Drink of the Week: Bombay Government Regulation Punch Every visitor to Hummingbird to Mars is greeted with a cup of punch before sitting down to imbibe a bevy of fine cocktails. The Bombay Government Regulation Punch is a pleasant rum drink topped off with fresh gratings of nutmeg. It is wonderfully refreshing with that perfect edge. Unfortunately, for a vast majority it is unlikely they will be able to sample this drink at Hummingbird to... [continue]

The next season of Top Chef, filmed this time in New York, is set to premiere on November 12, and this time we'll have a hometown girl to cheer for. Carla Hall is chef-owner of Alchemy Caterers, and got her schooling at Bethesda's L'Academie de Cuisine. Her bio states that her food is at the "heart and soul of the South and the refinement of her classic French training." Let's hope that she fares better... [continue]

Dish of the Week: Seasonal small plates Where: 2 Amys A large number of D.C. diners will direct you to 2 Amys for the best pizza in town. But I contend that while the pizza is good, the small plates are easily the best things on their menu. Some items, such as the deviled eggs, are a constant, but even more striking are the seasonal items. I still have dreams about a skewer of tempura-battered... [continue]

Saveur delves into the topic of what the presidential candidates and other D.C. figures eat for breakfast. The majority of the interviewees listed the expected - oatmeal, cereal, toast, eggs, or coffee. For instance, Mayor Adrian Fenty eats a typical runner's breakfast - oatmeal, bananas, and tea with honey. Also notable from the list: Barack Obama eats four to six eggs every morning (that's a lot of eggs!); House Speaker Nancy Pelosi eats chocolate ice... [continue]

Drink in the Details is a monthly column highlighting spirits and classic cocktails written by DC Craft Bartenders Guild members Adam Bernbach (Bar Pilar) and Chantal Tseng (Tabard Inn). There’s an episode of The Simpsons in which Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for $5 to prove how needless it is. He then spends the remainder of the episode scrambling to recover it. While this might be a bit dramatic, it often proves to be... [continue]

Though the weather appears to have taken a turn for the colder, we find out via We Love DC that Cold Stone Creamery will be giving away free ice cream tonight from 5-8 p.m. to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation. You can make your way to locations in Chinatown or Cleveland Park to pick up this sweet treat. And by the way, ice creampocalypse... so over...... [continue]

The media has long been hovering around former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn and his D.C. burger joint, Good Stuff Eatery. The latest is this WTOP report about health violations at the restaurant. According to the story, the restaurant was cited for storing beef in the alley behind the restaurant; photos of buns by the dumpster have apparently surfaces. Mendelsohn explained that they were in the alley for only a few minutes after a delivery.... [continue]

Clearly we're starting to run out of hyperbolic words to describe these giveaways that seem to happen every other week, so today, we'll just give you the details: Chop't is doing a salad giveaway at their new 19th and L St. location (1105 1/2 19th Street NW) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's the same kind of promotion the company always does when it opens a new store, and if you've been to previous... [continue]

Dish of the Week: Banh xeo Vietnamese food is one of the quintessential DIY cuisines. Drizzle a little of this or that sauce. Scatter some herbs. Choose some vegetables. You control the sweetness, sourness, spiciness and crunchiness. And one of the best examples is banh xeo, a golden-colored crispy rice crepe loaded with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts. It is seasoned very gently with tumeric and salt to maximize personalization though some recipes include touches... [continue]

The ownership of Mendocino Grille will be transferred from Eli Hengst and Jared Rager to Troy Bock, long term general manager and wine director of the restaurant, according to an announcement today. Barry Koslow will stay on as the executive chef. The reason behind the sale was to focus on their other restaurants/wine bars, Sonoma and Redwood. They also have leases signed for spaces on 14th Street and Glover Park where they will go head... [continue]

