• 05May

    All Next Week: 5 Nights Of Birthday Fun At Rustico (Alexandria Location)

    In my inbox.  I believe that you can’t post actually prices of alcoholic drinks in VA, so I removed a prices.  I’ll double check if that is necessary.

    -JAY

    ———————

    Celebrating 5 Fine Years In Alexandria

    With 5 Days & Nights Of Fun In The Suds

    Festivities Begin Monday!

    Alexandria’s Rustico is turning 5 next week and to mark the occasion, we’re hosting 5 days and nights of fun in the suds and invite you to join us for the party all week long. The activities were designed with everyone in mind as a way of saying thanks to one and all – and to showcase the heart of what we’re all about – good people, honest food and great beer. Grab your friends and come out for some good cheer and good beer on Slaters Lane all week long, and on behalf of each and every one of us here, a hearty and heartfelt thank you for five amazing years.

    Monday, May 9 | 4 to 6 p.m.

    $5 Until 6 Pizza

    Let’s get this party started! Order any one of Steve’s pizzas on the menu for only $5. The catch? You’ve got to eat it here and you’ve gotta get in between 4 and 6. Better than a late lunch – an economically-sound reason to knock off early!

    Tuesday, May 10 | Beginning at 5 p.m.

    Original Bartender Reunion

    Greg Engert, Nahem Simon and a few other originals will all be behind the stick beginning at 5. This original squad will be pouring and pontificating on all things ale throughout the evening and every draft beer in the house will be available at a discount, all night long.

    Wednesday, May 11 | Beginning at 6 p.m.

    Big Glassware Giveaway With Red-Hot Local Brewers

    Rustico welcomes red-hot local beer makers DC Brau + Port City Brewing Company to pour a few of their fine ales and they’ll be handing out glass swag all night long. As most of you know by now, these things are pretty huge, so come early.

    Thursday, May 12 | 6 to 8 p.m.

    Outdoor BBQ Bash with Chef Steve Mannino

    Come sip in the sun as Steve smokes up Slaters Lane. This outdoor feast has all the classics from Beef Brisket to Deviled Eggs, Slaw and more for only $15 a plate. As a bonus, Buzz Bakery will be handing out cake to finish off the meal. While supplies last, naturally.

    Friday, May 13 | Beginning at 4 p.m.

    The Final Stretch

    Those crazy drink deals we typically offer only in the afternoon? Well, tonight they’re here, ready, willing and just waiting for you all night long.

    One last detail: If you’re local to our Ballston restaurant, please take note that all the festivities are happening in Alexandria and you’re welcome to accept this as an open invitation to stop on by the original!

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  • 04May

    (Chef) Sammy Davis Jr. Can Cook!

    Chef Sammy Davis Jr. making shrimp and grits.

    Last night, we attended Kidsave International’s “Best Main Dish in D.C.” Chef Competition.   Kidsave International is a great charity dedicated to finding families for older children forgotten in foster care and orphanages around the world.  K Street Kate and Lauren DeSantis were in attendance.

    My favorite dishes were Chef Sammy Davis Jr‘s shrimp & grits (with sausage), The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm‘s Doro Wot (Ayrshire Farm Chicken Breast in Berbere Spice Gravy with Boiled Farm Egg and Injera), and Evo Bistro‘s Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Butternut Squash Ravioli, Wild Mushrooms and Sage Cream.  I voted for Evo (after having them hold the mushrooms) because the raviolis were amazing.

    Dilmah Tea was present and I snagged some samples.  I’m drinking a satchel of their green tea with jasmine flowers right now. I’ve also tried the satchel of sweet almond black tea and the standard teabag of cinnamon green tea.  Dilmah Tea has a social mission, and their tea both tastes great and has twice the antioxidants of other teas.  From their website:

    “In the 1950s I set out to offer tea drinkers the finest tea on earth whilst ensuring a genuinely ethical brand. It took me nearly four decades to fulfill my mission, but in 1988 I launched my family tea – Dilmah – the first producer owned tea brand in the world, handpicked, perfected and packed at source and shipped within days to tea drinkers around the world. This ensures that Dilmah tea is the freshest, brimming with antioxidants.”

