Best Bites Blog

The Wrap-Up: The Week in Food

Every Friday, we fill you in on what’s been happening in the local restaurant world.

On Monday night, Coppi’s Organic co-owner Nori Amaya was found dead in her apartment, according to NBCWashington.com. Police ruled that the 38-year-old, who owned the U Street restaurant with her brother, Carlos, was strangled.

D’Acqua, a seafood-centric restaurant in downtown DC, shut its doors for good on Friday after its landlord proposed a rent increase, reports the Washington Business Journal’s Missy Frederick. Chef Enzo Febbraro’s other two businesses, a mini D’Acqua in the Verizon Center and the recently opened Forno in Ashburn, aren’t affected by the closure. Febbraro is scouting locations to reopen D’Acqua.

Ping Pong Dim Sum, which has 16 storefronts in England, signed a deal in July for an outpost in DC’s Penn Quarter, its first US location. The company said Tuesday the opening is set for December.

Dining With the Critic's Mom

Restaurant critic Todd Kliman’s mother, Itsy, has been a trusted companion on her son’s eating adventures for years. So we gave her a pen. What’s her take on all those lavish celebrity-chef spots, humble strip-mall dining rooms, and far-flung suburban restaurants? She tells it like it is from the non-critic’s side of the table.

How to Make: The Greek Deli’s Avgolemono Soup

To be among the lunch-breakers who routinely line up outside downtown DC’s Greek Deli in the hope of grabbing a cup of avgolemono soup is to experience a moment straight out of Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” episode. Owner Kosta Fostieris moves things along quickly—the soup has quite a following—but unlike the episode’s title character, he’s an affable fellow. So what makes the egg-and-lemon soup so good? We set up our cameras in his kitchen to find out.

David Guas Is a Pudding Guy

Pastry chef and New Orleans native David Guas, who until recently was the face behind the desserts at the Passion Food Group restaurants (DC Coast, TenPenh, Acadiana, Ceiba, Passionfish), just released his first cookbook, DamGood Sweet. Many of the recipes come with passages about the traditions—both personal and historical—that are associated with them. (Guas remembers eating powdered-sugar-covered beignets at Café du Monde as a reward for good church behavior.) Currently, Guas is working on finding a location for Bayou Bakery, which will feature many of the pastries in his cookbook. In between scouting spaces, he sat down with us to chat about what he’s making on Thanksgiving and the recipe he craves the most.

Who Showed Up at the Top Chef Auditions?

Magical Elves, the production company behind Top Chef, held its first Washington casting call this morning at the Occidental Grille. The company is currently casting for the next season of the Bravo TV show as well as its pastry-focused spinoff, Top Chef: Just Desserts. With three local contestants on the current season of the show, we were expecting to see a mob of chefs lined up outside the restaurant as early as 9 this morning—casting ran from 10 to 2—but we found only a handful of hopefuls, mostly from outside the Washington area. We chatted with a few of the wannabe cheftestants.

Recipe Sleuth: Tallula’s Cavatelli With Sausage, Escarole, and Chili Flakes

When Barry Koslow took over the kitchen at Tallula in April, he knew he wanted to have three fresh pasta dishes always on the menu. This bowl of cavatelli with garlicky sausage, bitter escarole, and piquant chili flakes is the only one that’s never changed. Koslow says the kitchen makes so much cavatelli—about ten pounds on the weekends—that he has to buy a new cavatelli machine every month.

If you can’t find cavatelli (short, rolled tubes of pasta), you can use garganelli (an angled penne) or orecchiette (which look like tiny bowls), all shapes that Koslow likes for their texture and the way they carry the sauce. Choose your sausage wisely, too. Look for veal or pork, and avoid anything that’s lean. For a dish this simple, Koslow says, “timing is everything, so make sure to have all the ingredients ready and close by.”

Have a restaurant recipe you'd like sniffed out? E-mail recipesleuth@washingtonian.com.

Chew on This: Which Locals Should Try Out for 'Top Chef'?

Tomorrow, look for a line of white coats outside the Occidental in downtown DC. The restaurant is one of seven national locations where Magical Elves, the production team behind Top Chef, is holding a casting call for the show’s next season. We want to know who you think should show up. Which Washington toques have the chops to join Carla Hall, the Voltaggio brothers, and Mike Isabella as cheftestants? And which pastry chefs would you want to root for on the forthcoming Top Chef spinoff, Just Desserts? Let us know in the comments!

An Early Look at the Reserve (With Menus)

What used to be the divey Ollie's Trolley is now a candlelit restaurant and wine lounge.

>> To see more photos of the Reserve, visit our photo slideshow

It’s easy to walk past the Reserve and not even realize it. Its two nine-foot-tall, unmarked castle doors are fringed by the scruffy Post Pub and a makeshift sign advertising “$5 palm readings by Ms. Alexis.”

Pushing past the doors and onto the lounge’s mahogany floor, patrons will find black leather love seats surrounding candlelit tables and an oak-paneled bar topped with marble. A carpeted staircase leads to the upstairs wine room, where some 250 bottles of reds are stacked in a floor-to-ceiling cantina and another 250 bottles of whites chill in a refrigerator.

Table to Table: The Week in Food Events

Rock out at Eastern Market, pop Champagne at the French Embassy, and bake a cake in the ’burbs.

