Finally legal and ready to party
This week the Washington Post published an article featuring three local pastry chefs creating recipes around exotic fruits. The article was a nod to the recent change that allows the legal importation from Thailand of rambutan, litchis, longans, new varieties of mangoes, and the "queen of fruits", the mangosteen. Many of these fruits were available fresh in Asian markets, but were often smuggled from Canada. The fruits will begin trickling in seasonally from Thailand, and initially be sold in gourmet markets such as Dean & Deluca, Balducci's, and Wegman's.

To introduce these fruits, the Thai Embassy hosted a tasting for the press at Bangkok Joe's. The fruits were integrated into smoothies, as well as into savory dishes such as litchi fried rice. The sweetness of the fruits provided a tropical contrast to the spicy and savory fried rice. But the one that was most anticipated was the mangosteen. With a magenta outer husk, the flesh nestled inside is made of small white segments. The flavor recalls a custard mix of peach, pineapple and mango. Starting at approximately $11 a fruit though, it may be worth waiting until the prices go down.

Speaking with some of the members of the Thai Embassy delegation I was able to discover a key to their importation strategy. In the past, when Fuji apples first arrived in this country, they were only available in gift boxes at Asian grocery stores. Those initial years, the apples were flavorful, crisp, and delicious. But as they became a commodity and were available from other sources, the quality of the fruit declined. A member of the Thai delegation explained that the Thai fruits would differentiate themselves through decreased volume, but increased quality.

In the meantime, you can try and get your fix, fresh or canned, from local Asian markets. I could certainly go for some mangosteen now.

Moving, Shaking and Closing
Maybe it's just that time of year, but it seems like there's an endless stream of restaurant openings and closings.

We reported a while ago that a new restaurant named Onje would be opening in the 21P space. The space will now be called Cafe Trope, and should open on December 28 - just in time for New Year's. According to Sietsema's Dish, it will be headed up by the chef of the closing Red Ginger, Howsoon Cham. The cuisine will be French-Caribbean, and offer two, three, four and five-course menu options.

As we previously mentioned, Asia Nora will be closed to make way for a new hotel and restaurant. Their last service will be this Sunday, December 23.

Tom Sarris' Orleans House in Rosslyn will close on January 15. The restaurant, which opened in 1964, is one of those classic steakhouses that is a perfect place to take your grandparents. The space was sold to make way for one of the dreaded new Rosslyn skyscrapers. Sarris hopes to reopen elsewhere, but says finding a location may prove difficult. [via WJLA]

BrightestYoungThings also has the scoop that Dakota Cowgirl and Titan's Ramrod, the gay bar above it, are set to close on Sunday.

There are with way more openings to cover here. Luckily former DCist Melissa McCart does a roundup of the rest in the Express this week.

Small Bites
Area food blogger beats New York foodies
Local food blogger Carol Cooks Keller won not one, but two awards in Well Fed Networks Annual Best Food Awards. Carol won in the categories of Best Humor and Best New Blog. She had venerable competition from other bloggers such as The Girl Who Ate Everything and The Amateur Gourmet.

The diet can wait
DC Restaurant Week dates were announced for January 14-20, 2008. Three-course lunches for $20.08, and three-course dinners for $30.08. For more details and participating restaurants check with http://www.washington.org/restaurantwk/.