The life of a food truck operator isn't an easy one. There's only a limited amount of space to operate in -- and the name of the game is producing food in bulk and with expedience. Unfortunately, that combination can lead to injuries like the ones suffered by Pedro and Vinny's cart owner John Rider. more ›

Back in December, I was obsessed with SweetGreen's salad of the month. It was a mix of mesclun, butternut squash, cauliflower, sunflower seeds, roasted turkey and a cranberry vinaigrette. But what really kept me coming back was that it was topped with crispy spicy kale. Even though the kale was the last and least abundant ingredient in the salad, it's delicately crunchy texture and salty, spicy flavor was my favorite part. While kale can be a complement to a salad, it can just as easily be the featured part of a dish, or a main side. With this in mind, we reached out to those in the D.C. restaurant scene to explore the many ways you can cook up this seasonal green. more ›

Many of the best parts of the holidays revolve around food: baking crinkle tops to give away as gifts, joining family around the table to share a big meal or waking up to full stockings and stacks of pancakes.

When we wrote to D.C. chefs this month asking them to share their holiday dishes and traditions, we expected responses about holiday feasts. And while many of the responses were food-related (latkes with toppings, gingerbread men, Yorkshire puddings, homemade lasagna, mincemeat pie complete with a recipe), we were surprised at the number of chefs who look forward to not cooking at all during the holidays. Instead, they're content to let someone else put on the apron. more ›

Carbonara is one of those fatty, delicious preparations of pasta that most people love. What could be better than a rich, unctuous sauce that contains garlic, Parmesan, and cracked black pepper that is studded with bacon? Rustico's Steve Mannino was kind enough to share his approach to carbonara and how he applies it to Israeli couscous. The results are fantastic. Read on for the full instructions. more ›

There should be no surprise that this year's D.C. VegFest, which took place this past Saturday on the campus of George Washington University, was a success -- after all, D.C. was recently ranked as the most veg-friendly city in North America. Organizers Compassion Over Killing and the Vegetarian Society of D.C. estimate over 5,000 visitors came to the festival to celebrate and revel in vegetarian delights, including speakers, cooking demos, food vendors and exhibits. Oh, and don't forget the life-size man-carrot. Who said vegetarians don't have a sense of humor? more ›

It is truly the most wonderful time of year — for caterers, that is. D.C. knows how to feast. Between all the holiday/non-denominational/winter solstice parties for every single nonprofit/government/lobby/press room in town and our own personal holiday events, the humble art of bringing a homemade dish to any event has fallen by the wayside. Personally, I’ll be bringing a dozen Krispy Kreme jelly doughnuts to a Hanukkah party this weekend. On the other hand, there... more ›

Given that this is bound to be a slow day at work, what better time for Gilbert Arenas and adidas to launch GilTV, undoubtedly the next phase of The Takeover. Included are four new commercials -- The Black President (above), Cooking With Gil, Agent Zero and Gilbert's Island -- all seemingly ripped right out of the pages of The Wizznutzz. Let's hope those guys are at least getting some royalty checks from this. On... more ›

In her book, Cooking for Mr. Latte, Amanda Hesser describes meeting Julia Child in France and having to take her out for a meal. However, all the restaurants that Ms. Hesser had wanted to take Julia to were not open, and they ended up at a small cafe. With smirking teenagers looking on, Julia Child ordered fried eggs with mayonnaise, and proceeded to ensure that she consumed every bit of the mayonnaise with her eggs... more ›

>> Giada De Laurentiis of Food Network's Everyday Italian was in town this weekend filming a bit for her new show, Weekend Getaways. One Flickr photog caught her picking out plump tomatoes at the Dupont farmer's market; did anyone else get a glimpse of the "Cooking With Cleavage" star? >> Oh, Clinton Portis, really? The Redskins player decided to come out in favor of dog fighting to defend embattled Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. This... more ›

MONDAY Marla Ruzicka, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq, was a dedicated peace activist who not only labored intensely for the victims of war, but sought to flip the peace movement’s entire paradigm by waging peace within the system, a move that set her apart from her colleagues, but also got results, including landmark legislation for the innocent victims of war and the respect of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.... more ›

