Latte di Chocolate di Basil
• February 9, 2011

The Italian language has a beautiful ring with lyrical words that dance with alliteration. When “Eat Pray Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert decided to study Italian during the course of her divorce, she described “every word as a singing sparrow, a magic trick, a truffle.” According to Gilbert, “Speaking these words made me feel sexy and happy.”

So it’s no surprise that many of Italy’s contributions to the seductive realm of cocktails boast monikers that roll off the tongue like romantic prose … Prosecco, Bellini, Campari, and Negroni.

The Museum of the American Cocktail (MOTAC) recently celebrated Italy’s contribution to the cocktail world with an event at the Occidental Grill.

Phil Greene,MOTAC founding member, kicked off the event by discussing the history behind the Bellini, a refreshing mix of peach and sparkling wine made famous at Harry’s bar in Venice and the Negroni, which is named after Count Camillo Negroni. World-renowned PS-7 bar chef Gina Chersevani, an Italian-American, continued the theme by sharing her family recipe for Limoncello and the Trieste Spritz. Attendees also learned about various brands of Italian liqueurs including Campari, Aperol, Fernet Branca and Luxardo.
The evening was capped off with Gina’s chocolate ice cream cocktail featuring Averna Amaro.

Amaro, meaning “bitter” in Italian, is an herbal liqueur, usually enjoyed after dinner. Amaro is produced by macerating herbs, roots, flowers, bark and citrus peels in alcohol, mixing them with sugar syrup, and allowing it to age in casks or bottles.

Averna is an Amaro produced on the island of Sicily, which is named after its inventor, Salvatore Averna, who developed his recipe in 1868. According to Gina, whose mom is from Sicily, this traditional liqueur is often served alone or with coffee.

Gina invented her Averna cocktail to pair with a chocolate basil cake at PS-7. She was trying to think of something to tie the two ingredients (chocolate and basil) together when it dawned on her to use Averna. “It has a certain herbaceous quality to it,” she says, “and rich overtones of nuts”

While Averna Amaro has been made in Italy for over 140 years, Gina said it disappeared from the US temporarily. Only in the last two or three years did it begin importing back into the US.

Gina told a delightful story about a family gathering at her aunt’s home, where the lady of the house presented Gina’s father with a bottle of Averna that they drank with coffee.

Gina told her father that the Avema makes a great chocolate milkshake, to which he replied, ”You know you mom doesn’t allow me to have milkshakes.”

But later that evening, alone at Gina’s house, her father coyly asked her to make him one of her Averno ice cream drinks. Her father loved the combination, and to this day he still enjoys his forbidden milkshake tipple in private.

Gina describes the recipe as “foolproof” and recommends using a good quality chocolate ice cream. This luscious cocktail would work well as either a drink or as a stand-alone dessert.

Latte di Chocolate di Basil

1.5 oz Averna Amaro
4 oz. whole milk
1 scoop chocolate ice cream
3 fresh basil leaves

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Serve in a glass and garnish with a fresh basil leaf.

Averna Amaro may be purchased at Dixie Liquor in Georgetown. For more information on cocktail seminars visit MuseumOfTheAmericanCocktail.org.

The Latest Dish
•

It’s official now. Mark Bucher plans to open Medium Rare, a less expensive steakhouse concept in Cleveland Park, featuring Michel Richard consulting on sauces and desserts. Mark is the guy who brought us BGR (the burger joint), so he knows how to appeal to our carnivore tastes. Brian Zipkin, formerly of Ray’s The Steaks, has been hired as the general manager of the 100-seat restaurant, which was designed by Adamstein & Demetriou. Medium Rare, where Yanni’s Greek Tavern used to be on Connecticut Avenue, may open this month.

Latest addition to the burger wars scene is BRGR Shack, a 1000-sq ft space that will offer five or six different grass-fed beef burgers, hand cut fries (sweet potato fries too) and milkshakes. The most noticeable addition is beer and wine. It just opened on Fairfax Drive in Ballston. The parent company is 24/7 Good Food Inc. Its name is dangerously close to Mark Bucher’s BGR: The Burger Joint or Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack. A garage-style front door can be lifted up to create a patio (more seating!) in warmer months. Of course they plan to expand.