Monday, November 2
Hobnob with Redskins, Capitals, and more than 30 of the city’s top chefs at the March of Dimes’ Signature Chefs Auction at 6:30. The evening, emceed by WJLA anchor Leon Harris, features a series of live and silent auctions, food and wine tastings, and hotel and weekend giveaways inside the Ritz-Carlton in DC’s West End (1150 22nd St., NW). To reserve tickets, click here.

Tuesday, November 3
Join food writer Gail Forman at Blue Ridge for the first installment in a three-part series, “What’s for Lunch? Sustainable Foods That Sustain You at Lunch.” Over lunch, she’ll discuss sustainability with a focus on pigs and pork. The following session, at Zola on November 10, features a trip to a nearby historic “eco-gastro” restaurant. The final lunch, on November 17 at Sonoma, has a focus on Alaskan fisheries. Tickets for the three dates are $135 for Resident Associates members and $170 for nonmembers. Reservations can be made here.

Table-Hopping: Where the Boldface Names Are Eating

President Obama takes Michelle to Blue Duck Tavern, Natalie Portman sips white wine at Westend Bistro, and Tommy Lasorda eats birthday cake at Il Mulino.

President Obama romanced first lady Michelle Obama at Blue Duck Tavern in DC’s West End. The couple was celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary . . .

. . . Actress Natalie Portman invaded Westend Bistro at the downtown Ritz-Carlton in DC with a gang of more than 20 people. She was later spotted breakfasting at Commissary near Logan Circle.

. . . Who’s the man eating a cheeseburger and sipping Chardonnay at Trio in DC’s Dupont Circle? Shaft (a.k.a. Richard Roundtree)! You’re damn right . . .

. . . Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda celebrated his 82nd birthday at the upscale Italian chain Il Mulino in downtown DC. Joining the party were Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, Dodgers manager Joe Torre, and Nationals owner Mark Lerner . . .

The Wrap-Up: The Week in Food

Every Friday, we dish on what foodie news happened that week. This week? Top Chef is down a DC-er, crepes take over town, the Black Rooster is saved, and more.

Top Chef is down one Washingtonian. In a surprise twist, perennial bottom-three-er Robin escaped elimination on this week’s episode and Zaytinya chef Mike Isabella was asked to pack his knives and go. His offense? A poorly executed (and oddly protein-free) leek dish for vegetarian actress Natalie Portman. On a Washingtonpost.com chat yesterday, Isabella made clear he’s hasn’t gained any affection for Robin (a.k.a. Grandma). “That woman could not cook her way out of a paper bag,” noted a commenter. “That’s totally true,” replied Isabella. “She can’t cook.” He went on to tell E! Online that though they’ve talked since the show, “she’s crazy and she’s annoying.”

Jack Evans saves the day! After it looked like the 40-year-old downtown DC dive the Black Rooster was headed for extinction, it now seems it’ll stay open after all. Owner Jody Taylor credits the DC Council member with the rescue. What happened? “I don’t really know, to be honest with you,” Taylor tells the Washington City Paper. “Once I talked to the landlord, he was extremely gracious. Everybody came to terms. It’s good all around.”

What's Wine Blogger Gary Vaynerchuk Drinking These Days?

The host of video blog Wine Library TV talks about his best-kept-secret bottles, the next big wine hot spot, and what he'd pair with a bushel of crabs.

Gary Vaynerchuk, host of the video blog Wine Library TV, was at American University last week promoting his new book, Crush It! Why Now Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion. Considering the entrepreneur’s background, the title couldn’t be any more appropriate.

After immigrating from the former USSR to New Jersey, Vaynerchuk honed his wine skills at his family’s liquor store—also called Wine Library—and used social-media networks to catapult the bodega into a $60-million brand. Yet it wasn’t until Vaynerchuk launched his daily Web cast three years ago that his buzz propelled him onto Decanter magazine’s 2009 Power List. Today, Vaynerchuk’s straightforward—and often hyperactive—online reviews (he recently broadcast that one varietal “reminds me of Skittles” and that another “tastes like asparagus pee-pee”) has led him to become a wine guru for some 350,000 followers on Twitter and more than 90,000 “Vayniacs” who tune in to his Web cast each day.

Recipe Sleuth: The Majestic's Coconut Cake

This fluffy layer cake won an in-house bake-off at the Old Town, Alexandria restaurant. Here's how to pull it off at home.

Until two years ago, the makings of the Majestic’s layer cake changed daily. Chef Shannon Overmiller decided, however, that she wanted to “do one cake and do it well.” Employees from the Majestic and its sister properties—Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s, and PX—held a bake-off to determine which cake would be a menu mainstay. Overmiller’s coconut cake—she tweaked a recipe from the Internet—triumphed over approximately 15 other entries.

The dessert is a tall, fluffy creation that gets an extra kick of coconut flavor from the fruit’s milk—Overmiller suggests using Chaokoh brand—in the cake batter and brushed between the layers. Because the filling needs to chill overnight, be sure to start the cake the day before you’re going to serve it.

Have a restaurant recipe you'd like sniffed out? E-mail recipesleuth@washingtonian.com.

Chew on This: What's Your Favorite Halloween Candy?

