Recapping the 2011 RAMMY Awards

Sunday night I attended the 2011 RAMMY awards over at the Marriott in Woodley Park, a wonderful night honoring some of the best in the restaurant business in the city. Below you'll find the list of 2011 winners, and you can read my post about it over at We Love DC.

The 2011 RAMMY award winners:

Duke Zeibart Capital Achievement Award - Chef José Andrés
Chef of the Year - Todd Gray of Equinox
Rising Culinary Star - Kyle Bailey of Birch and Barley
Pastry Chef - Tiffany MacIsaac of Neighborhood Restaurant Group
New Restaurant - Estadio DC
Fine Dining Restaurant - The Source by Wolfgang Puck
Upscale Casual Restaurant - Tabard Inn
Neighborhood Gathering Place - Ted's Bulletin
Restaurant Employee - Ryme Lansari of Cafe Atlantico/Minibar
Restaurant Manager - Hans Olson of Clyde's of Reston
Power Spot - Carmine's
Hottest Bar Scene - Chef Geoff's, Tyson Corner
Wine Program - Taberna Del Alabardero
Beverage/Mixology Program - Founding Farmers
Your Favorite Restaurant - Carmine's
Where Magazine Visitors' Choice Award - Old Ebbitt Grill

As I said in my WLDC post, I (and like many other people in the audience) was surprised by some of the winners in the publicly voted categories. I would argue that the publicly voted categories weren't indicative of the culinary talent that lies in this city. There are plenty of good restaurants that didn't even make the nominees in these categories, and I wish the public votes would have reflected the food this city has to offer.

Aside from that, there were some very deserving winners of the night. Obviously, I'm incredibly proud of my friends Kyle Bailey and Tiffany MacIsaac of Neighborhood Restaurant Group who took home the Rising Culinary Star and Pastry Chef of the Year awards, respectively. I also thought the winners for Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year (The Source by Wolfgang Puck) and New Restaurant of the Year (Estadio) were spot on. I would have liked to have seen Masa 14 or Bourbon Steak win for Hottest Bar Scene (um, hello? Leonardo DiCaprio along with a slew of other famous names have been spotted at Bourbon Steak).

Some of the funny/personable moments of the night included WaPo's Bonnie Benwick's comment about the audience owing much to the creators of Spanx, WaPo's Joe Yonan's live tweeting from the stage as he presented awards, Todd Gray's stylish Nantucket red pants in a sea of black tuxedos and the owner of Estadio's demand to stop playing the "get off the stage music" because he was going to finish his speech no matter what. It should go without saying that the food and cocktails served were delicious, especially Patricia Jinich's cheesecake.

Thanks to Alejandra Owens of Borderstan and Russell Warnick of Endless Simmer for providing me with entertaining company for the night. With one RAMMY awards ceremony, two after parties and a night of live tweeting under my belt, I'm already looking forward to next year's.

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.

Restaurant Review: Birch & Barley

I've eaten here enough to start losing count of how many times I've been. And despite having enjoyed every morsel of food I've had here, I struggled with how to write this review. I love the food here. I'm an unabashed Birch and Barley fan, and for that reason I don't want this review to be perceived as an unbiased rave because I happen to get along with Kyle and Tiffany, their executive chef and executive pastry chef. Full disclosure: I have enjoyed several perks in the past, like getting to try several new dishes on the house. But let's be real: if the food sucked, I'd never go back.

Beer Sampling at Birch and Barley

Now that we got that out of the way, let's get on with a proper restaurant review. This review is somewhat lengthy because I've been so many times that I've tried so much of the menu!

With the arrival of summer, I headed to Birch and Barley looking forward to some substantial menu changes. I tend to be a creature of habit, and while I love the ricotta cavatelli, I was ready to try something new. To kick off the meal, I opted to go with the pisco punch cocktail which was refreshing with the right balance of tart and sweet. It goes without saying B&B is known for their enormous beer selection. I'd go into the beers I had there (I had a "carrot cake" and a "white russian" beer there that were two of the most unusual and cool beers I've ever had), but as a waiter once clued me in: you can try a beer there one time that you love, but it might never be on the menu again. The craft beers come from a variety of small breweries, thus limited quantities, thus jot down the name of a beer and ask your server about it if you really like one.

Shrimp & Chorizo Flatbread

I've had the bread plate and the charcuterie plate a few times before and I got a sneak peek at the charcuterie closet in the restaurant (a foodie's dream come true!). The housemade pretzels with the grainy mustard are phenomenal with a dark brown shell and soft inside. The kalamata olive rolls and the foccacia are also great with melted butter. If you're down with cured meats, go for the butcher's board (um hello, beer and meat? Do I need to say more?). There aren't very many places I'll try something that has pig's head in it, but B&B is one.

