The Weekly Feed: Spring, In Like a Lion Edition
Dish of the Week
Cherry drinks from here, there and everywhere
With cherry blossom season, tons of restaurants are incorporating cherries and blossoms into their food. But with the recent warmup, I'd rather have my cherries in cool liquid form.
Starting with beer, head to Brasserie Beck or Granville Moore's for a Lindemann's Kriek or Kasteel Rouge. These may not appeal to a typical beer lover's taste - they have a very strong cherry flavor - so you might prefer to get your cherry fix in a cocktail.
For that, you can head on over to Zaytinya, where they can mix up a cocktail with their sour cherry juice, or, if you need cherries without the buzz, add it to their lemonade for a refreshing treat.
If you plan on celebrating the Cherry Blossom Festival at home, mix your own drinks with options such as Cherry Heering, or Aqua Perfecta Kirsch Eau de Vie - both available at Ace Beverage. Or maybe just add soda to some cherry Juicy Juice.
Eddie Kim contributed to this post. Photo by techne
Small Bites
Here comes awards season
The movie awards season is long past, but the summer is prime time for restaurants. This week, we saw nominees for two major awards announced.
The nominations for the national James Beard Foundation Awards gave nods to several local names, including:
Jose Andres for Outstanding Chef (minibar)
Central Michel Richard for Best New Restaurant
Johnny Monis of Komi for Rising Star Chef of the Year
Terry Theise for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional
Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve and Eric Ziebold of CityZen for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
A complete list is available here.
In addition, nominees for the the RAMMYs, the annual awards for the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, were released. The extensive list of nominees is available online. The RAMMYs also features public voting in the categories of favorite Neighborhood Gathering Place, Hottest Bar Scene of the Year, Power Spot of the Year, and Voter’s Favorite. Voting begins May 18 online and in that Sunday’s issue of the WaPo Magazine.
The RAMMY Awards Gala will take place June 29 and tickets are available for $250 for non-RAMW members.
Mo Busboys, Mo Poets
Washington Business Journal reported that, Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys and Poets and Luna Grill, has announced plans to open an eatery in The Flats at Union Row, right across the street from the D.C. Busboys and Poets. His new restaurant will be called Eatonville, the childhood home of Zora Neale Hurston. Shallal is still in the planning stages, but hopes to open in late summer or early fall.
In addition to Eatonville, two more BBPs are planned at 5th and K streets, and in the Arts District Hyattsville.
Thai Restaurant Week
The Office of Commercial Affairs of the Royal Thai Embassy has organized a Thai Restaurant Week in celebration of Thai New Year, called “Songkran”, and traditionally celebrated on April 13-15 of every year. Extended to the entire week of April 13-19, Thai RW features 20 D.C.-area Thai restaurants with special menus, discounts, and New Year’s performances. Participating restaurants will provide complementary mango, mangosteen, lychee, rambutan, pineapple, and longan, all recently allowed to be imported from Thailand.
Although there isn’t a fixed price for meals, each restaurant is celebrating in their own way. For example, Bangkok Joe’s has a special menu of traditional and symbolic Thai foods, including Meang-Kum (promotes good health), Thai New Year Spaghetti (signifies longevity), and Yum Gai Yang (traditionally served with the family).