The heat has certainly arrived in the nation's capital, but a summer in D.C. would not be complete without the taste of steamed or boiled crabs -- Chesapeake Bay blue crabs, to be exact.
Bar Pilar's Crab Nights Are Back
The Weekly Feed: Latticed Edition
Last week, I wrote about the offal happy hour at Bar Pilar. I try to write about different restaurants and bars as much as possible. But thing is, I went back and was introduced to buttermilk pie, a new dessert item that Chef Justin Bittner was testing. It is now amongst my favorite kinds of pie, and I felt the need to share the wealth.
The Weekly Feed: Offally Good Edition
Shows from Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern have pushed a brand of adventurous eating that has caused many to look at food they previously found shocking in a new way. As someone growing up in a family that loved its offal, these things still seemed a little weird. But little by little, starting with the miniscule bites of meat on pigs' feet, I found myself growing more interested in the "nasty bits."
D.C.'s Best Breakfast at Founding Farmers?
We find out via Eater that the July/August issue of Food Network Magazine named the best breakfasts in each of the 50 states and the District. For D.C., the magazine lists Fried Chicken, Eggs and Waffles at Founding Fathers [sic] Farmers.
Best Dishes of 2008
It's been a delicious year in D.C. The city has seen a number of interesting new restaurants and eatieries, including spots like CommonWealth, Art and Soul, Cork Wine Bar, Adour, and Ray's Hell-Burger. The DCist food staff got together to look back on their favorite dishes, desserts, and drinks of 2008.
The Weekly Feed: Survival of the Fittest Edition
All the big guys have covered the Tuesday night specialty cocktails made by Pilar's self-described sherpa Adam Bernbach. So what do you do when it's not Tuesday? Certainly you could choose from the good selection of beers. But this summer you should opt for a Brown Derby. The drink is composed of Bulleit bourbon, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, and honey. At first it sounds odd, since citrus fruits are more frequently combined with rum, tequila, or vodka.
If You Can't Take the Heat, Turn it Into a Kitchen
What is it about historic D.C. firehouses that spark culinary ambition? A pair of in-the-works restaurants aim to address this burning question. As Express recently reported, a pre-World War II firehouse in the Bloomingdale neighborhood is slated to become an eatery called EC-12, whose name references the old Engine Company 12 that used to occupy the building. Architects are currently working on building plans, after which developers will be able to apply for a building...
Hook It Up: Now Without Laura Sessions Stepp
This post by DCist Food contributor Analiese Bendorf
The Weekly Feed: Keep It Away From The Grill Edition
Ain't Named Passion For Nothing Once again, the men of Passion Food's restaurants (TenPenh, Ceiba, D.C. Coast, and Acadiana) get out of their kitchen kits for a nude romp through 2007. Mr. Kliman over at the Washingtonian lets us in on what's underneath the aprons of some of Passion Food's cookmen, like Acadiana sous chef Anthony Piscioneri and TenPenh chef de cuisine Cliff Wharton. Though most aren't totally naked (though I hear Mr. October, Ceiba's...
That Whitmore Has Your Name All Over It
Now's the time to get your ticket to the Third Annual Transformer Silent Auction and Benefit Party. Held on Saturday, November 4, at the Edison Place Gallery, the night promises to be an evening of creative company, great food, and a celebration of local talent.
The Weekly Feed: Drunk Panda Edition
They'll Kick You Out If You Give Butterstick an IPA Normally, the Feed saves its activity-related post for "after the jump," but given the popularity of last year's event, as well as the sheer number of great brews available, we're bumping this one up to front-page status. Tickets are on sale now for the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) 2nd annual Brew at the Zoo mixer/fundraiser/drunkfest. For $60, or $45 if you're a...
Watch the World Cup
The world's most popular sporting event, soccer's World Cup, gets underway tomorrow in Germany. Unlike 2002 when matches took place in the wee hours, this year's start from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time, meaning it's a lot easier to hit a bar or two and watch a game. Some DC area bars and restaurants are opening early for the fans, including Pour House on Capitol Hill, Lucky Bar in Dupont, and Fado...
Sarah Grace McCandless: The Girl You Want to Be
On any other Wednesday evening, you might find local writer Sarah Grace McCandless at Bar Pilar, staging pictures with friends in the photo booth, or enjoying a drink at Larry’s Lounge, her favorite dive. Tonight, you won’t find Sarah at either place. Instead, she’ll be at Olsson’s in Penn Quarter reading from her second book, The Girl I Wanted to Be. Whether she's already won you over with her memoir, Grosse Pointe Girl , or...
Reader, Meet Author
Shalom, readers. The Washington, D.C. area welcomes competing Jewish Literature Festivals to town: The Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival at the DCJCC and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington’s 36th Annual Book Festival. Both festivals offer exciting programs. On 16th Street, the DCJCC kicks things off Monday with Nick Olcott, one of the leading lights in the local theater scene, paying special tribute to Arthur Miller and Saul Bellow. It continues...
Offense Envy
Last Friday, the television behind the bar at Bar Pilar was switched from a tie ball game between the Nationals, who were then a half game off the wild card, and their division rivals the New York Mets to a preseason Redskins game. On Saturday night (or perhaps Friday, as well; we can't be sure how quickly these things turn around) a measure of karmic retribution was exacted, as the Nats erased an eight...
Ask DCist: Smokefree in D.C.?
What are the smokeless bars and clubs and restaurants? I don't go out in D.C. as much as I would (as much as I do in NYC), because of the smoke. D.C has an active smokefree lobbying group, Smokefree D.C., which regularly goes head-to-head with Ban the Ban and other pro-smoking establishments groups (smoking "choice" if you will). So far, efforts to legislate smokefree bars and restaurants in the District have not panned out, but...
Previously on DCist
It may be Sunday, but we couldn't have asked for a better weekend -- spare the freak thunderstorm Friday night that left some 32,000 area residents without power. Great weather promotes outdoor activity, like walking, running, and cycling. And in cycling news, though lacking in a specific local angle (spare the French Embassy on Reservoir Road in Northwest), it's worth noting that Lance Armstrong, pictured at right, today ended his highlight-filled career with a record-breaking...
Coalition of the Swilling: A Clean and Well Lit Bar
Opening its doors just under month ago, Bar Pilar had a lot to live up to. The owners of Café Saint Ex hit a home run with their first undertaking, growing a small local secret into a popular nightspot that draws customers from far outside the neighborhood. That growth and the crowds that come with it, predictably, have locals seeking the next hip thing. The owners of Saint Ex hope that it’s Bar Pilar, or...
District Voting Rights Victory
The morning after the United States celebrated 229 years of independence, the General Assembly of the 55-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) voted to endorse a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to pass the legislation necessary to granting District residents full voting rights.
Dead Author's Spirit to Take Up Residence on 14th St.
If you've walked down 14th Street NW recently, you may have noticed a few doors down from Café Saint-Ex (14th and T sts) a covered-up window with a tiny sign reading "Bar Pilar" in a font that bares a striking resemblance to that of Saint-Ex. El Camino Real is no more, enter Ernest Hemingway.

