• 02Sep

    New Date For DC State Fair (& Call For Vendors!)

    In my inbox.

    -JAY

    ————-

    New date and location: Saturday, October 1, at Crafty Bastards (2200 Champlain Street NW).

    Friends, because of the unfortunate Hurricane Irene cancellation of Columbia Heights Day, DC State Fair had to reschedule. The DC community really showed incredible support for the Fair, suggesting new locations and alternatives, and community Festival organizers reached out with offers to host the event. Thanks to the wonderful community, DC State Fair is now going to be held at Crafty Bastards, an exhibition of local handmade crafts and arts run by Washington City Paper.

    If you’ve already entered the Fair online, don’t worry–we have your entry logged, so just bring your entry by on October 1 (check the website for schedule details, which will be available soon). Crafty Bastards is expanding into showcasing craft foods, and DC State Fair will be powering the first-ever Crafty Food Awards in homebrew, pickles, and preserves. Deadlines to enter these contests has been extended to Tuesday, September 6, so get your entries in! The other DC State Fair contest entry forms for Baked Goods, Crafts, and Vegetables are re-opened with new deadlines and are available on our website.

    Crafty Bastards has introduced a Crafty Food Market, where craft foodmakers (that’s you, DC State Fair contestants!) can sell their goods–but the deadline to get in is also September 6. DC State Fair will be held in the Crafty Food Market area, where there will also be a DIY space with guest presenters.

    The event is on Saturday, October 1, from 10 AM to 5 PM at Marie Reed Elementary in Adams Morgan. Yes, this is a little late for some of the vegetable contests–the Tastiest Tomato will not be a contest at the Fair this year, but Longest, Heaviest, and Funkiest-Looking Vegetable are all still open for entry! Get your entries in for our Crafts, Baked Goods, and Vegetable contests by midnight on Thursday, September 29, to qualify! (And again, you picklers and jammers, the deadline to enter is September 6!)

    Let’s all do anti-natural-disaster/Acts-Of-God dances on the Friday before the Fair, alright?

    —————————————–
    Calling All Indie Food Crafters! Deadline Extended to Tuesday 9/6!

    Washington City Paper is looking for independent food crafters to sell their homemade, edible goods at Crafty Bastards! Applications are due September 6th for both the Crafty Food Awards and the Crafty Food Market.

    The Crafty Food Market is open to all types of food crafters. If you bake your own bread, make killer kale chips, mix up your own hot sauce or create other tasty food products and want to sell your goods in a public market, submit your Crafty Food Market application here.

    Do you make pickles, preserves or brew your own beer? You can enter your products in the first-ever Crafty Food Awards! Three D.I.Y. food crafters will be crowned the best in three categories: PICKLES, PRESERVES & BEER. Think you deserve to win? Download the Crafty Food Awards submission form and follow the instructions to be considered.

    Deadline to submit your entries for the Crafty Food Market and the Crafty Food Awards has been extended to September 6, 2011.

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  • 02Sep

    Free Dance Party This Sunday Including Free Bacon & Fried Chicken!

    In my inbox from Scoutmob. Scoutmob is great because the site gives you 50% off coupons instead of making you buy certificates.

    -JAY

    ———————————

    MOOMBACON MASSIVE!

    Sunday, September 4, 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.

    Honestly, this party had us at bacon. But in case you hate meat and still aren’t convinced, let’s delve into the details: four of the biggest party people in DC and Baltimore and way more DJs are coming together to throw the first annual Moombacon Massive. Join Scottie B, King Tutt, Uncle Jesse, James Nasty, DJ Smudge, Keenan, Denman and Reed Rothchild as they spin Bmore Club, Moombahton, hip-hop, electro, and dubstep this Sunday at the Rock & Roll Hotel. It’s a holiday weekend! And we mentioned the bacon right? They’ll have some for free, along with fried chicken and condoms because, obviously, greasy food is an aphrodisiac…if you’re Paula Deen. Facebook page

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  • 02Sep

    Topic of Discussion: Union Jack’s (Ballston) Dress Code

    Isn’t odd that Union Jack’s (a restaurant/bar in a shopping mall) in Ballston has a dress code with only two rules for women and 11 for men?  What is the message being sent here?  We value female business more than male business?  If I was denied entry for wearing this Jon Wye shirt (it has a skull), UJ would lose a (current and future) customer. and my group and I would go next door to Rock Bottom. I’m just not understanding why they are giving men (potential customers) detailed style advice. Anyone else think their dress code is excessive for men?

    These rules go into effect at 9pm.

    On a lighter note, a friend said “Someone using that font is giving style advice?”

    -JAY

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  • 01Sep

    Keep it Short. Keep it Reel!

    In my inbox.

    -JAY
    —————-

    Keep it short. Keep it reel!

