Tom Power

This is going to be very confusing for me. I should have planned a vacation myself. Where will I eat? I might actually have to go to the grocery store.

I am sure the Capitol Market on 11th ST. will be open while Corduroy is closed.

via wp.com

CONTINUING EDUCATION: Chef Gerard Pangaud is ditching the dining room for the classroom. With the lease expiring at Gerard's Place (915 15th St. NW; 202-737-4445) in McPherson Square, the 54-year-old French chef recently accepted an offer to become the head instructor at L'Academie de Cuisine (16006 Industrial Dr.; 301-670-8670) in Gaithersburg, succeeding Brian Ross , who is leaving to become general manager of Bistro at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.

It's a friendly baton handoff, given that Ross, a 1991 graduate of L'Academie, spent two years cooking under Pangaud when both were at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City . "The master replacing the pupil!" the acclaimed cooking school's founder, Francois Dionot , trumpeted last week.

"It's time in my life to do something different," Pangaud said as he explained his decision to leave the restaurant he opened in 1993 with Michelle Pangaud , then his wife. She plans to stay with the business, sign a new 10-year lease and retain chef Ben Lefenfeld , who has been in the kitchen there for five years. At least for now, she is also sticking with the title on the facade.

In his new environs, Pangaud plans to launch a series of dinners celebrating great chefs, beginning in September with a tribute to Pierre Gagnaire of the three-star Michelin restaurant bearing his name in Paris. The events, highlighting the featured chefs' recipes, will be open to the public.

Count me in for the Pierre Gagnaire tribute + 1!

My restaurant opened 5 and a half years ago and I don't think that at any given time the staff has been less than 85% foriegn born. Many of my employees are very nervous about the proposed legislation. They always seem too come up with a good excuse for not attending mandatory restaurant meetings but somehow a huge percentage of them marched to the Capitol last week. I have been trying to convince my employees that there is no way that the government can deport millions of people and expect the economy to survive but they are really fired up about the May 1st strike(huelga). They seem to have a real sense of solidarity for the strike.

The propaganda for the strike is that the immigrants will flex thier muscle by not spending any money that day. I am telling my employees thats fine but they will still be eating food that they paid for the day before and will lose a days wage. I am hoping that I will be able to personalize the issue with my employees but if it keeps growing legs I may be bussing tables and washing pots May 1st. Thank God it's a Monday!

Damn, I was dying to make that list.

I know... it's not as though he doesn't have hundreds of posts to pick from, and him constantly harping on such matters is getting really old. Honestly, he's starting to come across as a more than a little passive-aggressive on this issue.

If he's got a problem with a restaurant's policies, then he just needs to come out and say it versus hiding behind chatters. On the other hand, perhaps he thinks he's helping by making Chef Landrum aware that the policies are continuing to alienate people. That having been said, I don't understand how people continue to be unable to grasp the basic concept of seatings... there are well-known chains (e.g. The Melting Pot) that have them, for heaven's sake. I don't see how anyone could fail to get through a dinner in an hour and a half, but then again I don't drink. How much would our wine-consuming members say that it adds to the length of their meals?

My pet peeve is with restaurants that have seatings for all intents and purposes, but don't advertise them and then rush you through a meal like you're a train they're trying to get out of a station. grrrr

My pet peeve is with restaurant customers that count the minutes between courses and want to be rushed through a meal as if they were a train that needed to be pushed out of the station. Those customers really piss me off when they arrive late for thier reservation, hold long conversations before ordering and then ask when thier food will be arriving, suddenly they are in a rush. People need to learn to relax or express that they are in a hurry.

I feel out of the loop here.  Was there a Citronelle in Baltimore?  It seems that when chef's start to open multiple locations they loose focus or become overwhelmed.  I agree that it takes talent to teach other people to cook, but being a part of the kitchen is an essential motivator. 

Was Tom Power the chef there?

I was a sous chef at the Citronelle in Baltimore for about 6 months before I became the chef of Michel Richard's restaurant in Philladelphia.

I was hoping this thread would be about genuine Kobe and what chefs around here might or might not do with it...