Even if your Halloween treats tend to come in the form of frosty beer mugs instead of fun-size Snickers, don’t try to tell us that you don’t love tearing into chocolate bars, candy corn, and boxes of Mike & Ike (does anyone actually like those?) this time of year. When you dip your hand into a plastic pumpkin bucket of candy, what do you go for? Let us know in the comments. And make sure to check out our full Halloween guide.

Dining With the Critic’s Mom

J&G Steakhouse
Downtown DC

Lousy restaurant name and great food? Or intriguing name and lousy food? Definitely the former. This place gets four stars, without a doubt.

They started us off with a sample drink—on the house—which looked and tasted somewhat like pink grapefruit. Then we ordered our own choices from a really nice selection. Pimm’s Cup was excellent. We shared appetizers of corn ravioli and crabcakes, and then we ordered a round of oysters. Just writing the word and remembering those oysters, I’m actually salivating. We had to repeat the order; it was impossible not to. Even the sauces and vinaigrettes accompanying the oysters were special.

Our entrées were a fish dish, interestingly topped with diced celery, and an amazing cheeseburger (with fries, of course). But what a burger!

Desserts were excellent, too. And just like we started out with a freebie, we ended with gratis almonds, coated two different ways. The service was top-notch—attentive but not obsequious.
Whew! That’s an eating experience worth bragging about.

Table to Table: The Week in Food Events

Dine in homage to Edgar Allen Poe, lick your fingers after eating a spit-roasted baby goat, and more.

Monday, October 26
Start the week with a hoppy bang at Birreria Paradiso’s Smuttynose Brewery dinner. This sudsy affair, which begins at 6:30, pairs six varieties from the New Hampshire microbrewery with a four-course meal. Get into the Halloween spirit by downing Smuttynose’s Pumpkin Ale, and meet the man behind the product, lead brewer Dan Schubert. The dinner costs $65 per person. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 202-337-4963.

Tuesday, October 27
Sip Heinekens and Budweisers, sample a buffet of offerings from DC dining rooms, and help make a difference at StreetWise Partners’ second annual Taste of Success, held at Jones Day (51 Louisiana Ave., NW). The organization pairs mentors with those working their way out of poverty, and participating restaurants include Mandu, La Tomate, Circa, Oceanaire, Café Saint-Ex, and many others. The event begins at 6:30. Tickets, $85 to $100, can be purchased in advance here .

The Wrap-Up: The Week in Food

Every Friday we fill you in on what's been happening in the local restaurant world.

An Early Look at Birch & Barley and ChurchKey

>> Check out more photos of the Birch & Barley and ChurchKey space in our photo slideshow

Greg Engert leans across the table, using both hands to explain why Pilsners and lagers are meant to be served colder than barleys and stouts. His eyes widen as he talks about how he analyzes a beer’s crispness and aromatic content to determine the “purest representation of the brewer’s intention.” He interrupts his draft discourse to shout numbers up to several movers hauling kegs into what look like three oversize bank safes. “No one in the country has ever done this before,” he says.

Introducing Birch & Barley, a seasonally driven American dining room, and above it ChurchKey, a grazing-friendly upstairs bar/lounge. After a year-and-a-half delay, both beer-centric spots opened yesterday in the old Dakota Cowgirl/Ramrod space near DC’s Logan Circle. Though visitors first step into Birch & Barley’s slick dining room downstairs, the building’s focal point is found up the steps, where beer director Engert, who oversees the suds at the beer-obsessed Rustico in Alexandria, has stocked 555 beers from 30 countries. The bar offers 50 artisanal drafts and five hand-pumped, cask-conditioned beers. Beer geeks will admire the three temperature-controlled vaults—which rang in at $100,000—nestled overhead. Inside them, kegs cool at their optimal temperatures according to each brewer’s specifications. A roster of old-school cocktails—Aperol spritzes, Moscow mules—is available for those not in the mood for a pint.

The Frugal Foodie: Firefly’s Danny Bortnick

Cheering for your team doesn’t have to leave you rooting through your wallet. Daniel Bortnick of Firefly shows us how to cook a tailgate for 15 for less than $75.

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The maroon sweatpants and white jersey trimmed in red and gold give it away: Although Daniel Bortnick grew up in Wisconsin, he’s a big-time Redskins fan.

Suited up and ready to go, the chef at Firefly in DC’s West End has accepted the Frugal Foodie challenge and agreed to cook a tailgate party for 15. Not including drinks or standard pantry items—sugar, flour, olive oil—the bill can’t exceed $75.

At the supermarket, Bortnick studies his meat options before choosing a roast sirloin and two large packs of wings. He then powers through the store, snagging bread, artichokes, chickpeas, and other ingredients. Grand total at the cash register: $71.38.

FeedBack: G Street Food

G Street Food (1706 G St., NW; 202-408-7474) is a different kind of lunch spot. Featuring a menu that rotates daily—with not only a soup of the day but also a sausage, tartine, and pancake of the day—the eatery focuses on street-cart fare from around the world. It comes courtesy of bread master Mark Furstenberg, founder of the renowned Breadline and Marvelous Market.

Can Furstenburg’s new restaurant live up to his reputation? We set up our cameras outside the door to find out.

