Food

Nicole Cusick • January 16, 2015

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.

Alison Schafer •

It used to be the two “S’s,” Scheele’s and Sara’s, that kept the east side of Georgetown going. That’s where us disorganized people go to pick up a pint of milk for cereal or bottle of wine for a dinner party. Now the two “S’s” have been joined by a third, Stachowski’s, and the neighborhood is hopping.

Stachowski’s opened on the corner of 28th and P streets last April. “Initially the neighborhood was our core group,” says Jyoti Mukherjee, the store’s manager. “Now it is steady all day everyday. We probably serve about 400 people a day—people from all over, Arlington, Bethesda, Capitol Hill.”

Stachowski’s, named after local chef and owner Jamie Stachowski, is primarily a butcher shop, but it does a brisk business in sandwiches and take-out dinners. The most popular things on the menu are probably the pastrami sandwich and the grinder, but the shop sells cookies, bread and fancy sodas as well. Aside from the standard steaks, and lots of sausages, there’s also a lot of demand for pork and veal cheeks. Probably the weirdest order they’ve ever gotten was for quail gizzards.

Business is very good. So good, in fact, that there is some discussion of opening new stores in other walkable neighborhoods. “We are the right concept at the right time in the exact right place,” Mukherjee says. “Being on this corner and the smells and the life around this place–there’s a great sense of community here.”

And that is what is it all about, say the Georgetowners who rely on their neighborhood food stores. “They build community,” says Dave Salwen, a Scheele’s loyalist. “They know you, they know your neighbors, and you get to know your neighbors.”

And the stores are part of the fabric of the block. Scheele’s, which is at 29th and Dumbarton, “keeps keys, lends jumper cables, we’ve used their fax machine, done package drop off there,” says Barrett Tilney. “I even got a Christmas card this year from Ms. Lee (Scheele’s former owner)!”

Scheele’s current owner, Dong Kim, says his customers are loyal; there just aren’t enough of them. His store stocks items of acute need in the neighborhood: bagels for sleepy teenage boys, tennis balls for the avid players at Rose Park, Diet Coke for the frazzled yummy mummies. “It is important for the neighborhood,” Kim says, though he is planning to use Twitter and other social media to pull in more customers.

Sara’s, on busy Q Street, is all things to all neighbors, both a place to pick up bread and a drycleaner, shoehorned into a fairly tiny space. It, too, has a devoted clientele. “I go there a couple of times of a week,” says Ned Herrington, “mostly when I run out of chicken noodle soup.”

And (this is sort of a secret,), the coolest Georgetowners have something neither money nor fame can buy: a house account. Sara’s doesn’t offer them, but Scheele’s does and Stachowski’s is starting to—meaning you can get your morning coffee or dinner’s duck casserole without resorting to such a plebian thing as carrying a wallet.

Shari Sheffield •

This past week, D.C. Wine Week introduced the city’s wine loving public to an array of wines and venues. The goal of D.C. Wine Week is to educate D.C.’s population and expose local wine businesses, restaurants, and chefs to the area’s wine enthusiasts. The stars of the week were the Italians (wines that is). From chef Christianne Ricci’s Italian Wine Fest at her restaurant i Ricchi, to the Italian wines served at the week’s closing Saturday brunch at Sonoma Wine Bar on the Hill, some delicious Italian wines were featured. Lucky for us, these beauties arrived just in time to inspire great food pairings with the rustic flavors of fall.

At i Ricchi’s Wednesday night patio Italian wine fest, chef Christianne beautifully paired over 15 wines with two simple Tuscan inspired dishes: cannellini beans in a rosemary tomato sauce with grilled pork sausage and fried polenta sticks and an herb chicken with bay leaf on crostini sandwiches. Ricchi’s fare paired perfectly with the wines from the various Italian wine regions poured that eve.

