Food

Sallie Lewis • February 11, 2015

As winter winds down, the anticipation for warmer weather has pation for warmer weather has never been higher. Soon, spring and summer sailors will be assembling along the Georgetown waterfront.

And there’s a place that’s opening just in time.

Orange Anchor at Washington Harbour is a new, nautical-themed dining destination that caters to seaward-turning lovers of good food. Owner Reese Gardner – founder of Wooden Nickel Bar Company (Cooperwood Tavern, Irish Whiskey Public House and Second State) – has been boating all his life and wanted to create a space inspired by people coming in straight off the boat. The restaurant even has changing rooms and communal sink stations for washing up.

Inside, the decor is a study in primary colors: orange leather trades off with navy blues and white. Anchor-themed wallpaper contrasts with striped fabrics. Decorative accents such as boat cleats, mirrored portholes, stainless handlebars and steel spotlights all add to the nautical experience.

Large-scale photographs by local artist Mike Foster help set the scene with stunning views of the waterfront. On one wall, a medley of black-and-white boat photos honor members of the National Potomac Yacht Club at the Columbia Island Marina.

The restaurant will specialize in seasonal American plates, from jumbo lump crab fritters to classic clams casino, caviar tacos and lobster macaroni and cheese with a five-cheese blend. Patrons can also eat Chincoteague oysters four different ways: chilled, grilled, fried or on a half-shell filled with Champagne. Most ingredients are sourced from farmers within three hours of D.C. Orange Anchor will also have an “oyster hour,” 5 to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with oysters for $1 each.

The bar pro-gram is equally impressive, with a selection of more than 40 rum varieties and 10 beers on draft. Cans of beer are served with a vibrant Orange Anchor koozie.

For the captain looking to get food or ice on the go, Orange Anchor’s boat delivery service will delight. Salads, sandwiches and bags of ice will be available for delivery to those who dock their boat at Washington Harbour. The venue will also have a deckhand on call should you be sailing solo and need help docking.

Orange Anchor will officially open Friday, Feb. 13, with soft openings on Feb. 11 and 12 (those having lunch or dinner on Wednesday or Thursday will receive half off their food and drink tab). Brunch will be served Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Feb. 21. The website is OrangeAnchorDC.com. [gallery ids="101985,135439" nav="thumbs"]

Ari Post • February 2, 2015

In the mid-to-late 20th century, haute cuisine swept Washington, D.C.

Lay the blame on Jacqueline Kennedy, our first lady of cosmopolitan refinement, who so famously brought French culinary traditions to the White House and into vogue (despite her husband, whose tastes were notoriously bourgeoisie américaine).

However, this revolution of the American palate was not without precedent. Washington has a vibrant food history that can be traced from 19th-century taverns—when oysters were cheap and ubiquitous as burgers—through turn-of-the-century tearooms and the supper clubs of Prohibition to opulent midcentury dining rooms like the Willard Hotel, the Occidental Restaurant and the Ebbitt House (now the Old Ebbitt Grill), which modeled themselves on European establishments.

By the 1980s, Georgetown and downtown D.C. were an epicenter of fine dining for the elite. Rive Gauche. La Chaumière. Nathan’s. Citronelle. Jean-Louis at the Watergate. Nathan’s. Sans Souci. Le Pavillon. Le Lion d’Or. These are just a handful of the restaurants – most are gone now — whose Old World elegance and deep-buttoned leather booths welcomed clientele from across the city seeking refinement, comfort and luxury.

Then a gradual but momentous series of events started a culinary revolution. Catalyzed by the information glut of the internet, a combination of health and ingredient consciousness, environmental awareness and a globalized multiculturalism created a new era of more passionate, knowledgeable consumers. Today, we call each other foodies: the many among us who seek new food experiences as destinations, to enrich our senses, bolster our health and broaden our horizons.

Consider free-range meat or poultry, grains like quinoa, Greek yogurt and almond milk, microgreens and whole wheat everything. Twenty years ago, these specialty items were rarely available in restaurants or grocery stores. Now they occupy menus and kitchens across the country.

