Category Archives: Food and Drink

Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, Penn Quarter, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Taste of Eleven

Photo courtesy of
‘Caps Game Pretzel and Coke’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Work in Chinatown/Penn Quarter or even just somewhere Metro accessible? Good for you, cause there is deliciousness to be had on Wednesday, May 20th, when Wizards Care host the Taste of Eleven luncheon. This year’s Taste of Eleven will feature over 30 restaurants each featuring a signature lunch item. Each ticket to the luncheon will allow for up to six lunch items per person. Attendees can enter through the main entrance on F Street NW at Verizon Center and then walk the entire concourse to select their food items.

The list of eat places with items is huge, so here is my short list, keeping in mind both deliciousness and price so your $11 goes that much farther. I’d stop by Brasserie Beck, Cafe Atlantico, Indebleu, La Tasca, Oyamel, Rosa Mexicano, The Source, and Zola.

Thanks to twitter foodie @arasmus for the tip!

Food and Drink, News, The Daily Feed
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Bittman & Andres Online Live at Noon

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_3377’
courtesy of ‘jwalsh’

One of DC’s superstars of food, Chef José Andrés, will be along side one of the world’s most awesome food writers, Mark Bittman, at the Center for American Progress at noon today (just in time to make you hungry!) talking about nutrition, and food. I love both of these guys, and this couldn’t be a topic nearer or dearer to my heart, so I’m pleased to see people talking about this in a national and public forum.

We’ve got their stream embedded below, so check back in with us at noon or so, and you can watch the appearance. Bittman’s How to Cook Everything is probably one of the most awesome cookbooks of all time, so if you’ve got tickets to today’s little shindig at CfAP gig, you are officially totally on my “Jealous-Of” list.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Night Life
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Happy Hour Food: Health Kick

Photo courtesy of
‘Vino’
courtesy of ‘marciadc’

A few weeks ago, I put together a happy hour food guide for particularly yummy fried food in the DC area. This was easy. Almost too easy, if you will, because every bar in the world has fried happy hour food, most of it yummy because it’s fried. Duh.

So I decided to stretch my skillz, and put together a list of healthy happy hour food for those of us doing Operation Hot Summer Bod 2009, or just those of us who like to eat on the lighter, healthier side.  Cause there is still delicious food to be had at happy hour, just without the added saturated fat. Continue reading →

Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Bobby Lew’s, Bossa Lounge, Now Without Liquor

Photo courtesy of
‘The Argonaut Bar’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

The Going Out Gurus reported that Bobby Lew’s Saloon and Bossa Lounge had their liquor licenses revoked yesterday for low food sales. Sad for those of you in Adams Morgan who pretty much just drink there, surprise, surprise.

Molly Gannon from the WaPo shared with us that Adams Morgan ANC Commissioner Bryan Weaver says there are 16 other establishments that aren’t complying with the food sale levels, and four others may also have their licenses revoked by the board in coming weeks.

Which begs the question, would Adams Morgan even exist if there were no liquor there?

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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A Treasure Map, For Beer

Photo courtesy of
‘Maryland Game’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

BE STILL MY BEATING HEART, while I introduce to you the best thing I’ve seen in a long while: The DC Beer Map. I just spotted this glorious thing on Young & Hungry and could not contain myself.

Let’s review: It is a map. Of beer. With color coding, and ratings. Ah! It is beer-loving type-A heaven.

The incredibly useful map notes area brewery’s, bars, beer stores, and even homebrew stores all marked on a google map of our fine city. Click on a marker, and the map will tell you what it is, the address, the phone number, show you a picture, and let you read reviews. Oh mai gawd, I just can’t handle the happiness this is causing me. It also works in reverse, click the name of the bar you want to know more about, and the map will zoom to show you the location and profile. It’s like Yelp, but drunk. And I’m in love.

Farm Fresh, Food and Drink, Night Life, Penn Quarter, People, Special Events, We Love Food
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Farm Fresh: Cafe Atlantico

Cafe Atlantico

WeLoveDC authors Donna (greenie) and Katie (foodie) have paired up to bring you a double-hitting feature about local area restaurants that take on the challenge of being green. Donna will explain the logic behind the environmentally friendly trends and Katie will tell you if the food tastes any good. It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it, right?

It is oh-so-trendy, but not just that, it’s plain good for you and the earth. Farm-to-Table dinners have hit DC hard, so when WLDC author Donna and I were invited to sample Chef Terri Cutrino’s Farmer’s Market Dinners at Cafe Atlantico, we jumped at the chance.

Katie: From a foodie standpoint, these dinners are interesting to me, not just because I’ve finally gotten around to reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma (I’m late, I know), but also because this particular type of dinner and dining can show you what exactly a chef is made of.

