting back into offal, but of course we’ll keep the favorites that our regulars love.”

In addition to more dining space, the upstairs has an intimate six-seat bar with a craft cocktail menu of 25 or so options from the General Manager and Beverage Director, Jonathan Fain. We Love DC’s Arts and Culture Editor, Jenn Larsen,  says the expanded wine, beer and cocktail program is “sure to break new ground. Jonathan has a whimsical way with cocktails.” Look for highlights such as housemade syrups and sugar cane juice in their cocktails.

Check out photos of the new space after the jump.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Jungle Bird at Passenger

Tuesday was an amazing day. I went outside to see the shuttle glide overhead – and after that it seemed like my whole day was dusted with little bits of space magic. I was absurdly productive, managed to pull off some things I did not expect to work, and generally felt very accomplished and excited about the world.

Obviously, a day like that called for a celebratory drink with friends.

Being Tuesday, we headed over to Passenger for their long-running weekly Tiki night. The weather was a trifle chillier than “the islands” on that night, but recent warm temperatures and sunny days had well-primed me for tiki-style refreshment.

When I arrived and looked at the chalkboard of drink features for the night, I knew exactly which one was made for me. Jungle Bird brings together tiki classics of pineapple, lime, and rum – specifically Smith & Cross – with one of my favorite liquors of all, Campari. Served over crushed ice in a big, frosty hurricane glass, the drink was a little lighter in body and less-sweet than some tiki drinks, while still being perfect for imagining somewhere tropical.

By the end of the night, our group of six had gone through enough of them that an entire bouquet of little orchid garnishes had made their way into our hair or onto a sizable pile on the table. Rarely do I order the same drink twice in a row, even when I really like it – but this one I did. It was a magical day.

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Billy Klein of Café Saint-Ex (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Udon Carbonara at Cafe Saint-Ex
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

A good pasta carbonara separates the strong from the weak, the great from the average. Master that dish and you can certainly wow some dinner guests. The carbonara from Café Saint-Ex’s executive chef, Billy Klein, uses udon noodles and fresh pea shoots for a slightly different spin. The result? A pasta dish that remains light and fresh, even with a creamy sauce.

I can’t make any guarantees that yours will turn out as good as it does at Café Saint-Ex, so if I were you I’d head there first to check out the original with what was the best pork belly I’ve ever had (not an exaggeration)—crisp on the outside and not a bit of grizzly fat on the inside. And while you’re there the rest of this month, check out some of Billy’s creations for National Grilled Cheese month (read: grilled cheese on “potato bread”–gooey cheddar cheese and bacon in between slices of potatoes or the brioche encrusted with Fruity Pebbles and melted brie inside).

The full recipe, broken down by parts (roll up your sleeves and get ready for a little challenge!), is after the jump.

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Billy Klein of Café Saint-Ex (Part 1)

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Chef Billy Klein of Cafe Saint-Ex
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

There’s something refreshing about a direct answer to a question these days. A simple statement that gets to the root of what you’re asking, that needs no follow-up question, leaves no confusion or wiggle room for ambiguity. And when I asked Billy Klein why he became a chef, I got a succinct, straightforward answer: “I love food. I love people. I love being artistic.”

The executive chef of Café Saint-Ex elaborates: “With cooking, there are no limits, no boundaries.” Growing up, Klein says that family meals were “always a big deal” in his household. Years later, that thread now carries over into his job as a chef where he says he loves bringing people together and that he enjoys making food that’s not “too cerebral—so that people don’t forget who they’re with.” Klein reminds you that yes, a meal is about the food, but it’s also about the experience and the people you share it with.

So unsurprisingly, after chatting with Klein it’s easy to see that he’s the type of down-to-earth person you’d not only want cooking your food, but that you’d also want to share said food with. He’s level-headed—which is not to say that he’s some vanilla shade of boring—you’ll see the flashes of badassery in tattoos peeking out from his shirt sleeves or when he and a few kitchen crew members slam a shot of whiskey before wrapping up a Saturday night shift. But for example, Klein explains that achieving balance in life is important as a chef. “I love what I do and I work my ass off. But you need balance in your life,” he says. “Being a successful chef is a sacrifice. You have to put in the work, the time and the training.” Part of that life balance is knowing that a chef can’t be at a restaurant all the time, obsessing over every detail and watching their kitchen staff like a hawk. Klein emphasizes that part of a chef’s job is teaching and trusting staff to turn out dishes that are as close to the original version from the chef.
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Food and Drink, Homebrewing, The Features
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Homebrew DC: Bacon Beer, a Stout Lover’s Breakfast

Photo courtesy of Samer Farha
Black Thai
courtesy of Samer Farha

This is another in a series of articles about homebrewing in the DC area by Carl Weaver of RealHomebrew.com. Want to learn about making your own beer? Keep an eye out for Friday homebrew features.

Not so long ago, @brew_thusiast tweeted his disappointment with a particular homebrew bacon beer, saying that it was a decent enough brown ale but lacked the bacon flavor that would make it the draw it should have been. This got me thinking about bacon beer. Is it really good or too good to be true? The promise is great – a smoky, meaty, maybe salty brew that could be a good accompaniment for your eggs, rashers, and black pudding, or whatever you like to have for breakfast. You do like black pudding, don’t you?

