NoVa Empire Expands
The owners of Tallula, Vermillion, Planet Wine Evening Star Café in Arlington, Old Town, and Del Ray are expanding yet again. Rustico Restaurant, tucked away on Slater Avenue in Alexandria opens this weekend, and it looks like it might itch your scratch for great beer. With over 250 bottle and can selections, and an impressive draft list of 30 assorted beers, you will get all the malt-hops-yeast punch you could want. 
A place where one can get a DeKoninck and Dogfish’s Aprihop on draft is rare, and just intriguing enough to pull me across the river early and often.
The menu for the place will focus on pizza (which will be available for carryout in the future), but also has a bevy of entrees and Italian-inspired appetizers. The joint opens tomorrow, and we recommend going now, while you can get a table. Check out Metrocurean for another view on the upcoming restaurant.
Anyone Awake Up There in New York?
Today is supposed to be the day the 2006 James Beard nominees are announced, but here I am in front of my computer, frantically clicking away at the James Beard Foundation website and going Google searches for endless permutations of “James Beard Awards Nominees 2006,” without finding a word. Not even a morsel! They tell me that their dinner in May will honor New Orleans’ culinary legacy, but any list with Emeril Lagasse (presented by All-Clad Metalcrafters) on it makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth, so I have to stop reading.
For the uninitiated, the Beards are basically the American epicure’s Oscars. Everyone sits around a banquet room, the Foundation selects a beautiful model to wear a dress made out of smoked meat to read off the all the names, and the hired pastry chefs wheel out likenesses of all the nominees carved in buttercream, ladyfingers, and chocolate. Members of the audience get to voice their opinions by throwing monkfish liver in the air when their favorite nominee is called. The whole thing is a gonzo spectacle. Last year, I saw Frank Ruta molding ground veal into the shape of all the endangered lemurs. Seriously. It’s crazy weird.
That probably explains why those gluttons in New York are too drunk to update their website. We’re dying for the info down here in Washington! Hook us up!
Update: The nominees have been named, look for a post tomorrow for a full rundown.
Good Priced Wine at an Even Better Discount
Hat tip to DC Foodies for filling us in on the current wine special at Dino in Cleveland Park. Until the 19th of April, Dino has slashed the price of any $50 (and up) bottle of wine by a third, as long as everyone at your table orders $20 of food. They do request a reservation though, so you should start dialing. Dino is on the corner of Ordway St. and Connecticut Ave. NW, you can reach them at 202 686-2966.