    -JAY

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  • 04May

    Todd Kliman And The Wild Vine.

    In my inbox.  BTW, Todd Kliman also has an event May 8th  at Politics and Prose.

    -JAY

    ——————–

    As part of its free Folger Fridays lecture series, Folger Shakespeare Library is excited to present Washingtonian columnist Todd Kliman, as he explores the history and mysteries of American wine. Kliman will discuss his recently published book The Wild Vine, which chronicles the history and characters of the oft-forgotten Norton grape.

     

    Todd Kliman, author of The Wild Vine

    Friday, May 20

    7:00pm

    FREE

    Folger Shakespeare Library

    201 E. Capitol Street, SE

    Washington, DC

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  • 04May

    Somebody Obviously Has Money to Burn

    Deserted in the desert

     

    From the fine folks at Arlington Now – the ersatz food truck graveyard on Columbia Pike is described, and, in the comments, the ersatz food truck graveyard is explained:

    Thanks so much for all the interest in sauca and my other trucks. I am opening a sauca restaurant at 4707 Columbia Pike. It will be opened by the end of May. The Meathead and LGM trucks, while wonderful, were taking my eye off the sauca ball, so I decided to sell the trucks and focus on sauca; my original concept. So, as for the property; it is mine; and the trucks are parked there to be sold. So as you can see it is all rather simple and without intrigue. Just an entrepreneur simply making decisions that are in the best interest of the business. I hope this answers all of your concerns and questions but feel free to contact me any time for more info.
    All the best, Farhad

    I wish Farhad Assari the best of luck in starting up the restaurant, for as difficult as setting up a food truck can be, it only gets amplified with a brick-and-mortar establishment. Building codes, electrical systems, drainage, food storage – and, unlike a food truck, you can’t just drive to a new spot if you don’t like your neighbors. Fortunately, he’s got enough revenue-generating advertising built-in with his existing food trucks

    Still, I am surprised by the quick-trigger on Meathead and La Gloria Mexicana. If you thought Paul Reiser’s new show on NBC got yanked in a hurry – two episodes and GONE – then these two vehicles would be the food truck version of Emily’s Reasons Why Not – one and done.

    While the market for mobile flavors from South of the Border has become more crowded with Sabor’a Street and Sol, the carnivoire-based offerings from Meathead were different enough from, well, Carnivoire BBQ and PORC to draw customers.

    The “for sale” signs are a welcome invitation for any enterprising young chef looking to make a name in the world of DC/NoVA street food. The trucks are ready to go – now we just need a daring new concept that hasn’t been done before – I’m thinking CUPCAKES.

    -RAY

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  • 03May

    My Recent Wine Adventures

    Fried green tomatoes at the Chesapeake Room.

    A couple of weeks ago, I attended Newton Vineyard’s Eco Chic Media Tour at (the relatively new) Chesapeake Room (501 8th Street Southeast) near Eastern Market. Michael Wisner was present; he is a contemporary American artist and designer of the new 2011 Newton Limited bottle chiller and an official partner of Newton Vineyards eco – conscious initiatives. I got to meet Chris Millard as well; he is the winemaker for Newton Vineyards. I’ve never had unfiltered wine before, and was expecting something like unfiltered grape juice (which is basically juice with pulp). No. there was no grit or pulp because wine sits longer and settles into sediment that does not wind up in your glass. Was it good? Yes, definitely better than expected.

    Cheese & fig compote. The (delicious) seafood salad is to the right.