This seismic epicurean awakening shook the traditional standard of fine dining at its foundation. French and Italian bistros fell to the wayside as gastronomy, concept restaurants, Asian fusion and exotic international cuisine begat a new restaurant boom. As Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema declared in reference to the closing of the Dining Room at Palena, the lauded Cleveland Park institution, and City Zen in the Mandarin Oriental: “Fine dining was dealt a blow in Washington last year.”

Diners, it seemed, were decidedly focused on new adventures in food.

Mind you, a great deal of good has come out of this trend. It is in many ways a reflection of society itself, and Washington’s culinary evolution is a reflection of what is happening throughout the country. With greater appreciation of food’s cultural significance, chefs today are recognized as creative, intelligent artisans, at once guides to our heritage and defining voices of our future. Cooking is a popular and respected profession for the first time in history, which allows chefs greater opportunities to flourish and to open restaurants that can be singular products of their identity.

In Washington, restaurants like Komi, Little Serow and Rose’s Luxury have attracted national and international acclaim for their innovation and unique culinary perspectives. Komi’s Johnny Monis took Best Chef Mid-Atlantic at the James Beard Awards in 2013. Little Serow was named number seven in the 10 top new restaurants in America by Bon Appétit in 2012. Rose’s Luxury got first place on Bon Appétit’s list of Best New Restaurants in America 2014.

But around the city today, a small, wickedly impressive group of chefs are reviving traditional European standards, combining fresh ideas with the complexity, history and craft of our city’s culinary forebears.

Cementing this revival is none other than Frank Ruta, former chef and owner of Palena, who took over the Grill Room at Georgetown’s Capella hotel on Jan. 2.

Ruta is something of a local legend—the kind of guy you overhear other cooks talk about. Working in a kitchen downtown, I once posed the question to my chef: “Who’s the best chef in the city?” Without a moment’s pause, his eyes and knife still fixed to a half-filleted fish, he said, “Frank Ruta. Get back to work.”

Even as an isolated event, Ruta’s arrival in Georgetown is enough to portend a minor deluge of culinary talent to the neighborhood. But with other likeminded restaurateurs already down the block—including chef Brendan L’Etoile’s Chez Billy Sud, chef Fabio Trabocchi’s Fiola Mare, and Robert Wiedmaier’s newly renovated Marcel’s—it doesn’t seem a far cry to declare Georgetown the heart of a new era of fine dining.

A master of his craft with an exhaustive knowledge of technique, and a tireless cook who oversees every plate that hits the table and makes nearly every food item in house (from the dinner rolls to the mayonnaise), Ruta has made a name for himself as a chef truly synonymous with his kitchen. He also has a reputation for letting his food do the talking—he’s far from hermetic but he keeps a low profile, often deflecting the self-promotion that has developed around the popularization of career cooking.

For me it was always about the food, not the individual…There are so many of us who contribute to a finished plate. I may have been the impetus, but it took everyone, from the front of the house to the prep cooks, to make it happen.

This philosophy is a hard-earned lesson from his professional roots rather than an inherent disdain of publicity. “When I started out around the late ’70s,” he says, “cooks were categorized by the government as laborers, not as professionals.”

Ruta grew up in McKeesport, Pa., a steel-mill town of Polish, Hungarian and Italian immigrants. “My family cooked a lot, but not any more than anybody else in town,” he says. “We had a plum tree, we made a lot of our own sausages, wine. And Sunday dinner was a big deal—as it is with Italians. It was all just part of growing up. But when it came to cooking, it’s just something I loved to do.”

At 16, he started working for a local catering company, and after a brief stint at a nearby restaurant accepted a three-year apprenticeship with the American Culinary Federation.

Ruta chalks up his early career to no more than standard operating procedure. But someone must have noticed him, because at age 21, almost immediately after completing his apprenticeship, he was tapped by first lady Rosalynn Carter to cook in the White House.

He spent the next decade working under legendary White House chefs Henry Haller and Hans Raffert. “These guys were walking encyclopedias of classical cooking,” he says, “and it was instilled within them to pass that knowledge on—they really went out of their way to teach me. And I still think about the things Hans or Haller showed me, or some time that [pastry chef] Roland Mesnier scolded me for screwing something up. They also taught me why you make a dish a certain way, they wouldn’t just say ‘do it.’ Everything was done for a reason. Everything had precedent.”