Sonoma Wine Bar hosted the closing event with an assortment of brunch items from a sausage breakfast sandwich to the ubiquitous melon wrapped prosciutto, but the fare was a good foil to the three Italian sparkling wines served. The best of the Italians are below and perfect for pairing with fall’s heartier meals. Many are available locally through Schneider’s, Paul’s, Rodman, MacArthur’s, Circle Liquors and Weygandt Wines and should retail under $30. Enjoy!

Ca’ del Pucino Prosecco

This wine is made from Glera Prosecco grapes. Prosecco is a sparkling wine normally made in the Veneto and Friuli regions of Italy. This Prosecco has a fine bubble display and is refreshingly balanced. It is soft but has some nice complexity with mineral and peach flavors as well.

Lovisolo Brut Nebbiolo Spumante Rose

100-percent Nebbiolo grapes along with its surprising pale onion skin color announces that this sparkling wine something different according to the tasting menu handed out. Indeed it was for a sparkling rosé. Upon tasting look for basil, mint, cherry and strawberry flavors.

Valpolicella Classico, Nicolis

Valpolicella is a wine region in Verona, Italy. Wines from this region are simple and range in quality. This Valpolicella is rich in ruby color and flavor but light enough to be drunk alone. Drink it with charcuterie, mortadella and tomato-based dishes.

Greco di Tufo, Loggia Della Serra

This wine hails from the Campania region of Italy and is made from 100-percent Greco grapes. This white wine has wonderful floral aromas. Its acidity will pair well with shellfish dishes.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Fattoria Del Cerro

This vino is a blend of Sangiovese, Colorino, and Mammolo grapes. A clone of Sangiovese is the predominate varietal in the blend and it makes this wine very drinkable. It is smooth with black cherry and black plum flavors. Tannin is only slightly detectable. Pair with grilled meat, hard flavorful cheeses or enjoy alone.

Il Bruciato, Guado Al Tasso

A blend of 65-percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 20-percent Merlot and 15-percent Syrah inspires flavors that remind you of cinnamon and all spice. This intensely colored red wine is a great go-to everyday wine. Pair with grilled meats, rustic soups, chili and grilled sausage.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Antica Antinori

This wine is made from 100-percent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Napa Valley. However, the family that makes the wines uses its Tuscan roots to create a rich Italian style wine. Mild tannins make this cabernet drinkable alone. Coco, coffee and baked black fruit flavors abound. If you want to wait to have it with food, it will go wonderfully with osso buco, prime rib and brick oven pizza.

Col Solare, Antinori & Chateau Ste. Michelle

Here is another red, born from a collaboration between the U.S. and Italy. The Washington state winery Chateau Ste. Michelle and the Tuscan winery, Antinori partnered to produce this bottling. The Col Solare is a blend comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. This wine has rich smoky flavors. The Merlot adds cinnamon and pepper spice notes to the blend. While just a touch of Malbec in the blend rounds this wine out and gives it elegance. Try steak with sautéed mushrooms, rack of lamb or game with this wine. Saluté

