The Weekly Feed: Extra Crusty Edition
Dish of the Week: Bread
Bread is often an afterthought, even though for most it starts off a meal. How many times have you walked into a restaurant to be served another rock hard piece of ciabatta with a pat of hard, cold butter? This is something Tim Carman points to in his sneak preview of a baguette roundup in Young & Hungry.
We'll be nice and not rain on Tim's parade by listing all the criteria for classical (French) baguettes. But we will say that much of it has to do with optimizing flavor through leavening and browning of the crust. Even so there's a huge variety of opinions about what makes good bread. I know that I have a soft spot for the squishy, preservative-laden Wonder bread and the now and again desire to cut off my crusts.
Some of the best baguettes in the area are to be had at Robert Wiedmaier's Butcher Block, where they bake the baguettes in-house several times a day. For other types of bread, Vidalia has the best mix of cornbread and those ultra-buttery curled up rolls. Or go with a less traditional interpretation with the lavash at Proof, which comes out with a mixture of Greek yogurt, herbs and olive oil.
Where around town are some of your favorite bread baskets?
Small Bites
Openings
A new Ethiopian restaurant, Little Ethiopia, opened last night at 1924 9th Street NW. According to the press release, the servers will wash your hands at the table, a service that we have yet to see at any other Ethiopian restaurant. And it's perfect for ensuring clean hands when you use them to scoop up tidbits with your injera.
Qualia Coffee, at 3917 Georgia Ave. NW in Petworth, opens today from Joel Finkelstein's Fresh Off the Roast, which does small batch coffee bean roasting. Because the coffee is roasted in small batches, and have limits placed on its shelf life, it ensures much better coffee. PoP, naturally, has the early word.
One more, one less
Sova Espresso has just added a brand new drinks menu designed by Derek Brown of The Gibson. Aside from a great list of beers and wines, the cocktail menu and booze flights are worth the trip. Most interesting is a flight of Peruvian piscos for $14. [via Frozen Tropics]
Sadly, one of D.C.'s best bartenders will be moving on, at least for a little while. Bar Pilar's Adam Bernbach will be moving on after May 19. Known for his Tuesday cocktail sessions, his tenure will culminate in "The Black Sessions," where he will serve up some favorites. More details about his plans from Going Out Gurus.