Standing Their Ground

August 15, 2013

“This is the last of the grandchildren,” joked Tony and
Joe’s manager Dean Cibel, as he surveyed his family’s
restaurants with manager Dave Peva and designer
Dennis Shea and looked at the ice skating rink being built over
Washington Harbour’s fountain. After 17 months closed down
and nine months of a $4-million reconstruction, Tony and Joes’
Seafood Place and Nick’s Riverside Grill are fully and officially
back in the action next to the Potomac at the complex.

At one of Washington’s hottest places to see and be seen, the
Cibels’ elegantly redesigned restaurants — now even more open
and with bigger windows to the river — are joined by Sequoia,
Farmers, Fishers and Bakers, Bangkok Joe’s, the proposed Fiola
Mare and others.

The folks at Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place and Nick’s
Riverside Grill—people like Tony Cibel, his sons Nick and Dean
and their cousin Greg Casten—must have thought it was déjà vu
all over again as they awaited and endured Hurricane Sandy.

After all, it’s only been less than two years, and a major renovation
since the great April 2011 Washington Harbour floodgates
crisis and Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place, a classic Georgetown
and Washington legend of a restaurant reopened bigger, and better,
with more flavors and a lot of hoopla — and here was another scary
storm bearing down on the Potomac River.

Not to worry. As fictional President Morgan Freeman assured
us in the film, “Deep Impact,” “. . . And the waters receded.”

Now, Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place, once built on nothing
but the sand on the harbor, can continue to go about its business
of becoming a Washington dining legend, combining the good
words of legendary food critic Phyllis Richman with an enduring
popularity. It embraces all sorts of diners, locals in Georgetown,
tourists, business folks, couples canoodling over seafood and
a spectacular Potomac River-Watergate-Kennedy Center view
and, of course, the recognizable faces who parade through here,
and the equally successful Nick’s Riverside Grille, with singular regularity.

Imagine what you’d have if many of the stellars who came
to Tony & Joe’s arrived on the same night: Hillary Clinton,
Andy Garcia, Clint Eastwood, minus the empty chair, Denzel
Washington (he’s got a new hit movie), comedian Jackie Mason,
Eddie Murphy, Redskins running back Joe Riggins and quarterback
Sonny Jurgensen, Jerry Jones, another Redskins quarterback
Billy Kilmer, the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and Nicholas
Backstrom, Frank “Hondo” Howard from a different D.C. baseball
era, President George W. Bush, no less, William Shatner, beaming,
up and sideways, former Redskins coach Norv Turner, bad boy
Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger (hopefully, not at the same table),
Kathleen Turner and others. You’d have even more of a heck of
a Tony and Joe’s party.

The tale of Tony and Joe’s is a part of Washington restaurant
lore, going back to October 9, 1987—that’s 25 years almost to
the day, give or take a week or two. The key figures were all
friends—developer Herb Miller, who saw a city mall (The Shops
at Georgetown Park) on a busy street, and the waterfront design
that would become Washington Harbour in a pile of sand, plus his
old friend Tony Cibel and Joe Rinaldi who owned the Dancing
Crab, a seafood fixture in Tenleytown, renowned—you guessed
it—for its crab dishes as well as other signature seafood dishes.

Tony and Joe, who had been partners for a while, figured that
the Dancing Crab—while popular in a down-home, raffish, nittygritty
way—needed a little fine tuning for the tonier location at
Washington Harbour. (The Cibel family recently sold the Dancing
Crab.) So, they added a signature crab cake dish, and made sure
that they had a world-class seafood house in a city more noted for
steaks and French restaurants.

Tony Cibel and Joe Rinaldi were a perfect pair of partners—
Cibel, a man with a gift for the business, running D.C. liquorrelated
businesses, including the Barrel House Liquor Store on
14th Street, Rinaldi in his role as a top salesman for Capital Cadillac for years.

They were also big family guys, and it’s no surprise to find Rinaldi and Cibel offspring in the business—Cibel has two sons and two nephews and Rinaldi had four children, and all of them, at one time or another including today, were involved in the creation, building and running of the restaurants.

Tony brought in top chefs in the beginning like Ron Goodman and Billy McNamee, creating quality dishes and building a reputation—Richman called the restaurant “a contender on the waterfront.” The two also pioneered the use out of outdoor patios at a time when not many restaurants thought much of dining outside.

