Getting Out of Georgetown: Three Dining Destinations Worth Trying

November 19, 2014

With the plethora of great restaurants in Georgetown, one could argue that there’s no reason to dine elsewhere, but consider what you’d miss. Washington, D.C., has been having a city-wide restaurant renaissance over the past few years, with new concepts popping up alongside old classics, creating a thoroughly modern patchwork.

Take the highly lauded Rose’s Luxury on 8th Street SE, along Barracks Row, which snagged Bon Appetit’s prestigious “Best New Restaurant in America” award this year. At Rose’s Luxury, the service is warm and welcoming, the cocktails are lovingly crafted, the family-style menu is playful and ever changing, and the overall experience is bliss.

Chef Aaron Silverman, the mastermind behind Rose’s, has succeeding in creating a menu of small plates that encourage noshing and sharing (think warm challah bread with wildflower honey, charred broccoli with caesar dressing, pork sausage and habanero lychee salad, pickle brined fried chicken glazed with honey, fresh raw Toro sashimi, pasta with eggplant and tomato). The restaurant is housed in an eclectic building with a spirited neon “Awesome” sign, walls of exposed brick, a bustling open kitchen and strings of twinkle lights that give off a warm, cheery glow. Arrive early (as early as 4:30 or 5 p.m.) and prepare to wait, but rest assured, you’re in for a night of gastronomic greatness.

Just north in the historic Bloomingdale neighborhood on First Street NW, is the Red Hen, an Italian-influenced American restaurant that is equal parts relaxed, experimental and comfort-driven. Michael O’Malley, Sebastian Zutant and Michael Friedman are general manager, sommelier and chef, respectively, who came together as friends to create a laid back, indie-dining destination for the emerging Bloomingdale neighborhood. Their menus change seasonally, taking advantage of all the best flavors and ingredients over the course of the year. Currently, you will find everything from a smoked ricotta crostini with balsamic brown butter and truffle honey to a wild mushroom soup with crispy sunchokes, thyme and truffled mascarpone for starters.

Pastas like spinach fettuccine with braised duck, sweet potato, mint and Parmigiano-Reggiano grace the menu. Large plates like caramelized scallops with grilled kale, bacon, roasted cauliflower and polenta delight as do wood-grilled chickens with fingerling potatoes, currants and preserved lemon. Spiced pumpkin cakes and maple brown butter gelato sugarcoat the dessert menu and an impressive wine and cocktail list awaits your arrival.

On 14th Street NW, near Logan Circle, the Pig, a prodigious pork-centric restaurant continues to rake in the accolades along with bacon-loving patrons. The Pig features a local, seasonal menu with vegetables grown on its farm in nearby La Plata, Md. The concept is a celebration of the pig and all the flavors that accompany it, with rustic dishes from around the world inspiring much of the menu. There’s a focus here on respecting food, and the Pig uses only humanely raised animals, while wasting little. Diners can chomp on starters like shaved Brussels sprout salads and crispy sweetbreads. The Face Bacon is the melt-in-your-mouth favorite. Pig Boards are a popular sharing item with fresh bread, pickles, charcuterie, olives and mustard dipping sauces. For supper, enjoy dishes like stuffed suckling pig, crispy pork shanks and Korean barbeque for two. They also offer a unique menu of eco-friendly wines and American craft beer. Venture to the Pig for a totally unique dining experience that’s quite literally hog heaven.
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Cocktail of the Week: The Jungle Bird


I remember seeing the pictures when the Petronas Twin Towers opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the mid-1990’s overtaking the World Trade Center for the crown the world’s tallest building. I was living in the big apple at the time and all New Yorkers were astounded that someplace else could now brag about having the world’s highest skyscraper. This was a period of great upswing for New York, it was a time when then-mayor Rudy Giuliani proudly boasted on David Letterman, “Our city can kick your city’s ass.” Suddenly, a small country on the other side of the globe had stolen a little bit of thunder from New York.

With this memory etched in my mind, the Petronas towers were at the top of my must-see list when I visited Kuala Lumpur in early August. For me, the best way to experience this architectural wonder was by enjoying a few cocktails while marveling at this architectural phenomenon.

In New York, if you wanted to glance at the twin towers while enjoying a swanky drink, you headed for the legendary rainbow room in Rockefeller Center. In Kuala Lumpur, if you want an up-close view of the Petronas Towers in style, you go to Marini’s on 57.