Working alongside this small group of chefs, as well as maitre d’s and domestic help from the days of Truman and Eisenhower, Ruta learned to be a chef who exists purely and entirely in the arena of the kitchen.

“We didn’t have a mentality that we were out front. You didn’t go starting conversations with the president. And you didn’t talk about it outside of work, either. You just said you were a cook, and back then people would usually leave it at that. Things are a little different today.”

Ruta left the White House in 1987 for Merano, Italy, to work for restaurateur Andreas Hellrigl at Ristorante Andreas. “I wanted to work at an elevated restaurant,” he says (meaning somewhere with a Michelin star). “Just to see what it was like. Back then, all you could do is read about places like that in travel books.”

He found, to his surprise, that he was already at that level—thanks to Haller’s and Raffert’s training—and when Haller retired the following year, Ruta returned to the White House to assume the role of sous chef under Raffert.

After three more years in the White House kitchen, he felt an urge to return to restaurants, with a distant eye toward opening his own. He worked a series of appointments in the ensuing years, mostly with chef Yannick Cam (who now runs the wonderful Bistro Provence in Bethesda).

Once Ruta made the decision to open his own restaurant in 1997, the venture took three years to realize. “People think you open a restaurant and that’s it,” he says, “but even if you have serious financial backing, it takes time.”

Palena opened in 2000, in the Cleveland Park space that once housed chef Carole Greenwood’s eponymous restaurant. In his initial review, Sietsema wrote, “Palena should be required eating for anyone who aspires to cook in this city.”

At Palena, Ruta churned out endless dishes of iconic acclaim: seasonal gnocchi, a truffled cheeseburger, as well as unforgettable renditions of classics like bouillabaisse, mushroom consommé and roast chicken (which guests had to order forty minutes in advance—and did). His plaudits culminated in 2007 when he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (shared with Vidalia’s RJ Cooper, who now owns Rogue 24 on N Street NW).

None of this seems to have much affected Ruta, who in retrospect remains unfazed, modest and, frankly, very zen about the whole affair. “We were lucky to have a diligent, passionate, hard-working crew,” he explains with a shrug, quick to credit his team. “We were just back there cooking, doing what we love to do.”

Ruta acknowledges that his kitchen ethics—this heightened awareness of a restaurant as a sort of complex, constantly evolving organism—stem from his White House training, which instilled the value of adhering at all times to a strong foundation.

“If I do something, it has to have precedent,” he says. “If I ate it with my grandparents, learned it from classical cooking or from someone that I worked with—I rely on that anchor. It doesn’t mean we can’t create new things, but it has to pertain to the cooking world and to me, so that I have a way to measure its value or success.”

Palena closed rather suddenly last year, due unfortunately to financial challenges in the wake of the restaurant’s 2010 expansion. Ruta then spent about six months crafting weekly prix-fixe dinners with his Palena partner and pastry chef Aggie Chin and master baker Mark Furstenberg at Mark’s (ridiculously amazing) bakery, Bread Furst. The four-course, family style “Bread Feast” menus, collaboratively conceived and billowing with fresh breads, quickly became one of Washington’s most talked-about dining experiences of 2014. While feeling things out with Capella, this is where Ruta focused his creative energy. “If Capella hadn’t come along,” he says, “we would probably still be doing those dinners.”

Since the beginning of January, Ruta has been slowly fixing his own gears into the existing clockwork of the Grill Room and Rye Bar at Capella. The restaurant has remained open through the transition, so he is developing a new menu while running the current kitchen.

“We’re still in formulation,” he says. “Making a menu is like a game of Tetris—it all has to fit. You’re not making a dish just to fill a slot, it has to make sense why we’re doing that. So we’re using the existing menu as a starting point, slowly evolving it while training the team—except for me, Aggie and the sous chef, we kept the existing staff—getting them to work in a way that’s familiar, the very basics. We’re sort of dismantling everything and starting from the ground up. We don’t want to decorate the cake before we bake it.”

