The Weekly Feed: Brazilian Binge Edition
Dish of the Week: Cachaça-layered cookie tart with red-fruits syrup
This no-doubt decadent dessert — comprised of layers of cookie and a Brazilian liquor cachaça-laced cream and red berry sauce — is one of the authentic menu items that will be featured during the Brazil, Uai! food festival being hosted by the Brazilian Embassy this week. Rumberos on 14th St. in Columbia Heights is the venue for the food festival, which is part of the larger Brazil Moves, a month-long celebration of Brazilian life, arts, food and culture. Rumberos will feature the festival menu, which will be unveiled on the first day of the festival Wednesday, for lunch and dinner from Sept. 17-21.
The dishes to be featured are the combined brainchildren of Rumberos and Rumba Café chef and owner Gustavo Angel and Brazilian chef Wender de Carvalho, executive chef of the Senac restaurant school in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Hailing from an inland, agricultural region of the country, Carvalho's specialties are the meat, beans and kale dishes, rather than the renowned but more typical Brazilian seafood fare. Angel recently spent 10 days collaborating with Carvalho in his native Minas Gerais, traveling from town to town sampling and stealing recipes from local restaurant owners, farmers and avós along the way.
Now it's Carvalho's turn to travel, and the two will share the Rumberos kitchen next week turning out dishes like the aforementioned tart, or an entree of pork loin over collard greens, with tropeiro beans, bacon and loin sausage, which will be another of the offerings. The dishes will be available for lunch and dinner, Wed. through Sun. Brazil Moves is sure to offer a better sampling of Brazilian culture than D.C.'s myriad sleazy carnaval club parties every February, so be sure to check the Brazilian Embassy's web site for other Brazil Moves events.
Small Bites
Welcome ... City Safeway? Sexy Safeway? Super-Stocked Safeway?
No matter what you want to call it, the big, shiny new Safeway in NOMA is finally open! It will surely be a life-saver for residents of the ever-expanding neighborhood, which has been seriously under-served in the way of groceries. The Triangle blog has a sweet photo array here, and anyone in the neighborhood this morning might have seen an oversized-scissors-involving ribbon cutting with Mayor Fenty outside the store.
Great American Dine-Out
Make a point next week to ask if your favorite restaurant or neighborhood haunt is participating in the Great American Dine-Out, an annual fund-raiser sponsored by Share Our Strength that entices restaurants to donate a percentage of their proceeds to ending childhood hunger. More than 40 restaurants throughout the D.C. Metro area are participating in the event, which runs from Sept. 21-28, among them Vidalia, Dino, Cure Bar & Grill, the Caucus Room and Rasika downtown, Del Merei and Bastille in Alexandria and all locations of M&S, Legal Seafood and Daily Grill in the area.
Bargain Snacks at Arts on Foot
Looks like the Brazil Uai! doesn't have the market cornered on festival food this weekend, as Arts on Foot invades Penn Quarter, and many of the areas restaurants are coming along for the ride. While an art show, tours and performances are all part of the two-day event, foodies meandering through will do well to take advantage of the $1-$3 sample sizes of dishes from many of the area's restaurants, including indebleu, Ella's, the Chop House, Occidental and Ceiba. Also check out wine tasting in the courtyard of the Hotel Monaco for a $7 cover. Or, check out Ukrainian fare Saturday or Sunday at the St. Andrew's Ukrainian festival in Silver Spring or classic street food at Adams Morgan Day Saturday.