The Fireman Group, which opened Bond 45 at National Harbor last year, plans to open Fiorella Pizzeria e Caffe this April, also at National Harbor, right on the waterfront below Rosa Mexicana. It’s all about the pizza, featuring 30 different varieties of the thinnest yeast-less crust.

Daisuke Utagawa, co-owner of Sushiko in Glover Park and Chevy Chase, has plans to open a ramen restaurant, specializing in bowls of Japanese noodles, as ramen is very close to Japanese hearts – and stomachs. The site on 6th Street, NW, behind the Verizon Center may not open for a year, as there is a lot to do to the building. It will share the neighborhood with Mike Isabella’s Graffiato. Daisuke is partnering with Yama Jewayni, the founder of 18th Street Lounge.

Piero’s Corner Italian, on Franklin Farm Road in Herndon, has signed a lease for a second location on Main Street in downtown Fairfax, where you’ll find Carlos O’Kelly’s. Chef/owner is Gian Piero Mazzi. The menu is Northern Italian, as that is where he hails from. His partner is Jon Soto. An April opening is planned.
The Cajun Experience, a Leesburg-based restaurant chain that has been hunting for a Washington-area location, has signed a lease at 1825 18th St. NW, the former Inti Peruvian Restaurant location, near Lauriol Plaza. Construction has already begun on the restaurant, according to co-owner Bryan Crosswhite. The restaurant will seat 70, with a 35-seat patio. The big advantage over the Leesburg location: a bar. Bryan plans to make it the official bar for New Orleans Saints fans. The plan is to open six Cajun Experience restaurants in the region.

The owners of Guajillo and Casa Oaxaca came to an agreement with Arlington County to manage the restaurant inside Artisphere, the county’s new cultural center. Expect a Mexican-influenced menu. The team takes over in February. The county spent several months looking for an operator.

We didn’t notice that Blue Banana, a new sports and rock n’ roll bar with live bands, opened in Petworth on Georgia Avenue. What the 100-seat place still does not have is food, as the kitchen is under construction. Expect bar food like nachos, wings and sliders. General manager Jamie Hess says a beer garden will open in the back in the spring.

Quick Hits: Sterling-based fast-casual Thai By Thai, owned by Eed Landon, has added a location in Fairfax on Fairfax Blvd. Customers order and pay at the counter, and their food is brought out to them. Pizza Autentica, which recently opened in Ballston, just signed another lease in downtown/West End DC at 2121 K St. NW. The Brickskeller’s new name is Bier Baron, not Rock Creek as previously reported

Chef Update: Robert Gadsby has been named Corporate Chef for Ridgewells and Haute Catering by Ridgewells. He previously worked with Robert Wiedmaier at Mussel Bar BY RW. Thomas Elder has been named Executive Chef of Härth, a new restaurant concept at the Hilton McLean/Tysons Corner. Chef Elder will source most of his products from the Shenandoah farms in the region, taking full advantage of the wood-fired grille that sparked the restaurant name. They plan to open by Cherry Blossom season. Neighborhood Restaurant Group has named Tiffany MacIsaac as executive pastry chef for the restaurant collection, which includes Tallula, EatBar, Vermillion, Rustico, Buzz, Birch & Barley and Churchkey.

Salt Lake City-based Cafe Rio Mexican Grill plans to open six stores in the DC metro region over the next two years. Virginia locations include Manassas, Falls Church, Chantilly and Alexandria. Cafe Rio has leased space in Sudley Manor Square Shopping Center in Manassas, planning to open by late spring. Cafe Rio is also expanding into Maryland with locations planned for Germantown and Olney.

Gillian Clark has signed a lease to open Kitchen On K Street at Third and K Streets NE (NoMa neighborhood) in the Loree Grand at Union Place. She is best known for Colorado Kitchen, a Brightwood restaurant that specialized in comfort food. Kitchen on K will bring a smile to those who loved the food at Colorado Kitchen. You may recall that Gillian opened The General Store in Silver Spring last year. She has another urn in the fire, with The Meeting House in the Petworth neighborhood.