It would have to be a stout or porter, is my guess. Bacon is a heavy meat, and most pairing guides suggest putting rich drinks with rich foods. A heavy beer would be best, for sure. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Fourth Annual Cochon 555 Comes to DC

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Pork at Cochon
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

The pork craze on the food scene may have quieted down a little bit, but that probably doesn’t (and shouldn’t) change anyone’s feelings about bacon, pork rinds, pork loin or any other delicious part of the hog. So to get quell your pork cravings, Cochon 555 is making its fourth annual stop in DC on April 22nd at The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel.

This year’s competing chef lineup includes last year’s DC “prince of porc,” Scott Drewno from The Source by Wolfgang Puck, returning competitor Ed Witt from 701 Restaurant, as well as new competitors Mike Isabella from Graffiato, Wes Morton from Art and Soul, and Nicholas Stefanelli from Bibiana. The way it works is all five chefs prepare dishes using parts of heritage breed pigs from snout to tail, and you, dear attendee, get to feast on all of it. When all is said and done, one of our DC chefs will go on to compete against other chefs from around the country at the Grand Cochon event at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen in June.

Additionally, you’ll get to sample wines from five family wineries, as well as beers from Anchor Brewing and other spirits.   And just in case the dishes from the competition weren’t enough for you, Bourbon Steak’s Adam Sobel will be preparing a whole BBQ hog–you know, just in case you feel peckish. Those of you who enjoy wielding knives and playing Iron Chef in your kitchen when no one’s looking can check out a butchering demo from Wagshal Market’s Pamela Ginsberg.

Tickets can be purchased online for $125 per person or $200 for VIP tickets with early admission at 4 PM and access to “welcome cocktails” and oysters from Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC. The 2012 Cochon 555 in DC starts at 5 PM on Sunday, April 22nd at The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel.

Food and Drink, Night Life, We Love Drinks
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Event (P)Review: On the Town with Dale DeGroff

Dale DeGroff 1
All photos by the author

Dale DeGroff returns Thursday night for what I’ve been told is a bigger and better On the Town show, this time featuring pianist Dan Ruskin. This article, originally published last year, is a good preview for this year’s show.

The fact that you probably already know what a Cosmopolitan cocktail is, and most likely even have a mental picture of the sort of person you imagine would drink it, owes its existence to King Cocktail. Widely credited as the bartender who made it popular (if not ubiquitous) from behind the bar at the Rainbow Room in the 1980s, DeGroff has a long history both with his leg up in front of the bar and as the all-seeing, all-hearing master of ceremonies behind it. The “On the Town” seminar is a chance for him to tell a sample of the stories he has collected – or been a part of – since he moved to New York four decades ago.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Support the 16th Annual Dining Out for Life

You dine out. You like to volunteer and support good causes. And once again this year, you can do both in one evening.

On Thursday, April 26th, nearly 140 restaurants in the DC area will be participating in the sixteenth annual Dining Out for Life event, benefitting Food & Friends. Restaurants donate anywhere from 25 to 110 percent of their profits from the evening to the local charity that provides meals and counseling to clients in the region who are living with HIV/AIDS, cancer or other life-challenging illnesses.

If you want to do more to help Food & Friends, sign up to be a Restaurant Ambassador. You’ll help spread the word about the event, greet and thank diners on the 26th and raise funds.

Last year’s Dining Out for Life raise more than $240,000 for Food & Friends. For more information about the event, go to www.foodandfriends.org/dol.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Rite of Spring at Room 11

Friday Happy Hour is back after our month of ARTINIs – and, I am pleased to report, we will be including some additional voices from our other drinks writers in this space from time to time, in our efforts to bring you the most diverse collection of drinks experiences we can. Spring seems like a perfect time for this sort of re-vamp – and so what could be a more perfect drink to kick off this new season than one called Rite of Spring?

While I love to pester the awesome staff of Room 11 to make me experimental drinks based on what is often a string of near-nonsense adjectives – and they consistently make creative, tasty cocktails off the tops of their heads from my silly prompts – I also like to keep up with the drinks they feature on their menu. These change with the seasons and are generally the results of extensive testing and experimenting.

On a recent visit, their chalkboard offered Rite of Spring and, given the lovely warm day, how could I turn that down? As the name suggests, this is springtime distilled into a coupe glass. Starting with Beefeater gin (of course – what spirit could be more spring than gin?), the drink builds floral notes with a chamomile honey syrup, lavender bitters, and lemon juice. A pinch of aromatic chamomile buds are sprinkled across the top.

The chamomile and lavender has an almost aromatherapy quality of instant calming – so much so, in fact, the staff has nicknamed the honey “sleepy syrup.” After a sip – and, particularly, a smell – one can easily conjure images of a stone house set in the English countryside, surrounded by gardens and probably some kind of stately dog (or whatever else one imagines oneself to have at their country estate – for me, gin and a basset hound will do). All around, Rite of Spring makes for a perfect tipple to enjoy in the early evening of a breezy spring day.