Once the stronghold of steakhouses and burger joints, could Washington be ready for a meat-less, heat-free dining experience? If the success of Elizabeth's Gone Raw is any indication, it would appear so... Launched last July by Elizabeth Petty, owner of The Catering Company of Washington, this new occasional restaurant aims to challenge the palates of Washingtonians while demonstrating that food can be both healthy and flavourful, uncooked and surprising. Elizabeth, who herself went raw in 2009 for health reasons, and her chefs Thomas Berry and Calvin Lee, are now providing DC with its first high end raw and vegan tasting menu. I had the opportunity to taste my first entirely raw vegan meal ...
Out and about
Fall 2010 White House Garden Tour
Working a few blocks away from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I often take the sight of the White House for granted. It is nonetheless, one of the world's most famous buildings and is visited each years by hundreds of thousands of Americans. On occasions they even let foreigners in and a few years back, I not only got to go on the regular East Wing tour I also had the opportunity to visit the West Wing and see the Oval Office. Now that was pretty cool but until today I still had some unfinished business with the White House. I had never actually been in the White House garden. Tours of the garden are organized for the general public twice a year and I was so confident I would be able to go on ...
DC-To-Do-List For 2010 ~ A Mid Year Update.
July 1st is more than just Canada Day it's also the mid point of 2010 and time to check up on how well I've been doing on my DC resolution list. I've lived in Washington for close to seven years now and there is still so much for me to do and see here. So six months into the year, how I am doing with my D.C. check list? Well... not so well :( 1) Sit on a US Supreme Court hearing > the Court reconvenes on October 4th so this resolution is tabled until the fall. 2) Visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum > Check! Of course it's impossible to say that I "enjoyed" visiting the Holocaust Museum but I am certainly glad I finally went through this powerful experience. 3) Run the Cherry ...
Soccer In The City: Day 4 or In Other Non-Soccer News…
Since the 2010 FIFA World started I've been a little obsessed with football (to say the least.) So far, I've managed to watch 10 out 11 matches (sorry Cameroon-Japan... I do have a day job!) and other than attending a friend's baby shower, I've done little else but watch, talk and breathe football. Which is a shame. There are a lot of great non-soccer related events happening all over the district.Chile doesn't play its first game (against Honduras) until Wednesday June 16 but you can already celebrate the narrow Latin American country at Cafe Atlantico's "Chilean Gastronomic Week." From June 15th through 20th, enjoy a tasting menu developed by Cafe Atlantico's Chef Richard Brandenburg and ...
Pas de reservations! An evening with Ripert & Bourdain.
One is French, the other is kinda French. One has a restaurant in D.C., the other had a restaurant in D.C. Both live in New York, have greying hair and are (literaly) amongst the hotest chefs in America. And of course both will be in Washington D.C. when I am out of town. Sad.Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert may have a lot in common and be great friends but they're still an unlikely duo. I felt bad for Bourdain when he appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and she asked him if he had ever been a chef in a kitchen. Ouch. But to be fair, while I loved going to Les Halles when the restaurant had a branch in D.C. it's no Le Bernadin. And actually, Eric Ripert himself was even quoted saying he ...
Namaste National Mall
Today was BYOM (Bring Your Own Mat) on the National Mall. In conjunction with the 2010 National Cherry Blossom Festival, Lululemon led a yoga class on the National Mall. Of course, with the cherry blossoms at their peak this weekend, the nearly 1000 yogi of all levels which participated provided additional photo op for the hoards of tourists around. ...
Affordable solutions for better living riding
Don't get me wrong, I love living in D.C. and in the United States in general. But every once in a while, like when I think about the health care system or the six weeks of paid vacation time, I can't help reminiscing about life in France. There are just some things that the French do better. Apparently even minute things like Ikea ads ;-) So back in January of 2009, my metro station, Gallery Place, was taken over by Ikea. As D.C. prepared for inauguration of Barrack Obama, Ikea released a yellow and blue "change begins at home" poster style campaign. Not bad. Now in Paris, Ikea is actually inviting metro riders to test two of their popular couches: “Ektorp” and “Kalstad”, in its Paris ...
A Foodie Friendly Environmental Film Festival
The DC Independent Film Festival is still underway that already another exciting movie event is kicking off in the nation's capital: the DC Environmental Film Festival. The 2010 Festival explores the vital connections between food and the environment so it's not surprising that it opens with two events focused on food. The first, a special screening of "What's on your plate?", occurred at the Warner Theater earlier today. The second, the Festival's Launch Party at the Warner Building Atrium (6:30 pm, March 10th, $20, rsvp at effrsvp@gmail.com) features Nora Pouillon, a local pioneer of the organic and local food movements who opened the nation's first certified organic restaurant, Nora, and ...
Bottle Shock: Screwtop Edition
Call me French but comparing France and California is a little like comparing apple and oranges. In my biased French opinion, of course. Yes, California is roughly the size of France and yes the West Coast state has about the same global economic heft as my homeland. In economic terms, if California were its own country, it would be the 5th largest economy in the world. France is at best number 6 or 7 depending on the year. But we're not talking about GDP in this post, we're talking wine and cheese!Well, as it turns out, California, in addition to being a heavy weight in economic terms, is also a heavy weight in the wine world. Indeed, California alone is responsible for some 90% of all the ...
Party like it’s 4708!!
It was a beautiful day in Washington, D.C. and while Chinese New Year was technically last week, thousands of revellers came out to Chinatown to help the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association ring in the year of the Tiger with its usual parade and dragon dances. ...