Fairfax-based pizza chain, Paisano’s, is now in the concessions business. They signed a deal to be the exclusive pizza provider at George Mason University’s Patriot Center. Founder and owner Fouad Qreitem cut a deal that gets Paisano’s prominent placement within the venue, which holds 160 events a year. Paisano’s currently has six area locations, with deals signed for Crystal City and Tysons Corner.

Linda Roth Conte is president of Linda Roth Associates, Inc (LRA) specializing in making creative connections through media relations, marketing initiatives, community outreach and special events for the hospitality industry. Contact Linda at Linda@LindaRothPR.com or visit her web site at LindaRothPR.com.

The Jack Evans Report
•

On Thursday, February 10, District of Columbia officials will make their annual trip to Wall Street. Every February, the Mayor, the Chairman, myself as head of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, and Chief Financial Officer Nat Ghandi visit the three bond rating agencies: Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings. The purpose of the meeting is to present the District’s financial situation, which helps the rating agencies determine our bond rating. Our bond rating is important for two reasons: it determines the amount of interest the District pays when borrowing money and it acts as a report card on our overall financial health.

At the beginning of our fiscal year on October 1, the District is authorized to borrow approximately $350 million for cash-flow purposes. Over the course of the year, as our collections come in, the money is repaid. Our big collection dates are January 15 (fourth quarter payments), March 15 (first half of property taxes), April 15 (income taxes), and September 15 (second half of property taxes).

Our bond rating determines the interest we pay on the money that we borrow – the higher the rating, the lower the interest. For example, in the early- to mid-1990s, as the District’s finances deteriorated, the bond rating fell to a “B,” greatly increasing the interest we paid. By 1995, our finances were so bad that we couldn’t borrow money at all, which was the primary reason for the Control Board. It was only when the Control Board came into existence in April of 1995 that the District could once again borrow money.

After the District met several criteria, the Control Board went dormant on September 30, 2001. But what many people don’t know is that it can be reactivated if any one of the following seven events occurs:

1. Requisitioning by the Mayor of advances from the Treasury.
2. Failure to provide sufficient revenue to the debt service reserve fund.
3. Default on borrowing.
4. Failure to meet payroll.
5. Existence of cash deficit at the end of any quarter.
6. Failure to make required payments to pensions.
7. Failure to make required payments to entity under interstate compact.

The Mayor and the Council must remain focused to ensure that none of these seven “deadly sins” occurs.
Over the years, our bond rating has increased from “junk bond” status to an “A+” on our General Obligation bonds and the highest rating of “AAA” on our income tax bonds. The District’s finances remain strong and we have a good story to tell when we visit the rating agencies on Wall Street. Wish us well!

Jack Evans Report
• January 26, 2011

Every ten years, all Colleges and Universities in the District of Columbia must file a Campus Plan with the DC Zoning Commission. For Georgetown University, their next ten-year plan was due before December 31, 2010, and they officially filed it on December 30.

The original proposal presented to the community included plans for an increase in student enrollment from 2009 levels. It did not provide any additional housing on the traditional campus. The plan proposed converting the University-owned property on what is known as the “1789 Block” into mixed-use buildings, constructing an 83-foot tall smokestack to replace a 10-foot tall chimney, and adding 700 parking spaces to accommodate additional traffic to the campus and hospital.

Although the Campus Plan filed by the University removed the development proposal for the 1789 block and the construction of the new smokestack, which were non-starters to begin with, the plan filed did not include any language to address the off-campus student population.

The single most important issue raised by the community is increasing on-campus student housing, specifically behind the gates at 37th and O Streets, NW, with the goal of having all students housed on campus. Even if students who live off-campus in our neighborhood are well behaved, it is too much of a strain on residents. When you have houses and tenants that are not well behaved, the burden becomes impossible.

I was very disappointed with the plan filed, and I have strongly urged Georgetown University to rethink their campus plan filing and produce a plan that houses 100% of undergraduate students on campus.

