Cat Cora’s restaurant concept Olilo comes to Capital One Arena this month. (Photo by Jonpaul Douglass)
By DCist contributor Cari Shane
Usually at sports games, dining options are limited to hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, and most often nothing truly healthy. Cat Cora wants to change that for fans at Capital One Arena with her restaurant brand Olilo.
“Once you are in [an arena or stadium], you are at the mercy of whoever is vending the food concepts that are there and a lot of times they are unhealthy,” Cora says.
The first female Iron Chef on Food Network’s Iron Chef America, Cora was a frequent visitor to the White House during the Obama administration, working with Michelle Obama on her Let’s Move! initiative.
“D.C. is one of my favorite cities,” Cora tells DCist. “I visited often and cooked for the Obamas. [Now] we are going to bring a food concept to the city that changes the landscape of how Americans eat, especially in arenas and stadiums, places where you are held hostage by food.”
Olilo is opening as part of the $40 million refurbished Capital One Arena. Along with padded seats, a new sound system, and other upgrades, Monumental Sports & Entertainment has stepped up its food game. The Ted Leonsis-owned company has added new concessions, lounges and a souped-up PwC Club with a sit-down restaurant as well as “branded culinary stations … positioned throughout the club,” writes the PwC Club website, including Olilo. Anyone with tickets anywhere in the arena can access it.
Cora’s concept offers a “quick service, customized bowl experience … based on the Mediterranean diet” with greens, a protein (grilled salmon, braised lamb, chicken, falafel) and toppings, such as chickpeas, fresh cucumber, and Mediterranean sauces.
“It’s a fun, delicious concept,” says Cora. “It’s the way I love to eat. You’ll be able to take it to your seat and watch the game.”
A new study published last month by the science journal Nature suggests that adhering to a Mediterranean diet is linked to lowering rates of depression. Cora, whose father was Greek and whose food focus has always been Mediterranean at its core—a diet she says is full of “antioxidants, omegas and the freshness of fruits, veggies and nuts, lean meats and fish”—says she’s “not surprised” by the outcome of the study.
Cora’s Olilo is the professionally-trained chef’s first restaurant foray in D.C. Other chefs joining the new concessions concept at the arena include Momofuku owner David Chang, with his Fuku fried chicken chain, and Alex McCoy, bringing an outpost of his D.C. burger restaurant Lucky Buns. All three new concession restaurants are now open.
Cora is also excited that those who will be working at Olilo will learn about healthier eating. “I always try to get those working in my concepts to embrace the food and bring home their new abilities to their families. I encourage them to try the food, enjoy it, begin to love it the way I do.”
Those looking to catch a glimpse of Cora if she comes in from the West Coast could have a shot spotting her at the Golden Triangle-based restaurant, Little Sesame. It’s her favorite D.C. restaurant because, “they care about fresh ingredients, health and wellness, and doing things creatively.”