    DC Shorts, a showcase of the largest audience-driven collection of short films in the USA, is partnering with Whole Foods Market as they celebrate their 8th year. Named by MovieMaker Magazine as “one of the nation’s leading short film festivals” and “Best Festival” by Washington City Paper, Whole Foods Markets P Street, Georgetown and Arlington will celebrate the opening of this event by re-showing past DC Shorts entries relating to food, gardens and the environment.

    We invite you to come mix, mingle and explore the world of short cinema (popcorn included!):

    September 6th at 8 PM– Whole Foods Market P Street Outdoor Café
    September 7th at 7 PM – Whole Foods Market Arlington Café
    September 8th at 6 PM – Whole Foods Market Georgetown Café

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  • 31Aug

    Free Chick-fil-a Breakfast!

    In my inbox.

    -JAY

    ——————

    From September 6 – 10, 2011, participating Chick-fil-A® restaurants are giving away a variety of FREE breakfast entrées to customers who make a reservation online.

     

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  • 30Aug

    District of Pi Opens in Penn Quarter August 31!

    Deep Dish & Thin Crust.

    CAF and I were enough to try District of Pi tonight, before the official opening tomorrow (August 31).

    “The District eatery, like its St. Louis siblings, focuses on sustainability and minimizing its carbon
    footprint. The buildout maximizes the use of reclaimed materials, both from the original space and others in the area. The entire wine list is also green, consisting of organic, bio-dynamical and other wines by sustainable wine-makers.”

    Spicy Cucumbers.

    What did we think?

    I really like their house beer (a Steam style beer), which is made specifically for them.  The bartender (Kate who is awesome) made CAF a great nonalcoholic combination of orange juice and ginger beer.

    We had both a thin crust pizza with pesto sauce, red onion, and chicken and a deep dish pizza with tomato sauce, eggplant red onion, and sausage.  Both were good but keep in mind that the deep dish is a cornbread-like crust and not a Chicago-style crust.  They were not served hot enough but that may have had to do with managing a full restaurant on a preview night where everyone basically was seated at once.

    We had both spicy cucumbers and wings as appetizers.  The spicy cucumbers are actually a spicy fresh-made pickle were one of the best dishes we tried that evening.  The wings had an awesome spice rub but were rubbery instead of crispy; I understand that they were baked but there are ways to do it so that you don’t get your mouth full of rubbery skin.

    The apple pie uses the same cornbread crust as the apple pie, and while we liked the filling, the apples could have been cooked more.  You get 2 scoops of ice cream on a piece of pie; I really like their vanilla ice cream.

    We will definitely try Pi again.  Next time we will try the garlic bread, which we hear is very good.

    -JAY

    Disclaimer: Something to this effect is stated in our “About” section, but (as sometimes happens), we received freebies.  That said,  our words are our own.

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  • 30Aug

    Riot Act Comedy Club Grand Opening

    The top floor of Riot is like walking into an office lobby (with a bar full of fringe benefits lining the whole back wall). I saw many attendees exchanging business cards over a glass of wine. Downstairs looks more like a friend’s basement: the low ceiling, closely packed tables, and busy bar tend to encourage more intimate conversation over drinks.

    I’d like to mention two strapping young fellows who involuntarily demonstrated how not to have an intimate conversation – “Buttercup” and “Man Candy”. Man Candy, after failing to score with our guest, proceeded to try the same spiel on three other lucky girls, never learning from his recent rejections. Buttercup’s next action, after hovering over our guest’s shoulder and critiquing her work in a flirty tone, was to reassure his whiny girlfriend that he was just making conversation.

    A house brew called Riot Act Red and the Summer Riot cocktail were the specialty drinks of the night, but Riot also offered a more common selection of wine and beer.

    The food was appropriate for the setting: only one deep-fried item, but not too many unpronounceable words. The common presentation scheme was to poke a stick through the appetizer and arrange it such that the color contrast distinguished each bite from its neighbor.

    The antipasto skewer featured artichoke, mozzarella, and sun-dried tomato drizzled with pesto sauce. It would’ve been great with some salami or capicola.

    The next selection was a duck dumpling that I wished had been fried. The thick chili soy sauce, just spicy enough to complete the dumpling, made up for the missing crunch that I look forward to in a good fried dumpling.

    The hibachi beef skewer, in my guest’s words, was “to die for,” but we couldn’t say the same about the severely dry chicken skewer with bell peppers and a bland teriyaki sauce.

    A round of fruit skewers gave us a break from all the heavy food.

    Riot then served two different takes on phyllo dough. The spanakopita wasn’t cooked through, so the pastry didn’t feel quite right. For some odd reason, I got a hint of fish in it. The brie, on the other hand, came wrapped in a toasty pocket of slightly overbaked phyllo. It won me over with a ribbon of sweet raspberry filling, and I’d rather have dough that is too crispy than dough that is inedibly soggy.