Four other appetizers I got to try recently were the fig & prosciutto flatbread, the shrimp & chorizo flatbread, the seared baby sepia with squid ink farfalle and the grilled octopus. For the flatbreads, banish any notion that these are like pizzas. The thick crust is the right amount of chewiness for the toppings. I usually don't go for sweet and savory combinations, but the combination of sweet figs with salty prosciutto and gorgonzola are perfect. The housemade chorizo is just a little spicy. Plus the softer textures of the shrimp, romesco and chorizo went well with the crunch of the toasted almonds on the flatbread. As for the seared baby sepia (aka cuttlefish), it was a good kind of chewy (not in a rubbery way). The black farfalle with the white cuttlefish and dark dandelion greens made for a nice presentation. Lastly for the appetizers, my friends and I tried the grilled octopus. Now I'm not entirely sure how it's prepared, but the octopus has this almost flakey texture, like fish. Forget any notions of rubbery octopus--this cut easily and went so well with the slightly crispy potatoes and fried capers (if you have never had a fried caper, you have not truly lived).

Farfalle and seared sepia

Grilled octopus with fried capers

For dinner I ordered the tempura jumbo soft shell crab, one of my most favorite pieces of seafood. The batter was light and went well with the buckwheat soba that took on the ponzu flavor. For me the ponzu and citrus flavors were great, though another friend remarked that her soft shell crab became overly saturated with ponzu as she worked her way through dinner. I also tried a bite of the prosciutto-wrapped veal--incredibly tender and the prosciutto was nice and crispy on the outside. None of us at the table could quite put our finger on what made the barley slightly sweet in that entree (one person guessed nutmeg); either way, it still tasted great.

Softshell crab with sobu noodles

Veal with barley

Here's one of the things I love about Birch & Barley--there is usually a dish with something in it that I'm not crazy about and ordinarily wouldn't order. Take for example, Kyle's beet risotto that was on the menu a few months ago. I hate beets. Pickled, canned, roasted, candied--I don't care how you make them, I will not enjoy eating them. Goat cheese and beet salad? Been there, done that (probably have wanted to spit it out into my napkin before). And then there was this beet risotto. It was a dish that came out compliments of Kyle, and so I thought, "Here goes nothing. I have to at least try this." Creamy with a subtle and sweet beet flavor, and the brightest, richest beet color. I was sold. Or the kale that had been sauteed to have the right balance between silkiness and the vibrant, fresh crunch of spring. Or Tiffany's peanut butter cheesecake? Again, you say cheesecake, I say I'll pass (with the exception of the manchego cheesecake at Estadio and the key lime cheesecake I had when I interviewed Mallory Staley at 1789). But this peanut buttery confection with the celery vanilla ice cream actually made me start to create positive memories of eating ants on a log back on 5th grade Girl Scout camping trips. What I'm saying is that the dishes at Birch & Barley often get me to think of ingredients in a new way. They make me wiggle out of my comfort zone and make me revise my opinions on foods I usually steer clear of. And that's not something that many chefs can do.

Tiffany MacIsaac's Dessert plate

For dessert, I don't even know where to begin. If I had to sum up Tiffany's desserts in one word, I'd say playful. The cookies and confections plate as well as the ants on a log dessert demonstrate such creativity. Cereal milk sorbet with a pecan joy? Yes, please. Another favorite of mine was the oatmeal cream pie. Take a note from this woman's book, Little Debbie. Also, go for the spiced parsnip cake. I know, parsnip, root vegetable, what is it doing on a dessert menu? But trust me, it works. The panna cotta with flavors of hazelnut and chocolate go so well with the blood orange slices and sorbet. Do not dare go here and not save room for dessert.

Hazelnut panna cotta with blood orange sorbet

So there you have it: my thoughts on Birch & Barley. I like going to a restaurant after having interviewed a chef, not for perks, but because I gain a greater appreciation for where they're coming from and what their thought process is behind their food. I like to learn more about a chef's approach to food, to their craft. I like to find out if they're actually passionate about what they do because I think that shows in their cooking. And if that makes me "biased" about their food, I'm kind of okay with that.

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.

