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:

After a night of fabulous food, libations, fellowship and fun the 2008 RAMMY Award Winners are…

New Restaurant of the Year: The Source by Wolfgang Puck

Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year: Equinox

Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year: Poste Moderne Brasserie

Chef of the Year: Eric Ziebold, CityZen

Pastry Chef of the Year: Heather Chittum, Hook

Wine & Beverage Program of the Year: Passion Food Hospitality

Rising Culinary Star of the Year: Barton Seaver, Hook

Restaurant Manager of the Year: Molly McWhorter, Chef Geoff's Downtown

Restaurant Employee of the Year: Joel Guagliano, Zaytinya

Neighborhood Gathering Place: Hank's Oyster Bar - DC

Hottest Bar Scene of the Year: Central Michel Richard

Power Spot of the Year: The Oceanaire Seafood Room

Voter's Favorite: The Monocle on Capitol Hill

The Washingtonian's article, while light on the list of winners, includes photos. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!!

-Camille & Beau

They put me at the far end because they wanted to see me hobble. I can't think of another reason.

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

Anything?

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

Any suggestions on which to try if you could only do one? Are any of the above not worth trying? Other suggestions are also welcome...

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*

is this a coda?

James Beard awards:

So, were you planning to send out any kudos to the local chefs who won at the JB awards last night?

Todd Kliman:

I'm remiss, aren't I?

Congratulations, Eric Ziebold, Terry Thiese, and the staff and management at Central!

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:

Todd Kliman is the Dining Editor of The Washingtonian and won a prestigious James Beard Award in 2005 for the country's best newspaper column.

-Camille

I think this assessment is dead-on. Richard is the most creative, has the most experience, and is just an all-around better chef than everyone else, although Stefanie really isn't too far behind in second. I would not be surprised, however, after the whole "never been a woman Top Chef" thing has been built up for weeks now, that they would give it to her. She is awesome, though, and it certainly would not be a travesty to see her win this season.

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.

I apologize for my bummed link. It appeared not to work or at least not for me.

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

Outstanding Service: Terra, St. Helena, CA, Owners: Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani

Outstanding Pastry Chef: Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, Tartine Bakery, San Francisco

Lifetime Achievement: Fritz Maytag

Best New Restaurant: Central Michel Richard, Washington, D.C., Chef/Owner: Michel Richard

Outstanding Restaurateur: Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, NYC

Outstanding Restaurant: Gramercy Tavern, NYC, Owner: Danny Meyer

Outstanding Chef: Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago (pictured)

More Books:

Asian Cooking: My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking, by Niloufer Ichaporia King

Photography: The Country Cooking of France, Photographer France Ruffenach

Single Subject: The River Cottage Meat Book, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Writing on Food: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingslover

Entertaining: Dish Entertains, by Trish Magwood

Cookbook of the Year: The River Cottage Meat Book, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Design:

Outstanding Restaurant Design: Tadao Ando Architect and Associates, Designer: Tadao Ando, Project: Morimoto (NYC)

Outstanding Restaurant Graphics: Robert Louey Design, Designers: Robert Louey and Claudia Pandji, Project: Sepia (Chicago)

America’s Classics:

Bagaduce Lunch, Brooksville, ME (Owner: Judy Astbury)

Irma's Restaurant, Houston, TX (Owner: Irma Glavan)

Jumbo's, Miami, FL (Owner: Bobby Flam)

Maneki, Seattle, WA (Owner: Jean Nakayama)

Tufano's Vernon Park Tap, Chicago (Owner: Joseph DiBuono)

That's it for the ceremony. Now, the party!

I just can't win.. David Kinch who I'm a huge fan of also got passed up.

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

From the JB website:

Here’s an update on who has won so far:

Rising Star Chef of the Year: Gavin Kaysen, Cafe Boulud, NYC

Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional: Terry Theise, Terry Theise Estate Selections, Silver Spring, MD

Outstanding Wine Service: Eleven Madison Park, NYC, Wine Director: John Ragan

Best Chef: Pacific: Craig Stoll, Delfina, San Francisco

Best Chef: Southwest: Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, Fresca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO

Best Chef: Northwest: Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA

Best Chef: South: Michelle Bernstein, Michy’s, Miami

Best Chef: Midwest: Adam Siegel, Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, Milwaukee

Best Chef: Great Lakes: Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago

Best Chef: Southeast: Robert Stehling, Hominy Grill, Charleston, SC

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic: Eric Ziebold, CityZen, Washington, DC

Best Chef: Northeast: Patrick Connolly, Radius, Boston

Best Chef: New York Ciy: David Chang, Momofuku Saam Bar, NYC

Stay tuned…

Two wine awards announced: importer Terry Theise for Wine & Spirits Professional and John Ragan of Eleven Madison Park for outstanding wine service.

Terry Theist (sic) blew a kiss at the crowd with both hands as he came on stage, cited people who believed in him, including his 75 growers and the Skurniks, his NY distributor. He ended by calling his wife, chef Odessa Piper, “a fox.”

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!

My husband and I are travelling to Anguilla next weekend and thought I'd check in here to see if anyone has any further/updated opinions on the dining options that were listed on this thread?

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!

Oh. Um. Oh. Wow.

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):

Since our launch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in North America some 15 years ago, we have always had the goal of opening a U.S. Members facility, similar to that of The Vaults in Scotland. We are finally in a position to commit to opening a members venue and after much research we have selected Washington DC as its site.

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...

Oh no, no, no. In the form of a fat, crispy round - two of them, actually - served over some braised endive and olives with a bit of piperade sauce on the side. There's a deadly but delicious poached quail egg on top of one of the rounds, too. Yu'uuu'u'u'm.

Quite a heady dish.

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