Because the ingredients are not picked until Thursday, and the dinner is put together on Friday, it’s a stretch. Sort of Top Chef meets real life, if you will. And the results, I must say are the same, given the short amount of time a Chef has to work on a dish, with specific ingredients, you’re bound to have it be hit or miss – just like Top Chef, you’ll be presented with dishes that shine, and dishes that flop. On our particular night we experienced both. Continue reading →

Arlington, Food and Drink, News, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Domasoteca to Close, Domaso to Shorten Hours

Photo courtesy of
‘Hotel Palomar Rosslyn’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Bad news for Rosslyn – Domasoteca Wine Store, located in the Palomar Hotel, will be closing its doors on May 30. Also, effective immediately, Domaso restaurant will be closed for lunch and dinner service on weekends.

Sounds like Domaso is going to get a bit of a face lift to focus more on the folks who work in the neighborhood – “Based on the increasing success of its lounge and in response to clientele for a more casual dining experience, the lunch and dinner menus will be updated significantly, and the bar will serve an expanded selection of signature cocktails and lounge menu items.” Spokeswoman for Kimpton restaurants, Charissa Benjamin, confirms, “The restaurant is very busy during the weeks with the work crowd but it did get slower over the weekend.” Stay tuned for more coverage of the new revamped menu and bar experience, I’ll have the scoop for you when it happens.

As for Domasoteca Wine Store, you can snag some good deals. Starting May 11, Domasoteca will have a closing sale, with 20% off all bottles, 30% off mixed half cases and 40% off mixed full cases.

Essential DC, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Jinx The Penguins, Cook A Bird

Photo courtesy of
‘Tux, what happened to you?’
courtesy of ‘scjody’

In an effort to 1) jinx the Penguins tonight, 2) give the Caps some extra karma and 3) fill our bellies with deliciousness, I hereby decree Monday, May 11 as Cook A Bird, Save The Caps Day.  While yes, a chicken is not the same as a penguin, it’s the closest avian relative that we DCers have access to, so it will have to suffice.  Suggestions for commemorating this day after the jump. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Cupcakes that will put you over the moon

Photo courtesy of
‘Lavender Moon Cupcakes’
courtesy of ‘dcjasmine’

Cupcakes are all the rage these days, but this weekend I stumbled upon a new one to me: the Lavender Moon Cupcakery in Old Town Alexandria. I’m not usually a food blogger, but I do know my baked goods, and these were pretty freaking fantastic. That chocolate-dipped coconut one (on the right) is the stuff of food dreams, with a super-light frosting the consistency of marshmallow, and the flourless chocolate one was like a combo brownie-cupcake. Yum.

Lavender Moon Cupcakery
116 S. Royal St.
Alexandria, VA

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Daily Feed
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Foodie Round-Up (May 4th – 8th)

Photo courtesy of
‘indigo landing at dusk’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’
It’s Friday already? Twas a fast week, at least in my world. Again, a shorter-than-ususal roundup, but some worthy bites of info. Twitter, the takeover of the National Gallery’s cafe, and summer beers round out all the news fit to eat in the District this week. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Spring Food Trends

Photo courtesy of
‘sushi at sunset’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

I’ve been out and about quite a bit lately, and have started to observe some notable spring food trends in the city. So here are some of my short thoughts on the DC spring food scene and what is hot now.

The rise of octopus. Most recently at Ardeo, also spotted at Potenza, charred octopus is both delicious and surprisingly tender. Look for it on more menus in the coming months, and take a chance, it’s worth it.

Sushi 2.0. This spring has seen the rise of the unique sushi. Sticky Rice branches out a bit, but newcomer Sei uses a sushi canvas to serve up otherwise hearty food like fish and chip. Ceaser salad even makes its debut in roll form at Sei. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Night Life, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Ben’s Next Door

Citrus District, Ben's Next Door

"Citrus District, Ben's Next Door" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

Catching up with friends who’ve been away from DC for a while is always interesting. You want to take them someplace that’s different, that shows the changes of the city over the past five years or more, but also you require a vibe which allows you to actually hear each other. I had this challenge recently with a friend who’d returned to DC from living in London, so naturally I wasn’t going to kill myself trying to impress her, I just wanted to find a place that simply said “Welcome Back to Washington.”

We found it at the bar at Ben’s Next Door. What could be more Washingtonian than the new bar and restaurant opened by the Ali family of Ben’s Chili Bowl fame? I mean, have you seen the crazy lines of tourists outside Ben’s lately? I had to show her how the legend of U Street continues to grow. 

Funnily enough, we made it just before the news of chef Rock Harper’s departure. I’m really glad we both had the instant instinct to stick to the bar. It’s a looooong one (53 feet, to be exact), which always makes me a bit nervous about service, but there was no need to worry. We spent several hours catching up under the careful eye of bartender Anthony, who made sure we never wanted for anything. 

It was a real locals crowd that night, U Street denizens cheering on the Caps against the Pens, but it never got too loud and there was a happy buzz to the place. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Kids RW: Baby Foodies

Photo courtesy of
‘Orion – DSC_5880’
courtesy of ‘Dylan Parker’

I am not going to be eating out from June 13 – 21st. This is big news, since I basically live at our area restaurants.

