Dear Washington, D.C.,

By the time you’ve read this I’ll already be gone.  This isn’t a break-up, it’s more of a break apart.  Maybe I got sick of being car-jacked at gun point or, perhaps, the constant sirens outside my window got to me.  Or maybe, perhaps, I yearned for something more within my very being.  Whatever the reason, I have moved.  And will not step foot on you again.  (Until I need to return to you for a wedding in January that is!)

Where have I moved?  What am I doing?  I’m writing to you from my screened in porch on my 12 acre farm and soon-to-be Bed and Breakfast in Ohio.  Where in Ohio?  I think it’s a little soon for that, don’t you D.C.?

And while I’ve given up on D.C., I haven’t given up on the food scene.  Eat and eat some more Washingtonians!!  Dino and The Source, Poste and 8407 Kitchen Bar…you are my go-tos, my loves.  And I will never forget you. And, in fact, I’m sure…I’ll be back!

In the spirit of my new found freedom, I’d like to do some new things tonight!  I’ve already touched a hedgehog.  Touch away, D.C., they don’t hurt after all!  And I’d like to make a deal with you.  While I may not be living in you anymore, I’d like to still keep writing to you.  Sure, I may not know the where all the hipsters are cavorting or where another “sanitary special” has opened up in recent weeks, but you can learn from my life in the country, and I’ll be sure to pass on my expert (or…at least…attempts) in cooking great breakfast foods for the masses.  We may not be together anymore, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends!

I wish you the best of luck.  You are a great city, and I’m sure you’ll attract many more to your great food scene, gentrification issues, and many universities.  Please know, above all, I don’t hate you.  I think we’ve both just grown, and we’re moving in different directions.  You will always have power, and interns, and sleaze.  I will have alpaca, chickens, and hedgehogs.  Which is better?  Who am I to judge!

Know I will always love you, and that is all that matters.  And, be sure, you haven’t heard the last from me. Ohio may be a world away, but food is universal.

AEK

You can read Lisa Shapiro’s post about this.

-JAY

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Exerpt:

On Friday, September 3rd, guests are encouraged to stop by Café Atlántico to enjoy a rum tasting featuring rums from top producers including Rhum Barbancourt, Mount Gay and Appleton Estate. The tasting is free to the public and runs from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM. Guests must be 21 or older to participate and will need to present valid ID. For information, guests should call (202) 393-0812.

3 Trucks were at the DC State fair today: DC Slices, Curbside Cupcake and the Sweet Flow Mobile (Sweet Green’s frozen yogurt). I didn’t get to Sweet Green’s truck, but I’ve tried their product at the storefront.

I tried a slice ($4) and it needed more cheese (and to be served hotter)–it was alright for having come from a truck, but not great. The sauce was it’s strength. The person with me didn’t like the crust. I’d try it again. They were also out of everything but plain slices.

I tried the lemon cupcake ($3) from Curbside and it was good…with the lemon cupcake and lemon frosting bringing different flavors and textures. Thumbs up.

In other food truck news…The Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck will be at Chinatown Coffee this Thursday evening 9/2 for a happy hour from 630pm-830pm. That is…lobster rolls at 5th and H NW! Chinatown coffee will be offering $3 Lagunitas IPA and Dale’s Pale Ale. I’d love to see more events like this.

Absinthe preparation at Chinatown Coffee

BTW, Chinatown Coffee has several varieties of absinthe which they mix with water, sugar, and fire…it was like watching a ritual. What’s a little toxin and psychoactive substance among friends? BTW, I like anise…and I still didn’t like the absinthe I tried at Chinatown Coffee, but the variety I tried was herbal.  Next time Ill try the Swiss one.

-JAY

In My Inbox from a usual suspect.

-JAY

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Bunny Polmer (202) 966-8271 bpolmer@comcast.net RSVP CATERING HOLDS COMPLIMENTARY BRIDAL TASTING Fairfax, VA…August 2010…

RSVP Catering invites all future brides and a guest to take part in a complimentary tasting on:

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

The event will be held at:

 RSVP Catering
2930 Prosperity Avenue
Fairfax, VA 22031

Call (703) 573-8700 or register by email: weddings@rsvpcatering.com.

The tasting offers prospective brides an opportunity to sample RSVP Catering’s creative cuisine, including selections from Organix by RSVP, a seasonal selection of local, organic and sustainable foods. Guests will also have the chance to meet RSVP Catering’s team of wedding professionals and to check out the latest wedding trends.

RSVP Catering is the Washington area’s sixth largest caterer, setting the standard for elegant, innovative social and corporate entertaining.

Update:

Enter Your Big (or big-ish) Vegetable in the Biggest Vegetable Contest!

Is that a five pound melon sitting in your garden? What about a foot long zucchini? A football sized pumpkin? Why aren’t you entering your vegetables in the DC State Fair Biggest Vegetable Contest, sponsored by Washington Gardener? More…
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In My Inbox.
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-JAY

DC Picklers – Show Us Your Best Pickle

Green beans. Cucumbers. Beets. Is there anything that isn’t improved with a good pickling brine?

Well it’s time for DC picklers to show us what you’ve got. Do you have a delicious bread and butter pickle recipe that’s wowed your friends? Do you pickle your own onions to serve on sandwiches? Do you make your own kimchi? Enter your sour, salty, and/or sweet pickled creations in the DC State Fair Home-Made Pickle contest. Many thanks to GLiTTARAZZi, a DC-based social and gossip blog, for sponsoring. The winner will win a $50 gift certificate to 19th.

