Category Archives: Capital Chefs

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Dan Giusti of 1789 (Part II)

Photo courtesy of
‘This just makes me want to eat more gnocchi, immediately, from this spoon’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

As you read earlier, Katie and I spent yet another Saturday morning slaving away in the kitchen for you, dear reader. Not that we mind.

While we waited for potatoes to bake (no really), we made ourselves quite comfortable in the 1789 kitchen. We sort of started to feel like a part of the family.  The best part was snacking on the homemade sugar cookie bits, chocolate hazelnut-dipped waffle cone triangles, and sugared, Italian pistachios. We watched a tray full of huge crabs slide into the steamer and a salmon salad artfully prepared for a group event. La de da. How are those potatoes coming along? Not quite completely, perfectly tender? Ok, no worries. There are some pepitos in a Tupperware over here that I might sample.

My dinner party on Saturday night was sort of similar. If those gosh darn potatoes hadn’t taken 2 hours to bake, well, we might have had dinner before 10:00 p.m.

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Capital Chefs, Foodie Roundup, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Dan Giusti of 1789 (Part I)

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I was having one of THOSE days last Saturday. I woke up to get ready for 1789, hopped in the shower, and the shower head flew off the spout and hit me in the head. Hard. Then I was running late, after the appropriate amount of panicking and curse words and feeling my head for a bump and wound up forgetting my wallet. Then I couldn’t find a parking spot that wasn’t metered, but I had no money. After finally parking, I burst into 1789’s bakery, which isn’t actually attached to the restaurant, and asked for Cathy, who I knew was already there. Everyone looked at me like I had five heads. Was I not at the right place? 1789 is located a block from Georgetown’s campus, right near The Tombs, and intermingles with the other restaurants located next door. I got flustered and tried to explain in a rush of words, “I’m having the worst morning ever, I got hit in the head, forgot my wallet, there’s no parking, you think I’m crazy right? I’m a writer, I’m here to do a story on 1789, I’m looking for Cathy…” Pastry Chef Travis Olson stood up from putting house made crackers on a rack, looked mildly amused at my storm of words and shook my hand and introduced himself. I unleashed the hurricane again. “I’m sorry, I know I’m crazy, I’m just supposed to be meeting Cathy in here, you probably think I’m insane, is this even 1789?” I trailed off. Thankfully, the kind soul of a woman baking bread in the window turns around, and volunteers that there was in fact, a girl dressed in street clothing who was writing an article that came in a few minutes ago looking for the chef. And then, as if on cue, Cathy walked in the kitchen to find me.

So after that sort of an entrance it was only appropriate that Executive Chef Daniel Giusti throw an egg at me. We were waiting for the potatoes to bake for the gnocchi he was going to show us how to make, and he was gathering up our necessary ingredients. Flour, a bowl, a knife, a cutting board, and eggs. He leaned back against the counter holding the two eggs for our pasta and all of a sudden an egg comes flying out of his hand and hits me in the knee, falling to the floor with a huge thwack and busting open. “Why you gotta throw an egg at me?” I laugh. “Haven’t I been through enough today?” Dan dissolves into laughter. “DID YOU EVEN SEE THAT? That was some Houdini shit right there! I didn’t even do anything! I didn’t even move my hand! We better get you out of the kitchen, this is like the worst place for you to be, there are knives in here.” And that’s what I love about the kitchen at 1789, Cathy and I were automatically comfortable there – we wound up having a really fun morning. I can tell why such good food comes out of the kitchen there. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Jon Mathieson of Inox (Part II)

Photo courtesy of
‘INOX #46’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

As you read earlier in Katie’s Capital Chefs Part I, we trekked out to Tyson’s corner (on a Saturday) to catch some peace, quiet and scallops with Inox Restaurant’s co-owner Chef Jon Mathieson. After ooo-ing and ahh-ing over his adorable two little kids playing tag and harmlessly tackling each other around the empty restaurant, Katie and I were not disappointed by the no-nonsense cooking style of Chef Mathieson, who had clearly spent some time in the kitchen with his other two (actual) children.

