Food with a hint of history
The Smithsonian has released details about their spring food events. Worth noting are promoters of the Southern cooking diaspora, the Lee Brothers, and Ruth Reichl, former NYT food critic and editor of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine.

I ride through the city's backside
The Columbia Room at The Passenger is going to be opening to celebrate Valentine's Day. February 13-15 will feature a special Valentine's menu, with regular service starting on February 18. The regular set menu at The Columbia Room will be $49 (including tax and tip) for a glass of champagne, two cocktails, and a small plate.

Autism speaks... sweetly
Something Sweet is holding a fundraiser for Autism Speaks this Saturday and Sunday. Fifteen percent of gross sales of all desserts and coffee will be donated to the charity.

Just another Clyde's?
New York-based pub chain P.J. Clarke's is looking to D.C. to expand. Rumor has it that it could be taking over the space on 16th and L that was formerly home to Olives. Unfortunately, the menu looks a lot like the BenniGITuesday's Chili model.

Meat Week is here
Do you feel like you have to make up for vegetarians by doubling your meat eating? Well you can join up with Meat Week (January 31- February 7) to eat your way around the BBQ joints in the area. We all know that BBQ in D.C. isn't exactly the best, but this could still be a great way to meet other intent carnivores. You can check out schedule details at Capital Spice.

I can haz food truck waffles plz.
Sâuçá, the latest food truck that will soon be hitting the streets of D.C., has just released their menu. It's a nice mix of some European, Asian street foods, and American classics. (Thank God it's not fusion!) Sweet waffles, breakfast foods, soup, salad, and flatbread sandwiches figure into a menu so large, I'm not quite sure how they'll manage to handle making all of it. But I'd definitely line up to try merguez frites or a waffle.

Small bites by Jamie Liu

One investor who only gave his first name, Jason, said he opted to invest some money he came into through work because he's witnessed the changes that have come to Arlington with some chagrin. "I'm happy to see another 'just a bar' in Arlington instead of a high-end restaurant," he said. "Given the history and location, it's a safe investment and a fun opportunity."

Additional reporting by Eddie Kim.

Change ups
Zagat has a pretty solid list of restaurants opening in 2010, some of which we missed noting in the last few weeks of 2009. On the list, Bond 45 caught our eye. The Italian steakhouse will soon be opening at National Harbor with a "dramatic" twist from a Tony Award-winning set designer. But the most notable feature that catches our eye is the cocktail menu designed by Dale DeGroff, who is credited with being a major player in the revival of classic cocktails. (He also kind of looks like the Dos Equis man, a.k.a. the Most Interesting Man in the World.)

Another Twitter truck
You can add DC Slices to your Twitter feed. Joining the ranks of frozen yogurt, Indian food, and cupcakes, DC Slices will be driving around the city selling thin crust pizzas with their mobile oven in tow.

The promotion is mainly an attempt to get people out and about in the frigid (and notoriously frugal) month of January, and by the looks of things, it’s working. Beck was packed on a recent Friday, and bartenders said the crowd was “six deep” during happy hour and beyond on Thursday. If you’re hoping for a little more elbow room—and the chance to really talk to the bartenders about the beers, the breweries and the brewmasters—head over earlier in the week.

Oh, and if you’re trying to convince that non-beer drinker in your after work crowd to come along (using some ammo other than the cherry-infused Kasteel Rouge, $4.75 on special), don’t forget about the cocktails. Mixologist Damian Torguson is mixing a number of signature drinks with a bunch of new homemade ingredients. His blueberry martini involves his house-made blueberry and vanilla-infused vodka with sweet and sour, a twist and just a touch of brut rosé, and whiskey drinkers shouldn't leave without trying his Brown Sugar Manhattan, which is composed of bourbon, his own brandied cherry juice and a brown sugar simple syrup. Cheers!

Big Chair is no-frills. It is inviting enough, with warm walls painted burnt orange and a long bar downstairs and a lime lounge upstairs. The decor is much closer to Starbucks than indie coffeehouse, though there are some comfortable touches: brightly colored hourglasses (for steeping tea) are an example. It is difficult to judge the coffee, since Big Chair is only serving Java brand coffee for the time being; they have not yet received the beans that they plan to import from Ethiopia and roast on site. D explained that it was difficult to import coffee from Ethiopia nowadays because so many farmers have switched from growing coffee to growing khat, a chewable leaf that is a stimulant. (Councilmember Barry asked, "Make you high?")

