The Weekly Feed: Focus on Logan and the Hill
Fantastic Food Writing on Merkado
Logan Circle looks to be turning into the new hotness in D.C. eating, especially with Merkado working out its kinks. And in case you missed it, a front page story in this Sunday's went deep in the weeds at Merkado to show the other side of the restaurant business. This is a well covered topic, but Anne Hull's food writing is absolutely superb and well worth a read -- and a re-read. She journeys into Logan's seedy past and examines the struggles of working in the restaurant industry in an article we hope gets recognition as a stellar piece of food writing.
And Speaking of the Logan Area
Yesterday's Ask Tom chat made it publicly known that popular Logan area dive Stoney's -- home to Tom Sietsema's favorite grilled cheese sandwich -- will soon be closing. We've been hearing rumors about this closing for sometime, with the bar getting pushed out for development. The owners have been putting their energies into their other property, Tunnicliff's Tavern on the Hill, refurbishing the venerable old bar with newly painted walls, hardwood flooring in the restaurant portion, improved bathrooms, and a brand new menu.
Wat We're Talking About
Sorry for the awful pun. It's just that last week's Weekly Feed set off an unexpected controversy. We were really hoping that the fact that the Cheap Eats issue ignored Ethiopian food for at least two years running would cause more reaction than our apparently elitist tastes. In any case, this month's Hill Rag has a nice piece on a visit to the neighborhood almost officially dubbed Little Ethiopia. If you haven't had the deliciousness that is injera, you really have no excuse. And no need to get your kitfo "leb leb"; if you're a steak tartare fan, raw is just fine. The big question: will they change the Metro sign to reflect the neighborhood's unofficial name?
Sonoma Finally Open to the Public
After much anticipation, Sonoma has finally opened to the public. The owners of Mendocino in Georgetown bring chef Drew Trautmann's New American cuisine to Capitol Hill, which like Logan Circle seems to be enjoying a bit of a culinary renaissance. The restaurant features 40-plus wines by the glass and will soon open an upstairs lounge area that looks to be a great alternative to the other bars of Capitol Hill. DCist had a chance to preview Sonoma a few weeks ago; look for our thoughts on the tastes we had tomorrow.
Finally, a Vocab Question
Last week the term "foodie" also caused a bit of a hubbub. Like others, this DCist isn't exactly fond of the term -- and in a donrockwell.com forum discussion, the alternative "gastronaut" was suggested. We like the term for its humor and directness. But we're curious: do DCist readers have any other suggestions?