This upscale lounge on the cutting edge of KL’s evening scene is Malaysia’s highest rooftop bar. To arrive at Marini’s you are whisked up 57 floors in seconds by a high-speed elevator. You can choose to sit outside on one of the patios or imbibe from indoors where floor-to-ceiling windows give you an almost dizzying view.

The lounge is located in the third, shorter building of the Petronas complex. The lounge wraps its way around the building, providing visitors with 360-degree views of the city skyline and an imposing view of the towers. While sitting there, you visualize Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones, scaling across building like they did in the film “Entrapment.”

Marini’s on 57 has an impressive list of signature cocktails, concocted by mixologist Junior(one name only). I started off with a chocolate espresso martini. While I usually avoid cutesy candy-flavored faux martinis, I found this one to be a cut above. Instead of being mixed with chocolate or coffee flavored vodka, this one featured Maker’s Mark Bourbon as its base spirit, which gave it a hearty full flavor.

The next drink on my list was the Mellow Sundown cocktail, a tipple conceived by Junior to celebrate the lounge’s, sunset hour, when guests can enjoy watching the sunset between the towers. This drink had a sunny taste, which came from a mixture of fruits, including pineapple, apple, lime and predominantly passionfruit. Junior mixes this cocktail with vodka to highlight the bright fruit flavors.

My favorite of the three was the 57 Sour, Junior’s twist on the classic whiskey tipple. Like a proper whiskey sour, this one was shaken with an egg white to give it a frothy texture and sprinkled with bitters for added spice. The two main differences that make this drink stand out are the addition of grapefruit juice to the standard lemon for a more rounded tart sensation and the use of honey as a sweetener which provided a robust compliment to the semi-sweet Maker’s Mark bourbon.

When Junior heard I was a tiki drink enthusiast he whipped me up a Jungle Bird, a long-forgotten tropical drink that, according to lore, was created at the Aviary bar at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton in 1978. Junior became familiar with this lost cocktail after finding the recipe in one of Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s tiki books. For me, this drink – a combination of 5-year-old rum, Campari, pineapple and lime juice – took the cake. Campari, a bitter Italian aperitif, may seem out-of-place in a tiki drink, but somehow this odd combo of sweet yet complex rum, tropical fruits and herbs melded perfectly together.

As the day turned to dusk, I enjoyed these lovely cocktails as I watched the changing light dance across the towers. When the moon began to rise, I headed back to my hotel, knowing I’ve visited a KL’s signature landmark the way I wanted to see it – with a drink in hand.

The Jungle Bird
(Courtesy of Jeff “Beachbum” Berry)
1/2 ounce simple syrup?
1 1/2 ounces dark aged rum (Junior uses Angostura 5-year rum)
?3/4 ounce Campari?
1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice?
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice?

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine all of the ingredients except the garnish. Shake until well chilled and strain into a glass filled with ice.

Cocktail of the Week: Roasted Pumpkin Spice Margarita


Pumpkin, along with apples, cinnamon and cloves, is one of the classic flavors of fall. The mere mention of this orange squash invokes images of the autumn harvest, jack-o-lanterns and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.

The incorporation of seasonal flavors and ingredients into our food and drink has made pumpkin a shining star once the leaves begin to change. Imbibers have a wide choice of delicious pumpkin beers and themed cocktails.

Some of my favorite pumpkin ales come from Schlafly in Saint Louis and Dogfish in nearby Delaware (where they spell it ‘punkin’). My only issue is that many of these beers start appearing in stores and on menus in late August and early September.

While a pint of Weyerbacher imperial pumpkin ale is fantastic on a brisk afternoon while admiring the colorful foliage, I have trouble enjoying spiced ale during D.C.’s Indian summer days – when temperatures continue to hover in the 80s. Even though Halloween is the first pumpkin holiday of fall, it is not uncommon for some of the pumpkin beers to be sold out and replaced by winter brews.

Thankfully for those who enjoy pumpkin cocktails, the selection usually remains constant through Thanksgiving.
If you like to have your pumpkin cocktail and beer in one, the Copperwood Tavern in Arlington, Va., is offering a fall-themed version of the classic flip cocktail (a heated mixture of beer, rum, egg and sugar). Copperwood’s version is forged from Cruzan rum, egg and pumpkin syrup, topped with Port City porter.

While pumpkins are usually associated with Americana, there is no shortage of international cocktails to try. For example, Daikaya, a traditional Japanese ramen shop in Chinatown, is offering a spiced pumpkin mule cocktail made with fresh pumpkin, cinnamon, clove, ginger, turmeric, lemon and bourbon.

