Posts Tagged ‘Falls Church’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
If you are a slave to otherworldly sweets, confidence is high you know Anthony Chavez’s work:
The award-winning pastry chef continues working his magic at 2941, spinning out such memorable closers as a cacao-dusted frozen truffle draped in caramel sauce and pecan streusel, and a gold leaf-flecked sponge cake saturated with Maker’s Mark and Tahitian vanilla.
WR: Salt. Pepper. What other spices/herbs could you not live without?
AC: Ceylon cinnamon, it is the purest form of cinnamon. It has the best well rounded flavor which pair very well with chocolate. Valentine’s Day, each guest will receive complimentary chocolate made with Ceylon cinnamon. We are calling it the “chocolate red hots.”
WR: What’s the very first dish you ever mastered? How long did it take? Do you still make it today?
AC: I don’t think I have ever mastered a dessert. Trends are always evolving and to keep up with them I create new desserts as well revisit old desserts, making then better than before.
WR: What seasonal ingredient(s) get your creative juices flowing?
AC: Rhubarb. I love the sourness rhubarb brings. When you see rhubarb at the market you know spring is in here and that means more fruit is on the way.
WR: My latest cookbook obsession is …
AC: The Internet. I know it is not a book however there is a lot of information posted on chef blogs, restaurant and pastry shop websites and school websites. Some of my favorites are Christophe Michalak, Patrick Roger and The Culinary Institute of America.
WR: What’s the most challenging dish you’ve ever attempted? Would you make it again?
AC: An arborio rice pudding with a white truffle ice cream. I would try it again in the right setting. On our a la carte menu it had problems selling. I think people don’t think of mushrooms when they think of desserts.
WR: If I could the spend the day working alongside any local chef, I’d love to collaborate with …
AC: Chris Ford from Trummers. He has a very clean style and his flavors are straight forward and creative.
WR: What’s the easiest/quickest–but still wholly satisfying–meal you make for yourself?
AC: Brioche with homemade jam. I love making brioche because it is 20 minutes of work and 2 hours of proofing.
Meyer Lemon Brioche with *Rhubarb Confiture
Meyer Lemon Brioche
5 ¼ ounces (151 g.) water
2/3 ounce (19 g.) fresh yeast
3 eggs
1 tablespoon (5 g.) vanilla extract
2 pieces Meyer lemon zest
1 pound (453 g.) all-purpose flour
4 ounces (113 g.) sugar
¼ teaspoon (2 g.) + pinch sea salt
4 ounces (113 g.) butter
*Rhubarb Confiture
9 ounces (250 g.) rhubarb, sliced
9 ounces (250 g.) vanilla sugar
½ ounces (15 g.) lemon Juice
Confiture Method
Day One
Combine the rhubarb and vanilla sugar in a pot.
Slowly bring mixture to a boil.
Remove from heat, wrap pot with plastic, refrigerate overnight.
Day Two
Strain the rhubarb-vanilla juice, reserving the rhubarb.
Place juice in a pot and cook until the juice has thickened and reads 106 degrees Celsius on a candy thermometer.
Return the rhubarb, simmer 3-5 more minutes, add the lemon juice and cool.
Brioche Method
Day One
Combine water, yeast, 2 eggs, lemon zest and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
Add the flour, sugar and ¼ tsp salt. With a dough hook, mix until the dough is smooth and shiny on medium speed for approximately 8 minutes.
Add half of the butter and mix on low speed for 3 minutes.
Add the remaining half of the butter and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Remove from the mixer and place into a bowl. Allow to rise until the dough has doubled in size. Press out the fermented gases in the brioche with your hand.
Place the brioche into the refrigerator for 2 hours. Press out the fermented gases a second time. Place the brioche in the refrigerator overnight.
Day Two
Remove brioche from the refrigerator and place dough into a standard loaf pan. Allow to rise in a warm oven (190 degrees Fahrenheit) for about two hours or until the dough has tripled in size. Whisk 1 egg and a pinch of salt together. Brush the top of the brioche with the egg.
Bake in a 360 F oven for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from the loaf pan and place onto a cooling rack.
Serve warm with the rhubarb confiture.
WR: In the next six months you won’t want to miss my …
AC: Spring menu. We will feature all the spring fruits including strawberries, rhubarb and Meyer lemons. Spring is my favorite time of year to make desserts.