In 1992, it was time for a little add-on, with Joe buying the bottom part of what was chef Victor Testa’s Leonardi Da Vinci, which had closed its doors. This became Nick’s Riverside Grille, after Cibel’s son, a spot that soon became not quite like Tony & Joe’s, something special in its own right, a neighborhood-style restaurant saloon on the Riverfront.

In the world of Cibel, there’s always somebody from the family around—Cibel is, after all, the patriarch of the Oceanside Management Family of restaurants, which included the Dancing Crab, Tony & Joe’s Seafood Place, Nick’s Riverside Grille, Kaufmann’s Tavern, Cabanas and the Rockfish.

It’s been 17 months since the difficulties with the floodgate systems at Washington Harbour, but Tony and Joe’s and Nick’s are back. And so is the office-residence complex itself, Washington Harbour, with a new fountain, wood work and lighting—and an ice skating rink. Executive chef David Stein, for years heading his own restaurant, Bistro St. Michael’s, presides over a menu that doesn’t neglect old Tony and Joe’s favorites but also includes its share of new choices. ? [gallery ids="101043,136325,136310,136320,136316" nav="thumbs"]

Crossroads — Travel the World in Flavor


Heritage India on Wisconsin Avenue has been a Georgetown favorite for many years, and we are happy to hear that Sanjeev and Mitul Tuli of Heritage Management Services have recently opened Crossroads at 1901 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Crossroads is located in the basement of a building at the corner of 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, sharing half the space with Heritage India.

Chef Ravi Narayanan created an ever-changing menu of small plates, reflecting the cuisines of North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. To add to the mix, Narayanan has included a variety of Japanese sushi and sashimi, in-house made pate, charcuterie and an offering of local cheeses. After being seated, we were very intimidated by the ambitious wide range of items the menu had to offer. After speaking to the chef, it was decided that he would compose a tasting that allowed us to travel the world in flavor.

We began the tasting in North America with a delicate tuna tartare tower with the cucumber caviar. The ginger crisp helped to create a delicious yet delicate flavor that we were all hoping to get seconds of. The composition continued with grilled romaine salad with herb dressing and phyllo dough wrapped prawns. A favorite of the table was the deep fried kale and Brussels sprout chips with baharat spice and tzatziki sauce from Africa. Being a fan of kale chips, the combination of the Brussels sprouts and tzatziki sauce is one that is a must-try on the menu. The chef continued the tour by offering braised pork belly and a duck confit with homemade thyme crackers.

If there were ever a misstep, it may have been the house-cured salmon. Though beautifully displayed, the amount of salt made the dish something to only admire visually. We finished the meal with homemade sorbets that were light and refreshing and made a perfect end to the tasting. Crossroads offers a lovely selection of wines. Most dishes range from $10 to $12.
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Zoofari: Big-time Dinner at the National Zoo


Lions and tigers and bears . . . oh, my.

That’s what you usually might expect to be thinking when you go for a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Actually, it was more like sushi and cupcakes and pate and red snapper and steak and barbecues and beer, ohmygod May 16 at the Zoofari, the annual food-tasting event where celebrity chefs, vintners, guitar players, auctioneers, and confectioners and their wares were the star attraction at the National Zoo, which, for two or three hours was decorated with tents, smoke from barbecues and enough chefs and restaurants (some 120) to start a theme park.

The big fellas—the lions and tigers and bears, oh my—were not in sight, but some of the smaller critters could be seen at animal demonstrations, with reptiles and small mammal demonstrations at the Rainforest Oasis. It’s quite possible to imagine that most of the meat eaters at the zoo surely must have had their noses in the air like tuning forks what with all the foodie smells of steak, burgers, barbecue, and sundry tastes in the air. Chances are that the lion did not sleep during the course of things.

Like many events in Washington, this one has grown like topsy—you got a very good sense of just how much of a restaurant town the Washington area has become with the presence of food tents, featuring D.C. restaurants or regional restaurants. It’s the kind of occasion where a 100-yard jaunt could make you gain at least a pound or two. For the gourmet, the hungry or reckless, this was the kind of experience were caution—pertaining to calories, being smart about mixing food types—was thrown to the wind. You wandered or bounced from tent to tent—here’s some wine from the Coppola (as in Francis Ford) vineyards in California, here’s several types of pates, along with tasty (we tried it the next day) Hazelnut flavored coffee, here’s genuine Jersey-style pasta fixings from Carmine’s downtown, our very own Georgetown cupcakes, which seemed to have been tried by everyone there. Pizza from Armand, country barbecue from Hill Country, out-of-your-mind good red snapper in a bun, flavored whiskey, pizza, ham, elegant soups, lobster and things that looked so good we ate them without knowing what we ate.