“Which one of you cooks?” I raised my hand. “Alright, then if you’re making this at home, you can start practicing now.” And we were off to a running start. “Stand over here. See this cabbage? See this color? Here, here’s a towel for you to hold the pot handle. Stir it. Now pull it off the heat.” Chef Mathieson coaxed me through the process of emulsifying the butter sauce while perfectly coating and braising the cabbage.

He made it seem so easy. He showed me, in multiple ways, where it could all go wrong, and the lesson was over in half an hour. Could it really be that easy?

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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Jon Mathieson of Inox (Part I)

Photo courtesy of
‘INOX #173’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Inox is the best restaurant you’ve never heard of. Located in (what most would consider) the foreign land known as Tysons Corner, it is one of my very favorite restaurants. Impeccable food, in an incredibly upscale-chic interior, Inox is the brain child of two guys named John. Chef Jon Mathieson met Chef Jonathan Krinn when the pair took over as Chef de Cuisine and Executive Chef (respectively) of 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia. When the time came for them to open a place of their own, they knew it would be with each other. They picked a spot in Tyson’s, and Inox was born.

Last Saturday, Cathy and I took a trip out to the ‘burbs to learn how to make a scallop dish and get to know Jon #1, Chef Jon Mathieson. The first thing I noticed about Inox’s kitchen was how clean it was. It was the CLEANEST kitchen Cathy and I have been in yet – and that’s absolutley not to say the others were dirty, this one was just squeaky-spotless. Coincidentally, the name Inox comes from the French word for stainless steel. “About fifteen years ago, I was prepping a soup in the kitchen. I set my spoon down on the steel countertop and noticed the word Inox on the back of the spoon. I loved the word and researched it to find out that it meant steel. Steel is solid, and has been a prevalent material in every kitchen in which I have worked. I love being in the kitchen, and Inox, or steel reminds me of being at home in a kitchen,” says Mathieson. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Dennis Marron and Brian Turowski (Part II)

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Chef Marron and Chef Turowski’s Pickled-Pink Red Cabbage

With pickled red cabbage added to my jar collection (which includes a living breathing, yeasty bread starter), my fridge is starting to look more like a science project for Halloween than what you would expect to be pieces to a delightfully edible puzzle.

As you read this morning, Katie and I went to The Grille at Morrison House this past weekend to pickle some onions and learn the tricks of the technique with local chefs Dennis Marron, executive chef of The Grille, and Brian Turowski, chef-de-cuisine of Jackson 20. The guys showed us their recipe for pickling the red onions that they pair with Jackson 20’s “Wedge” salad: a crunchy iceberg wedge, smothered with a creamy bleu cheese dressing, accompanied by plump bacon lardons – plated quite creatively, as Katie alluded to!

To start off our pickling adventure, Katie and I tasted two kinds of pickled red onions, comparing how more salt and more pickling time can affect the end result. The chefs also shared a taste of their pickled red cabbage, which I resolved to test at home for you.

Chef Marron recommends this same basic pickling recipe for cabbage, onions, cucumbers, and even SHRIMP- which he noted would also go well with a blue cheese salad. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Dennis Marron and Brian Turowski (Part I)

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“Boys and their toys,” I laugh to Cathy. She and I are leaning against the counter in the kitchen at The Grille at Morrison House, watching Chef Dennis Marron pull out all his kitchen tools. He whips out a set of huge tweezers, tapping them together. “These are looser, more flexible,” he explains, comparing them to the pair he’s got in his other hand. Cathy and I nod knowingly.