However, guests that come in today can already get small tastes of Ruta’s forthcoming menu, like his seasonal gnocchi, a recipe brought over from Palena. This winter, he is serving it with wild rice and sweet potatoes. Some custom terrines and cooked hams are also available, and more meats—“which need a few more months”—are currently curing in the back. For now, just the idea of it seems enough to satisfy him.

“Capella just seemed like it could be a good fit for the style of cooking we like to do—that spot in between luxury and comfort food. There were dozens of opportunities available, but this one just felt right. I’m still learning the neighborhood, though. I just went to Chez Billy and had a good night there—service was great, food was good. I’m excited to try more places.”

“We have good bones here,” he says, glancingly aware of his offhand culinary metaphor. “The space is beautiful, it’s in Georgetown. I still feel like everything’s in front of me, I’m still trying to get it right. But, really, all I’m going to try to do is cook what I know how to cook.”

Coming from any other chef, that statement would be easy to shrug off. Coming from Ruta, it feels more like an affirmation, fortified by centuries of richly flavored heritage and flush with promise for the future. [gallery ids="101979,135486" nav="thumbs"]

Sallie Lewis • January 29, 2015

In the words of John Lennon, “All You Need Is Love” – and, might we add, a special place to celebrate over a nice meal.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, now is the time to plan a special night out with your friends or loved ones. Feb. 14 falls on a Saturday this year, and the District has a slew of dining destinations for the sweetest weekend of 2015. Here are ten of our favorites

1. Hank’s Oyster Bar: You know what they say about oysters. Hip D.C. hotspot Hank’s will be having a three-course tasting menu for $33 on Valentine’s Day, with cocktail pairings for an additional $20. Call 202-462-4265 or visit hanksoysterbar.com. 633 Pennsylvania Ave. SE and 1624 Q St. NW.

2. After Peacock Room: Sit amidst the beautiful Prussian blue, deep green, black and gilded interiors and enjoy a five-course Valentine’s Day tasting menu for $95 per person, with an optional $40 wine-pairing supplement. Seating for dinner begins at 5:30 p.m., with the last seating at 9:30. Reservations required. Call 202-525-4903 or visit afterpeacockroom.com. 2622 P St. NW.

3. Acqua al 2: The Italian favorite in Eastern Market is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Swing by on Feb. 14 for a five-course menu for $85. (Ask the reservationist about Harold Black’s bar upstairs for a pre- or post-dinner drink. This swanky, secretive speakeasy serves up sleek, smooth cocktails.) Call 202-525-4375 or visit acquaal2dc.com. 212 7th St. SE.

4. Café Bonaparte: If cozy, French, romantic dining is your kind of vibe, be sure to swing by local Georgetown favorite Café Bonaparte, where there will be a four-course Valentine’s Day dinner by Michelin 2-star chef Gerard Pangaud for $69 per person. An early-seating three-course dinner is also available for $59. Call 202-333-8830 or visit cafebonaparte.com. 1522 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

5. Tabard Inn: Cozy up at D.C.’s Tabard Inn – serving treasured holiday meals for more than 25 years – and indulge in their four-course prix-fixe menu for $90 per person. Call 202-331-8528 or visit tabardinn.com. 1739 N St. NW.

6. Proof: “Food is the Focus. Wine is the Passion.” Such is the motto at this popular Penn Quarter dining destination. The team at Proof is currently putting together a four-course prix-fixe menu for Valentine’s Day. Call 202-737-7663 or visit proofdc.com. 775 G St. NW.

7. Restaurant Nora: Indulge in a beautifully crafted Valentine’s dinner at America’s first certified organic restaurant. For $130 per person, you will sit down to five courses, with options such as Belgian endive salad, housemade red pepper tagliatelle with black truffles and Grand Marnier crème brûlée. Call 202-462-5143 or visit noras.com. 2132 Florida Ave. NW.

8. La Piquette: This charming Cleveland Park bistro has a wonderfully authentic French tasting menu planned for your Valentine’s night out. Perhaps foie gras or vol-au-vent…braised lamb shank…a fresh berry dessert with crème Chantilly – their $60 three-course menu will delight the soul. Call 202-686-2015 or visit lapiquettedc.com. 3714 Macomb St. NW.

