Food and Drink: March 2008 Archives

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.

With names like "Strawnana Berry," "P-Nut Power Shake" and "Mahalo Mango" -- my personal favorite flavor -- a little bit of embarrassment has always been a part of ordering a $5+ Robeks smoothie. But today from 3 to 6 p.m., declare your flavor with pride at D.C.-area Robeks and treat yourself to a 12 oz smoothie for $1.

“Madness” is in the air, Google’s homepage has flowers, and the first of summer treat giveaways has begun – it must be spring. In its 16th annual celebration of the first day of spring, Rita’s ItalianWater Ice is giving away free 10 oz. cups of Italian ice all day today.

Wagamama - Duck gyoza with cherry-hoisin sauce, chili-garlic salt edamame and chili-beef ramen

Amsterdam Falafelshop now accepts payment in Euros. Is it a sign of the increasing value of the Euro, which is now worth $1.50 USD? According to Falafelier Pete Barich, it was because tourists from out of town would come into the restaurant late in the evening after banks and other currency exchange storefronts had closed. Rather than turn away paying customers, Amsterdam decided to allow payment in Euros.

Most restaurants can't afford a pastry chef - a 1 percent profit on desserts is considered successful. So many restaurants outsource the making of their desserts. Luckily Mio bucks the trend with its own pastry chef, churning out a varying collection of desserts, from crazily deconstructed items to multiple-sauced creations, each more adventurous than the typical cake or pie.

You're right, Mr. Pink. Food blogging can be tiring, especially when you're holding a hunk of chevre in one paw and a glass of Riesling with the other -- all while surreptitiously taking notes and snapping pictures. So, while Mr. Pink takes his food coma nap, the DCist Food and Drink team is looking to pick up his slack with a few new enthusiastic Food and Drink writers.

Calling all foodies and would-be good citizens: It's never been so easy to donate to a good cause. This Thursday, area restaurants will be participating in the annual Dining Out for Life event, where over 130 restaurants have agreed to donate between 25-100 percent of their night's sales to benefit Food & Friends.