What does Room 11's Dan Searing think about the 48-ounce martini? Is it really different from the punches he discusses in his book, The Punch Bowl? We sat down with him to find out. more ›

Up the Green Line past Pleasant Plains, I'm supposed to meet BARTENDERHULK at some new speakeasy on the corner of Brockway and Ogdenville. The bar itself is normal for what you find all over D.C.: backlit spirits, TVs overhead, 15 stools along a wooden bar, a mix of craft and crap. But the "man" behind the bar looks out of place. Green and shirtless, he has a musculature that suggests too much time with steroids. Every now and then he shouts at customers... more ›

Wolfgang Puck is probably one of the most well known chefs in America, and became one of the first "celebrity chefs" in the U.S. with his opening of Spago. Born in Austria, he trained in France before coming to the U.S., making a stop in Indianapolis before settling in Los Angeles. Along with running catering operations (he is the official caterer of the Academy Awards Governor's Ball), writing cookbooks, hawking his own line of wares on QVC, playing himself and voicing characters in movies (he'll be playing Chef Smurf in The Smurf Movie), he owns over 15 restaurants, including The Source, located in the Newseum. Between wine dinners, we were able to catch up with the charming chef to ask him about his path to becoming a chef and what inspires him. more ›

Just like our interview with Timothy Dean last week, this interview has spoilers -- but only if you're behind on your TiVo-ing. If you're trying to maintain a spoiler-free atmosphere, feel free to check out our June interview with Warren, which was conducted before the season kicked off. more ›

France’s world-renowned Alain Ducasse was in town to re-launch the menu of his restaurant, Adour DC at the St. Regis. The hotel is now sans scaffolding, and the restaurant has made a few tweaks to make its menu more accessible. A handful of plates can now be ordered as half portions, including a deep red tuna tartare appetizer and a scallop entrée served with herb gratinated vongoles, like perfect baby buttons of clams casino. Cuts of meat such as a Flintstonian bone-in ribeye for two or a bargain priced hanger steak are on offer, with a spiced up spaghetti squash. And for dessert, we’d go with the silky hazelnut soufflé or anything else that comes with sorbets that embody the essence of their fruits. more ›

Now that we know the outcome of the 2009 Capital Food Fight to benefit D.C. Central Kitchen, we have to wonder whether Chef Michael Mina was laying it on a little thick last week when he said he was scrambling to try out some recipes that he could whip up in 10 minutes. Mina wound up the big winner at the Iron Chef-inspired cooking competition, seizing the title from former two-time champ Barton Seaver and out-slicing, -spicing and -dicing the likes of Bryan Voltaggio, Mike Isabella and others. When he sat down to talk with DCist earlier that day, however, he was just hoping to make it past round one. more ›

WARNING: This post contains Top Chef spoilers, albeit from last week's episode. Read no further if you are behind on this season. more ›

It was at a Christmas dinner several years ago that booze book author Garrett Peck had his “a-ha moment” about writing The Prohibition Hangover. It being a celebration, Peck opened a bottle of 1997 Burgundy—but his grandmother, a product of the Great Depression and the aftermath of the temperance movement, would not indulge. Peck made do—he and his mother split the bottle—but the seed was planted. more ›

Bread has become a big topic recently. According to health codes, retail sales cannot be made from foods produced in a home kitchen unless that kitchen is on a farm. So it makes sense that there are covert home businesses, such as that of my friend, Joe (not his real name) who runs an underground artisanal bread baking business. more ›

Just a few years after her decision to leave her job as an engineer and consultant for a life of full-time cooking and writing, it seems like Northern Virginia resident Monica Bhide made the right choice. Bhide, who has published two Indian food cookbooks and has a third, Modern Spice, due out next month, told DCist the story of her career makeover through infectious laughter this week. more ›

Carla Hall, the Howard accounting major turned model, turned chef, took a summer off from her Silver Spring catering company to compete as one of 17 cheftestants on season 5 of Bravo's popular Top Chef. Hall has made D.C. proud, cooking her way into the final three. more ›

Anthony Bourdain is the acerbic host of No Reservations on the Travel Channel. His rise to fame can be attributed to Kitchen Confidential, his book exploring the seamy underworld of the restaurant industry. Since then he has written two more books, and has served as a guest judge on Top Chef. more ›

Last week, legendary chef and author Jacques Pepin came to the District as the last stop on a 16-city book tour to promote his new PBS series and corresponding cookbook, More Fast Food My Way. Chef Pepin arrived in D.C. on Tuesday, October 28 and had a hectic schedule that included cooking demonstrations, television appearances, and finally, a discussion the night of Wednesday, October 29 at the Museum of Natural History moderated by Washington Post Food Editor Joe Yonan. more ›

As we mentioned before, the 2009 Washington DC/Baltimore Zagat Guide was released yesterday. While there have been numerous questions about the methodology used for ratings, the Guides still deserve a lot of respect for compiling the opinions of so many diners and venturing where no Michelin Guide would go. more ›

These days when most people label someone as a home cook, instead of a culinary professional, they tend to imagine someone along the lines of Rachael Ray or Paula Deen. And while those two TV personalities have done a lot to get people interested in food, there is another side to home cooking. A whole world of serious, dedicated, and adventurous home cooks are putting down the can opener, stepping away from the bags of pre-washed lettuce and trying to recreate the elegance, art, and skill of haute cuisine at home. more ›

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. more ›

Chef Ron Tanaka has worked in some of the finest kitchens in D.C. Starting at Morrison-Clark Inn, he eventually found his way to Palena, Citronelle, and CityZen. He is currently the chef at Cork Wine Bar, where he serves up small plates to accompany a list chock full of Old World wines. We sat down to talk with the rather unassuming chef, who did not even want his picture used for this interview, as he likes to stay under the radar. (Trust us, we tried.) more ›