James Beard Award Semifinalists Announced

Outstanding Restaurateur

* Ashok Bajaj, 701/Ardeo/Bardeo/Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca/The Bombay Club/The Oval Room/Rasika – D.C.

Outstanding Chef

* Jose Andres, minibar – D.C.

Image: SF Weekly

Outstanding Restaurant

* Vidalia – D.C.

Rising Star Chef of the Year

* Johnny Monis, Komi – D.C.

Best New Restaurant

* Eventide

* J & G Steakhouse – D.C.

* Trummer’s on Main

Outstanding Pastry Chef

* Amanda Cook, CityZen – D.C.

Outstanding Wine Service

* Restaurant Eve

Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional

Image: Jonathan Timmes

* Derek Brown, The Passenger – D.C.

Outstanding Service

* Marcel’s – D.C.

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic

* Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve

* Tony Conte, The Oval Room – D.C.

* Melissa Close Hart, Palladio at Barboursville Vineyards

* Peter Pastan, Obelisk -  D.C.

* Dale Reitzer, Acacia

* Vikram Sunderam, Rasika- D.C.

* Bryan Voltaggio, Volt – Md.

The five finalists in each category will be unveiled March 22, with the winners honored at the May 3^rd Beard Foundation awards gala in New York.

–Aisha Salazar

Tags: Aisha Salazar, Cathal Armstrong, chef, Dale Reitzer, DC, Eventide, food, Gut Check, James Beard Award, Maryland, Northern Virginia Magazine, restaurant, Restaurant Eve, semifinalists, Trummer's on Main, Virginia

Let The Good Times Roll

Image: Cajun Grocer

Mardi Gras. Carnival. Fat Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. Pancake Day.

Whatever you want to call it, it’s time to participate in some serious celebrating at local restaurants.

-Throw on the party beads and eat your King Cake at 2941.  In honor of Mardi Gras, all diners will receive a complimentary King Cake today, regardless if you order off the prix-fixe four-course menu or a la carte.

-Fat Tuesday’s will have several bands performing throughout the evening, starting at 3 p.m.

-Clyde’s at Mark Center will have their annual Mardi Gras party featuring live music starting at 6 p.m. For $25 enjoy an all-you-can-eat crawfish boil with corn, potatoes and andouille sausage.

-Buzz will have King Cakes all day.

-The 2^nd Annual Mardi Gras on King Street will take place at the Fish Market.  Celebrate five days of Mardi Gras with traditional New Orleans style cuisine and cocktails. The festivities begin tonight with music by DC Motors and end with a masquerade ball on Saturday, February 20.  There will be a charity bead toss and Mardi Gras Masks available to benefit Multiple Sclerosis.

-King Street Blues will  offer “Cajun Specials” all day, including several po’boy varieties, jambalaya pasta and red beans.

-Try one of Trummer’s on Main’s signature cocktails from New Orleans, Brazil and Italy. Don’t forget to wear your masks, costumes or beads for 25 percent off special cocktails, beer and wine.

-Join Okra’s Louisiana Bistro for their annual Mardi Gras pub crawl and Cajun cuisine.

-Liberty Tavern will have $4 Abita Purple Haze and $5 Hurricanes all day long.

- Union Jacks will host a Mardi Gras Bash tonight. Collect the most beads and you can win a trip to the Caribbean. Their Creole menu includes shrimp po’boys, etouffee, and bananas foster. The celebration begins at 4 p.m.

-Learn to make classic New Orleans dishes at Open Kitchen. The menu includes crawfish etouffee and seafood and andouille sausage gumbo. $75; 7-10 p.m.

-On Wednesday, February 17, Chef Roberto Donna will host a six-course ‘Il Carnavale’ Dinner at his private residence. The menu includes stuffed lamb chops with braised chicory and Piemontese style rice fritters in parmesan cheese sauce. $100 per person.  Email tambolisa1@aol.com to make a reservation.

-On Saturday, Feb 20 Sunset Hill Vineyards celebrates Mardi Gras with a special Cajun menu and live music by the Yvonne Johnson Jazz Trip from 12-6 p.m. Don’t forget to wear your purple, gold, and green!

-IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day on February 23 this year from 7 a.m.- 10 p.m.  Guests will receive a short stack of pancakes for free. While you’re there, help others by donating to the Children’s Miracle Network or other local charities.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Tags: 2941 restaurant, Aisha Salazar, Buzz Bakery, Chef Roberto Donna, Clydes, Fat Tuesday, Fish Market, food, Gut Check, IHOP, King Cakes, King Street Blues, Liberty Tavern, Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day, Northern Virginia Magazine, Okra’s Louisiana Bistro, Open Kitchen, restaurant, Sunset Hill Vineyards, Trummer's on Main, Union Jacks

Students and Chefs Make Sweet Pairings at Life Is Sweet 5

Patrick Bazin and his Chef Buddy, Cameron Graham. Image: Amy Loeffler

Student Cameron Graham and Chef Patrick Bazin of Bazin’s on Church are old hats of the Life Is Sweet annual fundraiser for Best Buddies Virginia. They have been a team since the event’s inception five years ago and they embody the mission of the organization founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver to foster friendships and employment opportunities for intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals. Cameron works the crowd while I pepper Bazin with questions. When I ask to take a photo of the two of them Cameron prompts me to wait and says, “Oh let me take off my glasses,” like a seasoned media pro.  She is clearly in her element flitting from family member to passer-by. “She’s happy,” says Bazin smiling proudly.  “And chefs” says Bazin,”like to make other people happy.” 

According to Bazin the Life Is Sweet event gives students like Cameron a sense of comraderie and boosts self-confidence by allowing them to interact with culinary professionals and the public at large.  This year she and Bazin collaborated, as they do every year, on what to make for the gala one month beforehand. They settled on a pumpkin mousse in a chocolate shell sprinkled with praline topping as a riff on pumpkin cheesecake. In fact collaborating on what they are going to serve is just as much of a ritual as the event itself. “We always discuss what we’re gonna make,” says Bazin. 

Former White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier has spearheaded the fundraiser every year for the past five years and proved to be a raucous emcee. At one point he spontaneously put himself on the silent auction block for a lucky bidder to win his culinary expertise (and masseur skills!) for one evening of gastronomically induced revelry. 

 

No need to be sad when the chips are down if life is as sweet as a tray of Chris Ford’s deconstructed chocolate chip cookies. Image: Amy Loeffler

While pastry chefs donate their time, materials and effort for this Who’s Who gathering of area pastry toques,  many chefs at the event on Tuesday voiced that they receive a lot in return for participating. Chris Ford, pastry chef at Trummer’s on Main, recently relocated to the area from New York. He says the event was a good opportunity for him to become familiar with the flour and butter goings on as a relative Northern Virginia newbie. “I meet other pastry chefs and get my name out there,” he says of the event.

Michelle Poteaux of Bastille in Alexandria would agree that the event for her was initially an opportunity to network, but changed once she was paired up with her Chef Buddy, Max Douglas. “Part of [the appeal] of this event for every pastry chef is to promote yourself,” she says. “That soon quickly goes by the wayside once you meet your partner. It’s not just a group, it’s this person Max.”  She explained that she and Max even did an inpromptu T.V. appearance for the event.

Chris Ford of Trummer's on Main and Andrew Roberts.

–Amy Loeffler

Tags: Amy Loeffler, Bastille, Best Buddies Virginia, Chris Ford, Gut Check, Life Is Sweet, Michelle Poteaux, Northern Virginia Magazine, Trummer's on Main

Just a Taste: Trummer’s on Main

(Image: Trummer’s)

Historic Clifton got a little more scenic last month once Trummer’s on Main finally let in all the gawkers (present company included) who’d anxiously watched construction teams touch-up the long-standing structure.

I’m pleased to report: the wait appears to have been worth it.

Co-owners Victoria and Stefan Trummer renovated every inch of the three-story restaurant, beginning with the chic bar (stoney, sleek and very inviting), glass-encased “winter garden,” artsy top floor “gallery” and zen patio (the soundtrack provided by a gurgling fountain and passing trains cuts through the static of everyday life).

Sommelier Tyler Packwood (formerly of the Inn at Little Washington) and Stefan Trummer (NYC cocktail guru) work in concert to sate any liquid wants (sadly, the cocktails have been my least favorite thing–at least, so far).

Solids are handled by chef Clayton Miller, who adeptly folds the gourmet into everyday favorites (roast pork, tangy blue cheese and dulcet blackberries embrace beneath a buttermilk biscuit; brined chicken and mashed peas elevate comfort food several notches).

Meanwhile, a three-course Sunday brunch ($28) went live just a few weeks back.

–Warren

Tags: Clifton, Gut Check, Northern Virginia Magazine, restaurant, Stefan Trummer, Trummer's on Main, Victoria Trummer, Warren Rojas

NoVA Restaurant Scene Explodes this July

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

Tags: Alexandria, Clayton Miller, Clifton, Columbia Firehouse, dining, food, Gut Check, hospitality, Kora, maestro, McLean, Morou Ouattara, Neighborhood Restaurant Group, Northern Virginia Magazine, Orlando Hitzig, restaurants, Trummer's on Main, Warren Rojas