For Your Momma: Edible Gifts for Mother’s Day
Posted by Joey Hernandez / Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Flowers are great and all, but what can’t be eaten isn’t really worth it, right? Here are some edible gift ideas for mom on Mother’s Day.
Ayrshire Farms, for charcuterie, cheese, herbs, jam and jellie gift baskets and more.
Mom’s Apple Pie Company, for rhubarb pies, macarons, sunflower crunch bread and more.
Cupcakes Actually, for a 4 pack of flower cupcakes.
Rumored Creations, for customized gourmet gift baskets.
Karin’s Florist, for chocolate, gluten free, kosher gift baskets and more.
Edible Arrangements, for chocolate covered fruit arrangements.
Chicken Chatter: The Most Extreme Comments from the Arlington Urban Farming Debate
Posted by Sally Traynham / Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Mark Lorch/Shutterstock
After months of discussion, the backyard chicken debate is on hold.
In January, Arlington County Board’s new vice chair, Walter Tejada, announced his focus for the year: creating sustainable and affordable food options, including the possibility of changing zoning ordinances allowing backyard chickens. Currently, Arlington’s code states that residents can raise poultry on residential property only if the hen house is located 100 feet from the lot-line in each direction. In densely packed Arlington, very few residential lots offer this much space.
There are interest groups sprouting up on each side of the urban-meets-farm discussion.
And after a recent meeting, the Arlington County Civic Federation tabled the chicken debate for another month. Jim Pebley of the Waycroft-Woodlawn Civic Association and Ed Fendley of the Arlington Egg Project debated the issue, but now it’s reached the world of nasty online comments. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting/opposing/angry/ugly/funny comments from the readers of ARLnow.com
Want more background info? Check out our past coverage about the backyard hen debate and the opposing points-of-view.
Pro-Chicken:
E2DAV says:
I am assuming Jim Pebley has never been around chickens…they smell no more than dog waste. It’s not like anyone is proposing a factory chicken farm…And, only a true suburbanite would think Arlington will get louder because a handful of chickens are around.
Zoning Victim says:
I was around farms where people raised most kinds of livestock (cows, pigs, goats, chickens and sheep) for their own food for most of my childhood, including living on one for years. None of them have ever smelled for blocks or even five yards. Giant farms can be smelled from a long way away; a few chickens don’t smell at all unless you lock yourself in the chicken coop. Since you’re deathly afraid of sickening the masses, I assume you wouldn’t do that to yourself…If you have to make up a bunch of inane garbage and call it fact to make a point, you never had one in the first place.
Anti-Chicken:
Elmer says: Read the rest of this entry »
This illustrates why the chicken proposal is not a good idea. If we can’t trust dog owners to be responsible enough to pick up and properly dispose of their dog poop, why compound the public “pooper problem” by trusting chicken owners to properly remove and dispose of their chicken poop?
For Your Momma: Hire a Personal Chef for Mother’s Day
Posted by Joey Hernandez / Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
mangostock/Shutterstock
My Mother’s Day wish is a day of rest. Mother’s Day celebrates our ability to cook dinner, drive the kids to soccer practice, work a full time job, do the laundry, pick up groceries, drop off prescriptions, bake brownies for the bake sale, read stories and generally, make life work. Looking to show your appreciation to mom? Don’t make her do any of that, especially the cooking.
Pamper mom and hire a private chef to come cook in your home. Not only will this be a great way to show your appreciation for mom but the family will all get to enjoy a great meal without having to do the cooking or the dishes. Here are some local options:
The Custom Kosher Personal Chef, for kosher
The Palate Pleasers, for vegan and vegetarian
Chef Paul Cooks, for American cuisine
Chef Bernard, for French cuisine
Cuisine on Demand, for Spanish cuisine with a modern flare
Food for Love, for American, Seafood and Italian cuisine
Posted by Stefanie Gans / Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
From The Brewer's Apprentice / Photo by Stefanie Gans
I drank a bunch of beer for the beer story.