    I can’t promise the same quality for an ordinary day at Riot, because few of the Grand Opening bites are on their regular menu online. The selections range from hearty pasta entrees to some decently-sized (at $10, I hope so) desserts such as tiramisu. I have a hunch that tonight’s appetizers represented the grub accurately at this comedy club, and you’ll be satisfied with what you paid for. If you’re going to brush off a sleazy guy and his obnoxious grin by pretending to be absorbed in your food, this is the kind of food you’ll want.

    -Nina (NFG)

    Disclaimer:  I know something to this effect is stated in our “About” section, but (as sometimes happens), we received freebies.  That said, our words are our own.

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  • 27Aug

    Pedon’s Gluten-free Pancake-mix Delivers

    Pedon's GlutenFree Pancake Mix

    The packaging is simple, and the directions are easy.  Like any recipe with wet and dry ingredients: in one bowl, whisk an egg, then whisk in a cup of milk.  In another bowl, empty the entire packet of Pedon’s dry pancake mix then slowly incorporate your liquid into the dry mix with the whisk. Flex your whisking muscles to ensure a smooth batter and a couple minutes later you’re ready cook it stove-top.

    The aroma while it’s cooking was a big tease, because it took a few minutes before the top dried and I could turn it over.  Check out the gorgeous, even coloring once I flipped it.

    Smooth batterPancake Perfection
    The flavor of the finished product was similar to what I expected a pancake might be, and the texture was very good. No, it doesn’t taste exactly like a wheat-flour pancake but I didn’t mind. Salt content was perfect, and the option of adding sugar to the batter isn’t necessary; instead, pour some quality maple syrup on top and enjoy. Pedon’s got a winner: they’re in the same league as Pamela’s pancake mix which is the gluten-free gold standard in our household.

    After offering a taste to my family, I polished off the entire batch. Win.

    –Mark Feghali (MFF)

    Disclaimer:  I know something to this effect is stated in our “About” section, but (as sometimes happens), we received freebies.  That said,  our words are our own.

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    Permalink Filed under: Ingredients, Recipes Tags: , , 2 Comments
  • 26Aug

    Columbia Heights Day Cancelled & DC State Fair Postponed

    In my inbox.

    -JAY
    ——————————————-

    The Columbia Heights Day festival planned for Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, are now canceled. (The attached DC State Fair is just postponed for now.)

    Columbia Heights Day Initiative President Sergio Herrera offers the following statement:

    “It saddens us to say, due to circumstances beyond our control, the 5th Annual Columbia Heights Day Festival is canceled. Many of the companies and services that we rely on to present the festival are unable to perform their contracted duties for us, due to the potential of extreme weather. We sincerely apologize for the last minute notification, but our decision to cancel the festival is based on information provided to us this morning.

    “We are in the process of reaching out to all festival participants to make them aware of the event cancellation. Over the coming days, we will be answering specific questions from individual people and organizations regarding this situation. Until then, we thank you in advance for your patience as we sort through the logistics; please stayed tuned to our Facebook and Webpage for updates.”

    Website: www.ColumbiaHeightsDay.org

    Twitter: www.twitter.com/ColHeightsDay

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaHeightsDay

    Columbia Heights Day is presented by the Columbia Heights Day Initiative, a local, independent, grassroots 501(c)(3) organization. Columbia Heights Day is dedicated to celebrating community, diversity and service. For more information, visit www.ColumbiaHeightsDay.org.

    —
    Liz Bartolomeo
    202.255.2677

     

    Permalink Filed under: Events Tags: , 2 Comments
  • 25Aug

    Free Patricia Jinich Talk: Mexican Culinary Traditions

    In my inbox.

    -JAY
    —————————–

    The Culinary Historians of Washington Are Pleased to Present

    Patricia Jinich

    Mexican Culinary Traditions

    Sunday, September 11, 2011
    2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

    To be held in: Bethesda/Chevy Chase Regional Services Center
    Meeting Room A
    4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD

    Patricia Jinich, host of the PBS television series, Pati’s Mexican Table” and Chef of the Mexican Cultural Institute will be speaking about Mexican culinary traditions and also about how important the month of September is for Mexicans, at home and abroad.

    Jinich was born and raised in Mexico City, and comes from a family of accomplished cooks. Her PBS series, “Pati’s Mexican Table,” can be seen locally on WETA. Jinich has also served as a political analyst, and completed a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies at Georgetown University, and worked at The Inter-American Dialogue, a policy research center.

    Patricia left policy work to pursue researching, writing about, and cooking Mexican food, and to share her knowledge of Mexican cuisine and culture. In 2007 she launched Mexican Table, an ongoing series of culinary programs comprised of informative talks, cooking demonstrations, and tasting dinners at the Mexican Cultural Institute.

    for more information, contact Claudia Kousoulas
    301-320-6979 appetite@kousoulas.com
    www.chowdc.org

    This is a free event, no reservations necessary.

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