WR: It’s quitting time. I’m pouring myself …
AC: Guinness. It is like drinking a late-night cup of joe.
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Chef, your zen-like patience is inspiring. No way I could wait 48 hours for my favorite snack.
Come back next Tuesday for another helping of Red Meat.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
No plans for Sunday evening yet? No need to panic, just consider the following bars / restaurants as you weigh your options.
The Dogfish Alehouse would be more than happy to facilitate your desire to find a party atmosphere with good deals to boot. Arrive early to enjoy happy hour specials all day at the one in Falls Church. There will be discounted rates on mixed drinks, pizza, and draft beer for the better part of the night as well. Halftime trivia, giveaways and raffles almost guarantee a good time will be had. Wear your favorite jersey for the chance to win free drinks and official Dogfish Head merchandise.
Invite 8-10 of your closest friends out with you to try the Party Platter at the one in Fairfax. This includes eight ales of your choice, two souvenir pint glasses, coasters, and koozies for $48. Each purchase earns one raffle ticket that could win your table more beer or an autographed copy of a book by Dogfish Head’s founder Sam Calagione. He is currently starring in the Discovery Channel’s new hit reality show Brew Masters. Visit their website for location information and more details.
(image: beer-wikia)
That’s not all though! Cafe Pizzaiolo’s two locations in Alexandria and Arlington are planning to offer some good deals too. Whether you order take-out or dine-in, the same deals apply. Half priced appetizers and 35 cent buffalo wings will whet your appetite for their noteworthy New York-style pizzas. One large pizza with two toppings, 12 buffalo wings, and one regular salad will run your table approximately $27. Up the ante with two large pizzas, 12 wings, and two regular salads for $40. Also…if you were to buy three large pizzas, the fourth would be considered free. See their website for location information and more details.
(image: drdeliveryeast)
Last but not least, Clare & Don’s Beach Shack in Falls Church are hosting their own party. The two key words you have to remember are buffet and prizes. Enjoy generous helpings of regional cuisine while participating in interactive trivia games. The kickoff may not be until 6:30 p.m, but drink specials begin at 11:30 a.m. sharp!
(image: clareanddons)
Don’t see anything that strikes your fancy yet? Stay tuned for more possibilities later on in the week.
-Ryan Robertson
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, January 21st, 2011
The Open Kitchen of Falls Church wants to teach you and yours how to cook. Whether you are an experienced chef or an amateur, the Open Kitchen’s cooking classes were designed to be an appetizing and entertaining way of sharpening your culinary skills. They cover a wide-variety of topics that include special techniques, healthy options, simplistic meal preparation, ethnic cuisines, and desserts.
Morning and evening classes are scheduled every week Sunday through Tuesday. Here’s a look at what they have in store this week.
Sunday Jan. 23, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Cake Making Workshop with Chef Amy Riolo
Learn how to bake cakes from scratch. Once you taste the flavorful moist texture, you’ll never want to go back to those box mixes ever again. You will learn how to mix, bake, fill, and frost. There are four different recipes that are perfect for any occasion.
Monday Jan. 24, 9 a.m. – noon. Knife-Skills Class with Chef Matt Finarelli
Everyone who spends some time in the kitchen should know how important it is to be skilled with a knife. You will learn the basics of handling, care, safety and the specific cuts that will make your food look and taste better. This class will give you the confidence to cut like a pro. Participants will be preparing different meals with the meat and vegetables they cut in class.
Monday Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Chili’s and Stews with Chef Matt Finarelli
A cold winter’s night is the perfect occasion to learn how to prepare these comfort foods. They both are thought to have some of the most satisfying and complex flavors in the culinary world. Learn the tricks of proper “stewing”, as well as some of the more interesting twists on these family favorites.
Tuesday Jan. 25, 9 a.m.- noon. French Mother Sauces I with Chef Amy Riolo
First acknowledged in 1815, French sauces are now an integral part of any culinary school curriculum. Learn how 4 basic sauces transformed the modern art of cooking.
Tuesday Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Souffles 101 with Chef Matt Finarelli
Often thought of as the pinnacle of cooking, souffles are a delicate, delectable and delicious dessert. This class will teach you how to make them like a pro, and disprove some of the myths surrounding them as well.