Spanish hotspot Estadio is serving a pumpkin slushito, a mixture of scotch, pumpkin puree, black tea, lemon and beer.
A surprising one, and the most refreshing tipple I uncovered this year, is El Centro’s pumpkin margarita. At first, the idea of altering this warm-weather favorite with pumpkin seemed a bit odd, but the key to this drink is its subtleness.

Instead of using a pumpkin puree or syrup, El Centro infuses the tequila with roasted pumpkin and spices. “We like infusing tequila,” GM Joshua Gray said. “It’s fun to play around with different flavors.”

I sampled the tequila infusion on its own, and its flavor reminded me of being enveloped in a cozy poncho on a cool night in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Bartender David Constantine shared my approval. “I’d drink it straight,” he said.

The flavored liquor is mixed with agave nectar and freshly squeezed lime, then served in a pint glass with a cinnamon-sugar rim.
The result is a light and aromatic drink. The fall spices blend with the slightly peppery reposado tequila, adding some zing to the Mexican staple. The cinnamon-sugar rim adds a perfect amount of spice/sweetness to balance the tartness of the lime.

Unlike some heavy autumn elixirs, this pumpkin drink would be refreshing year-round. I just may be making pumpkin margaritas next July!

Roasted Pumpkin Spice-Infused Tequila

1 750ml bottle Sauza Blue Reposado

1.5 stars of anise

1 teaspoon cloves

1.5 half-sticks cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/16 teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 29-ounce can pumpkin puree

Crush spices together using a mortar and pestle. Fold spice mixture and sugar into pumpkin puree. Spread flat onto a sheet pan lined with wax paper. Roast at 250 degrees for 30 minutes. Place cooked mixture into cheesecloth and tie tightly. Place cheesecloth-wrapped mixture into a glass mason jar. Fill with tequila. Let sit 5-7 days, agitating daily. Strain mixture.

To make a margarita, mix tequila with agave nectar and fresh lime and serve in a glass with a cinnamon-sugar rim.

Readers may sample the pumpkin margarita at either of El Centro D.F.’s locations: 1218 Wisconsin Ave., NW, and 1819 14th St., NW.

Latest Dish: November 19, 2014


Hakan Ilhan plans to open L’Hommage Bistro Francais at the m.flats apartment building at 450 K Street NW. The restaurateur also owns Al Dente near Tenleytown on New Mexico Ave. NW and Alba Osteria in NoMa at 425 Eye St. NW, as well as Bistro Atelier, a French restaurant at Dulles International Airport. He first entered the restaurant scene with his Pizza Autentica pizzerias. This new French restaurant in the Mount Vernon Triangle area includes a full-service bistro with a bakery and quick serve café. Private dining space is also available in the 220-seat restaurant.

José Andrés plans to expand his relationship with George Washington University beyond teaching, lecturing and giving commencement addresses. The next step is a restaurant (shocker), a fast casual concept called Beefsteak, which focuses on vegetables. Yes, the name appears to be incongruous with vegetables, but José is not your typical restaurateur. It will be located at 22nd and Eye streets NW on campus, in the new science and engineering building.

Claudia Rivas, who is a chef/owner of Brasas Rotisserie & Grill in Waldorf, plans to open Claudia’s Steakhouse in downtown D.C. at 1501 K St. NW this spring with new business partner Charles Adams. Think steaks and – closer to her roots – ceviche. It will seat 288 with private dining rooms for up to 100 people.

UK-based Carluccio’s plans to open their first US outpost in Old Town Alexandria at 100 King St. (the site of many fine restaurants). They also plan to open at the new Southwest Waterfront project. Although the restaurant hails from the UK, the founder Antonio Carluccio is from Salerno in the southern part of Italy.

Chef & GM Update: Wil Goings has been named executive chef at Tadich Grill, slated to open in January 2015 at 10th and Pennsylvania Ave NW. Wil was Executive Director of Food and Beverage at Chef Geoff’s and LIA’s restaurant. Ron Robbins, formerly of San Francisco’s Blvd and Clyde’s Tower Oak Lodge, has been named general manager.
Openings Update: Mango Tree, the Thailand-based restaurant with locations in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Dubai, Jakarta and Manila is slated to open this month at CityCenter thanks to Pitaya Phanphensophon and Richard Sandoval

ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen plans to open its next metro area location at Union Station where Yo! Sushi used to be. Sakuramen owner Jonathan Cho plans to open a new Pan-Asian restaurant in Adams Morgan where Cafe Lautrec and Cafe Toulouse used to be at 2431 18th St. NW. He also plans to expand Sakuramen, opening up a new level, which should be completed by end of Q2 2015.