You can enter the DC State Fair Home Made Pickle Contest here. While we’d love to know if your pickled items were grown in the District, it’s not a requirement of the contest. The deadline for entries is Thursday, August 26, so get your pickles going today!

In my inbox. Full info and a video can be obtained here.

-JAY

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Vintage Crystal Returns with Latin Flavor: Wine, Tequila & Tapas in Crystal City
Sunday, September 19, 2:00-6:00 p.m.

What:
Crystal City BID’s fourth annual signature wine-drinking, salsa-dancing, tapa-tasting festival.

Who:
25 local restaurants and over 30 delicious wines from Chile, Argentina and Spain.

Where:
220 20th Street South, Arlington, VA 22202

Tickets:
Tickets will be available to purchase on-site the day of the event for $20 (CASH ONLY) and include all sips, tastes, twirls and a commemorative wine glass.

Food-only tickets can be purchased for $10 and admission for kids is free.

You don’t need to be a state to have a fair!  Don’t believe me, there are deep-fried Oreos and funnel cakes aplenty being served just 20ish miles over the border in Gaithersburg, Maryland.   The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair is the quintessential fair – animals, foods, rides, and all the country a city boy could want!

Looking to take on a new hobby?  Stop and watch the intricacies of judging the perfect shorn sheep.  Trying to teach your children about child-birth?  Visit the birthing tent and see the miracle of life itself!  (Mind you, cows are the mothers at this fair!)  Want to get your pre-teen hooked on gambling?  Then the pig races are the place for you!  Opportunities and excitement abound!

I personally enjoy shoving grease-soaked carnival treats in my mouth while watching the rides.  The twirly ones make me nauseous…but I keep eating.  I like being heckled by the keepers of the game booths – an odd mix of surly older folks and those who could probably star in one of A&E‘s many reality shows.  No where else on earth can one get so excited to play a game for $2 and receive a cheap stuffed animal that will either meet the dog later that night or pass on to one of our nation’s many land-fills.

But wait, this is a food site…so let’s talk food.  Turkey legs, ice cream, cotton candy, sausage, lemonade…it’s not high-brow, but it’s darn tasty.  The stuff you know you shouldn’t eat and regret later. But while you’re chomping, heaven does indeed seem to be a place on earth!  And where else can you eat a hotdog in front of a pig?  Or a hamburger while staring a cow in the face.  There is a circle of life and it’s at the fair!

So, download some “Meet Me In St. Louis” and get out to the fair!  Eat something with the sweet smell of manure in the air.  Do it, if you dare!  You may even see a mare.  Ok, enough already.  Montgomery County may not be a state yet, but we sure do love our farms and support our 4-H!

AEK

In My Inbox.

Come to the DC State Fair Kick-Off Shindig and Homebrew Contest – August 27! (Click there for the active links.)

dcstatefair | August 18, 2010 at 4:03 am | Categories: dc state fair | URL: http://wp.me/pZQTt-2z

Thanks to The Black Squirrel for sponsoring the DC State Fair Homebrew Contest!
What: DC Homebrewers Contest
When: Friday, Aug. 27, 7:30 – 10 pm
Where: 1314 Kenyon St. NW

To Enter: Fill out this entry form by August 23.

DC’s become a paradise for beer lovers in the past few years, and we had to give DC homebrewers the chance to prove who brews the best brew at the DC State Fair.

Join us on August 27th from 7:30 to 10:00 pm at 1314 Kenyon St. NW for a kick-off party and homebrew contest, sponsored by The Black Squirrel (the fabulous neighborhood beer bar in Adams Morgan). The judging begins at 8:00 pm sharp – you won’t want to miss it!

If that’s not enough for you, Fat Man After Dark, another fair sponsor, will be broadcasting live from the Contest.

Do you have a passion for homebrewing? There’s still time to submit your beer to the contest, so enter now. The deadline for homebrew entries is August 23.

Good luck to all the homebrewers out there! We know you’ll make the District proud.

More info on this contest is avilable in this Modern Domestic post.

-JAY

Inside the heart of every baker lies the soul of a diva. A competitor. A little voice that says “my cupcakes are the best.” Or maybe that’s just some of us.

The winner of the cupcake contest will win fame, glory, and a delicious prize box of treats from Treet.

In my inbox.

-JAY

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Café Saint-Ex Hosts Exciting Labor Day Celebration with Pig Roast and Live Bluegrass Music

Mid-City Neighborhood Restaurant Shuts Down the Street for Energetic Labor Day Festivities Including Eco-Friendly Foods Pig Roast and Live Bluegrass Music

Café Saint-Ex is shutting down T Street in Mid-City to host an exciting Labor Day Street Party complete with a charity pig roast and live bluegrass music on Monday, September 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to raise money for the local Fillmore Arts Center. The community will come together to enjoy a whole smoked pig from Eco-Friendly Foods and live bluegrass tunes from Amanda Murphy and the Lost Indians. The public is invited to join Café Saint-Ex’s Labor Day festivities while supporting local arts. In addition to the live music and food, kids can gather at the interactive arts zone where they can help paint panels painted by Peter Chang of No Kings Collective.

Patrons will enjoy typical cook-out favorites with a Café Saint-Ex twist including a delicious pulled pork sandwich, homemade potato salad and fresh coleslaw for $10, and an interesting selection of beers including Peroni, Batch 19 and Blue Moon. All proceeds will directly benefit Fillmore Arts Center, DC public school arts program that provides in-depth arts education for more than 2,300 local public school children.

· Café Saint-Ex
· Eco-Friendly Foods
· Fillmore Arts Center

Monday, September 6, 2010
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Café Saint-Ex (and along T Street)
1847 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009