Culinary Passport to the Winter Olympics

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Hockey. The flying tomato. Vodka. Ice. It’s the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Image: Vancouver Winter Olympics, © VANOC/COVAN

If you can’t make it to Vancouver, you can still get your Passport to the Winter Olympics with Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG). 

From Friday, February 12 until Sunday, February 28, each NRG restaurant will represent a country competing in the Olympics.  All six restaurants will offer food and beverage specials inspired by a different country. 

Canada: ChurchKey will serve putine, a Canadian dinner staple, and a rotating selection of Canadian beers.

Germany: Rustico will offer housemade pretzels and spaetzle with wild mushrooms and have several Bavarian drafts on tap.

Italy: Vermillion Chef Tony Chittum will serve four-cheese ravioli with blood orange negroni and wines from the Italian Peidmont region.    

Poland: At Tallula and EatBar, Chef Barry Koslow will serve his version of traditional Polish dumplings paired with Polish-brewed Zywiec porter.

Russia: Enjoy Shortrib stroganoff with housemade egg noodles at Columbia Firehouse. Don’t forget the house-infused peppered Stoli vodka!

USA: Cheer on Team USA at Evening Star Café by eating all-American burgers like a Waffle burger and a Five “B” Stinger burger.  

Each time you visit a restaurant, you receive a passport stamp.  If you receive a stamp from all six countries/restaurants you will win a $50 gift certificate redeemable at any NRG restaurant.

Celebrate the closing of the Olympics with NRG’s 2^nd Annual Oyster Roast at the Evening Star Café parking lot on Sunday, February 28.  The roast begins at noon and features an outdoor screening of the gold-medal men’s hockey game.

Sadly, Jamaica isn’t represented. Neither is their bobsled team.

–Aisha Salazar

Jump Start Your Halloween at Evening Star Cafe

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Though the official holiday is Saturday, for partygoers Halloween is basically here tomorrow for all intents and purposes when the five o’clock whistle blows (Hopefully you’ve found something to tempt your palate and your trickster spirit in our Halloween Guide. )

If you simply can’t wait until Saturday, take your costume out for a spin at Evening Star Cafe where Halloween has its own eve. Groove to a ghoulish beat in the upstairs lounge with a live DJ and see who can garner the title of “Best Costume.”

–Amy Loeffler

NoVA Restaurant Scene Explodes this July

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, July 6th, 2009

Really wishing I’d gone the restful route this past weekend. Because it looks like the hospitality industry is gearing up for a big July.

Trummer’s on Main

Victoria and Stefan Trummer have devoted the last year of their lives to transforming the former Hermitage Inn into their new restaurant, Trummer’s on Main. And we’ll finally get a peek at the fruits of their labor when they formally open their doors on Monday, July 13.

The Trummers have entrusted chef Clayton Miller with helping to realize their epicurean dreams, a responsibility he takes quite seriously. Miller describes views his cooking style as modern American, which means he’s only too happy to draw inspiration from all over the globe in order to weave exotic flavors into local ingredients.

He’s also a fan of carving out separate dining experiences within a single venue, which is why Trummer’s will feature gourmet snacks at the bar (available by request in the main dining room), seasonal a la carte offerings as well as a fluid multicourse tasting menu (3-5 courses or chef’s choice) in the main dining room and a 3-course brunch (coming soon) predicated on fresh pastries, homestyle favorites and snappy petit fours.

“I want the guests to have flexibility,” Miller suggests.

Kora

Though he just shuttered Farrah Olivia a few weeks back, telegenic toque Morou Ouattara is ready to jump right back into action with Kora–a family-friendly Italian project taking over the old Bebo spot. Morou and older brother Amadou (last seen behind the burner’s at Middleburg’s Salvia restaurant) will lead a kitchen dedicated to quick, comfortable eats.

“It’s not going to be too far away from casual Italian,” Morou said, listing homemade pizzas and gourmet paninis as Kora cornerstones.

Morou remains committed to resurrecting Farrah Olivia in the near future (within the next year and a half, anyway), but has not yet fixed on a new location. “Whatever comes at the right time, we’ll take it,” he said of his open-ended real estate shopping philosophy.

Columbia Firehouse

The Neighborhood Restaurant Group is hoping to rekindle interest in the old Bookbinders space by launching their own dual-natured venue, Columbia Firehouse, in the next few weeks. Orlando Hitzig (most recently attached to the now-defunct Mark & Orlando’s near Dupont Circle) is still fine tuning the Columbia Firehouse menu, but estimates it will revolve around “comfort food that you can do at home, but don’t want to.”

The first floor will feature said staples, including: smoked chicken wings with buttermilk-blue cheese dressing, Maryland crab cakes and gourmet burgers. The upstairs–tentatively set to open this August–will follow more of an upscale chophouse format.

“That’s where we will be trying to draw in folks from across the river,” Hitzig estimates.

Maestro 2.0 (?)

I’ve just about given up on this industry parlor game. But if you are still interested in what will become of the once fabled Tysons’ dining palace, the cut-off for all placeholder functions is July 31.

–Warren