I talked to my beer geek friends. I talked to my beer-obsessed fiancé. I talked to homebrewers. I talked to professional brewers. I basically stalked Bill Butcher. I attended a Greg Engert lecture on beer and then spent a few hours after class with the teacher arguing about what local means in a beer context. (A restaurant is “local” when it uses locally sourced ingredients. A brewery is local even if it imports all of the ingredients. There is really nothing local about it besides its location. Although, there are breweries tapping into local hops, local fruits, local oysters…)
I read through The Brewer’s Apprentice to learn about beer-making. I drove on dirt roads. I passed a llama. I sat in traffic. I sat in a lot of traffic.
I drank beautiful beer in an old farm house. I drank a Miller Lite in a dive bar. I drank beer that I will remember for a long time. I drank pretty damn terrible beer. I drank beer that made my nose twitch. I drank beer that I couldn’t understand. I drank a lot of beer. I drank beer from Ashburn and Alexandria. I drank beer from San Francisco, St. Louis, Maui, Michigan and Maine. I drank a lot of beer and it was awesome.
Earlier this year, we posted a poll soliciting ideas for the area’s best. We asked some pretty detailed questions about bars, retail shops, bar staff, breweries and brewpubs. After about six weeks, I compiled the answers into an excel and used the responses as a starting point for the coverage. The beer cover story is partly curated by our readers, by local beer experts (check out the awesome beer glossary and big thanks to: Nick Anderson, Kevin Bills, Jon Brandt, Thomas Cizauskas, Brett A. Robison, Michael Stein, Andrew Nations, Greg Engert), and me, the dining editor.
The issue is out now. The lists are set. But the beer story in Northern Virginia is just beginning. Like I wrote in the introduction, we’re at the start of turning Northern Virginia into a beer region. This year we will probably see new breweries and brewpubs emerge. We will see more bars and restaurants carry craft beers. We will see breweries able to sell beer for onsite consumption, a move that signals that beer is serious. Just as serious as drinking wine at a vineyard.
I was really excited when my editor told me that I would get to work on a beer cover story this year. And I’m really exciting to keep on drinking beer here. Especially here in Northern Virginia.
The Beer Issue
Gripes about the coverage? I want to hear everything.
From Fancy French to BOGO: 2941 Offers Lunch Special
Posted by Sally Traynham / Monday, May 7th, 2012
Photo by Stefanie Gans
Back in January 2941 relaunched with an upper-scale, a la carte Mediterranean menu. Chef Bertrand Chemel blames the decline of diners to the downward economy, of course, as well as the crippling construction on 495. Set in an office park, 2941 relies on drivers instead of foot traffic making it a frustrated experience to get to the Falls Church restaurant.
Now five month’s after the remodel, 2941 couldn’t be any further than its former persona of fine-dining and haute French cuisine with its recent BOGO (buy one lunch entree, get one entree free) coupon in the Sun Gazette.
Because 2941 “switched from [primarily] a destination restaurant to a neighborhood restaurant…the BOGO deal is a progressive marketing piece,” explains Jonathan Schuyler, manager and sommelier at 2941. “We’d thought we’d reintroduce ourselves, get the people who haven’t seen us before, be able to come in and take a sneak peak.” Previous promotions since the renovations have included half-priced wines and half-price burgers at the bar during March Madness.
Read the rest of this entry »
Inside Look: Tuesday’s Crystal City FRESHFARMS Farmers Market
Posted by Sally Traynham / Monday, May 7th, 2012
Bigger is not always better. Crystal City FRESHFARMS Farmers Market is the perfect example of an intimate market with the perfect balance of vendors.
Last Tuesday at 3 p.m. I rang the bell alongside other market staff members to kick off the 2012 season opening day. While walking through the producer-only market, that’s snuggled on Crystal Drive, I got the low-down on each vendor and swung by the Chef at Market’s tasting table featuring a gazpacho by Jaleo’s chef Drew Terp.