If you started fast, you slowed down fast, to the point where you ended at some point at the entrance of the Great Ape House listening to nostalgic tunes, tending to your small children, taking tourist pictures, drinking lemonade as the duo of Jay Britton and Gary Smallwood dug up songs by way of Johnny Cash, Ben E. King, Sting and other familiars and gathered up a small resting crowd around them.

You could have danced and stayed all night—some people were just arriving around 8 p.m., when the carousel was still running, when there would be a silent auction and sweepstakes, the sweet eats challenge, the raffle for a Jaguar getaway and a chance to see the mighty Geico Gecko exhibit.

When we first saw the promotions for the Zoofari, with that steely tiger invitation, “We want to have you for dinner,” we had no idea what the word “dinner” could actually encompass. Now we know. Can’t wait for the next one.

‘Bolly’ for Bond . . . James Bond, That Is


I always wanted to be a Bond Girl, but alas I am a wine nerd. I have seen every James Bond movie at least a dozen times each. When Encore channel airs its James Bond marathon, I’m glued to the TV. According to www. bigshinyrobot.com, fellow Bond fans and myself can join its challenge to watch “every single James Bond movie in 30 days” before the next franchise installment, “Skyfall” opens in theaters Nov. 9.

So what is the result of being a wine nerd and a movie lover? Not only do I notice characters drinking wine, but I notice what wine and what glass they use. I have even paused movies on DVDs to study this, pressing my nose to screen to make out wine labels. I take note of all the wines James Bond drinks. I told you I was a wine nerd.

This month, with the 50th anniversary of the release of the first Bond film, “Dr. No,” I thought it would be appropriate to revisit his favorite wine—champagne—to celebrate.

Tattinger Comtes de Champagne
In the novel, “Casino Royale,” Bond drinks Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs ’43. The Tattinger house flavor profile is that of toasted notes. Comtes is always a vintage champagne, i.e., only made in years when the wine is truly exceptional and warrants having the year noted. The Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is composed of 100% Chardonnay, and Comtes de Champagne Rosé is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes. According to Tattinger’s website, a small amount of the wine is aged in new oak barrels giving the wines toasted aromas and flavors. This champagne is aged for 10 years before being released for sale.

Dom Pérignon
When “Dr. No” premiered in 1977, Dom Perignon starred as Bond’s “champs” of choice. Dom Pérignon is a brand that is well known around the world and might be becoming ubiquitous, no doubt with the help of the Bond series. In “Goldfinger” and “The Spy Who Loved Me,” Dom Pérignon appears. However, to us viewers, figuring out the vintages and flavor style of Dom Pérignon can be intimidating. The house makes a vintage brut Champagne every year, unless the house decides a particular year not to. See? Simple. But all you have to know is that one vintage can be dramatically different from the other and its popularity comes from its consistent quality, rareness and boldness, no matter the year. Since the beginning of production, almost 90 years ago, Dom Pérignon has only been released a third of that time over the period. Bottles aged for seven years bare a green label. Those wines aged longer have a black label.

Bollinger
Bollinger aka “Bolly” if you are British, can be found in “Moonraker” (1979). In the first ever Bond film, as 007 tries to escape, he grabs a bottle of Dom Pérignon to hit a guard. “That’s a Dom Pérignon ’55 – it would be a pity to break it,” says Dr. No. “I prefer the ’53 myself,” responds Bond. ?In “The Living Daylights” Bond partakes in BOLLINGER R.D. ’69 champagne. R.D. stands for “recent disgorgement.” This means recently bottled but not recently aged. Bollinger is only released on demand, so the consistency can vary widely in R.D. But that is what makes drinking R.D. exciting. You don’t know what you’ll get from bottle to bottle, and it’s probably why Bond drinks it.