9. 2941 Restaurant: Escape the hustle and bustle of D.C. and venture out to Falls Church, where, over the entire Valentine’s weekend, 2941 will be serving a three-course prix-fixe dinner for $78. Think tuna tartare with avocado, black truffle ribollita, fresh East Coast oysters, filet mignon, seafood risotto and dark chocolate mousse. Reservations required. Call 703-270-1500 or visit 2941.com. 2941 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church, Va.

10. 1789 Restaurant: Enjoy a six-course tasting menu in the Federal-style dining destination that locals have called a favorite since the 1960s. The prix-fixe menu, available from 5 to 11 pm, costs $105 ($150 with wine pairings). Complimentary valet parking. Call 202-965-1789 or visit 1789restaurant.com. 1226 36th St. NW. [gallery ids="101980,135468,135485,135483,135472,135478" nav="thumbs"]

Linnea Kristiansson •

Restaurant week is here. So, don’t miss your opportunity to book a table and get great lunch and dinner deals. Prices range from $20 to around $35 for three- or four-course meals.

Bistro Lepic Wine Bar

Since 1995, this restaurant has been part of Georgetown’s culinary landscape, consistently ranking as one of the “Ten Best Restaurants” in the country by Bon Appetit and in Zagat’s top 40.
The restaurant offers classic, regional and contemporary French cuisine.

Bistro Lepic is located at 1736 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202-448-1000 to book a table.

Filomena Ristorante

Filomena Ristorante has been one of D.C.’s premier restaurants for 30 years. The restaurant offers authentic Italian cuisine in an elegant atmosphere.

Located at 1063 Wisconsin Ave NW. Call 202-338-8800 for reservations.

Tony & Joes Seafood Place

If you’re in the mood for fresh delicacies from the sea, dive into Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place at the Georgetown Waterfront. While enjoying tempting seafood dishes or even a great Filet Mignon you have spectacular views of the Potomac River, Kennedy Center, Washington Monument, Roosevelt Island and the Key Bridge.

Located at 3000 K St. NW. Call 202-944-4545 to book a reservation.

Ris

Ris is an upscale neighborhood restaurant in West End serving seasonal American cuisine by executive chef / owner Ris Lacoste.

Located at 2275 L St. NW. Call 202-730-2500 to book a table.

The Grill Room

The Grill Room specializes in hand-cut, bone-in, artisan meats, bracingly fresh seafood and tableside preparations.

Located at 1050 31st St. NW Washington, DC 20007. Call 202-617-2424 to reserve a table.

Zengo

A sophisticated blend of Latin-Asian styles and flavors by acclaimed Chef Richard Sandoval, Zengo’s menu is representative of Sandoval’s heritage and his passion for Asian cuisine. Every few months, Zengo unveils a menu as part of its popular “Test Kitchen” feature, which showcases the flavors and cooking techniques from one Latin-American and one Asian country.

Located at 781 7th St. NW. Call 202-393-2929 to book a table.

Jaleo

The restaurant shows a different side of Spain with tapas by José Andrés. From Jan. 19 to Feb. 1, it will feature special menus that showcase signature dishes, perfect for experiencing Jaleo’s authentic Spanish tapas. Hand-selected bottles of wine at a special Restaurant Week price will also be available to pair with regular menus.

Located at 480 7th St. NW. Contact the restaurant at 202-628-7949.

Bombay Club

The Bombay Club emulates characteristics of the old clubs of India. The cuisine is the finest of India, utilizing only the best quality ingredients to create a harmony of subtle flavors. Specialties prepared by Executive Chef Nilesh Singhvi include tandoori salmon and green chili chicken.

815 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call (202) 659-3727 to make a reservation.

Agora

Agora, an ancient Greek term meaning “a gathering place,” is a Mediterranean oasis in Washington, D.C. Executive Chef Ghassan Jarrouj has fused the traditional culinary traditions of the Mediterranean, bringing flavors inspired by the cuisines of Turkey, Lebanon and Greece.