Dirt Cheap Eats

In this month's issue of Washingtonian, we found 82 burger joints, street carts, taquerias, and dinner-worthy happy hours where a delicious meal won’t cost you more than $15. To see the full list of Dirt Cheap Eats—including guilty pleasures, happy-hour feasts, lunch deals at top restaurants, and more, pick up the issue, on stands now.

But while you're here, make sure to check out...

Our Dirt Cheap Eats 2009 photo slideshow. Don't look at this before lunch. We warned you.
Delicious Dining Deals During the Downturn
Bargain Happy Hours
Happy Food Hours

Enjoy! And while you're at it, if you have any favorite Dirt Cheap Eats of your own, let us know in the comments—or tweet at @bestbitesblog or @washingtonian with your faves, using the hashtag #DCE.

More>> Best Bites Blog | Food & Dining | Restaurant Finder

Follow the Best Bites Bloggers on Twitter at twitter.com/bestbitesblog

Recipe Sleuth: The Source’s General Tso’s Chicken Wings

In the lounge at Wolfgang Puck’s Penn Quarter restaurant, the Source, General Tso’s chicken gets a gourmet upgrade from chef Scott Drewno. He offers wings—an unlikely finger-licking snack in such chic surroundings—glazed with the familiar-sounding sauce, but they bear no resemblance to the gloppy mess that most Chinese takeouts serve. Instead, the chicken sports a thin but crispy skin with a sauce that has hints of spice and vinegar.

The recipe, a collaboration between Drewno and Lee Hefter—Puck’s corporate chef—uses lots of Asian ingredients that Drewno says can all be found at H Mart (locations in Fairfax, Falls Church, and Wheaton). You’ll have the crispiest skin, advises Drewno, if you eat the wings right after they come out of the fryer.

Have a restaurant recipe you'd like sniffed out? E-mail recipesleuth@washingtonian.com.

Chew on This: What Foodie TV Shows Do You Watch?

In dining editor Todd Kliman’s chat this morning, he got the following question:

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DC TV: I love your chats and wonder what television you watch regarding food/cooking? For me—I have found PBS to be top notch. Between Lidia and America’s Test Kitchen—I have found a great balance between recipes, tips, tricks, and great equipment. Lidia’s food is shockingly similar to my family’s Italian cuisine plus more variation, creativity, and imagination. ATK provides great advice.

Ever notice the awkward balance btw Christopher and the Chefs? The more you watch it is funny. Martha Stewart’s 2 shows are interesting with great recipes but her hosts seem like robots. I am not looking for more Rachael Ray action. But a bit of off the cuff could be welcomed.

As for FOOD NTWK, I only enjoy Ina/Giada/Tyler. TK, Hope to hear where your interests lie with food and TV? Readers?

Todd Kliman: I’m with you—PBS all the way.

Food Network, back when it started, was not nearly so slick, not nearly so much an all-about-the-production-values sort of thing. Now, it’s basically just models with sauce pans. I enjoy Alton Brown, the exception to the rule, but otherwise I hardly ever tune in.

If you want to learn anything, if you want to not be played, then PBS is a great place to turn. And I agree about America’s Test Kitchen—it’s very unintentionally funny. You really do get the impression that Christopher Kimball is an imperious patrician grouch, and that all the staffers indulge him while surreptitiously poking fun at him behind his back.

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We want to hear what you think of the current state of foodie TV. Do you agree with Todd that PBS is the way to go? Do Paula Deen and her doughnut-and-bacon sandwiches make you want to be gluttonous . . . or gag? Does it matter that the Food Network is more about entertainment than cooking? Do you rely on any shows or TV chefs for actual recipes or cooking advice, or do you find yourself pining for Julia Child reruns? Let us know in the comments.

An Early Look at Kellari (With Menus)

>> To see more photos of Kellari, check out our slideshow here.

Gregory Zapantis surveys the seafood atop a mound of crushed ice and selects a whole prawn, prettily mottled and nearly as long as my forearm. It weighs in at about half a pound. “This is a Madagascar wild shrimp,” he says, turning it over to show me. Because the flavorful roe is located along its back and not its underside, he says, the kitchen cleans and prepares this shrimp differently. “It’s very sweet, very good.”

This is how Zapantis, chef and partner of the new downtown DC restaurant Kellari, wants all his patrons to start their meal—by chatting with the staff, learning about the food, and understanding the preparation before selecting their dinner. And so the focal point of the restaurant—a DC outpost of the popular New York dining room—is this icy seafood display fringed with fennel and packed with 15 varieties of seafood. Diners can view that day’s selections and choose their meal straight off the ice—a tribute, Zapantis says, to traditional, menuless Greek dining.

Zapantis resists calling Kellari a Greek restaurant or the dishes Greek cuisine. “How can you put borders on food?” he asks. But the menu is unquestionably Mediterranean-inspired, with classics such as spanakopita, olive-oil-grilled lamb, and citrusy avgolemono soup. The seafood, the restaurant’s star, is sold by the pound—the chefs recommend a pound per person—and simply prepared with oregano, capers, lemon, and olive oil. “Our philosophy is that food in its purest form is the best food,” says executive chef Anthony Acinapura.