Carla Hall has licensed her name to a new southern-inspired 150-seat restaurant to open at Reagan National Airport in Terminal A, operated by OTG, which operates other restaurants at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority properties. The restaurant name is Page, but it is unclear whether the reference is to Carla or the airport. Future plans call for a Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen in New York in 2015 as well as in DC in 2017.

Just Opened: Adams Morgan’s Amsterdam Falafelshop opened in Clarendon on Wilson Blvd. Other locations on the horizon include Georgetown, downtown D.C., Bethesda and Silver Spring. Willie’s Brew & Que has finally opened in the Boilermaker Shops near Nationals Park. Washington Firehouse has opened at North Capitol Street & Quincy Place NW, from the folks who brought you Shaw’s Tavern. Chef Peter Prime from Shaw’s created the menu. Cava Grill opened its sixth location in Chinatown at 707 H St. NW. Highline is opening at 2010 Crystal Drive in Crystal City by the folks who also own and operate Penn Social, CarPool and Buffalo Billiards.

Thanksgiving Meals Made Simple

November 6, 2014

The countdown to Thanksgiving has officially started and the smells of roasted turkeys and savory stuffing will soon be in the air. If the thought of cooking all day makes you sick, why not dine out? This year, some of your favorite neighborhood locales will be whipping up decadent feasts so you don’t have to. Be sure to consider 1789, which is having a three-course prix fixe Thanksgiving dinner for $54. A la carte options like butternut squash soup, roasted beet salads, racks of lamb and maple glazed ham are also sure to delight.

The Grill Room at the Capella Hotel will have a six-course family style brunch and dinner for $95 per person. Guests can feast on parsnip soap, corn bread stuffed quail, roasted heritage turkey and apple wood smoked mashed potatoes along with cobblers and pies in the hotel’s elegant dining room.

Just down M Street, the Four Seasons’ acclaimed Bourbon Steak restaurant will be serving up traditional Thanksgiving dishes from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day with a three-course $110 fixed price menu. Their sister restaurant, Seasons will have a brunch buffet, also for $110, that will feature a variety of foods, from omelets to seafood and carving stations.
Just outside of Georgetown, the acclaimed French restaurant, Plume, at the Jefferson Hotel is having a three-course prix fixe menu on Thanksgiving for $98 per person and $45 for kids under twelve.

If you want to keep things simple this year without sacrificing the comforts of home, there’s no better destination than Whole Foods. The Wisconsin Avenue location has menu options that can be ordered both online and in store, with the option to have food delivered to your home. Best yet, Whole Foods’ fresh turkeys have no added hormones or antibiotics. One of the most popular menu options is the Oven Ready Turkey, which is uncooked but ready to roast. It’s prepared in its own cooking pan with butter, veggies and herbs. Another go-to is the Whole Foods Organic Thanksgiving Dinner, which includes a fully cooked organic turkey with ample sides for $129.99. Simply heat it up and enjoy your turkey alongside mushroom gravy, green bean casserole, country-mashed potatoes and more.

On your next visit to Dean & Deluca, ask for their Thanksgiving menu and explore the wide variety of dishes you can order ahead for your holiday at home. They‘ll also have a selection of traditional Thanksgiving foods in their prepared showcases.

Take It Outside: Grilling with Chef David Guas

October 28, 2014

Chef and Television Host David Guas on his New Orleans Roots and the Fundamentals of Grilling

The reason chef David Guas never left the Washington area is because he missed New Orleans. Guas is the celebrated chef and owner of Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery, a vibrant tribute to Gulf Coast culinary tradition located in the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington. A second eatery on Capitol Hill is slated to open this fall. He is also the host of Travel Channel’s new original series “American Grilled,” which premiered this month. The competition show pits grill masters from all walks of life against one another in regional, outdoor cooking challenges.

Guas’ career took off in his hometown of New Orleans. He worked in the pastry kitchen at the acclaimed Windsor Court Hotel under legendary chef and restaurateur Jeff Tunks. When Tunks opened DC Coast in1998, his flagship restaurant in Washington, Guas was recruited as head pastry chef. He later moved on to work as a corporate pastry chef for Passion Food Hospitality, developing the dessert menus for each of Tunks’ subsequent four restaurants.

With regular appearances on NBC’s Today Show, as well as guest slots on the Food Network and Cooking Channel, Guas has built a cult-like following as a champion of New Orleans culinary heritage. His 2009 cookbook, “DamGoodSweet – Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style,” was a James Beard Award Finalist and was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Dessert Cookbooks. He has been hailed by The Washington Post, The New York Times and Washingtonian magazine, and has been featured in every foodie magazine you can think to name.