Bond can also be seen drinking Bollinger Grand Année. This champagne is also one of the house’s “prestige” champagnes, i.e., most expensive and of the highest quality of this Champagne house. Bollinger uses exclusively Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. So, the house style of this champagne is yeasty/bready aromas with citrus and nutty flavors.

In “Casino Royale,” Daniel Craig as James Bond orders Bollinger La Grande Année from room service. Grand Année is champagne that is only made by Bollinger in exceptional years when the grape harvest is of an outstanding caliber. The recent vintage, 2003, has received high ratings (but then again, Grand Année always does). Grande Année is made Golden (white) or Rose. Bollinger’s non-vintage, entry level, champagne is called “Special Cuvee.”

With several Bond-approved champagnes to choose from this list, why not forget the martini “shaken, not stirred” and pop open one of these to celebrate the return of Bond next month and 50 years properly? I will be. Cheers!

Cocktail of the Month: Parker’s Mark


Food trends are always changing. First the cupcake craze and now donuts. Most interesting lately?has been bacon. Bacon?infused vodka, bacon?sprinkled donuts, even?bacon flavored body?oils have hit the market. A-Town Bar and Grill, a popular brunch destination in Arlington, joins the trend, offering?a boozy, bacon-filled?cocktail, that’s now one of their?top sellers. Owner Scott?Parker and veteran bartender Gary Koh created?Parker’s Mark (named?after Scott) to quench the?ever popular thirst for?bacon. Start with apple?wood smoked bacon,?crumbled with a touch of?brown sugar. Then add 6?oz. of Maker’s Mark, a?touch of sweet vermouth,?Manhattan style, and then add brown sugar simple syrup for a rich, sweet flavor. Shake well and pour over bacon and brown sugar crumbles. For extra sweetness, rim glass with brown sugar. ?

Morton’s Steakhouse Celebrates Renovation, Rebranding


Morton’s Steakhouse in Georgetown had a reception to celebrate the completion of its renovation and rebranding. The restaurant at 3251 Prospect Street now features black-and-white, art deco-inspired decor with photos of patrons and staff. At the preview party, crabcake sliders were served alongside beef tenderloin and shrimp cocktail as servers passed out lamb chops, tuna tartare — and dessert included the obligatory cheesecake.

In a press release from Landry’s, parent company of Morton’s The Steakhouse, Tilman Fertitta, sole owner, chairman and CEO stated that “In renovating these spaces, our goal was to make these locations one of the most comfortable and inviting dining settings in the D.C. area. These new looks create the perfect setting for any business lunch, family gathering or an intimate dinner.” Morton’s was acquired by Landry’s in December 2011.

In addition to updating the interiors, Morton’s The Steakhouse has delivered an updated menu packed with new items soon to be favorites including ahi tuna tower, braised short ribs, mixed grills, fresh fish a la nage among others.

The Georgetown Morton’s opened in 1982. It is the second location outside Chicago, where the steakhouse was founded. Undergoing a similar makeover, the Morton’s downtown (Connecticut Avenue and L Street) opened in 1996. It occupies the space which was the site of the legendary Duke Zeibert’s restaurant.

Morton’s The Steakhouse Georgetown (202-342-6258) is open Monday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Morton’s The Steakhouse Connecticut Avenue (202-955-5997) is open Monday through, Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for reservations.

Landry’s, Inc., a national restaurant, hospitality and entertainment company, owns and operates such restaurants as Morton’s, Vic & Anthony’s, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, The Chart House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Its other holdings include the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev., and Atlantic City, N.J.
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Valentine’s Day Confidential


Valentine’s Day Q&A

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, we contacted a few of our favorite couples about their relationships, memories and plans for this year. We asked:

1. What are you two doing for Valentine’s Day?
2. What was your best romantic gesture or stunt?
3. What do you two love most about each other?
4. Where was your first date?

Here are their responses:

Geoff Tracy and Norah O’Donnell

= Duh, is that coming up again?! Quite un-romantically, I’ll be in D.C., watching the restaurants on Feb. 14, and Norah will be in NYC going to bed early to get ready for her 4 a.m. wake-up call to do “CBS This Morning.” I should probably send flowers, right?

= Back in the day when I was courting her (freshman year at Georgetown University) I would leave little love notes hidden in her dorm room that she would find throughout her week. Fortunately, she never filed a restraining order.