Located at 1527 17th St. NW. Call (202) 332-6767 for reservations.

Other restaurants in Georgetown participating in restaurant week include Fiola Mare, Farmers Fishers Bakers, 1789 Restaurant, Bandolero, Boveda, Cafe Milano, Clyde’s of Georgetown, Daily Grill Georgetown, Degrees, El Centro D.F., La Chaumiere, Mama Rouge, Morton’s, Sea Catch and Unum Restaurant.

Linnea Kristiansson • January 27, 2015

The Graham Georgetown is in process of reimagining its lounge and dining room space to provide patrons a more modern atmosphere.

The Graham started renovations of the in-house restaurant A.G.B. Jan. 1. The Alex will replace A.G.B as a more intimate craft cocktail lounge that will include dining options.

The Alex name pays homage to Alexander Graham Bell, the famous Georgetown resident, scientist, innovator and inventor.

The actual square footage will remain the same but the layout, design and feel of the space will be completely made over in the renovation. Notable new features include a 20-foot brass pipe ceiling, multitiered seating and elegant fabric drapes that will create more intimate parlor areas for guests to enjoy. New tones like bronze and black accented with jewel colors such as emerald green will dominate the lounge area.

A new menu will offer breakfast, and small plates in the evening. The space will also be available to rent out for private events with customized options to match clients’ wishes.

The Alex, located at 1075 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, is expected to open early February.

Serafine George • January 16, 2015

Fabio Trabocchi’s third restaurant Fiola Mare opens to the public Friday, beginning with dinner service at 5:30 p.m.

Trabocchi’s inspiration for the restaurant comes from the restaurants by the sea that he worked at the beginning of his career. The view of the Potomac River for the restaurant is meant to give customers that feeling of being on the coast of Italy without leaving D.C. The restaurant even includes an all-season enclosed veranda to enjoy the view in any weather and seats by the boardwalk when the weather is nice. Trabocchi grew up by the sea and loves cooking seafood. So, it’s only natural that the menu will feature fine coastal fare prepared with Trabocchi’s Italian interpretation, featuring the best seafood from all over the world.

The cocktails at Fiola Mare take inspiration from the classics, but with an Italian influence, and will include specialty cocktails. The restaurant will also include an open kitchen, mixology station and a seafood market counter.

At the counter, customers will be able to pick a whole fish priced by the pound, grilled and then filleted by a staff member at your table.

Trabocchi is originally from Italy but has made a home in the U.S. He was named a Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef in 2002 and was also awarded best chef in the Mid-Atlantic in 2006 by the James Beard foundation. He is owner and chef of two restaurants in D.C. already, Fiola and Casa Luca. Fiola was named best new restaurant by Bon Appetite magazine in 2012 and Esquire in 2011.

Fiola Mare is located at 3050 K Street, NW (entrance at 31st Street and the waterfront). The restaurant will be serving lunch and dinner throughout the week with brunch and dinner on Sunday.

Nicole Cusick •

Find your own way to say ‘I love you’ to a
special someone on Valentine’s Day this
year. There are a variety of different events
and restaurant features in the District to fit any
couple or individual looking for their special
someone.

**DC Metro Chocolate Tours**
Take a two-hour interactive walking tour
in Georgetown highlighting the history of the
neighborhood while indulging in fine local
chocolates. Highlights of the tour include
chocolate-dipped bacon lollipops, chocolate
tea, chocolate sugar, chocolate salt, chocolate
crepes, chocolate skincare products and
more. Advance tickets are required. Tickets:
[dcmetrochocolatetours.com](http://dcmetrochocolatetours.com)

**Crimes of Passion: ‘Til Death Do Us Part’**
Tour the Crime Museum after hours on
Valentine’s Day. The self-guided tour includes
a rose, a take-home pair of furry handcuffs,
hands-on forensic demonstrations, and lessons
on “crimes of passion” such as the St. Valentine’s
Day Massacre. 6 p.m.-12 a.m., 575 7th St NW.
Tickets $80-$150 [crimemuseum.org/valentinesday](http://www.crimemuseum.org/valentinesday)

**Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Party at the Postal Museum**
Back before the age of the Internet, lovers
exchanged messages through the mail sealed
with a kiss. The Smithsonian’s National Postal
Museum is the ideal place to look back to see the
role mail played in bringing couples together. The
event will feature music by DJ Trayze, dancing,
drinks, and more to be delivered at the museum
Feb. 13, from 8-11 p.m. 2 Massachusetts Ave.,
NE. [smithsonianassociates.org/smithsonianat8](http://www.smithsonianassociates.org/smithsonianat8)

**Valentine’s Tea and Chocolate-Tasting at Tudor Place**
Enjoy and learn the rich history of a variety
of 18th and 19th-century teas and chocolates,
followed by a guided tour of the 1816 mansion, a
National Historic Landmark, featuring a display
of vintage Valentines. 1 p.m. Feb. 15, 1644 31st
St NW. [tudorplace.org](http://www.tudorplace.org)

**Vintage Valentine: An Evening with the Washingtons at Tudor Place**
See an original letter George Washington
wrote to Martha in 1775 while enjoying wine
and hors d’oeuvres. There will also be the
opportunity to view other objects from the
museum’s Washington Collection and chat with
docents and curatorial staff. 5 p.m. Feb. 15,
1644 31st St., NW. For pricing details visit,
[tudorplace.org](http://tudorplace.com)

**Woo at the Zoo**
This year’s adults-only event emphasizes the
mating habits of giant pandas and how science
stepped in to help create the zoo’s newest baby
panda, Bao Bao. Enjoy one complimentary drink
and light snacks, visit a Valentine Fortuneteller,
decorate a sweet for your sweetie and watch an
animal demonstration. A cash bar with specialty
drinks will also be available. All festivites
take place in the Zoo’s Visitor Center starting
at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 14, 3001 Connecticut Ave
NW. Tickets and info: [www.nationalzoo.si.edu/
activitiesandevents/celebration/woo](http://www.nationalzoo.si.edu/
activitiesandevents/celebration/woo)

**Special Valentine’s Day Menus at Georgetown Restaurants
Georgetown favorites such as**:

1789 Restaurant (1226 36th St., NW,
202-965-1789)

The Caucus Room (401 9th St., NW,
202-393-1300)

Café Milano (3251 Prospect St., NW,
202-333-6183)

Mate (3101 K St., NW, 202-333-2006)

The Grill Room (1050 31st St NW,
202-617-2424)

Sea Catch (1054 31st St., NW, 202-
337-8855)

Rialto (2915 M Street NW, 202-337-
1571)

Clyde’s (3236 M St., NW, 202-333-
9180)

All will offer prix fixe Valentine’s Day
menus. Reservations can be made at [www.
opentable.com](http://www.opentable.com) for the restaurants listed above or
by phone.

Nicole Cusick •

The Grill Room at the Capella Georgetown is hosting a Pork Cook Off to celebrate a full snout-to-tail dining experience Feb. 6 to 8. Diners can choose from one of two five-course pork-filled menus to taste the difference in the eco-friendly raised and processed pork provided by EcoFriendly Foods.

Bev Eggleston founded EcoFriendly Foods in 2001 after 12 years of farming in Mendota, Va. As a farmer, Eggleston experienced the frustration balancing raising great animals and making the most out of the product he raised. This gave him a first-hand look at how small family farms have to compete with the large-scale, corporate-owned, industrial-based agriculture that seem to dominate the industry. EcoFriendly Foods offers small farmers the opportunity to take care of the business end of processing, marketing and distribution of their animals, all done in-house.

Grill Room executive chef Jakob Esko and sous-chef Robert Sargent invited Eggleston to join them in the celebration of locally raised and processed pork. The team also invited D.C. chef John Manolatos of Cashion’s Eat Place and Yvan Mucharraz from Don Manuel’s at Capella in Pedregal, Mexico, to participate in the cook-off. Together, they created a menu that features such dishes as pork shank ravioli with radicchio, rapini, parmesan and smoked ham hock cream as well as pork–rib broth with poached Jidori egg and winter truffles. Chef Esko also invented two pork-inspired desserts, including an apple tart tatin with candied pecan and bacon ice cream and a caramelia chocolate mousse with hazelnut cake and fig and prosciutto ice cream.

