Camille-Beau

Filet of beef tenderloin. Cook & slice at home then assemble at the party onto french bread croutons with horseradish cream. Even though you don't want to prep stuff at the party, it should be pretty fast to pull them together.

The winners list from the RAMW.org website: The Washingtonian's article, while light on the list of winners, includes photos. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!! -Camille & Beau

Do you seriously believe they were that malicious and sadistic? Perhaps it was the walk down the hallway, past the wine cellar and kitchen toward both dining rooms that made the walk within the bistro room itself seem longer. While the bistro is the larger of the two rooms, both the bistro and tasting room are on the intimate side in terms of size. -Camille

College town = (obviously) mostly college-type restaurants. That being said, some decent options include Zola's (mentioned above), Herwig's Austrian Bistro (lots of brown food) and, of course, The Diner for grilled stickies. For ice cream, I highly recommend Meyer Dairy. Despite the name, I always liked Hi-Way Pizza, but I don't know if they're still around.-Camille

Very good options but I would also toss Hearth into the mix -Camille

FRESHFARM Markets invites you to tour, taste & savor our local flavors at the United States Botanical Garden Exhibit: One Planet – Ours! Sustainability for the 22nd Century* on Thursday, July 10, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Our market garden, designed by FRESHFARM Market farmers, is part of this wonderful exhibit, and we want to celebrate with seasonal cocktails & seasonal bites created from food from our local farmers & three sensational local chefs: Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve | Chris Smith, The Caucus Room | Peter Smith, PS7’s cocktails by popular guest DC mixologists: Derek Brown, Komi | Gina Chersevani, EatBar & Tallula Tickets: $75 Buy tickets HERE special thanks to Steve Dunn & Well Dunn Catering for their coordination and event services for the evening ~~~ *The One Planet – Ours! Sustainability for the 22ndCentury exhibit will run May 24-October 13, 2008*

Glad to see it was tacked on to the chat after it ended the first time Thanks Todd. I think they deserve the mention-Camille (aka Patricia)

Glad to see that Ann Limpert tracked the winners of the James Beard awards in the Best Bites blog but I was surprised there wasn't a mention by Todd in today's chat about the local winners. Interesting considering that his chat used to contain this heading: -Camille

Richard is the most creative, but because of that he does take more risk and some of his dishes miss for various reasons, typically during the quickfire challenges. I think if Stephanie doesn't have a meltdown like Casey did last year, she'll win. Either one of them would be a good choice since they're both talented.

Actually it does work. It wasn't live though. They have a video that they put up around 9m last night that shows interviews with some of the 'celebrity chefs' as they arrived at the awards and some interviews after the event ended. You can view it now. Interviewer's a bit goofy

With you on that -- two we like who didn't win were Jason Wilson (Northwest) and Doug Keane (Pacific)

From the JB website: For those of you interested in more on the awards, here's the LINK to their live blogs

Local winners (so far): Eric Ziebold - Best Chef Mid-Atlantic Terry Theise - Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Kaysen did win for Rising-Star chef. Categories that include Andres and Richard have not yet been awarded Congratulations Eric and Terry!

Didya know that Warren has a book out? Titled "How to bake cakes from scratch" (my apologies if already mentioned elsewhere.) Am roaming through Politics & Prose and they have several copies out because, you guessed it, he'll be speaking here today at 5pm. A woman walked by the books & said very sarcastically to her friend "gee, you mean you can actually bake cakes from scratch? really??" Hurry to get a good seat!

I know you weren't really looking for dives, but in Anguilla you can often find roadside barbecue pits setup that are pretty good. There is a roadside barbecue setup on Friday (and perhaps on Wednesday as well) that is basically a few barbecue grills setup at a shack down the road from Cuisinart and near Malliouhana. Several of the chefs who were cooking at the Malliouhana culinary event last July went there and said it was great. Folding lawn chairs around the grills for seating so it's not exactly a restaurant but it might be a good option for lunch one day. I think it's called B&D's. They all look pretty much like this: Veya restaurant is an option as is scheduling a boat trip out to Scilly Cay where the only thing on the island is a tiny casual restaurant that serves lobster, crayfish or chicken. You'll need to book that ahead of time, like when you check in at Cuisinart. I'm sure they could set that up for you. All of the locals were highly recommending Tasty's Cafe which was mentioned upthread as well. Regardless of the restaurants you choose, don't be surprised if you're served fish and meat that's been frozen -- even lobster since a lot of the area has unfortunately been overfished. Have a great trip!

If they can replicate The Vaults in DC, this should be a nice place. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

This should be interesting: BENJAMIN WALLACE Tuesday, May 20, 7 p.m. THE BILLIONAIRE’S VINEGAR (Crown, $24.95) This story centers on a 1787 bottle of Chateau Lafite Bordeaux, supposedly once owned by Thomas Jefferson. In 1985 it sold at auction for $156,000, but its provenance remained unclear. This book offers a look at wine science and culture as well as lively portraits of the personalities involved in the controversy around the 1787 bottle.

The BEST place for a pint of Guinness in Dublin: Mulligan's

Excerpt of an email received from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America (SMWSA): They're considering a location in Capital Hill.

