Category Archives: Food and Drink

Food and Drink, Interviews, People, The Features, We Love Drinks
By

We Love Drinks: Joe Riley

Photo courtesy of
‘Joe Riley, Ace Beverage’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

We Love Drinks continues our series where we look behind the bar, profiling the many people – from mixologists to bartenders, sommeliers to publicans – who make your drinks experience happen.

So far in our profile series we’ve focused on the people bringing your drinks to you – from bartenders crafting cocktails to sommeliers creating a wine list. But who brings the drinks to them? Those ingredients don’t just magically appear, do they? One name kept coming up over and over again – Joe Riley, fine spirits manager at Ace Beverage. I ventured up to leafy Wesley Heights (near AU) to meet him at the small but packed shop in Foxhall Square. We talked about his experiences as a fine spirits manager, and I also canvassed DC craft bartenders Owen Thompson and Derek Brown, along with cocktail enthusiast Marshall Fawley, to find out what it is about Joe that has loyal customers so buzzed.

Joe’s reputation is that he can find anyone anything. Within a few minutes of talking to him, I’d mentioned my nostalgic love for a rose liqueur I tasted one evening in Paris, topping a glass of champagne (the waiter exploded the bottle over me, but that’s another drinks story). “Not rose water, rose liqueur,” I sighed, “but no one has ever been able to – ” Joe’s head had cocked to one side during my reverie, eyes sparkling, and I trailed off as I realized he was about to make magic. “Crispin’s Rose Liqueur, Greenway Distillers. Hand distilled from apples, infused with rose petals. Crispin Cain’s been perfecting the recipe for years. We should be able to get that soon.”

Quest ended. Just like that. I then spent about an hour in the shop listening to him weave tales of liquor lore. Not only can he find anyone anything, he seems to know about everything – a fine spirits encyclopedia, a libation historian, filled with tales of Prohibition and the Washington of old. Continue reading →

Business and Money, Downtown, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, News, Special Events, The Daily Feed
By

Name That Burger Joint

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

This past Monday, BLT Restaurant Group launched an online “Name Game” contest to find the best name for its three new burger restaurants opening later this year in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, DC (1317 Connecticut Avenue).

You must submit your burger joint name before Friday, April 30 and on Wednesday, May 5, the BLT Restaurant Group partners will select their top three choices and opened up voting to the public with the final winner announced on Monday, May 10. The two runners-up will receive $250 gift certificates to BLT Restaurants.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

DC’s Best Burger

Photo courtesy of
‘palena’
courtesy of ‘AlissaS24’

What is DC’s best burger?  That’s a can of worms to open.  You’ve got Five Guys, you’ve got Good Stuff, you’ve got Ray’s and each has it’s own set of religious devotees.  Well, now there’s another contender. According to Epicurious, Palena Cafe has DC’s best burger, which, coincidentally, is also the third best burger in America.  Maybe I’ve been under a rock or something, but I’ve never heard a Washingtonian suggest Palena.  What are your thoughts. Is Palena’s burger it?

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

DC Food Blogger Happy Hour Tonight! Art & Soul on the Hill

Following the DC food bloggers around town is never a bad idea. Having worked their way through Commonwealth, Churchkey, Vinoteca, and Black Squirrel, just to name a few, they’re always out and about checking out a great restaurant scene.

Stop by Art and Soul tonight for happy hour with DC’s food bloggers from 6-8 p.m. A quick peak at the menu reveals deviled eggs, pork rinds, and chips and dip. 

Join us by RSVPing on the DC Food Bloggers Facebook Fan Page. These happy hours have created quite the fan following over the past few months, with 52 attendees expected per Facebook. So, if you haven’t stopped by for one yet, come on over tonight!

Thanks to the planning committee – doubling as great, local food bloggers – for putting together another great happy hour: Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Want To Stalk Top Chef DC? Now You Can, Thanks To Twitter.

Photo courtesy of
‘live shot’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

We all know how excited you are that Top Chef is FINALLY giving DC the foodie lovin’ it deserves. With that said, you can get in on all the Top Chef DC happenings (shooting is now in progress) with a click of a button.

Want to find out where the cast and crew is at any given moment? Thanks to the unofficial account maintained by a Top Chef fan, you can now follow “topchefdcnews” on Twitter for all the latest updates.

Food and Drink, The DC 100, The Features
By

DC Omni 100: #20 Pistachio Ice Cream

courtesy of flickr user StudioGabe

It’s time for another item on the DC Omnivore 100 list of the top one hundred foods every good omnivore should try at least once in their lives.