Table to Table: The Week in Food Events

Monday, October 19
Virginia is for lovers—if only of its cheese and wine. Start the week off with a wine-and-cheese event at Mon Ami Gabi’s Reston location (11950 Democracy Dr.), where you can sample from the barrels of the Winery at La Grange, Pearmund Cellars, and Boxwood Winery. Taste some Virginia-made cheeses while you sip, including wedges from Everona and Meadow Creek dairies. The cheeses will also appear in a few hors d’oeuvres. The event, $45 per person, runs from 6 to 9; call 703-707-0233 to reserve your spot.

Tuesday, October 20
After winning three medals at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival, the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Tröeg’s Brewing Company is coming to CommonWealth for a beer dinner tonight at 7. The $45 price (plus tax and tip) gets you a three-course dinner paired with six Tröeg’s brews. Call 202-265-1400 to make reservations or for more information.

The Wrap-Up: The Week in Food

Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema’s tenth annual dining guide is online—for real this time. Close watchers got a glimpse of the guide when it was inadvertently posted on the Post’s Web site at least four days early. “Since I never saw what went live, I’m not sure if that was my final FINAL list,” Sietsema told the Washington City Paper’s Tim Carman. Indeed, newcomer Eventide wound up with two and a half stars, not the early version’s three. The biggest surprise: Rasika, the Penn Quarter Indian hot spot, garnered four stars, putting it in the same ranks as CityZen, Komi, the Inn at Little Washington, and the tasting room at Restaurant Eve. Citronelle, which was downgraded to three and a half stars last year, was given the same rating this year.

Chef Sam Adkins is leaving Jackie’s after more than five years at the funky Silver Spring restaurant. And not by choice, he tells Tom Sietsema. Owner Jackie Greenbaum says that although Adkins is one of her “dearest” friends, “I think we reached the limitations of expression with one another.” No word yet on where Adkins will turn up next.

FeedBack: SeventhHill

Everyone knows Washington has reached the big leagues when it comes to gourmet pizza, and rookie SeventhHill (327 Seventh St., SE; 202-544-1911) is looking to make a name for itself in the brick-oven game. Opened by the owners of the French bistro Montmartre, right next door, SeventhHill is taking on a pizza style dominated locally by the likes of 2 Amys and Pizzeria Paradiso. Barely three weeks old, the Capitol Hill restaurant was brimming with lunchtime pizza lovers when we stopped by with our camera to see what diners think of Washington’s newest pies.

An Early Look at Masa 14 (With Menus)

>> Want to see what Masa 14 looks like? Check out our full slide show here!

Fusion cuisine became trendy back in the ’80s. People who weren’t even born when the first bok-choy-stuffed taco hit menus can now legally vote, drink, and pay taxes. So what makes Masa 14, a new Latin/Asian restaurant that opened its doors Monday, think it can make an impression?

Well, the neighborhood doesn’t hurt. The area around 14th and U streets, Northwest, which was being called “up-and-coming” only five years ago, is now one of the city’s liveliest. The Black Cat is there. So is Bar Pilar, Cork, Busboys and Poets, and Ben’s Chili Bowl. Not bad neighbors for a new restaurant courting a mix of young professionals and college students.

Recipe Sleuth: BlackSalt’s Caramel-Apple Streusel Pie

Chew on This: What’s an Acceptable Wait Time for a Reservation?

Last week, a reader wrote in to food and wine editor Todd Kliman’s chat to get his feedback about a bad experience waiting at a restaurant. The reader had a 9 PM reservation and wasn't seated for 50 minutes. “I’m wondering what your guidelines are on what’s considered a reasonable wait for a table when you have a reservation and when you should just cut your losses and leave?” asked the frustrated customer.

“I think 2 minutes or fewer is a reasonable wait if you have a reservation. I’m not being facetious,” Kliman said. “Actually, I’m being charitable and forgiving. I think no-wait-at-all is what is reasonable if you have a reservation. Or two minutes and the restaurant buys you a drink. Fifty minutes? Fifty minutes and the meal ought to be comped.”

In Kliman’s chat today, lots of people wrote in with opinions on how the restaurant should have handled the situation. What do you think? How long is an acceptable wait for a table when you have a reservation? If you have to wait, should the restaurant do anything to make up for it?

What Do Pastry Chefs Hand Out on Halloween?

Table to Table: The Week in Food Events

A dinner date with Wolfgang Puck, a salty day of oyster shucking, a four-course chocolate meal, and lots more to do this week.

Monday, October 12
Find an ATM and head to the Source to celebrate its second anniversary with a five-course wine dinner hosted by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck (and yes, we’re told he’s actually going to be in the kitchen). In honor of the late American vintner Robert Mondavi, his widow, Margrit, will pair their wines with the secret menu. The evening also features a cocktail reception with wines from the Virginia-based Kluge Estate Winery. 7 PM; reserve your $195 seat by calling 202-637-6100.

Tuesday, October 13
When we think of the Pacific Northwest, we think grunge, lots of rain, and coffee. But the region also produces some pretty impressive Pinots, Cabernets, and Syrahs. Come learn what makes the wines of Oregon and Washington unique, and taste four to seven varietals with local specialist Mike Canter’s hourlong class at Vinoteca. Tickets for the event, which begins at 7, are $35 a person. Call 202-332-9463 for reservations.