The cost range for participation is $79-$89 per person. Dine-Only is an option for individuals affiliated with the students. The cost is just $25 to enjoy whatever your friend or family member has prepared with a glass of wine. The Open Kitchen is located at 7115 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church. For reservations or more information, call 703-942-8148. Check the event calendar to see what’s been scheduled for next week and beyond.
-Ryan Robertson
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
War of Words over Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse music
County keeping their two-cents to themselves about planetarium
Protesters march on Quantico
Watch for the flash. Falls Church’s red-light cameras turned on
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
This is no trick: Vienna lost a venerable kabob haven on October 31.
The owner of the original Panjshir said his brother (who had been managing the Vienna branch) was unable to broker a mutually agreeable lease with the landlord, electing instead to shutter the Afghan restaurant after 22 years.
“I don’t think he’ll be doing another restaurant,” the original Panjshir owner said of the possibility his sibling might give it another go in a new location.
Meanwhile, the owner of a neighboring restaurant has already scoped out the old Panjshir II plot. But the expansion-minded restaurateur doesn’t know if the financials will line up … (stay tuned).
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
(Image: Beer Matters)
The Great American Restaurants group is celebrating its latest gold medal win at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival–their GAR Pale Ale beat out 40+ competitors to claim the crown in the Extra Special Bitter/Strong Bitter category–with a little celebration at your local Sweetwater Tavern (Centreville, Falls Church, Sterling).
All three restaurants will be serving up complimentary appetizers and discounted pale ales–with some t-shirt and growler koozie giveaways thrown in for good measure–from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. tonight.
–Warren
La Caraquena Ready for Its Close Up
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, November 4th, 2010
As we first reported a few months back, La Caraquena will make it’s television debut November 8 at 10 p.m. on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.”
But because the show will air past the restaurant’s regularly scheduled closing time on Monday, chef/owner Raul Claros has decided to mark the very special occasion all day November 11.
Claros plans to replay the episode–during which he presumably walks Guy Fieri through the finer points of arepa- and saltena-making–throughout the day on Thursday. Come 7 p.m., he’ll host a public viewing party for all those involved with the taping–plus any patrons who wish to mingle with the “cast”–replete with complimentary cocktails (think: boozy fruit punch).
Can’t make the soiree?
There’ll be cause for celebration throughout the week, as Claros has all kinds of exciting changes in the works.
Given that the Food Network handlers have already warned/alerted him that D, D & D alumni tend to see a 50 percent-300 percent jump in sales post-broadcast, Claros expects to begin taking reservations via OpenTable on November 8.
He’s also unveiling several new menu items–including a quinoa arepa and some vegetarian options–on November 10.
Meanwhile, holiday sweets’ lovers can expect to find a traditional, fruit-filled Torta Negra on the carte come December 1.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
(Image: Simply Local Food)
For those who don’t know, we’re in the middle of yet another theme dining week: American Farmland Trust’s inaugural “Dine Out for Farms” initiative.
The plan is simple enough: patronize those restaurants that support your local farms and help perpetuate the circle of sustainable agriculture/conscientious dining while getting a fabulous meal in the process.
We tried (unsuccessfully) to glean any DOfF week specials from the AFT, but were able to cull the roster of participating local restaurants:
*American Flatbread – Arlington, Ashburn;
* Clyde’s – Reston;
* Cock & Bowl;
* Open Kitchen;
* Wildfire; and,
So, if you’ve got some coin to spend and are looking to put your money where your mouth should be anyway, why not add these eco-activists to this week’s dining rotation?
It might even become a habit…
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
“I’m glad I came. They’ve redeemed themselves,” my companion decreed after revisiting Falls Church’s most highly anticipated Neapolitan pie haven, Pizzeria Orso.
Like many of the online backbiters, my friend had raced to try pizza poet Edan MacQuaid’s nascent solo project shortly after opening–and had wandered away sorely disappointed (“How can pizza be soggy AND burnt?”).
I must admit, I fully expected the wheels to come off once our mop-headed, heavily tattooed teen server began popping off at the mouth about freshly shaved, raw porcinis and waves of splashy San Marzano tomatoes. But either that kid was doing an Oscar-worthy job of parroting management’s carefully crafted, gourmand-stroking spiel or staff have accepted MacQuaid’s deep, abiding love for seasonal spoils and artisan ingredients as their own personal mantras.