But talking to him, you might never know of his acclaim. Chock it up to the humble values of a southern heritage, but his vast and broad-ranging achievements are equal only to his modesty, pragmatism and good nature.“Bayou Bakery started as a simple concept,” he said. “I wanted something that represented my home to keep me from moving back home. There was a real opportunity here, to represent New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast south in general. The more you do this for a living, the more you realize how unique southern food is. New Orleans is probably one of the most unique cities on the planet in terms of its cultural milieu. So what better way to be prideful and fill my own personal void than to celebrate the culture of the city that I’m from.”

The food in Bayou Bakery is unforgettable. From small-plate southern classics like housemade cheese straws, deviled eggs and pimento cheese to the olive-rich “muff-a-lotta” sandwich piled high with salami, mortadella and smoked ham, everything on the menu is bound to the traditions of regional American cuisine. If you don’t venture in one day for a cup of their rich coffee and an order of crispy, sugar-caked beignets, you are missing out on one of the truly great food adventures in Washington. About half of the menu is also based on seasonality. They are currently offering a radish plate with feta dip, a roasted beet salad and a chilled soup with avocados and local cucumbers.

As to why he chose this approach to his flagship restaurant, Guas has a simple and heart- felt answer. “It’s not until you get out into the world that you find out about where you’re from,” he says. “Researching for the cookbook, digging deeper to discover facts, the history and stories to food, I just fell back in love with New Orleans.”This concept of local heritage is also the foundation for his Travel Channel show, “American Grilled.” “I’m not on the professional barbecue circuit,” Guas says with a laugh. “I haven’t been going around to competitions winning trophies. I grew up grilling with my dad every weekend, and I know my way around proteins. But what I do get is the culture of it, the character and the heritage.”

The show offers an interesting perspective. So much of today’s food culture leans more and more toward local and regional ancestral kitchen traditions, focusing less on haute cuisine and more on authenticity and historical context. This show takes this mission to the next level bringing people on to the show that aren’t even professional chefs. The show is not just promoting someone’s restaurant. Instead, they are going to cities and towns around the country and finding the best grillers in the area, regardless of background—be it a hog-roasting mechanic from Galax,
Virginia or a Louisiana fisherman with the secret ingredients for perfect grilled shrimp.

“The show is very relative to where we are as a society today,” Guas says. “There is an energy and passion among restaurateurs toward knowing where your food comes from, understanding its local character. And, frankly, the barbecue world is full of characters. So it’s built into our show in a very natural way. These contestants could be your neighbor—it’s a show that’s sort of made up of a bunch of nobodys, including myself. It is a game show, but it’s fun, raw and very local, organic, and feels very handmade.”

In order to prepare for each episode, Guas researched the grilling specialties of the featured towns and cities. “It was important to learn about and integrate each area’s regional character and represent it the right way,” he says. “As a chef, that what was so exciting for me, the regional personality of each place. I love New Orleans food, but learning new things about new cities and sharing that information with an audience is really just a dream job.” While he might not be a “competitive griller,” Guas knows how to work a grill. Below is his four-step process to no-frills, good grilling done right.

Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery is located at 1515 N Courthouse Road, Arlington, Va. Travel Channel is currently airing new episodes of “American Grilled” on Wednesdays at 9 p.m., with a chance to catch them again Sundays at 10 p.m. For more information visit www.BayouBakeryVa.com.

Guas on Grilling
Acid, Salt, Herbs and Rest

Like any chef who cooks for his family, Guas is “not in recipe mode” when he’s manning the grill at home. “To me, the grill represents being off the clock. It’s not so rigid as pastry cooking, it’s not looking at your watch. It’s a beer in one hand, a cigar in the other, and the coals prepping while the meat and vegetables rest by the side.” “A lot of the things I’ve done on the grill for the past two decades, it’s just doing what I love to do and not thinking about it,” he admits. “For instance, my father raised me on a charcoal grill and that’s how I continue to do it.”

However, Guas has a few simple steps for making sure your dinner comes off the grill the right way every time. “There are four things I think we underestimate,” he says. “Acid, salt, herbs and rest.” Here’s the breakdown.

Acid
“Citrus brightens up everything,” Guas says, “whether it’s lime or lemon, or even a blend of orange. I always work it into my grilling.” Guas often grills his citrus fruit, cutting them in half and putting them cut-side down for a minute or two to give it a char. As well as using it to drizzle on meat and grilled vegetables, he even uses grilled citrus for things like grilled lime mojitos or smoked lemonade with bourbon.