It’s A Wonderful Life
• January 19, 2011

Custom, consignment, vintage and fresh off the runways of Paris, London and Milan, right in your own backyard. Fashion to fit your Holiday budget and properly accessorize and brighten your special occasions with yuletide and cheer.

Yvonne Taylor, Fashion Editor/Photographer
Lauretta McCoy, Creative Director for Fashion/Makeup and Styling

www.YvonneTaylorPhoto.com
www.LaurettJMcCoy.com
[gallery ids="99585,104920,104916,104912,104909" nav="thumbs"]

Washington Ballet Fashionistas
• January 13, 2011

Barbara McConaghy Johnson and Staci Capuano co-chaired Runway en Relevé Troisieme, the third annual fundraising fashion event of the Women’s Committee of the Washington Ballet at Bloomingdale’s Chevy Chase, on Nov. 12. Company dancers, with members of the Women’s Committee, Board of Directors and Jeté Society, modeled fashions capturing the 60’s look of Mad Men. The evening’s Parisian theme heralded Jackie Kennedy’s triumph of European fashion and diplomacy. The raffled “Grand Prix” was a Las Vegas package highlighted by a stay at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, the newest member of the Marriott Autograph Collection. [gallery ids="99554,104575,104571,104559,104567,104563" nav="thumbs"]

The Latest Dish
• January 12, 2011

Theater was always a part of Jose Andres’ aura. Now he has a presence at the newly renovated Arena Stage on DC’s southwest waterfront. Next Stage by José Andrés offers eclectic soups, salads, sandwiches and entrees, some even themed to currently running shows. The café is located on a balcony facing Arena Stage’s glass-fronted entrance.

More lobster: Michael Landrum, owner/operator of RAY’S THE STEAKS and assorted other Ray’s-themed restaurants, will open The Lobster Pot, a seafood restaurant at 1650 Wilson Blvd. in Rosslyn.

From the folks who brought you Grapeseed in Bethesda, comes a new lobster concept called FREDDIE’S LOBSTER. Lobster is not as expensive as it used to be, which may account for the new lobster outlets, from trucks to carryout. This is one white meat you cannot say tastes like chicken.

The BRICKSKELLER is planning a facelift and has changed its name to BIER BARON. Don’t worry, they will still serve more beers (1200) than any other place in town, as it always has. New owners Megan Merrifield and her husband are operators. They also own Windsor Inn, Embassy Inn and District Hotel. The reopening is planned for the early part of the new year.

THE ROOKERY, owned by Bo Blair, has re-opened as BAYOU, a New Orleans-style restaurant at 2519 Pennsylvania Ave., NW with Chef Rusty Holman at the helm. Look for New Orleans favorites — Po Boys, gumbo, shrimp and grits and live jazz during dinner.

Chef and Executive Update – MATCHBOX Chinatown has named Cliff Wharton as executive chef. Wharton once a striving rock star, joins matchbox from Ten Penh, where he became a culinary star.

Tom Meyer has been named president of CLYDE’S RESTAURANT GROUP. Tom had been executive vice president for CRG since 2002.

Natalie Vella has been named general manager of RIS, a promotion from her position as assistant GM.

Ramón Narváez is returning to Robert Wiedmaier’s restaurant empire (Brasserie Beck, Brabo, Mussel Bar by RW, Marcel’s) as wine and beverage director. Starting at Marcel’s in 2002, he left in 2008 to become the sommelier at Adour located at the St. Regis Hotel.

STELLA RESTAURANT is coming to the Traville Shopping Center in North Potomac where The Vyne Restaurant was, this month. Owners and brothers George and Stratton Liapis have owned and operated The Lunch Box Carry-Out Shoppes in downtown D.C. and Bullfeather’s of Capital Hill. Ray Niederhausen, a graduate of Stratford University, will be the executive chef. Stella will offer steakhouse steaks, chops, organic chicken, as well as full bar service, including a diverse wine list featuring wines from California, Italy, France, Argentina and Greece.