I’m leaning towards the latter.
Sweet, milky burrata virtually shimmies atop a mouthwatering slice of oil-packed tomato, which is itself supported by a garlic-rubbed, oil-bathed slice of artfully seared sourdough (handmade by fellow flour slinger and 2941 cohort, Patrick Deiss).
Meanwhile, MacQuaid indefatigably polices his showpiece pizza oven (pictured above), hustling items out promptly before the DOC-sanctioned, 90-second cooking window expires.
I’d say each pizza and/or panuozzo spends roughly 2/3 of its minute-and-a-half firing time diametrically opposed to the blistering heat source, only to be paraded to within inches of the flames just prior to evacuation so that every inch of the crust bubbles, bulges and chars to maximum effect.
The resulting crust is fluffier than some folks may be used to. But I found the combination of ash, encrusted sea salt and liberal olive oiling most intoxicating.
And don’t even get me started on the basil.
Whether fully intact atop a classic Margherita or finely ground into homemade pesto (another extra virgin olive oil-led triumph), the captivating herb is quite obviously one of MacQuaid’s favorite muses. Though I think a similar case could be made for Orso’s marvelous dairy (tongue-teasing ricotta anyone?).
Now, if only MacQuaid would make good on the promised cannolis already…(“They’re coming,” a seemingly just as anxious staffer said of the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time dessert).
–Warren
Make Way for the Return of MacQuaid
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
(Image: FohBoh)
After years of laying low, journeyman pizzaiolo Edan MacQuaid (that’s his grinning mug, above) stands ready to reintroduce artisan pie lovers to his particular brand of Neapolitan deliciousness at the closer-to-opening-than-ever Pizzeria Orso.
“I can’t wait to get back in front of the oven,” MacQuaid said, adding that he fully intends to hand make every pizza–all pies will be flash baked (estimated cooking time: 90 seconds at 800 degrees) in the straight-from-Naples brick oven–for the foreseeable future.
It’s that type of attention to detail that helped MacQuaid rise through the ranks at the first Pizzeria Paradiso during the early 1990s and led to his becoming one of the most sought after pie slingers in the area (he helped establish the pizza programs at 2 Amys, the original RedRocks and the now-defunct Bebo Trattoria).
MacQuaid retreated from view in 2007 to began working on the Pizzeria Orso project, devoting the past few years to recipe testing and business plan writing. And he’s convinced the fruits of his intensive research will be readily apparent to veteran pizza hounds.
“We’ve gone to really long lengths to make sure we have the most authentic product this side of Naples,” he asserted.
MacQuaid suggested, however, that he was unlikely to pursue the now fashionable Denominazione di Origine Controllata certification. But he did leave the door open to exploring the newly minted Specialita Traditionale Garantita status.
Pedigreed or not, everyone will get the chance to judge MacQauid’s life’s work when Orso officially comes online in the coming weeks. (A press release pitched an early June opening but MacQuaid suggested he might pull the trigger sooner, noting, “We’re ready to start producing some pizzas.”)
MacQuaid expects to get underway with around 20 specialty pies, including: classic margherita (San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil), Vera Orso (five Italian cheeses and shaved, seasonal truffles), mezzalune (1/2 margherita and 1/2 stuffed pizza), tricolore (a salami-and-cheese medley MacQuaid equated to “two calzones and a margherita.” “There’s a lot going on in that one,” he pledged”), quattro staggioni and Vesuvius (stuffed with buffalo burrata).
The near uniform 12-inch pizzas are expected to run between $6-$19.They’ll also offer homemade antipasti, fried snacks (arancini, fritto misto), specialty calzones and build-your-own pizzas.
Meanwhile, MacQuaid said his wife and partner, Thea, remains hard at work on constructing a beverage program centered around craft brews (look for four draft lines and around a dozen bottles) and Southern Italian wines.
“I can’t wait for people … to see us in action,” the long patient pie maker gushed.
Pizzeria Orso: 400 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church; 703-226-3460; www.pizzeriaorso.com. Open for lunch and dinner daily.
–Warren