• 04Oct

    Silver Diner Opens First Location in DC at Navy Yard

    Thursday, we attended the pre-opening night of the new Silver Diner location in Navy Yard. After 33 years in the DC area, this is their first Silver Diner in Washington, DC proper. They have a Silver in DC (Cathedral Heights), but it is a different concept (more upscale).

    Ype Von Hengst (Right)

    Silver Diner co-owner and Executive Chef Ype Von Hengst (a TVFN Chopped and Rewrapped champion) was on hand with his CEO and a huge staff. They continuously checked on the diners that evening (bigwigs and media). So, the service was definitely attentive. The baseball-themed cookies as favors were a nice touch for this event.

    We’ve dined at and ordered takeout and delivery at various Silver Diner locations over the years. We even covered the opening of an Alexandria location during the pandemic. And, I’ve even ordered the steak dish many times. The Old Bay Wings with Mambo Sauce are new though.

    The food was better than anything we’ve experienced at Silver Diner in the past. The steak was perfectly cooked, the wings were crispy and tasty. We tried nicely executed (and yummy) margaritas which had a shot of Cointreau in a tiny lime rind bowl, and the house made ginger ale. Hopefully, this is the normal level of quality for this location and not just the case because it was a heavily staffed and monitored opening event. If the DC location can keep it up, maybe Silver Diner can bring their other restaurants up to this level, from good to great.

    Give the new location a try and comment letting us know if they keep up this really high level of food and service.

    -JAY

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  • 02Jun

    “One Night in Bangkok” Popup in DuPont Circle

    Sura (in the old Bangkok Thai space at 2016 P St NW) in DuPont Circle is having a Fat Nomads Popup through June 26th, 4pm-9:30pm with cocktails and Thai Moonshine by Andy T. Reservations are suggested for Friday and Saturdays — you can call (202) 450-6282. The menu is here. No idea why they didn’t call it “One Month in Bangkok.” 🙂

    -JAY

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  • 19Mar

    Bargain Hunter’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in Dupont

    From Rakuya’s HH last Fall.

    This topic reminds me of my recurring column from many years ago about eating in Arlington when nearly broke. Here are some Dupont Circle specials:

    Dawson’s Market free beer tastings on Thursdays (City State are DC Brau are the next two events). Photos of some previous tastings and their event calendar were covered in a previous article. They also have one Friday wine tasting a month at the DuPont location.

    Ala has an online discount code for online orders, “ALA30” and they also have a 25% off (entire menu, food and drinks) HH Mon-Friday 2-5pm. Keep in mind that they are a bit pricy to start with, and are also on the Too Good To Go app (cafĂ© stuff).

    Duffy’s Irish pub (which opened on P Street during the pandemic) has dine in 1/2 price burgers Mondays with the purchase of a beverage all night and dine in all day/night 1/2 price wings Wednesdays with purchase of a beverage. Every Thursday from 4pm-7pm kids eat free from the kids menu with the purchase of an adult entrĂ©e and drink.

    Rakuya has Happy Hour (HH) food and drink specials including $3 shishito peppers or edamame, $5 yakitori, $5.50 gyoza, green beans tempura, shumai, crunchy spice salmon rolls, or spicy tuna rolls. They also have $4-8 beer, $7 glasses of wine, and a few $8-9 cocktails on HH.

    Firehook Bakery has Buy One Get One pastries M-F 5-6pm, but not cookies, or cupcakes; it’s items like scones and cinnamon rolls.

    Across the Pond has a special on Mondays 4-8pm: $6 hamburger and fries ($1 additional per topping).

    The Admiral HH features 3 cheeseburger siders for $10.

    Specials from our neighbors:

    Chef Geoff’s West end (a few blocks from DuPont) has a number of food on their HH menu like $4 mahi tacos, $6 white truffle popcorn, $12 pasta Bolognese, $5 off of burgers, etc. And, a few $8 cocktails and $10 supermug drafts.

    Ted’s Bulletin in Logan Circle during their HH Monday – Friday 3 PM – 6:30 PM has $3 drafts, $5 wines, $7 cocktails, and food specials like $6 fried pickles, $6 French onion dip with truffle potato chips, and $7 chicken parm sliders, $7 bacon cheeseburger empanadas, or Rueben tacos.

    -JAY

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  • 19Nov

    The Sweetest Holiday Event We’ve been to is Back!

    Sweet Hope, Central’s all you can eat dessert event for charity, is back! I can’t recommend this family experience enough! Kids love it! Reservations are staggered and required. This year, there will be live jazz and a balloon artist. This event is $25 per person for those 10 and over.

    Previous coverage and a few words about the late Michel Richard are here. The flier for the event is below.

    -JAY

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  • 19Aug

    West Alex (Ultraviolet) Silver Diner Opens

    • Chef Ype!