The Wrap-Up: The Week in Food

• The food-magazine world lost its queen on Monday, when Condé Nast announced it was closing Gourmet, which has been in print since 1940. For weeks, we’d heard rumors that the media giant was going to shut down a number of its titles, but the news about Gourmet was a shock to many. Its October issue was dedicated to restaurants, and editors asked Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema where he’d spend $1,000. Among his picks were Jaleo, Et Voila!, and Obelisk. Gourmet will put out its final issue next month.

• Yesterday, 82-year-old Ben Ali, best known as the mastermind behind the iconic U Street, Northwest, landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl, passed away yesterday. The restaurant, famous for its chili dogs and cheese fries, opened in 1958. Ali’s sons, Kamal and Nizam, run the DC landmark.

• More wine on the way: Prince of Petworth reports that Justin Abad and John Manolatos, two of the three Cashion’s Eat Place owners, found a spot for a wine-and-gourmet-foods shop in DC’s Adams Morgan and hope to be open before the holidays. Then a Metrocurean reader wrote in about Twisted Vines Bottleshop & Bistro, a wine store and small-plates restaurant to open by November in Arlington.

First Look: Trummer's on Main

The people behind Trummer’s on Main, a new restaurant in Clifton, have serious foodie credentials: Stefan Trummer—a co-owner with his wife, Victoria—worked at Masa and Bouley, two of Manhattan’s best restaurants; executive chef Clayton Miller cooked at California’s revered French Laundry and at Daniel in Manhattan; and sommelier Tyler Packwood is a ten-year veteran of the Inn at Little Washington.

So it should come as no surprise that they’ve put together an ambitious offering: a restaurant with three levels, 210 seats, and a 4,000-bottle wine cellar. If there’s anything left of the building’s 140-year history—it was once the Clifton Hotel, then the Hermitage Inn—it’s the whisper of a farmhouse in the exposed beams of the dining room’s vaulted ceilings. The dark first-floor lounge, anchored by a marbled onyx bar, is more modern, just like Miller’s food.

His dishes are painterly compositions with striking colors—neon-red rhubarb shares a plate with a vivid spinach purée—but they sometimes result in a cacophony of textures and flavors. An appetizer of pine-nut-and-ricotta tortellini was complicated by the addition of lamb sausage, rock crab, Bing cherries, and a carrot/white-wine sauce. Offerings with the fewest ingredients—a bowl of spiced potato chips at the bar, a jar of warm brandade, coconut sorbet with a hibiscus foam—are the most rewarding.

The Frugal Foodie: Rustico’s Steve Mannino

Raising your glass to autumn doesn’t mean having to raise your grocery bill. Rustico’s Steve Mannino shows you how to cook an Oktoberfest feast for six for less than $25. Now that’s something to say “prost” to.

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Steve Mannino isn’t messing around.

The newly appointed chef at Rustico in Alexandria researched grocery stores, scoured the Web for deals, and joined Harris Teeter’s VIC program for extra savings for this Frugal Foodie challenge.

“I signed up for their program just so I could get this special,” says Mannino pointing to an ad with an offer for a five-pound bag of potatoes for $1. “I planned everything around this.”

Mannino has agreed to cook an Oktoberfest-themed dinner for six. Not including the beer or standard pantry items—sugar, flour, olive oil—the bill can’t exceed $25.

With the potatoes tucked into his cart, we take off through the store picking up the rest of the ingredients he needs. Mannino admits how out of practice he is when it comes to shopping at an actual grocery store instead of through wholesale purveyors.

Recipe Sleuth: Grapeseed's Wild-Mushroom Fricassee

Learn how to make one of the best dishes in chef Jeff Heineman's repertoire.

When Jeff Heineman was a sous chef at Cashion’s Eat Place ten years ago, he and then-owner Ann Cashion created an appetizer with sautéed mushrooms over a crispy polenta cake. He took the idea with him when he opened the Bethesda wine bar Grapeseed in 2000, then tweaked the recipe. Heineman’s version, with oven-roasted mushrooms and creamy polenta, is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, and it’s never come off the menu.

A reader requested this recipe over the summer, but we waited until the colder weather hit to feature the dish, which Heineman describes as “rich and comforting.” He’ll use whatever mushrooms his purveyors bring him—he prefers shiitakes and creminis—but he says oyster mushrooms, hen of the woods, and even morels (in springtime) work well, too. If you’re not up for making the truffled polenta, you can also ladle the fricassee over rice or mashed potatoes.

Chew on This: Is Barton Seaver Chef of the Year?

Seaver was awarded the title by Esquire Magazine. Does he deserve it? Let us know your thoughts.

Last week, Jane Black wrote this on the Washington Post’s All We Can Eat blog: “Congratulations to Barton Seaver. In its November issue, Esquire Magazine will name him ‘chef of the year’ and Blue Ridge, Seaver’s farm-to-table restaurant in Glover Park, one of the best new restaurants in the country.”

Seaver, who’s made his name synonymous with sustainability and local food, was the chef at Café Saint-Ex, then headed up the splashy Hook before leaving that Georgetown restaurant in June 2008, saying he wanted to spend his time as an advocate, not a chef. The Washington Post item went viral in the foodie blogosphere, and a number of sites questioned the ethics of Esquire’s food writer, John Mariani, who told Black he ate at Blue Ridge once for lunch and Seaver knew he was there.