Big Chair comes with some pedigree: The drinks are made on the La Marzocco espresso machine that used to be the engine behind Murky Coffee. (Big Chair won it at a tax auction.) But there is room for improvement: The latte I tried wasn't awful, but it sure wasn't anything you'd get at Murky back in the day. The price, however, was spot on. Big Chair serves small, medium, and large specialty espresso drinks, with a large (18 ounce) priced at $3.50. The largest house coffee (which will come as French press and drip) costs just more than two bucks.

On Saturday, Big Chair served donuts and pastries, but the grill wasn't up and running yet. The owners said that they will serve eggs, sausage, and other country breakfast fare in the morning. The lunch menu is fuller: hamburgers, turkey and veggie burgers, buffalo wings, and chicken fingers were all mentioned. The menu isn't set yet, but a hamburger would set you back somewhere between $6.50-8.00.

But by the enthusiasm of some of the customers, you would believe that Anacostia residents would be willing to pay any price. One customer explained that developers won't build out River East until the white hipsters move in, even though the area is home to black middle class residents who shop at the same places in the District.

"Just a place to get coffee. Just anything that isn't crappy pizzas or takeout," gushed Metro Police Department officer J.M. Bruno. Big Chair's coffee and fare might not measure up to some of the other elite coffeehouses in the District -- at least, not without some practice. Even Big Chair has already set the standard for new developments in River East.

The much anticipated Ris has been open for a month, and is doing lunch and dinner for Restaurant Week. They'll offer at least at least three options straight from their regular menu. Lunch will be an outstanding value, as the soy lacquered salmon, braised lamb shank, or mushroom pappardelle you'll get would cost you around $20 or more to begin with.

J&G Steakhouse, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's entry at the W Hotel by the White House, grabbed the #4 spot on Washingtonian's Top 100 list. They're offering both lunch and dinner, featuring several options from their regular menus. It's a super deal. The lunch menu is the same one they use for their everyday $28 prix fixe lunch, saving you $8.

Bibiana is Ashok Bajaj's new osteria/enoteca on New York Avenue. Nicholas Stefanelli, who followed acclaimed chef Fabio Trabocchi to New York before returning to D.C. to cook at Mio, heads the kitchen and its polished Italian cuisine. The thorough Restaurant Week menus allow guests to choose one of eight courses of antipasti, primi, and dulce dishes. All of the items look so tempting that I wish there were fewer options to make deciding what to order an easier task.

Jury's still out

CityZen won't likely ever offer a $35 three course dinner, but Eric Ziebold's Sou’Wester, which he opened up in the Mandarin Oriental to replace Café Mozu, is participating. Sou'Western offers Southern-style cuisine.

Farmers and Fishers—formerly Agraria—rewards customers with an extra small plates course at dinner time. Four courses! As long as you like three cheese pizza that is, the only choice for a starter. As for lunch, you get three courses - starter, small plate, and entree.

Zentan at the Donovan House is doing dinner, but we don't see their menu posted anywhere online.

Birch & Barley, the downstairs restaurant to the upstairs beer bar ChurchKey in Logan Circle, will be serving dinner.

Save for later with year round deals

Kora is Chef Morou Ouattara's New Italian venture that just opened in Crystal City. When Morou was at Farah Olivia in Alexandria, he always offered a fairly extensive full menu. But Kora's prices are so wallet friendly to begin with that Restaurant Week is not a bargain. The restaurant normally offers 3 courses for a power lunch for $16; a 3-course dinner for $30; and a 3-course family style dinner for four on Sundays for $15 per person. Budget diners, get thee to Kora. They'll hook you up with some free wine if you come in for Restaurant Week, but I'd wait until February.

Tallula in Arlington has been around for awhile, but is operating on another level with Barry Koslow, formerly of Mendocino Grille. Their Restaurant Week lets you have the run of their full menu, but the same deal is available all year round until 6:30 p.m. on weeknights. However if you're no early bird, now is a chance to get the deal at a reasonable time.