TERASOL, a French bistro with an artistic mix of food and artwork, has newly reopened at 5010 Connecticut Ave, NW after a nearly two-year hiatus. Owners Sabrina Ousmaal and Alan Moin offer a 400-square-foot art gallery with art, jewelry and pottery for sale, and a 1350-square-foot restaurant serving French cuisine.

SALT & PEPPER, a new breakfast spot, is slated to open in the Palisades neighborhood on the second floor of 5101 MacArthur Blvd, NW, above Bambu. Owners Sue Chen and Robert Golfman call it a modern twist on diner classics. They also plan to offer alcoholic beverages in addition to the diner menu.

Yes, it’s true. KEMBLE PARK TAVERN has closed.

Linda Roth Conte is president of Linda Roth Associates, Inc (LRA) specializing in making creative connections through media relations, marketing initiatives, community outreach and special events for the hospitality industry. Contact Linda at 703-417-2700 or linda@lindarothpr.com or visit her web site at www.lindarothpr.com

The Jack Evans Report
•

Happy New Year!

After all the election events of last year, we are settling into the New Year at the John A. Wilson building and the beginning of Council Period 19. We have a new Mayor, Vince Gray, and a new Council Chairman, Kwame Brown. Everyone is eager to get to work on the challenges facing the city. Chief among these challenges is the need to live within our means while we preserve core government functions.

For Council Period 19, I will continue on as Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, which is responsible for matters relating to taxation and revenue, as well as general obligation bond acts, revenue anticipation notes, industrial revenue bonds, and new to the Committee, the Convention Center and Sports Authority. The committee has oversight over the following agencies:

Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Office of Financial Management
Office of Financial Operations
Office of Finance and Treasury
Office of Tax and Revenue
District of Columbia Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board
Washington Convention and Sports Authority
Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals
Destination DC (Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation)
Multistate Tax Commission

Joining me on the Committee will be Councilmembers David Catania, Michael Brown, Muriel Bowser and Marion Barry. I will also continue to serve as a Member of the Committee on Economic Development, the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. Other Committee assignments were made to various Councilmembers.

In what is a once-a -ecade ritual, I will co-chair, along with Councilmember Michael Brown, the Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting, which is responsible for developing a realignment and reapportionment of the District’s political subdivisions based on the 2010 Census.

I’m excited and ready to get to work in Council Period 19. We have some important and tough decisions ahead, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue to move our city forward.

Murphy’s Love
•

Dear Stacy:

I have been dating the same woman for two years. We’re both about to turn 30 and it seems that everyone expects me to propose to her in the New Year. I do care about her. I even love many of the qualities she has. But I’m not sexually attracted to her at all. I know how horrible that sounds, but it’s true. She’s just not my type. Before we dated I had many failed relationships with women I found more beautiful. When we started dating I knew I didn’t find her physically attractive. I just knew that she was kind and generous, and that I wanted to see if the other stuff was less important as long as we had a deeper emotional connection. Now we’re two years in and, though I feel strongly for her as a best friend, I’m still not interested in being with her physically. I feel like telling her the truth is the best answer, but I also don’t want to be labeled a jerk. I just don’t know if I can stick it out for a lifetime.

-Label-Resistant in DC

Dear Label-Resistant:

Your sentiment is admirable – you don’t want to saddle her with the memory that your relationship ended because of something she really cannot control. But at the same time, you are letting this drag out in a way that will inevitably cause her to think it was her hair/eyes/dress-size that led you to break it off, regardless of the reason you give for ending the relationship.

This is not to say that you should stay in a relationship when you don’t feel sexually attracted to the person. That essential piece of couple-hood is hard to overlook. Yes, the fierce magnetism found during those early relationship stages does fade over time, but visual stimuli is central to our biological method of connecting with others. That doesn’t change as we age, and you would be doing her a disservice by forcing yourself to just “stick it out for a lifetime.” To go for the sexist cliché, women are intuitive, and it’s quite likely she already knows you aren’t super-excited by her. There is someone out there, I swear, who does find her attractive. She has the right to find her match, and so do you.