Clara's Cous Cous Salad Recipe

I'm a big believer in the idea that people come into your life for a reason. When I met my friend Clara a few months back we were both amazed that despite having gone to GWU and Georgetown and roaming around DC for years, we had never crossed paths in the city until we interned together. We quickly realized we both had a passion for cooking and everything food, and so our friendship began over an inner-office happy hour, followed by platters of sushi and conversations about how we both had secret dreams of going to culinary school. Clara, who I hope doesn't get embarrassed by this post, is in a word: worldly. She's my graceful, dual-citizen friend who can switch between languages effortlessly and with such poise that I wonder how on earth I'm running in her social circle.

When I cook for more than four people, I usually stress. I thrive on the adrenaline, but I admit that most of the time I get pretty ridiculous. I get sweaty in my shoebox-sized kitchen with poor ventilation, and I'm usually running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to dress myself, bake, put on makeup and assemble however many courses by the time my friends get here. My kitchen is almost always strewn with pots and plates afterwards. My hair often develops a terrible halo of frizz. I am endlessly asking myself, "Is there enough food?" when I know deep down that I have made enough to feed twice as many people as I'm cooking for.

And then there's Clara. She has yet to really start packing for a month-long adventure across several different time zones and she has ten to fifteen people arriving for dinner on her rooftop in minutes. Did I mention she leaves tomorrow? She's calmly drinking white wine and mixing in the very last ingredients for a cous cous salad that she's decided to "wing it" on. There is not an ounce of stress in her kitchen. And the food is simple and delicious. I think you now see why I admire her.

Here's Clara's recipe for a pearl cous cous salad. It's got summertime written all over it. Bon appetit, foodies, and thank you Clara for letting me post this recipe and reminding me how to be graceful in the kitchen.



Serves approximately 4
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of Israeli cous cous (also known as pearl cous cous)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 15 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- Bunch of fresh asparagus (10-15 stalks), roasted and sliced
- 10-16 oz. block of feta cheese, crumbled/cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 3 scallions, cleaned and sliced
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Toss the asparagus with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and place in one layer on a baking sheet. At 400 degrees F, roast the asparagus for 20-25 minutes (until tender). After it's cooked and cooled, cut the asparagus into pieces, about an inch-long or so.
2. Over medium heat, put the cous cous in a pot with 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Stir until the cous cous grains are golden brown, for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and water. Stir occasionally and cook until the liquid has been absorbed by the cous cous and the grains are tender. Allow the cous cous to cool before adding the other ingredients.
3. Mix in the tomatoes, asparagus, feta, pine nuts, scallions, EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss to make sure all the ingredients are mixed well.
4. Serve and enjoy.

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.

Restaurant Review: Estadio

Say the word tapas and I'm instantly taken back to a family vacation in Spain, when I was 14. It was a week where late dinners were the norm, jamon was as common as water, and it was okay for the lovely Spaniards to pour me a little sangria at the dinner table in their large plazas. I'm lusting to travel right now, but I settled for dinner at Estadio, which was most recently nominated for a James Beard Award.

My friend Sebastian and I decided to take our chances without reservations, and we lucked out with two seats at the chef's counter which allowed us to eat with our eyes in between courses. I know some people are picky about where they're seated in a restaurant, and I understand there's a time and place for that. But if you have the chance, eat at the chef's counter and watch all the action at Estadio.Think of it as dinner and a show.

We started off with the shrimp with garlic, lemon and parsley. It's such a simple dish, but at Estadio it was executed perfectly. The shrimp were meaty with the right amount of red pepper flakes and the shallow pool of flavor-infused olive oil they were swimming in was quickly sopped up with bread on hand.

After watching about six of the tortilla espanolas be flipped delicately in their individual cast-iron pans, we had to order one. Kind of like a frittata, the tortilla espanola had slightly browned and crisp edges, with a fluffy interior. The bite of the sweet, hot peppers was cut by the eggs and aioli.

Since they were in season at the time I went, I couldn't help but order the grilled ramps (the current menu has grilled scallions) with romesco and sheep's milk cheese. The ramps were much bigger than those I had purchased at the farmer's market, and were a little tough. The romesco, which was hard to tell if it contained tomatoes or not, was flavorful and paired nicely with the grated sheep's milk cheese.

Round three brought the roasted baby chorizos with potato crisps, and the hanger steak with patatas riojanas. These were probably my two favorite dishes of the night. The chorizos were slightly spicy, and had that perfectly crispy skin that encased the filling. The potato crisps were thin enough to be crunchy, but thick enough to be just a little tender and soft on the inside. As for the steak, it was cooked with a nice char on the outside. Steak sandwiched in between potatoes and fried onions--how can you go wrong with that?

