Food and Drink: May 2008 Archives

Where: Tackle Box

Written by DCist contributor Whitney Satin

When The Black Squirrel opened in late February, it seemed at first glance that the new dining spot would be a standout among the restaurants and bars along Adams Morgan's 18th Street strip. An early review by the Washington Post was positive and it appeared that diners in the area had a place that would provide food as enticing as their extensive beer list.

If constantly counting superdelegates has started to wear thin, public voting for the RAMMYs may provide a much needed respite from politics for the gourmands in us. Until this Friday, May 30, area diners can voice their opinions and mark their ballots in four categories of this year's Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington RAMMY Awards.

Macarons at Michel Patisserie

Slowly, but surely, Chef José Andrés can now knock-off another television network from his list to appear on; this time Bravo. D.C.'s beloved Andrés will guest judge on tonight's episode of Top Chef, which will feature the fan-favorite "Restaurant Wars" contest, pitting two teams against each other in designing and operating a mini-restaurant.

A late, and perhaps controversial, entry into this season's frozen treats giveaways, Dippin' Dots is celebrating their 20th anniversary by giving customers a free cup of their curious beads of ice cream from 4 p.m. to close today. Invented in 1988, Dippin' Dots are touted as "scientifically advanced" due to their cryogenic-freezing process, earning them the title of "Ice Cream of the Future." They are also releasing a new, yet unsurprising, flavor: Birthday Cake.

For many Washingtonians, the bloom of the cherry blossoms signals the changing of the seasons. But for outdoor food fans, nothing says spring quite like a weekend full of outdoor food festivals. The whiff of grilled pork, charcoal, and butane filling the air, styrofoam plates piled high with pad thai, pupusas, and eggplant parmesan; you can walk, eat, and drink your way clear into next week.

Written by DCist contributor Whitney Satin

Local "celebrity" chef groupies and aspiring foodies itching for a glimpse inside their favorite D.C. restaurants' kitchens can get an hour’s worth of behind-the-scenes restaurant dirt (in the figurative, NOT the literal sense) tonight as WETA premieres the latest installment of its local D.C. documentary-style series: The WETA Guide to Fine Dining. The guides, which are produced four times a year, cull together some of D.C.’s most notable sites and establishments into half and whole hour-long segments — luckily producers devoted a full hour for this installment. Previous episodes have highlighted D.C.’s memorials, the area’s unusual attractions and neighborhood eats, among others.

Technically, today isn't a true ice cream giveaway. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Dunkin' Donuts is giving away 16 oz. cups of their regular or new "Berry Berry-flavored" iced coffee. And, as with any promotional giveaway these days, a donation of $5000 will be made, this time to the Washington D.C. Police Athletic League for its youth leadership program.

Written by DCist contributor Wade Green Jr.

According to Häagen-Dazs, today's ice creampocalypse may, in fact, help avert a real apocalypse: the collapse of certain crops worldwide. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., participating HD shops will be giving away 4 oz. scoops of their newest flavor, Vanilla Honey Bee. Today's freebie is meant to raise awareness about the massive die-off of honey bees, which are responsible for the ingredients used in 40 percent of HD's flavors. In addition, when you buy a pint of Vanilla Honey Bee or other "honey bee-dependent flavors," HD will help support research to save the bees.

The SAVOR Beer and Food Festival takes place this weekend and for the past week, D.C. has been crawling with several top figures in the beer crafting industry. To kick off this week's beer festivities, DCist got a chance to sit down and talk with Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster, food and beer pairing expert, author, and — though maybe not as glamorous as the St. Pauli girl — the face of top-notch, traditional beer brewing. We caught up with him before an Italian beer tasting at the National Geographic.

Soft shell crabs have been in season for a few weeks now, and they're on menus all over town. And our interview with Eric Ziebold has definitely inspired a craving for these little delights. Nothing quite like the crunch of a deep-fried soft shell with the creamy flavor of its tomalley. The best part is the ease in getting to their crabby goodness, without all the work of mallets and picks to get through hard shell and cartilage. Yes, Virginia, you do eat the whole thing.

For most D.C.-area food nerds, any mention of Eric Ziebold brings the sound of excited titters. As the executive chef of CityZen, Ziebold brings to our area the thoughtful, service-oriented cooking of the world-renowned French Laundry, where he was the restaurant's first-ever sous chef. He also spent time in the kitchens of Spago and Vidalia, and staged in France. In 2005, he was named one of the country's best new chefs by Food & Wine Magazine.

Maybe you've got a 20-year old bottle of Burgundy chilling in your wine cellar that you want to drink for a special dinner out. Or, you just want to order something nice off the wine list. Up until now, D.C. ABC regulations dictated that you can't carry any remainder out of the restaurant. So of course, most folks would either try to finish the whole thing, leave it behind, or stealthily hand it off to some other lucky diner. This leaves you with the options of dangerous, wasteful, or illegal.

It's taken roughly three years, but The Wonderland Ballroom finally has a real web site.