= I love and respect her hard work and success in her career and life. I also find her drop-dead gorgeous.

=The Dubliner in 1991. It was a group of eight of us. An older gent with a few missing teeth was flirting with Norah. She asked me to get her out of the situation. I said I would but she had to go along with whatever I did. She agreed. I then told the guy I was about to ask for her hand in marriage. He didn’t believe me. So, I got down on my knee in front of the whole restaurant and asked her to marry me. She had to say yes. People bought us drinks and congratulated us all night.

Robin and Jeff Jones

= Not sure yet …

= I sent him on a scavenger hunt throughout the house with puny valentines cards to find his gift. It was fun … he found it endearing, but I cannot remember what the gift was.

= Each other’s company!

= A lunch date (I was checking him out to see if he was nighttime date-worthy) at a local tavern in Frederick, Md., called Jennifer’s.

Kiki Ryan and Tim Burger, to be married in March

= Sadly, we are going to be apart. Ironically, I’m going to the most romantic city in the world – Paris – with some of my bridesmaids for my bachelorette party.

= He recently showed me he had saved the receipt of chocolate and wine that he bought for our first day.

= That as long as we’ve got each other, we can handle anything.

= He brought over red wine and dark chocolate over to my apartment, and we watched “No Country For Old Men.”

Richard and Charlotte Shields

= We will be having dinner at 1789 Restaurant … nothing better.

= Best romantic gesture: Husband hijacking my iPhone or computer and posting on my Facebook how much I love him. He doesn’t even need to hijack it … I proclaim it everyday.

= What we love the most about each other is our limitless desire to spend time with each other, our family and friends and how we both find joy in every moment spent together in anything.

= Our love and life is uniquely a Georgetown story: We met at Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart at Georgetown University where Richard was the wedding singer, and I (Charlotte) was the bridesmaid for my brother’s wedding. Our first kiss was in the courtyard in front of Dahlgren Chapel. First date? The Tombs. First time going to church together was at Holy Trinity where Richard was singing in 1974.

Erika Gutierrez and Rodrigo Garcia, to be married in March

= We enjoy spending quality time together at home. So, we will cook dinner together, watch movies at home and hang out with our miniature pinscher Ricky.

= On the weekend we got engaged, Rodrigo took me to Little Palm Island and proposed while we were on a walk after dinner. It was so romantic, so perfect. He planned everything out so beautifully. I will never forget it.

= The way we both support each other in our personal and professional lives. We are each other’s biggest fan.

= Rasika

Jack and Kay Kendall Davies

= We will be in London and going to one of our favorite restaurants.

= Best romantic gesture or stunt: When Jack proposed to Kay at the top of L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

= Kay has learned to love hockey, and Jack has learned to love dance.

= First date: A wonderful dinner at a not so wonderful restaurant, surrounded by noisy tourists with children.

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Q&A with RAMW President Kathy Hollinger


With just over a month under her belt as president of Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), Kathy Hollinger is excited to move forward. She assumed the position Dec. 15, 2012, succeeding Lynne Breaux, the organization’s former president.

Hollinger was previously Agency Director and Film Commissioner of D.C. Motion Picture and TV Development, and founded Storyboard, LLC, a strategic communications agency dedicated to improving visibility for clients in both the private and public sectors. She has also worked for Comcast Cable, the Council of the District of Columbia, and American University, as an adjunct professor of entertainment communication. She has a Master of Arts in Public Communication and Public Policy from George Mason University, and a Bachelor of Arts from American University. Hollinger’s background and experience in strategic communications, public relations, marketing, external affairs and advocacy, namely, have equipped her with the knowledge and ability to help lead RAMW while working to represent and advance the restaurant industry in the District.

Hollinger shared reflections with The Georgetowner about her new presidency and the organization’s future, as well as her interests and personal life.

How have your past experiences helped to prepare you for this position as president of RAMW?

I think that the common thread is advocacy. I think in every position that I’ve been in, I have had to be an advocate for an industry. A lot of what the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington is about is focusing on that type of advocacy, to make sure that we are helping to position these restaurants to succeed, and continue to succeed, and focus on growth and ways to better serve and address the needs of industry stakeholders. I did that with film in the film community. I did that with Comcast and Comcast’s business interests. So, people who have worked locally and in this market understand that advocacy really is defined in many ways, but a lot of it has to do with representing the best interests of that industry at the time.