Salt
Proteins, depending on what they are, need a good amount of coarse, quality heavy sea salt. “Everyone knows it, but nothing brings out flavor like salt,” Guas says. “Salt the things in advance, about a teaspoon per pound—and do it well in advance—and you’ll just watch those flavors come out when you take it off the grill.”

Herbs
“Herbs are often overlooked,” says Guas. “But they are the best way to engrain a sense of seasonality into your grilling. Rosemary and thyme are great fall and winter herbs, while chives, chervil, cilantro and parsley scream of the warmer months. Our herb gardens are probably within 15 feet of our grills and still we forget to use them.” Herbs can be used fresh as garnish, or in the form of a condiment, like a basil pesto or a chimichurri sauce—just throw the marinade in a gallon Ziploc bag with chicken or fish and let it rest anywhere between a couple hours and a day. Herbs can also be mixed with other ingredients, for instance, chopped up rosemary ground in a mortar and pestle with garlic, salt and lime, and used in a marinade for a tougher meat like skirt steak.

Rest
Most of us underestimate resting time for a protein, warns Guas. “If you’ve got a freshly grilled, 18-ounce, bone-in cut ribeye, it’s a sad day for us all to watch the juices run off into the cutting board. Trust me on this: all protein needs resting time after it cooks to cool down and let the juices settle back in and redistribute.” When cooking, heat drives the moisture toward the center of the meat. When given time to cool after cooking, the liquid is redistributed as the protein molecules relax and are able to reabsorb some moisture. This is why all the juice drips out of your meat if you cut it too soon after coming off the heat. “Everything should rest for at least a few minutes,” Guas says, “but make sure to build in ten to twelve minutes of resting time for a big piece of meat.”

Grilled Peaches

Ingredients

6 each Peaches, halved

Procedure

Make sure the surface of your grill is clean. Place the half slices of peaches on the grill over direct heat, skin side down first to give it a quick browning. Then open face-side of the peach to grill until browning and caramelization occurs from the natural sugars. Remove from grill and reserve at room temperature.

Mascarpone Cream

Ingredients

4 ounces Mascarpone Cream

.25 cup Whipping Cream

2 tbs Powdered Sugar

Garnish

Ingredients

1 drizzle Honey, approx. 2 tsp.

2 ounces Pecans, toasted & crumbled

Procedure

Using a hand-mixer or stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment, on medium speed, blend together the mascarpone cheese and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Spoon into a separate bowl and set aside. Pour the cream and the remaining sugar into the original mixing bowl and blend on high-speed just until stiff peaks form, about a minute or two. Turn the mixer off and carefully fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guava BBQ Sauce

David Guas, Chef & Owner, Bayou Bakery and Coffee Bar & Eatery

Yields: approximately 4 servings

For the Brine

Ingredients

.75 cup Salt, kosher

.25 cup Sugar, granulated

1 cup Water, hot

3 cups Water, cold

1 each Pork tenderloin, approx. 2 pounds

1 cup Woodchips, pre-soaked cherry

Procedure

Place the salt, sugar, and hot water for the brine together in an 8-quart container and whisk until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Once mixed together, add the cold water and place the tenderloin in the brine mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

For the Guava BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

12 ounces Guava paste, cut into small cubes

.25 cup Dark rum

.5 cup Orange juice

.25 cup Lime juice

2 tablespoons Creole mustard

2 each Garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons Steen’s Cane Syrup

1 tablespoon Crystal hot sauce

1 teaspoon Salt, kosher

Sauce Procedure

In a small 2-quart saucepan, combine all ingredients. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until guava paste dissolves and ingredients are nice and thick, approx. 5-20 minutes.

Grilling Procedure

Prepare your grill 30 minutes before your pork is ready to remove from the brine. Once removed from the brine, pat dry with paper towels, season lightly with olive oil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Grill over direct heat. Place tenderloin down on grill giving it 5 minutes on each side depending on the heat of your coals. Using a brush, baste your sauce liberally on each side of the pork. Place on indirect heat. Next sprinkle pre-soaked woodchips on the coals. Continue to baste every five minutes or so for 20 minutes until your internal temperature reaches 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit. When you remove pork tenderloin from the grill, brush heavily with remaining sauce as you pull off the grill. Place on cutting board and allow meat to rest, sealing in the juices, for at least 15 minutes prior to cutting.