Beyond the beautiful produce—I didn’t know know radishes could look mouth-watering—and the wafting smell of freshly popped popcorn, here are five interesting insider notes about the Crystal City FRESHFARMS Farmers Market that I learned along my two-block tour:
1. The two new vendors this year are: The Farm at Sunnyside (the market’s organic farm offering up beautiful produce) and Capital Kettle Corn (who dish up freshly popped corn with flavors ranging from Ethiopian and old bay to spicy hot chocolate).
2. This market takes “green” to a whole new level. Last years’ signs and banners are saved and recycled into re-usable and retro grocery bags that are given out to market goers (see picture below).
Read the rest of this entry »
Cinco De Mayo: Tequila-Infused Menu
Posted by Sally Traynham / Friday, May 4th, 2012
Igor Normann/Shutterstock
May brings the crazed excitement of Cinco De Mayo with the inevitable hangover after a night of bar hopping. This year, get your tequila fix through flavors of this tequila-infused menu. (Trust me, you’ll thank yourself in the morning.)
Queso Fundido al Tequila from Rick Bayless [food and wine]
Mussels with Tomatoes, Jalepeno and Tequila from Susan Baker [bon appetit]
Tequila-Lime Chicken from Ina Garten [food network]
Grilled Tequila Garlic Lime Flank Steak from Guy Fieri [food network]
Read the rest of this entry »
Seven Things to Know About Del Ray Cafe’s Soft Opening Tonight
Posted by Stefanie Gans / Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Photo by Stefanie Gans
1. Laurent Janowsky is welcoming Del Ray neighbors and friends to the soft opening tonight of his new, more-casual French restaurant, Del Ray Café. (D’uh.)
2. Janowsky also owns the fancy French Le Bergerie in Old Town.
3. He’s hoping for a slow night to let the kitchen ease in. “I want to be here a long time,” says the veteran restauranter, “and not short term, so I don’t want to srcew up my opening.”
3. Le Bergerie’s Sylvian Tonello will become executive chef of both restaurants and will now be primarly cooking at Del Ray Café.
4. The menu will be sustainable, natural, organic and local, but, says Janowsky, ”with a little bit of poison, meaning that there’s some stuff…that’s too good to pass up.” Expect foie gras and beignets.
5. Starting Monday, Del Ray Cafe will be ready with breakfast at 7 a.m. and will also offer lunch and dinner.
6. Boozers welcome – Jankowsky scored a liquor license.
7. And of course, here’s a peek at the Del Ray Cafe menu
205 East Howell Ave., Alexandria; 703-717-9151.
[tips for the food desk / follow @gansie]
The Dedication of a Line Cook, Updated
Posted by Stefanie Gans / Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Facebook screengrab
Think working in the restaurant world is easy?
There’s no calling in sick. No bullshit excuses.
Get run over by a car? Your ass is at work. Or at least that’s the dedication of Will Artley‘s staff at Pizzeria Orso.
UPDATE, 2:42 pm
@chefwillartley tweets the full kitchen conversation:
Read the rest of this entry »
Lick Your Screen: Italian Nachos Edition
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
When I walked into The Don’s Wood-Fired Pizza last night for dinner, a piece of pizza was my only intention. But when “Italian Nachos” caught my eye on the menu, how could i resist? I’ve had chili nachos, Irish nachos, and now it was time to add Italian nachos to that list. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Would there be chips? Would there be cheese drizzled across my nachos? These nachos came deconstructed: a heaping pile of pizza dough freshly baked into perfect flatbread with plenty of oregano, garlic and Parmesan sprinkled on top and served with a side of spicy melted cheese with a pinch of peppers folded in. Delicious.
Are there any other types of nachos to try in NoVA?
Italian Nachos | The Don’s Wood-Fired Pizza | Sterling
Photo by Bekah Lowe
[Do you have a lick-worthy photo? Send it in: food desk / follow @bekahlowe]