I think that having the opportunity to work in private sector, public sector, academia, political – in all of those arenas – has very much prepared me to come in, and work, and run an association. A lot of the core task of what I had to do in previous roles centered around advocacy and working with the business community. Those relationships that I have created over the last 20 years are really helpful in helping to continue the momentum of this association, and really build on all that we want to do moving forward.

What are you most looking forward to about working in this capacity?

I’ve been here a month, but I have had the pleasure of working with the association over the years, when the previous president was in place, so I’m familiar with the association. I’m looking forward most to working with – and building personal relationships with – current members, and reaching out to new ones. We are seeing such growth. We want to make sure that we can reach as many new members [as possible], as well as continuing to provide value to our current members so that all restaurants are experiencing the renaissance in this region and are also represented, and have great representation, when it comes to their interests from a business owner’s standpoint.

What do you believe will be your biggest challenge this year?

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t really think about it in terms of a challenge. But, I do think about it in terms of opportunities: to really find ways to enhance our programming, to augment some of the services that are currently offered, and to help restaurants in the region to build stronger businesses. I think that currently we have some great services that we offer to our membership, but [must also] really listen to the industry to see how we can refine those services and create additional ones.

Restaurant Week is Feb. 4-10. How many restaurants traditionally participate?

Over the last couple of years, we have had about 200 to 250 restaurants participate. The association has worked very hard to grow the promotion of this Restaurant Week with the launch of a new website. We have helped to develop marketing packages and tools to make sure that our members can get their messages out and make the most of their investment in the event. We have seen so much energy and so much enthusiasm, so we are hoping for and expecting the same level of participation, if not more.

How would you like to see participation grow? Have you used social media to help with publicizing Restaurant Week?

We have seen such a spike in traffic directed to our Restaurant Week website and social media, and that has been a very big deal for us; the association has really taken a lot of time to invest in a website that is going to make a lot of sense for those participating, and really give the type of information that consumers want when they are thinking about where to participate during that week.

We are a small staff, but a very, very talented and driven staff. To be able to put effort into something that is just yielding such positive returns is really rewarding for everyone.

We absolutely know that we have to use and leverage social media more. It is definitely a priority for us, going forward. Facebook and Twitter are incredible tools that restaurants use, and we want to make sure as an association that we use those same tools.

Will you be participating in Restaurant Week?

I participate literally every year: I personally do, my friends do, my family does. It’s something that we always look forward to, and we plan to do the same this year.

Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day restaurant?

I don’t have a favorite Valentine’s Day restaurant, but I do always try to go out for Valentine’s Day. I don’t know if it will be a family Valentine’s Day or a date night Valentine’s Day.

What I do love about Valentine’s Day is that it is another opportunity for restaurants to really be able to promote and market their individual packages. I’m hoping that the city sees a lot of excitement coming off of Restaurant Week and that it sees the same excitement going out for Valentine’s Day.

Where are you from originally, and where do you live now?

I grew up in Philadelphia, and I have been in D.C. for 25 years. I came down to go to American University, and I virtually never left. I live very close to the university, and I am very tied to this area. It’s very near and dear to me. I still live in D.C. and I live in The Palisades.

What is your favorite food?

I don’t know if I can answer that one… I can answer it by saying that I really love food – I do genuinely love it all. There are very, very few things that I do not eat.

What is your favorite music?

I would have to say that Stevie Wonder is one of my favorite artists. If I had to pick a genre that I really love, I would pick jazz.

What do you like to do for fun?

I love to walk, I love to hike, I love to bike, and I love spending time with my family, especially my five-year-old. He’s a little boy with a lot of energy, and he has already in his five years grown up in the restaurant industry, eating out constantly.

Georgetown’s Turning Tables


Fiola’sTrabocchi Plans Washington Harbour Restaurant Chef Fabio Trabocchi (shown right) plans to open his next restaurant, the 7,500-square-foot Fiola Mare, at Washington Harbour in fall 2013, according to the Washington Post. Trabocchi has signed a letter of intent with MRP Realty, which owns the popular waterfront complex on the Potomac River in Georgetown. Trabocchi already has Fiola in downtown. Architects for the new restaurant’s build-out, HapstakDemetriou, which has offices at Q Street and Wisconsin Avenue, the Post added. The fish-happy eatery will have inside and outside dining along with a raw bar.