Why, might you ask? Because it’s kids restaurant week. Now, I realize kids need to eat too. And I realize that it is great news for parents who aim to expose your children to fine dining, and in a cash-strapped economy a deal like this is excellent. I get that you tire of feeding your child hot dogs and applesauce. Good on you!  I am just of the ilk that doesn’t want your child’s whine with my wine. (Ala Samantha in the S&TC episode A Woman’s Right to Shoes).

So, with that, I’ll gracefully bow out and your kids may dine in peace (or chaos, depending) from June 13-21st when tots from around the city can take over places like Art and Soul and Juniper. Word to the wise? Try the mac and cheese at Art and Soul, ’tis divine, and will kick Kraft’s butt any day.

I’ll have more recommends next week when Cookie and Gourmet magazine, in partnership with Destination DC, announce the full participating restaurant list, as well as menus on the Web site. Adults pay $29; Kids 11 and under pay their age. Early dinner seatings are cleverly available from 5:00-7:00pm.

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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Cafe [This Is Not That]

Photo courtesy of
‘Café Stühle’
courtesy of ‘mueritz’

The Phillips Collection is opening a new cafe tomorrow. This would be rather blase news, except this cafe is not that. Almost too-deep and meta for me to grasp (I’m having to reach back to my time at art school, here) Cafe sounds badass. Pairing actual art, with a literal eat-place, bound by the concepts in and around art, (see, told you this was deep) Cafe challenges the typical. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Tuesday Night Escape

Cocktail at Bar Pilar

"Cocktail at Bar Pilar" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

Starting tonight, you only have three more Tuesday nights to enjoy Cocktail Sessions with mixologist Adam Bernbach at Bar Pilar, before he leaves the 14th Street digs on May 19th (GOG has the full scoop on his future plans).

I really love Pilar, love Adam’s cocktails, especially anything featuring cardamon syrup… but I can’t make it tonight. So my loss is your gain, there’ll be an extra seat, get over there!

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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Foodie Round-Up: Mother’s Day Brunch Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Mother & Child’
courtesy of ‘nathangibbs’

I want to be my Mom. No, seriously. I do. You know when you read those things that are all like “Oh no! We are turning into our mothers!” – to that I say, YES! Can I please? This is because my Mother is phenomenal. She’s the wisest person I know, and she always knows just what to say to give me a new perspective on something, or make me feel better, and she and my Dad are the only people I can call about some problem in my life who will care as much as I do about it.  She is basically just is the best person to ever exist, period.

So I can’t put together a foodie round-up for Mother’s day and not get picky. I’ve been told about a lot of brunches, practically every restaurant in the city is doing something for Mother’s day brunch, I’m not joking. I’ve been inundated with menus, options and press releases. So instead of just listing them out for you like I did for Easter, I’m going to get more selective and only tell you about the brunches that I’d take my own rockin’ Mother to. So with that, a very subjective short list of brunches worthy of Katie’s Mother, in no particular order. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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New Chop’t Rewards!

Photo courtesy of
‘Chop’t’
courtesy of ‘SWP Moblog’

When I worked close by, I used to eat Chop’t once a week or so. I banged through my “Frequent Chop’r” card with reckless abandon, and reaped free salad right and left. I was also subsequently disgusted myself that I so easily spent $100 on salad in a month. But that is neither here nor there. I recently got word that the free “Frequent Chop’r” card rewards just got EVEN BETTER and now I’m jealous.

Users used to get the 10th salad or sandwich free, and now cardholders can reap more rewards. 1) a free fountain soda with the purchase of their third salad or salad sandwich; 2) a free dessert with a purchase of their sixth; and 3) their tenth salad or salad sandwich is FREE (this is a $10 maximum value).

You can snag your “Frequent Chop’r” card at the cash register at the Chop’t near you.I’ll be over here, salad-less and jealous of your yummy free Chop’t brownie.

Food and Drink, The DC 100, The Features
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DC Omnivore 100: #4, Steak Tartare

Kitfo at Dukem

If the idea of marauding hordes of Tartars riding with raw meat under their saddles to tenderize it just in time for a nice snack after some pillaging sounds appetizing to you, then you’ve probably tried steak tartare. Ok, we don’t really know if that’s the origin of the dish, but that’s the historical rumor. As most cultures have their own version, who can say for sure?

So, in our continuing quest to conquer the Omnivore 100 list, we’ll explore a couple of variations.

The usual definition of a traditional steak tartare is finely chopped or diced (not sliced) raw beef marinated in wine, and served with accompaniments like capers, onions and a raw egg on top. But this classic version has long been left behind by adventurous chefs putting their own stamp on it, so that now it’s common to see steak tartare listed on menus with the only similarity across the board being the raw beef itself. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Daily Feed
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Foodie Round-Up (April 27-May 1)

Photo courtesy of
‘bistro burger’
courtesy of ‘vee*’

It’s been a slow food news week, because everyone is gearing up for Mother’s Day brunch (I’m starting to stretch my stomach already) but there are a few things bopping about in the food news world. We’ve got Sunday dinner, Preakness parties, and the emergence of the “middle plate”. So read on, reader, for all the news fit to eat in the District this week. Continue reading →