    We were present opening night at the new West Alex outpost, the 18th Silver Diner location. It was easy to get from the garage to diner, and our server (Levi) provided great service.

      Northern Virginia is still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic (unless you ask someone at a bar in Clarendon). Occupied tables were spread out, servers wore masks, and they have a 3-level, Hospital-Grade Air Purification System (ultraviolet light in the ACs, air purifiers in dining room, ultraviolet light fixtures to clean surfaces overnight). Silver Diner (in all locations) provides delivery, outdoor seating, contact-less pickup, and limited indoor seating.

      The new menu items, Lemony Chickpea Hummus and Cauliflower Pita, and Cucumber-Mint-Lemonade were both wonderful additions that we would order again. The steak, burger, and sides were all well-executed as usual. The veggie of the day was winter squash, Brussels sprouts, and beets. We both ordered sweet potato fries

      • Local Flat Iron Steak
      • Beef Burger with Bacon
      • Lemony Chickpea Hummus
      • Chicken Noodle Soup

      They have a vegan ice cream option and almond whipped cream for those of you avoiding dairy.

      We will of course return to Silver Diner for their excellent menu choices and well-sourced high quality ingredients. The menu is available here.

      -JAY

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      • 09Nov

        Maryland Oyster Festival, No Thyme to Cook, and How to Cook for Beginners

        We recently had a wonderful weekend judging the 40th Annual National Oyster Cook-Off at the US Oyster Festival in St. Mary’s County, MD. We jumped at the opportunity to spend time with fellow judge John Shields (of Gertrude’s restaurant in Baltimore), and eat wonderful food in a picturesque part of the country. The oysters were of course fresh and delicious.

        The highlight of the recipe contest was the winning dish, Buffalo Oysters in Blue Cheese Grits. The crunch and spice level of the fried oysters went well with the creamy grits. The Cream of Oyster Soup with Bacon was great as well, with a creamy texture, and smoky flavor. Now that I have the festival’s cookbook, I can prepare either of these dishes at home.

        The judge’s dinner was the night before at the No Thyme to Cook (cooking school) in Solomons, MD overlooking Solomons harbor, and was amazing of course, since Gwyn Novak (one of the judges), and her staff and school are top notch. Gwyn even has a new book, How to Cook for Beginners, which covers all the basics (including knife skills, measuring, and cooking methods) for someone who wants to learn to cook. The book includes some great recipes, including Cinnamon Crunch Muffins, Garlic & Tomato Steamed Mussels, and Pasta Bolognese. One lucky DCFUD reader will get a copy of the book mailed to them (US addresses only):

        We will randomly choose one entry (out of the first 100) to receive a copy of How to Cook for Beginners. To be entered in the contest, email your first and last name to Contest (AT) dcfud (DOT) com with the subject line “Cookbook Contest” by Saturday November 16th at 6pm. I’ll pass the winner’s email address to Gwyn’s marketing person (who will ask you for a US mailing address). Good luck!

        -JAY

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      • 05Jul

        DC and Baltimore Cooks — Are You Ready for the National Oyster Cook-Off?

        Thank you John Shields for bringing this wonderful event to our attention.

        “This year the greater Chesapeake community will be celebrating the 53rd anniversary of the U.S. Oyster Festival, the home of the National Oyster Cook-Off and the National Oyster Shucking Competition. The festival is happening October 19 & 20, 2019 at the St. Mary’s County Fairgrounds in Leonardtown, Maryland. Both the Oyster Cook-Off and the National Oyster Shucking competition take place on Saturday, October 19.”

        Contestants will be coming from all over the country, however, participants from the Baltimore/Washington region are under-represented. Whether a home cook or professional chef, enter your family recipes or creative new ones, and show the world that nobody can compete with the oyster cooks in our area! Submit your recipe(s) to the 40th Annual U.S. Oyster Festival’s National Oyster Cook Off!

        Up to six recipes per contestant can be submitted, and the deadline is August 31, 2019. The three contest divisions are (1) Hors D’oeuvres, (2) Soups/Stews, and (3) Main Dishes. Here are the cook-off rules.

        -JAY

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      • 18Dec

        Take a Trip to Germany at the New Berliner Beer Hall

        The Berliner Beer Hall, Georgetown’s newest addition, transports you to Germany without leaving DC. Housed in the former Malmaison space (3401 Water Street NW; no website yet), this cavernous hall is promises a German beer experience like no other. DC has German restaurants (Cafe Berlin is a favorite), but truly inspired beer halls are hard to come by in this area.