I’m a pistachio ice cream lover, but I haven’t always been. As a kid I was a Mint Chocolate Chip (MCC) ice cream party hack.  I subscribed to the theories that MCC had to have a vibrant green hue, was it the only green ice cream allowed, that pistachio was simply some sort of mutant flavored only eaten by weirdo adults and that I would never dare to taste pistachio ice cream because that would have been the ultimate slap in the face to MCC. I also had no idea what a pistachio nut was, because what 7 year old  has a distinguished enough palate to explore beyond peanuts–more likely peanut butter. As far as I was concerned almonds were pushing the nut frontier. However, now at the ripe age of 28, pistachio has become a regular to go at the ice cream parlor and lucky for me, it’s a regular offering at most establishments.

According to the interwebz, the creation of pistachio ice cream is attributed to James W. Parkinson of Philadelphia, who was the son of George and Eleanor Parkinson, a couple that made Philadelphia ice cream famous in  the nineteenth century. As a professionally trained chef, Mr. Parkinson was exposed to a widening variety of cooking techniques and international spices, from which he probably developed the idea to make a pistachio nut flavored ice cream.  And what a fantastic idea it was. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
By

Greek Easter Lambwiches at Zaytinya

Photo courtesy of
‘Zaytinya’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

Oh man, it’s that time again – the Greek Easter Festival at Zaytinya. Last year, during the festival Top Chef contestant Mike Isabella served up lamb pita sandwiches with tzatziki out of a street cart on the corner of 9th and G street during lunchtime and it was crazy popular.

This year he does it again, but they’re adding picnic tables so you can enjoy your lambwich on-site. The festival runs from April 5-16th, so take a long lunch break, call in sick, do whatever you need to do to get yourself a pita. Plus, you’ll be able to rub elbows with cutie Chef Isabella, who promises to help his sous chefs man the cart.

Zaytinya is located on the corner of 9th and G streets NW, right across from the 9th street exit of the Chinatown Metro Station.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
By

Friday Happy Hour: Peep of View

Photo courtesy of
‘Peep of View’
courtesy of ‘rabid_c’

Welcome to the Friday Happy Hour, your single drink primer for the weekend.

There aren’t a ton of holiday specific drinks out there, and pretty much the only ones that do exist are Christmas drinks.  POV at the W Hotel has stepped in to remedy this with their new Easter themed cocktail, the “Peep of View.”  It’s a concoction of vodka, grapefruit juice, cranberry, and St. Germaine, topped off with champagne and garnished by a Peep.  As you can imagine, it’s sweet and fruity and drinking it was a severe test of my masculine security. As over the top as a Peep garnished cocktail sounds,  it’s an altogether pleasant drink. House squeezed juices give it a freshness that pairs perfectly with open air on the rooftop at POV. Not to mention that food and beverage director Robert Sabin wouldn’t let anything pass from his shop that wasn’t well constructed.  He even took into account how the marshmallow from Peep garnish would affect the flavor of the drink.  This weekend, consider the season.  Have your self a Peep of View at the W (but remember to get a reservation before you go).  Happy Easter!

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Get Some Rock With That (Sushi) Roll

Photo courtesy of
‘WANT’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

We all know that some folks inside the Beltway are fearful of crossing the river. Throw those fears aside folks, you now have the perfect reason to take that inaugural adventure should you choose to do so.

Fresh fish, cold sake, and classic rock are a few of the staples waiting to be discovered inside Sushi Rock in Clarendon.

The chef prepared rolls are in on the hard rock theme. Feast on the Pink Floyd (a salmon ceviche with cucumber salad) or the Dream On Roll (a bacon, kimchi, and sundried tomato combo) while heading banging the night away from a zebra print, laced-up faux leather bar stool.

Sushi Rock opens Monday, according to Urban Daddy.

Adventures, Business and Money, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
By

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Happy Hour

Photo courtesy of
‘mmm…free goo…’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

If you missed last week’s Free Cone Day don’t fret, because the Ben & Jerry’s in Georgetown is throwing ice cream happy hours from 4-7pm. The happy hour special is 3 scoops for a mere $3.  That’s an uber steal considering scoops normally go for $2-3 a pop.  With the fantastic sunny and warm weather predicted for the next few days, let’s trade up our HH beers for some HH Cherry Garcia.

Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, The Features
By

Eat Like Me: March’s Best Dishes

Photo courtesy of
‘galbi’
courtesy of ‘aliciagriffin’

Spring is a lovely time in Washington – this isn’t a revelation. But it’s a perfectly pleasing time to be eating out in our city. Chefs are getting excited about spring farm produce, and menus are waking up from their brussel-sprout-and-short-rib trance. Fish makes it’s way to a more prominent place on the menu, and cherry cocktails celebrate the turn of the season. The arrival of Zaytinya’s Easter festival makes me think of sundresses, and the announcement of RAMMY nominations makes me want to strip off my tights and thrown on some open-toed heels. These events that make DC the perfect place to eat in spring, and I’m oh-so-happy to be back here again! Continue reading →

Adams Morgan, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, News, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed
By

Madams Organ Happy Hour for Community of Hope

Photo courtesy of
‘Madams Organ Restaurant’
courtesy of ‘KrS-NrY’

Drinking and philanthropy are two of my favorite things, and fortunately, they mix fairly well.  That’s why I’m excited about the April 15 happy hour and Madams Organ benefiting local DC charity Community of Hope.  Community of Hope provides medical care, affordable housing and other social services for DC’s disadvantaged.  Madams Organ will donate $1 of every drink you order and 20% of food sales to Community of Hope.  All you have to do is show up, eat and drink. Plus, April 15 is tax day.  You’ll probably be drinking anyways.

Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed
By

BGR Expanding to Lyon Village

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

As Michael wrote in his review of BGR this December, “There is no better food than a hamburger,” and we would certainly agree. The Burger Renaissance that’s happened in this town over the last few years has been nothing short of a Golden Age for this simple and wonderful culinary treat. BGR announced late yesterday that they’re opening a new location over in Lyon Village, home of The Italian Store, in Arlington.

BGR will open on April 15th. Here’s to the spread of the delicious, tasty burger. Cheers!

BGR
near 3213 Lee Highway
Arlington VA, 22201

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Fancy Fare Up In The Air

Photo courtesy of
‘PAL Airlines Food Snacks going to Singapore’
courtesy of ‘Milo Riano’

(Oh that was such a pithy little title now wasn’t it? I’m all proud of myself. ANYWAYS, not the point.) The point is, Michel Richard is either crazy or brilliant, but either way he’s cooking plane food now. Yup, as in, peanuts in bags and would you like Diet Coke or Coke Zero or maybe some Regular Coke oh and we have apple juice, plane food.

OpenSkies, an all-business class air carrier has announced that they’ll be serving Richard’s food to customers traveling on its new route between Washington D.C.-Dulles and Paris-Orly for two months beginning in June. Now, that’s a smooth move for OpenSkies, you know, since they’re trying to be all fancy in a recession. But the foodie in me has to wonder if the quality Richard is known for on the ground will translate in the air. We Love DC co-author Don pointed out that Richard sous-vides his food – a technique everyone who watches Top Chef is familiar with, where food is vacuum sealed and put in warm water to cook over long periods of time. (Think an under water sophisticated CrockPot, if you will.) And what airline doesn’t love them some vacuum packed food? So that’s a point, right? The other part of me wonders if it’ll be mushy vegetables in butter, just because you’re on a plane and let’s be real, it’s not like they have copper pots back there in the little closet kitchen.

Someone book a trip to Paris and report back, will you? K thanks.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

New Cereal Restaurant In Cleveland Park

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Who doesn’t like a good bowl of cereal? Some of my closest friends still eat the stuff for dinner because it’s easy and never a bad idea. You TOO can eat cereal for any meal now with the opening of The Cereal Bowl in Cleveland Park.

Cereal Bowl served its first bowl last Tuesday but is celebrating their success thus far with primary menu items running for $1 from 6 to 10 p.m. tonight.

Their menu includes cold bowls like “The Sweetest Thing” featuring the sugary stuff you had as a good and “The Give Me S’More” which is like your favorite campfire memories shoved into a bowl. There are also healthier items like the “Let it Fly” featuring Life and Wheaties cereal, dried mixed berries, and granola.

Join the latest addition to Cleveland Park this Saturday for its official grand opening from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Cereal Bowl is located at 3420 Connecticut Ave. N.W. and is just one of 3 other east coast locations (the others are in Newark, DE and New Brunswick, NJ).

The Cereal Bowl is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, with the exception of an 11 p.m. closing time on Fridays.

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Features, We Love Drinks
By

Drinks Preview: ARTINI

Erik Holzherr of Wisdom's ARTINI. Photo credit: T. Silva. Courtesy of the Corcoran ARTINI 2010 Committee.

This Saturday the Corcoran Gallery of Art presents ARTINI, and if you’ve been waffling about attending I hear there are roughly less than 100 tickets still left, but going fast and not available at the door. So jump!