Dish of the Week: Avocado wasabi ice cream Where: Adour by Alain Ducasse Next Monday, Adour by Alain Ducasse will have its official opening. During the soft opening, I tried a few of their menu items. The dish that immediately caught my eye was the bluefin tuna tartar with avocado wasabi ice cream ($15 at lunch). While it is quite a logical pairing - a deconstructed tuna and avocado roll, it definitely raises an eyebrow.... [continue]

After the attempted transfer and eventual closing late last year of downtown favorite Pedro and Vinny's Burrito Cart, it looks like owner John Rider is back in business. In an email sent to his fans, he says it's "a long story," but he is very excited to be moving back to D.C. with his family. He plans to be back in business at his regular location this week or next week. Burritos and goose (mango-habanero)... [continue]

We all know Virginia is hell, and that traffic around Tysons Corner is a nightmare. Well, it looks like it's going to get a little more painful, if celebrity chef and reality TV star Gordon Ramsay has anything to say about it. Don Rockwell confirms that Ramsay's takeover of the old Maestro space at the Ritz Carlton at Tysons is a done deal. Now if only he would name it Junkpuncher's.... [continue]

Dish of the week: Moose Reading all the biographical information about presumptive VP nominee Sarah Palin, one thing sticks out to foodies. She seems to have a thing for hunting and eating moose. That gets a person thinking, what does moose taste like and where can I get it? According to Henry David Thoreau, "It tasted like tender beef, with perhaps more flavor, - sometimes like veal." So maybe moose burgers make sense, but given... [continue]

Written by DCist contributor Whitney Satin Dupont Circle office workers and residents have been taunted all summer long by the knowledge that a brand new cupcakery was slated to arrive in the neighborhood. At long last, it’s time to stop pressing those faces against the window in eager anticipation and instead partake of some actual confectionary consumption. Hello Cupcake opened its doors at 10am today, bringing a touch of whimsy and, more importantly, instant cupcake... [continue]

We challenged companies for more free stuff. And then they come back with this. Free salad and free salad sandwiches. It's healthier, but you can't help but be just a teensy bit disappointed. Where are our free slabs of bacon? Or our free pints of ice cream? Or free beers? They kept upping the ante, and now the drop. Does this signal the end of summer? Then again who are we to decry free food?... [continue]

Dish of the Week: Cupcakes Where: Hello Cupcake Memories of childhood birthday parties bring bad food flashbacks. The bowling alley pizza, the big cans of Hi-C punch (make mine Ecto Cooler). But most notable was the cupcakes. Dry nasty little bundles of Betty Crocker's finest box slathered with dried crunchy frosting with multicolored sugar dots. While that certainly has a place in our memories, leave it to those slightly more intrepid to come up... [continue]

Dish of the Week: Heirloom tomatoes Tomatoes have been in season for a few weeks now. From enhancing BLTs to mozzarella and salads, they are everywhere. But what separates the heirloom from the regular tomato? This will make you feel all warm and fuzzy; rather than being poked, prodded, and grafted by scientists into perfectly round, smooth, flavorless mushpots, the seeds have been passed down from generation to generation and openly pollinated. These were the... [continue]

Three years ago, Johnny's Half Shell co-owner Johnny Fulchino was at a Southern Foodways Alliance event when he heard absinthe codebreaker, fanatic and microbiologist Ted Breaux talk about the Green Fairy, absinthe. It piqued his interested in adding a program to Half Shell, but absinthe only became legal in the U.S. in 2007. When his business partner, Chef Ann Cashion, and original Abita brewmaster Brooks Hamaker discovered an old absinthe fountain in New Orleans and... [continue]

Big companies, we dare you to give away more free stuff this summer. We triple dog dare you. But this one is pretty good, at least for those folks living in Virginia. Multi-day, multi-location free gelato from Ciao Bella, a New York-based gelateria, whose pints retail for around $3-4. Aside from the traditional gelato flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and hazelnut, you can go lighter with blood orange, coconut, or blackberry cabernet sorbetto. And who doesn't... [continue]