The pork menu is exclusively available Thursday, Feb. 6, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., when the featured chefs will be on-hand for the kick off.

Feb. 7 and 8 will feature a blend between pork tasting and regular Grill Room items during dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The five-course pork tasting menus are $95 per person (excluding gratuities.) If guests would prefer to order the dishes a la carte, they can do so on Feb. 7 and 8. Starters are priced between $14-18; the main courses are $32-38; and $10 for desserts. View the full pork filled menu at grillroomdc.com/events, or call 202-617-2429. The Grill Room, 1050 31st St., NW. [gallery ids="101616,146755,146751,146758" nav="thumbs"]

Corrie Dyke •

Meat Week, a national holiday started in Tallahassee in 2005 and celebrated in cities across the country, begins on the last Sunday in January. Kicking off this week through Feb. 2,  the week’s focus is gathering with friends in the name of American barbecue. Each city has a designated captain who creates a schedule for the week at various area restaurants. This year’s participating cities include Atlanta, Ga., Austin, Texas, Baltimore, Md., Baton Rouge, La., Columbus, Ohio, Greenville, N.C., Iowa City, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Tallahassee, Fla. and D.C. 

According to Meat Week’s website, the longest-consecutively-running chapters are: Tallahassee, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Mike Bober is D.C.’s meat captain. 

Vegetarians should stay home as the eight-night celebration of barbecued meats visit at least seven different  highlighted restaurants. This week’s D.C. schedule includes: Hill Country Barbecue Market, DCity Smokehouse at Showtime Lounge, Pork Barrel BBQ, Smoke BBQ, D.C. Meat Week Food Truck Face-Off hosted by LivingSocial and Mr. P’s Ribs. For a complete schedule and meaty details, visit meatweek.com/cities/washingtondc.

Corrie Dyke •

Say goodbye to your New Year’s resolutions
of eating less. Winter Restaurant
Week 2014 kicked off on Monday with a
record-breaking 250 restaurants participating in
the bi-annual week dedicated to eating your way
through the region.

Winter Restaurant Week features special
prices coinciding with the year with a prix-fixe
three-course lunch for $20.14 and three-course
dinner for $35.14 through Sunday, Jan. 19.
The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan
Washington represents members of the growing
restaurant industry in the District, Northern
Virginia and suburban Maryland and showcases
Restaurant Week every summer and winter
encouraging diners to “Dine Out. Eat Up.”
Most restaurants feature special menus for
the seven-days of foodie heaven, giving diners
a unique chance to try an old favorite or explore
a new option.

“Restaurant Week is a great time to take
a ride into town to try something new,” said
RAMW marketing and communications director
Kyle Rees.

New for Winter Restaurant Week 2014 is a
guidebook full of reviews from Open Table on
the participating restaurants. The book is available
at a number of D.C. hotels and can help narrow
down the overwhelming number of choices
for the week.

If looking for something new, a few restaurants
in the District are making their debut
to Restaurant Week including; Mike Isabella’s
Kapnos and G (2201 14th St NW), Alba Osteria
(425 “I” St NW), The Arsenal (300 Tingey St.
SE) and Teddy & the Bully Bar (1200 19th St.
NW).

“Restaurant week offers a great promotion
for our regional diners to dine out and try many
new and existing restaurants around town,” said
RAMW president and CEO Kathy Hollinger.
Another addition is the “Try Something New
in 2014” contest. Through Restaurant Week’s
partner NBC4, diners who “Like” NBC4 on
Facebook will be entered to win a prize package
including lunch for two at J&G Steakhouse and
two “Blissage 75” massages at Bliss Spa, both
located within the W Hotel on 15th Street, NW.
Sponsors of Restaurant Week include Meat
and Livestock Australia, Cuisine Solutions,
Open Table and American Express with media
partners NBC4, 94.7 Fresh FM and DC Modern
Luxury.

For the full list of participating restaurants, visit
ramw.org/restaurantweek.