Countdown to Westend Bistro
It's almost here. The opening that all the foodies in town have been waiting for. The one that all the critics are getting more than a little excited about. The chef that makes all the ladies swoon with his French accent. Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert at the Ritz-Carlton on Thursday, November 8.

Menus have been posted to their web site leaving many, including Don Rockwell posters, mystified. Rather than serving the more complex seafood dishes that are common at Ripert's Le Bernardin, the menu has been compared to chain restaurants like Ruby Tuesday or TGIFriday's.

But perhaps Ripert is being strategic in his first expansion. Rather than trying to implement a complicated menu that may not succeed without him in the kitchen, he is playing it safe and bringing out some of the classics. Just because they are classics, doesn't mean they won't be good.

So if you happen to get a seat at this sure to be hoppin' hot spot, go in with an open mind. Although he may want to work on his beer list.

Paper Food Fight?
A little storm is a-brewin amongst some of the print critics in this town. Tim Carman started by posting his nomination for the Pannies, a series of the worst D.C. food writing. Amongst them was Washingtonian critic Todd Kliman.

When a chogger asked about Kliman's nomination on his chog, he implied that Carman was "stirring the pot" and pointed out a number of, what he considered to be, inaccuracies in the reporting, and also made some retorts in return.

Carman responded to Kliman's smackdown--his term--by refuting the claims against him.

Will Kliman come back with his own remarks? Will we see "Don't Believe the City Paper" bumper stickers around town? With all the similarity between their names, are you confused as I am?

Editor's Note: We've been handed a "Pannie" from Mr. Carman as well (with one full lump more than Mr. Kliman!). We heart it, though, because we're a blog and we love to hear comments that aren't "THIS IZ TEH GHEYEST POST EVAR!!!111!" We here at DCist are also loath to wade into this little circle jerk, so we'll just watch from here.

Photo courtesy of Oblivious Dude

Small Bites
Capital Food Fight
Anthony Bourdain and José Andres are hosting the Capital Food Fight on Tuesday, November 6, to benefit the D.C. Central Kitchen. A sort of local Iron Chef-type competition, a who's who of Washington-area chefs will be duking it out. Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve, RJ Cooper of Vidalia, Barton Seaver of Hook, and Bryan Voltaggio of Charlie Palmer Steak will be facing last year's champs Roberto Donna of Bebo Trattoria, and Anthony Chittum of (then) Notti Bianche and (now) Vermilion. Sample food from 40 area restaurants as well as tons of champagne and wine. Tickets are sold out, but there is a waiting list or you might be able to find some on Craigslist closer to Tuesday.

I Gave Her My Heart, She Gave Me a Pen
Pining for John Cusack's younger days? EatBar will be screening Cameron Crowe's Say Anything at 8 p.m. on Sunday, November 4. They'll be serving complimentary white truffle popcorn and some sweets. Trust me guys, take a girl to watch this movie and she will melt. Either that or you can try standing outside her window holding up a boombox.

Alliteration of Bs
Brasserie Beck will begin serving brunch this Sunday, starting at 11:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. They will put their big HDTVs to use so folks can watch football and other sports. The brunch menu additions includes classics like Belgian waffles and a few variations on eggs from scrambled to poached to omelets. All brunch items are $14.