Marie Loiseau •

Georgetowners craving a modern twist on Europe’s cuisines need go no farther than the intersection of M and Potomac. Capitol Prague, a quaint restaurant and café duo, presents delectable European fare in the heart of the town.
Owners Bohumil Foist and Jaroslav Bosnovic, residing in the D.C., area and Slovakia, respectively, opened the eatery in May 2013. They brought on general manager Lucia Davila, a Slovak Georgetowner to personally represent the restaurant’s roots.
“It is the first restaurant of its kind in Georgetown,” Davila said. While Capitol Prague specializes in Czech dishes, it is expanding its menu to include a variety of nontraditional European favorites. “We’re more than goulash,” Davila said. “We want to have a little bit of everything.”
The restaurant is featuring Oktoberfest selections, available through the end of the month, as well as its on-going lunch combos and weekday happy hour. Choices include beef stuffed potato dumplings, beer braised pork and more. Happy hour consists of appetizers, chef’s specials, European wines, authentic Czech and Slovak beers – especially world-renowned Czechvar beer — and specialty cocktails at reduced prices. It is not limited to October and can be enjoyed 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Lunch deals began when Capitol Prague began serving lunch in September. Guests can mix and match different menu items. One can enjoy soup or salad with half a sandwich for just $9.99, or a hefty meal of soup or salad with Czech sliders or an entrée, plus coffee and dessert for just $19.99. More combinations exist, and hungry passersby are encouraged to stop in to mix and match as they please.
Georgetowner staffers walked across M Street to savor a dine-in lunch experience at Capitol Prague, close to the newspaper’s office.
We stuffed ourselves with smooth, flavored Illy coffee, large-portioned appetizers and lunch entrees. We nestled into comfortable beige seats and ordered a very rich steak tartar and potato pancakes topped with fresh, crunchy red cabbage as starters. We sampled the melt-in-your-mouth goulash as well as the halušky, an authentic Slovak potato spaetzle topped with smoked bacon and bryndza cheese. The halušky turned out to be a collective favorite.
Despite having different food preferences, we were each able to order entrees to our liking. A traditional veal schnitzel with grilled asparagus proved a bit too much to finish after appetizers and samples. The vegetarian relished every last bite of a refreshingly light buffalo mozzarella salad with avocado, drizzled with a balsamic reduction.

Hefty appetizers and entrees left no room for dessert, but we had sampled them earlier in the month. For anyone craving something sweet, options include a fruit parfait, sweet crepes, strudel, traditional bread pudding and rum-infused sponge cake.
Up the avenue, Glover Park has the venerable Old Europe Restaurant, which we also like. But Georgetown now has its own “New Europe” restaurant, Capitol Prague.

Go get a taste of Europe, and check out the Oktoberfest specials before November rolls around.

Jody Kurash •

Sherry, other than being a hit song for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is etched in many people’s minds as a sketchy elixir, along the lines of sloe gin, crème de menthe or anything else collecting dust in your grandmother’s liquor cabinet.

The most well-known brand is Harvey’s Bristol Cream, a product that may be the all-time king of cheesy advertising. In my childhood, long before I truly understood the meaning, I remember learning about women’s liberation from a Christmas commercial that aired in 1978 (available on YouTube). In this tacky classic, a woman invites herself to a man’s apartment so she can “slip something under his tree.”

Sherry remained off my radar for the next 20 years or so, until an accidental meeting when my boyfriend, Glenn Sorvisto, and I were on a three-week Iberian road trip. Our circular route stretched from Madrid to the Basque Country, then along the Portuguese coast and into Andalucía.

It was right after we crossed back into Spain from Portugal’s Algarve when – as happened many times during the trip – we got lost, ending up in the Sherry Triangle. In this region, defined by Spanish law, I had my first adult run-in with sherry.

Sherry is a fortified wine (meaning that extra alcohol is added), primarily made from Palomino, Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez grapes. The towns of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María are the three corners of the Sherry Triangle. Sherry can only be produced in this region, and many of the bodegas (wine cellars) welcome visitors.

The limestone-based soil provides perfect conditions for growing these types of grapes. Sherry is aged and blended using a solera system, in which wine rotates through a series of older and older barrels.

Though we didn’t go to a winery, I got a delightful lecture on sherry from the host at a tapas bar where we stopped for lunch. After spending a day in Lisbon educating myself at the Port Wine Institute (and OD’ing on sangria everywhere else on the trip), I was eager to try something new.

As we nibbled on freshly cured ham, olives and egg tortillas, we were treated to samples of different sherry varieties. I always thought of sherry as sweet. My biggest surprise was finding out that roughly 90 percent is dry. And I discovered that, like Port wine, the flavor and characteristics of different sherries can vary tremendously.

I tasted sherries from both ends of the spectrum. On one side was fino, a very dry, light-bodied sherry, strawlike in color. On the other was oloroso: dark in color, rich in flavor and served with manchego cheese. In between was a nutty-flavored amontillado. To satisfy my sweet tooth, I finished with a cloying Pedro Ximénez sherry.