From today's chat: Clifton, VA: A great chef is one who turns average or mediocre ingredients into something special. Any chef with some training can turn great ingredients into something special. Ewes usually lmab from January to about March in VA. As a result you get VA lamb from late March through maybe June. If you are going to call yourself a foodie you need to know this type of thing. Like tomatoes are best the end of Spetmeber and early October. Softshells are best in June rather May etc. Is it grass fed from weaning to slaughter or finished on corn. Makes a difference intaste and amount of Omega 3s. Food/restaurant critics should know these things. If you dont get out of the business hoss! Todd Kliman: Who says I don't know this type of thing? (And what's with the "hoss"?) ______________________________________________ From the July 3, 2007 chat: Apples and Oranges???? : Not a true statement at all when comparing Cityzen with the tasting room at Eve. Todd Kliman: Settle down, Hoss. _______________________________________________ We now return you to your regularly scheduled re-runs of Bonanza...

I recommend that you follow the sauteed tete de cochon with the braised shoat. Trust me.

A little bit more on Restaurant Eve's "bar" food: It looks like lamb season at Restaurant Eve! Over the past week, the Chef has been presenting lamb in a number of delicious ways. First, sauteed lamb's brains atop a Meyer lemon and capers "sabayon." The brains were beautifully crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, and mild in flavor. The sauce was a marvelous accompaniment to this dish, as was the 2005 Dujac Fils & Pere Puligny Montrachet. Next, carpaccio of Spring lamb, accompanied by a sprinkle of julienned beets, and a drizzle of Armando Manni Per Mio Figlio. A third interpretation consisted of "lamb 3-ways" -- sweet and tender braised shoulder meat, along with seared medallions of the leg and loin. A Domaine Clape 2004 Cornas completed the experience. Finally, although not involving lamb, I would like to mention that Restaurant Eve serves pretty good diner food, too, like the short "patti" -- a pressed round of short rib meat that is then fried so that a crsip and crunchy outer crust forms to enclose the succulent meat. A 'light' repast, especially when accompanied by a La Rosta 2003 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. -- Beau

Bar Food (Part Deux) At the bar again last night. Iranian Golden Imperial Osetra Caviar is still available and just as nutty and silky as described in an earlier post. A terrine of foie gras was also on offer last night. The meat loaf like slab of foie that I had was rich (of course), but surprisingly delicate in flavor. Accompanied by a late harvest Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc, this made for a very tasty snack. Delightfully crispy shad row has also returned. Finally, the Chef's marvelously prepared short ribs (off the bone) are back. The meat is sweet and super tender and when paired with a 2001 Vietti Barolo, just what the doctor ordered for a cold winter's night. --Beau

Dined with friends at Citronelle recently, our second time there and a first for our friends, where we all ordered the Chef's Degustation. If you order this menu, be prepared to stay for a very long time. I think they should rename it "Death by Tasting Menu". While we know that Citronelle generally receives high marks and the expectations are equally high, I really think they hit this one out of the ballpark. I'm not sure what deserves more praise: the service, the flavorful food (noted below), Mark Slater's wine selections (also noted below), the often whimsical presentations, or surprises like having a simple blue cheese salad in lieu of a cheese plate at the end of the fish and meat courses. While I know some of you aren't fans of posts that list menu items, I think it's worth noting what's included on the Chef's menu (or at least what they were serving last week). Many of the items were so eloquently described by zoramargolis in her 1/13 post that I won't even try to compete Sorry about the quality of the photos -- used an iPhone in low light: SCALLOP SCRAMBLE, OSETRA CAVIAR & BLINIS What a great way to start -- the creamy egg, the nutty caviar. Love the egg shell serving dish -- and any dish that includes caviar doesn't suck MUSCAT “HERRENWEG” DOMAINE ZIND-HUMBRECHT 2005 ESCARGOT “CRUMBLE” It's amazing how much flavor can be packed into this modest (in size) dish. It is savory, rich, and delightfully crunchy. CHESTNUT SOUP WITH FOIE GRAS [photo before the soup is ladled] 10 Year Old Rich Malmsey Madeira, Blandy’s NANTUKET BAY SCALLOP WITH ONION CARBONARA The natural sweetness of the scallops plays nicely with the rich "carbonara." Using onion instead of pasta makes this a unique dish. NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES BLANC “PERRIERES” PREMIER CRU, DOMAINE HENRI GOUGES 2004 Yes, "Blanc." What a neat wine and one reflecting the depth and breadth of Mark's selections JOHN DORY MONTEREY BAY ABALONE WITH CAVIAR CREAM SABLEFISH, SAKE-MISO MEURSAULT “CLOS DES PERRIERES” PREMIER CRU, DOMAINE ALBERT GRIVAULT 2001 TORO BOUDIN ROSE LOBSTER “BEGULA” SWEETBREADS, CHANTERELLE, CROSNES AND SALSIFIS CLOS DE TART, MONOPOLE GRAND CRU, DOMAINE MOMMESSIN 1998 LAMB JALAPEÑO This was a great surprise. Its zippiness and relative lightness pulled us back from the brink of rich (over) indulgence. SQUAB SAUCE SALMIS BLUE CHEESE SALAD Just the right palate cleanser -- shredded romaine, crumbled blue cheese, and a splash of tangy vinaigrette. Perfect JOLIE POMME MARJOLAINE PETITS FOURS Thanks Mark for making this a great night!!! -Beau