March 14, 2008
The Weekly Feed: It's a Small World Edition
Dish of the Week
Wagamama - Duck gyoza with cherry-hoisin sauce, chili-garlic salt edamame and chili-beef ramen
We apologize for jumping the gun a bit here, but today’s Dish of the Week is not yet available in our area. However, U.K. transplants may be happy to hear that Wagamama, the popular Japanese-style noodle house found across the U.K., is planning to open shop in the D.C. area late this year or early next, according to the Washington Business Journal. The 5,800-square foot location on 7th St. will be Wagamama’s third U.S. location – the other two are in Boston – and the first of several planned sites in the area. Modeled after Japanese ramen bars, Wagamama offers a variety of ramen noodles and side dishes, quickly served to your table and easy on the pocketbook – a favorite of frugal students.
Last year, DCist Jamie had a chance to try out one dish at the Wagamama located in Boston’s Faneuil Hall.
The edamame was… edamame. Meanwhile, the chili-beef ramen came out with onions, cilantro, bean sprouts and lime. I found myself expecting it to taste like pho, but the broth didn’t have the richness of pho and no matter how much lime juice I squeezed in I couldn’t get it the way I liked it. But the ramen noodles were fresh and tasty.Jamie also tried their Duck gyoza cherry-hoisin sauce, commenting on the hearty amounts of meat and calling it, “a slight riff on Peking duck.” If the food doesn’t impress, then maybe the speed at which you receive it will. Wagamama has set itself apart by having its servers use PDAs, which magically beam your orders to the kitchen and gets your food to you in a flash.
A quick spot for a hearty bowl of steaming noodles is just what D.C. needs.
Jamie Liu contributed
Small Bites
Meet the Armstrongs
Yikes, some family. How would you feel if you went back to your native roots in County Donegal, Ireland and were met with a house full of extended family and friends expecting you to feed them? To Cathal Armstrong… at home. This month’s issue of Food & Wine magazine features a piece by Alec Le Sueur, who followed the chef-owner of Restaurant Eve and F&W favorite son on his pilgrimage back to his native Ireland and documented the feast Armstrong produces. In addition to the recipes and a biography of Armstrong's beginnings - can anyone believe that his first restaurant actually failed? – Le Sueur paints a trip that could only have come straight out of a movie.
The Padma Show: Season 4
The fourth season of Top Chef kicked off Wednesday night and I’m already wagering serious money on who’ll win. Take a look at Wednesday’s WaPo chat with Season 3 winner Hung Huynh and judge Gail Simmons for some Top Chef handicapping tips.
The French Love Surprises
Speaking of Top Chef, several top chefs (lower case ‘t’ and ‘c’) were gathered at CityZen Sunday night to wish Michel Richard a happy 60th birthday. Names like Thomas Keller and Jean Joho graced the guest list to surprise the sexagenarian. [via Best Bites Blog]
|
We're getting a Wagamama? Awesome! I used to go there when I studied abroad in London.
If you expect ramen to taste like pho, of course you're going to be disappointed!
TW, I'm with you -- must have eaten at Wagamama once a week while studying in London. It's a fun place to go with a group, and so, so fast. If this materializes I'll be frequenting it for lunch.
And apparently we're getting a Maoz in DC as well! This is even more exciting. It doesn't specify where the location will be though.
Haven't heard of Maoz -- looks like a falafel joint? Very cool.