What you need. Photo by Ashley Wetzel.EDITOR’S NOTE: The section of this week’s Weekly Feed on cachaça contained similarities in language and structure to a Slate piece on the same subject. The sections that should have been attributed now are, while others have been removed.
We apologize to Slate, Troy Patterson and our readers.
Drink of the Week: Cachaça
Where: Your Home, Ceiba, Menu MBK, Las Canteras
While you may know some obvious basics about Brazil — soccer, Carnival, Gisele Bundchen, host of The World Cup because, again, soccer — you may not be familiar with cachaça.
Cachaça (pronounced kə-shä-sə) is a distilled spirit made from sugarcane juice. The “national spirit” of the world’s fifth largest country is consumed so heavily that it ranks only behind vodka and soju as the bestselling liquor…in the world. As Slate points out, less than one percent of the stuff is exported from Brazil, according to the Instituto Brasileiro de Cachaça, so Brazilians are enjoying it that much. Oh, and the exports are mainly to Germany, so let’s step up our game.
Cachaça has two varieties: unaged (white) and aged (gold). White cachaça is often used as an ingredient while the “premium” dark cachaça is meant to be consumed straight. I decided to stick to caipirinhas.
I made this bad boy at home, with $16 cachaça (because that is all my corner liquor store had in stock) and it was delicious.
Classic Caipirinha
Lime halved
2 tsp. white sugar
2 oz. cachaça
Sparkling water
1. Muddle together the lime pieces and sugar until all the juice is extracted from the limes and mixed well.
2. Add the cachaça and a few ice cubes, and shake for 30 seconds.
3. Pour the cocktail into an ice-filled glass and top with sparkling water.
So celebrate The World Cup in style with a few of your own. D.C will be celebrating our host country, as well as our own team, for the next month. Ceiba (701 14th Street NW) and Las Canteras (2307 18th Street NW) have some of the best caipirinhas, according to Yelp. If you want specials, they are easy enough to find. Trummer’s on Main (7134 Main Street, Clifton, Va) celebrates with half-priced cachaça cocktails on Brazil’s game days. Menu MBK (405 8th Street NW) has $7 caipirinhas and $5 snacks. If you have a favorite caipirinha, post the details below.
Small Bites
Brunch Bandwagon
In case you’ve run low on weekend brunch hotspots, 14th Street NW is giving you a new Italian option starting this Saturday. Lupo Verde (1401 T Street NW) kicks off their a la carte 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. menu featuring antipasti, uova (egg) dishes, crespelle (crepes), and more (priced from $6 to $22). Since brunch isn’t really brunch without a cocktail, or four, try some of the pairings such as the Principessa (peach puree, grapefruit bitters, Prosecco) or the Spritz (aperol, soda, Prosecco). Bottoms up.
Lucky number 12
FRESHFARM Market opens its 12th location on June 17th at The Park at CityCenter (tje corner of 10th and I streets NW). The Tuesday market will be open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will cover the lunch crowd with ready-to-eat foods, fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and more. The current lineup includes Black Rock Orchard, Capitol Kettle Corn, Cowbell Kitchen, Frenchie’s, Pinch hand-made Chinese dumplings, Postmodern Foods and Urban Butcher, with more to be confirmed.
World Cup celebrations abound
We’ve already done most of the legwork here, but here’s one more…
GCDC (1730 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) is letting your tastebuds decide the true champion. Specialty sandwiches representing Brazil, Italy, Spain, Mexico, USA, Germany and England will be served up and tallied, projecting a winner based on two weeks worth of sales. Oh, and the games are being aired, as well.