By DCist contributor Spencer Ackerman It's pretty appropriate for a cooking expo so near the Chesapeake Bay that the first olfactory experience greeting a visitor to the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show is a powerful blast of salty, baking fish. No one is going to mistake D.C.'s answer to the New York Fancy Food Expo -- a 100-stall extravaganza of middlebrow-to-high-end cooking, oenophilia, celebrity chefs and cheap wares -- for the food-porn original. But with... more ›

Back to the feeding trough, all. After spending a weekend in the beautiful and delicious Bay Area, it's nice to be back to the reality of dirty campaigning, impossible political prognostications, and the constant braying that the turrists are going to blow us up. I wouldn't be here if I didn't love it… Restaurants in Anacostia? Is it time to put a sit down restaurant in the middle of Anacostia? That's the question Washington Business... more ›

Wasabi Wa-opens I have been searching for a good cafeteria-style Japanese place for a while. Since I'd be happy to go to Kotobuki every single day for lunch if it weren't in Outer Mongolia, the opening of Wasabi gives me great joy. Conveniently located at 17th and I Streets, NW, for you downtowners, it's a welcome addition to a scene dominated by places like the Park Place Gourmet. While my lunchtime map is roughly bordered... more ›

What’s going on with the Post’s Food Section? Between last week’s piece on the Warehouse District and this week’s articles on soft shell crab and RFD’s Brooklyn Brewery tasting, it appears the WaPo's Food section has improved from the days of Christmas cookie spreads and brunch for beginning entertainers. Still. Isn’t the section about to fold? And if so, when? Rumor mill tells us it’s within a matter of weeks -- and that the paper... more ›

What's so special about doro wat -- the chicken stew served by just about every Ethiopian restaurant around here? For us, it's the stew's heady sauce of red hot pepper and peppery ginger, blended with a dozen other spices, heated and working in harmony, and pounded into a paste called Berberé. It lingers on the tongue. Iit doesn’t seem very hot until after you swallow, when a pleasant slow burn slides all the way down. more ›

We all know the inherent dangers that come with living in or around the nation's capital -- we're always a step away from a terrorist attack, Biblical plague, or three inches of snow. more ›

With the revival of classic cookbooks propelled by the releases of The Silver Spoon and Julie and Julia -- the blog-turned-book in which Julie Powell writes on cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking -- it’s worth noting the death of chef and cookbook writer Edna Lewis, 89. Lewis didn't just compile recipes. Having authored The Taste of Country Cooking, she's largely credited with explaining and showcasing Southern cooking to... more ›

DCist caught up with Bittman to find out if he is sharpening his knives and his skills to compete at the Capital Food Fight against Greggory Hill of David Greggory, Morou of Signatures, Katsuya Fukushima of Café Atlantico, and last year's winner, Ris LaCoste of DC's 1789. more ›

If you're an aspiring food writer or an aspiring chef, there are some cool new jobs opening up to fuel your dreams. First comes news of a new food editor position opening up at The Examiner. The position is freelance and listed as a 7-10 hour a week job for a 1-2 page weekly section. Based on the tasks listed, this section of The Examiner will most likely debut late this year. The ad is a bit confusing -- is it a food editor or the "Cooking Section manager"? -- but it seems like it would be a great gig for any budding journalist eager to begin the ascent towards becoming the next Mimi Sheraton or Jeffrey Steingarten. more ›

>> Everybody knows that the only true thing going on tonight is the DCist happy hour! From 5-8 p.m., DCist editors and contributors will be at Biddy Mulligans on Dupont Circle, starting our weekend off with a Guinness or four. Definitely drop on by with some friends for a chat, a rant, or to confirm that we are indeed real, live people as opposed to automated Gothamist bots. more ›

Only a small portion of the world's population can claim Greek ancestry and legitimately embrace the boisterous, colorful culture that bounds from that Mediterranean country. No, watching this year's Olympic Games does not make you an honorary Greek. But never fear, a bonus for us non-Grecian folk who simply can't get enough is that Greeks love to share everything that is Greece with everyone they know and don't know. more ›