Last but not least was the manchego cheesecake for dessert. Now I normally hate cheesecake, because it conjures up memories of eating something that resembled a dense bar of overly sweetened cream cheese. You say cheesecake and I say bleh. But this cheesecake at Estadio was quite possibly the most fantastic cheese confection I have ever tasted. Delicate and fluffy, sweet and cheesy, sprinkled with a sweet pistachio granola--this is not your hunk of mutant Philadelphia cream cheese with a graham cracker crust Aunt Sylvia brought for the third Easter in a row. This is cheesecake of the Spanish Gods. I could have devoured the whole thing by myself.

For two people, five or six plates should be enough and you can always order a few more for a second round after your initial order (read: this is a marathon, not a race). Though word to the wise: get your own dessert. Had I not been dining with a good friend, I might have stabbed him with the fork to get the last morsel of the manchego cheesecake. Tapas are never a gut-busting dinner, and I always feel a little like I paid a lot for not a lot of food. But the tapas at Estadio are extraordinary and completely worth it. In true Spanish form, we got to linger leisurely over our dinner and our server was attentive but never rushed us. Kick back with one of their slushitos or sangrias and savor each plate as though you were sitting in a plaza in Spain.

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.

WLDC Posts Roundup

Happy Friday, foodies. It's been a while since I've linked to what I've been writing over at We Love DC. So here's a roundup of some of the timely and interesting stuff I've written for them, in case you didn't already catch it over there. Have a good weekend!

Don't talk smack about DC's restaurants, because we did win two JBF awards, you know. For your sweet tooth cravings, there's a second Buzz bakery. And there's twice the amount of lobstopping, lobster-y goodness rolling around the streets of DC these days. If you also gripe about the lack of good bread in DC, head to Penn Quarter to try PAUL, which has now been open for a little more than a month.

Capital Chefs: Because I like knowing more about the people who cook in this city, and you'll find some new recipes to try out this weekend:

• John Critchley of Urbana
• Eric Brannon of Ted's Bulletin
• Mallory Staley of 1789
• Nate Garyantes of Ardeo + Bardeo
• Scott Drewno of the Source
• Kaz Kazmi of Merzi
• Teddy Diggs of Ripple
• Teddy Folkman of Granville Moore's
• What Chefs like to Use in the Kitchen

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.

Dinner at Zentan with Susur Lee

Ages ago I had the fortune to be invited to a not one, but two small media dinners with Susur Lee over at his DC restaurant, Zentan. I was excited to not only have the opportunity to have such a renowned chef prepare our dinner, but also to be able to chat with him about food, cooking and the world of being a chef.

Highlights that I'd suggest ordering the next time you go to Zentan include: the famed Singapore slaw, the beef tartare with avocado and ponzu (below) and the crispy garlic chicken (below). I enjoyed all of the bright flavors in the dishes, and I'm a sucker for anything with ponzu. The slaw is fantastic and fresh, and is even better with slabs of tuna and salmon sashimi.

As for the conversation, it was great to talk about everything from the weirdest thing we've all ever eaten to changes in the DC restaurant scene with Susur. There was a funny moment at the first dinner when Susur started asking all of us about the world of food writing. I've spent so much time interviewing chefs lately and trying to understand that world, that I forgot a chef might be curious about the world of food writing. Thank you to Susur and his executive chef Jaime Montes de Oca, Jr. for making a fabulous dinner and taking the time to talk with all of us. 

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.

Judging Lamb Jam 2011

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was lucky enough to be one of the judges for the 2011 DC Lamb Jam. And while this post is long overdue, here is the list of winners, as well as a few thoughts on what it was like to judge a food competition for the first time.

People’s Choice: BLT Steak, Chef Victor Albisu
- Braised Lamb Shank with Merguez Paella and Charred Ramp Gremolata

Best in Show: Urbana, Chef John Critchley
- Slow-cooked Lamb Leg with Preserved Lemon, Dried Herbs and Flowers, Rosemary scented Gypsy Peppers and Cipolini Onion

Best Leg: Urbana, Chef John Critchley
- Slow-cooked Lamb Leg with Preserved Lemon, Dried Herbs and Flowers, Rosemary scented Gypsy Peppers and Cipolini Onion

Best Loin: Café Atlantico, Chef Richard Brandenburg
- Pickled strawberries with black olive lamb pistachio crust served with snap peas

Best Shank: Zaytinya, Michael Costa
- Hunkar Begendi- A traditional Turkish dish of Braised Lamb Shanks with Eggplant Kefalograviera Puree

Best Shoulder: Bibiana, Nick Stefanelli
- Border Springs Lamb Shoulder Confit, with Charred Eggplant, Lamb Ravioli and Ramps



Holy lamb, where do I even begin? I realize I'm probably going to sound like a wide-eyed child since this was my first time judging a food competition, and I got to judge some of the best chefs in DC along with the likes of well-known judges like Mike Isabella. Almost twenty lamb dishes in two hours--that is some serious eating. I liked that for this competition, we all judged the dishes blind, meaning that we didn't know who cooked what. Of course, we all had our guesses and some were easier to attribute to a certain chef or restaurant, but I was grateful that the factor of "who knows who" or "who is friends with who" was left out of the judging for this particular event.