Assembly

Place 2-3 halves of peaches on a plate with a tablespoon-sized dollop of the mascarpone cream atop the peaches. Garnish with a drizzle of honey [approximately 2 teaspoons per dish] and crumbled toasted pecans. [Toast pecans whole at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly 5 minutes; allow to cool before crumbling.]

Chimichurri

“Start to finish in five minutes. Put it in a mason jar and it’s done, and will last two or three weeks if sealed properly. I love it with chicken, fish, and even charred vegetables.”

Ingredients

1 Cup flat leaf, Italian Parsley

¼ Cup cilantro

Sm. Handful red onion, chopped

¼ – ½ cup red wine vinegar

Salt (to taste, tsp or less)

Black Pepper (to taste)

Red Chili Flakes (a pinch)

½ Cup good Olive Oil

Garlic, chopped (to taste, about two cloves)

Procedure

Puree all ingredients in a food processor, then transfer to a bowl and let sit for at least fifteen minutes to let the flavors come together. Use as a marinade, or drizzle on top of the finished product. [gallery ids="101814,139854,139850" nav="thumbs"]

Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Set for Georgetown, Also Opens in Rosslyn


The Delaware-based sandwich shop Capriotti’s plans to open at 34th and M Streets, NW, in the vacant building that housed Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory and before that the famed Cellar Door music joint.

There is a Capriotti’s already in downtown near Dupont Circle at 18th and M Streets, NW, run by franchisee George Vincent Jr., who confirmed the expansion to Georgetown at 3347 M St., NW. No set time was announced, but Vincent said he hoped that it might open in the fall.

Today, Capriotti’s also opened a Rosslyn location. The new store, boasting the company’s iconic brick wall logo, is the inaugural restaurant for the franchise in Virginia, and is located at 1500 Wilson Blvd.

Established in 1976 in Wilmington, Del., Capriotti’s has distinguished itself from other sandwich shops by slow-roasting whole, all-natural turkeys in-house each night and hand-pulling the meat the next morning for its signature subs. It is touted as a favorite spot of Vice President Joe Biden, formerly a senator from Delaware.

Since then, the affordable sandwich chain has received “Best of” awards across the country for their fresh ingredients and unique fare. Its acclaimed best-selling sub, the Bobbie, is a taste of Thanksgiving with its freshly roasted turkey, cranberry sauce and homemade stuffing, and was voted winner of the “2014 World Cup of Sandwiches” by the Washington Post.

The restaurant serves a large selection of salads, cold and hot subs and sandwiches and a variety of vegetarian options.

Since its first shop opened 38 years ago, Capriotti’s has expanded to more than 100 locations in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

Martha’s Table Brings Potluck Fundraiser to You

October 23, 2014

When it was founded in 1979, Martha’s Table was a safe haven for the District’s most vulnerable — a refuge that provided a sense of security for children and families in an unforgiving world.

35 years later and Martha’s Table continues to act as a beacon of light in the community.

Although Martha’s Table provides potential helpers with a long list of volunteer opportunities, it can be difficult to find time to participate in onsite events. So, this fall, Martha’s Table is making it easier for D.C.’s citizens to support the community from the comfort of their own dinner tables.

On October 26, Martha’s Table invites its supporters to host their very own One Pot Supper Fundraiser. The objective is to hold simultaneous fundraisers all around the city where friends and family can enjoy good food and raise hunger awareness.

“At small tables of six and bigger tables of 60, people will come together to get the discussion going about hunger in the Washington, D.C. area,” said Patty Stonesifer, CEO of Martha’s Table.

Guests attending a dinner will enjoy a delicious meal at no expense to them. Instead, a pot will be passed where guests can make a contribution to raise funds for the organization.

Longtime supporter and past employee of Martha’s Table, Areesah Mobley, intends to host a dinner for 20 but is prepared for more. Although she has some ideas of what she wants to cook she hasn’t quite solidified her plans yet.

First timer, Chad Hoeft, was familiar with Martha’s Table but had yet to work with the organization until Stonesifer reached out to him. “I wanted to get involved to shed light on a situation I think most take for granted. Having access to food is something most of us don’t think twice about,” he said.

The best thing about the fundraiser is that it makes involvement accessible to everyone, Stonesifer says. Unlike Sips & Suppers, a Martha’s Table fundraising event held in January, it allows a younger audience to get involved because hosting doesn’t require a large budget.

Interested in hosting your own One Pot Supper? Information is available in the host toolkit at marthastable.org.

Bon Appétit! Two New French-Inspired Concepts in Georgetown


Chez Billy Part Deux

Exploring the culinary offerings of Southern France has never been easier thanks to the newly opened Chez Billy Sud at 1039 31st Street in Georgetown. As a sister restaurant to Petworth’s popular Chez Billy, the two will share Chef Brendan L’Etoile, with key differences in ambiance and menu direction.