        I attended a recent media event there and was immediately welcomed with a beer. I started with the Berliner Weisse from Braubacher, a 2.5% ABV sour. I loved the tart funkiness but the ABV just doesn’t do it for me, although it is easy drinking. So I switched to a slightly higher one, the Hefe Weissbier from Weihenstephaner, at 5.4% ABV. This beer was light and refreshing and had citrus notes. The beer menu is highly-curated, with a focus on both German and local brews.

        Food was passed as we listened to a German band. The Berliner is quite loud, especially with the music, so there was no way to ask what each item was. My favorite was the Pretzels and Beer Cheese, and while that combination can occasionally be too salty, this was not. I truly enjoyed many of the sausages, but I am not sure which ones I tried. The Kofta was quite flavorful, as was the Falafel, though both were slightly overcooked. I appreciate the friendly, hard-working staff, as it was an extremely busy kickoff party.

        While the location is slightly out-of-the-way (almost to the Key Bridge Boathouse), I expect the Berliner to do well, especially with it’s proximity to Arlington. I look forward to celebrating Oktoberfest here and grabbing a beer after kayaking in the summer.

        -LEM (Lia)

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      • 29Nov

        Chile Chef Challenge – Report

        Earlier this month, we were happy to attend the Chile Chef Challenge at the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) HQ in DC. Thank you ProChile for showing us how wonderful Chilean mussels, salmon, and beef can be! This annual event highlights how Chefs and mixologists can do incredible things with truly high-quality ingredients. I won’t say which, but we actually voted for one one of the winning dishes and one of the winning cocktails. And of course, one of the highlights of any Chilean event is the wine!Above are some images highlighting the event.

        I really enjoyed the mussel dishes, since it was excellent quality shellfish, but also because I just don’t order mussels enough in restaurants (or cook them at home). At the end of the event, one of the chefs (City Winery) asked me to help him finish off the last few plates, which I did.

        I didn’t actually try Slate’s dish, since I have an allergy to one of their ingredients.

        Event Winners:

        JUDGES FOOD CHOICE
        Executive Chef Jonathan Dearden of Radiator created a BluGlacier Aji Amarillo Spiced Salmon made with a quinoa-olive oil salad, avocado puree, and topped with pieces of salmon skin chicharron.

        JUDGES COCKTAIL CHOICE
        Mixologist Peter Grimm at Equinox created a masterpiece cocktail named Pisco Pomada, made with Waqar Pisco, ginger, turmeric, and lime.

        PEOPLES FOOD CHOICE
        Ype Von Hengst from Silver served a merqueen-spiced Range Meats Patagonian ribeye with Chilean pebre cilantro sauce, oregano and thyme seasoned roasted corn, and white beans finished with ulmo honey drizzle, pomegranate and pine nuts.

        PEOPLES COCKTAIL CHOICE
        Jo-Jo Valenzuela of The Barkeep Consulting gave guests something to truly enjoy with the Gobernador Otoño, using El Gobernador Pisco, pomegranate, Autumn-spiced citrus cordial, ginger beer, and bitters.

        -JAY

         

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      • 28Nov

        Miracle on Seventh Street Brings Holiday Cheer

        During the recent media party at Miracle on Seventh Street, casually known as the Christmas bar or the Christmas pop-up bar, everyone was in the holiday spirit. And we couldn’t help it–the fantastically-decorated bar along with delicious themed drinks would put even the Grinch in a good mood.

        There are four gorgeous rooms (all with bars, which is important, so that you can get a drink anywhere), one insanely lit-up hall, and a walk-in New Year’s Eve ball. The first bar is all Christmas, with ribbons and jingle bells and mistletoe. Behind it is a panda-themed bar. The middle bar is Hanukkah happy, with a huge menorah, sufganiyot wallpaper, and giant pandas next to “Shalom” signs. You then walk through a glowing, illuminated hall and you can either walk into the giant ball or continue into the fourth, slightly Nutcracker-themed bar. Be prepared for a lot of pandas and a lot of Christmas. Of course, everything is completely worthy of Instagram.

        Over the course of the evening, I had three drinks: Santa’s S#!T List (blended Scotch, Nutella hot chocolate, waffle marshmallow), Santa Bei Bei (Siembra Azul Blanco Tequila, lime, vanilla agave soda), and Let the Muletide Roll (Absolut ELYX, Cosmo Grenadine, ginger beer). The Nutella hot chocolate drink, served in a Santa mug, was strong and perfect for the season. You must order the Santa Bei Bei, not only for the name and presentation, but because it was delicious. Served in a panda mug, with a green and white straw stick (to imitate bamboo), it is not only totally adorable, but it was a light, balanced cocktail. The bar’s take on a Moscow mule–Let the Muletide Roll–was easy drinking and served in a huge copper Santa mug.

        The bartenders are still learning the drinks and how to handle the crowds, but don’t let that stop you from checking out Miracle on Seventh Street. This bar, and its drinks, are the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season.

        -LEM (Lia)

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