    How was the food at Chesapeake Room?  I had a variety of appetizers including fried green tomatoes with goat cheese tomato creme, seafood salad on cucumber slices, Appalachian cheese with (their house made) fig compote, shrimp & zucchini skewers with chimmichurri (I’ll go with their spelling), and smoked duck breast with Pomeranian sauce. My favorites were the seafood salad and the shrimp skewers, but i enjoyed all the dishes except the duck, which I felt was too tough. The fig compote was good. The chef is new to this area and is originally from North Carolina.

    I attended Biagio’s sample day a couple of weeks ago. They had many great chocolate samples out (like a 100% bar, and one with pink peppercorns). They also had the list of winners from a British chocolate show and were selling the chocolates that won awards. First Vines was the guest vintner and had some great French wines at the tasting; they can actually deliver to DC or ship to Virginia (sorry Maryland). Biagio’s sample days are monthly, and while they announce the dates a few days in advance, they are (at my request) sending me the dates a couple of weeks in advance.

    One nice thing about the Biagio tastings is that two wine stores on the same street have wine tastings on Saturdays. So, we hit 3 tastings in one shot. The other two shops we hit were A.M. Wineshop (which only carries French wines), and Ansonia (which has prepared foods as well).  De Vinos might have tastings as well.

    -JAY

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  • 03May

    Olive Oil…For Dessert At Taberna Alabardero!

    Chistorra (sausage).

    I recently attended Taberna Alabardero Spring tapas menu tasting.   Lauren DeSantis, Girl Meets Food, Johnna Knows Good Food, myself, and a few others sampled the following dishes:  

    Deviled Eggs Stuffed with Tuna served with a Red Potato Vinaigrette. This was a crowd pleaser.

    Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Braised Oxtail.  General Manager Javier Velazquez (who is extremely personable) asked Johnna, Girl Meets Food, and I if we grew up on things like oxtail, and we said yes, but I explained that we all grew up in NYC and (also) have backgrounds that are not standard (North) American.  What he was getting at is…would the American diner (who would eat at this type of restaurant) eat oxtail? Yes. Brains? probably not.

    Olive oil spongecake with olive crackers.

    Marinated Dogfish Fritters with Creamy Tomato Sauce. I’ve never had dogfish before; it was a fishy tasting fish, but I enjoy that in a fish.  It is also a bit of a dense fish.

    Chistorra in Wine Sauce with Roasted Bell Pepper Salad, Honey and Corn.

    Creamy Rice Peppers and Manila Clams with Yellow Pepper Sauce. This is normally served with razor clams, but they were awaiting a shipment.  I would have really liked to try the razor clams.

    House-made Chicken Pate with Tomato Marmalade and Sesame Crackers.

    Asparagus Tempura style with Marinated Garlic and Olives. Another group favorite.

    Grilled Flank Steak over a bed of Sautéed Mushroom in a Sherry Wine. I had to skip the mushrooms due to an allergy but the steak was good.

    Steamed Mussels in a Garlic, Tomato and White Wine Sauce. Like much of their seafood, these mussels were imported directly from Spain and were very good.

    Olive Oil Sponge Cake with Olive Chips, Bread Ice Cream & Manchego Cheese. A dessert featuring olive oil, and it’s good! Chef Javier came up with this sitting at the bar late in the evening.

    Grilled Asparagus Soup with Lemon juice and Caramelized Olive Oil. This DESSERT is served over dry ice and is very good…and surprising.  It even makes bubbling noises.

    Lemon flavored Sponge Cake with Mascarpone Ice Cream placed on a Cream of Rose and Lychees. This was the one dish that had non Spanish influences (mascarpone and lychees). Also very good.

    I tried both their red and white sangrias before realizing that the restaurant was recently nominated for two awards for their wine program. I should have been sampling their wine menu. They did pair wines with two of the desserts, and even though they were non standard desserts, the wine pairings were truly amazing.   These two wines were (Red) Silvano Garcia Moncestrell 2008 D.O Jumilla and (Sparkling White) Flare: Sparkling Moscatel NV Valencia.

    I was very pleased with the food at Taberna Alabardero.  It definitely reminded me of the wonderful food I ate on my trip to Spain.