ARTINI is a fabulous event mixing two of my favorite things – art and cocktails. Twelve local mixologists have created drinks inspired by works in the current exhibit at Corcoran, A Love of Europe: Highlights from the William A. Clark Collection. Preview events featuring the submissions have been ongoing this month (I know, I know, I should’ve told you earlier, mea culpa, it’s been a crazy time lately). Tonight you can sample Art & Soul and tomorrow try out Rasika from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the respective restaurants. The Washingtonian is a co-sponsor and handles the voting, with the winning artini announced Saturday. The inspiration works will be on display that night as well.

The cocktail reception runs from 8pm to midnight, with $85 tickets for 1869 Society members and $100 for non-1869 Society members. That includes a cocktail bar, music by DJ Chris Nitti, and tours of both the Clark exhibit and Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection. Proceeds support ArtReach, which provides free high-quality arts education programs to underserved communities in DC.

So many mixologists already take their inspiration from art. It’s a natural collaboration. Here’s a quick rundown of who’s on board and a few teasers to get you in the mood. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed
By

RAMMY nominees announced

Photo courtesy of
‘chef mike isabella’
courtesy of ‘aliciagriffin’

Every year, DC’s Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMMY) awards garners a lot of attention, and deservedly so.  This is a town that loves its restaurants, and loves its food.  The nominees for this year’s events are below the cut, but I’ll give you a quick summary here. The Fine Dining and Upscale Casual categories were no great surprise to anyone who’s been to the establishments, and the usual restauranteurs are making their presence felt: José Andrés, Michel Richard, Robert Wiedmaier and the NRG. Top Chef’s Mike Isabella is likely a shoo-in for Rising Star. I was deeply gratified to see Birch & Barley/ChurchKey get so much attention.

DC has such an abundance of great food, that I certainly don’t envy anyone their ballot here!

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
By

First Look: Kushi Izakaya & Sushi

KushiExteriorPhoto1

There’s something wrong with me (maybe). I can’t get enough sushi! I just crave it – spicy tuna, firecracker, flying fish roe, fatty tuna, I WANT IT ALL. So when I was invited to check out the new Japanese gastropub in Mount Vernon Square, I jumped at the chance.

Sleek, modern and minimalist, the best Kushi experience you can have is at one of their three (!) bars – the sake bar, the sushi bar or what I call the grill bar – what is technically supposed to be called the robata counter. I sat at the robata counter – the bar surrounding Kushi’s kitchen. There is literally no back kitchen at Kushi, everything is prepared out front under the watchful eye of diners. With charcoal and wood burning grills, a sous-vide machine and a few tiny stoves, eating at Kushi is cooking theater. Chefs slice, dice, grill, plate and prep right in front of you. It gives the diner a perfect vantage point for the evening, and also keeps you craving more. Continue reading →

Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Technology, The Daily Feed
By

Ben’s Chilli Bowl, There’s An App For That … On The Way

Photo courtesy of
‘Just what I wanted’

Can I get an iPhone App with my half-smoke? Pretty soon you can.

Son of the late Ben of Ben’s Chili Bowl, Nizam Ali, is looking for you tech-savvy DC residents to develop the latest in Chilli eating technology.

The Washington Examiner reports that Ali hopes that the contest designed for people who know and love Ben’s will encourage them to share their good ideas for what the app should be.

Final contest rules and guidelines aren’t set in stone, but the date is – April 5.

If you want to be the one to create an iPhone app for a 50-year-old business, get to thinking! Opportunity is a-knockin’.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Get A Buzz At Northside Social Coffee & Wine, Opening Monday

Photo courtesy of ‘SOVA Coffee Shop and Wine Bar’ courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

If you like a good buzz (alcoholic, non, or both), look no further than Northside Social Coffee & Wine. Its Clarendon location opens next Monday due to some hard work by the Liberty Tavern Group, according to Thrillist DC.

The menu features all the greatest legal buzz creators including espresso and vino from inside the comfortable confines of a residential, “window-/wood-lined double decker house” which, according to Thrillist DC, was previously everything from a home to a fire station and even the Clarendon Citizens Hall in its past lives.

There is also food on the menu for the imminent moment you should decide, “Gee, I’m hungry.” Classy sandwiches that aren’t a simple deli meat meets cheese combo make for an edible experience instead of the standard coffee shop food affair. This stuff’s got foodie flair written all over it – a herb butter/Gruyere/marble rye Westphalian Ham, a mache/onion marmalade smoked salmon salad, poached gulf shrip – sounds delicious to me.

20 wines or so are scheduled to be on the opening menu. I do however beg you beer drinkers to fear not, there’s a microbrew list on tap with three draft beers and bottles as well. Click here for a complete menu.

Northside Social Coffee & Wine is located at 3211 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington.