Food

Ari Post • December 1, 2011

As a Christmas present from Across the Cutting Board, chef Ris Lacoste wants to answer all your culinary questions. Do you have any inquiries on cooking techniques, recipes, cookbook recommendations, or epicurean gift ideas? We want to hear!

Email any and all questions to Ari@Georgetowner.com and look for Ris’ responses in The Georgetowner’s Dec. 7 issue next week.

Happy Cooking!

Miss Dixie • November 30, 2011

Just the name of the Zombie cocktail is enough to scare many imbibers away. Like the daiquiri and the margarita, this timeless cocktail has been imitated and mutated far beyond its original form. But this legendary tipple has quite a history behind it.

The Zombie was created around 1934 by Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt, who is considered is the founding father of tiki bars.

According to Wayne Curtis, author of “And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails,” Gantt, who had spent much of his youth rambling about, arrived in Los Angeles just as Prohibition was drawing to an end. He rented a small bar and decorated it with items he’d gathered in the South Pacific, along with driftwood, old nets and parts of wrecked boats he scavenged from the beach.

Gantt stocked his bar with inexpensive rums, which were available in abundance after prohibition, and invented an array of faux-tropical drinks, using fruit juices and exotic liqueurs.

Gantt called his place Don the Beachcomber’s. It became incredibly fashionable, attracting celebrities and eventually expanded to multiple locations. The joint became so much part of his personality that Gantt legally renamed himself Donn Beach. According to the museum of the American cocktail, the first Zombie was whipped one morning to revive a hungover customer around 1934. His verdict: “I feel like the living dead; it made a zombie out of me.” It was later said that Gantt limited his customers to two zombies apiece.

The drink became wildly popular. Donn guarded his recipe closely, but rival mixologists made their own versions and inferior cocktails flooded the bar scene. While the tiki trend has faded, versions of the Zombie can be found in retro bars and Asian restaurants. Many of them bare little resemblance to the original.

Despite the kitschy gimmicks, Gantt was actually a talented mixologist. He pioneered the use of multiple rums in cocktails, resulting is a rich and layered flavor. His recipes were closely guarded secrets – they were published in code or contained secret formulas.

Jeff “Beach Bum” Berry, author of several books on tiki culture including “Sippin’ Safari,” “Grog Log” and “Intoxica,” spent years tacking down Gantt’s Zombie recipe. Berry actually turned up three different recipes from varying years – apparently Gantt modified the ingredients over time. The original formula, Berry believes, comes from the1934 recipe for Zombie Punch in a little black book belonging to a former waiter at Don the Beachcomber’s. The recipe called for an ingredient called “Don’s Mix” which Berry deciphered to be a mixture of grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup.

The ingredient list for the Zombie is lengthy compared many of today’s highballs, but it results in a cocktail with a rich palette of flavor. It tastes both tart and sweet yet refreshing. But do beware: This drink’s smooth fruity flavor covers up the fact that it contains three shots of rum – so enjoying too many zombies could easily turn you into one.

Zombie Punch from Jeff “Beach Bum” Berry’s “Sippin’ Safari””

.75 oz Lime Juice
. 5 oz Don’s Mix
(2 parts grapefruit juice, 1 part cinnamon-infused sugar syrup)
5 oz Falernum
1.5 oz Jamaican Rum
1.5 oz Gold Puerto Rican Rum
1 oz 151 Demerara Rum
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1/8th tsp Herbsaint or Pernod
1 tsp Grenadine
.75 cup crushed ice

Put everything into a blender, saving ice for last. Blend at high speed for no more than 5 seconds. Pour into a chimney glass and fill with ice. Garnish with fresh mint.

Ingredients to make the Zombie may be purchased at Dixie Liquor in Georgetown.

Georgetowner •

**Bryan Voltaggio**, chef/owner of **Volt** in Frederick, Md., is in high gear. In addition to his new **North Market Kitchen** in downtown Frederick as well as his new bistro **Range** (as in ?down on the ? ?) in Chevy Chase, he also plans to open a soup-and-sandwich concept on Frederick?s Carroll Creek Promenade, where **La Dolce Vita** used to be, called **Lunchbox**. The casual 30-seat restaurant is slated to be open before the end of the year. In the first quarter of 2012, Volt will introduce a prix-fixe $80 per person menu that changes each month, to replace the a la carte menu. Lunch service will be offered only on the weekends. Bryan also has an idea for a diner, yet to be named, that he wants to open on East Street in Frederick in what used to be a car dealership. He hopes for an early second quarter 2012 opening.

And speaking of Bryan/Brian(s), **Brian McBride** has joined forces with **Robert Wiedmaier** (**Marcel?s**, **Brasserie Beck**, **Brabo** and **Mussel Bar**) to create a model for restaurants he and Wiedmaier hope to open together. He?s currently headquartered at Brasserie Beck, creating protocols and menus. They have just hired a new chef de cuisine, **Will Morris**, formerly of **Bourbon Steak**. It was time for new challenges and new horizons, as Brian had been at **Park Hyatt** for 25 years.

**Mike Isabella** is moving at warp speed, it seems. **Graffiato** has been open only a few months and now has plans to open a Mexican restaurant in early 2012 in Georgetown where **Hook** was, until it caught fire ? literally. **Bandolero** will serve modern Mexican small plates. The frequently-changing menu will feature ceviche, tacos, vegetables and ?carbons,? which are Mike?s version of fajitas. **Jonathan Umbel** remains owner of the space.

**Pie Sisters** plans to open this month on M Street in Georgetown near Key Bridge. It appears the parent company is **O?B Sweet**, created by the **Blakely** sisters: **Alli**, **Erin** and **Cat**, who announce on their website that ?Homemade pies are and have always been a staple in our family tradition ? ?

Falls Church restaurant landmark, 2941, will close the first two weeks of 2012 to undergo renovations ? from the d?cor to the menu. It will become more casual and more appealing to every-week dining, not just special occasions. This more casual concept has worked well for **Michel Richard?s Central** and **Fabio Trabocchi?s Fiola**.

**Stephen Starr** is to Philadelphia what **Danny Meyer** is to New York. Now, he?s set his scope in D.C. and plans to open a French bistro at 14th and Q Streets, N.W., before the 2012 fall session of Congress starts. His big hit concepts in Philly include: **Buddakan**, **Continental** (love the martinis), **Morimoto** and **El Vez**.

Renowned mixologist (PX/Restaurant Eve) **Todd Thrasher** plans to open a new bar called **TNT**, named for his son **Tristan Noah Thrasher**. It will accompany **Eamonn?s: A Dublin Chipper** on Columbia Pike in Arlington. A March or April opening is planned. He will offer two cocktail menus ? one of old favorites, and one that?s brand new.

**Quick Hits:**

**Matchbox Management Group** signed a deal to open a **Ted?s Bulletin** at 14th and S Streets, just a block from the next **Matchbox** to open, at 14th and T Streets, NW. **Geoff Tracy** signed a lease to open in Rockville, where **Againn** and **Houston?s** used to be. He has his sights on a second-quarter 2012 opening. **SoHo**, aka Southern Hospitality, serving American food, will open at 1813 Adams Mill Road, N.W., where **Adams Mill Bar and Grill** used to be, by the end of the year. **Teaism** plans to open in Old Town Alexandria in March. Plans to open in the U Street Corridor are on hold for now. **Hawthorne Homemade Organic Juice Bar & Market** plans to open on Macomb St, N.W., where **River House** used to be. **Maddy?s Tap Room** inked a deal to occupy 1100 13th Street, N.W. **Cava Mezze Grill** has leased a 2,100-square-foot space for its next location in the Mosaic District (Merrifield, Va.) now under development. They have locations in Rockville, Bethesda, Capitol Hill, Clarendon and, soon, Tysons Corner.

**More Quick Hits:**

Look for a new bakery concept from **Mark Furstenberg**, formerly of **Bread Line**. **Maranon Caf?** will open in the old **Tegeste** location on 14th Street, N.W. This new Latino full-service restaurant plans to serve Mexican, Salvadorian, and Dominican food. **BlackFinn American Grille** signed a deal to open in Halstead Square in Merrifield, Va. It plans to open in summer of 2012. **Jason McCarther** plans to open **Box Bar & Grill** in Bethesda, featuring 15 televisions with all sports all the time and burgers and wings. Although **Chidogo?s** at 14th and U Streets, N.W., has closed — as have several other retail operations there due to building renovation ? Chidogo?s **Robert Hisaoka** continues to move forward, planning to open in College Park before end of year and at National Harbor by Spring 2012.

**Steak and Cheese**, the new concept from restaurateur **Michael Landrum**, created of **Ray?s The Steaks** dynasty, stealthly opened in Rosslyn where **Hell-Burger II** (also his place) was. They slice the beef ? not shave it. One of several reasons why they do not claim to be an authentic cheesesteak place, hence the name.

**Openings Update:**

**Nick?s Riverside Grill** and **Tony & Joe?s** are now slated to re-open in April, in Georgetown Harbour. Nick?s will expand into the former **Cabanas** space and will offer an expanded menu for lunch, dinner and brunch. Ray?s The Steaks in East River (Anacostia) plans to be open in January, with no menu changes planned. New York-based **Boqueria** now plans to be open in January at their downtown D.C. spot at 19th and M Streets, N.W. Cathal and **Meshelle Armstrong?s** ?epicurean emporium,? **Society Fair**, is expected to open by Christmas. It will include a bakery, butchery, wine shop, bar and demo kitchen. Four Fields (Ireland?s 4Ps) in Cleveland Park negotiated with its new owners to stay open until March 2012.

**Chef Update:**

**Duane Keller** is the new executive chef for the **Hamilton Crown Plaza Hotel** and **14K Restaurant**. Keller was most recently executive chef at the **Mason Inn and Conference Center Hotel** in Fairfax, and before that at **Capital Grill** in Chevy Chase. **Mio** is getting a new chef **Giovanna Huyke**, who is apparently the Julia Child of Puerto Rico. **Zentan** sushi chef **Jason Zheng** will be working for **The Hamilton**, the newest venue from **Clyde?s Restaurant Group**, when it opens this month. **Alexander Zeppos** is the new chef at **Logan Tavern**. Before that, he was the executive chef and director of operations for **Growlers** of Gaithersburg. **Chef Robert Weland** recently of **Poste** at the **Hotel Monaco** is now at **Cork Wine Bar** at Logan Circle. And chef **Ron Tanaka** of Cork Wine Bar is now at New Heights in Woodley Park.

**Mari Vanna** is a Russian home-cooking themed restaurant planning to open on Connecticut Ave., N.W., in Dupont Circle next fall. It will be three stories and will have d?cor that is noticeably Russian-grandmother-esque (think tchotchkes). It will have a club-like atmosphere (think **Mansion** on O). It?s owned by **The Ginza Group**, which owns Mari Vanna locations in Moscow, New York and London as well as more than 70 other concepts in Russia. Menu varies from beef stroganoff to blinis topped with caviar. And vodka.

Just like Jose Andres? minibar within Caf? Atlantico (now America Eats Tavern), **Amy Brandwein** will offer a seasonal 12-course menu at **Tavola 12**, a 12-seat restaurant within **Casa Nonna** on Connecticut Ave, N.W., near Dupont Circle.

Ari Post • November 28, 2011

My grandparents taught me never to waste food. Raised in the Great Depression and ushered into adulthood through World War II, food shortages and rationings were ingrained somewhere deep within them. As food became more plentiful, their habits of conservation never changed, and by the time I was a pitter-pattering little nuisance, what I most looked forward to when visiting them was the fridge full of leftovers, the well-preserved remains of the previous day’s feasting. I lived for cold slices of roast beef sopped with day-old juices at two in the afternoon, picking with reckless abandon at congealed masses of macaroni and sour pickles shoved lazily into Ziploc bags. Every piece of food in my grandparent’s house tasted better to me the day after we ate it as dinner. As such, my favorite holiday was Thanksgiving, the patron saint of leftover-producing meals.

“At Thanksgiving, we produce many times the amount of food we need,” says Ris Lacoste, chef and local food advocate. “That plentiful feast, brimming with the harvest’s bounty, is meant to provide a continuous meal of endless duration.”

The history of Thanksgiving is complicated and somewhat controversial—and it’s been seared in the old Hollywood light of Quaker Oats pilgrims and happy, unfettered Indians—but its basic roots lie in traditional European and Native American festivals, held after the harvest cycle to give thanks for a good harvest and rejoice as a community after so many difficult months working the land. It is a holiday where we can break our rules of moderation for an evening, overindulge and get swallowed up by the bounty of the season.

“Thanksgiving Dinner is truly my favorite savory meal,” she says. “It’s certainly not the easiest meal to pull off, but it’s an event of pure experience and orchestration. My mother was a pro. And she, before all else, enjoyed the leftovers—and deservedly so. She made the best potpie for late night snacks after dinner, and for lunch the next day she made us all stuffin’ sandwiches, griddled like a grilled cheese, with turkey, her French Canadian pork stuffing and cranberry sauce. There is nothing like it!”

A sandwich is, of course, an obvious and delicious solution to dealing with Turkey Day leftovers, Ris says. “But you’re really sitting on the precipice of endless possibilities. As seasonal foods go, what you see on the table is what grows together in the fields. They were tailor-made for each other. You can recombine them in almost any way and it will be a success.”

As a chef might, Ris has an array of special leftover tricks up her sleeves. Sweet potato-marshmallow or turkey croquettes are recent creations, served with a cranberry “dipping” sauce (i.e. leftover cranberry sauce). “And I bet green bean and onion casserole would make a handy croquette as well,” she says, “bound with some of those leftover mashed potatoes.”

Turkey chow mein is also a household favorite of Ris’. “And then there are turkey tacos with cranberry and lime, jalape?o cream and ancho-orange sweet potatoes. Turkey hash, turkey chili with sweet potato, peas and pearl onions, turkey and bread salad—a great way to deal with leftover bread.”

But all Thanksgiving leftovers begin with turkey stock, she says. “And it’s so simple! Pick the carcass clean, cover it with water in a stockpot and add loosely chopped onions, carrots, celery, thyme, sage, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns. While you’re doing the dishes, bring the stock to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, skim on occasion and just let it cook until the vegetables are soft and the carcass appears to have rendered all of its flavor into the stock. From there, you can store it in baggies in your freezer and pull it out when you want to make potpie, soup or anything else later on down the road.”

Ris can write a formal recipe as well as any professional epicure, but in situations like this it’s thrilling to just sit back and listen as the inspiration rolls off the tip of her tongue. Once on the topic of leftover meals, she began rattling a stream of culinary concoctions, making them up as she went along, and it was everything my pen could do to keep up. How many teaspoons of rosemary or tablespoons of butter was the last thing on either of our minds.

“And that can sometimes be the joy of cooking,” Ris says. “In the restaurant, I need to have consistency with every dish, making sure that the lamb shank comes out true to the recipe every time. But cooking at home, I can just make something delicious. It might never be made again, but if it’s really good, the memory will exist forever.”

Thanksgiving is the most genuine holiday, Ris believes. “It is the least cluttered by commercialism—it’s all about food, family and thanks. Pausing to say thanks is something we do not do often enough and acknowledging those who haven’t been as fortunate as ourselves is part of that pause.”

For over two decades Ris has worked with DC Central Kitchen, contributing her culinary wisdom to help feed and educate the less fortunate. “Food is what I know,” she says. “It’s what I do, and it’s what I am. I love working with DC Central Kitchen because it allows me to give back in the way I know how—through food and cooking.”

DC Central Kitchen turns donated food, leftover food into millions of meals for thousands of at-risk members of our community, while offering nationally recognized culinary job training to once homeless and at-risk individuals. They recycle 3,000 pounds of food each day, converting individual donations into 4,500 meals that they distribute to around 100 shelters, transitional homes and rehabilitation clinics throughout the District. They also provide counseling services to the chronically homeless, and employ graduates from their culinary program in the kitchen’s full-service catering company, or place them in jobs at restaurants and hotels.

I accompanied Ris on a visit to DC Central Kitchen where local chefs and members of Les Dames d’Escoffier gathered to host cooking classes with the kitchen’s Culinary Job Training program’s 86th class. The students came in to observe and get exposure to new ingredients and techniques from local restaurant chefs, and all were ready to jump in front of the stovetops and give the techniques a try.

Ris and I walked around the kitchen during a downbeat, peaking into the pantries and refrigerators. “During my time off I came here every Thursday,” she said. “I would organize the pantry and make 50 gallons of some protein or salad with the miscellaneous cans and jars donated to the kitchen. We used all of it, these odds and ends—from crackers to canned corn to butterscotch sauce—and turned it into really great quality food. I always felt better when I left than when I arrived.”

The spirit of giving, of making something from nothing, of leftovers, was wafting in the air like firewood on a chilly evening. At the end of the day, a feast was had by all the chefs, students, staff and volunteers of DC Central Kitchen: papaya salad, Irish soda bread, lentil soup with citrus, chicken stir-fry with lo mein noodles and sautéed green beans. It was like an international food fair.

But it ultimately comes back to the kitchen, and the art of cooking without wasting. “Just like your grandparents or my mother,” said Ris, “DC Central Kitchen is making beautiful and nourishing meals without wasting a drop. But this kitchen is more than just leftovers—it’s real cooking. What they are able to accomplish humbles me.”

For Ris, this is the soul of Thanksgiving. “Be thankful for what you have, and for what is at your table,” she says. “And don’t forget to do what you can to give back to your community.”

For more information on DC Central Kitchen and their culinary training program, donating and volunteering opportunities, and catering services, visit DCCentralKitchen.org.

As a Christmas present from Ris, we want to answer your culinary questions for our next column. Questions on cooking techniques, recipes, cookbook recommendations, or epicurean gift ideas? We want to hear! Email your questions to Ari@Georgetowner.com and look for our answers in The Georgetowner’s December 14th issue. Happy Cooking!

Georgetowner • November 3, 2011

This weekend, Georgetowners celebrated the year’s hottest holiday with a few Scoops. Georgetown Scoops, that is.

The new ice cream store, located at 2818 Pennsylvania Ave., officially opened its doors on July 4.

Employees said that Georgetown customers have kept the new store busy, especially at night. The store has been in the works for about a year and chose the site for its popular, high-traffic location.

The store will likely attract its share of college students, with its acceptance of the GWU’s GWorld card and central location between George Washington University and Georgetown University.

The ice cream is “home-made” locally, just outside Washington. Unique but already popular flavors include ginger, cleopatra (vanilla with dates) and decadence, which is 72 percent dark chocolate.

The store also offers sundaes, frozen coffees made with ice cream, all-natural fruit smoothies, cupcakes, pastries and salads.
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Jordan Wright •

Setting the stage for extinction: every twenty minutes a distinct species of plant or animal becomes extinct.

There is an aura surrounding Jeff Corwin. It is the peaceful intent of a man who has witnessed fierce struggle, mortal threats, man’s inhumanity, heart-pounding danger and crushing heartbreak and emerged to dedicate his life to saving the planet’s rare and endangered species. This is not your son or daughter’s jocular Animal Planet guide tiptoeing through the friendly jungles with weird and eclectic animals, nor the boyish rake abandoning all sensibility to get just a bit too close to an unpredictable viper. This is a man committed through thought, word and deed to altering the predicted fate of our planet’s endangered animals. In my encounter with Corwin I could read the intensity and conviction on his face as he spoke of his up-close-and-personal encounters with the cheetahs and white rhinos whose days appear numbered.

“100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth’s Most Endangered Species” is Corwin’s paean to the animals. He has found a powerful voice after 15 years of television as an Emmy-award winning producer and host of over a dozen television series for Discovery, Disney, the Food Network, NBC, CNN and the Travel Channel. To supplement the book’s release is a two-hour television special, the second installment in MSNBC’s epic “Future Earth” series, set to launch this week on Nov. 22.

In honor of sustainability the book launch at the Occidental Grill showcased a number of wines that foster sustainable and environmentally responsible practices: Naked by Snoqualmie vineyards, Saint Michelle and Yealands of New Zealand, to which noted D.C. Chef Robert Wiedmaier gave a nod for their sauvignon blanc. Wild-caught Coho salmon, wild Georgia white shrimp from Prime Seafood, and heritage beef and turkey from Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, VA became luscious hors d’oeuvres in the creative hands of Chefs Rodney Scruggs and Robert Townsend.

I had an opportunity to speak with Jim Chambers, manager and owner of Prime Seafood of Kensington, MD, who as a marine biologist spent 20 years with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). While on the board of the Marine Stewardship Council he was instrumental in setting up the standards for the industry. Jim is the only wholesaler in our area selling exclusively sustainably raised seafood to select local restaurants. Poste, 701, Proof, Johnny’s Half Shell, Corduroy, Firefly, Restaurant Nora, Cashion’s Eat Place and the Occidental Grill and Seafood are some of his D.C. clientele.

From April through December he sells wreckfish — similar in flavor and texture to grouper — made sustainable through controlled fishing. Only four boats are licensed to capture these fish off the coast of Charleston, SC in deep water at the base of a “wrecked” submarine wall.

Chambers really enjoys way the fish is being prepared sous-vide at Blue Duck Tavern. “They cook it low and slow in a vacuum-sealed pouch and finish it off with a quick browning. It’s so delicious…tender and succulent,” he said.

Science Magazine recently reported that, if we keep destroying habitat, the world’s fisheries will collapse by 2048. “With unrestrained overfishing we are racing pell-mell towards the destruction of our seas. We now catch the top predators, bottom predators and everything in between with massive fishing trawlers equipped with huge drag nets and sophisticated electronics such as sonar and GPS,” Chambers warned. “We are fast working our way through what is left.”

We talked about the interdependency of the species…how the little fish sustain the bigger fish and how bottom-dragging nets take out 100 percent of the herring, leaving the predator tuna without sustenance and faced with extinction, along with their tiny friends.

Our conversation then turned to the darker side of farm-raised fisheries. A recent study compared the contaminant load of farm-raised, Chilean and Scottish salmon sold in US supermarkets. All of them rated poorly.

“Fish are fed with other fish containing PCBs, DDT, and other organic toxic compounds. In fact only one meal per month of farm-raised salmon, often misleadingly labeled organic, poses a substantial cancer threat to the consumer. They receive growth hormones to make them grow faster while being constantly doused with chemicals to keep the disease level manageably low,” he related.

“You’re creating a sewer in the water where they are being raised. And the parasites, like sea lice, that live on the outside of the nets are getting to the salmon in the net pens where they are being fed dyes to achieve the proper color,” Chambers told me.

This is the tragic underbelly of the fishing industry and a real eye-opener. “It takes about four pounds of juvenile species of wild fish to make one pound of farm-raised salmon. It’s totally unsustainable.”

Chambers takes heart with the appointment of NOAA’s new administrator, Jane Lubchenco, who is also in charge of the NMFS. As one of the most highly cited ecologists in the world, Lubchenco is considered a world expert on marine eco-systems.

Chambers suggests that, “Consumers and chefs in particular can become the solution by what they choose to eat and serve.” With the Blue Ocean Institute’s “Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood,” which will be my new seafood-buying bible, he hopes that those who enjoy fish will make better and more informed choices.

Get more information on the Future Earth series at futureearth.msnbc.com.

Jordan Wright can be reached at Jordan@whiskandquill.com.

Georgetowner •

Tired of pizza not being made exactly the way you want it? Then make your own at home with this issue’s “Is the Price Right” list of tasty and cheap ingredients. We discovered who has the cheapest pizza basics by visiting five area grocery stores – Dean & Deluca, Giant, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value brand ready-made crust is $4.99 for a 16 oz. 2-pack. Trader Joe’s has 8 in. Rustic Ciabatta crust for $2.99. Giant and Safeway are relatively priced, but you won’t find the base of your pizza at Dean & Deluca.

For a classic marinara sauce, try Trader Joe’s 26 oz. jar for $1.79 or Safeway’s 16 oz. jar for $1.59. Safeway also offers four jars for $5. Dean & Deluca is the most expensive with 25 oz. for $8.

Make your life a little easier and buy shredded mozzarella cheese. Safeway is the best place for this item at 32 oz. for $5.99. Trader Joe’s offers the next cheapest with 16 oz. at $3.49. The most expensive shredded cheese can be found at Dean & Deluca for $11/lb.

For an easy topping, grab a pack of pepperoni or our alternate, sopressata at Dean & Deluca or Whole Foods. For the cheapest pepperoni, try Trader Joe’s for a 16 oz. pack for $2.69. The cheapest sopressata is at Whole Foods for 4 oz. at $3.99.

A pizza night should include cola to drink so head to Whole Foods and pick up a 6-pack of their 365 Everyday Value cola soda for $2.79. Giant also is fairly cheap with 12 cans for $5.99. Trader Joe’s doesn’t have cola, but you can pick up Hansen’s Root Beer for $2.69.

Don’t just stop with these ingredients. Jazz up your pizza with different toppings and veggies too! Check out barbecue side ideas in The Georgetowner issue.

For a further examination of prices, see the chart below.
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