So if you are hemming and hawing about the “right” thing to say when you are breaking up, my advice is to say as little as possible, unless she asks. Then offer her as much information as she requests (NOTE: This is different from telling her “as much as you think she should know…” Please let her regulate the amount of detail), steering clear of anything crass, reactive or outright hurtful. Then give her the space to process it, and don’t expect her to be your movie buddy or part of your emotional support network anytime soon. Distance is painful but necessary, and much kinder than prolonging a false relationship.

Dear Stacy:

It’s the time of year to be thinking about New Year’s resolutions, something I’ve never been successful at maintaining. All my coworkers want us to post our resolutions on the kitchen bulletin board and then help each other along – a pretty good idea, but is it worth it for me to say “I’m going to finally find a boyfriend this year,” and then fail in front of everyone? I don’t get the point.

-Office Naysayer

Dear Naysayer:

I agree with you that New Year’s resolutions often launch with a lot of promise, only to fizzle before the snow melts in March. For some it can be a motivating push to do something healthier, but for others it becomes an annual tradition of punishing, self-fulfilling prophesy.

Which is why I suggest you be gentler to yourself and choose something you’ve already started doing (just resolve to do more of it) in the New Year. Big-ticket items like massive weight loss, cold-turkey smoking cessation, and boyfriend-collection are tough to achieve when you’re being watched (or monitored, competitively, via the lunchroom bulletin board).

Why swear off sugar entirely, when you have a niece who sells you Girl Scout cookies every February? Why throw out your cigarettes January 1 if you tried doing it that way last March 3, August 21 and September 20, only to relapse the next week? Or why promise your officemates that you will find a boyfriend, if you have been trolling eHarmony and Match.com for the last year without luck?

There is definitely something to be said for public accountability when making big life changes – if that’s your reason for joining the office pastime, then go forth. But inviting all eyes on you as you put yourself out there in one of the most vulnerable ways possible – dating in Washington, DC – is a sure-fire way to tank your self-esteem and start 2011 with a whimper. Be better to yourself than that. Maybe make self-care your resolution. I promise you will feel better about this New Year come next December if you do.

Stacy Notaras Murphy is a licensed professional counselor and certified Imago Relationship therapist practicing at the Imago Center of DC in Georgetown. Her website is www.therapygeorgetown.com. This column is meant for entertainment only, and should not be considered a substitute for professional counseling. Please send your relationship questions to stacy@georgetowner.com.

Jack Evans Report
• December 14, 2010

The Council reconsidered the FY 2011 budget this past week to address the $175 million revenue shortfall and “spending pressures,” which came to light earlier this fall, and approved a revised plan 11-2. It was a process filled with difficult choices, made somewhat more difficult by the very short time frame in which we had to act; the Mayor had only transmitted his plan to us just before Thanksgiving. As such, it was always my thought that we probably could not do much more than rearrange some of those priorities and then move forward, which is precisely what ended up happening.

The Council did not adopt any new taxes at this time (in keeping with the Mayor’s proposal), however I believe this and many other issues will be on the table this spring, when the new Mayor, Vincent Gray, submits his FY 2012 budget plan to the Council. Fiscal Year 2012 will be the far bigger challenge, and Mayor-Elect Gray has stated quite clearly he would like to take some time to thoroughly scrub all agency spending to find efficiencies, re-think priorities, and find cuts prior to considering tax increases. I believe this thorough approach is necessary as well; we cannot and should not casually raise taxes without taking a fine toothed comb to government spending and programs. So, further challenges are ahead this spring. Prior to that, the Council will hold its annual oversight hearings in February and March; it will be vital for each Committee to scrutinize every line of every agency budget in great detail.

Turning to happier thoughts – Happy Holidays to you and yours! This is always a wonderful time to spend with friends and family and be thankful for all the blessings we enjoy. Worth noting every year – be careful not to leave your shopping bags or anything of value visible in your car. Also, with the rash of street robberies we’ve seen in the city, with people getting their iPhones and other tech devices snatched right out of their hands, always be aware of your surroundings, particularly at night. You can catch up on your emails later; it’s much more important that you get to your destination safe and sound.

This is our last newsletter for the year. Happy New Year, and we will see you again in January!