    -JAY

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  • 29Apr

    Härth Just Opened in the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner.

    Lobster rolls.

    We were at the grand opening of Härth this week. (Yes, I realize the name shouldn’t be capitalized but I cant help myself.)  They had hundreds of people, tons of food, a variety of drinks, an ice bar, and some performers (including 3 fire jugglers and a woman on stilts.) There were also more staff and photographers than I’ve seen at one event (but I wasn’t at the royal wedding).

    I don’t believe they served anything from the breakfast menu.  These dished were served and were from their different menus (bar, lunch, dinner):

    • Country pork pate with peach chutney.  The pate was good and I really enjoyed the chutney.
    • Mini lobster rolls with tarragon mayo on mini brioche buns.  This was my favorite item and I ate more than one of them.
    • Cheese & Charcuterie.  This included Firefly Farms goat, talbot

      Cheeses.

      reserve cheddar & maryland blue cheeses, san danielle prosciutto, finochionna sausage, country pork paté, olive tapanade, peach chutney, grain mustard, and peasant bread.  My favorites in this assortment were the goat cheese, olive tapanade, and peach chutney.

    • Wood fired flatbreads.  They served several of these, including the roasted mushroom with caramelized onion, fontina and truffled sea salt, the sweet Italian sausage with aged provolone, herb roasted fennel, san marzano tomato, , and the fire roasted chicken, red pepper, fontina & basil pesto.  Turns out that the third one they served was the sweet sausage flatbread from the dinner menu.

      •  

      Gran marnier pearls for the moet.

    • Chipotle BBQ Shrimp with black bean-corn salsa.  This was very good, although not consistently spiced.  My dining partner had 2 (from separate rounds of service) and the second one was much hotter than the first.
    • Beef & veal meatballs.  This had roasted tomato sauce and pecorino romano and was another dish that I enjoyed.
    • Moet champagne with Gran Marnier pearls (which was awesome), 2 signature martinis (ginger, and chipotle raspberry), and wine.
    • Chocolate Cupcakes.  These were nice because they had dark chocolate and were kind of crumbly on top.  It had a cream filling.  Basically, it came across like an Oreo meets a Hostess cupcake, but with better chocolate.  They were decent, but this is a cupcake town, and the cupcakes were the only dessert.

    All in all, the food and drinks were very good, and the grand opening was a great experience.

    -JAY

     

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  • 28Apr

    Mala Tang’s Soft Opening is Monday!

    Chef Liu having lunch at Mala Tang.

    Chef Liu Chaosheng (of Hong Kong Palace) is launching Mala Tang, a Sichuan hot pot restaurant Monday.  While the restaurant’s soft opening is on Monday, I was lucky enough to try a few of the Xiao Chi (small plates) today.

    The spicy wontons (ground pork, house made soy sauce, mapo tofu) topped with ground pork, and cold spicy dried beef (with sesame seeds and ground Sichuan peppercorns) were excellent, and had the fragrant and floral spiciness associated with authentic Sichuan cuisine.  I’ve had all of these dishes before, but even if I hadn’t, I’d be able to tell that they are very good and very authentic.   Really, who else makes their own soy sauce and tofu?

    I NEED to try the hot pot and dan dan noodles next time.  The restaurant has individual burners set up, since they thought it would be more friendly to an American audience than one large hot pot per table.  I’m fine either way, but I have really good memories of a long gone Queens Sichuan restaurant (Lion Pavilion) that had amazing dan dan noodles, and I’m hoping Mala Tang’s are as good.  I’d settle for half as good, if I hadn’t already tried some of Mala Tang’s food.  Everything I tried at Mala Tang was delicious so I have high expectations for future visits.

    -JAY

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  • 27Apr

    The Prince of Wales to Deliver Keynote at “The Future of Food” Conference Hosted by Washington Post Live

    In my inbox.