As for us, The Washingtonian named Seaver one of 20 fabulous singles in 2006 and Washingtonian.com did a Favorites interview with him last year, so we know he loves Champagne, spells his name with all lower-case letters, and goes to early-morning spinning classes. As for his cooking talents, we want to know what you think. Does Seaver deserve to be anointed “chef of the year”?

Let us know in the comments.

Related: Barton Seaver Tours the Glover Park Farmers Market

An Early Look at Sou’Wester (With Menus)

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Photos by Chris Leaman

DC’s posh Mandarin Oriental hotel might be an unlikely place to show off the sleepy, Southern side of Washington, but chef Eric Ziebold is seeking to do just that. His casual new restaurant, Sou’Wester, offers a Gone With the Wind vibe with gone-to-the-Eastern-Shore regional comfort food.

Occupying the former Café MoZU space, the restaurant invokes a distinctly different sense of time and place than Ziebold’s sleek destination dining room, CityZen. Diners catch their first whiff of Sou’Wester’s bucolic-chic seasoning in the lobby “sun porch,” where “country time” happy hour—with cocktails between $7 and $10—is served in wooden rocking chairs daily from 3 to 5. Inside, ceiling lamps covered in wicker resemble crab pots, sunflowers float in glass vases, and a spacious, breezy dining room looks out on houseboats bobbing on the Southwest waterfront.

“Sou’Wester is a moment back in time,” says Ziebold. “When creating it, we thought, ‘What is it that we’d like to eat in DC sitting on the waterfront? What represents the city?’ ”

Table to Table: The Week in Food Events

A chocolate-filled day, autumnal cooking classes, and weekend festivals galore.

Monday, October 5

It’s all red meat and Redskins at Morton’s tonight. Skins players will be the center of an informal meet-and-greet at the beef joint’s Georgetown location to talk to fans and sign memorabilia. The players arrive at 7:30, and the event is free. For more information, including the names of the attending athletes—which should be available today—call 202-342-6258.

Tuesday, October 6

If you’re a fan of Lebanese Taverna’s shawarma and hummus, here’s your chance to learn how to create those Middle Eastern flavors at home. Arlington's Lebanese Taverna Market is hosting a hands-on cooking class appropriate for all cooking levels. It will include wine, appetizers, and dinner. The class, $60 a person, runs from 6:45 to 9:30. Call 703-841-1562 for reservations and more.

The Wrap-Up: The Week in Food

Every Friday we fill you in on what's been happening in the local restaurant world.

• Chef Scott Conant won’t be opening a branch of his much-praised New York restaurant Scarpetta here after all. Conant tells the Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema it came down to timing—he’s got a baby on the way and another Scarpetta in Miami to focus on. Bummer. Let the rumor mill ramp up again.

• Does Barton Seaver deserve being anointed chef of the year by Esquire magazine? And could his restaurant Blue Ridge really be one of the best in the country? That’s what food writer John Mariani is said to proclaim in the November issue. It’s an eyebrow raiser for sure, because Blue Ridge has been knocked quite a bit by local critics. (Tom Sietsema gave it 1½ stars; you can read our take here.) But Mariani tells the Washington Post’s Jane Black that his meal was apparently much different than the ones other critics cited. (It may have helped that Seaver knew he and his guests were there.) “I liked very much what I ate. It seemed a reflection of what he was doing,” he tells Black. “There was a lot of emphasis on vegetables but not on being a vegetarian. The chicken and pork was cooked very well. That southern style of cooking is not easy to find, even in your neck of the woods. They were of supremely good ingredients.”

You Be the Food Critic!

FeedBack: Bibiana

This week, we stopped by the new Italian restaurant Bibiana to find out what diners think of the latest venture from Ashok Bajaj, the man behind 701, the Oval Room, Bombay Club, Rasika, Ardeo, and Bardeo.

We’re only half joking when we say Ashok Bajaj is a modern-day Midas. Much of what the local restaurateur touches—or, in this case, opens—seems to turn to gold. At least that’s the impression we left with after talking to customers outside his newest place, downtown DC’s Bibiana. Among those interviewed: Motion Picture Association of America president Dan Glickman. What did he think of his meal? You’ll have to watch our video to find out. (For more FeedBack and other videos, check out our video channel.)

An Early Look at Eola

A cozy, seasonally driven restaurant takes over the old Mark and Orlando's space off Dupont Circle.

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It’s only fitting that leaves play a decorative role in chef Daniel Singhofen’s rustic Dupont Circle dining room, Eola. The foliage that twists around light fixtures and tabletop candles is right in line with the restaurant’s fresh-picked ethos and ever-changing menu. It’s a familiar formula: The restaurant works closely with local co-ops, and as the available produce shifts, so do Eola’s dishes.

Virginia Restaurants Celebrate the Harvest

Spotlighting locally sourced ingredients on restaurant menus is nothing new, but they’re the highlight of the Virginia hunt country’s Celebrate the Harvest week. Now through October 4, restaurants in Middleburg, The Plains, and Upperville will create specials that focus on homegrown ingredients.