I don't think real Kobe beef will take off here. I agree with Mr. Lanrdrum, (and not just because he makes me blush everytime he mentions me here) that its availability will further confuse the market and encourage the use of "Kobe" rather than "Wagyu". Sparkling wine can be made anywhere but Champagne is only made in a certian part of France.

Six years ago I was in Japan and spent 2 or 3 days in Kobe. It's a beautiful city and reminded me of San Francisco a bit. What I remember the most about Kobe is the beef. The city is loaded with drool inducing butcher shops. Every few blocks there is a window full of meat that is almost 50 percent marble. The taste and texture of the meat blew my visual expectations away.

When I was in there, before the dollar dropped, trimmed striploin steaks were running about $100 a pound at the butcher shops in Kobe. People are used to small portions of foie gras but not beef that costs three times what foie gras does.

On my honor, and on my life, I swear to you that, as surely as the grass is green and the sun will rise tomorrow, there is a restaurant opening in the Calvert Shoppes in Del Ray which is going to be called...

are you ready?

make sure to swallow all liquids before reading this...

drum roll...

it's called...

Pho King

Rocks,

You're Pho King encouraging tripple spacing with that post.

sssssugar

Rocks is right again. The seaweed(Hijiki) is cured with sugar before it arrives at the restaurant. The rice is made with ginger, basil, lemongrass, thai chilli, grated fresh coconut, salt and a little bit of butter.

Corduroy will offer an a la carte menu for new year's eve. The menu will be smaller than usual but the prices won't be inflated.

For me, the cost of credit card fees makes me want to start paying all restaurant bills -- not just the tip -- in cash!

May God bless you Walrus!! Credit card fees are my least favorite expense.

I don't know, dude ... I've heard Corduroy's new one is going to be even worse. 

My last web site would have been the hands down loser of this thread. The pressure is on, but I can feel my new web site designer getting motivated . I know he'll do his best. Thanks for inspiring him Don.

Old Angry Inn

I inherited a sous chef there who got off by answering the phone "Old Angry Inn kitchen, how can I help you?"

I read somewhere (City Paper I think) there are only two food safety inspectors for all of D.C. and they just threaten to shut down just about every one they visit to keep everyone in line since they won't visit but once every year and a half.  Anyone know anymore about this?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know a little about this and believe me it's not true.

Since he gave no hints, and does not allow us to post our random and uninformed speculation, I will do it here.  I think that after seeing the success of Tom Power's Corduroy at a dour, out of the way hotel, Michel Richard is packing-up from the Latham, and moving it to the Day's Inn in Lanham.  

I hope you're right. That would make me look very smart.

International Chef of Mystery

I am from New Jersey!

It's Connecticut, so it's upper-crusty.   

Joe H where are you when we need you??? I am sure that Joe H has gone on a long road trip to eat New Haven pizza. What's the name of that famous place Joe H??? The name isn't "Franks" but it's something like that. The pizza there is top notch. Many national magazines have written about New Haven pizza. I lived in New Haven for almost 2 years and ate lot's of good pizza.

Grease is good!! I give NY pizza two paper towels myself!! Last time I got a real good one, I was at my brother -in-law's outside of NY, in Fairhaven NJ. Holy crap, I couldn't contain myself!!

You must have been at Umberto's , he's a surly guy and he makes a mean pie.

His pizza has just the right saltiness, it's crispy, greasy and very good. I grew up in Fair Haven, NJ eating that pizza a few times a week. The great thing about NY and New Haven Pizza is that it is usually available by the slice. DC lacks that big time. Cappucino's in GTown is the only place that I know of that sells slices- and it's not very good.

You have to remove their gills and smiling faces 

It's also a good idea to cut thier ass' off and if your are really adventurous to stick a finger in where thier smiling faces used to be and remove the ballast sack- It has a propensity to explode and spew hot grease on whoever is cooking it. I like the goo(tamale) and don't remove it.

Looks like we all have a weekend 'homework' assignment!

Edited to say that I finally did not double space after the quote.

The ageing of the Wagyu meat gives it a great nutty flavor. I am glad it was so appreciated.