    -JAY

    ———————

    The Prince of Wales to Deliver Keynote at “The Future of Food” Conference hosted by Washington Post Live:

    Authors Wendell Berry and Eric Schlosser; White House Chef Sam Kass;

    and key executives from Stonyfield Farms, General Mills, Applegate Farms, and Bon Appetit

    convene to discuss the future of food production
    Washington, D.C.—April 26, 2011—The Prince of Wales will give the keynote address at “The Future of Food” conference, hosted by Washington Post Live at Georgetown University, May 4. The conference will bring together top corporate executives, community leaders, and government officials in the sustainability movement.  The discussion will focus on how to make the world’s food system more resilient, reduce its harmful impact on the environment, and ensure that healthy food becomes available to everyone.
    Among those attending will be Wendell Berry, the novelist, poet and pioneer of the organic movement; Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation”; Sam Kass, White House Chef; U.S. Senator Jon Tester; Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner, FDA; Gary Hirschberg, the CEO of Stonyfield Farms; Dan Barber, the chef at Blue Hill; Will Allen, the founder of Growing Power; Susan Crockett, vice president and senior technology officer for health and nutrition at General Mills; and many other leading figures in the food and sustainability movement.

    “The Future of Food conference brings together an incredible group of leaders to discuss an issue that affects everyone. We’re delighted to be hosting another forum that invites thoughtful conversation about an important global issue,” said Mary Jordan, Editor, Washington Post Live.

    His Royal Highness is a long-time advocate of local, organic, and sustainable food production. As the keynote speaker, he will address the issue of long-term agricultural sustainability and the importance of promoting ecosystem resilience.

    Patrick Holden, Chief Executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, who will be speaking at the conference and who worked closely with Prince Charles during Mr. Holden’s term as Director of the U.K. Soil Association said, “The Prince of Wales has rightly emerged as the leading global authority on this theme through his vision and leadership in consistently highlighting the importance of sustainable agriculture over more than 25 years. It is so timely that this conference is taking place at the very moment when there is an emerging global consensus about the need for fundamental changes to our food systems. There could be no better person to highlight the need for increased food security and resilience against a background of climate change, resource depletion and population growth.”

    The conference will be live-streamed on washingtonpostlive.com/conferences/food from Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall. An agenda will also be listed on the site the week of the conference. Following the conference, video highlights will be available online.

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  • 26Apr

    Paul: Delicious French Baked Goods In Penn Quarter

    Straight from France, Paul had its ribbon-cutting ceremony today of their flagship bakery in Penn Quarter.  Mayor Vincent C. Gray and French Ambassador François Delattre were present.  I believe Paul actually opens this Friday.

    Several other locations will open in DC including one in Georgetown…they had to have one near the embassy. 🙂

    Everything I sampled was very good including the best macarons I’ve had.  I don’t even know what half the pastries I tried were but they were phenomenal.   They also had some very tasty hors d’oeuvres such as salmon or salami or ham on buttered bread.  The baguettes were fresh from the over and they have several kinds.  Even the ham and cheese sandwich was very good!  I took a flan and a pan de chocolat to go but the flan seems more like a tart than the (Spanish) flan I’m used to.

    They tried various US flours until finding the (organic Wisconsin) flour they liked for their breads.  They definitely made a good choice. (I’m getting baguette crumbs in my keyboard.)

    Jack Evans (Ward 2 Councilman), Mayor Vincent Gray, Maxime Holder (Chairman of Groupe PAUL and grandson of the founder), Philippe Sanchez (Pres and CEO of PAUL USA).

    Oh and they use pearl sugar in some items — an ingredient I’m familiar with from Liege waffles (from a Bobby Flay waffle throw down episode on TVFN and locally from Belgian bakery/cafe Le Pain Quotidien).  Pearl sugar is shaped like little spheres and melts on your tongue as you eat it.

    This is one of those cases where pictures tell the story. 🙂

    PAUL is at 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004.

    -JAY

     

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