Chef Marron is flipping big fat cuts of bacon in a cast iron pan using tweezers, and I was poking fun at him, teasing him about his tool of choice. His partner in crime, Brian Turowski, chef de cuisine at Jackson 20, is sticking up for him. “There’s a lot of detail work in plating here,” Turowski says. “The tweezers are good for that.” And it’s true. Chef Marron oversees the kitchen at two Old Town restaurants, the more casual southern-American themed Jackson 20, and the more buttoned-up The Grille at Morrison House. Chef Turowski has taken over duties at Jackson 20, and Marron spends most nights at The Grille. The plates at The Grille are more fussy, and thus, the tweezers. The home-cooking at Jackson 20 is much more basic in presentation. Today, both tweezer-wielding chefs are together in the kitchen, teaching Cathy and I to construct Jackson 20’s signature Wedge salad – a fatty delight of blue cheese, pickled onions and bacon.

Chef Marron pulls out a spoon. “We call this one the shovel”, he says. He’s rummaging around, trying to find all the second-hand tools he’s bought and stocked the kitchen with. “I got a sandwich press for six dollars once!” he exclaims with glee. “Chefs are cheap,” Turowski jokes. And that’s not all. Together they’ve collected tons of spoons, a seltzer, even an ice crusher. Cathy inquires where they get all their cookware, and Marron points towards King Street, where Look Again Resale Shop is located. The thrift store is a treasure trove, apparently. “Good stuff over there,” Marron agrees. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs
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Capital Chefs: Victor Albisu of BLT Steak (Part II)

Photo courtesy of
‘Chef Albisu’s Wild Mushroom Risotto’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

As you read this morning in Katie’s Capital Chef’s Part I, we recently endeavored into the kitchen of Chef Victor Albisu of BLT Steak. He sweetened us up with true Basque-region products and later topped off two steaming bowls of wild mushroom risotto with a quail egg and shaved truffles. We were smitten.

But cooking in the kitchen with Chef Albisu was only half the battle. After jotting down quick notes and approximations of his mastery, I returned to my kitchen to recreate the heavenly, buttery, moist-yet-crunchy wild mushroom risotto. All for you, dear reader.

As it turns out, making the risotto was just as easy as the chef had made it seem. Following a few very important pointers, I’m pretty sure you can get through this with me, and end up all the wiser (or maybe you already knew all of this…) And what’s even better, especially in my opinion, is that I was able to recreate his incredible flavor with a bottle of Trader Joe’s wine, a package of button mushrooms, and some extra garlic. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Victor Albisu of BLT Steak (Part I)

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The first thing that you need to know about him is that Chef Victor Albisu has a calm, dry sarcasm that I find highly entertaining. Cathy and I recently stopped by his Farragut restaurant, BLT Steak,  to learn how to cook mushroom risotto.

We walk into his kitchen and Chef Albisu pulls out a pan of mushrooms and a big round of Idiazabal cheese from the Basque Country of Spain. “Spain is my favoritist place in the world,” Chef Albisu deadpans. “I’ve been incorporating elements of Basque cuisine into my cooking recently.”  And as he pours oil and rice into a pan, letting Cathy take the spoon, we launch into a conversation about Chef Albisu’s cooking styles and whether garlic is better than truffles. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Cooking with Chef Palma of Westend Bistro, Part II

Photo courtesy of
‘Chef Palma’s Westend Shortribs and Brussels Sprouts’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

As you read earlier today, Katie and I had the extreme fortune of gallivanting around a farmer’s market this weekend with a 3 Michelin star chef, Joe Palma, the Chef de Cuisine of the Eric Ripert Restaurant, Westend Bistro.

Chef Palma took us to the Old Town Farmer’s Market, determining his menu on the spot based on the market fare. I followed close in his footsteps, requesting identical produce at each stop: “I’ll have the same.” We picked up fresh sage, Asian pears, green tomatoes, Brussels sprouts and garlic before returning to the kitchen at the Ritz.

I asked Chef Palma to be very mindful of keeping the ingredients simple and the equipment minimal, and he gave us a first course and a main course that are to die for and very, very simple.