Skip...They're phoning it in

Againn, the brand new contemporary gastropub downtown, strikes out by going the old two options per course route. No thanks.

You're not getting in

Volt is participating for lunch and dinner. That's the Frederick restaurant of Top Chef runner-up Bryan Voltaggio. If you don't aleady have a reservation, good luck. But if you can make it to Frederick for lunch, they regularly feature a prix fixe three-course lunch menu for $20 and change.

Winter Restaurant Week is here
Forget that New Year's diet, next week is Restaurant Week. If you haven't made your reservations yet, there's still a lot of availability on OpenTable, and a number of restaurants are also offering extensions. Don't know how to choose? Check out Josh's picks for best lunch deals; I'd also recommend Vidalia and Zola as good bets for your buck.

White House Chef Reigns Supreme
In case you missed it, White House chef Cristeta Comerford and Bobby Flay bested Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse on this week's episode of Iron Chef America. The First Lady chose the secret ingredient: anything from the White House garden. Reruns will be airing on the Food Network this week, or Obama Foodorama has a full recap.

Openings
Bistro La Bonne has replaced the now-defunct Axis Bar on U St.

Patty Boom Boom, a funky Jamaican carry-out joint and bar by the owners of Marvin, opened yesterday.

When you come to Adour or any of your restaurants, do you find yourself tweaking things here and there? What sort of interaction do you have when you come?
Ducasse: I criticize everything. I see everything. I’m never satisfied. It’s a constant evolution. Because Julien moves things and things progress constantly, I’m more and more pleased.
JJ: We’ll never be able to duplicate what we learn in Monaco because Monaco is a unique place. Even in Paris they cannot duplicate what they’re doing in Monaco. At least when we spend time like I did in Monaco a long time ago, when we learn all the technique and all the basics in Monaco, we have the real spirit of Chef Ducasse with us.

I’ve read about your philosophy that it’s about having your essence or you style wherever you are even though you’re not actually in the kitchen.
That’s why it’s always better when I’m here. It’s like a sport. I’m a trainer but I’m not the trainee.

Anything that you’d like to add to the enterprise? Anywhere else where you’d like to go as a chef?
My heart is really invested in mentorship and cooking schools for the general public but also for professionals. And also my publishing house, which allows that reference point for my chefs. The immediate focus for my company is to further the dissemination all of the experiences I’ve collected through my travels.

How much time do you get to spend in a kitchen these days?
JJ (interpreting for Ducasse): He’s the brand. We are the arms. He conceives of projects, what he would like to create.
Ducasse: I’m a director. I point the way, but I’m not a manager on a day-to-day basis. [Referring to the changing the model of a successful restaurant in Paris] That’s my job, that’s my job, that’s my job. To change and to decide a new way for one restaurant. To anticipate.

I understand the relationship with Adour and other restaurants. But do you ever get to cook home anymore on your own?
Yes, yes, yes. The problem is my commis at home. My wife. She questions every time I tell her to do something. So actually there’s a problem because the roles are reversed at home. I’m almost assisting her in the kitchen because she turns the tables. She says, “at home I’m the chef.”

What do you like to cook and what do you eat when you’re at home?
I go with what’s available at the market. I’ll choose beautiful fish and go out to my garden and farm in the southwest of France and pick some vegetables there. I like to cook simply. But before you clean and you peel vegetables and you clean the fish, after you finish to prepare a dish you clean the kitchen.

The ceilings in here are the originals from 1927. Why did you decide to go with a more modern design for the rest of the room?
Magnifique! If everything looked like the ceiling it would be too formal. You need the sommelier with the wine list. [in an exaggerated and stuffy American accent and puffed out chest] “Can you show us your wine?" Fin. You’re closed the next day. The restaurant would be shut down. Those elements, we put them in the museum. It’s over with.

Anything else to add about Adour, the cooking, the menu?
I feel great about Julien’s evolution here—Adour and Julien’s evolution. You always have to second guess. Never be satisfied with what you’ve done. Always push it further.