If you want to experience the warm ambiance of Andalucía, you don’t need to cross the pond. Just head to 7th Street, NW. Derek Brown, the man behind the Columbia Room and Eat the Rich, and his wife Chantal Tseng, formerly of the Tabard Inn, have teamed up at Mockingbird Hill, a ham and sherry bar inspired by their visits to Spain.

Complementing a selection of Spanish-influenced dishes and local hams at Mockingbird Hill are 54 varieties of sherry. The best way to start is with a sample flight, similar to my introduction in Spain. Or – as you would expect in a bar run by D.C.’s mixology power couple – you can order a sherry cocktail.

Tseng enjoys sherry in a number of ways. She recommends the Cheribita, dry fino sherry served over ice with orange bitters and a lemon peel. Sometimes she combines sherry with other spirits: “Sherry and vermouth, sherry and gin, sherry and bourbon, sherry and scotch, sherry and aged rum, sherry and tequila.” Says Tseng, “Sherry is simply versatile.”

According to Tseng, sherry mixes well in cocktails because it shares characteristics with many ingredients. “Sherry is super-complex and can taste anywhere from oyster shells, ocean spray, apples, lemongrass, chamomile, white flowers and chalk to almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, apricots, gingerbread, baking spices, chocolate, marzipan, figs, etc.,” she says.
“Sherry mixes with something and retains its personality. It gets along with so many different ingredients but never loses itself in them. It goes from an elegant accompaniment to the rich backbone of a drink depending on how you use it.”

Her favorite cocktail on the menu is the Bamboo, a combination of fino sherry and Dolin dry vermouth with a dash of orange bitters.

So it’s time to let go of all your sherry clichés and expand your horizons. Let the helpful staff at Mockingbird Hill guide you on your sherry discovery path. ?

The Bamboo

1.5 ounces fino sherry

3 ounces Dolin dry vermouth

Dash of orange bitters

Combine ingredients and stir. Garnish with a lemon peel.

You can try a Bamboo or a sherry flight at Mockingbird Hill, 1843 7th St., NW.

Walter Nicholls •

Delicious food on the table assumes a supporting role to great wine in the glass, when the entertaining curtain rises at Jackie Quillen’s contemporary townhouse in Burleith. And for good reason. Quillen’s cultivated senses have served her well as a wine expert , smelling and tasting her way through a celebrated career, which spans more than four decades. As the founder of auction house Christie’s New York Wine Department, where she appraised rare wine collections, she is known as “The Nose.”

“I like to say, keep the food simple and spend more time with your guests,” says Quillen, as she slowly stirs a saucepan of grits with one hand and flips simmering shrimp with the other. From start to finish, all cooking is completed in less than 20 minutes. We take our seats under a mature plum tree in the garden, near a small fountain. A chilled white wine is at the ready. Still, this oenophile is not ready for that initial taste.

“First, you must look at the color, smell deeply. It’s not about drinking,” she says, giving her glass a swirl. The terroir, or nuances of geography, geology and climate, come into play, into conversation. “That’s how you get into a wine.” Only then does she allow that opening sip.

What wines is Quillen serving guests this summer? Corks will fly from two favorites: a white and rose (both available at Potomac Wines & Spirits, 3100 M St., NW). “ I love Alsatian whites, low in alcohol, just very refreshing. And Schlumberger Pinot Blanc (2011, $17.99) is lovely,” she says. “Alsatians aren’t as popular as they should be. Perhaps, people are confused by the German-sounding names or expect them to be sweet. Few are.”

Whispering Angel (2012, $19.99), a rose from the Cotes de Provence, has a place at her table. “It’s an affordable approximation of Domaine Ott Cotes de Provence, the Holy Grail of all Roses. It’s crisp and delicate, but nicely rounded without a hint of heaviness. A lovely color in the glass.”

But her best summer buy isn’t really a summer wine, but a great value Bordeaux, a Chateau Rousset-Caillau (2010, $15.99).

Steve Feldman, owner of Potomac Wines & Spirits, calls this French varietal “The best Bordeaux, for the money, that we have stocked in 15 years.” Quillen plans to break into her case this fall and winter. “But perhaps one warm summer evening when you are grilling lamb you might serve this Chateau just very slightly chilled,” she says. “And sitting outside in the garden, it would be divine.”

Quillen’s current favorite restaurants: Bistrot Lepic and Wine Bar and Sea Catch, both in Georgetown.

Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients
16 medium raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup stone-ground grits
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Parsley, optional garnish

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil and slowly stir-in grits. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring frequently for 15 minutes. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Off heat, add cheese to grits and stir until combined.

Spoon grits onto a luncheon plate, arrange shrimp on top and add garnish.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? visits with wine, food and entertaining professionals, who call the Georgetown area home.
Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine, a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section and an East Village resident.

Walter Nicholls •

In decades past, at a time when Washington had few full-service restaurants open past midnight, visiting superstars such as the Rolling Stones and Leonard Bernstein gathered an entourage after a performance and made their way to the always lively Bistro Français on M Street. And when the city’s top toques closed their own kitchens for the night, they too headed to this traditional brasserie for a plate of calf’s liver with caramelized onions or fresh Dover sole.

“We were the only ones open. Now there are so many all over town,” says chef and owner Gerard Cabrol, who next year celebrates 40 years in business. “They all came.” Including Jean-Louis Palladin, the culinary genius who dazzled diners at his Jean-Louis at the Watergate: “He was here five night a week.” What’s more, the Old World decor of pressed tin, stained glass, dark wood and decorative ironwork at Bistro Français continues to transport diners to a Parisian boulevard.

That’s precisely where Cabrol started his career, as a 22-year-old cook in the kitchen of the posh Plaza Athénée hotel, just off the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. For two years he worked hard and gained attention for his skills. “Then one day a man comes up to me, a hotel guest,” he recalls with a smile. “He gave me a contract on the spot to come to Washington and cook at his restaurant for four times my salary at that time.”

The “man” was restaurateur Blaise Gherardi, owner of Rive Gauche. A luxurious and expensive hot spot for socialites and statesman, Rive Gauche was located on the southwest corner of Wisconsin and M Streets (now occupied by Banana Republic).

But, from early on, Cabrol had plans of his own. “My idea was a rotisserie chicken restaurant,” he says, explaining that self-basted birds were then a rarity. In June of 1975, he signed leases for two adjoining buildings in the 3100 block of M Street. One was the former home of Baers, a drug and sundry shop, and the other a music club, the Silver Dollar. Nearly four decades later, his menu still offers juicy, herb-marinated, spit-roasted chicken.

Far fewer stars and chefs come these days for an after-hours meal. “Business is not what it used to be,” he says. But this 66-year-old avid runner is still cooking up customer favorites, such as his classic Chicken Cordon Bleu.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? visits with wine, food and entertaining professionals who work in the Georgetown area. Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine and a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

4 6-ounce chicken breasts

4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

4 ounces sliced ham

2 eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons of water

1/2 cup sifted flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

2 cups fine white breadcrumbs

3 ounces olive oil

2 ounces butter

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound out to a 1/4 inch thickness. Season both sides of the breasts with salt and pepper. Place on a work surface with the inner sides up. Using dinner plates, set up a breading station, with one plate for the seasoned flour, another for the beaten eggs and the last for the breadcrumbs. Divide the cheese and ham evenly among the four breasts and fold in half to form a flat package, making sure that all ingredients are enclosed. Carefully roll each breast in the flour, shaking off the excess, then in the egg wash and finally in the breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet or fry pan over moderately high heat. Cook the chicken packages for approximately four minutes on each side until golden brown, adding the butter at a reduced temperature and basting until the cheese melts and bubbles. Serve hot, sprinkled with the chopped parsley.

Bistro Français, 3124 M St., NW

202-338-3830

bistrofrancaisdc.com