Meanwhile, at Washington Harbour, Farmers Fishers Bakers will open in November in the old Farmers & Fishers space, next to Sequoia and Tony & Joe’s, in front of the soon-to-open ice skating rink. Maintaining the rustic theme, Farmers Fishers Bakers will include a “farmhouse sushi” bar, whatever that means.

Michel Richard’s Citronelle is reportedly reopening in May or June 2013. Central is open. See details on page 13.

Tony &Joe’s Seafood Place and Nick’s Riverside Grill have reopened. It’s a big deal; see page 14.

Spike Mendelsohn’s Good Stuff Eatery will open on M Street at, 3291 M St. N.W., sometime soon, we hope.

ShopHouseSoutheast Asian Kitchen As previously reported in Linda Roth Conte’s column The Latest Dish right here in The Georgetowner,ShopHouse is awaiting approval to open in the former home of Furin’s at 2805 M St. N.W.

The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show will be at the Washington Convention Center this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3-4. The Show will feature appearances by celebrity chefs Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, Guy Fieri and Jacques Pepin. Cookbook authors, cooking demonstrations, and mixologists will all be part of the expo. Adult admission is $27; children under 12 years old, $15; children under 4 years old have free admission to the event. ?

The Parthenon: Chevy Chase’s Neighborhood Restaurant


The “Neighborhood Restaurant” has always been a mainstay of American society. Even as the size and pace of our lives has grown and quickened, the restaurants that we frequent close to home offer a consistency and comfort that is actively sought out, as places where everyone knows you, your family, and the events that define us.

One of those establishments in the Washington, DC metro area that best defines the “neighborhood restaurant” descriptor best is Parthenon Restaurant–an authentic Greek restaurant in Chevy Chase. Established in 1989 by Pete Gouskos and Steve Tsiolis, The Parthenon replaced the Swiss Chalet. The challenge was to quickly renovate the dark interior to a bright, warm ambience; and to build a reputation for fresh, well-prepared meals.

Over time, Pete and Steve renovated their restaurant. Among their regular customers from the very beginning were Yankel and Pamela Ginzburg. Learning of Yankel’s reputation as a world-renowned artist, Pete asked Yankel if he would consider doing a painting for the restaurant. Yankel advised Pete to wait, given their budget focus. “You don’t need a painting from me!” After several years of cajoling, however, Yankel finally agreed. Pete handed him a 1948 black and white postcard of the Parthenon that his mother had sent to him. “It should look like this, but in color.” After months of effort, Yankel delivered the painting to the restaurant, where it remains prominently displayed in the main dining room.

With the goal of creating a neighborhood restaurant that would last, Pete and Steve immediately recognized the need to serve not only quality food and memorable cuisine. Doing so required a world-class chef. After an extensive nationwide search, they found their ideal candidate just across the Potomac in Alexandria: Juan Galeas. “Juan’s been with us 22 years, and remains our head chef,” Pete tells me. In addition, Parthenon has three assistant chefs, many of whom have been there 15+ years.

Parthenon’s crab cakes are reputed to be the best in Washington, D.C. Ben Olsen, manager of DC United frequents Parthenon, and always orders them, I’m told.

I ask Pete how he achieved such a reputation, he smiled and said simply, “To prepare the best food, you must have the best ingredients.”

Senator Jim Sasser and his wife, Mary, are long-time customers of Parthenon. “We stumbled upon it,” the Senator tells me. “And have been coming back for ten years!”

Another couple, Ken and Nancy Malm, rave about the menu. “It has 96 items. They’re always able to fill every item you order, and it’s always exceptional,” Nancy says.

“Who is your most loyal customer?” I ask Pete.

I’m told the restaurant has been frequented by many famous personalities, to include Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Supreme Court Justices Sotomayor and Souter, Senator Ted Kennedy and Chris Matthews.

“Patricia,” Pamela Ginzburg says, smiling.

“Patricia? I ask, now curious.

“Patricia Cook,” Pete answers. “She’s 99 years old and has been coming here every day for lunch. At the end of every meal, she orders a martini and smokes a cigarette. Every day.”

Loyal indeed.

“That is why we are here,” Pete says. “The quality of our people. In a nice neighborhood. With loyal customers who keep coming back.”

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