Recipe Sleuth: Teaism's Miso-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

One of our readers was inspired to request the recipe for the miso-glazed sweet potatoes served at Teaism—and apparently a lot of others are enamored with the side dish, too. Michelle Brown, co-owner of the trio of teahouse/cafes, says the Penn Quarter location goes through about 200 pounds of it every day. The recipe, an adaptation of a classic Japanese dish, was developed ten years ago by longtime chef Arpad Lengyel. To give it a twist, he adds tahini, which is traditionally used in Middle Eastern cooking. Its nutty flavor paired with sugar and sweet mirin wine is something we’re now enamored of, too.

Serves 8 as a side.

Bake the sweet potatoes:

4 large sweet potatoes
Canola oil, as needed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into 1½-inch chunks. Toss with enough canola oil to coat the potatoes lightly but evenly. Add the potatoes to a small baking pan; you want to crowd the potatoes in the pan to help them steam. Bake for 25 minutes, then let cool.

Tweet Your Eats: Pie-Inspired Martinis and Scotch Eggs

Each week, we ask you to tweet us the best (and the not so great) dishes from your eating adventures.

Each week, we ask you to tweet us the best dishes from your eating adventures from over the weekend. And you always deliver with a Twitter stream full of enticing choices. Check out the list below to see what Twitterers around town want a second helping of; if you want to see a favorite dish included, tweet @bestbitesblog, and we'll update the list to include your recommendation.

(Psst—you can also follow Washingtonian on Twitter here, and food and dining editor Todd Kliman here.)

Chew on This: Does Washington Need Another Celebrity Chef?

Last week, we got word that New York-based chef Scott Conant had signed a deal for the former Olives space in downtown DC. He’s just the latest in a line of celebrity chefs who’ve picked Washington to open an outpost of their dining empires—we now have restaurants from Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Eric Ripert, Alain Ducasse, Michael Mina, Wolfgang Puck, and more. Before these guys came to town, though, we had a pretty great batch of homegrown talent here—and still do.

We want to know what you think of all the celebrity-chef-owned restaurants that are cropping up. Are you flattered that Washington is suddenly a hot spot? Do you think the newest chefs are overshadowing the ones who actually live here? Do you want more celebrity chefs to come, or do you just wish they’d all pack their knives and go?

Let us know in the comments!

Table to Table: The Week in Food Events

A reading by former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni, the grazefest that is Taste of Bethesda, and more.

Monday, September 28
Loosen your tie at Morton’s steakhouse in Georgetown with a casual evening of Italian-wine sampling and appetizers. This installment of the restaurant’s “Uncorked” series runs from 6 to 7:30. Tickets—$50, including tax and gratuity—can be reserved here.

Tuesday, September 29
In the mood for even more wine from Italy? You won’t have to wait long or travel far from Monday’s suggestion—neighbor Cafe Milano hosts a wine-pairing dinner tonight at 6:30. Linger over five courses of sea-inspired dishes in one of Washington’s top power haunts. $100 per person (limited seating available). Call 202-333-6183 for reservations.

Former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni is at Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave., NW; 202-364-1919) to talk about his candid, terrifically funny new memoir, Born Round, in which he reveals his lifetime of food issues and the ways his job as a food critic helped him over come them. Adding to the fun: Interviewing him will be pal and fellow Times writer Maureen Dowd. The free reading starts at 7.

The Wrap-Up: The Week in Food

Every Friday we fill you in on what's been happening in the local restaurant world.

• There were all sorts of rumors about who would take over the big Olives space in downtown DC. We heard whispers of Mario Batali and Giada De Laurentiis, but publicist Linda Roth Conte tells us it’s another Italian chef—New York’s Scott Conant—who has signed a deal. Conant is the brains behind Scarpetta, a very well-liked Italian restaurant in Manhattan’s meatpacking district, where he’s known for—among other dishes—his decadent polenta, mixed with Parmesan and heavy cream, and a simple spaghetti pomodoro. His plans are to open another branch here. We can’t argue with that.

• Capitol Hill gets a new pizza joint with the opening of SeventhHill, whose brick oven is overseen by the owners of Montmartre, a French bistro next door. The 11 pies are named after landmarks (Union Station, Navy Yard) near the restaurant.

Eat Your Way Through Oktoberfest

Looking for something to pair with that Oktoberfest brew? We’ve rounded up a few places to chow down on everything from schnitzel to spaetzle.

Saturday, September 26

Das Best Oktoberfest

Nosh on sour beef, potato pancakes, and a variety of sausages at this outdoor festival at National Harbor (137 National Plaza, National Harbor; 800-830-3976). Organizers took a cue from last year’s long lines and added more food stands, more beer stations, and more staff. This is the only Oktoberfest event where you can sample every German beer available in the state of Maryland—over 100 will be on hand. Tickets—which include a souvenir tasting mug and nine beer tokens (six if you buy at the door)—cost $25 in advance, or $30 at the door. Show up sporting lederhosen or a dirndl, and you’ll score both German street cred and a few extra beer tokens. 2 to 8.

PS 7’s Cooking Class “Beer and Brats”

Feel like cooking at home? Discover the tricks of the sausage-making trade when PS 7’s head chef Peter Smith invites meat lovers into his kitchen. Smith, assisted by bartender Gina Chersevani and pastry chef Leon Baker, will demonstrate how to prepare bratwurst from scratch. The Philly-based Victory Brewing Company will distribute samples of its malted beverages. The class, $65 per person, goes from 1 to 3:30. Participants must be 21 or older. Call 202-742-8550 for reservations.