The elegant dining room at Chez Billy Sud, formerly Café La Ruche, is airy and fresh with light sea foam walls illuminated by gilded mirrors, gold leaf accents and windows. Bistro chairs and white tablecloths are classic and chic without pretension. In the warmer months, patrons can sip a glass of rosè and dine al fresco in the restaurant’s quaint courtyard.

Chez Billy Sud lives up to its name with a menu driven by flavors from the south of France. Hors d’oeuvres range from frisee salads to warm olives fragranced with champagne vinegar, rosemary, fennel and oranges. Entrées vary from pan-roasted trout with lemon caper brown butter to mussels, beef bourguignon and duck confit. Desserts like spiced apple tarts and profiteroles glazed in chocolate satisfy the sweet tooth. Unlike Chez Billy’s large bar program, Chez Billy Sud has a small yet memorable hand crafted cocktail menu for imbibers wish distinguished tastes. Start off with one of five specially crafted cocktails, like an Armagnac old fashioned or a Negroni, to get your evening going. For dinner, pair your meal with a French vin from the venue’s impressive wine list, and let the culinary flair of Southern France come over you, if only for a night.

Chez Billy Sud is currently only open for dinner, but stay tuned in the coming months as they add brunch and lunch services.

A Medley of Flavors at Mama Rouge

The newly opened Mama Rouge at 3000 K Street features a medley of culinary influences, all of which come together to create an exceptional neighborhood dining experience.

Located on the Georgetown waterfront in Bangkok Joe’s old home, this Southeast Asian French bistro has a flair for bringing out the best flavor profiles from various cultures’ cuisines, including Vietnamese, Thai and French. Aulie Bunyarataphan, the chef and owner (along with husband, Mel Oursinsiri) wanted to create a menu based on Southeast Asian and European cooking traditions that was thoughtfully tailored for an American palate and served in a contemporary French bistro setting.

The lively dining room with its red and teal color scheme is subdued with sophisticated French tables and bistro accents. This is the perfect backdrop for the diverse and colorful menu offering at Mama Rouge. Sample everything from pho, Pad Thai and dumplings to crab cake francaise, steak au poivre and duck a’lorange. Cocktails and wine have a French focus, yet Bunyarataphan’s Thai grandmother, the original Mama Rouge, inspires many of the menu items. This dichotomy between Southeast Asian and French influences is what gives Mama Rougea feel entirely its own.
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Two Agricole Rhum Drinks to Celebrate Our 60th Year

October 9, 2014

I recently had the pleasure to meet with Angel Cervantes, a well-known bartender at the Rye Bar located inside Capella Hotel. Our mission: to create a special cocktail using Agricole Rhum products in honor of our 60th anniversary. True to his name, Cervantes is not only a seasoned bartender, but a creative mixologist and a spice flavor expert. His creative origins go back many years. He’s worked in some of the industry’s top places including Michel Richard’s Citronelle and Red Sage. Agricole rhum is of French origins, produced in Martinique and imported by Nikolai Konick, who sponsored our celebration. It differs from regular rum in that it is squeezed from sugar cane juice instead of molasses. Nikolai lent his hand to our cocktail experiment.

At first, I wanted to celebrate our anniversary with one light-colored cocktail and one dark-colored drink. Trained by tradition, I had my mind set on vodka for the light but was less sure about the dark cocktail. So, a friend and I tried one of Cervantes’ agricole rhum drinks. We were immediately impressed (and craved more of the delicious liquor). The drink we concocted is served in a tumbler with an oversized ice cube and an aromatic shaving of fresh ginger. Simply put, it’s the best version of the classic dark and stormy I have ever had.

Then, the white rhum martini arrived. The drink took our breath away, and the concoction even impressed Nikolai, who was astounded by the delicacy. The sophisticated, mature rhum met its match with the sweetness of the martini’s lavender infused simple syrup, and a splash of champagne.

Here are our two celebratory recipes, which I will treasure for years to come.

The Roffman
1 1/2 ounces of Clement Rhum Vieux Agricole Select Barrel
Dash of bitters
1/2 ounce fresh ginger shavings
Serve with over-sized ice cube

Amy’s Agricole Martini
1 1/2 ounces of Clement Premiere Canne Rhum
½ ounce of fresh lemon juice
½ ounce lavender infused simple syrup
½ ounce of Campari
Splash of Champagne
Serve ice cold