To start, Chef Palma threw together a green tomato, Asian pear, and spiced pecan salad with the most incredibly balanced, light and fresh blue cheese dressing. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, People, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Cooking with Chef Palma of Westend Bistro, Part I

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WeLoveDC authors Cathy (cooking queen) and Katie (restaurant aficionado) have paired up to bring you a double-hitting feature about great seasonal dishes that chefs at local area restaurants are whipping up this fall. Katie gets insider info about the chef and the restaurant, and Cathy recreates the chef’s recipe at home. Cheers to that.

After our previous adventure with Glenn Babcock of Nage Bistro, Cathy and I were invited to cook a seasonal fall dish with Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert‘s Chef de Cuisine, Joe Palma.

It was early Saturday morning on a perfect fall day, the type that is sunny and warm but with crisp, fresh air. Cathy and I were trailing chef Joe Palma through the Old Town farmers market in Alexandria as he pondered what seasonal dish to show us how to make.

“I sort of just wander around and see what looks good,” he said. “Kind of like Top Chef?” I tossed out. “Yeah,” he replied. “I can create bistro food on the fly, but I don’t think I’d enjoy being thrown a random ingredient.” And yet, that’s sort of what happened that Saturday morning at the market. Palma paused at the pears, then brussel sprouts caught his eye. “You guys like brussel sprouts?” he asked. “Yeah”, Cathy and I chimed. “How about green tomatoes?” “Of COURSE! I’m a southern girl!” I laughed. If Palma thinks it would be good, I’m totally happy to eat it. He’s one of the few chefs in the city that I have complete blind faith in.

Westend Bistro is currently my favorite restaurant in DC, and that’s quite a proclamation. I rarely choose favorites (don’t ever ask me my favorite book!) but I think there’s something uniquely lovely about Westend. I spend a lot of my time in restaurants these days, and Westend rises to the top of my list every time. Maybe it’s the relaxed, yet sophisticated atmosphere. Maybe it’s the buzz of the place, and the fact the wait staff are trained in the ways of the Ritz-Carlton. But mostly, I believe it’s that Palma puts the focus solely on the ingredients and purchases only the best possible.

“When I first came on, I cut costs down to about 28%, and it should be at about 32%,” Palma said. “I used that margin of cost savings to find the best possible ingredients, meats, produce.” It shows. Westend’s food is simple food. Sous Chef Adam Barnett told me one night that he likes working for Palma because he doesn’t get fussy with his food. Barnett said Palma doesn’t pile ingredients on a plate, that chef thinks about his ingredients before assembling them. So how would that translate for Cathy and I learning how to cook one of Palma’s dishes? Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Cooking with Chef Glenn Babcock of Nage Bistro

Photo courtesy of
‘garnish’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

WeLoveDC authors Cathy (cooking queen) and Katie (restaurant aficionado) have paired up to bring you a double-hitting feature about great seasonal dishes that chefs at local area restaurants are whipping up this fall. Katie gets insider info about the chef and the restaurant, and Cathy recreates the chef’s recipe at home. Cheers to that.

To our surprise, Chef Glenn Babcock, the new owner/executive chef of Nage Bistro made an industrial kitchen with some clout a fun, un-intimidating and easy place to be. Nage Bistro is located in Dupont – on Scott Circle across from the Australian Embassy. Cathy and Katie visited early on a Saturday morning and strapped on aprons – determined to learn how to make Chef Babcock’s Butternut Squash Soup.

Katie: So, let’s get one thing straight here – I like to cook, but I don’t LOVE to cook the way some people do. I don’t set aside time to slave over the stove to create a great meal. I have one barely-organized recipe binder, and I would much rather read Ruth Reichl or Gael Greene than Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything from cover to cover (though it is my absolute go-to book when in a pinch!). I go to the Farmer’s Market every single weekend, and I don’t tend to bust out the Bertolli if/when I do cook. I’m proficient, I’m fine, but I’d much rather park myself at a restaurant than whip up a nice Boeuf Bourguignon, no matter how popular Julie and Julia is at the moment. Continue reading →