I will offer up one not-so-rosy observation about the food world that I noticed from my brief episode as a judge: there is a difference between critiquing and complaining, and some are more inclined to complain than critique. Maybe it's because I'm young and fairly idealistic, maybe it's because I just feel incredibly fortunate to have this side gig that I'm intensely passionate about, but I realized the importance of humility that afternoon. I'm not advocating letting a bad dish slide or not pointing out what could be improved with a dish. I'm just saying there's no need to be a grump when people are literally shoving (mostly) delicious food in your face.

All the judging politics aside, most of the lamb dishes were absolutely delicious. John Critchley's lamb leg dish with preserved lemon, Michael Costa's lamb shank with eggplant puree and Nick Stefanelli's shoulder confit and ravioli were the three that stood out the most for me. The whole thing got my mind jogging on what to make with lamb other than grilled lamb chops. Thanks again to the American Lamb Board for asking me to be a judge!

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.

Restaurant Review: Medium Rare

I'm a carnivore to the core, and a bit of an indecisive orderer when it comes to picking what to eat. So Medium Rare in Cleveland Park with it's simple, no-fuss, prix fixe menu immediately appealed to me. We could probably go a couple of rounds debating the merits of such a restaurant concept that relies solely on one appetizer and one entree, but let's not even go down that road. The concept, as far as I can tell from what I've read and heard, isn't likely to change, even if it might be nice to have a choice of steak sauces or maybe something other than French fries (though who really wants crummy steamed vegetables? Man up and eat those fatty fries!).

Dinner at Medium Rare is $19.50 for bread, a mixed green salad with a mustard vinaigrette and prime, dry-aged sirloin cap steak with handcut fries. For roughly 20 bucks it's not a bad deal, especially considering the amount of steak they serve. The wine list is also limited, but the cabernet sauvignon I had was smooth and went very well with my steak. I'll admit now that I can't speak to any of their desserts. To start, the bread itself is airy and fluffy on the inside, while the crust is pleasantly crunchy under the soft, salty butter that comes with it. Random sidenote: is it just me or have you all noticed that most restaurants don't serve bread anymore? And why is bread at Medium Rare seemingly in its own dedicated course? With a bread "course," I feel as though I'm getting jipped out of something.

Moving onto salad, the fresh greens consisted mostly of smooth butter lettuce with a light vinaigrette that tasted homemade. Is it anything I'd rave about? Probably not. But it was a tasty salad and a nice primer to the star of the show: steak.

Steak at Medium Rare is ordered as you prefer, and served with a creamy, almost au poivre (but less peppery) sauce. The sauce is certainly flavorful, though the unadulterated, meaty flavor of my steak was somewhat masked by the amount of sauce that I was initially served. The fries are good--crispy, but they bend nicely under the steak sauce on your plate. The one problem I had with the entire entree was how salty it was. Now I can hear certain food writers and maybe some of you huffing a little and saying to yourself, "well, I like salt. My palate likes salt." So do I, my little saline fiends--I have been known to consume entire jars of marinated artichokes or dill pickles in one sitting. But oh my sodium, those fries and the steak sauce were salty! I hate returning home after a meal to guzzle down water due to it being oversalted. Plus, there is a point at which salt starts to mask the actual flavor of the food, and the fries teetered on that edge. Other than that, the steak was cooked medium just as I ordered and the creamy sauce rounded out the pleasingly simple dish.

Would I go to Medium Rare again? Well...that depends. I'm a big fan of the owners' other restaurant, BGR: Burger Joint. Though I did enjoy my dinner at Medium Rare, I also know that I'm capable of making filet au beurre rouge that will bring you to your knees in the comfort of my own kitchen. For an impromptu dinner with friends, Medium Rare is a good, casual and pretty reasonably priced restaurant for when you're in a meat and potatoes kind of mood. Only time will tell if the restaurant will have lasting power in the neighborhood.

Take a bite: www.bonappetitfoodie.com.